4th Sunday of Easter—World Day of Prayer for Vocations

April 25th, 2010— 4th Sunday of Easter—World Day of Prayer for Vocations
NATIVITY OF THE LORD PARISH
3672 EAST PLANKINTON AVE. CUDAHY, WI
744-6622
Nativity of the Lord Parish House
4611 S. Kirkwood Ave. Cudahy, WI 53110
Phone—(414) 744-6622 Fax— (414) 483-4599
nativityofthelord@yahoo.com
Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-4:30pm.
Closed for lunch 12:00-1:00 pm
Evenings and weekends by appointment.
Staff
Pastor: Rev. Philip Reifenberg
Deacon: Gerald Ponec
Administrator: Bryan Martin
Liturgy & Music: Robert Patrick
Secretary, Bulletin & Website: Mary Jo Hallfeld
(Secretary Office Hours: Mon—Wed 9:00 am—2:00 pm)
Christian Formation: Bob Boehm, Chiara Sainer &
Heather Warner
Custodians: Jim Orlinski & Scott Stephens
Church Decorations: Greg Gniotczynski
Parish Council: Chair:Mary Hart– Witkowski
Vice-Chair: Patrick Slattery
St. Thomas Aquinas Academy (Grades K4-8)
341 E. Norwich Ave • Milwaukee (414) 744-1214
www.thomasaquinasacademy.com
Principal: Mrs. Rhonda Friday - STAAPrincpal@archmil.org
Parish Cemetery — Holy Sepulcher — 762-2860
Office of Christian Formation
3658 E. Plankinton Ave. • Cudahy- 481-6880
SPRED-Special Religious Education
3658 E. Plankinton Ave. • Cudahy—744-6622
Mass Schedule
Weekend:
Saturday at 4:30pm and Sunday 8:00am & 10:30am
Weekday: Monday—Friday 8:00am
Reconciliation: Saturdays at 3:30pm

.Dear Parishioners:
My intention had been to proceed directly into the third of my three reasons –
“most definitely not local and long range” – for talking about Clemi and Marcella in previous
bulletin articles. But I thought I’d put it off for a week (it is, after all, “long range” and
will take three or more articles to un-pack) in order to share some more timely information
which I just came across last week.
Unless you’re completely cut off from printed media and television news, you can’t help
but be aware of the accusations of unresponsiveness and “cover-up” that have been
directed at members of the Church’s hierarchy, from our own bishops and archbishops to
Pope Benedict XVI, himself, with regard to the sexual abuse of children by clergy. It seems
as though every time one of these officials (or someone speaking on their behalf) tries to
“set the record straight,” the speaker ends up putting his foot in his mouth and makes
matters even worse.
Of course, we are dealing with two issues here: the sexual abuse, itself, and the hierarchy’s response to it. From the tone of the media
coverage, one might get the impression that the two issues are of equal gravity. They are not! Sexual abuse of children by anyone – but
especially by clergy – is heinous, criminal, inexcusable, and never to be ignored or made light of, much less tolerated and abetted. Not today,
not yesterday, not ten years ago, not fifty years ago, not ever.
How the hierarchy has dealt with “it” is a different matter. (I put “it” in quotation marks because the “it” isn’t just one thing but several:
allegations of abuse, proven instances of abuse, suspicions of abuse, current instances of abuse, abuse which took place decades ago,
instances in which the perpetrator is deceased, instances in which the perpetrator is not [and may never have been] under the jurisdiction of
the local church, instances in which victims are reluctant or refuse to press charges out of fear or shame, and so forth) The hierarchy’s
response has been variously characterized as ineffective, non-existence, self-serving, cynical, inept, etc.; and in some cases it undoubtedly was
ineffective, non-existence, self-serving, cynical and/or inept. But not in all!
The term now in vogue is “transparency” – open the files, lay bare the paper trail, present all the facts. Well, to whatever extent
transparency is achieved, it seems to me that it is incumbent upon those who insist on having it to view the full panoramic scene as it is laid
out before them: to look at not just what they want to see and had hoped to find, but to take in the whole picture – civil, cultural,
psychological, legal and sociological, as well as ecclesial (church). I think a whole lot of nuance is in order when the media investigate such
matters because each instance and the response to each instance involve a different constellation of persons and circumstances. This takes
hard work, patience, a little more humility and a bit less of the cynicism and self-righteous indignation we’re accustomed to hearing these
days.
