Welcome to our June 28, 2020

St. Francis of Assisi Parish Family

Sharing the love of Jesus in the north Georgia mountains, and beyond……

Archdiocese of Atlanta

Deacon Larry Casey Mass Times: Sat: 4:30 pm - Vigil

Deacon Paul Dietz Sun: 8:30 am, 11:00 am

Deacon J.P. McGuire – Administrator 1:00 pm (Spanish)

Business Manager Communion Svc: Mon - Fri: 9:00 am Jim Gioia ____________________________________________

Sacrament of Reconciliation: Office Assistant Sat: 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm Lisa Howard Eucharistic Adoration: Finance Manager Mon. – Fri. 9:45 am – 12 noon Rita Baker

Church Office Phone: (706) 745-6400

Dir. Of Religious Education 3717 Hwy 515

Joe Kwiatkowski Blairsville, GA. 30512

Adult Faith Formation

Colleen Orchanian Office Hours: Mon – Thurs: 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Music Director E-mail: office@stfrancisblairsville.com

Marianne Engelmann Website: www.stfrancisblairsville.com

June 28, 2020 Mass Intentions

Sat. 4:30 PM + Jack Walsh By Tom & Marcy Walsh Sun 8:30 AM Betty Supinie By Judy Supinie Sun 11:00 AM Joseph Mack By Joanna McConnell

WEEKLY CALENDAR June 28 – July 3rd SUNDAY

No Activities Monday 11:30 am Pray the Rosary Together Zoom Tuesday 11:30 am Pray the Rosary Together Zoom

Wednesday 11:30 am Pray the Rosary Together Zoom 2:00 pm Music Appreciation with Marianne Engelmann Zoom 7:00 pm Spanish Prayer Meeting Church (safe distancing precautions) Thursday 10:00 am Discipleship Group Zoom 11:30 am Pray the Rosary together Zoom 1:00 pm Laudato Si Study Group with Mary Smith Zoom 2:00 pm Koffee Klatch & Good News Club Zoom 4:00 pm Choir meets to pray the Rosary Zoom

Friday 11:30 am Pray the Rosary together Zoom

Saturday No Activities

Offertory June 20th & 21st First Collection $ 7,181.00 Online Giving $ 2,670.00 Second Collection $ 930.00

2020 Mass Intentions As a reminder, the Mass Intentions Book for 2020 is open, and intentions are weekly & weekend masses. Please call the office to arrange for any Mass intentions.

Readings: The Week of June 28th-July 3rd Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 KGS 4:8-11, 14-16a RMS 6:3-4, 8-11 MT 10:37-42 Monday – Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles ACTS 12:1-11 MT 16:13-19

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time AM 3:1-8, 4:11-12 MT 8:23-27

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time AM 5:14-15, 21-24 MT 8:28-34

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time AM 7:10-17 MT 9:1-8

Friday - Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle EPH 2:19-22 JN 20:24-29

Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time AM 9:11-15 MT 9:14-17

St Thomas the Apostle Feast Day – July 3rd

Prayer Requests William Eckstein Jean Caputa David Drake Pam Snyder Ann Jacques Rita De’Marco Rita Casey Diane Kwiatkowski Janet Trlica Mattew Kwiatkowski Cheryl Damon Jean Hiler, ofs Susan Porter Kathy & Jim Deen Terry McKnight Jerry & Madeline Rousseau Brian Ridley John Lena John Supinie William McConnell Rhonda Dietz Wayne Sanders Sean Sullivan Veronica Sanchez Pat Pierce Flon’na Perez Alvarez Jay Robinson Jim Halloran Betty & Herschel Brown Chip Clandandiel Edward & Sally Adment

Names will be removed after 30 days unless requested to remain

Prayer for Healing Almighty and merciful Father, by the power of your command, drive away from them all forms of sickness and disease. Restore strength to their bodies and joy to their spirit, so that in their renewed health, they may bless and serve you, now and forevermore.

