Welcome
Updates for our parishioners
Update: August 2, 2020
Our Faith Formation Sacramental dates have been scheduled for the month of August. There are three Sacraments to be celebrated. The Confirmation class had to be split because of social distancing and the availability of seating in the churches.
First Reconciliation is Monday, August 17, 2020, at 6:30 pm at St. Timothy Church. There are nine Faith Formation students from both parishes to receive this Sacrament during a very nice prayer service. The children are: Lexi Barrett, Sutton Bilger, Adri Buelll, Kacyn Collins, Lincoln Finn, Bentley Kelly, Luke Swatsworth, Mason Thompson, and Alana Throp. Please remember these Faith Formation students in your prayers.
Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated at our partnered parishes. Three Faith Formation Students from St. Bonaventure Parish will receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit on Thursday, August 20, 2020, at 6:30 pm at St. Bonaventure Church. The students are: Nathan Hryn, Nick McKeown and Cameron Weber. Please keep these Confirmandi in your prayers.
Five Faith Formation students from St. Timothy Parish will receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit on Thursday, August 27, 2020, at 6:30 pm at St. Timothy Church. The Confirmandi are: Ava and Matt Brown, Erica Linsenbigler, Jacob Skebo and Caelyn Zittoni. Please offer prayers for these students.
First Holy Communion will take place on Monday, August 31, 2020, at 6:30 pm in St. Timothy Church. We have five students who will receive. These are: Brylee London, Peter Magnuson, Aryan Negado, Alex Pentz and Tess Wheeler. Please remember these five students in your prayers
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Saint Timothy parishioners will notice some moving around of furniture, etc., from the social hall and the gathering space. I was not complete in my carrying forward with all of the protocols from the bishop. It was necessary to move to the church basement storage room the hall chairs not being used. We will be following the protocols for a long time to come. It was necessary to do some storing. No clothing or food items can be collected during the pandemic except if the parish has a Food Pantry operating in a separate and safe environment. Bernie Carfley, Sean Dunn, Brian Spencer and Gary Verrelli did the moving this past Wednesday. Thank you, worthy Knights!
The gathering space is going to be used for a classroom when Faith Formation begins Sunday, September 20, 2020.
The Baptismal Font and Paschal Candle have been moved to the gathering space so that the rich symbolism of this Sacrament can be realized, understood and celebrated. The Parish Council has received letters indicating this liturgical decision. The baptized enter the church through the efficacious effects of the Sacrament. He/She can prepare and then celebrate the other Sacraments of Initiation as they grow spiritually.
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Bishop Persico has continued to dispense Roman Catholics in the Diocese of Erie from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation during the COVID-19 crisis. YOU MAY DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN A DAILY MASS INSTEAD OF A SUNDAY MASS. IF ILL OR FINDING IT VERY HARD TO MANEUVER BECAUSE OF AGE OR ILLNESS, PLEASE WORSHIP FROM HOME AT THIS TIME. IT IS AS IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO KEEP OUR YOUNGEST PARISHIONERS SAFE AS WELL.
For weekend Masses please come 20 minutes before Mass begins in order to be seated by the Protocol Ushers. Masks must be worn in church and throughout Mass. They are uncomfortable but wearing a mask protects yourself and those around you. It is an act of charity.
The process for receiving offertory envelopes is reverting back to the procedure we had when we had public Masses. However, since we are not permitted to have an offertory procession at Mass, please drop your envelopes in the offertory boxes at the entrances of your church if you are attending Mass. If not attending Mass, you may continue bringing or mailing your offertory envelopes to the parishes' office.
For those who serve in lay ministries for Masses, please note that only Lectors will be utilized until further notice. One of the protocols directs that only the deacon and/or priest will distribute Holy Communion. There will be no need for Altar Servers. The prayers for the Mass will be done from the Altar of Sacrifice except for the Gospel and homily.
Sanitizing Stations in our churches will be part of the norm now. We must have hand sanitizer before we begin public Masses. Please avail yourselves of this safety measure when you enter and exit church. The ushers will make sure this is done. Masks will have to be worn in church as well. If you are not willing to wear a mask, then please remain home and watch Mass on television or Facebook streaming.
The Sacrament of Penance is offered 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday and Saturday mornings at St. Timothy Church for the present time by appointment only. Parishioners from St. Bonaventure Church and St. Timothy Church may call the office and set up a time with Father Steve Collins for confession. Masks must be worn and there will be distancing between the priest and the penitent at the selected site in the Church. The Office phone number is 814-236-1845. Thank you! Confessions will continue to be by appointment for a while after we return to public Masses.
By the direction of Bishop Persico, face masks/coverings must be worn when entering the premises of Catholic churches/halls/schools in accordance with his Decree on Protocols issued first to pastors on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. No one may attend Mass or other para-liturgical services without wearing a mask.
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During the Pandemic period, Saint Bonaventure Church is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 am to 12 Noon for individual (private) prayer.
St. Timothy Church is open Mondays through Thursdays from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. Enter through the secure parking lot doors by the parishes' office.
The parishes' office is closed on Fridays through July and the first Friday in August.
