Bulletin_20180218

Saint Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church
600 South Main Street, Atmore, Alabama 36502
Rectory: (251) 368-3615 Office/Fax: (251) 368-1801
E-Mail: strobertparish@frontiernet.net
Reverend Arulappan Jayaraj, Pastor (251-229-5071)
Reverend Charles Hirudhayam, Parochial Vicar (251-253-7921)
First Sunday of Lent
February 18, 2018

WEEKEND:
Saturday:
Vigil Mass…………………………..5:00 PM
Sunday:
Mass………………………………...9:00 AM
CCD (Sep—May)…………………10:15 AM
Hispanic Mass (1st Sun)…...……11:00 AM
Church Schedule
WEEKDAY:
Monday: Mass……………………4:30 PM
Tuesday: Mass………………….. 4:30 PM
Wednesday: No Mass
Thursday: Mass……………...…..4:30 PM
Friday: Mass……………………...4:30 PM
First Friday Exception
Mass………………………………..5:30 PM
Adoration follows Mass
Reconciliation: 15 minutes before Saturday and Sunday Mass or by appointment
Sacrament of Baptism: Requires one month prior notification
Marriage: Requires a six-month notice in advance of the marriage date
Hispanic Mass
Sunday, March 4th, 11:00 AM
Parish Meetings
Parish Women’s Group—Wednesday, February 21st, 4:00 PM
Stewardship
LAST WEEKEND’S COLLECTION
Regular Collection $2789.00
Candles $4.00
Special Collections
Black & Indian Missions—February 17th / 18th

News and Announcements
Fr. Jay’s Corner
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
We enter into our first week of the holy
Lenten season.
The primary purpose of Lent is to prepare
us for the celebration of Jesus’ death and
Resurrection. The Church tries to achieve
this goal, leading her children
to metanoia or true “repentance” by
the reordering of their priorities and the
changing of their values, ideals and ambitions,
through fasting, prayer and selfcontrol.
Since by Baptism we share the
death and Resurrection of Jesus, today’s
readings refer to Baptism directly or indirectly.
Let us have a sincere preparation
and fruitful celebration.
Saturday choir: Marlaine Beasley has generously
come forward to lead the Saturday
choir, accompanying with piano and organ.
Let us welcome her and wish her all the
best.
Sincere thanks to Iva Burkett for having led
hymns for our Saturday Masses.
May God bless you all
—Father Jayaraj
Lent Begins: Devotion to the Stations of
the Cross will begin Friday, February 16th
at 5:30 PM, followed by Holy Mass. This
devotion will be observed each Friday during
Lent.
Lenten Resources: Several resources for
the Lenten season are available at the
back of the church for your use:
1. The Little Black Book which contains
daily reflections on the Passion according
to St. Mark.
2. The Word Among Us: The Promise of
Lent which contains the complete Catholic
Mass and daily meditations on the
season.
3. The Rice Bowl. This is a foldable cardboard
box in which you place money
saved during Lent through your fasting
and the things you give up for Lent. At
the end of Lent, you return the box with
the money to the church. The money
contained is given to Catholic Relief
Services which uses it for development
projects in poor nations and hunger relief
in the local diocese (75% and 24%
respectively).
Plastic Easter Eggs: If anyone has plastic
Easter eggs, please bring them to Boland
Hall. We are beginning now to be sure we
have enough available for our upcoming
annual Easter Egg Hunt for our children.
Please contact Mary Powers if you have
any questions.
Annual Easter Egg Hunt: Our Easter Egg
Hunt this year will take place on Palm Sunday,
March 25th following Mass.
Chrism Mass: The Chrism Mass will be
celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of the
Immaculate Conception in Mobile on Tuesday,
March 27th at 11:00 AM. Precious
Oils and Chrism will be available for each
parish following the Mass.
Flowers for Holy Thursday and Easter:
Our parish is in need of a volunteer/
volunteers to help arrange the flowers for
these occasions. Please let Fr. Jay know if
you’d like to help out.