General Notices

Following consultation with the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s College of Consultors, Deans of the 10 Deaneries, and lay professionals, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., announces the following and conditions regarding in-parish worship and access to parish facilities. These procedures will be evaluated and amended, from time to time. Out of concern for the well-being of all in our communities, everyone is urged to monitor carefully and abide by the directives of federal, state and local authorities, as well as guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control. The dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass for persons with health reasons or concerns remains in effect for all in the Archdiocese through Sunday, August 2. Because of this, those wishing to participate in Mass and receive Holy Communion can do so by attending any Mass any day of the week. Persons are encouraged to take their temperature before leaving home and to avoid coming to church if the temperature is 99.6 or greater. Taking of temperature at church entrances is allowed, and may be incorporated at some future time, if necessary. Anyone who is not feeling well should remain at home, out of concern for others. Those who are at risk, provide care to an at-risk person, or are concerned that they, or their family might become sick should stay at home and view live-streamed or online Masses.

Please Pray…..

Remember to pray for the doctors and nurses, first

responders and those on the front line who are putting

themselves in harm’s way out of a sense of commitment

and true love for their Creator and neighbor.

MASS ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES

At St. Francis of Assisi

While we have resumed our regular Mass schedule, there are requirements that remain in effect for attendance. As a reminder, those requirements are: -Attendance at each Mass is limited to 100 people. - It is required to wear a mask upon entering, and while in the church. - Ushers will escort you to your seat, which will require appropriate distancing within the pews. Please be understanding, and occupy the seat that you are escorted to. -Ushers will also direct you to receive Holy Communion. Either toward the front or rear of the church. At present, Holy Communion is to be received on the hand, out of love and concern for our fellow parishioners. Finally, when exiting the Church, please also follow the guidance of the ushers, who will direct that the side aisles be used, to minimize contact, and maintain proper distancing.

Some FAQ’s

Q: What about Summer Faith Formation programs such

as Vacation Bible School, camps or in-person activities or

youth gatherings?

A: For now, summer faith formation activities should remain virtual, with family involvement encouraged. The archdiocese will issue new guidance as the situation continues to evolve. Q: What if I do not wish to wear a mask at Mass? Isn’t

social distancing enough?

A: The Centers for Disease Control is still recommending masks for both indoor and outdoor activities. If you are not able to wear a mask because of health concerns, it might not be safe for you to return to Mass just yet. Masks are needed to keep others safe, including your fellow parishioners, the ministers and your pastor. We must take the safest approach possible as we welcome people back to our parishes and we ask for your patience and cooperation.

Atlanta Catholic Radio, AM 1160, the Quest features live broadcasting!

Need more of our Catholic Faith? Missing the opportunity to fellowship as often as you’d like? Then why not tune your radio to AM 1160, the Quest, and join in on the fun and interactive broadcasts? Hosts will chat with guests each hour including Atlanta area priests and ministry leaders discussing their personal faith journeys, missions, and unique experiences. Opportunities to call in, and have your questions answered, or comments addressed are also part of the schedule throughout the day. For a complete schedule, visit theQuestAtlanta.com Listen on your radio at AM 1160 during daylight hours, online

24/7 at theQuestAtlanta.com or on The Quest Atlanta App.

FOOD PANTRY WEEKEND

Next weekend, July 4th & 5th, will once again be an

opportunity to share the bountiful gifts that God has

given to us with our neighbors in need. We will again be collecting canned goods and other non-perishable

items to help stock the food pantry. Please be generous! Any financial donations should be given directly to our neighbors at:

Mountain Presbyterian Church.

3831 Highway 515

Blairsville, GA * 30512

Communication

…..is important. Which is why we are resuming our bulletin. Bulletins will be printed in limited supply, in an effort to save printing costs, and due to a less than normal attendance at Mass on Sundays. BUT…..Bulletins are also available on the parish website, www.stfrancisofassisiblairsville.com , and are also sent out via Flocknote. Speaking of Flocknote, we have had sporadic reports of people not receiving Flocknotes on a consistent basis. While the vendor is aware of this situation and it remains a work in progress, ALL FLOCKNOTES have been, and will continue to be posted on the parish website as well. www.stfrancisofassisiblairsville.com So….. Bulletins are available:

1. Printed 2. Flocknote 3. Website 4.

Flocknotes are available: 1. Directly to your email 2. By visiting the website

You can sign up to receive Flocknotes via the website as well.

