ACTIVITIES - SAINT MARK'S AND HOLY ROSARY AND OTHER PARISHES AROUND THE AREA BUS TRIP TO THE MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE, DC - Wednesday, April 17, 2024 $115 Adult, ages 11+ $99, ages 4-10 Includes Transportation, Admission, Dinner Departure from St. Mark - 6:00 am Return approximately to St. Mark - 7:00 pm Call Robyn Murphy 814 931-3683 or Diane O'Leary 814 935-2114 Checks can be made payable to Freedom Excursions. CONFESSIONS – Saturdays – Month of November – Saint Mark’s – 12 noon Saturdays - Month of December - Holy Rosary - 12 noon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ADVENT REFLECTIONS – The Franciscan Friars at St. Bernardine Monastery, 768 Monastery Road, Hollidaysburg will be hosting Daytime Advent Reflections which will begin at 10:00 am on Wednesday, November 29, and each Wednesday thereafter for three additional weeks (Dec. 6, Dec. 13, Dec. 20). Each day will include a reflection on the Scriptures, the celebration of Holy Mass, and lunch with the Friars. This workshop will be $20 per class or $60 for the four-week series. If there is enough demand, an Evening Advent Reflections will be scheduled which will begin at 6:30 pm and include a reflection on the Scriptures and a prayer service. The evening class will be $10 per class or $30 for the four-week series. Any questions, please call 814 695-3802. SAINT MARK’S MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR – Here is an update on the status of the Church Tower. Good news with the tower roofs – they seem to be watertight. Tower #2 is draining well and the area around the window over Tower 1 will be secured. We are still going to need a permanent solution to the problem so we will continue to solicit your help. Use any envelope and mark it “Maintenance & Repair.” Also, the pink Maintenance Envelope in your box of envelopes will be going to the same cause. Grateful for your support and May God Bless You. SOUP SALE – Pickup at Saint Mark’s - Saturday, December 2 9:00 am to 11:30 am Robyn Murphy 814 931-3683 CHURCH ENVELOPES – We will soon be getting our 2024 church envelopes labeled for distribution. Church envelopes are signs of your active participation in the parish community and ministry. Should you be asked to be a Sponsor for Baptism or a Sponsor for Confirmation, the use of envelopes and going to church and receiving the sacraments show that you are an active participant of your Catholic faith and worthy of the great honor of being asked to sponsor someone. If you have a new address and/or telephone number, want envelopes, or want to register as a parishioner, please call the Rectory of the Church you belong to or want to join. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHRISTMAS PROGRAM – HOLY ROSARY – DECEMBER 3, 2023 – AFTER 11:00 AM MASS What really happened the night Jesus was born? How did God’s Son end up in a smelly place for animals? Who got to see the baby King? Families first stop at The Stable to find these answers and more. We are asking that you pre-register, so we have enough supplies – registration papers are on the back tables. The last meeting to prepare for this Christmas Program will be at 7:00 pm in the Holy Rosary Social Hall on Tuesday, November 28, 2023. Call Barb Kowalski at the rectory with any questions ___________________________________________________________________________ FLOWERS – There is a special envelope in your box of envelopes for Flower Memorials for Christmas. Memorial names and donors will be published. A plain envelope can also be used. CHURCH DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS – Saint Mark’s will be decorated a little earlier this year. Mark your calendar for Thursday, December 14th beginning at 5:30 pm if you can volunteer to help. If you can’t come at 5:30 pm, please come when you can on that date and time. TREE OF GIVING – The tree will be up soon. The deadline to bring in the unwrapped gifts is Sunday December 17. The gifts can be placed under the tree at either parish. Please remember to return your tag with the gift. If you happen to take a tag and find that you are unable to get the item, please put the tag back on the tree. If you have any questions, contact Krena Leberfinger at 814 515-3377. ENVELOPES FOR THE YEAR 2024 will be on the tables soon. 2024 PARISH CALENDARS will be at the back of our churches next weekend. POT LUCK CHRISTMAS PARTY - will be Sunday, January 7, 2024 There will be a sign up “coupon” in a future bulletin. 