WELCOME TO ST. THERESA’S CHURCH

Dear Friends of St. Theresa Parish:

          In our church  you will see signs that simply say “WELCOME.”   I think that one word is a symbol of what St. Theresa’s Parish is supposed to be, indeed what it has been for so many past years and, please God, will always be—a place of welcome.  St. Theresa Parish was established in 1927 and for all the years since, our church has stood as a reminder that the Lord welcomes all to His house, to pray for themselves, for their families and for us all.

          We welcome so many people:

• We welcome the families who come here with their children, looking for an excellent school, a school where their children will not only taught, but will be loved; and we welcome families who have their children in our CCD Program where they receive a solid foundation in their faith and grow to know, love and serve the Lord.
• We welcome our older parishioners, the “pioneers” of our parish, many of whom have lived here for so many years, many of whom were married here, had their children baptized here, and most importantly have come here Sunday after Sunday to Mass giving the Lord praise and thanks. Some of these “pioneers” were here when the first St. Theresa Church was tragically destroyed by fire in 1965, but their devotion to this parish helped “the new church” to be built and dedicated in 1970, our beautiful house of God where the Lord in honored and praised, please God, for many years to come.
• We welcome those who visit our church perhaps after years of “being away,” looking for a spiritual home and who hopefully find it here. Always remember that the Lord welcomes you—and we do too!
• We welcome those who are new to our community, those who come here now with the same aspirations that people years ago came here for—a good place in which their children can grow up, a place where Church is an important part of their lives, a place where they can know their neighbors and treasure their community.
• We welcome people of every ethnic background, every race, every age, every way of life, realizing that whoever we are, however we look, we are all the children of God joined in His family.

This is what St. Theresa’s Parish is all about—a place of welcome.  We invite you to come and join us.  We want you to know that we continue to take every precaution to keep people safe in our church—sanitizing after each Mass  and making hand sanitizer available, We are happy to say that we offer you a SAFE WELCOME.
We encourage you to read about our church on this website. This website tells a story of welcome of which we are very proud. Then come to Sunday Mass, If you do, I think you will understand what we mean when we say “Welcome.”  We hope you will take up our invitation.
Meanwhile, just remember: Welcome! Or better still, “Welcome home.”
                                                                        God bless you!
                                                                        Father Thomas B. Derivan
                                                                                                     

 

MESSAGE FOR LENT:

Dear Friends,
On Ash Wednesday, the priest begins to wear the purple vestments at Mass.  Purple as you know is the Church’s color of preparing, getting ready for the great day of Easter. But the question is: Are we ready to put on the purple, to promise  the Lord that we will really prepare for Easter during the  forty days of Lent? Will the  purple of getting ready, of preparing just be on the outside or will we be wearing that purple within our own hearts during  the days of Lent?

           Some time ago, when I visited a class in school, I noticed the Class Rules which the teacher had posted on the wall. They are very simple: the teacher reminded the little children that they should have five things: looking eyes, listening ears, quiet mouths, helping hands and walking feet. I thought of that as we observe the days of Lent. What does God want from us? Think of those five rules.
 

• Looking eyes. For the children in that class, that meant paying attention to the teacher. For us during Lent, looking eyes means that we must keep our focus on what Lent is, a time of prayer, sacrifice, penance and charity, a time when we look at our Lenten resolutions and do not forget to do them.

• Listening ears. For the children, that meant listening to the teacher in class. For us during Lent, listening ears means listening to the Lord and that listening comes in prayer. So often prayer can be our talking to God. During Lent the Lord challenges us to have listening ears for Him, letting Him speak to our hearts. He does, if we give Him the chance.

• Quiet mouths. For the children, that meant not making too much noise and disturbing others. For us during Lent, quiet mouths mean that we do less speaking and more thinking, thinking about what the Lord wants from us, reflecting on His holy Word, taking the message of the gospel each Sunday and reflecting on it throughout the week, talking with others in our family about the lesson that the Lord is teaching us and trying to live it in our family life. Let us try to do that every Sunday during Lent.

• Helping hands. For the children that means helping, not hurting, being nice and not mean. For us during Lent, helping hands means doing the works of mercy, whether that means something like contributing food for our pantry or some other charity or something that does not cost money, like visiting a neighbor who is alone, listening to someone who needs a listening ear, or a helping hand to get through some crisis in their lives. How pleased Our Lord is when we help others, remembering that when we help them, we are helping Him.