Beginning Monday, August 3rd, the office hours will be Monday through Thursday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Fridays from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Parish Staff
Mrs. Ronda Hamilton, Office Manager
Mrs. Terri Clarkson, Faith Formation Leader
Mrs. Jill Test, Director St. Timothy Pre-School
Rev. Stephen Collins, Pastor
St. Bonaventure
461 Main Street
Grampian, PA 16838
814-236-1845
Mailing Address: 306 Walnut Street, Curwensville PA 16833
Sunday Mass: 11:00 AM
(Confessions at 10:30 AM)
St. Timothy
306 Walnut Street
Curwensville, PA 16833
814-236-1845
Saturday Vigil: 4:30 PM
(Confession at 4:00 PM after COVID-19)
Sunday Mass: 8:30 AM
sttimothychurch@atlanticbb.net
Mass Schedule & Intentions
Mass Schedule & Intentions
Mass Schedule & Intentions
Public Mass Intentions for the week beginning August 3 through August 9, 2020
St. Timothy Church
Monday, August 3:
All Souls in Purgatory
by a Friend
St. Bonaventure Church
Tuesday, August 4, 2020:
Norman Rafferty
by Bea and Andy Anderson
St. Timothy Church
Wednesday, August 5, 2020:
Helen Ramsky
by the Family
St. Bonaventure Church
Thursday,
Public Mass Intentions for the week beginning August 3 through August 9, 2020
St. Timothy Church
Monday, August 3:
All Souls in Purgatory
by a Friend
St. Bonaventure Church
Tuesday, August 4, 2020:
Norman Rafferty
by Bea and Andy Anderson
St. Timothy Church
Wednesday, August 5, 2020:
Helen Ramsky
by the Family
St. Bonaventure Church
Thursday, August 6 2020:
Norma Danvir Prica
by the McKeown Family
St. Timothy Church
4:30 pm Saturday, August 8 2020
For the People
8:30 am Sunday, August 9, 2020
Blair Wink
by Larry and Lois Butz
St. Bonaventure Church
11:00 am , Sunday, August 9, 2020
Deceased members of the Sipes Family
by Chuck and Mary Ann Sipes
Mass Schedule & Intentions
Faith Seeking Understanding
Dear Father Steve, I have been reading some Catholic material about abortion and politics and how Catholic politicians who support abortion publicly should be excommunicated. What exactly is excommunication? I know that there are priests who will not give Communion to these people.
Answer: Your questio
Faith Seeking Understanding
Dear Father Steve, I have been reading some Catholic material about abortion and politics and how Catholic politicians who support abortion publicly should be excommunicated. What exactly is excommunication? I know that there are priests who will not give Communion to these people.
Answer: Your question is one which is asked quite often in these contemporary times. There has to be a legitimate reason for excommunication to be used by a bishop or Rome. Excommunication is the action of separating the person from the Graces needed through the Sacraments. The person is the cause of this action. Persistent denial of the Doctrines of our Faith in the public forum, giving scandal to the Faithful, governs the implementation of the act of excommunication. When we bring the issue of abortion into the question of separating a person from the Sacramental life of the Church, we seem to be in constant debate as to whether the act has any force in today's Church. Abortion is the act of taking the life of an unborn human being unnaturally. When a politician stands up and claims that he/she is a practicing Catholic but supports the act of abortion, this politician can cause great scandal in the Church. It seems that the Church hierarchy would rather just not act in a public way to address the issue, but deal with it, if at all, in private. They do not want to make "martyrs" of the Catholics who oppose Catholic Doctrine.
We need Grace through the Sacraments in order for our souls to be alive and living for the Lord. When we are cut off from Grace, our souls can not breathe the "good air from God". A dying soul is the result. Excommunication is a response to an evil. However, if excommunication is the result of an evil, the person in question may, at any time, repent of the evil and return to the Sacramental life of the Church. Remember Free Will. If the person in question is not phased by the excommunication and persists, then the excommunication remains. If the person continues to receive Holy Communion in such a separated state, then the Church must go public and declare that the person may not receive the Sacraments until repentance is done.
I believe that the bishop of a diocese has to set the policy on the reception of Holy Communion for Catholics who oppose Doctrine in the public forum. A priest should not take this upon himself until his bishop has given approval for such an action.
I believe, too, that when Christ returns in Glory as our Just Judge, He will decide who will have communion with Him for eternal life. However, the Church must protect the Doctrines handed down to us from the Holy Spirit through the ages. Otherwise we would have pure spiritual anarchy.
Dear Father Collins: My nephew received the Sacrament of Confirmation in Ohio before everything shut down from the coronavirus. He has always fought my sister and her husband over having to attend religious education and church. They are not regular Mass goers anyway. My nephew's class was given a list of forbidden clothing to wear for Confirmation. It is sad that some of the girls did not follow the list nor did my nephew. He wore flip-flops and shorts and a Tee shirt in cold weather!. I think the flip-flops indicated that his nature is flippant. What should have been done?
Answer: The Church in America is going through division between the traditional and the modern approaches to the life of faith. I fear that the modern proponents are winning the day...for now. Using your question as an example, we have the modern view that we must never stifle the Holy Spirit so it doesn't matter what a student thinks or how he/she dresses for the Sacraments. They receive them no matter what. And the result? We seldom see them again in Church. They, for the most part, simply leave the Church behind for the remainder of their lives.
The problem is this. Parents have forgotten their responsibilities to their children regarding the caring for their souls. Nurturing the soul just is not in the job description anymore for them. Generally speaking, parents do not attend Mass so why should their children. Faith Formation has become more important than the Mass. This is tragic and will not end well for the Church or for the souls of these people.
As a pastor, I have experienced the actions you mentioned in your question/statement. It can be like pulling teeth to get some students and their parents to co-operate for the Sacraments.
People today wear their feelings on their sleeves. If a pastor told parents that their child would not be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation because the child was not attending Mass at all or sporadically, the parents would most likely leave the Church. So the pastor becomes the ogre. Why refuse to participate in Mass but state that you want to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation? Where is common sense in our society today? Where is wisdom?
So, I think the pastors, myself included, need to bite the bullet and refuse to allow certain unfaithful students to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. If parents leave the faith community over this, then it is their decision to do so. I do not chase after these people. They are free to practice their Free Will.
As for your nephew, he should have been told to go home and dress properly if there was time to do so before the Confirmation ceremony or wait to receive it the following year, maybe.