11th Sunday of Ordinary Time June 17, 2018

Parish Office (863) 453-4757 Fax (863) 453-2620

Parish Office Hours Monday through Friday

9 AM to 2:30 PM

Pastor Fr. Nicholas McLoughlin

Assisting Clergy

Fr. Gerald Grogan Pastor Emeritus

Fr. Leo Frechette

Deacon Fred Simon

Dan Hoppe

Schedule of Masses

Saturday Confession

3:30 PM English 6:30 PM Spanish

Vigil Mass 4 PM English 7 PM Spanish

Sunday 8 AM and 10:30 AM

Holy Days

Vigil Mass 5:30 PM 8 & 10:30 AM Daily Mass

Monday-Friday 8 AM First Friday

Mass and Holy Hour 8 AM

Visit us on the web! www.ologap.org

Happy Fathers’

Day

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Dear Parishioners:

Douglas Hyde, the editor of the Daily Worker, a Communist Daily Newspaper in London in the early 1940’s, would attend a Catholic Church in London on Sundays from time to time with a view toward undermining whatever topic the priest preached on a Sunday morning, in an opinion or editorial column during the week in his paper, the Daily Worker.

On one such Sunday, while waiting for the priest to process down the aisle to begin the Mass, he was distracted by a young girl – she must

have been 8-10 years old – who entered the Church, blessed herself with Holy Water. Hyde noticed that she had a very anxious look on her face. So, his eyes followed her down the main aisle. When she got to altar, she genuflected, and went over to the side altar, where there was a statue of the Virgin Mary. She prayed for about five minutes. Then, she got up, and came slowly back down the aisle again. Douglas Hyde noticed that all the anxiety in her face was gone. He was so impressed with the young girl that later that day he went to a local Catholic rectory and asked if he could receive instructions in the Catholic faith.

The young girl was like the man referred to by Jesus in today’s Gospel who went to scatter seed on soil. It was the little girl’s lived faith – a kind of “seed” - that triggered something in the “soil” of Douglas Hyde’s heart, mind and soul that initiated one of the great conversion stories in England in the mid 1940’s. St. Francis of Assisi used to say, “Preach, and, if you must, use words.” Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that her life “was a pencil in the hand of God, writing messages that He wanted to write” which like “seeds” germinate in the “soil” of the hearts and minds of searchers.

Avery Dulles, the son of the Secretary of State under President Eisenhower, was an undergrad student at Harvard University. He was an agnostic – someone who believes nothing can be known about God’s existence.

But then, in 1939, “one grey February afternoon,” in Harvard’s Widener Library, as he wrote in his conversion memoir, A Testimonial to Grace (1946), “I was irresistibly prompted to go out into the open air . . . .. As I wandered aimlessly, something impelled me to look contemplatively at a young tree… the thought came to me suddenly, with all the strength and novelty of a revelation, that these little buds in their innocence and meekness followed a rule, a law of which I as yet knew nothing . . . . That night, for the first time in years, I prayed.”

That was his “seed of faith” that led him to become a Catholic, a Jesuit priest, a Cardinal, and one of the greatest American theologians of the 20th century. That incident in Harvard yard, with the emergence of a bud on a barren young tree in spring, was the “mustard seed” that led to a life of faith, which later led Dulles to “feed the branches of a tree” that is a growing U.S. Church in the 20th century. I had Fr. Dulles as a professor at Catholic U. in Washington D.C. Fr. Nick.

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Fathers’ Day Those of you who saw the Mel Gibson blockbuster movie ‘Apocalypto’ some years ago saw a movie that showed the end of one of the most sophisticated civilizations before the arrival of the Conquistadors and missionaries in the ‘New World’, the Maya civilization. There are no credits at the beginning of the movie, just an opening quote, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it is destroyed from within.” The methods of educating the young Mayans, which were typical of most other Native American Indian tribes, were based on endurance: the more difficult – almost to the point of being inhuman – tests a child survived, the better the child would be prepared to meet the hazards and challenges of adult life. In one such rite, the youth is taken at dusk by his father to a clearing in the forest. He is told that he must spend the

night there on his own, armed only with a spear. Then the father withdraws. When the child comes out of the forest he will no longer be the child he was.

