St. John Neumann Church 157 Middleboro Road / P.O. Box 718 East Freetown, MA 02717

www.sjnfreetown.org 508-763-2240 (phone) 508-763-3040 (Fax)

Rev. Gregory A. Mathias, Pastor Rev. Msgr. John J. Smith, (Assistant in Retirement)

WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE

Sunday: 8:00, 9:30, 11:00A.M.

Saturday Vigil: 5:00 P.M.

DAILY MASS SCHEDULE

Monday – Thursday: 7:30 A.M.

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday: 4:00 – 4:30 P.M.

or by appointment

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

Mary, Mother of All Nations Chapel

Weekdays: 8:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M.

Mondays (except civil holidays)

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

PARISH OFFFICE / RECTORY 508-763-2240 YOUTH MINISTRY OFFICE

contact@sjnfreetown.org NEUMANN HALL

sjnyouthministry@sjnfreetown.org

Monday – Friday: 8:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. (Closed holidays) Lisa Johnson Youth Ministry

Mrs. Diane Whelan Parish Secretary JoAnn Violette Jr. Youth Ministry

OFFICE OF FAITH FORMATION 508-763-8122 MUSIC MINISTRY NEUMANN HALL sjnreled@sjnfreetown.org Ms. Linda Johnston Director

Mr. Philip Pereira Organist

Mrs. Suzanne Medeiros Director

Mrs. Anna Manny Coordinator for Confirmation MAINTENANCE AND FACILITIES

Raymond Bedard

SACRAMENTS AND CHURCH PROGRAMS PARISH ORGANIZATIONS AND MINISTRIES

Please go the parish website www.sjnfreetown.org or contact the office for more complete information.

BAPTISM: Celebrated Sunday after 11:00 Mass. WOMEN’S GUILD: 1st Mondays

Mass on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. Baptism ST. VINCENT de PAUL: 1st Wednesdays

Catechesis is required of all parents YOUTH MINISTRY: see website for events and times.

MARRIAGE: Please contact the pastor at least 8 months Junior (Gr. 6 – 8): Every Tuesday

prior to the intended date and prior to other plans. Senior (Gr. 9 – 12) Every Monday

MINISTRY TO THE SICK: Please notify us if a homebound COUPLES’ CLUB: Once a Month

or hospitalized family member would like a visit. ADULT CHOIR: Rehearsal on Thursdays 7:00 P.M.

PRAYER LINE: Call the rectory to include your intention. PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY: 1st Saturday

RCIA: We welcome adults who wish to complete their initiation TROOP 333: Every Saturday

into the Catholic Church. Please contact the office.

Welcome to St. John Neumann Parish. Thank You for joining us in worship today. We hope you will join us on

the spiritual journey, in ministry to all God’s people. Please contact the parish office.

Click on the QRC to connect to the parish website.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 13, 2013

October 12: Vigil: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

5:00PM – Eleanor Dupont by Armand & family

October 13: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

8:00AM – Brigadier General, Albert Gramm

by Al & Alberta Sequira

9:30AM – People of the Parish

11:00AM – James Lopes by Regina Lopes

October 14: Weekday, Saint Callistus I, Pope & Martyr

7:30AM – Moreau Family by family

October 15: Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor

of the Church

7:30AM – Eva Oliveira by family

October 16: Weekday, Saint Hedwig, Religious, Saint

Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin

7:30AM – Jacqueline Mathieu by Doris

October 17: Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr

7:30AM – Philomena Arruda

October 19: Vigil: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

5:00PM – Mary S. Kelley by family

October 20: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

8:00AM – Ernest Letendre—9th Ann. by family

9:30AM – People of the Parish

11:00AM – Joseph & Mary Lopes by Regina Lopes

Your Offertory Trust Thank you for your Parish Support through your

Offertory Trust.

BUDGET: $ 5346.00

MAINENANCE: $ 1944.00

Thanking you for your generosity.

Stop in Neumann Hall after the 8:00AM and 9:30AM Mass and enjoy Coffee & Donuts!!

St. John Neumann Catholic Parish

Scratch Tickets Wanted!

The Women’s Guild would appreciate any donation of

scratch tickets for a raffle at our Christmas Bazaar. All

you need to do is drop the scratch tickets into the collec-

tion basket or mail it to the rectory before the end of Oc-

tober. Then on November 2nd, you can come to the

Christmas Bazaar and take a chance on a basket full of

scratch tickets.

Following the Call of Christ

What makes one’s life successful? Money? Power?

Popularity? Happiness? Most philosophies of the well

-lived life are based on having something. But the

Christian perspective is that it is better to be some-

thing. The goal of the Christian life is to grow in lov-

ing relationship to Christ, becoming more like Him

through the immersion of our entire selves in His

Church, the Body of Christ. But our transformation in

Christ will not occur until we recognize Him as our

ultimate concern.

