St. Margaret of Cortona Parish
Serving the Catholic Communities of Little Ferry and Moonachie
in Ministry, Education and Service Since August 24, 1912
31 Chamberlain Ave Little Ferry, NJ 07643
Phone: (201) 641-2988 Fax: (201) 322-0172
Welcome to the Parish Family of St. Margaret of Cortona
in Little Ferry
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Palm Sunday ~ April 2
Blessing of the Palms at all Masses
Saturday ~ 5:30 pm
Sunday ~ 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:00 noon
Chrism Mass ~ April 3
Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart ~ 8:00 pm
April 3 ~4 ~5
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Daily Mass ~ 12:00 noon
Holy Thursday ~ April 6
Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7:00 pm
Adoration until midnight or when the church is empty
Good Friday ~ April 7
Stations of the Cross ~ 12 Noon
Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
with Veneration of the Cross
and Holy Communion at 3:00 pm
Holy Saturday ~April 8
Easter Vigil of the Resurrection ~ 8:00 pm
Easter Sunday Masses ~ April 9
8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:00 noon
Catholic Relief Services will support emergency relief efforts led by local partners in both Syria and Turkey with Caritas Turkey, Caritas Syria in Aleppo and Lattakia—where extensive damage has been reported—and other local partners.
Already in Turkey, Caritas Anatolia, in coordination with authorities, is bringing displaced people to safe, open spaces and distributing hot meals and clothing.
The dioceses of Izmir and Istanbul are collecting donations to send to the Anatolia Region.
Your gifts will help partners to provide safe shelter, and access to food, clean water and hygiene supplies. Click here to learn more.
Thursdays from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
All are welcome!
Call Eileen at 201-843-1097 or see her after mass.
Donate to St. Margaret's
Here are some ways that you can help our Parish during these trying times:
GoFundMe - Click here to go the GofundMe website
ParishSoft - Click here to go to the giving site.
You can also give via text to (201) 689-5641, just enter the amount you want to donate in the message. You will need to create an account if you haven't done so yet. Click here if you need help creating an account.
Religious Education Schedule 2022-2023
Lent begins February 22, Easter is April 9
Grades 1, 4 & 5 - Tuesday Afternoons - 3:30 - 4:30 PM
Grades 6,7 & 8 - Tuesday Evenings - 6:30 - 8:00 PM
All sessions are held on Tuesdays in the Parish Center
February 7,14, 28 / March 7, 14, 21, 28 / April 4, 18, 25 / May 2, 9, 16
Home Study Schedule 2022-2023
All sessions are held on Sunday in the Parish Center on the dates listed below.
Classes are from 10:45 a.m. to 11:55 a.m.
Attendance at the 12 noon Mass on these dates is required.
Grade 2 -
February 19, March 12, April 2, May 21
Grade 3 -
February 26, March 19, April 23, May 21
Registration Forms can be requested from the office or downloaded from the links below. Please call Sister Dorothy for any questions.
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2023 Annual Appeal - Archdiocese of Newark
The Annual Appeal will fund essential programs and ministries at the heart of our Catholic mission in our four counties – namely to proclaim the gospel, to pass on the faith to future generations, particularly through the celebration of the sacraments, and to care for the poor and those on the margins.
Now more than ever, especially during this health crisis, our ministries and programs need your support. Will you prayerfully consider making a gift to the 2023 Annual Appeal? Donate to the Annual Appeal
Please play the video to learn more.
We will be placing the donation envelopes in the pews and collection baskets. Please take them on your next visit.
Help Families Affected in Ukraine
As Ukrainians flee their homes due to the conflict with Russia, CRS partner Caritas Poland assists Ukrainians crossing into Poland for safety.
Click here to go to the Catholic Relief Services website to make a donation
Catholic Church in New Jersey stands ready to help Moms and Mothers-to-be in need
A joint statement from the New Jersey Catholic Bishops on Governor Murphy's proposal that all health insurers in NJ provide coverage for abortion services. Click here to read the full statement.