What a daunting challenge the youth faces. There is the impenetrable, haunting darkness. There are the innumerable eerie sounds, the most harmless of which assume a menacing tone. There is that eerie feeling that some animal is lurking nearby, waiting to pounce, and a feeling which causes a cold sweat to break out all over his body. If only he had a friend by his side, how different things would be. But he is on his own. Time goes by ever so slowly. Every minute is like an hour. But somehow the night passes, and finally the dawn begins to brighten the sky. As the shadows retreat, the youth’s fears evaporate, and he begins to breathe again. Then from the dense forest a human figure emerges. It is his father.

The youth runs to his father, throws himself into his arms, and exclaims, “Oh, thank God you’ve come!” Then it is the father’s turn to embrace his son. As he does so he says, ‘Son, I’m proud of you. You conducted yourself like a true adult.’ What the youth did not know was that the father had been sitting close all night long, keeping an eye on him. Everybody who wishes to grow up has to face the ‘dark forest’ in some shape or form. Isn’t that what Simon and Garfunkel sing about in their biggest ‘hit’, ‘The Sounds of Silence’ – ‘hello darkness my old friend, I come to visit you again…’ Oftentimes, the life into which our young people are thrust is a very confusing world symbolized by the ‘dark forest’ - in the movie ‘Apocalypto’ - or by ‘darkness’ - in ‘The Sounds of Silence’. How do we prepare young people today for the confusing world into which they will enter as young adults? By doing nothing! By letting them just drift! By letting them ‘experiment’ with every ‘in-thing’ that comes down the pike!

Where are the fathers – and mothers – to take them to the ‘forest’ today for some kind of formation to prepare them for the confusing world into which they will enter? Jesus, in the Gospels, talks about the kind of training and formation that God gives us. We are trained in a school of ‘discipline’ – a word which comes from the same root as ‘disciple’. Here is what the teacher Jesus tells us: “If you wish to be my disciple, you must deny your very self, take up your cross and follow me.” An over-indulgent culture is deaf to this message – and even more, to the formation to which it leads. If you are tired on Sunday mornings, ‘Just stay in bed’ or ‘Go to the beach to relax.’ We have forgotten the prophetic words of Van Gogh: ‘One must bear hardship in order to ripen.’ Our children are drowning in information: they are famine stricken with formation. You don’t just hand a training manual to a prospective flight-pilot. He/she must go through intense formation before you let them fly an F-16 jet.

As Jesus informed and formed his disciples so fathers are reminded on this Fathers’ Day to inform and form their children. Fathers are the sculptors called to “form” their children in the vision and values of Jesus, which will give purpose and meaning to their lives. Happy Fathers’ Day.

Page 4 Our Lady of Grace

Vatican Presents Holy See’s 1st Document on Sport

‘To Give the Best of Oneself. On the Christian Perspective of Sport and of the Human Person’

JUNE 01, 2018 15:42 — DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOV — CULTURE & SOCIETY

Today, June 1, 2018 the Dicastery for the Lai ty , the Family and Life publ ished a new document ent i t led “To Give the Best of Oneself . On the Chris t ian Perspect ive of Sport and of the Human Person.” This marks the f i rs t document of the Holy See on sport .

The document is divided into f ive chapters: Chapter 1: the rela t ionship between the Church and sport ; Chapters 2 & 3: a descr ipt ion of the sport ing phenomenon with a c lose look at the human person; Chapter 4: some of today’s chal lenges that sport must face; Chapter 5: the Church and the pastoral approach to sport .