• And walking feet. For the children that meant walking, not running, not pushing others. For us during Lent walking feet mean walking in Jesus’ path, following His way, even when following Him and living up to our faith is hard. But walking feet means something else: it means that we remember that we are not walking alone in life; the Lord Jesus always walks with us.

 
                                                                                               
                                                                     

                
            The Eucharistic Renewal

 
Dear Friends,
 
Our Church is observing a special time throughout our country. It is called the Eucharistic Renewal, a time to renew our love and devotion to Our Lord Jesus in Holy Communion. You will notice the banner in front of church, encouraging this Eucharistic Renewal.  It reads:
 

 
The Eucharistic Renewal;
a time of growing in our love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
 
Our theme is;
 “Jesus in the center of the Church,
Jesus in the center of our lives.”
 

 During this special time, the Church wants us all to reflect on the great mystery of the Holy Eucharist and to grow in our appreciation of Our Lord giving Himself to us in this holy sacrament.
 
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE EUCHARISTIC RENEWAL FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT:
 
1.     Remember what the Holy Eucharist is: it is the Body of Jesus Himself. It is not just a symbol of His Body. It IS His Body because He said to the apostles at the Last Supper, “This IS my Body which will be given up for you.”  Unfortunately many people do not understand this. Hopefully we all  do and hopefully during this year we will thank Jesus more and more for giving Himself to us in this holy Sacrament.
 
2.      We should realize how privileged we are to receive Jesus Himself in Holy Communion at Mass.  Our own St. Theresa put it this way, “For it is not to remain in a golden vessel that He comes down each day from Heaven. He comes to find another Heaven, the Heaven of our souls.” The Lord wants to come to us in Holy Communion every Sunday. Our attitude should not be, “I have to come to Mass.” Instead you should want to come to Mass to receive Jesus Himself who is the strength of our life.
 
3.      If we are honest with ourselves, we know t hat we need special strength to keep on the right path of Christian life as we go on in  life. There are so many things that can prevent us from following Jesus’ way. Remember there is no greater strength that we can have to continue to live a good Christian life than by receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion. Holy Communion helps us to remember, as our banner in front of church says, “Jesus is in the center of the church. Jesus is in the center of our lives.”
 
4.      If you have been coming to Mass and receiving Holy Communion every Sunday, God bless you!  The Lord says to you, Keep up the good work!  If you have not been doing so, let this time of the Eucharistic Renewal be a time of coming home to Mass and Holy Communion. On the banner if front of church, you see Our Lord holding the Blessed Sacrament out to all of us.  Remember He is holding His Sacrament out to you. Welcome Him!
 
 God bless you!
Father Thomas B. Derivan

• Saturday, 5:00PM
• Sunday, 7:30AM; 9:00AM (Italian); 10:30AM; 12:15PM; 1:30PM (Spanish) and 5:00PM

If you are new to our neighborhood, we want you to know that St. Theresa’s Church has a warm welcome for you.  Come!

For Traveling Catholics-

If you are traveling and are looking for a Catholic Church and the times of the Masses, you can consult the  site, CatholicMassTime.org Go to Catholic Church Near Me and put in the zip code near where you are staying. 

 
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,
Come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace you as if you were already there
And unite myself wholly to you. 
Never permit me to be separated from you.
Amen.

St. Theresa's Catholic Church
2855 St. Theresa Avenue
Bronx, NY 10461

CONFESSIONS IN OUR CHURCH
The Cardinal has allowed the resumption of confessions in church.  Both St. Theresa Church and Our Lady of the Assumption Church will be having confessions on Saturdays at 4:00PM, beginning on June 6^th.
The following procedures will be followed in our church:
1. All persons must wear protective masks.
2. You will see two confession stations in the church, one by hallway near the sacristy and the other  in the front of church. We will not be using the confessionals for safety reasons.
3. When you come to confession, you may either stand or kneel.
4. Those who are waiting for confession should stand at a respectful distance to preserve confidentiality.  Also while you are waiting, please observe the proper social distancing as marked by the blue tape in the aisles.
5. Please speak loudly enough for the priest to hear, but not too loudly  so that others may hear you.
6. After your confession, you may remain in the church for private prayer. Please sit or kneel only in places  marked with the blue tape.