Grow + Go Bulletin
We subscribed to a weekly Grow+Go bulletin designed to help parishioners understand what it means to be evangelizing disciples of Christ. Using the Sunday Scriptures as the basis for reflection, the bulletin offers insight into how parishioners can more fully GROW as disciples and then GO evangelize, fulfilling Christ's Great Commission to "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)
This will be regularly updated so check back for new content! Click here for the latest bulletin
SCHEDULES
Regular Masses
Saturday:
5:30PM
Sunday:
8:00AM, 10:00AM, 12:00PM
Weekdays:
Monday through Friday:
12:00 PM
First Saturday Mass
12:05 PM in the Church
Holy Days
(Except Christmas and Easter): 8:00 AM, 12:05 PM, 7:00 PM
Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession)
Saturdays 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Experience God’s Mercy. Celebrate the Grace-Filled Sacrament of Reconciliation
Contact Us
Parish Center (Monday through Thursday 10 am till 4pm. Closed on Fridays)
Tel: 201-641-2988
Fax: 201-322-0172
Rectory (By appointment only):
201-641-2988
Religious Education (Sunday to Thursday):
201-641-3937
New in the Area?
If you are new in the area, why not join our ever-growing Parish family. Stop by the Parish Center any weekday and register. Click on this link to download the form or call us at 201-641-2988
POSTER BOARD
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April is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church)
The Holy Spirit is the Person of Love in the life of God. He is also like a breath, an aspiration of infinite Love, from
which we draw the breath of life. On the day of Pentecost the Divine Spirit communicated such an abundance of life to the whole Church that to symbolize it "there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they (the Apostles) were sitting."
But it is also for us that the Holy Spirit has come, for the group in the Cenacle represented the whole Church. The Holy Spirit came to remain with the Church forever. This is the promise of Jesus Himself. He dwells in the Church permanently and unfailingly, performing in it without ceasing His action of life-giving and sanctification. He establishes the Church infallibly in the truth. It is He Who makes the Church blossom forth with a marvelous supernatural fruitfulness, for He brings to life and full fruition in Virgins, Martyrs, and Confessors those heroic virtues which are one of the marks of true sanctity.
(The Mysteries of the Rosary, Dom Columba Marmion, O.S.B.)
The Proper Name of the Holy Spirit
"Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children.
The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah, which in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the divine Spirit. On the other hand, "Spirit" and "Holy" are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy, and theological language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms "spirit" and "holy".
Titles of the Holy Spirit
When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the "Paraclete," literally, "he who is called to one's side," ad-vocatus. "Paraclete" is commonly translated by "consoler," and Jesus is the first consoler. The Lord also called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth."
Besides the proper name of "Holy Spirit," which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we also find in St. Paul the titles: the Spirit of the promise, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Spirit of God — and, in St. Peter, the Spirit of glory.
Excerpted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Symbols of the Holy Spirit
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Water ~ The symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism.
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Anointing ~ The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit.
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Fire ~ While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions.
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Cloud and light ~ These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
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The Seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him.
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The Hand ~ Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them. In his name the apostles will do the same. Even more pointedly, it is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given.
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The Finger ~ "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God," then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles,i s written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the "finger of the Father's right hand."
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The dove ~ At the end of the flood, whose symbolism refers to Baptism, a dove released by Noah returns with a fresh olive-tree branch in its beak as a sign that the earth was again habitable. When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him. The Spirit comes down and remains in the purified hearts of the baptized.
Excerpted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Holy Spirit and Our Spiritual Life
Everything depends on the Holy Spirit's operation in us. The more fully we allow ourselves to be drawn and guided by the Holy Spirit, the closer we shall come to Jesus and His mysteries and graces. The Holy Spirit must draw us to every good thought, word and deed. Every act of faith, of hope and of love for God requires the inspiration and help of the Holy Spirit. If our virtues and our deeds are to be truly perfect and worthy of God, they need the special and continual touch of the Holy Spirit. Even though we are endowed with all the supernatural virtues, we still remain mere apprentices in the spiritual life. We know what we must do; and yet lack the virtue and the faculty to perform these things with ease. The Holy Spirit must guide us. He must seize our intellect and our wills and guide us in prayer, in work, in the decisions we have to make, and in the difficulties we encounter every day. He must share with us His manner of seeing, of loving, of thinking, and of working.
Our works and our conduct will be perfect only when the Holy Spirit has taken complete possession of us.