Meanwhile, the prior issue – the priority issue: sexual abuse of children – continues to demand attention and redress. In an article that
appeared in last week’s edition of the National Catholic Reporter (a paper noted for taking a “liberal” stance on most issues and not generally
known to molly-coddle church hierarchy), columnist Melissa Musick Nussbaum responded to the recent wave of bishop-bashing by offering
these did-you-know- kind of observations:
*** the largest childhood sexual abuse judgment for a single victim against a religious institution in American history was $105 million
against the Episcopalian Church’s Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, SC in 2000
*** more than 500 sexual abuse claims were filed against the Hari Krishnas, resulting in eight Hari Krishna bankruptcies in 2004
*** A U.S. Department of Justice study released earlier this year reported that in 2008, 10.3% of the youths in state and large non-state
facilities [some 2,730 children] reported at least one incident of sexual abuse involving facility staff, with 1,150 of these incidents being the
result of the use of force
*** According to the John Jay College of Criminal justice, the total number of allegations of childhood sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the
United States was just over 50 in 1992, 25 ten years later (2002), and 13 in 2008 – this for a Catholic Church serving 70 million Americans.
Nussbaum, who’d begun her article with an allusion to the journalistic mantra, “If it bleeds, it leads,” concluded with the following admonition:
If a fire is out in one house but still raging in the house down the block, firefighters and reporters need to focus their equipment
and skills on the present emergency. We need to give up the easy story line in favor of the hard facts.
If these numbers say anything relevant to the performance of the Church’s hierarchy, one of these hard facts appears to be that, despite all
the “hype,” over the past twenty years our leadership must have been doing something right! (At this point, my Baptist colleagues might say,
“Can I get an ‘Amen’” I’ll just ask for those of a critical bent to ponder the evidence prayerfully.)
Fr. Phil
2

World Day of Prayer for Vocations
April 25, 2010
In 1963 Pope Paul VI designated Good Shepherd Sunday
as World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Jesus, the Good
Shepherd, protects us as his flock and promises us the gift
of eternal life. As followers of Jesus we are called to
remain faithful to the grace of God.
As we celebrate this feast we pray for fidelity to our
vocation. The Church invites us to honor the vocation of
all Christians given at baptism. May we who have
dedicated our lives to God through the vocation of
marriage. priesthood. diaconate. consecrated life, and the
single life remain faithful to our commitments. May those
who are discerning their life vocation listen to the grace of
God to guide them.
Today. Good Shepherd Sunday. is a special day for
everyone in our parish. We celebrate World Day of Prayer
for Vocations. We ask that we may be filled with joy and
the Holy Spirit as we carry on the mission of Jesus, our
Good Shepherd. Let us pray for one another that we may
be strengthened in our Christian vocations as married and
single people, priests, deacons. and religious. May our
youth listen to God’s call and be encouraged to respond
generously.
Prayer for Vocations
Generous God.
You show us the way that leads
to everlasting life.
Through baptism you have called us to proclaim
the Good News.
Bless and strengthen those who have made
a commitment of
service in the Church.
Guide and give wisdom to those discerning
their vocation.
Enrich our Church with dedicated married
and single people.
with deacons, priests.
and with people in
consecrated life.
Filled with your Holy Spirit we ask this
blessing that we,
your people. may follow Jesus.
our Good Shepherd.
now and always. Amen.
2OO9 NCCV
Www.nccv-vocations.org
Take Action for Our Immigrant Brothers and Sisters!
On behalf of Archbishop Listecki we have been invited to participate in a “Pray for Immigrants” weekend on May 1 st - 2 nd . The
Archbishop is asking all of us to be part of this national effort sponsored by the Justice for Immigrants (JFI) Campaign of the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in support of fair and just immigration reform.
The Justice for Immigrants (JFI), campaign launched by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2005, was created to
promote just and humane immigration reform as a major public policy priority.
JFI seeks to educate the Catholic community about immigration issues, and to
mobilize Catholics to work for immigration reform.
To learn more about the Justice for Immigrants campaign in preparation
for next weekend, or to send an electronic postcard to your members of
Congress supporting immigration reform, please visit:
www.justiceforimmigrants.org
3

May 2010
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2 1st Holy Communion—
3
4
5
6 7 8
10:30am
Buildings & Grounds
Committee —
9:15am (PH)
Christian Ladies
Guild Board
Meeting—10am
(PH)
Legion of Mary—
9:30am (PH)
Adoration 9am-6pm
St. Ben’s Meal
Program—
desserts needed
before 2pm
Human Concerns
mtg. 7pm (CFC)
9
10 11
12
13
14 15 Armed
Men’s Club 8am mass
followed by breakfast &
social
Legion of Mary—
9:30am (PH)
Adoration 9am-6pm
Prayer & Worship
Committee—6:30pm
(PH)
Parish Council—7pm
(CFC)
Forces Day
Children’s Liturgy of the
Word 10:30am
16
17 18
19
20 21 22
Christian Ladies Guild 8am
mass followed by a meeting
Legion of Mary—
9:30am (PH)
Adoration 9am-6pm
23
24 25
26
27 28
29
Children’s Liturgy of the
Word 10:30am
Legion of Mary—
9:30am (PH)
SS Meal Program—
barbecue needed
before 2pm
Adoration 9am-6pm
(Confirmation at St.
