Introduction My friends, today we celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist.

John, the cousin of Jesus, is a miracle baby born to elderly Zechariah and Elizabeth, who thought they were too old to have a child. Sometimes new life surprises us and we can only respond with awe and gratitude. Let us pray today for new life for the world, our community, our family, and ourselves.

Mass Intentions
Sat. 23 6:00 p.m. Parishioners of St. Patricks Sun. 24 9:00 a.m. Mary Benevides Mariano & Maria Simas Maria Conceio Faria 11:00 a.m. Antonio Gara Mon. 25 8:00 a.m. Manuel Pacheco Tues. 26 8:00 a.m. Antonio Maduro Wed. 27 8:00 a.m. Michael Brennan Thurs.28 8:00 a.m. Intentions of Nell Tindall Fri. 29 8:00 a.m. Intentions of Petsy Phillipsz Sat. 30 6:00 p.m. Parishioners of St. Patricks Sun. 1 9:00 a.m. Sharon Rego Julio Bento Jos G. Amaral Maria dos Anjos Amaral Faries 11:00 a.m. Maria Conceio Faria

Stewardship Treasure Mass Offering last week: Poor Box: Peters Pence Collection to Date:

$4,034.35 $363.50 $65.00

Weekly Stewardship Thought Why not keep a record for one week of how you spend your time? How much do the church and community organizations get of that time?

Reflection Question Who will I become? Do I take seriously the call of God to be like John the Baptist in our time and place? Who do I want my spouse, child, grandchild, sibling or parent to become? What am I willing to do to help them become who God wants them to be? Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Patricks Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament normally held each Thursday evening in the Church has been suspended until further notice.

Vacation Bible School, 2012 Vacation Bible School for children ages 5 12 years takes place on Monday, July 23 to Friday, July 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Michaels Church Hall. Application forms are at the entrance to the church. CCD Fees are Now Past Due! Parents, please submit your payment of $135 per child (cheques payable to St. Patricks Church) and forms to Mrs. Maria Pacheco or drop off at the Rectory as soon as possible. Alternatively, forms and payment may be delivered directly to Mrs. Essie Hans at the Diocesan Centre on Laffan Street. Catechists Needed for September St. Patricks Parish is truly grateful to the current CCD catechists who have volunteered their time and talent to teach our young people for the upcoming school year, September 2012 June 2013. However, we are still in need of Catechists and Aides for the start of CCD in September. This rewarding ministry is both challenging and fulfilling. You can expect to spend about three hours a week in preparation and class time. Catholic men and women need to step forward to teach our faith to the young people of our parish. Please speak to Mrs. Maria Pacheco (CCD Coordinator) or call the Rectory at 236-9866 if you are interested in helping. Summer Vacation As summer vacation time rolls around, we wish each of you a wonderful, safe, and enjoyable vacation. Make daily prayer and Sunday Eucharist an integral part of your summer and remember to continue to support your parish during these months. You are also reminded that if you are planning to leave the Island or move to another parish to please contact the Rectory so that we may keep our files up to date. Peters Pence Collection This Weekend This weekend our Diocese will take up the Peters Pence Collection, which provides the Holy Father with the funds he needs to carry out his most important charitable works. The proceeds benefit the most disadvantaged: victims of war, oppression, and natural disasters. Additional envelopes are available in the pews for the collection. Please drop your donation into the collection basket with your usual Sunday offering. Thank you very much for your support of the Holy See. Through your generosity, we can cast the peace of Christ upon the world. Lunchtime Mass at St. Theresas Suspended The 12:10 p.m. daily Mass at St. Theresas Cathedral will resume in September. Caritas House of Prayer Activities (236-5877)
Quiet Wednesday is scheduled for June 27 with Rosary at 10:30 a.m. followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 3:30 p.m. There are many spiritual books available as well as inspiring CDs. Treat yourself to some quiet time during your lunch hour or on the way home from work. There will be evening prayer at 5:45 p.m. Attention! Wednesday, July 18 will be the last Quiet Wednesday until September 12. Important Notice: Monthly Evening Prayer: Sunday, June 24, has been cancelled. A special Evening of Prayer will be held at Caritas on Sunday, July 15 at 6:30 p.m. All are invited but a special invitation is extended to those who made the At-One-Ment Retreat in February. How is our Everyday God leading us during these summer days?

For more information on the many activities available at Caritas, please contact Sr. Judith at 236-5877 or by e-mail: bcaritas@northrock.bm.

Prayers for the Sick If you would like to include the name of a loved one for immediate special prayer, please contact the office at 236-9866 and renew your request by the first week of each additional month. Memorial Dinner for Manuel Costa A Dinner in Memory of Manuel Francisco Pacheco Costa will be held Saturday, June 30 from 7:30 12:00 midnight at the Vasco da Gama Club. Tickets are $50 for adults and $10 for children (ages 5 12). Please contact Olivia at 595-0658 to purchase your tickets. All proceeds will go to Filomena Costa and family. A Parish Family Requires Two-Bedroom Apartment A single mother with two children who is a parishioner of St. Patricks is seeking a two-bedroom apartment in the eastern side of the Island. The familys budget is a monthly rent of $1,700 - $1,900. If you have an apartment available or know of someone with a vacant apartment, please contact Olivia at 595-0658 or by e-mail: casaginetes@yahoo.com. Alcoholic Anonymous Meetings St. Patricks Parish is the site of Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meetings every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7:30 8:30 p.m. in the Rectory basement. Meetings are offered in both English and Portuguese and are open to anyone wanting to stop by. Catholic Questions and Answers
Question How can you say one of the marks of the Church is unity when, at one time in the 14th century, there were three Popes? Answer Your facts are wrong. There never were three Popes at onceand never two at once either. But, there were times when there were two claimants to the office, and once, in the 14th century, there were three claimants. The question then is: Who was the real Pope? No one at the time thought there could be more than one. Consider an analogy from recent American politics. In a close election, one might ask: Who is the real President? Even if the answer remained unclear for a while, wed all know there can be only one President at a time, even if more than one proclaimed himself the victor. Incidentally, these days the College of Cardinals stays locked up together until any ballot disputes are resolved. Question Isn't gambling a sin? How then can you Catholics justify playing bingo?--and in Church yet! Answer First of all, the stereotype of bingo-playing Catholics is really overblown. The vast majority of parishes don't even have a bingo night. Second, gambling is not in and of itself wrong. Read your Bible and you will not find gambling condemned anywhere in it. The average gambler loses money, but the process is entertaining, so what gambling amounts to is paying money to be entertained, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Gambling becomes sinful only when one pays too much money for the entertainment. A person in a casino spending thousands of dollars that his family needs is committing a sin, and the Church is very firm about this (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2413). It would likewise be sinful for a person to spend thousands of dollars his family needed on other forms of entertainment, too, like limited edition books, movies, collector's items, or whatever. However, if you can afford it, there is nothing wrong with spending a few dollars for an evening of entertainment, whether it is bingo, the movies, or something else. In fact, spending a few dollars on an evening playing bingo in a Church basement with a bunch of fellow Christians is probably a more wholesome activity than spending the same amount of money going to see a typical movie--or for that matter staying home and watching cable TV.

Smile for the Day!

Q: Why couldn't the chicken find her eggs?

A: She mislaid them.