RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Posted on May 19, 2012 at 7:00 am by admin

THE MOST CHERISHED OF AMERICAN FREEDOMS

In 1634, a mix of Catholic and Protestant settlers arrived in Southern Maryland from England aboard the Ark and the Dove. They had come at the invitation of the Catholic Lord Baltimore, who had been granted the land by the Protestant King Charles I of England. While Catholics and Protestants were killing each other in Europe, Lord Baltimore imagined Maryland as a society where people of different faiths could live together peacefully. This vision was soon codified in Maryland’s 1649 Act Concerning Religion (also called the “Toleration Act”), which was the first law in our nation’s history to protect an individual’s right to freedom of conscience.

Maryland’s early history teaches us that, like any freedom, religious liberty requires constant vigilance and protection, or it will disappear. Maryland’s experiment in religious toleration ended within a few decades. The colony was placed under royal control and the Church of England became the established religion. Discriminatory laws, including the loss of political rights, were enacted against those who refused to conform. Catholic chapels were closed and Catholics were restricted to practicing their faith in their homes. The Catholic community lived under this coercion until the American Revolution.

By the end of the 18th century our nation’s founders embraced freedom of religion as an essential condition of a free and democratic society. So when the Bill of Rights was ratified, religious freedom had the distinction of being the First Amendment. Religious liberty is indeed the first liberty. This is our American heritage, our most cherished freedom. If we are not free in our conscience and our practice of religion, all other freedoms are fragile. If our obligations and duties to God are impeded, or even worse, contradicted by the government, then we can no longer claim to be a land of the free.

Is our most cherished freedom truly under threat? Among many current challenges, consider the recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring almost all private health plans to cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. For the first time in our history, the federal government will force religious institutions to facilitate drugs and procedures contrary to our moral teaching, and purport to define which religious institutions are “religious enough” to merit an exemption. This is not a matter of whether contraception may be prohibited by the government. It is not even a matter of whether contraception may be supported by the government. It is a matter of whether religious people and institutions may be forced by the government to provide coverage for contraception and sterilization, even when it violates our religious beliefs.


Help Restore Our Religious Liberty

In answer to the call of the U.S. Bishops for the laity to get involved in restoring religious liberty, the Let’s Talk Virtues & Vices Class at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Delray Beach, Florida, has launched a national campaign to Restore Religious Liberty.

What can you do to ensure the protection of religious freedom?

  • Join the Million Mass campaign. The Mass is the most powerful prayer. Please have a Mass said for the intention of restoring our religious liberty. Help us keep track of the number of Masses being said by adding your Mass to the home page at www.rbmediainc.com.
  • Say the daily Family Rosary for the restoration of our religious rights and freedoms.
  • Pray the Litany to the U.S. saints, blessed, venerable and servants of God asking them to help us restore our religious rights and freedoms. We have a powerful spiritual force waiting to help us.
  • Pray for our country at a specific time each night. We suggest nightly prayer at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
  • Learn more about our first freedom and send your message to HHS and Congress telling them to stand up for religious liberty and conscience rights. To do so, go to www.usccb.org/conscience today!

Thank you for joining the effort to end this unprecedented government coercion of conscience and intrusion in religious affairs.

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Catholicism Study Program

Posted on May 14, 2012 at 3:59 pm by admin

The True Story Of The Catholic Faith
(Fridays evenings starting June 1, 2012 at 6:00 PM in St. Peter House.)

"Catholicism is a smart religion, and we consciously stress this aspect of the Faith in the program" - Fr. Robert Barton

Answering the call for the new evangelization, this multi-media, educational program reveals the truth, beauty and goodness of the faith in an unprecedented way.

Fr. Robert Barron created this groundbreaking program as a thematic presentation of what Catholics believe and why, so all adults can come to a deeper understanding of the Catholic Faith. Not a video lecture, Church history or scripture study, this engaging and interesting formation program uses the art, architecture, literature, music and all the treasures of the Catholic tradition to illuminate the timeless teachings of the Church.