Veronica’s for St
Veronica’s & St
Paul’s)
Confirmation at
Immaculate
Conception for
Immaculate
Conception,
Nativity of the
Lord & St.
Augustine
30 31
Memorial Day
(Parish Office
closed)
4

For over the past 37 years, the Knights of Columbus in South Milwaukee has
conducted an annual “Tootsie Roll Drive” to collect donations to help People with
Intellectual Disabilities. They will again this year be standing outside or inside the
church this weekend after all of the masses, with a supply of candy to offer and a
collection canister. They will be wearing an outer vestment describing their Campaign
for People with Intellectual Disabilities. The monies collected remain in the South
Milwaukee and Oak Creek area. Last year they collected $3000.00 to give to Camp
Willow-C-Way South, Oak Creek High School exceptional educational cognitive delay students and South Milwaukee High School
cognitive disabilities students. These three organizations do much to help People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Easter Bird Memorials— a continuation of the list:
Francis Dirksmeyer
Martha Nudi
On April 11, 2010, the St. Vincent de Paul Conference of Nativity of the Lord was awarded the Ozanan
Medallion, the highest award given to a St. Vincent de Paul Conference. We were presented with this award for
our service to the poor, the sick and the elderly of our community. We want to thank Father Phil and all of our
parishioners for being supportive to our mission. Please keep us in your prayers and continue to support us
with your much needed donations. Thank you, Beverly Tryba, President
Milwaukee Premier Theatre Showing "The 13th Day" new major movie on
Our Lady of Fatima with her Peace Plan from Heaven.
Times Cinema Theatre on 59th and Vliet St. in Milwaukee on May 13, 2010 at 4:30pm and 7:00 pm
Price $5 per person ($25 for a family of 5 or more) This is expected to be a sell out so purchase tickets early.
To Purchase tickets: www.rosaryea.org or at the Theatre or by mail: send check with self-addressed stamped envelope
to: Families in His Presence 4101 S. Church St. New Berlin, WI 53151
Please indicate for which showing you are purchasing tickets. For more info 1-262-860-3657
Sponsored by "Families in His Presence" Family Adoration Branch of the Rosary Evangeliztion Apostolate
CASTING CALL!!!
Open Auditions for CCYM – Collaborative Community Youth Musicals
Three Days of Auditions: Monday May 10 th – Wednesday May 12 th , 6:00pm– 8:30pm.
You must attend all three days of auditions. If that does not work for you please let us
know. At Divine Mercy Hall – 1800 16 th Ave, South Milwaukee
ACTORS, SINGERS, DANCERS, PIT MUSICIANS,
AND CREW ARE NEEDED!
Youth who will be going into 6 th grade in fall of 2010 –
THROUGH AND INCLUDING – College age adults are welcome to participate.
CCYM is a “Community” Theater Group. All youth and Adults from the surrounding Southeastern
Wisconsin Communities, regardless of their denominational affiliation, are welcome to join. No
registration fee is required. CCYM practices inclusion not exclusion. No one is ever cut!
Everyone who auditions is included in the production.
For more information e-mail: ccym.patty@yahoo.com , go to http://sites.google.com/site/ccymproductions or
Facebook – CCYM Theatre Productions
CCYM is sponsored by – Divine Mercy, Nativity of the Lord, and St. Matthew Parishes
5

TRUSTEE – TREASURER
The term of office for parish trustees is two years. This Spring, the
term of our Trustee-Treasurer, Jim Williamson, expires. Jim has
agreed to run again; but if anyone wishes to run against him, we
will accept nominations (including self-nominations) for a place on
the ballot for Trustee-Treasurer through Monday, May 17th. The
election will be held after Masses on the Memorial Day weekend
(May 29-30). To serve as a trustee, a person must be: (a) a
baptized and practicing Catholic, (b) at least twenty-five years old,
and (c) a registered member of the parish. The full list of duties and
responsibilities of this office are listed on the nomination form, itself,
which can be picked up in the sacristy after Mass or in the Parish
Office during the week.