Therefore, in addition to the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, charity, justice, fortitude, temperance and wisdom, He gives us also His seven gifts. Thus He equips the tiny boat of our soul with sails upon which He Himself, the Spirit of God, blows. Our progress across the sea of life is then no longer slow and painful. We are propelled and guided by the Spirit. If the Spirit of God breathes upon the sails of our boat, then our journey will be a happy one. Then through the work and the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives in our soul, we shall come to the Father.
Excerpted from the The Light of the World by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest)
One of the most widely used hymns in the Church, Veni, Creator Spiritus, is attributed to Rabanus Maurus; (776-856). It is used at Vespers, Pentecost, Dedication of a Church, Confirmation, and Holy Orders and whenever the Holy Spirit is solemnly invoked. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite it. A plenary indulgence is granted if it is recited on January 1st or on the feast of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High, O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God's hand we own; Thou, promise of the Father, Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts o'erflow with love; with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead; so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know; and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be glory given, with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen
March 3 ~ Feast Day ~ Saint Katharine Drexel
Katharine Drexel was born on November 26, 1858 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though her birth mother died when she was an infant, she had a close relationship with her stepmother, whom her father married in 1860.
Katharine’s parents instilled a strong faith in their three daughters. The family prayed together and served the poor. Katharine was taught to be kind and generous to those who were in need. The Drexel family believed wealth must be shared. Several times during the week,
her parents would invite poor people into their home or quietly seek out local people short of resources. During the summers, Katharine helped teach Sunday school to local children.
Katharine’s father was a successful investment banker, and the family was very wealthy. Katharine was well
educated. She received a private education from tutors and traveled extensively in the United States and Europe.
When Katharine's stepmother became ill, Katharine cared for her. She died of cancer in 1883. This experience taught Katharine that all the money in the world could not buy health or happiness. This thought changed her life.
When her father died in 1886, Katharine and her sisters inherited a large sum of money. She became more involved in helping those in need. She traveled to the northwest and visited Native American missions. In 1887, Katharine appealed to Pope Leo XIII during a private audience with him. She requested missionaries for the missions she was financing. He suggested to Katherine that she become a missionary herself. This suggestion was life changing.
"The patient and humble endurance of the cross whatever nature it may be is the highest work we have to
do."
Though she had been attracted to the religious life for many years, in 1889 Katharine decided to enter the convent, becoming a postulant with the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburg. She decided to devote her life to God and to spend her time and money helping both Native Americans and African Americans. At this time, Native Americans and African Americans were not given the same rights as other Americans. There, she founded a congregation to serve people oppressed by discrimination and poverty. With thirteen other women, Katharine started the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament whose dedication was to share the message of the Gospel and the Eucharist among American Indians and African Americans.
Katharine started schools and churches for Native Americans and African Americans all over the United States.
During her lifetime, she opened, staffed and directly supported nearly 60 schools and missions, especially in the
West and Southwest United States. She began Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans. Katharine believed that everyone had a right to a free education and that education is the only way to improve lives.
In addition to education, Katharine worked for justice during her life. She took a public stance against racism and discrimination. The Vatican cited courage and initiative in addressing social inequality among minorities as one of the elements of mother Katharine’s legacy.
At the time of her death, March 3rd, 1955, she had used more than $12 million of her inheritance for her charitable and apostolic missions, working in conjunction with the U.S. Indian Office, through which she helped found the Society for the Preservation of the Faith Among Indian Children (or Preservation Society). By that time as well, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament had grown to some 500 members in 51 convents, and they had established 49 elementary schools, 12 high schools, and Xavier University.
Drexel was beatified on November 20, 1980 by Pope John Paul II after the Vatican confirmed her first miracle, restoring a boy’s hearing. A second miracle was attributed to her in January 2000 after a young girl was cured of her deafness following prayers to Drexel and having her ears touched by some of Drexel’s possessions. In March 2000, Pope John Paul II approved Drexel for sainthood, and she was canonized in October 2000, becoming the second U.S-born saint; the first was St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, canonized in 1975.
The order of nuns founded by Katharine Drexel still exists today. This order continues to practice her beliefs and not only serves Native American and African American people, but also helps the people of Haiti. Xavier University in New Orleans continues to offer and provide a quality education to all people regardless of race and religion.