Join us starting on October 15th

Tuesday Evenings for 6 weeks

At 7pm

Neumann Hall

Mark your calendar …….Starts this Tuesday evening

www.mysticalventures.org

Are you closer to Jesus this year than you were last year?

Why not prepare for Sundays readings by reading the “Psalms in the Lectionary” col-

umn each week?

MV can be new tool to deepen your relation-

ship!

Pick a time and day each week to explore your inner self, and nature,

and learn more about our Catholic faith.

COME AND GROW WITH US!!

The Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Nurses

invites anyone that is interested to come to a

presentation titled: CANCER TREATMENT AND CARE

UPDATES. A comprehensive update in Diagnosis and

Treatment of Cancer. It will be held at White’s of

Westport on Saturday, October 19th from 8:30 am

to 3:00pm. Deadline for registering is October 12th.

Morning refreshments and lunch are provided and

the presentation fee is $45.00. Five Nursing Contact

Hours will be awarded for this program. Fore regis-

tration information, contact Betty at 508-678-2373.

Twelve Songs For Christmas

The SJN Choir will be joyously offering

a Christmas Concert on Sunday,

December 8, 2013 at 3:00 p.m.

We are recruiting members for this event to join us

in celebration during the season of Advent as we

await the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

So if you can sing (and we know there’s a lot of

you out there) and can give a commitment of

time for practice on Thursdays from 7:00 – 8:30 at

night, we would love to have you.

You can simply let Linda Johnston, SJN Music Minis-

try Director or any one in the choir know of your

interest.

We look forward to your wonderful response!!

The next meeting of the SJN Book Club

will take place on Monday, October 21st at 7:00pm

in the church library.

We will be discussing Tony Dungy’s memoir Quiet

Strength. $10.00

Tony Dungy is an unapologetic man of faith with a

Superbowl Ring and a compelling set of "principles,

practices, and priorities that have kept him on track

despite overwhelming obstacles, including firings,

stereotypings, and the tragic loss of a child."

St. Mary’s Education Fund

Fall Scholarship Dinner

The Nineteenth Annual St. Mary’s Educa-

tion Fund Fall Scholarship Dinner will be

held at White’s of Westport on Wednesday

evening, October 30th. The guest speaker

for the evening will be Jeff Kinney, award-

winning author of the Diary of a Wimpy

Kid series.

The proceeds of the Annual dinner assist the Diocese in

meeting the ever-increasing demand for “need-based”

scholarships (approximately 650 given out this year

alone) for students wishing to attend one of the 19 Cath-

olic elementary and middle schools in the Diocese.

The General Chairperson of the Dinner is Mr. Paul M. Le-

nahan, Executive Vice President of Bristol County Savings

Bank. The greater New Bedford Area committee is co-

chaired by Mr. James Kalife of Fairhaven Lumber and Mr.

Carl W. Taber of BayCoast Bank assisted by Ms. Paula A.

Freitas of BayCoast Bank, Ms. Lynn A. Motta of BankFive,

Mr. Michael Reis of Larry’s Equipment, Ms. Kathleen

Rhodes of BayCoast Bank, and Ms. Sandra Sevigney of

Plimoth Investment Advisors.

If you are interested in sponsoring, attending, or advertis-

ing at this event, or wish to make a donation to the Fund,

or want more information, please contact one of the vol-

unteers listed above or call the Diocesan Office of Devel-

opment at (508) 675-1311.

Coat & Sweater Drive

Sponsored by Confirmation I Candidates

To Benefit

Marie’s Place

Saturday October 19, 2013

&

Sunday October 20, 2013

Confirmation I candidates will be collecting new and gently use coats

& sweaters in the Narthex before and after all masses.

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CYO Basketball Get in the Game !!!!

It is that time of year for the CYO Basketball League to get underway. If you are interested in registering a

child to play in any of the divisions below please me. Please be advised that we are in need of coaches for

the 2013-2014 season, if you are interested in coaching a CYO team please let Kevin know when you call:

Girls A Division Grades 7 - 8

Girls C Division Grades 4 - 6

Boys A Division Grades 7- 8

Boys C Division Grades 4 -6

Coach Kevin Richard - 774-285-3158

Parish Prayer Line – We have a Prayer line in our par-

ish. If you are interested in sharing your faith through

prayer for the sick of our parish and for other intentions

please call Rachel Constant 508-995-4269. Thank You!! Need Assistance ??

Are you a parishioner in need of assistance?

If so please contact the Saint Vincent DePaul Society by

calling the rectory at 508-763-2240.