21 CLUB TICKETS will be available soon. HOMEBOUND LIST FOR CHRISTMAS CARDS – Next weekend, there will be a list on the tables at the back of our churches of the homebound parishioners of our parishes. If you would be interested in sending a Christmas Card to any of them and for your convenience, there will be a box for you to place the cards and they will be delivered to the parishioners. The deadline for putting the cards into the box is December 17. SAINT MARK’S MERRY CHRISTMAS CANDLE CARDS will be available next weekend on the back tables. The envelope contains a card that can be given to anyone for whom you would like to remember at Christmas. It tells them that there is a Candle lit on Christmas Eve at Saint Mark’s Church and will burn throughout the Christmas season for their intentions. There is also a place for you to sign your name. The other envelope is for you to enclose the $5 donation and put it in the collection basket. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STAINED GLASS WINDOWS AT SAINT MARK’S SPECIAL NOTICE ABOUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE Week #4, Window #4 (4th from the front on left): Saint Mark and Saint Barnabas were relatives, possibly cousins, who made several missionary journeys together. Barnabas was an early prominent Christian disciple in Jerusalem, first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one who sold some land he owned and gave the proceeds to the Apostles. He introduced St. Paul to the Apostles, accompanied Paul on some of his missionary journeys, and is also mentioned in some of Paul’s Epistles. According to tradition, Barnabas was martyred by being tortured and stoned to death around 61 A.D. This window depicts Mark and Barnabas departing on a missionary journey to Cyprus where they preached all over the island, using the Gospel of St. Matthew, the first Gospel written. St. Mark is shown traveling lightly, carrying only a purple traveling bag and a walking stick or staff, shown again at the bottom in the middle windowpane. The fire in the lower left windowpane might serve as a reminder that these missionaries are led by the Holy Spirit (often symbolized by fire) as they go forth to spread the fire of God’s love by preaching the “good news” of Jesus Christ. The symbol of the lion is frequently used to represent St. Mark the Evangelist, probably because St. Mark begins his Gospel with scenes of St. John the Baptist and Jesus in the wilderness. It is interesting to note that, at the time the Gospels were written, lions still inhabited caves within Palestine. Often the lion symbolizing St. Mark is a winged lion as in this image, wings being a symbol of divine mission. . FACEBOOK – facebook.com/saintmarksofaltoona - “Like us” on Facebook Check out our Facebook page and see the new addition put on there describing the stained-glass windows in Saint Mark’s Church. Week #5, Window #5 (5th from the front on left): In this window Saint Paul is shown under house arrest in chains, in Rome with a soldier guarding him. This event occurred during St. Paul’s second Roman captivity shortly before his martyrdom in 63 A.D. Sacred Scripture relates to St. Mark was with St. Paul to help and comfort him. (1 Colossians 4: 10-11) St. Paul near the end of his Epistle to the Ephesians, describes himself as an “ambassador in chains” as he boldly makes known the mystery of the Gospel. The bottom left window pane depicts a griffin, a mythological creature which possesses the parts of great predator animals, such as a lion and an eagle. For this reason, it is a perfect symbol of Satan, the great predator of the Christian. The middle pane illustrates the Bible with the Latin words “Spiritus Gladius”, translated “Sword of the Spirit”, imposed on a double-edged sword. This symbol is reference to St. Paul’s admonition in his Epistle to the Ephesians, written during his imprisonment. He tells them and us to “put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil… In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of the God” (Ephesians 6” 10-17) The bottom right pane shows the shield of faith mentioned above; the three circles on the shield possibly represent the Holy Trinity, the central mystery of our faith. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out our Facebook page and see the new addition put there describing the stained-glass windows in Saint Mark’s Church. Week #6, Window #6 (1st window on the right-hand side of the church): This window presents St. Mark with parchment and a feather pen in hand, writing his Gospel as St. Peter dictates to him. Christ, crowned in glory, with the wounds of his hands and feet, appears above them, holding the world in His hands, with angels at his side. (Note the winged lion on the side of St. Mark’s writing desk signifying his divine mission in writing the Gospel, as well as the scroll proclaiming “Pax Tibi” or “Peace to Y ou”.) The Gospel of St. Mark (the second Gospel) written in Rome before 60 A.D. is a record of the life of Jesus through the eyes of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles (shown again with the keys to the kingdom