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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Karl Albrecht, Lisa B., Caroline Bachert, Frances Baio, Dolores Barbieri, Cathe-rine Capato, Sally Capoziello, Marge D’Auria, Baby Christopher Brian Demmerle, Domenica DeVito, Virginia DiGangi, Francesca Gaudino, Ian Geno-

vese-Williams, Joseph Gentile, John Joseph Gleeson, John Pierce Gleeson, Christine Healy, Aurea Hernan-dez, Maria Hernandez, Rosemary Hogan, Elizabeth Isolano, Keri & Baby Tristan, Amelia Kalb, Pam Kar-wan, John Killcommons, Baby T.J. Krieg, Kathleen Krieg, Klavdia Krieg, Anthony Lamantia, Thomas & Patricia Lipari, William J. Litt, Joseph Lumetta, Ralph Maresco, Mary Mastrangelo, Camillo Mazella, Rose-mary Menechella, John Myers, Salvatore Noto, Angela Ottomanelli-Hubbs, Joe Palagonia, Michael Palermo, Doris & Carlo Pecchillo, Joseph Questore, Kathleen Rammelkamp, Mary Romano, Jake Rothman, Anthony Russo, Felice Scimeca, Rosemarie Secreti, Fred Sepulveda, Rosalia Sindone, Dolores Stone, Michael Tamburo, Chrissie Tremblay, Paul Tremblay, Paul John Tremblay, Ann Marie Vayda, Sr. Joanne Walters, Eliza-beth Weimer, Brittany Zaita.

Deceased: Joseph Accardi, Patricia Caroleo, Anna Langan, Joseph Lumetta, Petrina Migliori, Christine Piotrowski, Catherine Sullivan, Maria Tavella

T h i s We e k ' s M a s s I n t e n t i o n s

Sunday, January 24, 2016 8:00AM Dorothy Maer (Krowicki Family) 9:30AM Helen Meshak (Longo Family) 11:00AM Concetta Nicosia (Rachele Sannino) 12:30PM Iolanda Natale (Christina Maiorana) 5:00PM For The Parishioners

Monday, January 25, 2016

9:00AM Domenico Romano (Daughter Nina & Family) Tuesday, January 26, 2016 Sts. Timothy & Titus 9:00AM Paul Anthony Bono (Mom & Dad)

Wednesday, January 27, 2016 St. Angela Merici 9:00AM Mary Leccese (Jo-Ann & Phyllis Leccese)

Thursday, January 28, 2016 St. Thomas Aquinas 9:00AM Ann D’Auria (Fred & Jenny DeMarie) Friday, January 29, 2016 9:00AM Gerald Braganza (Loving Family)

Saturday, January 30, 2016 9:00AM John & Rita Spano (Loving Family) Antonino Chiarenza (Marina Coraci) Michael & Winifred Butler (Mary Corrigan) 5:00PM Gabriel D’Auria, Guy Muoio, Giuseppe Musso, Maria Tavella, Luigi Trinchese

Sunday, January 31, 2016 8:00AM Grace Cusimano (Vita & Paul) 9:30AM Margaret Carinci (Rachele Sannino) 11:00AM Yusef Borowski (Loving Family) 12:30PM Jeanine Powell (Sonia & Teddy Heller) 5:00PM For The Parishioners

GOOD SHEPHERD STATUE We would like to thank Jeri For-manek, who kept the statue this past week. Anyone interested in keeping the statue in their home and praying for vocations for one week should contact the Rectory.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is prayed every Friday at 8:40AM.

——————————————— The Family Rosary is prayed every Thursday evening from 7:00-7:30PM in the Church.

———————————————- The Holy Rosary is prayed every morning (except Sun-day) beginning at 8:15AM. All parishioners are welcome to join in this beautiful devotion to our Blessed Mother.

———————————————- The Rosary for Peace is prayed on Wednesdays at 7:00PM in the Church.

F A M I LY M A S S

The last Sunday of every month at 9:30AM

Families with young children are encour-aged to sit in the reserved pews in the front of the church.

The homily will be geared towards children.

The Children’s Choir will lead the congrega-tion in sacred music.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Altar Bread for this week is donated in memory of Ines Robles, requested by her loving family. The Altar Wine for this week is donated in memory of Albert Stewart, requested by The Perez Family.

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Policies Regarding Infant Baptism at St. Helen Parish

Parents seeking Baptism for their children who live within the territory of St. Helen Par-ish are asked to register as members of the parish before requesting an initial interview for

Baptism. Registration is easily done at the parish office anytime during business hours. Parents seeking Baptism for their children who live outside the territory of St. Helen Parish are asked to obtain a letter from the parish in which they live authorizing the Baptism to take place at St. Hel-en. Initial meetings with parents seeking Baptism for their children will normally take place on the second Wednesday of each month from 7:00–9:00PM and on the fourth Saturday of each month from 10:30AM–12:30PM.

FEBRUARY—APRIL 2016

Mornings of Preparation-Required Before a Baptism: (All begin at the 11:00AM Mass and continue in the Msgr. McGinness Room)

February 7 & 21 — March 13 — April 10 & 24

Schedule for Baptisms: (All begin at 2:00PM)

February 7 & 21 — March 13 — April 10 & 24

Please call 718-738-1616 for more information and/or to schedule an appointment.

