Our Lady Help of Christians Parish
January 1, 2017
Parish Office:
Our Lady Help of Christians Church
Lykens, PA
732 East Main Street
Lykens, PA 17048
717-453-7895
FAX: 717-456-9426
Open: M-Th 9am-4pm
Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
Williamstown, PA
Website: www.catholiclykenswilliamstown.org
Rev. C. Anthony Miller: [email protected]
Deacon George Garber Jr: [email protected] 717-362-3233
Parish Bookkeeper: Eileen Hoffman• 717-453-7269• [email protected]
Parish Secretary: Evelyn Brown • 717-489-2383 • [email protected]
CCD Coordinator: Nora Valovage • 717-453-8207• [email protected]
Parish Maintenance: Ed Messner •717-307-1103
Our Lady’s Parish Hall • 717-453-9931
OLHC Organist: Jennifer Buggy • 717-856-5122
SHJ Organist: Rosemary Boyer • 717-647-4485
OLHC Parish Council of Catholic Women:
SHJ Parish Council of Catholic Women:
Nora Valovage • 717-453-8207
Rosemary Boyer • 717-647-4485
Knights of Columbus : Thomas Vottero • 717-692-4935
SHJ Porters:
Sheila Sowers • 717-647-4963
Meals on Wheels: Theresa Hassinger • 717-362-8762
Noreen Gochenaur • 717-523-2180
Alcoholics Anonymous Point of Contact:
SHJ Hershey Park Fundraiser:
Grover Stedge •717-495-6427
Anne Romberger • 717-647-9182
Jean Daniel• 717-647-9837
Sacraments
Penance: 3:00-4:00 pm Saturday Our Lady Church
7:45-8:15 am Wednesday Sacred Heart Church
7:45-8:15 am Monday Our Lady Church
Baptism: 12:30 First Sunday of the month Our Lady Church
12 noon Third Sunday of the month Sacred Heart Church
Pre-baptismal instructions must be followed in order to have your child baptized. Call the parish office for a Baptism Information
Form and the Baptism Guide before planning your child’s baptism.
Matrimony: Couples contemplating marriage in the Diocese of Harrisburg are to approach a Priest at least nine to twelve months
before the date on which they plan to marry. No Date may be finalized until the priest establishes the couple’s freedom to marry and
determine their readiness for marriage.
Visitation of the Sick: Please notify the Rectory when a member of the parish is in the hospital or if someone is unable to attend
Mass and wishes to receive the Anointing of the Sick before surgery.
Registration: All are welcome here at Our Lady Help of Christians Church and Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. If you are living in
the area, please register as soon as possible. Call or come into the office for a registration form. If your address of phone number has
changed, please notify the parish office so we can keep our records up to date.
Sponsor Certificates: Registered, active members of the parish that are receiving the Sacraments on a regular basis may contact
Father about a letter of recommendation for sponsors of the Sacraments.
January 1, 2017
Harrisburg Diocese Website: www.hbgdiocese.org
Saturday, Dec 31
4:15 pm @ O/L
Sunday, Jan 1
8:15 am @ O/L
10:45 am @ S/H
Monday, Jan 2
8:30 am
Tuesday, Jan 3
8:30 am S/H
Wednesday, Jan 4
8:30 am S/H
Thursday, Jan 5
No Mass
Friday, Jan 6
8:30 am @ O/L
Saturday, Jan 7
4:15 pm @ O/L
Sunday, Jan 8
8:15 am @ O/L
10:45 am @ S/H
7th Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
For the elderly, sick and homebound of the parish by OLPCCW
Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God
For the Church- Her living and deceased members
+ Deceased priests, deacons and religious who have served our diocese
Saint Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen
Healing intentions of Jennifer Buggy by Cyndi Rudisill
+ Hans Gangl by Patti & Joe Walsh
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
+ Grace Demy by Donny Adams
St John Neumann
No Mass
+Marie Trybus by John Sutton & daughters
+ John M. Messner by wife & family
The Epiphany of the Lord
+ Eva Higinbothan by Hank & Cyndi Rudisill
For the Church- Her living and deceased members
Our Lady’s Sanctuary Lamp burns: People of the Parish
Sacred Heart’s Sanctuary Lamp burns: People of the Parish
MINISTERS OF THE LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS
Our Lady Church
Sacred Heart Church
Saturday, Jan 7 @ 4:15 pm
Altar Servers – Olivia & Hannah Savage
Deacon George
Lector – Carol Lark
Sunday, Jan 8 @ 8:15
Sunday, Jan 8 @ 10:45
Altar Servers- Brent Reinoehl
EMHC- Nancy Brennan
Lector- Noreen Gochenaur
Altar Servers –Kade & Ava Matter, Sam Kerwin
Deacon George
Lector – Joseph Kerwin
Most Loving God, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish and Our Lady Help of Christians Parish are composed of people like me.
