 Therese Wilson Favors, director of the Office of African-American Catholic Ministries, is fond of quoting an African proverb that says: when you pray, move your feet. Prayer is not navel gazing or wishful thinking. It is a conversation with consequences. As we speak to God from the heart and listen to him in our heart, we are moved to put our faith into action. The Epistle of St. James states: just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Or, as we sometimes like to say: it’s not enough to talk the talk; you also have to walk the walk.
A famous prayer attributed to St. Thomas More says: give us the grace, Lord, to work for what we pray for. To put it another way, we must work as if everything depends on us and pray as if everything depends on God. The spiritual writer, Jay Cormier, in a recent Lenten meditation, told this story: A little girl was telling her father about how some of the boys in the neighborhood had set traps to catch birds. He asked her what she did about it. “I prayed that the traps might not catch the birds,” she said. “Anything else?” “When the boys weren’t looking I went and kicked all the traps to pieces.”
(“Not By Bread Alone,” Liturgical Press, 2009.) Sometimes we approach prayer as if we had to wring favors from an unwilling God. The truth is that God knows our needs better than we do. In prayer we express our heart’s desires, and if we listen well we come to know God desires for us, and we make his will our will. The girl in this story understood that prayer isn’t a matter of asking God to do our will, but a matter of coming to know God’s will and finding the grace to act on it -Fr. Peter PIANO CONCERT TODAY Michael Berkovsky, world renowned concert pianist, will conduct a concert at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church, 2638 East Baltimore Street, this afternoon at 3:00. Mr. Berkovsky was born in the Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel. He holds multiple degrees from the Julliard School in New York and is a doctoral candidate at the Peabody Conservatory. His program includes Tempest Sonata Op 31 No 2 by Beethoven and works by Schubert, List and Gershwin. The suggested donation for today’s concert is $10 per person or $20 per family. FAMILY, FRIENDS AND GRADUATES Our annual Family and Friends Day celebration will take place on Sunday, May 16, with Mass at 10:00, followed by complimentary luncheon in the lyceum.
We will be honoring our 2010 graduates on this occasion, and we ask your cooperation in listing those graduates from any level of schooling on the forms in the back of the church. CRAB FEAST Our annual Crab Feast for the benefit of the Lucielle Fitzgerald Outreach Center will be held on Saturday, July 24, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at Columbus Gardens. Tickets are $50 each or $450 for a table of ten. Tickets are available now in the church office and the outreach center. INVESTMENT CLUB WINNERS
Week 7
$100-Naomi Bennett #1124 Seller: church
$25-Vicki Goldbeck #806 Seller: self
$25-Charles Slechta #369 Seller: self A WORD OF THANKS
Praise be to God. I would like to express my thanks to my church family and the choir for all of the heartfelt congratulations and well wishes on my 90th birthday. God bless you. -Vicki Goldbeck FOR MOTHERS WHO GRIEVE
Johns Hopkins Hospital is presenting a Pre-Mother’s Day Luncheon for mothers who have lost children to violence, Saturday, May 8, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Turner Concourse, Rutland and Monument Street. Annette March-Grier will speak on the topic, “How Long Do We Grieve?” Admission is free. RSVP by May 1 to Millie Brown 443-760-8453 or Sandy Johnson 443-287-7099. 
| DEATH OF ARCHBISHOP BORDERS
On this Good Shepherd Sunday we lift up our prayers on behalf of Archbishop William Borders, who was the chief shepherd of the Archdiocese of Baltimore from 1974 to 1989 and who endeared himself to the Catholic community and to all the people of our region. Archbishop Borders died on April 19 and was laid to rest in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on April 23. GATHERING OF YOUNG ADULTS
This Friday evening, April 30, we are inviting all our young adults to a Listening Session in the lyceum from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. We want to hear from our young members (18-35) and learn how the church can better serve them in this important stage of their life’s journey. We urge our older adults to pass on this invitation to their family members and neighbors. Use the blue flyers in the back of the church to help us spread the word. Refreshments will be served and child care will be provided. GUN TURN-IN
We will host a Gun Turn-In at the rectory on Saturday, May 1, from 1:00 am to 2:00 pm. There will be a cash reward for each workable gun turned in: $100 for rifles, automatic and semi-automatic guns; $50 for all other guns. All transactions are anonymous and weapons will be turned over to the police to be destroyed. Please use the flyers to help us get the word out. |
MASS INTENTIONS | Sun, Apr 25 8:30 | Henry & Philipine Heine | 11:15 am | For the Parishioners | Mon, Apr 26 8 am | Bobbi Ann Miller | | Tue, Apr 27 | | | Wed, Apr 28 8 am | | Thur, Apr 29 7: am | Josephine & Charles Brockmeyer
Gift of Hope Convent | | Fri, Apr 30 | Sr. Elizabeth | | Fri, May 1 | |
READINGS FOR NEXT SUNDAY | 1st Reading | Acts 14: 21-27 | | 2nd Reading | Revelation 21:1-5 | | Gospel | John 13:31-35 |
PRAYER REQUESTS Please pray for the repose of the souls of several former parishioners who died recently: Mary Hodek was buried from St. Wenceslaus on April 20; Mary Williams’ funeral was held at St. Wenceslaus on April 24 and Geraldine Deitor Croghan whose death was reported to us last week. ROSARY DURING MAY  During the month of May we will pray the rosary 15 minutes before each Mass. We invite you to come early and join in prayer for the many needs of our church and our world.
PASTORAL PLAN FOLLOW-UP The Pastoral Council has been active in sifting through the many suggestions and offers of volunteer help for implementing the four goals of our Pastoral Plan. Because of the volume of material it is taking some time, but we haven’t forgotten about those who volunteered to work on one or another project. The Young Adult meeting on April 30 is a step toward implementing that goal. We will also be surveying parishioners about summer activities for children and families. Keep your calendar open for a neighborhood “Faithlift” walk on May 22 to meet and greet our new neighbors. And several proposals are surfacing for some adult education projects to follow up on Why Catholic? Those who volunteered your services: keep your phone turned on! |
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