Howard Beach Senior Center

The Howard Beach Senior Center, located across from Stop & Shop on Crossbay Blvd., invites seniors aged 60 and older to become members. Activities and ser-vices are offered Monday-Friday from 9:00AM to 4:00PM. Daily delicious and nu-tritional hot lunches, as well as educational and recreational activities, case as-sistance, entitlement counseling and advocacy are also available. The Center also offers health promotional classes such as stay-well fitness, chair aerobics, yoga, and Tai Chi. Dances are held weekly, as well as card games, Wii bowling and, of course, Bingo.

On Tuesday, January 26th at 10:30AM, the Center will be hosting a seminar, given by Hu-mana Healthcare, on Diabetes. The talk will center on moving toward control of your food intake and your lifestyle.

On Fridays, from 10AM to 11:30AM, the Center introduces a new craft class conducted by a qualified craft teacher. Every week a new project will be started and completed. All ma-terials will be supplied.

For further information please call the Center at 718-738-8100.

Congratulations to the following Lucky Calendar Winners for the period of December 22-31, 2015:

12/22: #—044: No Winner $ 20.00 12/23: #—232: No Winner $ 20.00 12/24: #—539: No Winner $500.00 12/25: #— No Lotto Drawing 12/26: #—031: No Winner $ 25.00

12/27: #—278: No Winner $ 25.00 12/28: #—077: No Winner $ 20.00 12/29: #—696: No Winner $ 20.00 12/30: #—267: No Winner $ 20.00 12/31: #—270: No Winner $ 20.00

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Mon., Jan. 25: Acts 22:3-16; Mark 16:15-18 Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. After spending his early life persecuting Christians, Paul traveled the Mediterra-nean world spreading the Gospel, es-tablishing Christian communities and writing letters of ongoing advice and

support. Despite being arrested, beaten, imprisoned and eventually martyred, Paul tirelessly taught about faith in Jesus Christ. He phrased the important truths of Christi-anity in a way attractive to both Jews and gentiles, using imagery tailored to the intellect, culture and needs of his audiences. The Lord challenged this unlikely missionary to evangelize and build the church, and worked many miracles in and through him. May we have the courage to let the Lord use us to share the truth of the Gospel in wit-ness and word. Tues., Jan. 26: 2 Tim 1:1-8; Mark 3:31-35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sis-ter and mother. Timothy and Titus serve as models of the diversity within God’s family. They’re seemingly oppo-sites — sensitive and gentle Timothy, whose Jewish mother instructed him in the scriptures, and stern and strong-willed Titus, a convert from paganism. As St. Paul’s dearest disciples, they shared his missionary work and a familial bond through their love of Christ. Paul said Timothy was devoted to him “like a son to his fa-ther” (Phil 2:22) and called Titus “my true child in our common faith” (Titus 1:4). Paul’s pastoral letters can be seen as the heartfelt advice of an aging father passed on to his sons, to care for his family, the church. May our love of God unite us as one family in faith. Wed., Jan. 27: 2 Sam 7:4-17; Mark 4:1-20 And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. There’s more to sowing than the sower and the seed. Je-sus assures us in this case that a lack of productivity is not the fault of either. While there must be proper care and cultivation, one cannot downplay the significance of receptive soil. No matter how good the seed is, it will not thrive in unfavorable conditions. Jesus sows good seed, the word. The lack of favorable results, therefore, is due to the soil. If our hearts and minds are not open to the word, or if we allow it to be planted but don’t nurture it, it’s useless. Open my eyes, Lord, to see where I’ve cast your word aside and let it be trampled.

Thurs., Jan. 28: 2 Sam 7:18-19, 24-29; Mark 4:21-15 Memorial of Thomas Aquinas, priest, doctor of the

church For there is nothing hidden except

to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most influential theologians and philosophers of all time, showed unpar-alleled expertise in his ability to bring to light reason and divine revelation. A brilliant student, writer and speaker, he challenged others to understand the harmony of faith and reason. Over the centuries, the church repeatedly reaffirmed the importance of St. Thomas’ contribution to Christian revelation and its key role in forming religious thinkers and leaders. May we, like St. Thomas Aquinas, tirelessly seek the true and perfect source of light and the fountain of wisdom, not for our own glory but to enable others to know God. Fri., Jan. 29: 2 Sam 1:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17; Mark 4:26-34 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Jesus spoke in parables and then used additional parables to explain the original ones. The parables’ meanings only seem obvious today because we’ve heard them explained so often. We’ve studied the context, the audience and the comparisons he is making. We are also aware of the Paschal Mystery, which offers valuable perspective. At the time, Jesus pre-sented great mysteries, concepts completely new to many of those assembled. The parables utilized familiar image-ry to reveal what was then unknown. Lord, help me to be persistent when I don’t get it. Sat., Jan. 30: 2 Sam 12:1-7a, 10-17; Mark 4:35-41 Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. As Jesus sleeps during a violent squall, the disciples panic. They fear he’s ignoring their unease. When they awaken him, he quiets the sea, but not without questioning their faith. It’s odd that the disciples see Jesus’ calm demeanor as a lack of concern for their well-being. But we often react similarly. When we’re anxious or distressed, we question where Jesus is, even though we know he watches over us. We want an immediate response, but we should take comfort in his lack of urgency. That’s the surest sign that the situation isn’t as bad as it seems. Calm my fears, Lord, and help me to trust in your protection.

THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Homiletic starters and scriptural

reflection points for each day of the month