As a reminder, the opportunity to give directly to our parish, as well as to donate to any and all second collections can be facilitated by giving online. We especially appreciate the ongoing support that we have received during this difficult time. The link to give online, either one time, or on an ongoing basis, is on the website, www.stfrancisblairsville.com

To Find Our Lives: Scott

Hahn Reflects on the

Thirteenth Sunday in

Ordinary Time

Readings: 2 Kgs 4:8–16 Ps 89:2–3, 16–19

Rom 6:3–4, 8–11 Mt 10:37–42

The Liturgy this week continues to instruct us in the elements of discipleship. We’re told that even the most humble among us have a share in the mission Christ gives to His Church. We’re not all called to the ministry of the Apostles, or to be prophets like Elisha in today’s First Reading. But each of us is

called to a holy life (see 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Thessalonians

4:3). At Baptism our lives were joined forever to the cross of Christ, as Paul tells us in today’s Epistle. Baptized into His death, we’re to renounce sin and live for God in Christ Jesus. We are to follow Him, each of us taking up our personal cross, as Jesus says in today’s Gospel. That doesn’t mean we will all be asked to suffer a martyr’s death. But each of us is called to self-denial, to the offering of our lives in service of God’s plan. Jesus must be elevated to first place in our lives—above even our closest bonds of kinship and love. By Baptism, we’ve been made part of a new family—the kingdom of God, the Church. We are to proclaim that kingdom with our lives, bringing our fathers and mothers, and all men and women, to live as “little ones” under the fatherhood of God and the kingship of the Holy One. We do this by opening our hearts and homes to the service of the Lord, following the Shunnamite woman’s example in today’s First Reading. As Jesus tells us, we’re to receive others—not only prophets but also little children, the poor, and the imprisoned—as we receive Christ Himself

(see Matthew 18:5; 25:31–46). As we sing in today’s Psalm, we are to testify to His favors and kindness in our lives. We’re to hold fast to the promise—that if we have died with Christ, we shall also live, that if we lose our lives for His sake, we shall find our reward, and walk forever in His countenance.

Lecturas: 2 Kgs 4: 8–11, 14–16 Salmo 89: 2–3, 16–19 Rom 6: 3–4, 8–11 Mt 10: 37–42 La liturgia de esta semana continúa instruyéndonos en los elementos del discipulado. Se nos dice que incluso los más humildes entre nosotros participan en la misión que Cristo le da a su Iglesia. No todos estamos llamados al ministerio de los Apóstoles, ni a ser profetas como Eliseo en la primera lectura de hoy. Pero cada uno de nosotros está llamado a una vida santa (ver 2 Timoteo 1: 9; 1 Tesalonicenses 4: 3). En el Bautismo nuestras vidas se unieron para siempre a la cruz de Cristo, como nos dice Pablo en la Epístola de hoy. Bautizados en su muerte, debemos renunciar al pecado y vivir para Dios en Cristo Jesús. Debemos seguirlo, cada uno de nosotros tomando nuestra cruz personal, como Jesús dice en el Evangelio de hoy. Eso no significa que a todos se nos pedirá que suframos la muerte de un mártir. Pero cada uno de nosotros está llamado a la abnegación, a la ofrenda de nuestras vidas al servicio del plan de Dios. Jesús debe ser elevado al primer lugar en nuestras vidas, incluso por encima de nuestros lazos más cercanos de parentesco y amor. Por el bautismo, hemos sido hechos parte de una nueva familia: el reino de Dios, la Iglesia. Debemos proclamar ese reino con nuestras vidas, llevando a nuestros padres y madres, y a todos los hombres y mujeres, a vivir como "pequeños" bajo la paternidad de Dios y el reinado del Santo. Hacemos esto abriendo nuestros corazones y hogares al servicio del Señor, siguiendo el ejemplo de la mujer sunitamita en la Primera lectura de hoy. Como Jesús nos dice, debemos recibir a otros, no solo profetas, sino también niños pequeños, pobres y encarcelados, a medida que recibamos a Cristo mismo (véase Mateo 18: 5; 25: 31–46). Mientras cantamos en el Salmo de hoy, debemos dar testimonio de sus favores y bondad en nuestras vidas. Debemos aferrarnos a la promesa: que si hemos muerto con Cristo, también viviremos, que si perdemos nuestras vidas por Su causa, encontraremos nuestra recompensa y caminaremos para siempre en Su semblante.

Saint Junipero Serra’s Story

In 1776, when the American Revolution was beginning in the east, another part of the future United

States was being born in California. That year a gray-robed Franciscan founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, now famous for its annually returning swallows. San Juan was the seventh of nine missions established under the direction of this indomitable Spaniard.