hanging from his waist). For this reason, St. Peter plays a prominent role in St. Mark’s Gospel whose purpose is to prove to the Romans (and us) that Jesus is the Savior and that He is divine. Thus, a high point in Mark’s Gospel occurs when the Roman centurion proclaims, following the death of Jesus, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” FACEBOOK – facebook.com/saintmarksofaltoona - “Like us” on Facebook Check out our Facebook page and see the new addition put there describing the stained-glass windows in Saint Mark’s Church. Week #9, Window #9 (4th window on the right-hand side of the church): In this window, Saint Mark is shown reminiscing about the events in the life of Christ as seen through the eyes of Saint Peter. In the upper left, the table at which Jesus ate His Last Supper with the Apostles is pictured. On the table is the chalice reminding us of the Blood of Christ which was poured out at Calvary. The arrest of Jesus is illustrated beside the table. On the right is depicted one of the miracles of Jesus, probably the cure of the blind man near Bethsaida which is described only in Mark’s Gospel. To the right of Saint Mark is shown the fig tree with leaves, but no fruit, an allusion to the story where Jesus cursed the fig tree, causing it to wither. To his left is seen the Gospel of Mark in the paws of the winged lion, mentioned previously as the symbol of the evangelist Mark. This points to the fact that, in his Gospel, Mark dwells most fully on the Resurrection of Christ and proclaims with great emphasis the royal dignity of Christ. (Recall that lions are known as “the king of beasts” and wings are a symbol of divine mission). Because it was once believed that young lions were born dead but came to life three days later when breathed upon by the father, the lion has become associated with the Resurrection and is thus a symbol for Christ, the Lord of life! On the bottom left, the empty tomb is surrounded by a sunburst symbolizing that Christ, who died on the cross has risen from the dead. In the middle pane, behind the cross, the books of the four Gospels, which tell the story of Christ, are presented. To the right, the open book of the Gospel of Mark, originally written in Greek, is shown accompanied by a quill pen and inkhorn. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out our Facebook page and see the new addition put there describing the stained-glass windows in Saint Mark’s Church. Week #10, Window #10 (5th window on the right-hand side of the church): This window shows St. Mark, the Patron Saint of Venice, Italy, seated on his throne with one hand raised in blessing and the other hand holding his Gospel opened to the Latin greeting “Pax Tibi”, translated “Peace to you”, which is a common greeting used by Jesus with His disciples. To his right stands a pedestal holding a small replica of the winged lion which also happens to be the emblem of Venice. To the top left of St. Mark is a copy of the coat of arms of Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958-1963, around the time these windows were installed, and the church was remodeled according to the reforms of Vatican II. (Prior to being elected Pope, he was the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice.) The components which make up this coat of arms from top to bottom are as follows: The Papal tiara (triple crown) represents the Pope’s three functions as supreme pastor, teacher and priest; the keys, a part of every Pope’s coat of arms, represent the Pope’s dual authority of binding and loosing; the winged lion holding St. Mark’s Gospel opened to the words “Pax Tibi, Marce, Evangelista Meus”; the Fleur De Lys can refer to Mary and also the Trinity because of its three parts forming one figure; the Tower of St. John is located in the Vatican Gardens, a place of quiet meditation and reflection for the Popes. Pope John XXIII chose this tower to be his hermitage; his coat of arms adorns the main door. Below this seal, a gondola floats in one of the canals of Venice. The bottom left pane pictures a ship symbolizing Mark’s missionary journeys or the Church. The banner in the middle pane contains the Latin greeting mentioned above “Pax Tibi, Marce, evangelist meus”, translated as “Peace to you Mark my Evangelist”. This greeting has its origin in the legend that, on the night before his martyrdom, while St. Mark was in prison, an angel appeared to him, strengthening him with the assurance that “Your name has been written in the book of life”. After the angel departed, as Mark thanked God for sending the angel, Jesus himself appeared to him with the greeting, “Peace be to you, Mark, my disciple and evangelist”. St. Mark started to shout, “Oh my Lord Jesus”, but the vision disappeared. On the right pane is pictured a golden reliquary containing, it is said, a fragment of the original Gospel in the handwriting of St. Mark. Around 815 A.D. Venetian merchants trading to Alexandria, Egypt, carried off (stole) the relics of St. Mark which they deposited in the city of Venice where the stately Basilica Church of St. Mark was built over them. Since then Saint Mark has been honored as the patron saint of Venice. COME VISIT SAINT MARK'S AND SEE THE WINDOWS AND JOIN US FOR MASS. