SUMMER MASS SCHEDULE

Saturday – 4:00 PM

Sunday – 8:00 AM & 10:30 AM

RED SOX TICKETS AUCTION

Last weekend we announced a silent auction for four excellent seats at the July 16 Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals game. The auction continues until Wednesday of this week (July 11) at 4:30 pm. For further details, see elsewhere in this bulletin.

As of this writing (Tuesday, July 3) the Air Conditioning Fund is at $30,436. Thank you.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE

SISTER PARISH WEEKEND

Next weekend we will celebrate our Sister Parish relationship as we welcome the pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Dar es Salaam, Fr. Emmanuel McHopa, SJ. Father visited us on his way to assuming his duties as pastor in Dar es Salaam. He will be with us for the entire weekend. There will be hospitality after all the Masses. Please plan to stay a few minutes extra to greet and welcome Fr. Emmanuel back to our parish community.

A HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION AND OUR SUMMER COOKOUT # 2

Cookout #2 – Wednesday, August 15 @ 6:30 pm

Masses for the Holy Day will be at 12:10 and 5:30 pm. The evening Mass will be followed by our second summer cookout. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Irene in the Parish Office before Sunday, August 12.

Have a great week,

Pray and work for Peace,

Fr. Rick

Imagine being part of an organization that fills your heart and your mind with the joy of giving to others and the feeling that comes with making a difference. Knights are Catholic men, 18 years of age and older, who are committed to making their community a better place, while supporting their Church. Being a Knight is more than camaraderie; it is being involved with your community; it is supporting your local Catholic Church, while enhancing your own faith and setting a good faith example; it is about protecting and enhancing your family life. You can volunteer as much as you like or as little and on your own schedule. If you want to find out more, contact Jim McKain at 978-475-7931 or visit the website at www.kofc.org.

Congratulations to Everett Belisle, who has been appointed to a three-year term as District Deputy for the St. Roberts, Tewksbury, Woburn, and North Andover councils. Selected by the State Deputy and approved by the Supreme Knight, the District Deputy supervises and directs each council in the proper knowledge of their duties and helps build and maintain successful membership programs. We wish Everett all the best in this important new endeavor!

July Meeting: there will be one meeting only in July, which will be held on Wednesday, July 18th, at 7:30 PM in Driscoll Hall.

Money Matters

On the weekend of June30/July 1

Stewardship Reflection

Needs Assessment Committee – Questionnaire

The Needs Assessment Committee is in the process of gathering requirements from all the users of parish facilities. We have been interviewing the leaders of parish organizations and some of their members to determine how the current parish facilities meet their needs and where our facilities fall short. We would also like to get the input of any individuals who may not be currently active in an organization, or who have individual requirements that they would like to contribute. There are questionnaires located in the vestibule of the church to provide your input. Please fill one out and put it in the box next to the questionnaires. If you prefer to provide your input by email or phone please contact Dave Dlesk (ddlesk@comcast.net  or 978-621-9870) or Heather Lauten (hlauten@comcast.net  or 978-475-5063.) Thanks to everyone who has provided their thoughtful input that will help shape the future of St. Roberts.

Still Time to Bid!!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Silent Auction

There is still time to bid on the four Red Sox tickets being auctioned to support the Air Conditioning Fund. The tickets are for the game on Monday, July 16, against the Kansas City Royals. Bids may be placed by contacting the Parish Office at 978-683-8922 or ibonner@comcast.net  during regular business hours (M-F, 9:30-4:30). The auction will run from Monday, July 2, through the end of business on Wednesday, July 11. The winner will be the highest bidder as of 4:30 pm on Wednesday, July 11. The high bidder must make payment in full when the tickets are picked up.

Special Collection This Weekend

National Collection for

Black and Native American Missions

Evangelization is "the Vocation of the Church, her deepest identity." Since 1885, the Black and Native American Collection has helped the evangelization mission of the Church in many parts of the United States where God’s word otherwise would not be proclaimed. Please try to help support United States Black, Indian, Eskimo, and Aleute missions during the second collection at all Masses this weekend, July 7 and 8. What began more than a century ago, and has been a tremendous success, needs your support today as well.

MASS SCHEDULE

Saturday, July 7, Vigil: 14^th Ordinary Sunday

4:00 PM Robert Baggeroer

Sunday, July 8, 14^th Ordinary Sunday

8:00 AM Henry Chemaly

10:30 AM People of the Parish

Tuesday, July 10, Weekday Mass

12:10 pm

Thursday, July 12, Weekday Mass

12:10 pm

Friday, July 13, Weekday Mass

12:10 pm

Saturday, July 14, Vigil: 15^th Ordinary Sunday

4:00 PM Mary Danker Adams

Sunday, July 15, 15^th Ordinary Sunday

8:00 AM John Sudol

10:30 AM Eric Begg;

**Baptism of Emily Clare Brooks

Prayers requested for:

Debbie McCarthy’s mother, Carolyn Downey

Norma Walsh’s husband, Richard Walsh

Question of the Week

Fourteenth Ordinary Sunday

Today in the United States is Independence Day. Sometimes it is easier to be independent than to follow the call of Jesus. When this past week did you invite another person to pray with you or to come to Mass with you?

