OUR LADY OF MERCY

PLEASE NOTE – There will be Mass this Wednesday

Monday July 2^nd

7:00 PM Joseph Tarsan r/o The Warrelman Family

Tuesday July 3^rd Thomas, Apostle

8:00 AM Anthony Del Mastro r/o Sheila Del Mastro

Wednesday July 4^th Independence Day

9:00 AM Intentions of the Parishioners

Thursday July 5^th Anthony Zaccaria, Priest

8:00 AM Intentions of the Parishioners

Friday July 6^th Maria Goretti, Martyr

8:00 AM David & Viola Alliprandine r/o Family

Saturday July 7^th

8:00 AM Intentions of the Parishioners

5:30 PM Timothy Johnson r/o Kaminsky Family

Sunday July 8^th Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

8:00 AM Rudolph (Bucky) Stys r/o Carol & Joe Graber

10:00 AM Anthony Del Mastro r/o M/M John Redner

12 NOON Timothy Johnson r/o Steve, Kathy & Helen

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY

OF ORDINARY TIME

HOURS Pss I Seasonal prop

MASS Prop Gl Cr Sun Pf I-VIII

RDGS 99: 1 Kgs 19:16b,19-21 Ps a6:1-2,5

Gal 5:1,13-18 Lk 9:51-62

Elisha is summoned to follow the prophet Elijah and to succeed him (1). Jesus insists that those who follow him must abandon all material or psychological securities, walking ever forward without look back (3). It is the Lord alone who is to hold fast our lot (Ps). Paul distinguishes between true freedom and license (2).

Stewardship

In today’s second reading, St. Paul provides a wonderful one-sentence summary of Christian stewardship: Out of love, place yourselves at one another’s service.

PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL OF OUR PARISHIONERS including: Tony Gangitano, David King, Haley Weber, Frank Stashak, Josephine Sarnoski, Elizabeth Connelly, Loretta Girard, Mary Pokotello, Blanche Ferarro, Sheila Del Mastro, John & Peter Foxwell, Terese King, John & Christine Dyke, Peter Yazgier

and Genevieve Casey.

Let us remember in our prayers Deacon Henry Fierst, Jr. whom God has called home.

Collections

June 24^th, 2007 $3695.00

Counters Team #2

COMMUNITY NEWS

Holy Family Academy “Big Bucks” 50/50 Raffle

A total of $13,017.00 was collected.

The winners are:

1^st Prize John Donofrio of Bound Brook $3,905.10

2^nd Prize Diane Scarpullo of Bound Brook $650.85

3^rd Prize Rich Konopka of Kearny $650.85

4^th Prize Phil Dibiase of Bound Brook $650.85

5^th Prize Frank Ryan of Bound Brook $650.85

Sacred Heart Parish Festival

July 31^st – August 4^th

Sacred Heart Church in Manville will be holding their 39^th Annual Parish Festival. Tues-Fri: 6-10, Sat: 5-10 in the evenings. They will have Wheels, Games, Rides, Raffles, Entertainment and Delicious Homemade Polish Foods. For info and directions, please call (908) 725-0072 or visit www.sacred-heart-church.org

The Center for Great Expectations Walk-a-thon

The Center for Great Expectations will be having a WAL-A-THON to raise friends and funds for our residential facility for homelss pregnant women/teens in recovery. We are hoping to reach our financial golals and relocate to Somerset in the very near future. Currently, the Center is located in Somerville. Please consider walking with us to raise consciousness and money for our new expansion project.

Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 1:30 pm

3 mile walk beginning and ending at

Immaculata High School, Mountain Avenue

Somerville, NJ.

For more information, please call Sister Sheila Murray SSJ (908) 218-0570 x205 or ssjsam@verizon.net

Waking Up for Church

One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church, to which he replied, “I’m not going.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“I’ll give you two good reasons,” he said. “One, they don’t like me, and two, I don’t like them.”

His mother replied, “I’ll give YOU two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church. One, You’re 59 years old, and two, you’re the pastor!”