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME TO PRAY AND SING WITH US. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST COMMUNION - SAINT MARK'S AND HOLY ROSARY - SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 2023 - Please keep these young people in your prayers: Helena Daversa, Drew Ferguson, Garrett Ferguson, Emereigh Gonsman, Rose Hileman, Liam McPhillips, Aubrey Picciotti, Sean Phillips, James Taylor. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023 CATHOLIC MINISTRIES DRIVE – The report as of August 31, 2023 is in the bulletin this week. Others who want to contribute to our parish goals may send your donation directly to the Diocese in the envelope provided (extra envelopes on at the back of our churches). You may also put it into the collection basket and mark either Holy Rosary or Saint Mark on the envelope. Thanks to all who have donated to date. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUR LADY OF THE HOLY ROSARY, WATCH OVER US. SAINT MARK, PRAY FOR US. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COOKBOOKS MAKE A NICE GIFT COOKBOOKS – Just a reminder that Saint Mark’s125th Anniversary Cookbooks are for sale at a reduced price of $5 each – they are available at the Rectory. They make a nice wedding, shower, or a “just because” gift. An observation from a parishioner: "I had some extra time just sitting around and I decided to look through this cookbook again. I was so impressed with the number of recipes and started to think that I should be making some of those things. The cookbook is outstanding and thanks to everyone who had anything to do with its publication. I understand there are still some copies left and I would suggest that you stop at the Rectory and buy a few." The cookbook has 381 recipes which includes a few celebrity recipes by Lauren Kudlawiec who was the 2nd place winner cooking contestant on the Rachel Ray Show; Mary Balkavich who had a recipe published in Country Woman Magazine, and Keith Auker, the head chef at UPMC, Altoona. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISE – One of Saint Mark’s Arise Groups recently made some “blessing bags” that were distributed to those in the City of Altoona who were in need. On the bag were the words “A Big Hug from Saint Mark’s.” The bags which included many items of need and use were given to the Altoona Police Department to distribute. The story of this group has been featured on Proclaim! TV by the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese “Faith Forward” which is an E-News Series which highlights individuals or groups who are putting their Catholic faith into action by sharing their time and talent to help others. God Bless You and Thank You to this special group of women. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ HOLY ROSARY – Did you remember to bring a non-perishable food item for the St. Vincent Food Bank? There is a basket in the Vestibule at Holy Rosary inside the front door for donations. Thank you, donors! GARVEY MANOR AND OUR LADY OF THE ALLEGHENIES RESIDENCE are currently recruiting volunteers for a variety of positions. Even an hour or two a week or month for an individual's time can make a difference. Please contact KATHY LaVALLE, volunteer coordinator at 695-5571. HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC SCHOOL NEWS Campus Locations: HTCS Altoona (Saint Therese’s Site- 814 381-7011) - 424 Wopsononock Avenue HTCS Hollidaysburg (St. Michael’s Site – 814 695-6112) – 321 Spruce Street; and HTCS Middle School – (St. Rose Site- 814 942-7835) 5519 6th Avenue, Altoona. For those of you who are interested in learning more about Holy Trinity Catholic School or are thinking of enrolling your children, we encourage you to call and schedule a tour at one of our two elementary buildings or the middle school campus. We cannot think of a better way for you to learn about the school then to come and see for yourself the awesome power of our Catholic School Family. Telephone numbers are listed in the above paragraph. HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC SCHOOL NEWS – Bingo on Tuesdays and Fridays at the Saint Rose of Lima basement. Doors open at 5 pm, games start at 7 pm, admission package is $35 which includes 18 cards for 24 regular games and 5 special cards. Any questions can be directed to Anita Zeth or Jan Crossman: 814 942-7835 |