Today’s gospel reading may sound familiar. It was read the week after Easter. I did not want to repeat myself too much so I reread my homily for that day. This is not for the faint of heart. There was something wrong with it and it was at first hard to define exactly what that was. The interpretation of the scriptures was fine, the examples were good and phrasing acceptable. But then I remembered a quip by the famous British Catholic wit G K Chesterton. When asked by a newspaper to answer the question what is wrong with the world. He answered, “I am what is wrong with the world.’ What is wrong with that homily? I am what was wrong with that homily.
Continue reading “Pentecost – Homily (Fr. Smith)”Community Mass – Pentecost Sunday
On Sunday, June 5, 2022, join us in person or online for Pentecost Sunday.
Our current Sunday Mass times are:
- 9 AM EDT – Morning Mass
- 11:15 AM EDT – Community Mass
- 7 PM EDT – Evening Mass
Watch the video live by clicking in the window above.
Automated closed captioning is available.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel stcharlesbklyn at this link to watch on your Internet enabled TV or viewing device.
The readings will be from Cycle C.
Entrance: Come, Holy Ghost – 559
Readings/Psalm/Sequence – 1084
Offertory: O Breathe on Me, O Breath of God – 902
Communion: One Bread, One Body – 932
The Gather 3rd Edition Hymnal/Missals are available for use in the church – pick one up as you enter and return it after Mass. Instructions on how to use the hymnal missal are available here: https://www.stcharlesbklyn.org/hymnal-missal/ .
Today’s readings are also available to read online at the USCCB website https://bible.usccb.org .
- Please follow the instructions of the ushers, and observe all of the posted health precautions so that we can continue to worship together safely.
- Support our Parish – Please contribute to our General Collection online here.
- Help us support Catholic Charities Food Pantries in Brooklyn and Queens online
Pentecost – Filled with the Holy Spirit
Detail of Holy Spirit Hole,
Saints Peter and Paul, Söll, Austria
(About this Image)
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:2–4)
Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the First Reading
Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1–11
June 5, 2022
We celebrate this week the feast of Pentecost. It is a Jewish feast indeed one of the great pilgrimage feasts when Jews were encouraged to go to Jerusalem and offer sacrifice. It was originally a harvest celebration but quickly became connected with the Exodus and the giving of the Law. Pentecost means 50 and it is celebrated by Jews 50 days after the Passover and commemorates Moses bringing the law to the people.
Friday Evening Prayer at 5 PM
Please download the worship aid to participate in Friday’s evening prayer, which will begin at 5 PM.
Instructions on how to join are available here.
7th Sunday of Easter – Homily (Fr. Smith)
We began this week with a senseless killing of a man on a subway many of us use, going to brunch, which many of us do. It continued with the murder of young children and their teachers in a school in Texas. This is after the racially motivated killings in Buffalo the week before and the background violence of the suicides of working-class white men and gay teens of all colors. There is a dispiritingly futile debate on why this is and what can be done. Can we as Christians add something beyond echoing the horror?
I think we can, and St. John today shows us both what we have to offer and why we may not do it. But before we get to St. John, let us look at St. Paul and then what we mean by love.
Continue reading “7th Sunday of Easter – Homily (Fr. Smith)”Community Mass – 7th Sunday of Easter
On Sunday, May 29, 2022, join us in person or online for the 7th Sunday of Easter.
Our current Sunday Mass times are:
- 9 AM EDT – Morning Mass
- 11:15 AM EDT – Community Mass
- 7 PM EDT – Evening Mass
Watch the video live by clicking in the window above.
Automated closed captioning is available.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel stcharlesbklyn at this link to watch on your Internet enabled TV or viewing device.
The readings will be from Cycle C.
Entrance: Baptised in Water – 903
Readings and Psalm – 1082
Offertory: At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing – 536
Communion: Come to the Water – 584
Closing: Let All Things Now Living – 635
The Gather 3rd Edition Hymnal/Missals are available for use in the church – pick one up as you enter and return it after Mass. Instructions on how to use the hymnal missal are available here: https://www.stcharlesbklyn.org/hymnal-missal/ .
Today’s readings are also available to read online at the USCCB website https://bible.usccb.org .
- Please follow the instructions of the ushers, and observe all of the posted health precautions so that we can continue to worship together safely.
- Support our Parish – Please contribute to our General Collection online here.
- Help us support Catholic Charities Food Pantries in Brooklyn and Queens online
PPC Elections Now Open
Voting is now open in the Parish Pastoral Council election. Our Parish Pastoral Council (PPC”) is the seven-person group responsible for planning and executing the pastoral activities of our Parish. We are seeking three people to serve three-year terms, which will commence on June 15, 2022.
Three individuals were nominated by fellow parishioners: Tevin Williams, Alexandra Gupta, and Maria Lehman. Each candidate prepared a statement which appears below. Our Nomination Committee reviewed the candidates and determined they were all eligible to serve on the PPC.