Filmed in 50 locations throughout 15 countries. Come journey around the world and develop a deeper understanding of our beautiful Catholic Faith. The program will last for 10 weeks and pizza will be served.

For further information, please call Karen Turnbull, 276-6892 x351.

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Pastor’s Message For Sixth Sunday Of Easter

Posted on May 13, 2012 at 6:30 am by admin

Happy Mother’s Day to all of our mothers, would‐be mothers (except for a special calling to forego the married life for a dedicated service to Church or family), and soon‐to‐be mothers! May God continue to pour out His blessings upon you, because without you we would have a hard time accomplishing His will.

What a blessing we have in our Catholic schooling here at St. Vincent Ferrer. With gratitude to all of those who support it, our children are learning so much more about their Catholic Faith, and are putting these lessons into practice. In addition, they’re getting very involved in the weekday liturgies in which they participate, especially proclaiming the Readings from Scripture at the pulpit, and chanting the verse before the Gospel. The voices of these little children are also enhancing the music sung at Mass, with their lovely ways of displaying the talents with which God has blessed them. They are surely getting ready to take their leadership roles in the assembly of the faithful at Mass. What is becoming more evident is that the leadership of our school has undertaken the necessary steps to bring about this wonderful “springtime” in the life of St. Vincent’s, with the blossoming of so many of our students in academic, spiritual, social and athletic endeavors. Just last weekend, our students, with the assistance of the Lake Worth Playhouse and several other outside sources, put on a whimsically fun musical entitled, “Seussical the Musical Jr.,” in our parish Family Life Center. The children were a delight to watch. We’re so proud of them! The Friday and Saturday night performances displayed the many hidden talents of even some of our “quieter” children, too! I was amazed to see how splendidly the performers were able to somewhat “cast a spell” over the audience, as they pulled off an outstanding performance of nearly an hour and one‐half of purely delightful entertainment. Their production outshined several of the high school level shows that I have attended over the years; that’s how good they were. Thank you Moms and Dads for making the sacrifice to give these children the benefits of a total Catholic education!

I’m happy to announce that our bishop is sending another priest to assist in the work of our parish. The 31‐year old Father Brian Campbell, ordained three years ago for our diocese, will begin his service to our parish on the 1st of July. Father Brian has the idealism, energy, youth and experience needed to assist in the many responsibilities that go with keeping a large parish, such as ours, spiritually vibrant and inspired. We welcome him as he assumes the duties of his second priestly assignment, and hope that he will enjoy his assignment among us. He will also be assisting me at Pope John Paul II High School as one of the adjunct chaplains. I know you will welcome him warmly when he arrives.

Please remember in your prayers the soul of our former 3rd bishop, the Most Rev. Anthony O’Connell, who died May 4th, after a long illness. His tenure as chief shepherd in our diocese lasted a little over three years. They were marred with the discovery of a scandal from the past. The last years of his life were spent at a Trappist Monastery in South Carolina, where he assumed the humble role of just another brother of that community. May he now rest in peace!

Last Friday night, over sixty priests joined Bishop Babrbarito at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in imposing hands upon the head of our newly‐ordained priest, Father Leonard Dim. He is the first African priest ordained for our diocese! Born in the Catholic part of strife‐torn Nigeria, he comes from a devout Catholic family that has seen several vocations to religious life (When was the last time we heard of that in any of our families?), and even a martyr for the Faith. Fr. Dim’s first assignment will be to St. Joseph Parish in Stuart.

Every once in a while you may find a piece of paper in the entrances of our chapel or church with a copy some “novena” to some saint, or even Our Lord or Our Lady. They usually end with a “guaranteed promise” that if you say it for so many days, “your wish will come true.” When you come upon them, you have permission to rip them up and throw them out. They are not approved by Church authorities, and are placed there without the Pastor’s permission.

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Restoring Religious Liberty Holy Card Contest

Posted on May 12, 2012 at 11:00 am by admin

The St. Vincent Ferrer Let’s Talk Virtues & Vices Class held a Restoring Religious Liberty Holy Card contest for the upper grades of St. Vincent Ferrer School. The entries are displayed at the north, east and west entrances of the church, with the winning entries on an easel by the Adoration Chapel. Please stop to see the excellent work of all our students who took part in this contest. Certificates were awarded to the winners at a school assembly on Thursday, May 10th.