I help make my parish what it is. It will be friendly, if I am. Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them. It will do great work,
if I work. It will make generous gifts to many causes, if I am a generous giver. It will bring other people to love and serve
You, if I invite and bring them. It will be a parish of loyalty and love, of fearlessness and faith, and a parish with a noble
spirit, if I, who know that I belong, am filled with these same gifts. Therefore, with Your help, Gracious God, I shall
dedicate myself to the task of being all of the things that I want my parish to be. Amen.
OUR LADY CHURCH:
Dec. 25, 2016 Total $6,633.00
Envelopes Sent 180 Envelopes Returned - 173
Offering for 2015
$9,966.50
SACRED HEART CHURCH:
Dec. 25, 2016 Total $3,158.25
Envelopes Sent 113 Envelopes Returned - 89
Offering for 2015
$3,462.00
SECOND COLLECTIONS:
Dec.25- Fuel
Jan 1- Parish Improvement
January 1, 2017
Please remember those who have asked for our prayers
Kitty Tallon
Loretta Unger
Vincent Kennedy
Anna McSurdy
Hazel Menchinsky
Bill Loftus
Dennis Howie
Steven Welker
Judy Dietrich
Raymond Foerster
Father Marickovic
Luke Schultz
Margaret Yuslum
Jane Teter
Msgr Fregapane
Michael Knepp
Carolyn Knepp
Joyce Moyer
John Weaver
Tim Harner
Jennifer Howie
Rosemarie Shuey
Elyse DeTurk
Janice Welker
Ken Hopple
Collin Kratzer
Tyler Miller
Brian Williams
Bridget Hoffman
Pam Herring
Jyl Pekera
Madoline Laing
Ann Wiscount
Bill Troutman
Amber Hanson
Paul Zelnick
Donna Adams
Jennifer Buggy
Paul Whelski
Gracie Carl
Tim Waters
Kathy Krepps
Henry Gibbons
Tregan Layton
Dan Klinger
Grant Murray
Sandy Bonsell
Craig Ernst
Kathleen McSurdy
Cindy Tanner
Gertrude Murphy
George Shutt
Evelyn Koppenhaver
Jason Darrell
Joanne Rowe Adams
Katie Wallace
Anna Mae Wren
Eileen Nestor
Sharon Raubenstine
Joseph Nguyen
Lou Readinger
Derrick Larthey
Dorothy Hrinda
Marie M
Shelly Klinger
Jeff Greenly
Kevin Readinger
Gary Suess
Peter Kowalchuk
Robin Troutman
Kathy Gibbons
Craig Sausman
Jean McCracken
Elaine Decembrino
Bill Wilson
Dustin Rhoads
Tom Clough
Grace O’Neill
Gabrielle Moyer
Kelly Looper
Mary Catherine Stakem Andrea Bixler
Thomas Feldman
Mary Underkoffler
Nolan Deitrich
Bernard Doyle
Wanda Williams
Dennis Lazar
Joe Picola
Bobby Zerby
Pat Miller
Denise Malone
Joan Carl
Alfred Doyle
Rockne Smith
Natalie McMaster
Bridget Mattern
Margaret Shadle
Louis Mione
Joseph Jones
John Ciaja
Donnie Laing
Priscilla Wrubel
James Fitzpatrick
Charlie Rodichok
Zachary Garber
Joseph Hale
Denotes children
Names are kept on the prayer list for two months. Please notify the parish office if you wish a name to be renewed.
Deacon’s Corner
If Williams Valley School District is delayed
or canceled due to inclement weather on Tuesday
or Wednesday the Mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus
Church will be canceled and offered by Father
Miller at his earliest convenience.
.
Have you ever considered becoming a "Lector" for
your Parish? Now is the time to register for the
January class hosted by Deacon George. You will
learn all that is necessary to be a good Lector! The pay
for your effort is called deferred compensation gifted
by Our Blessed Lord! Please call the parish office @
453-7895 to register.
For all your SCRIP (Gift Card) needs drop by or call
the parish office (453-7895) with your order. We also
have CIAOS and SCHIANOS gift certificates.
