June 5, 2025

Congratulations to all our young people who received the Sacrament of First Communion last weekend at the Oratory Parishes. More pictures to come in the weeks ahead!

📰 News

Elections for Parish Pastoral Council (PPC)

We have several open positions for the PPC for the next pastoral year. On Monday, June 9, a separate email will be sent to registered members for each parish with names, brief bios, and photos of each candidate. We will use electronic voting, and the vote will be open for one week.

Corpus Christi Mass: Volunteers Needed

St. Boniface, Assumption, and nearby parishes in our Deanery are hosting a Corpus Christi celebration on Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 11:30am in Carroll Park, Brooklyn. There will be Mass, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and benediction. Please plan to attend! Learn more here. There will be no morning Masses at either Assumption or St. Boniface that Sunday (6/22).

Volunteers are crucial to the success of our Corpus Christi Celebration. We need your help before, during, and after the Mass.

Ushers are needed before Mass to help set up chairs, hand out worship aids, and seat people.
Greeters are needed before Mass to help set up chairs, greet people at the park entrances, and orient them to bathrooms, first aid, seating, etc.
Breakdown helpers are needed to help return chairs from the park to vans.

Note: Ushers and greeters are asked to be at the park around 8:00am. Breakdown folks are needed after the Mass is over. If you are interested in helping out, please fill out this form.

Carroll Park is in Carroll Gardens on Court Street between Carroll and President Streets. The F & G subway lines at Carroll Street and the B57 bus stop at Court/President Street are the closest public transportation within walking distance of the park. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Connell at jconnell@oratorychurch.org

Father's Day Novena

We will have our Novena of Masses for our fathers, living and deceased, starting on June 15, Father’s Day. Please email your names to the office at info@oratorychurch.org or use your parish giving envelopes. The names will be posted at both churches. The suggested donation is $20. Please submit names by June 12.

Summer Masses at Assumption and St. Boniface

Beginning Saturday, June 15, all weekend and weekday Masses at Assumption will be celebrated downstairs in the air-conditioned Parish Hall. The Mass schedule remains the same at both parishes.

Summer Scheduling Changes

First Saturday Mass and Oratory Evening Prayers will be on pause for the summer months.

SMSS Donation Request

St. Mary's Star of the Sea pop-up shop for recently arrived migrants is very grateful for the generous support from the Oratory community. The pop-up shop asked that we let parishioners know that there is still need for the following items at this time:

We are only taking spring & summer clothing.

Clothing for school-aged children: with a focus on pants and sneakers
New underwear: all ages, sizes, genders is in steady demand
Men's sizes Small and Medium clothing: particularly clothing useful for outdoor work (jeans, sweats, light-weight jackets & hoodies, good sneakers, etc.) is in demand
Prom attire: both clothing and shoes
Toiletries: including standard bathroom supplies, feminine hygiene products, and infant diapers
Shoes: casual, functional shoes, especially sneakers, are needed in all sizes, ages, genders
Backpacks: all sizes needed
Most recent requests: large reusable shopping bags such as Fresh Direct bags, suitcases (all/any sizes), hangers

Donations can be dropped off Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues from 8:30am to 12:00pm at 467 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231.

🗓️ Upcoming Events

Saturday, June 7, 9:00am, Assumption

⛪ First Saturday Mass

Please note that this will be the last First Saturday Mass until the fall.

Wednesdays, June 18 & 25, 7:00pm, Assumption Community Room

📖 Join Br. Andy for Scriptural Study – The Book of Ruth

“Wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. Where you die I will die, and there be buried.” Ruth was a woman of extraordinary loyalty, generosity and righteousness. Explore one of the greatest works of biblical literature and its beautiful theology. No need to read it in advance, but that would be helpful and it is only a few pages. Click here to read and click here to register.

Sunday, June 22, 11:30am, Carroll Park

✝️ Deanery Corpus Christi Celebration Mass

Join together with other Brooklyn parishes to celebrate an outdoor Mass for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. There will be no 9:30am or 11:15am Masses at our parishes on Sunday, June 22. Click here to learn more.