Magnificat, a Ministry to Catholic Women
Susan Conroy, an author & artist, seen on EWTN numerous times,
will share her story of working with Mother Theresa and the Sisters
of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India on
Saturday, May 1, 9am—Noon at the Hilton Garden Inn-Milwaukee
Park Place, 11600 W Park Place. The cost is $15. Susan will present
the slides of her trip which are guaranteed to touch your heart.
For more info call Terri at 262-677-1192.
The School Sisters of Notre Dame invite women 18 and older to join
them for a conversation about their lives of prayer, community and
service. May 2nd, 2pm-4pm at the Sisters' Community House
located on the campus of Mount Mary College, 2845 N. 92nd St.,
Milwaukee. For more information or to register, go to the events
page at www.ssnd-milw.org, or contact Sister Barbara Linke at
vocation@ssnd-milw.org, or 262-787-1016.
For the month of February 2010, we received $6,287.40 of our portion
of the pledges to the FIOF campaign! This brings the total received
from the Archdiocese of our portion of the FIOF monies
pledged to $89,061.73 including interest. We have now reached
approximately 49% of our goal of $180,000 for our Parish!
Please join in prayer that the Faith in the Future campaign will
accomplish its goals: to demonstrate our confidence in our Church,
our schools and in the values of Catholic education and life-long
faith formation. ~~ Linda Slattery ~~
ANNOUNCING THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD WEBSITE!!
As mentioned in the Parish Council Notes last
week, our parish now has a website that is up
and running! We invite you to visit our parish’s
website at www.nativityofthelord.com. The site
has links to the bulletins, monthly calendars,
information on the sacraments, ministries, activities
of our parish and our cluster parishes, as
well as courtesy announcements from other organizations.
We will try to up-date the news and
photographs regularly. If you have photos of
parish events or suggestions about website contents
that you'd like us to consider, please feel free to send them to
us at nativityofthelord@yahoo.com. Your feedback is appreciated.
SAVE THE DATE!!
Parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee will celebrate the
success of the Faith In Our Future Campaign at all Masses the
Weekend of May 22/23. A special archdiocesan Mass and
reception will take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 23, 2010
at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
Watch for updates on www.archmil.org
If you attend mass regularly at Nativity of the Lord and are
not a registered member of the Parish, why not officially
join our parish family Registration forms can
be found in a basket at the back of the church
(left side as you exit), or ask an usher for a copy.
You can return it to the Office in person, through
the mail or in the collection basket.
Mark the envelope “Attention, Mary!”
Join Archbishop Listecki when he receives his Pallium from
the Pope on June 29th in Rome!
On June 29th, the Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul, the Pope will confer
upon Archbishop Jerome E Listecki the Pallium, signifying an
archbishop’s ecclesial and pastoral authority, in union with the Pope,
over the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. To
find out how you can attend this ceremony, and join the Archbishop
on the 8 day pilgrimage to Rome, contact Gwen at 769-3497 or
fastabendg@archmil.org. Full details are also at www.archmil.org
Troop 208 Cookout and Bake Sale May 1-2
It’s been a long winter so let’s celebrate spring with
our annual cookout after the 4:30 pm Mass on May 1
or 10:30 am Mass on May 2 at St. Veronica’s. The
boys will be serving up grilled burgers, brats and hotdogs
along with all your favorite side dishes. A bake
sale will be available after all of the masses that weekend,
including the 8:30 Mass. All proceeds will be used
to offset the boy’s trip to summer camp in July.
Our thanks and gratitude to all
members and non-members of the
Christian Ladies Guild who helped
in any way to make our “Welcome
Spring” breakfast a HUGE success!
Many of our gracious guests
commented on how tasty and
plentiful the food was, as well as
how much they felt that they were
truly a part of a parish family. We
hope you’ll join us again next year!
