![Last weekend, Colleen Ashton and Mary Ashton Buckley accepted NCEA Distinguished Graduates Awards at St. Sebastian parish, Woodside. They were recognized for their contributions to parish and school through the fundraising they do in memory of their brother, Thomas Ashton, who died as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Emmett Galligan, Class of 2013 and winner of the Thomas Ashton Memorial Scholarship to Archbishop Molloy H.S., presented the award to Colleen Ashton and Mary Ashton Buckley, along with members of the eighth-grade Elizabeth Ann Seton Service Volunteers, Michelle David and Allysa Roque. (Photo courtesy St. Sebastian School)](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/StSebast.jpg)
Handmade shawls impart warmth and comfort to people of all ages. A Prayer Shawl Ministry is growing at Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Queens Village, and members are accepting donations of yarn. Donations may be brought to the rectory. For more information, call 718-479-5111.
Are you hurting from the pain of abortion? As we prepare for the season of Lent, consider attending the next Rachel’s Vineyard Healing Retreat, Feb. 15-17, offered by the Life Center of Long Island. Everything is confidential. For more information, contact Deacon Frank at 516-523-0586 or e-mail fgariboldi@optonline.net.
During this Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI calls us to “keep our gaze fixed upon Jesus Christ, the ‘pioneer and perfecter of our faith’ (Heb 12:2): in him, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfilment.” As part of the observance of this special year at St. Columba Church, Marine Park, the parish is having a 9:30 a.m. Holy Hour, following 9 a.m. Mass, on the First Friday of every month with Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. All are welcome to keep their gaze fixed upon Jesus in prayer.
Tablet TALK Quote of the Week: “Our Lord does not care so much for the importance of our works as for the love with which they are done.” — St. Teresa of Avila (from the parish bulletin of St. Mark’s Church, Sheepshead Bay)
You don’t have to be Irish to enjoy the upcoming St. Patrick’s Celebration at Dominican Village in Amityville, L.I., on Friday, March 15, 6:30-10:30 p.m. For tickets and details, call 631-842-6618.
In Bay Ridge, Visitation Academy’s Student Council will honor American soldiers this Valentine’s Day! Last year, they raised funds to help build a home for a wounded soldier. This year, students will host a bake sale for America’s Bravest, Feb. 12, 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. To support their effort, call 718-680-9452.
The Friends of the Seminary at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, L.I., are hosting a Lenten Day of Prayer: Becoming a Person of Prayer on March 3, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Day includes conferences, lunch, confession and Mass. The day’s presenter is Father Robin Ryan, C.P., vice provincial, Eastern Province of the Passionist Community. The fee is $25 per guest. If you wish to attend, you must register by Feb. 23. To register, call 631-423-0483 ext. 102 or e-mail bmalone@icseminary.edu.
This week’s Tip of the Tablet TALK Top Hat goes to Catherine Greaves, who made history at St. Francis College (SFC), Brooklyn Heights, last month as the first nursing student to earn valedictory honors.
At the winter commencement ceremony, Greaves told attendees that having her associate’s degree and RN license for nursing only led to job rejections. But now with her bachelor’s of science degree, which she earned at SFC while pregnant with her new baby daughter and working two jobs, she has already accepted a position at Montefiore Medical Center, Manhattan. The ceremony, held at St. Charles Borromeo Church, Brooklyn Heights, honored over 90 graduate and undergraduate students who completed coursework last fall or summer. (Photos courtesy St. Francis College)