Support your parish and buy scrip cards today!
Question: What sort of New Year's Resolution should a
Christian make?
Answer: Many Christians make New Year's resolutions
to pray more, to read the Bible every day, and to attend
church every Sunday. These are fantastic goals.
However, these New Year's resolutions fail just as often
as the non-spiritual resolutions, because there is no
power in a New Year's resolution. Resolving to start
doing a certain activity has no value unless you have
the proper motivation for stopping or starting that
activity. For example, why do you want to read the
Bible every day? Is it to honor God and grow
spiritually, or is it because you have just heard that it is
a good thing to do? Why do you want to lose weight? Is
it to honor God with your body, or is it for vanity, to
honor yourself? So, what sort of New Year's resolution
should a Christian make? Here are some suggestions:
(1) pray to Our Blessed Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) in
regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you
make, (2) pray for wisdom as to how to fulfill the goals
God gives you, (3) rely on God's strength to help you,
(4) find an accountability partner who will help you and
encourage you, (5) don't become discouraged with
occasional failures, instead allow them to motivate you
further, (6) don't become proud or vain, but give God
the glory. Psalm 37:5-6 says, "Commit your way to the
Lord, trust in Him and He will do this: He will make
your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of
your cause like the noonday sun." Now, what are we
waiting for? Let's get started now!!
Have a Holy and Happy New Year!
Deacon George +
What Is Nativism? A look at the
persistence of anti-immigrant, antiCatholic attitudes: Writing in the New
We warmly invite women from around the
Diocese to join us as we gather at the Diocesan
Center for our fifth Prayer Shawl Retreat on
Saturday, January 21, 2017 from 9:30 AM to
2:30 PM. The program, hosted by the
Harrisburg Diocesan Council of Catholic
Women, will include Mass, prayer, knitting /
crocheting, fellowship and lunch. You are
welcome to attend even if you are a beginner
and would like to be part of this time of
fellowship and sharing. While the program is
free, advance registration is required so that we
can arrange a comfortable work area and plan
for lunch. Please call Kathy Kokoski at 717448-8899 or Deb Black at 717-514-8815 or
email them at [email protected] or
[email protected]. Please register early as
space is limited. Deadline is Friday, January
6, 2017.
FOOD PANTRY
Our Lady and Sacred Heart Churches
will be collecting Toilet Paper the month
of January to help local families in need.
Six Short Stories:
1) Once all villagers decided to pray
for rain. On the day of prayer all the
people gathered, but only one boy
came with an umbrella. That's FAITH.
2) When you throw a child in the air,
she laughs because she knows you
will catch her. That's TRUST.
3) Every night we go to bed without
any assurance of being alive the next
morning, but still we set the alarms to
wake up. That's HOPE.
4) We plan big things for tomorrow in
spite of zero knowledge of the future.
That's CONFIDENCE.
5) We see the world suffering, but still
we get married and have children.
That's LOVE. 6) On an old man's
shirt was written: 'I am not 80 years
old; I am sweet 16 with 64 years of
experience. When I was a child, I
thought nap time was punishment.
Now it's like a mini-vacation.' That's
ATTITUDE.
York Daily News in late July 2015, Cardinal
Timothy Dolan reflected on the history of nativism
in the American culture. Cardinal Dolan noted the
persistence of anti-immigrant, anti-foreign, antiCatholic “nativism” as a driving force in American
political and social life. “[Nativism] flourished in our
country during the 1840s and 1850s — actually
becoming a popular political party, the KnowNothings — and appeared again, in the 1870s as
the American Protective Association; in the 1920s,
as the KKK; and during post-World War II America
as Protestants and Other Americans United for
Separation of Church and State,” he wrote (July
29, 2015). This brought a quick response from
Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans
United for Separation of Church and State, the
contemporary incarnation of Protestants and Other
Americans United for Separation of Church and
State (POAU). Accusing Cardinal Dolan of “telling
lies,” Lynn stated that in its 68-year history POAU
“never engaged in violent and hateful actions like
the KKK. Our sole mission has always been to
prevent religious groups from merging their dogma
with the government and forcing all Americans to
live under sectarian law.” This is disingenuous at
best, an Orwellian whitewash of history at worst.
