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Saint Martin of Tours Parish Roman Catholic Church 5450 Roosevelt Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19124 Office: 215-535-2962 Fax: 215-535-3091 |
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Sursum Corda - Lift Up Your Hearts
THE SEVEN CAPITAL SINS
Pride is often listed as the first of these deadly vices. Pride is defined as excessive self-esteem, a strong desire to be noticed by others. In the end excessive pride puts us in direct opposition to God. Perhaps pride is the first on the list because it has its roots in the Garden of Paradise, i.e., the sin of our first parents. Genesis 3:5 positions the serpent in a role that offers Adam and Eve an opportunity “to be like gods who know”. We are turned off by a know-it-all. The inherent arrogance of one who thinks they have all the answers is prideful and is the opposite of true humility. Being humble is knowing who you are, knowing what you know and don’t know and being comfortable in your own skin. There is no need to put on airs. I have often asked myself why some have the need to have all the answers when they really don’t. A good lesson in how to avoid pride in all its forms is to be in the presence of one who is truly knowledgeable and shares the wisdom without holding you hostage. Those who are into “career-ism” love to lord it over others by possessing a piece of information—be it critical or only critical in the mind of the person—pretending to importance as though they had the password to the Pentagon. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says hatred of God comes from pride. To expand on that we could say that pride is the basis of hatred of God and of all things that pertain to God. To forget that we are instruments in the hand of God, to forget the relationship between Creator and creature sets us up for a great fall. Pride is contrary to the love of God.
Greed or Avarice come next. There are in this world two kinds of people: 1) them that’s got and part of the reason they got is because they hoard and 2) them that's got and genuinely appreciate sharing their resources. There is a saying that I use from time to time: I have known the greedy poor and the greedy rich. I have also been blessed to know the generous poor and the generous rich. It’s an attitude of heart! We know well the story of the Widow’s Mite and the story of the rich man who tore down his granaries to build bigger ones in order to save—and for what purpose—that very night death would intrude and the excess grain and the large silos would become superfluous. Be careful of how you judge. Some years back I came to know two people whose generosity truly exceeds their personal means. The lesson I’ve learned is money should never be something that gets in the way. Without being reckless and, here, I emphasize that point—personal survival requires a certain amount of money but saving for the sake of saving can lull us into trusting a false god.
Envy is a hideous vice. This is not to say that all sin is not hideous. But the saying “one is green with envy” may best give some emphasis to all definitions we find in the catechisms and compendiums. Envy literally strangles an individual. I’ve seen envy make people mean and hateful. I’ve heard people say “I can see the hate in another’s eyes”. Envy will actually bring an individual to wish another harm,- serious harm. Envy leads the envious heart to take delight in the misfortunes of another. Envy is a spiritually and emotionally paralyzing vice. Envy can destroy families and friendships. It can rip apart groups even in the context of the Christian Community. Fight envy by realizing your own gifts and the blessings these gifts are for you. And if you are the focus of another’s envy, pray for the envious and truly feel sorry for them because life passes them by as they are mired in hate and spiritual indigestion.
Pax et Bonum—Peace and all that is good. Monsignor Deliman
Come to church this week ... Try it - You’ll like it!
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Msgr. maintains a web log
(blog) online where he shares his thoughts with us all. You
can view it by clicking
here
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On Friday, May 21st, SMT's 8th Grade Class Celebrated Their Graduation With a Class Trip to Dorney Park
All Available Evidence Suggests That They Had a Great Day !
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We are SO PROUD of Our 2010 8th Grade Class Congratulations to Our Graduates ! YOU'VE ALL DONE A GREAT JOB !
Click Here (or on the photos) to Download a Copy
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Volunteers Needed..
Decorating the Church - S. Elizabeth
Sewing Liturgical Items - S. Elizabeth S. Eileen can always use volunteers for various odd jobs. Please call the rectory if you are interested at: (215) 535-2962
Thank You !
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GOING GREEN AT SMT !
Attention School Families and Parishioners: Job well done! Our Paper Recycling Program is doing well..
This is another way of helping your Parish and School. Keep up the good work! Bring all your old paper, newspapers and magazines to the SMT Parking Lot. You'll find a HUGE BIN to deposit your waste paper. Turn your TRASH into CASH and help SMT raise some much needed funds!
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Earth Day 2010 at SMT
School !
Click
on a Photo above to enlarge
(Thanks to
Fr. Small for the photography)
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We
invite all to deposit their household paper, newspapers,
catalogs, magazines, old mail, school and office papers.
Bins are for
everyone in the community to use!
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| RECTORY OFFICE HOURS Monday through Friday: 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM Saturday: 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM Sunday: 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Come See Sandy Zaleski for all your Notary Public Needs !
Monday to Friday from 9AM to 4PM in the Rectory Office (or email Sandy for More Information)
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ATTENTION: ALL SMT ALUMNI !!
We are in the process of updating our Alumni Database. Many of the email addresses that we have are invalid. Please take a moment and update your contact information, even if you believe our records are accurate. CLICK HERE FOR THE UPDATE FORM Thank You !
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THE KING'S MEN GROUP at SMT
Wednesday Evenings - from 7:15 to 9:00 P.M. MEN: If you are interested and would like more information, please contact any of the following:
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Monsignor's
Corner
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Schedules for Altar Servers, Extraordinary Ministers, Lectors & Ushers
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Mr.
Pavonarius' Web Site for his 6th Grade Class
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Mr.
Smith's
Web Site for his 8th Grade Class
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Mrs. Wilcox's Web Site for her 6th Grade Class
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Ms.
Harner's Web Site for her Class
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Click HERE to Download a copy of this flyer
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SMT LOVES THE
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SEPTEMBER 2010 - SCHOOL CALENDAR
Click on the Calendar to Download a Copy Click HERE to Download a copy of Back to School Information
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Our Mission Statement...
We are
many people:
Click Here for Links to Other Catholic Websites
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RCIA... Is it for you?
The Catholic Church invites you, and those you invite, to come and see. Consider the following questions: Are you interested in becoming Catholic? † Are you a baptized Catholic but have yet to receive the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist or Confirmation? † Have you been baptized into another Christian religion yet possess the desire to become a Catholic?
If you have answered YES to any of these questions, the RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS is for you. RCIA is a loving and learning journey in which a conversion of heart will bring you to a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. If you are interested in joining the RCIA journey, please call Sister Elizabeth at the rectory office (215) 535-2962 ext. 408 and leave a message. Sister will contact you.
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Contact SMT Parish at this link ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Website last updated on 7/30/10) Site best viewed in 1024 x 768 Resolution
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