Many families today are having picnics and parties for the Fourth of July. Jesus invites us today to tell other people about Jesus. When did you pray this week with your family and when will you pray today?

Question for Children:

Jesus sent the disciples out into the world, but told them that it wouldn’t be an easy job. How have you shared your faith with others this past week? What were the risks for you?

Bread and Roses

July Prep and Summer Support

On Sunday, July 15th, we will prepare the meal for the Bread and Roses hospitality house in Lawrence to be served on Monday, July 16th, the third Monday of the month. PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE FIVE WEEKENDS IN JULY. Our parish provides the meal on the THIRD Monday of each month throughout the year. The third weekend is July 15th, not the 22nd.

We plan to prepare BEEF TACOS with a tossed salad and dessert. Food items needed are: cooked ground beef, soft tacos (large size please), packages of shredded cheese, packages of taco seasoning, jars of salsa, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, large cans of fruit salad, cookies or brownies. Please use the sign up sheet on the clipboard in the church lobby.

Many of our parishioners who regularly donate to this effort will be on vacation during July and August. Please consider contributing some needed food item if you will be here during these months. Any donation would be very much appreciated.

Kitchen helpers meet on Sunday at 9:30 AM. All food donations should be received by 10:30 AM. Call Betty Bufano at 978-851-5682 or Lisa Lattari at 978-749-3736 for further information.

Please note that the Parish Office will be closed on Friday, July 13.

Fair Trade Coffee

Buying fair trade coffee is a tangible way we can put the values of our faith into action. It provides hope for small-scale farmers who have been trapped in poverty by international market forces over which they have no control. It guarantees prices that enable producers to cover their costs of production and provide a decent standard of living for their families. It reminds us there are people behind all the things we consume.

St. Roberts participates in the CRS Fair Trade Coffee Program by committing to the use of fair trade coffee for parish functions and by making it available for purchase to the parish community. Our coffee comes from Dean’s Beans, a company that supports the welfare of small-scale farmers and the CRS Fair Trade Coffee Program by donating a percentage of your purchase to the CRS Fair Trade Fund to support CRS’s work with disadvantaged coffee farmers overseas.

Bring your values to the marketplace – bring Dean’s Beans Fair Trade Coffee into your homes! This month, coffee will be available for purchase in the Seton Room after all Masses this weekend, July 7 and 8.

Online Learning Opportunity

The Archdiocese of Boston, through the Office of Religious Education, has partnered with the University of Dayton, a Catholic Marianist Institution, to provide online learning opportunities for interested adults. The Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) is sponsored by the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives and offers Internet courses to support catchiest and adult faith formation. The cost per class for participants in the Archdiocese of Boston is $40, payable by the student directly to the University of Dayton. The next cycle of courses runs August 26 to September 29. Registration opens July 10 and closes August 22. To learn more, see the extensive list of courses, or sign up, check out the VLCFF website at: http://vlc.udayton.edu.

Academy of Notre Dame Accepting Applications

The Academy of Notre Dame is a private, Catholic co-educational elementary school and an all-girls preparatory high school sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, located in Tyngsboro, MA. The school is currently accepting applications for the following grades:

For more information, please contact Barbara Aldrich-Clougherty, Director of Admissions, at 978-649-7611 x327 or visit their website at www.ndatyngsboro.org.

St. Augustine School Openings

A few openings remain in the 2007-2008 Nursery, Pre-K, and Kindergarten classes at St. Augustine School in Andover. To apply, contact Ann Daly at 978-475-2414 or go online for an application at www.staugustineandover.org.

"At St. Augustine’s we work to enable all our students to reach their full potential spiritually, emotionally, socially, and academically. Our strong and diverse Catholic community is rich with opportunity – from foreign language studies and arts to extracurricular activities and faith outreach programs."

In Service

Maj. Kurt O’Rourke Mark DuPont, USCC, Kevin Grace, USA, Lyle Shackelford, Jaime Ray Seluk, USN, Pvt. Alexander Sabu, USA, Lt. Col. Paul Severance, USAF, Gen’l. R. Steve Whitcomb, USA, Lt. Col. Brian P. Bedell, USA, Capt. Lauren Whitcomb, USA, Col. Patrick J. Donahue, USA, Col. Brian P. Donahue, USA, Michael McGaffigan, USA, Beth Carriere, Nurse, USA, Steve Comstock, Pilot, USN, Lt. Jesse Salisbury, USAF, Sgt. Maureen Galvin, USA,SpOps, Lt.J.G. Kevin B. O’Brien, USN, Miko Belonia, Maj. Tony Hoffman, USA, Maj. Ross Coffman, USA, Maj. Garth Howe, USA, USA, Chief Warrant Officer II, Michael Morris, Captain Matthew Mancini, USA, Sgt. Ellen Barnes O’Connor, USA, Pvt. Adam James Mazza, USA, Pvt. Joseph D. Gagnon, USM, Col. Joseph Albanese, USA, Cpt. Eric Eckberg, USA

SCRIPTURE READINGS – FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy 30:10-14

Moses said to the people: "If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you return to the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul."

"For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, ‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’ No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out."

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians 1:15-20

Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

+ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply,

He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."