Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Parish of St. Augustine in Ossining New York. Our lovely parish has served the Catholic community of Ossining and the surrounding area since 1853. We continue to be a vibrant parish, active in our prayer life, spiritual development, social ministries, and education. Please take a moment to peruse our website to see all that we are and all that we do! And please feel free to come and worship Almighty God with us!
With prayers and best wishes, I am,
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Fr. McSweeney
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA
is sponsored by our Girl Scout Troop #1307
on Sunday, December 15th,
from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm in the Parish Hall.
The cost will be $5 per person
children under 3 free (pay at the door).
Dedication Ceremony of the Ossining Community Christmas Crib
The Ossining Community is invited to the Dedication Ceremony of the Ossining Community Christmas Crib on
Sunday, December 15th,
at 2:00 PM.
This year marks the 64th Anniversary of our Community Christmas Crib and they are hoping for greater participation. The Crib is erected on the grounds of the House of Refuge Apostolic Church at the corner of Croton Avenue and Todd Place (Washington Square). There will be carol singing.
Everyone is invited and encouraged
to attend the Dedication Ceremony.
The Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship appeal serves our spiritual communities across our 10 counties. If you have not yet made your pledge to the Cardinal’s Appeal, please make your commitment today. Remember, you can pledge your gift now and make payments in the coming months. To date, $93,141 has been received from 204 donors. Please join them in order for us to meet our goal of $179,500.
POPE FRANCIS CONDEMNS EUTHANASIA AS UTILITARIANISM, NOT FREEDOM
VATICAN CITY --- The Catholic News Agency reported that Pope Francis said that Euthanasia is a way of treating the human person as an object; while it may appear to give freedom, it is really a rejection of hope. “The practice of euthanasia, which has already been legalized in several countries, only apparently aims to encourage personal freedom,” he said. “In reality,” he continued, “it is based on a utilitarian view of the person, who becomes useless or can be equated to a cost, if from the medical point of view, he has no hope of improvement or can no longer avoid pain.” “If one chooses death, the problems are solved in a sense; but how much bitterness behind this reasoning, and what rejection of hope involves the choice of giving up everything and breaking all ties!” he declared. Pope Francis stated that medical technology is not being used for its right purpose, the service of the human person, when it “reduces him to a thing,” or makes distinctions between who is not deserving of treatment because of supposedly being “a burden” or “a waste.” The contrary approach is a commitment to accompany a patient and his loved ones at all stages, trying to alleviate suffering through palliative care, or the family environment of hospice, he argued. This “contributes to creating a culture and practice more attentive to the value of each person.” The countries with legal euthanasia are the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Luxembourg, and Canada. Assisted suicide is legal in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, and in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Montana, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, California, and Maine (starting January 1, 2020). Pope Francis encouraged medical personnel to “never lose heart for the misunderstanding you might encounter, or before the insistent proposal of more radical and hasty roads,” adding that their work includes raising awareness in a society “which is not very aware and is sometimes distracted.” Francis described a sort of “Pandora's box,” in which everything is explained except hope. “And we have to go look for this,” he said. “How to explain hope, indeed, how to give it in the most limited cases.” In the audience, the pope praised the association’s focus on providing the best care for each individual patient, according to his or her unique biology, calling it “an oncology of mercy,” because personalizing care puts one’s attention on the individual, not only the illness, he argued. He encouraged medical workers to take Jesus as their example, also stressing the importance of Christ for those who are sick. Jesus, he said, “helps them to find the strength not to interrupt the bonds of love, to offer their suffering for brothers, to keep friendship with God.” “Inspire everyone to be close to those who suffer, to the little ones above all, and to put the weak in the first place, so that they can grow a more human society and relationships marked by gratuitousness, rather than opportunity,” he urged.
CHAPEL
November/December EMHC/Lector Schedule
The Holy Rosary
(click on title to go to Holy Rosary website)
Rosary Prayers
The Prayer,
We Fly to Thy PatronageWe fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.
May the Divine assistance remain always with us!
Amen.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel,
Defend us in battle,
Be our protection against the
malice and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we
humbly pray.
And do you, O Prince of the
heavenly host, by the divine
power, thrust into hell Satan
and all evil spirits who prowl
about the world, seeking the
ruin of souls.
Amen.