In a press conference at the Holy See Press Off ice this morning, Cardinal Kevin Farrel l , Prefect of the Dicastery; researcher Antonel la Stel i tano, member of the I ta l ian Society of the History of Spor t (Societa I tal iana di Storia del lo Sport) ; Jesui t Father Patr ick Kel ly , Professor of Theology at Seat t le Univers i ty (U.S.A.) and Sant iago Perez de Camino, in charge of the Dicastery’s “Church and Sport” Off ice , presented the text .

T h e d o c u m e n t , C a r d i n a l F a r r e l l e x p l a i n e d , s t e m m e d f r o m a p r o j e c t a l r e a d y u n d e r t a k e n b y t h e t h e n P o n t i f i c a l C o u n c i l f o r t h e L a i t y , t o w h i c h S a i n t J o h n

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time Page 5

P a u l I I had entrusted the task of being a point of reference for sport ing associat ions a t in ternat ional and nat ional level , and of inspir ing in the local Churches a renewed awareness of the pastoral care of sport ing environments .

The document , the Prefect explained, does not c la im to respond to a l l the quest ions and chal lenges that the world of sport poses today, but ra ther seeks to “recount” the re la t ionship between sport and the experience of fa i th , and to offer a Chris t ian vis ion of sport ing pract ice .

“Giving the best of yourself” is without doubt ,” said Cardinal Farrel l , “an expression that can be appl ied both in the f ie ld of sport and in that of fa i th .”

“On the one hand, in fact , i t recal ls the effor t , the sacr i f ice that a sportsperson must take on as a constant in his or her l i fe to obtain a victory or s imply to arr ive at the goal . But a lso in the area of fa i th ,” he noted, “we are cal led upon to give the best of ourselves to arr ive at hol iness , which as the Pope has shown in Gaudete e t exsul tate , i s a universal cal l , addressed to a l l , including sportspeople .”

I t i s not by chance that the Holy Father , in the message that accompanies this Document , the Cardinal said , wri tes that “sports can be an inst rument of encounter , formation, mission, and sanct i f icat ion”.

“I t i s not a text for scholars or researches, but ra ther a ref lect ion on the s ta te of sport today, accompanied by indicat ions and suggest ions that may undoubtedly be useful not only for the Episcopal Conferences and the dioceses to develop a pastoral approach to spor t , but a lso to amateur c lubs and associat ions, and individual a thletes , for ref lect ing on Chris t ian l i fe and on the way of pract ic ing sport .”

According to a Holy See Press Off ice s ta tement regarding the document , numerous lay col laborators took par t in the document’s redact ion, among others I ta l ian Daniele Pasquini , President of the CDI Rome (sports center) ; Dries Vanysacker , Professor Theology at the KU Leuven Universi ty a t Louvain (Belgium); Alexandre Borges de Magalhaes, General Coordinator of the Chris t ian Life movement of Peru and Manoj Sunny, former Olympic athlete in India and Founder of the “Jesus Youth” Movement .

The Document: ht tps: / /zeni t .org/ar t ic les/giving-the-best-of-yourself- the-vat icans-new-document-on-sport /

Pope’s Let ter to Cardinal Farrel l : h t tps: / /zeni t .org/ar t ic les /popes- le t ter- to-cardinal-farrel l -on-new-document-on-sport /

‘Sports Can Open the Way to Chris t , ’ Says Pope Francis : h t tps: / /zeni t .org/ar t ic les /sports-can-open-the-way-to-chris t -says-pope-

Page 6 Our Lady of Grace

MASS INTENTIONS

SATURDAY JUNE 16 4:00 pm + Joseph Lopykinski by M/M

Raymond Munday. 7:00 pm + Anastacio Pagan by Teresa Torres.