TRIP TO MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ICONS

203 Union St., Clinton, MA

October 26, 2013

Cost: $4.00

If you are interested, please call 508-763-4540 by Oc-

tober 14th to make arrangements to join other SJN

parishioners.

We will be car-pooling from the church parking lot at

8:30 am.

HOLY FAMILY HOLY NAME SCHOOL

presents

MURDER AT THE TONYLOU AWARDS

A Murder Mystery Comedy Dinner

by Tony Schwartz & Marylou Ambrose

Friday • November 1 • 6:00 PM Saturday • November 2 • 6:00 PM

General Admission $20.00 Call us at 508-993-3547 for ticket information

Our Lady of Lourdes School in

Taunton, MA

Fall Open House Tuesday, October

29 from 6-7:30PM. Our Lady of

Lourdes School offering 50 years of tradition in

academic excellence. Open Enrollment for Full

Day Pre-K to Grade 5.

Learn more at www.ololtaunton.com or

www.facebook.com/ololtaunton .

Encourage community and

show your support for the

Women’s Guild upcoming

Christmas Bazaar

Saturday, November 2nd 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Neumann Hall

Faith Formation Ministry Convention will be held

on November 16th, 2013 at the Resort & Confer-

ence Center in Hyannis.

All are invited to attend.

For more information including list of speakers and

times and/or to register for the convention, please

call Sue Medeiros at the Faith Formation Office 508-

Coyle and Cassidy High School will be having it's annual OPEN HOUSE, Sunday, November 3rd

from noon-2:30pm.

All are welcome to stop by and see what innovat-ed and exciting things are happening. Meet with faculty, learn about our ipad initiative and have your questions about financial aid answered.

Exorcising the Consumer Mentality

“Exorcism” . . . the word simply means “to cast out.”

For example, at a Baptism we pray that the effects of

Original Sin be cast out of an infant by the grace of Bap-

tism and we have the certainty of faith that it will be so.

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of “chairing” a

meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council which advises

the Bishop on pastoral matters from the point of view of

the laity. Our discussion centered on a new book getting

a lot of attention called “Rebuilt.” It is an account of one

pastor’s attempt at reforming his approach to leading a

parish by “exorcising” the consumer mentality which

had taken hold and cultivating a more Christian and,

hence, more challenging mentality of discipleship.

What does he mean by “consumer mentality?” In es-

sence, he found that he and his staff and the usual group

of generous volunteers where offering all sorts of pro-

grams, opportunities and events in hopes of creating a

truly vital parish community. Over time, what they

found was that they were exhausting themselves and

not realizing the desired effect. People were not really

becoming committed disciples as much as “consumers,”

of goods and services. The author expresses the prob-

lem as follows:

“Consumer culture erodes the sustainability of church

communities because it allows the congregant to as-

sume the posture of shallow commitment and the atti-

tude of ceaseless demands . . . The consumer Christian

is one who utilizes the grace of God for forgiveness and

the services of the Church for special occasions, but does

not give his or her life and innermost thoughts, feelings

and intentions over to the Kingdom of the Heaven. Such

Christians are not inwardly transformed and not com-

mitted to it, (quoting author Dallas Willard).

How do we see such consumer attitudes in our own local

church culture of Southeastern Massachusetts? One ex-

ample that is clear to me is the way in which we have

pandered to the local reluctance to make real time for

worshipping God. Most of our Churches have had Mass

on the hour every hour which, in turn, created a “get

them in, get them out” dynamic which seemed to con-

vey they idea that “this is not all that important.” More-

over, people came to expect Masses to be no longer

than 45 minutes and they felt truly blessed if they could

find a priest to whip through the liturgy in 20 minutes.

And, God forbid that anybody would have to travel more

than 30 minutes to get to Church!

Other examples are encountered with regularity: Peo-

ple steadfastly refuse to push-in from the end of the

pew to allow others to sit. There have been people who

have identified a particular place and a particular pew as

their own possession; like a seat purchased at the ball

park or a theater. And young families are routinely brow

-beaten because of their crying babies and restless chil-

dren. Equally bad is the brow beating the Christmas-

only people get when they show up in droves on Christ-

mas Eve, “Where are they the rest of the year! They took

my seat!”

These are side-effects of the “consumer mentality:” It

becomes “all about me,” . . . my church, my pew, my

experience, my salvation: And, tragically, it isn’t very

“evangelical” in its outlook. In the words of the author,

it turns a parish into “churchworld” . . . an exclusive

club which is not particularly interested in “the lost.”

There is much to ponder here in an age wherein we

wonder why so few are in Church on Sunday. I hope

that, through diocesan and parish pastoral councils we

can exorcise the scourge of the consumer mentality.