g{tÇ~ lÉâ4
g{x V{Ü|áà|tÇ _tw|xá
6

Sunday, April 25—4th Sunday of Easter
and World Day of Prayer for Vocations
8:00 am †James Wendt—int. of wife,
Camille & Family
10:30 am †Robert LaDell
Monday, April 26— Easter Weekday
8:00 am NO MASS—Communion Prayer
Service only
Tuesday, April 27—Easter Weekday
8:00 am St. Vincent de Paul Society
Wednesday, April 28—Sts. Peter Chanel & Louis Mary de
Montfort
8:00 am †George & †Lorraine Hackett
Thursday, April 29—St. Catherine of Sienna
8:00 am †Ronald Mizia
Friday, April 30—St. Pius V, pope
8:00 am †Robert Lien—int. wife, Anne & Family
Saturday, May 1- St. Joseph the Worker/Vigil for Sunday
4:30 pm †Thaddeus & Veronica Ullenberg—int. Don & Barbara
Beyer
Sunday, May 2—5th Sunday of Easter
8:00 am †Richard Reading
10:30 am Nativity Parish & the 1st Holy Communicants
Ginny Bechard, Roseanne Brown, Leonard
Budnowski, George Celichowski, Stella Dembowiak,
Glenn Gasper, Richard Gawelko, Anne Holubowicz,
George Kathrein, Karen Kay, Gilbert LaGosh, Gina
LaGosh, Celina Lambert, Myron & Beatrice Lepkowski,
Charlotte Lisowski, Michael Mowers, Patrick
Mulqueen, Elaine Nelson, Virginia Nuszbaum,
Margaret Peplinski, Mike Plakut, Robert Schroeder,
Philomena Selensky, Susan Smith, Irene Traskowski,
Adeline VanVlaenderen, Anthony Vetter, Maurice
Williams, Gerard Wiza, Dolores Zube, Randy Zube
PARISH STEWARDSHIP—4/18/2010
“Thank you and God bless you for your gifts of
Time, Talent and Treasure!
Envelopes $5,713.75
Easter 30.00
Offertory 373.35
Academy Support 87.00
Energy Support 98.00
APRIL’s ITEMS OF THE MONTH for
Project Concern are SOUP (CANNED OR
DRY MIXES). Any variety may be placed in
the barrels at the main entrances marked for
Project Concern. The need is great and your
generosity is deeply appreciated.
Please remember
Alice Zolnowski and
Judith Ann Nall and their
families in your prayers.
Sunday, April 25
→ Children’s Liturgy of the Word—10:30am
Tuesday, April 27
→ Legion of Mary—9:30am (PH)
→ South Side Meal Program—please deliver your sloppy joe (bbq)
to the Parish Office before 2pm
Wednesday, April 28
→ Adoration— 9 am-6 pm
Saturday, May 1
→ Baptism of Grant Michael Liegler—4:30pm
Sunday, May 2
→ 1st Holy Communion Mass at St. Paul—10:15am & at Nativity
of the Lord—10:30am
Scripture for the week of April 25, 2010
25 SUN Acts 13:14, 43-52/Rv 7:9, 14b-17/Jn 10:27-30
26 Mon Acts 11:1-18/Jn 10:1-10
27 Tue Acts 11:19-26/Jn 10:22-30
28 Wed Acts 12:24—13:5a/Jn 12:44-50
29 Thu Acts 13:13-25/Jn 13:16-20
30 Fri Acts 13:26-33/Jn 14:1-6
1 Sat Acts 13:44-52/Jn 14:7-14 or, for the memorial, Gn
1:26—2:3 or Col 3:14-15, 17, 23-24/Mt 13:54-58
2 SUN Acts 14:21-27/Rv 21:1-5a/Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
Do you have an e-mail address you would like to
share with us Please make note of it on your
contribution envelope. Also, if you have us in
your contact list, please change our address to
nativityofthelord@yahoo.com
Special Volunteer Need at Project Concern: We need
someone with an insured vehicle to carry 20 cartons of food to
Evergreen Square Senior Apartment every 3rd Wednesday morning
of the month. Another PC volunteer will assist the delivery. Please
call Debby at 744-0645 or Mark at 483-4474 if you can help.
BAKE SALE & RUMMAGE & RECYCLE Event at the Kelly
Center, 6100 S. Lake Drive ~ The Kelly Center, managed by
Interfaith Older Adult Programs and funded by Milw. County Dept.
on Aging, is having a rummage sale and will be collecting metal
recyclables on Sat., May 8th. Clear out your clutter! They are
accepting donations of rummage items from now until May
7th. Unwanted metal items like appliances, bicycles, lawn mowers,
and other metals for recycling can be dropped of on May 8th
only in the south parking lot. All proceeds benefit the Center.
EARTH CONCERNS
Packaging accounts for 10-15 percent (sometimes more
than 50 percent) of the cost of manufacturing a product
and 50 percent of all consumer waste. Keep this in
mind when shopping and buy in bulk whenever
possible. ~~Human Concerns Committee ~~
50% off lamps and small appliances (not tvs)—DVD’s &
CD’s for $1 each —this week at the St. Vincent de Paul
Thrift Store, 2320 W Lincoln Ave, Mon-Sat, 10am—6pm
7