While POAU was never violent, it was most
assuredly American nativist. It remains so in its
current public posture as “Americans United.” It is
rooted in anti-Catholic assumptions and has
utilized anti-Catholicism in its rhetoric, philosophy
and fundraising. While nativism is a unique
American phenomenon, its anti-Catholic roots
were present in post-Reformation England. The
Puritans arriving in the New World brought with
them an anti-Catholicism that was fundamental to
their beliefs and worldview. This anti-Catholicism
would become normative thinking in Colonial
America. Every colony except Rhode Island had
legislation that in varying degrees banned
Catholics from public life. In Massachusetts,
Catholic clergy found in the colony faced
execution. As matters heated up between the
colonies and England, anti-Catholic rhetoric and
sentiment were utilized at every opportunity by
both sides. Tories claimed that the Revolution was
in the hands of those who were secretly papists;
colonists charged that England was setting up an
alternative Catholic empire beyond the
Appalachians to keep them in line. In the early
years after the Revolution, anti-Catholicism was
fairly muted only because there were so few
Catholics to target. Anti-immigration sentiment
was similarly muted. Immigrants were seen as
necessary in building up the new country,
particularly as most were skilled, non-threatening
laborers from England and Protestant Ireland.
This didn’t last. Irish immigration — Catholic Irish
immigration — increased and American nativism
came to the fore in 19th-century America as a
result. Its basic tenet was that “native” America
was under siege by foreign immigrants. These
“foreign,” alien influences were undermining
American culture, American rights and a unified,
“native” American way of life. From its inception,
American nativism was staunchly, bitterly antiCatholic. Anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic bigotry fed
off each other. In 1834, Samuel F.B. Morse,
inventor of the telegraph, charged in a series of
published letters that the Catholic monarchs of
Europe under the pope’s direction were
subsidizing Catholic immigration to America with
the intent of undermining the United States. At
virtually the same time, Lyman Beecher, father of
Harriet Beecher Stowe of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
fame, argued in “A Plea for the West” (1835) that
the growing Irish immigrant population was
creating a Catholic school system to brainwash
American children in “papist despotism.” It was all
part of the Catholic conspiracy to take over
America. The year prior, Beecher had preached a
series of anti-Catholic sermons in Boston that led
to a mob burning down an Ursuline convent.
“Conspiracy” was a key element of American
nativism. It believed that there was a conscious
conspiracy, a conscious foreign plot out there to
destroy America. At the heart of this conspiracy
was the Catholic Church. And its chief tools were
immigrants and Catholic schools. Catholic
schools, they believed, were brainwashing
generation after generation of Catholics to serve
the political and social agenda of the Catholic
hierarchy and the pope. They were also trying to
undermine public schools when they sought public
funding. Catholic immigrants were the “muscle” of
this conspiracy, providing a huge ignorant voting
block that would follow the dictates of the
hierarchy and overwhelm by sheer numbers the
Protestant — native — Americans. From the
1830s on, American nativism, as Cardinal Dolan
pointed out, would be a constant in American life.
From the Know-Nothings in the 1840s through
“Americans United” today, American nativism aims
to squeeze out Catholic schools and legally limit,
as much as possible, Catholic impact or voice in
public life. Protestants and Other Americans
United for Separation of Church and State (POAU)
was founded in 1947 with an anti-Catholic agenda
rooted in more than a century of this American
nativism. By its very name, it made clear that this
was a “militant” Protestant organization aimed at
the Catholic Church, a foreign tyranny as
described by Glenn Archer, Barry Lynn’s
predecessor. It was this alleged “foreign” nature
of Catholicism under the thumb of a “foreign” pope
that was portrayed by POAU as anti-American,
anti-democracy, anti-freedom. At the time POAU
was founded there was a fear in some mainstream
Protestant circles that the Catholic Church was
“winning America.” In a series of eight articles in
Christian Century magazine toward the end of
World War II, editor Harold Fey had argued that
the Catholic Church was winning by “mobilizing
powerful forces to move this nation toward a
cultural unity in which the Roman Catholic Church
will be dominant.” The POAU exploited this fear in
Protestant circles while combining it with a
growing secularist perspective that the sheer
weight of endless Catholic production of children
would eventually establish foreign — Roman —
control of America through the ballot box. That
was the argument made by Paul Blanshard in his
book “American Freedom and Catholic Power” two
years after POAU was founded. The Church’s
goals, according to Blanshard, were to undermine
American freedoms through a hierarchy that
“controlled” the growing Catholic population. This
“Catholic power” would impose an authoritarian
foreign religion and antiquated views on modern