Born on Spain’s island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order taking the name of Saint Francis’ childlike companion, Brother Juniper. Until he was 35, he spent most of his time in the classroom—first as a student of theology and then as a professor. He also became famous for his preaching. Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of Saint Francis Solano in South America. Junipero’s desire was to convert native peoples in the New World.

Arriving by ship at Vera Cruz, Mexico, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way Junipero’s left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life. For 18 years, he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula. He became president of the missions there.

Enter politics: the threat of a Russian invasion south from Alaska. Charles III of Spain ordered an expedition to beat Russia to the territory. So the last two conquistadors—one military, one spiritual—began their quest. José de Galvez persuaded Junipero to set out with him for present-day Monterey, California. The first mission founded after the 900-mile journey north was San Diego in 1769. That year a shortage of food almost canceled the expedition. Vowing to stay with the local people, Junipero and another friar began a novena in preparation for St. Joseph’s day, March 19, the scheduled day of departure. On that day, the relief ship arrived.

Other missions followed: Monterey/Carmel (1770); San Antonio and San Gabriel (1771); San Luís Obispo (1772); San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano (1776); Santa Clara (1777); San Buenaventura (1782). Twelve more were founded after Serra’s death.

Junipero made the long trip to Mexico City to settle great differences with the military commander. He arrived at the point of death. The outcome was substantially what Junipero sought: the famous “Regulation” protecting the Indians and the missions. It was the basis for the first significant legislation in California, a “Bill of Rights” for Native Americans.

Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians. The Native Americans were kept at the mission after baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts—a move that has brought cries of “injustice” from some moderns.

Junipero’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples. Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight till dawn. He baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000. His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo, Carmel, and was beatified in 1988. Pope Francis canonized him in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 2015.

Reflection

The word that best describes Junipero is zeal. It was a spirit that came from his deep prayer and dauntless will. “Always forward, never back” was his motto. His work bore fruit for 50 years after his death as the rest of the missions were founded in a kind of Christian communal living by the Indians. When both Mexican and American greed caused the secularization of the missions, the Chumash people went back to what they had been—God again writing straight with crooked lines.

Today’s World

Junipero Serra was canonized in 2015 as a saint by Pope Francis during a trip to the U.S. While Serra is credited with spreading the Catholic faith across what is now California, critics say Serra was part of an imperial conquest that beat and enslaved Native Americans. As a result, statues of St. Junipero Serra have been torn down, desecrated and destroyed, as various California cities re-evaluate having his statues displayed in public. A sad state of affairs, as just last Friday, protesters toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. And by Saturday afternoon another Serra statue was toppled at Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles. Leaders of other California cities have already announced plans to remove statues of the Catholic saint near their city halls.

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ARNE’S AUTO SERVICE Complete Auto Repair & Tire Ctr.

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Parishioner 20+ Years Experience Insured

NELSON’S ACE FARM & GARDEN

Carhartt Clothing, Paint, Pet Supplies

Lawn & Garden Power Equip & Garden Ctr. 1839 Blue Ridge Hwy (706) 745-6380 Blairsville, GA. 30512 OPEN 7 DAYS

Knights of Columbus St. Francis of Assisi Council 11746

Bus. Meeting 2nd Thurs each month, 6:30pm

Socials will be announced https://oc176.blogspot.com

Members of St. Vincent de Paul Society see extreme suffering every day. We are blessed to be able to help a small percent of those who suffer thanks to your

donation.

Mayra L. Owen

Independent Senior Sales Director 770-833-8842

Over 30 Years’ Experience www.marykay.com/mayraowen

parishioner

BLUE RIDGE LAW

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37 Young Harris St.

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Our Father’s Place

St. Francis of Assisi Gift Shop

Religious articles, gifts, bibles, cards, jewelry OPEN BEFORE AND AFTER

ALL WEEKEND MASSES

TATA on Main Time And Time Again

Upscale Consignment Boutique

706-896-0567 Theresa Gaeta Andretta & Lisa Crilly - Parishioners

Charles Johnston - Numismatist 30 Years Experience ۰ President emeritus

Parishioner 706.781.3402

. Buy old gold & silver coins and jewelry

Mountain View Funeral Home Distinctive Service at Moderate Cost

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Tom’s Truck & Auto

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