First Sunday of Lent
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the
Jordan, and was led by the Spirit for forty days
in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he
ate nothing in those days; and when they were
ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If
you are the Son of God, command this stone to
become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is
written, ‘ Man shall not live by bread alone.’" And
the devil took him up. and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and
said to him, "To you I will give all this authority
and their glory; for it has been delivered to me,
and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship
me, it shall all be yours." And Jesus answered
him, "It is written, ‘ You shall worship the
Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ "
Sunday Readings
The first reading is from Deuteronomy 26: 4-
10. In these verses we have the ritual prescribed
by Moses for the feast of the harvest thanksgiving.
The people once settled in the Promised
Land are to show their gratitude to the good God
who brought them out of the slavery of Egypt
and gave them this good land to be their home.
The second reading is from St. Paul to the Romans
10: 8-13. He is discussing the sad fact
that Israel (as a whole) rejected Christ as the
promised Messiah and the Son of God.
The Week Ahead
Monday
Mass: 4:30 PM
Tuesday
Mass: 4:30 PM
“The Mass Readings Explained”:
5:00 PM
Wednesday
St. Peter Damian, Bishop &
Doctor of the Church
No Mass
Parish Women’s Group: 4:00 PM
Thursday
The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle
Mass: 4:30 PM
“Knit Pickers”: 6:30 PM
Friday
St. Polycarp, Bishop & Martyr
Stations of the Cross: 5:30 PM
Mass: 6:00 PM
Saturday
Baby Shower (Ashlyn Killam): 9:30
AM
Vigil Mass: 5:00 PM
Sunday
Second Sunday of Lent
Community Rosary: 8:30 AM
Mass: 9:00 AM
CCD: 10:15 AM
The Gospel is from St. Luke 5:1-11. Christ's voluntary
self-mortification of forty days' fast, with
its accompanying temptations, was but part of
the self-mortification, with its climax on the
Cross, which He gladly underwent for our salvation.
He did not need to fast in order to keep the
inclinations of the body in subjection, He did not
need to allow the insult of temptation. He could

have said, "begone Satan" at the beginning as easily and as effectively as be said it at
the end. But He willingly underwent this humiliation in order to set us an example and to
prove to us the infinite love He bears us and the value, the priceless value, He sets on
our eternal salvation. He became like us in all things (except sin) in order to make it
possible for us to become like Him—the beloved of his Father—and co-heirs with Him in
the kingdom of heaven.
With this example given us by Christ no Christian can or should expect to travel the
road to heaven without meeting obstacles and temptations. Our weak human nature is
of itself, even without any external tempter, a source of many temptations to us, especially
of those three illustrated in the case of Christ. Our body desires all the pleasures
and comforts that can be got out of life and resents any curtailment of these desires
even on the part of our Creator and Benefactor. Our gifts of intelligence and free-will often
tempt most of us to look for power, political or economic, over our fellowmen. We
want to be better off than others in this world, when our purpose in life is to help ourselves
and our fellowmen to the better life. Finally. so fully occupied are many in the
mad rush after pleasure and power that they have no time to devote to the one thing
that matters, the attainment of eternal life.
Yet, through some foolish logic of our own, we expect God to do for us what we refuse
to do for ourselves. We are tempting God by presuming he will save us if we have deliberately
chosen the road to perdition.
There are few, if any, amongst us who can honestly say: "I am free from such inclinations
or temptations." The vast majority of us can and should beat our breasts and say
with the publican: "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." And merciful he will be if we turn
to him with true humility. He may not remove all our temptations, all our wrong inclinations,
but he will give us the grace to overcome them if we sincerely seek his aid.
—Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

Mass Intentions
Sunday, February 18th:
St. Robert Parishioners
Monday, February 19th:
Special Intention
Tuesday, February 20th:
Special Intention
Wednesday, February 21st:
No Mass
Thursday, February 22nd:
Special Intention
Friday, February 23rd:
Special Intention
Saturday, February 24th:
Special Intention
If you are interested in having a Mass offered up for
a special intention or for a deceased person, contact
Father Jayaraj. The suggested stipend is $10.00.
Voices of the Church
“Virtues are formed by
prayer. Prayer preserves
temperance, suppresses
anger, prevents emotions
of pride and envy.
Prayer draws into the
soul the Holy Spirit, and
raises us to heaven.”
- St. Ephrem of Syria
Prayer Requests
General Intentions
Blessed Virgin’s Intentions, Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope
Francis I, Archbishop Rodi, Father Jayaraj,
Father Milsted, Father Charles, Father Mesa,
Priests of the Archdiocese, Bonnie Latino,
Tim DiVincenti, Curt Beck, Gene Santarelli,
Brigitte Crenshaw, Richard and Mary Powers,
Bob Vale, Persecuted Christians, Ken & Maria
Engleson, The USA, Susan & Carl Bowen,
Ron & Blinda Smith, Catherine Lambert, Mary
McPherson, Ray & Joyce Bolden, President
Donald J. Trump & Family, Theresa Scott,
Katherine Stephens, The Stephens Family,
Joan Bogdan, Tony Cossa, Kathy Slay, Theresa
Heimbuch, Lawrence Quinn, Anne Hetzel,
Irwin LeCocq, Mike Worrell, Mary Dellis,
Mike Markush, Jeff Cobb, Celine Smith, Dorothy
Dorriety, Healing/Protection from the Flu,
James Worrell & Family, Jane Dennis, Altar
Servers, Protection for the Unborn, Anne Kelson,
Huey Collins, Family & Friends of Kathy
Stump, Barry Labatut, Paul Peck, William
Stanhope, Clyde & Iva Burkett, Amanda Matta,
Dianne Kent, Sherry Lucas, Jerry & Jean
Searcy, Betsy Modtast, Maria Ewing, Ike &
Rosa Lee Arlo, Diane & Frank Lamia, Megan
Chester, Burton Roton, James Holley, Glenda
McGill, Betsy Moates and Lois Smith.
Our Military Family
Brock Houghton (USMC), Zachary Gooddwin
(USAF), Dan Markush (USAF), Scott Stanford
(USN), Andrew Markush (USN), Will Markush
(USN), Joshua Wilson (USAF), Anthony
Berneche (USN) and Aaron Armstrong
(USCG).
Repose of Souls
JoAnne Ruspoli, Doris Bradley, Kathy Stump,
Bob Goforth and Paul Crenshaw.