+ Tito Batista by Tata Batista SUNDAY JUNE 17 8:00 am + Teri Heiring by Jerry Heiring. 10:30 am Mary Powell by Alan Powell August Camantro by Arline McGann. MONDAY JUNE 18 8:00 am + William Gentry by Erika Munoz. TUESDAY JUNE 19 8:00 am +Efrain Cosillo by his family WEDNESDAY JUNE 20 8:00 am + Thomas Gildea by Gary,Fran &

Steve Gildea THURSDAY JUNE 21 8:00 am + Susan Raccine by Mom & Dad. Special Int for Harold & Jan Raccine (60th Anniversary) FRIDAY JUNE 22 8:00 am + William Manint by Jan & Marsha

Durrua SATURDAY JUNE 23 4:00 pm + George Voelker by Diann Voelker. 7:00 pm + Souls in Purgatory by The Chavez

Family. SUNDAY JUNE 24 8:00 am + Rosella Tederous & Rosalie

Kingsley by M/M Nelson Tederous. 10:30 am + John Kennard, Jr by Bill & Kareen

Simmons. + Texin Vellapally by Salve

Philomina.

FOR THE SICK OF THE PARISH Claudette Laverriere Gregory Syfert Patty Meegan Eleanor Whetstine Jade Jackson Gerald Martin Glenna Thompson John Minadeo Lise Sevigny Bruno Litwinski Patricia Martin J.R. Lejeune Andres Clavijo Melvin Kloehn Gerald Ott And for those who care for the sick, for the deceased member’s and benefactors of the parish, and for our loved ones.

MONTH 3 - Developing Baby "I can suck my thumb!" Spiritual Adoption Program Your spiritually adopted baby is quite active in the womb now--although his

mother won't feel him for another couple of months. If his mother's womb had a window, you could watch your spiritually adopted baby squint, swallow, and move his tongue. He can make a tight fist if you touch his palm. He is breathing amniotic fluid which continues until birth, although he obtains the oxygen his body needs through the umbilical cord. The baby you are praying for weighs one ounce. Early this month--at just nine weeks--he began to suck his thumb. Psalm 139:14-16 "I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know. My bones are not hidden from you. When I was being made in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me unformed; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be." FLAGS FOR THE CHURCH If anyone has a flag that they would like to donate to the church for the flag pole out in front of the church please call the parish office.453-4757.

Staff & Ministries

Administrative Assistant

Betty Heiring betty.heiring@ologap.org

Religious Education

Judy Nugent Angie Heiring

angie.heiring@ologap.org (863) 453-7537

Music

Gene Ryan mee@generyan.com

Associate Youth

Director Angie Heiring

(863) 453-7537

Prayer Group Kevin Murphy

Women’s Guild Debbie Augusta -

President (863) 385-8872

Respect Life

Dick & Marie Carlson (863) 471-2134

Parish Council

President

Judy Pounds

Vice President Piedad Sarmiento-

Noriega

Secretary Judy Nugent

Members

Debbie Augusta Maureen Cool

Darlyne Devany John Paul Heston

Jim McGann Karen Hecker Tina Starling

Teresa Torres John Wolbert

Follower – Poem by Seamus Heaney

In the poem, the Nobel Poet, Seamus Heaney, the oldest of 9 children, speaks of his admiration for his father as a child and how he identified with the virile trait of the father embodied in his command of the plough and in his ploughing of the field. As a child the poet indicates that he wanted to be just like his father and learn to plough like him. But by the end of the poem we realize that this identification with this trait of the father has supported him in another way, and has been transformed into his wish to be a writer. At the end of the poem the son has become a successful writer. It is he who is now the expert at his craft. But he is still troubled by his relation to his father who stumbles after him. How? Perhaps it is simply because, preoccupied with his relation to his father, the poet has written a poem about him and so sees him stumbling in the furrows left by his pen as he ploughs the page and with it the field of poetry. Thus while the son followed in the wake of the father's plough at the beginning of the poem, at the end this role is reversed - the son not able to leave the father behind because it is the trait of the father's ploughing that supports his own craft. The two remain bound together in the metaphor of the pen-plough. How ‘connected’ are fathers and children?

Follower My father worked with a horse-plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horse strained at his clicking tongue. An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright steel-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a single pluck Of reins, the sweating team turned round And back into the land. His eye Narrowed and angled at the ground, Mapping the furrow exactly. To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was follow In his broad shadow round the farm. I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away