The winners for the cover are:
1st Place: John Guttuso, 6th grade (see below left).
2nd Place: Maggie Ramon, 8th grade.
3rd Place: Kristina Beck, 7th grade
Honorable Mention: Gabriela Rodriguez, 7th grade.

The winners for the prayer are:
1st Place: Gabriela Rodriguez, 7th grade (see below right).
2nd Place: Jennifer Magi, 8th grade.
3rd Place: Ciara Doyle, 8th grade.
Honorable Mention: Julia Hartmann, 8th grade.

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Thanks From The Care Ministry

Posted on May 11, 2012 at 1:42 pm by admin

The dedicated members of our St. Vincent Ferrer Care Ministry (SVFCM), and their clients, again wish to thank Msgr. Tom and the faithful supporters of our Bucket Drive last weekend. We collected $1,731 at our Bucket Drive. In addition, we received $744.50 in the Poor Boxes and our First Friday Collection was $933. This will provide food and some additional assistance to the needy for a few weeks.

SVFCM works very closely with the Caring Kitchen and the Food Pantry. We advise our clients to visit both locations and, if eligible, to register for the Food Card (food stamps) while they are there. We also make them aware of other agencies that may be of help to pay their other bills in addition to what we are able to provide.

The care ministry is looking to add additional adult volunteers to cover one day a week. Ministry members work from home taking requests for assistance from our answering service and scheduling interviews, if needed, with the clients in the Rectory Conference Room. Training is done by working with one of our members. We meet every Wednesday in the Rectory Conference Room at 7:00 PM to review cases.

All parishioners are invited to sit in on our meetings to see if this Parish Care Ministry speaks to you as a valuable Ministry worthy of your time and talents. The situation is desperate for many of our clients and their families. With your assistance, we are able to give them hope and direction to ease their predicament.

Contributions to the Care Ministry are always gratefully accepted and appreciated. You can place your contribution in the poor boxes, in the Sunday collection basket in an envelope marked SVFCM, or to the parish office during normal business hours. (Please make checks payable to the St. Vincent Ferrer Care Ministry or SVFCM.)

Again, thank you for your continued support. May God bless you and keep you in His loving care.

(For further information about the St. Vincent Ferrer Care Ministry, please call (561) 272-7580 and leave your name and number and express your interest to attend our Wednesday night meeting.

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SVF Featured In The Coastal Star

Posted on May 10, 2012 at 8:00 am by admin

In January of this year, St. Vincent Ferrer Parish was featured in an article in The Coastal Star. The article, “Delray Beach: First parish surviving, thriving at 70″, provided an historical look at our parish. Copies of the Coastal Star were available in the church for several weeks after the article ran. If you missed the opportunity to pick up a copy, you can read the article by clicking on the following link: SVF in Coastal Star.

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Cathechist Certification Training Course

Posted on May 9, 2012 at 7:30 am by admin

(Thursdays from June 7 – July 19 at 7:00 PM.)

The Echoes of Faith Cathechist Certification Training Program, which lasts for seven weeks, will be offered at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish. Teachers (Foundation / Level One Certificates), Parish Catechists (Basic / Intermediate Certificates) and RCIA Teams can benefit from this training program. Kit Johansen, Diocesan Trainer, will lead the program. The cost is $10.00.

Click here for more information about the Echoes of Faith Program. Please note that the registration deadline is May 25, 2012.

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First Holy Communion

Posted on May 8, 2012 at 11:13 am by admin

We extend our congratulations to over sixty of our children, and to those parents of those little children who received their First Holy Communion on April 28th. It was a joyful occasion as they saw the radiance emitted from the faces of those little ones who took Jesus into their hearts for the first time.

How many of us can still recall that great day of happiness in our own life, when God came to us under the form of bread and wine? May we always serve as living examples for these young children, by participating in Sunday Mass each week and receiving our Holy Communion worthily.