DIOCESAN NEWS

www.diometuchen.org

Life Awareness Weekend for Single Adults

July 13-15 A vocation weekend for single adults, men and women, between the ages of 18 – 50, who are thinking about Priesthood or Religious Life. This is “an eye opening and positive perspective on religious life. Very educational for people who may be thinking about a religious vocation.” Strictly Confidential. For more info, please contact: The Office of Vocations: (732) 562-2457 or www.diometuchen.org/vocations.

Marriage Encounter

July 20^th-22^nd Why not take the opportunity this Summer to enrich your marriage? The next Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend will be held July 20^th – 22^nd, 2007. Early registration is advisable as space is limited. Phone

1-888-827-NJME for registration and information. Visit www.wwmecentralnj.org for more info.

Thinking of Priesthood?

July 21^st 11am, rain or shine. High School Age, Twenty-Something, Thirty-Something and up…Come join Bishop Bootkoski July 21^st at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, 45 Henderson Road, Kendall Park. Come join other men, like yourself, who are open to “listening” to the voice of Jesus as you think about your future and what God wants for you.

This will be a fun filled afternoon of prayer, sharing and eating. Bring your appetite and your willingness to hear God’s call. Dress is casual. Please RSVP by July 13^th. Office of Vocations (732) 562-2457 vocations@diometuchen.org for more info.

OUR LADY OF MERCY NEWS

Rummage Sale Meeting

A planning meeting for the Rummage Sale will be held after the 7:00 p.m. Mass on July 9 (7:40 p.m.). Anyone interested in helping with the sale (September 8) are asked to attend the meeting. The sale is being sponsored jointly by the Rosary Altar and Holy Name Societies. For further information, please call Rita at 732-469-2874.

Religious Education Registration

Parents of school aged children are encouraged to register their children for 2007/2008 religious education classes as soon as possible. Deadline for registration is July 31^st, 2007. Registration forms can be found at church entrances.

A Little 4^th of July Trivia

- 1826 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; sadly, the day was marred by the simultaneous passing of two of the primary forces behind the Declaration. The 83 year-old Jefferson had been in declining health, but held on until the fourth. When the day came, the former president inquired from his sickbed "This is the fourth?". When told that it was, he closed his eyes and died in his sleep. The 90 year-old Adams did not hear of his friend's passing, he died a few hours after Jefferson and is reputed to have said "Thomas Jefferson survives...Independence forever." before expiring.

Another U.S. president, James Monroe, passed away on the fourth five years later, in 1831.

- The lyrics of "America" were penned by Dr. Samuel Francis Smith, a Baptist minister. Smith dashed off the lyrics on a scrap of paper in the space of about a half-hour, to be sung to the melody of the British national anthem "God Save the King/Queen". It was performed by a chorus of schoolchildren at Smith's church in Boston on Independence Day, 1832.

- George M Cohan, some of whose songs are an integral part of most Independence Day celebrations, adamantly claimed to have been born on the 4th. His baptismal records, however, indicated that he was one day shy of the fourth, having been born on July 3rd.

Born into a show-business family in 1878, Cohan grew up onstage performing with his parents Jerry and Nellie and his older sister Josephine. He won audiences' hearts at the end of each show with the now famous line "Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you!"

George eventually became a Tin-Pan-Alley songsmith and both wrote and performed in numerous successful musicals, including "The Governor's Son", "Little Johnny Jones", "George Washington Jr.", "45 Minutes from Broadway", and "Little Nellie Kelly". Although these shows are largely forgotten today, they included such songs as "Give My Regards to Broadway", "You're A Grand Old Flag", "Mary's a Grand Old Name", and "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy", which are an indelible part of the American musical lexicon.

Cohan also penned the stirring "Over There" at the outset of World War I. Cohan's life was the subject of the 1942 movie musical "Yankee Doodle Dandy", starring James Cagney, and the 1968 Broadway musical "George M." He died in 1942.