Father Marty's Page
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The Bells of Saint Patrick
Perhaps you have noticed recently that there is an eerie silence here on the "Hill." Our bells have not rung out their call to worship in over nine (9) months. The bells of Saint Patrick have been a wonderful, friendly, and a very comforting part of our Catholic identity in The City of Glen Cove for over a hundred years. You could literally set your watch by their very clear and robust pronouncements of the life of faith here on the hill. Beginning at 8 am each morning and continuing on the quarter hour until 9 pm, the bells were like an old friend welcoming you home. The bells chimed out the call to worship five minutes before each Sunday Mass and you could see the people hurrying up the hill, knowing full well that they would be on time for the Mass because the bells told them so. At 12 noon and at six (6 pm) the bells called us to stop and perhaps say a Hail Mary at the sound of the Angelus. The bells also sounded a mournful dirge as the funeral procession approached the church, declaring to all who could hear that this soul has gone to be with the Lord. Alas the bell tower was hit by lightening, which quite literally fried all the wiring that controls the mechanism which operates the bells. The company which sold the "Carillon" to St. Patrick’s many years ago and which serviced the bells faithfully cannot obtain the parts necessary to repair the system as it is too old and the parts are just not available. I come to you, the faithful parishioners of St. Patrick’s to once again enlist your aid. We would like to establish a "memorial fund" so that we can obtain the funds necessary to purchase a new control system to operate the four magnificent sentinels of our call to worship. Also there is the clock which has not worked properly for a number of years and which we would like to correct. In addition to the above mentioned projects, there is the "pigeon problem" we need to erect a new screening to keep the birds out and thus prevent there waste from eating away at the delicate wiring. As you can readily see there are several projects in the "Bell Tower" that need our immediate attention. If you would like to participate in this special endeavor, please contact Fr Marty at the rectory or when you see him after mass, your help is as always greatly appreciated.
Thank you, and God’s Blessing, Fr Marty!
ADOPT-A-SPOT
With the promise of spring comes warm weather, rain, bagels (oh that’s all year long) the Yankees and of course God’s gift to us—the beautiful flowers. Here on the "Hill" we have a number of areas and spots that would benefit and look even more beautiful with the addition of some colorful flowers. What I am asking you to consider again this year is to "Adopt a Spot" and plant your favorite flowers. With so many different kinds of flowers and favorites, we can again have a beautiful display of God’s gift of beauty here on the hill. If you adopted a spot this past year or two and would like to again have the same area or spot please surprise me and plant your favorites. If you are interested in adopting a spot for the first time, please give me a call and I will get a spot for you to plant. Thank you in advance for helping to make our church home look even more beautiful.
Father Marty!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR, THE FEAST IS COMING SOON!!
The Saint Patrick Family Festival celebrates its 31st anniversary this year. Over the years the festival has been known by several different names: Family Carnival, Spring Fling, St. Patrick’s Festival, and now this year St. Patrick’s Family Festival and Feast of San Paolino. The main goals of the Feast are to bring together members of the community to enjoy good food, games, the rides, and to have fun in a family friendly environment. Again this year the Sons of San Paolino, who bring with them devotion to the patron saint of the Italian city of Nola, near Naples, and who have the tradition of dancing (or carrying) the Giglio: a 68 foot tall tower topped with the image of St. Paulinus. This will add a joyful and traditional aspect to our festival and turn it into a more traditional Feast. Our other goal is to raise the funds necessary for St. Patrick’s to continue to be a force for good in our community. We are in need of additional volunteers to help make this feast a wonderful and joyous event. If you can spare some time to help your parish please call the rectory at 676-3021 and leave your name. The festival will begin on Wednesday June 18th and run for five days until Sunday June 22nd. There will also be changes to our fabulous raffle. This year we are offering a giant June Jackpot 50/50. We will soon be sending each family in the parish two (2) books. We hope you will support the Feast by returning both of them with your donation. How can you resist the lure?....$2 a ticket, a book of 6 for $10 and the two winners each receive 1/4 of all the money we take in on the raffle! That’s right, the parish gets 50% and the winners split 50%! This past year the winner of the June Jackpot 50/50 2007 won an astounding $5347 dollars: imagine two winners splitting that grand prize and now imagine you are one of the two. YOU CAN’T WIN IT, IF YOU’RE NOT IN IT! The drawing will be on Sunday June 22nd at the close of the Feast. This year we will have live entertainment, new rides, and delicious food. Please remember that all this work and planning has one purpose, to help the parish to continue the work of the Gospel and preach the Good News. That’s what it’s all about-----doing the work of Jesus in this part of his vineyard. Mark your calendars to stop by during the feast, to meet old friends or make new ones. We’ll see you there!
Fr. Marty
***MASS IS NOT OVER UNTIL THE FINAL BLESSING!
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