Attend Daily Mass
Do you sometimes wonder what you are going to do during the day? Have you ended your day feeling that you really did not accomplish much? Perhaps you have time on your hands? Have you asked yourself: how can I make a difference in the lives of family, friends, strangers, even the world? Well, have you ever thought about attending Mass daily or a few times a week? If you think about it, there is no better way to spend part of your day; no better way to praise God; no better place to pray for yourself or anyone for whatever intentions, including your own! Join fellow parishioners, along with people who work in the area, in adoring, praising and petitioning God in his house and at the table of the Lord. Here at St. Augustine’s, we have two daily Masses at 6:30 and 8:30 AM. Give it some thought.
“To fall in love with God
is the greatest romance;
to seek him the greatest adventure;
to find him, the greatest human achievement.”
― Saint Augustine of Hippo
The Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church Facebook
page is not our parish's official Facebook page.
This is our official Parish Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/augustine.saint.7
The Facebook logo link at the top of this page will
connect you with our Official Facebook page.
Our other official pages are:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/StAugustineNY
Flocknote:
https://archny.flocknote.com/
Website:
http://www.staugny.org
Please introduce yourself to
Fr. McSweeney, Fr. J.P.,
and/or
Deacons Tim, Steven, Cliff or John
so that we may better serve you.
We hope that you
will become involved
with our parish
and we look forward
to your presence and
participation each week!!
Birthright’s hotline is
1-800-550-4900
or
(914) 737-0344.
PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS
Heavenly Father, we place our troops in Your loving hands. Guide and protect them always ~ especially during this time of the year when they are so far from their loved ones ~ keep their families in your loving care, bless them for their sacrifice in protecting us and our nation. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
PLEASE DO NOT PARK AROUND THE CIRCLE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH.
Emergency vehicles need access to our property at all times. Parking around the circle not only ruins the grass, but might prevent emergency vehicles from getting through to an emergency. Please be considerate, lives might be at stake.
Westchester County Young Adult Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
If you are or know a parishioner who is in need of assistance of a personal matter, please contact Deacon Steven DeMartino at (914) 330-3727. All calls will remain confidential.
JOIN ST. AUGUSTINE'S
ADULT CHOIR!
Music enhances a beauty of the Holy Mass and provides joy, comfort and inspiration and musical prayer for our liturgies.
If you can carry a tune and want to learn how to sing, come join us. Don't miss the opportunity to become a member of such a unique ministry.
For more info, please contact our
Choir Director,
Bozena Romano,
at
(914) 739-3527.
You CAN Help!
The Ministry of the Usher needs volunteers like you. There will be an interest and planning conference call for the Christmas season soon, and regular weekly help is needed at several Masses. Interested? Join us! Many thanks to all current Ushers and helpers! Any members of the community that are able to step up and pitch in - simply contact us at usher@sterlingsolved.com and let us know.
Our Lady of Fatima will visit YOU! Members of the Legion of Mary will bring a parish statue of Our Lady of Fatima to your home and they will pray the rosary with you. Our Lady will stay with you for one week. Spending time with our Lady in your home, praying the rosary is filled with many blessings for you and your family. To schedule a visit, please call Patty Barbera at (914) 310-0558.
WeShare (formerly Parish Pay) is an alternative means of support for St. Augustine Parish instead of using envelopes. In lieu of weekly collections, the WeShare program will collect monthly contributions via your checking, saving, or credit card account. There is NO cost to you to participate in the program.
How do I enroll?
To safeguard your personal information, enrollment can be done directly at the WeShare website: https://staugny.churchgiving.com or
by calling
WeShare Customer Care at
1-800-950-9952.
The process takes less than 5 minutes.
If you have already signed up for WeShare and you do not wish to receive the weekly donation envelopes, please notify the Parish Office.
For those parishioners who make their donations through WeShare, please know that the “donation slip” that can be put into the collection basket may be found on our website (www.StAugNY.org) under the Donate/WeShare tab on thIs page (Home Page), or on your donation page at the WeShare site.
If you have any questions regarding the WeShare program, please contact: mary.anne.dempsey@staugny.org
or
call her at
(914) 941-0067, Ext. 102.
PLEASE REMEMBER ST. AUGUSTINE’S ENDOWMENT
IN YOUR WILL.
Suggested wording: “I give
St. Augustine Church,
381 N. Highland Avenue,
Ossining, New York 10562
the sum of $_________________
for general purposes”.
Thank you.