St. Mary Catholic Church

The Knights of Columbus are serving a deep-fried fish meal from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 12 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) on Congress Parkway in Athens.

The cost  is $8.00 per person and 1/2 off for kids under 12.  There will be hush-puppies, slaw, french fries, two desserts, and drinks: tea and water. TAKE-OUTS ARE AVAILABLE.  There is also a cash bar at the VFW for strong drinks.

Tickets will be sold at the door and at St. Mary Church. Any Knights wishing to help need to be at the VFW at 4:00 PM to help set up.  Wives are also welcome to help out.

Bulletin / Boletín
This week’s bulletin
Boletín de esta semana

For the next three weeks I won’t be recording the gospel reading and homily. I’m working out of town and we don’t have a substitute to record the Mass. I do plan to post the bulletin each week while I’m gone.

If you have high-speed Internet access and are interested in occasionally assisting with recording, please contact me via email or call me at 413-4087. I’d love to have someone I can count on to record and upload the file when we’re out of town.

Bulletin / Boletín
This week’s bulletin
Boletín de esta semana

The McMinn County Animal Shelter located in Athens is in need of blankets or very large towels. With this cold weather they do not have enough blankets or warm towels for the animals. There are many small and medium size puppies and dogs there that need good homes, but until they are adopted they need to be kept warm.

Please contact Jo Coakley (568-2206) or the McMinn County Animal Shelter (744-9548) for additional information.

Today’s Gospel Reading (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)
Gospel reading & homily by Fr. William

Listen:

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This is a slideshow of the photos I took at the Mardi Gras party last night. If you took photos with your camera, you can email them to me and I’ll add them to the group.
Send your photos to scott@stmaryathenstn.org.

Mardi Gras photo slideshow on Flickr (the images are much larger).

You can selectively view and download photos from our Flickr library. The photos are organized in sets. Follow this link and double-click on any set and then on the photo of your choice to display a larger image. Then click the “All Sizes” button directly above the image and select the photo size you want to download. Download the image using the download link above the photo.

Happy Valentines Day! The ladies all received a carnation at Mass today. The guys didn’t get anything. Blessed are the excluded.

Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17, 20-26)
Gospel Reading & Homily by Deacon Moises

Listen:

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Bulletin / Boletín
This week’s bulletin

Boletín de esta semana

Jesus directs Simon to take his boat into deep water for a miraculous catch of fish. Simon and his partners leave all to follow Jesus. (Luke 5:1-11). Deacon Moises proclaims today’s gospel reading and gives the homily.*

Listen. click the play arrow below:

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Bulletin / Boletín
This week’s bulletin and the bulletin insert.

Boletín de esta semana y la inserción de anuncios.

*Recorded Saturday, Feb. 6.

Come and enjoy potluck dinner and dancing with your fellow parishioners.

When: Saturday, February 13th. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m.
Where: McMinn Senior Center, 215 McMinn St., Athens

There will be door prizes and a Best Costume Prize. Bring your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend for a night of dinner and dancing. Sign up sheet for Potluck Dinner & Dance is in the small table by the Mardi Gras sign. Contact for Mardi Gras is Hugh Reed, 887-6798.

FIESTA “MARDI GRAS” CARNAVAL, CENA/ BAILE, ESTILO “POT-LUCK”, PLATILLOS PARA COMPARTIR EL SÁBADO 13 DE FEBRERO.
Donde: Centro de Adultos Mayores “Senior Center “de McMinn

Tiempo: las puertas se abren a las 6:15 p.m. Cena: a las 7:00 p.m.
Habrá premios y un premio al mejor disfraz. Invite a su esposa (o), novia (o); o a su amigo (a); para una noche de cena y baile. Escriba su nombre en las hojas que están en la mesa pequeña por donde está el anuncio del Mardi Gras, para la cena estilo “Potluck” y baile. La persona a contactar para el Mardi Gras es Hugh o Connie Reed, 887-6798.

Every so often we’ll publish a “sound bite” from the homily that teaches an important lesson in just a couple of minutes. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire homily, you can listen to the sound bite!

click the play button to listen to the recording:

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In this week’s sound bite, Fr. William teaches us about God’s “pure love,” based on Paul’s teaching on love from the 2nd reading (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 [13:4-13]). The 3 minute message is taken from Sunday’s homily.

When Jesus claims his salvific mission is for all people, not just the Jews, he is expelled by the enraged members of the Nazarean synagogue. (Luke 4:21-30)

Today’s gospel reading is proclaimed by Deacon Moises and the homily is given by Fr. William.

Listen. click the play arrow below:

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Religious Education classes were canceled today due to the winter weather.

Bulletin / Boletín
This week’s bulletin and the bulletin insert.

Boletín de esta semana y la inserción de anuncios.

“For I was in prison and you visited me.” [Matt 25:36] A great way to “visit” those who are incarcerated without physically going behind the bars is to exchange letters with a prisoner in our Deanery. Inmates feel detached and marginalized. Many suffer from loneliness and boredom. A caring pen pal can make a real difference.

An easy way to become involved in the prison and jail ministry is to be willing to write an occasional letter to a Catholic inmate or to an inmate who is interested in the Catholic faith. If this ministry is something that tugs at your heart, please contact Deacon Tom McConnell, St. Jude Parish (brendaandtom@comcast.net or 596-1905/209-5485).

Today we added our parish directory to the site. Just click the “Directory” link at the top of any page to access it. Now it’s even easier to match our parishioners’ faces with their names.

Please let the parish office know if you’d like to have any of your listing information changed or removed. We can also easily add information (phone number, child’s name, address, etc.) if it’s missing from your listing.

While attending worship in the Nazarean synagogue, Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah and declares himself to be the fulfillment of the prophecy. (Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21)  Today’s gospel reading is proclaimed by Deacon Moises and the homily is given by Fr. William.

Listen. click the play arrow below:

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Download MP3

Bulletin / Boletín
This week’s bulletin and the bulletin insert.

Boletín de esta semana y la inserción de anuncios.

Important Announcement Regarding Search for Music Director
St. Mary Catholic Parish, Athens, Tennessee, has an open position for Music Director. The ideal candidate should be a practicing Catholic or someone who has a good understanding of the Catholic Church teachings and the Sacred Liturgy; at least three years of experience planning music for weekend liturgies, Holy Days, and sacramental liturgies; funerals and weddings, recruiting, training and directing adult choir and cantors, as well as leading the assembly in song.

Ideal candidate will have proven organizational and interpersonal skills, strong organ/piano and vocal skills, experience in choral music, and experience with Roman Catholic liturgy, as well as administrative, budgeting and communication skills. Degree in liturgical music preferred; equivalent experience acceptable as well. Applications should be sent to:

St. Mary Catholic Church
1291 East Madison Avenue
Athens, TN 37303.
Attn: Connie Reed or Holly Gates.

Applications should reach the office no later than January 28, 2010.
Fr. William Dickson Oruko, AJ,
Pastor.

It looks like we’re on the right track with our website and our Facebook page. Pope Benedict XVI is solidly behind using technology and social networks to evangelize and build community. And yesterday he delivered a clear message to priests regarding his support for the use of technology in their ministries.

Vatican City, Jan 23, 2010 / 10:24 am (CNA).- In his message for the 44th World Day for Social Communications, Pope Benedict calls for priests to “make astute use” of available technology in becoming a presence as community leaders on the web. However, he urges them to remain “less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart.”

Watch on YouTube

The 2010 World Day for Social Communications will take place on May 16 under the theme “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word.” The Holy Father’s message was released yesterday. Read more here.