(Click on images for larger view)

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Pastor’s Message For Fifth Sunday Of Easter

Posted on May 6, 2012 at 6:30 am by admin

We’ve begun the month of May, the month of Mary, and, with it, some very real possibilities of an intensification of our devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. Over the past few centuries, Catholics have been verbally peppered with attacks on that title of Mary, being accused of making a deity or demi-god out of her. Though that is not the real understanding we have of Mary, we know that she played an extremely significant part in the role of our salvation. Our belief is similar to that of the Orthodox Church in attributing to Mary the God-planned role with her as sent to be the Mother of our Redeemer. Our Churches have almost exclusively viewed Mary’s role as essential to God’s plan, and therefore, we rank her as the first or highest person of the human race – our prime intercessor and spokesperson for all those who want to be with God forever. So, whatever special devotion we may have in our collection of Mariancentered observances, whether it be the Rosary, the Litany or novena in honor of Mary, this month is a time of renewed fervor in honor of our Blessed Mother, the mediatrix of all graces.

Since we began our annual Ferrer Fund campaign for the current year, the gifts of several generous donors have been arriving steadily, and I am deeply grateful for the generosity of many different parents, faculty, parishioners and friends, all of who have the best interests of our parish in mind. The Parish Development Board and the Ferrer Fund Committee must be warmly commended for their tireless efforts on behalf of our parish. It seems that every time they plan an event to benefit our parish, they seek to do it in an exciting and classy way, generating new ideas along with new revenue for our parish. Hats off to them!!

Next Sunday is Mother’s Day (or is its Mothers’ Day?). Moms are very special people in our lives, and if a person doesn’t honor his/her mom, we might just begin to wonder what kind of mother she was to her child. Was she in any way abusive? Did she have a substance addiction, or did she just ignore bonding with her child during those formative years? For us, we have a splendid role model in Mary, whom Jesus shares with us in order that we can have the best support system that money can’t buy! May our Moms have a wonderful day of tributes, accolades and prayers from us, whether they’re with us or with God, for they deserve the very best from us for their most underpaid and underappreciated roles in life.

Bishop Bevard of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, received a most thoughtful gift from your gracious hearts, and has asked me to convey his profound gratitude for your generous offering to help sustain the missionary work in the poorest diocese which flies the American flag. Your kind response to his appeal will be able to help him meet the budgeted expenses for part of the current year. His voice over the phone showed a great deal of emotion as he expressed his deep thanks to all of you who gave to the appeal. You are assured of a spiritual remembrance in his Masses and prayers for weeks to come. May God reward you for your kind-hearted charity.

In a few short weeks, we will be sending forth our eighth grade graduates, with a special Mass of Thanksgiving. They have been given the best Catholic education that they could possibly have, within the framework of a first class program of religious, academic and athletic training. Now we hope that our efforts on their behalf will bear much fruit, as they put together the necessary components that can carry them down the road to future success. May they never forget nor ever betray their roots in the spiritual heritage of the Catholic Faith. May they learn to express their deep appreciation for all that has been given to them by demonstrating their love of God through their worship and their treatment of their fellow human beings. May their parents and teachers always be proud of them as they demonstrate a maturity that bespeaks their Catholic education. May they never forget Who it is that gives them all the necessary good gifts needed to achieve their ultimate goal in life, and may they thanks Him unceasingly.

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Mother’s Day Novena Cards

Posted on May 5, 2012 at 8:00 am by admin

Mother’s Day – May 13th – is a special day when we honor our living or deceased Mothers.

For this occasion, Mother’s Day Novena Cards are available at the doors of the church. The cards allow you to express your love to all the special Mother’s in your life: whether it’s your Mother, Mother-in-Law, Grandmother, Sister, etc. Complete the outer envelope of the card and return it either via the collection basket on Sunday or directly to the parish office during business hours.

Our parish will celebrate nine consecutive Masses beginning May 12th, at the 4:00 PM Mass.

Note: In order to be placed on the altar during the Novena Masses, the envelope should be brought to the parish office before the 4:00 PM Mass on May 12th or dropped in the collection basket during the weekend of May 5th & 6th.

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