July 1–August 19, 6:30pm, Zoom

🙏 Meeting Christ in Prayer

Meeting Christ in Prayer is modeled on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. By means of prayer, reflection and sharing, participants will have an opportunity to meet Christ anew and to experience support in our Christian way of life. The program asks you to commit to spending 20–30 minutes each day in prayer, to keep a journal of your thoughts and reflections, and to attend eight weekly meetings for prayer, discussion and sharing. Regular attendance at these meetings is highly recommended.

Meetings will take place via Zoom on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm starting July 1 and continue on eight consecutive Tuesdays through August 19. If you are interested, please register by clicking on this link or by emailing Fr. Vin at vbiagi@oratorychurch.org

👪 Family Faith and First Communion Resource Guide

Click here to learn more about the Oratory Parishes' Family Faith Formation (F3) and First Communion Classes.

⛪️ Weekly Mass Intention Schedule

Pentecost Sunday

Weekly Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/readings

ASSUMPTION

6/7	5:00pm	Tom and Phyllis Acerra
6/8	9:30am	People of the Parish
6/9	8:00am	Rita Collins
6/10	8:00am	Blessings: Michael Cho
6/11	8:00am	Margery Ann Carroll
6/12	8:00am	Lee Walden, Sr.
6/13	8:00am	Frank J. Macchiarola

ST. BONIFACE

6/8	11:15am	Br. Gary Gaynor, OSF
6/8	6:00pm	People of the Parish
6/9	12:10pm	Gratitude for God's Love
6/10	12:10pm	Jack Lindsay
6/11	12:10pm	Intentions: Virginia Navarro
6/12	12:10pm	Intentions: Zicchinolfi Grandchildren
6/13	12:10pm	Frances Ann Alferman

Mass Intentions

It has been a long tradition in the Church to offer Masses for people to pray, especially for the dead, seeking God’s grace, mercy, and spiritual benefits through Christ’s sacrifice. Usually a modest donation is given for this. In the coming weeks we have several Masses with no particular intentions. If you would like to have a Mass offered for someone (living or deceased), email the parish office at info@oratorychurch.org or click here.

🙏 Prayer List

Please keep the sick of the community in your prayers

Marilyn Ross, Becky Lewin, Edward Silver, Mike Dishaw, Lynn Burke, Amelia Moser, Eileen Acheson Bohn, Francine Mastini, Lisa Williams, James J. Carney, Lou Acerra, Ann McDoughal, Dawn Hewitt, Msgr. Don L. Fischer, Mary Cella, Janice Clarke, Maria Fusco, Alice Mulholland, Mary Simon Charles, Kim Manzi

Rest in Peace

Michael Stallone, Robert Nixon, Olga Renzi, James O’Neil, Ruth Sanchez, Br. Gary Gaynor, Pope Francis, John Hayes, Fran Alferman, John Dalton, Eddy Graves, Gertrude Conway

If you would like to add someone to the prayer list, email the parish office at info@oratorychurch.org or click here.

🏙️ Beyond the Oratory

Free Spiritual Direction through St Francis Xavier Parish in Manhattan

God asked Adam and Eve: “Where are you?” Jesus invited the disciples with these words: “Come and See.” Journey with a spiritual director from September 2025 to May 2026 to discover God’s invitation to you.

Spiritual direction is a one-on-one monthly conversation with a director to see how God is inviting you to live your life more fully. We have several spiritual directors who have been in training in our Spiritual Direction Formation Program since September 2024, who are seeking individuals to direct for the next 9 months. While meeting with directees, they will be supervised by a qualified supervisor. If interested, please contact Gerry at spiritualdirection@sfxavier.org

Capuchin Summer Programs

Parents and Confirmation Candidates (and others!), did you enjoy this year's Confirmation Retreat? Well, those same Capuchin Friar friends offer three excellent summer programs:

SOW (Summer Outreach Week) – an "urban plunge" type program of daily community service opportunities, coupled with prayer
CAM (Capuchin Appalachian Mission) – bringing hope and material aid to underserved families in both rural Kentucky where the need is most dire, and here in our own backyard
CLASP (Catholic Literature & Arts Summer Program) – an arts and theater based program which sounds like it would be a great fit for our Pageant stars!

Click here for more information and signup directions.

St. Saviour Catholic Academy, Park Slope

For more information on early childhood programs, elementary grades, and middle school, click here.