This feast brings to mind the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter,
and continued in an unbroken line down to the present Pope. We celebrate the unity of
the Church, founded upon the Apostle, and renew our assent to the Magisterium of the
Roman Pontiff, extended both to truths which are solemnly defined ex cathedra, and to
all the acts of the ordinary Magisterium.
The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Rome has been celebrated from the early days
of the Christian era on 18 January, in commemoration of the day when Saint Peter held
his first service in Rome. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch, commemorating
his foundation of the See of Antioch, has also been long celebrated at Rome, on 22
February. At each place a chair (cathedra) was venerated which the Apostle had used
while presiding at Mass. One of the chairs is referred to about 600 by an Abbot Johannes
who had been commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great to collect in oil from the
lamps which burned at the graves of the Roman martyrs.
— New Catholic Dictionary

Chair of St. Peter
Since early times, the Roman Church has had a special commemoration of the primatial
authority of St. Peter. As witness one of the most renowned of the Apostolic Fathers,
the Roman See has always held a peculiar place in the affection and obedience
of orthodox believers because of its "presiding in love" and service over all the Churches
of God.
"We shall find in the Gospel that Jesus Christ, willing to begin the mystery of unity in
His Church, among all His disciples chose twelve; but that, willing to consummate the
mystery of unity in the same Church, among the twelve He chose one. He called His
disciples, said the Gospel; here are all; and among them He chose twelve. Here is the
first separation, and the Apostles chosen. And these are the names of the twelve
Apostles: the first, Simon, who is called Peter. [Mt. 10, 1-2] Here, in a second separation,
St. Peter is set at the head, and called for that reason by the name of Peter,
'which Jesus Christ,' says St. Mark, 'had given him,' in order to prepare, as you will
see, the work which He was proposing to raise all His building on that stone.
"All this is yet but a beginning of the mystery of unity. Jesus Christ, in beginning it, still
spoke to many: Go, preach; I send you [see Mt. 28, 19]. Now, when He would put the
last hand to the mystery of unity, He speaks no longer to many: He marks out Peter
personally, and by the new name which He has given him. It is One who speaks to
one: Jesus Christ the Son of God to Simon son of Jonas; Jesus Christ, who is the true
Stone, strong of Himself, to Simon, who is only the stone by the strength which Jesus
Christ imparts to him. It is to him that Christ speaks, and in speaking acts on him, and
stamps upon him His own immovableness. And I, He says, say to you, you are Peter;
and, He adds, upon this rock I will build my Church, and, He concludes, the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it. [Mt. 16, 18] To prepare him for that honor Jesus Christ,
who knows that faith in Himself is the foundation of His Church, inspires Peter with a
faith worthy to be the foundation of that admirable building. You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God. [Mt. 16, 16] By that bold preaching of the faith he draws to himself
the inviolable promise which makes him the foundation of the Church.
"It was, then, clearly the design of Jesus Christ to put first in one alone, what afterwards
He meant to put in several; but the sequence does not reverse the beginning,
nor the first lose his place. That first word, Whatsoever you shall bind, said to one
alone, has already ranged under his power each one of those to whom shall be said,
Whatsoever you shall remit; for the promises of Jesus Christ, as well as His gift, are
without repentance; and what is once given indefinitely and universally is irrevocable.
Besides, that power given to several carries its restriction in its division, while power
given to one alone, and over all, and without exception, carries with it plenitude, and,
not having to be divided with any other, it has no bounds save those which its terms
convey."
—Excerpted from The See of St. Peter, Jacques Bossuet.