American society. It planned to destroy American
liberties under the direction of the pope. The
Catholic population would be the servile drones of
this foreign conspiracy. The POAU pitch from the
start was that, in the words of Edwin Poteat Jr., a
POAU founder and president, America faced a
“clerical dictatorship” from Rome. He predicted a
Vatican-engineered merger of Church and state in
America because “a fundamental conflict exists
between the ideals of democracy and the political
ambitions of the Roman Catholic Church.” The
immediate threats, according to POAU in 1947,
were Catholic schools that threatened to
undermine public schools through state
assistance, and that the government might
establish diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
When the Reagan administration established
diplomatic relations in 1984, POAU was vigorous
and bitter in its opposition. It remains so today. It
also has protested that the ambassadors
appointed have been Catholic. In its 1947
“Manifesto” POAU declared that the Catholic
Church is “subversive of religious liberty as
guaranteed by the Constitution,” that it pursues a
policy designed to nullify the First Amendment to
secure “a position of special privilege in relation to
the State” and is determined “to deny or to curtail
the religious liberty of all other churches, and to
vitiate democracy.” The Manifesto complains of
the “assaults,” the “aggressions,” the
“encroachments” of the Catholic Church on
American liberties. All of which is classic
American nativism. It is the position, as Cardinal
Dolan pointed out, that created the Know-Nothing
Party, motivated the American Protective
Association, and defined the KKK in its attitude
toward Catholics and Catholicism in the 1920s.
Catholic schools were a primary target of
American nativists, who saw them as an
indoctrinating force for succeeding generations of
Catholics and the natural enemy of the public
schools. This was the exact position taken by the
revitalized Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s that fought to
have Catholic schools declared illegal. At various
times POAU argued that American cardinals
should be denied the right to vote because they
take part in a foreign ballot (the election of pope)
and that Jesuit priests also be forbidden voting
rights as they are part of an “alien organization.”
The POAU would call for the appointment or
election of non-Catholic judges only and would
become directly involved in political campaigns to
defeat any Catholic candidates. It helped to lead
the forces that bitterly, and in the most bigoted
language, opposed John F. Kennedy’s election in
1960 solely because of his Catholic faith.
Americans United eventually dropped the “PO” as
too blatantly anti-Catholic and expanded its
activities to target conservative Protestant entities.
But it remains today well within any definition of
the American nativist tradition. Despite its pleas
to the contrary, Americans United is anti-Catholic
in its rhetoric, activities and pettiness. It’s what
keeps it in business. While it may not address
immigrant issues, its foundation was and is
grounded in American nativist principles of antiCatholicism. It views all things Catholic as an
attempt to impose a foreign, alien culture on
America with the goal of undermining American
rights. And that is the very definition of American
nativism as defined by the Ku Klux Klan.
Reflection by Robert P. Lockwood who has worked in
the Catholic press and provided articles to many
publications over a 40-year career. He is the author of
the book “Anti-Catholicism in American Culture” (Our
Sunday Visitor).
Bishop Neumann and Nativism: St. John
Neumann knew Nativism doubly well — both as
an immigrant and as a priest and bishop.
Neumann’s life and ministry were presented with
many challenges by anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic
groups like the Know-Nothings. As a young pastor
in upstate New York, near Buffalo, Neumann’s
poor German-speaking parish church had no roof.
As Neumann gathered with parishioners there for
Mass, rocks landed on them and the altar —
thrown in by Nativists. Worst of all, Neumann was
nearly lynched twice! About a decade later the
immigrant priest was appointed bishop of
Philadelphia in 1852. With this he was sent to a
hotbed of Nativism. It was less than a decade
before his appointment that Philadelphia was the
backdrop to two Nativist riots in 1844. Two
Catholic churches were burned to the ground,
several people were killed, and there was over
$150,000 dollars in damage. Later, when
Neumann instituted the 40 Hours Eucharistic
devotions in his diocese, some priests protested
that there could be profanation of the Blessed
Sacrament. But Neumann pressed on — in part
because of a message he received in prayer
telling him to proceed without fear. Philadelphia’s
cathedral was under construction during
Neumann’s tenure. Today’s visitors to the
Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul can see
the remnants of Philadelphia’s Nativist past. One
of its primary architectural features is the high
clerestory windows — designed particularly to
prevent ruin by Nativist attacks. During
construction, builders could be seen throwing
rocks to envision how high the windows should be.
Happy New Year from
Father Miller, Deacon
George and the Parish Staff
The Parish Office will be
closed Monday January 2nd.