November 30^th/December 1st

Welcome to the Holy Season of Advent.  Participate in our Advent activities and liturgies to prepare a place in your heart for Christ to be reborn this Christmas.

On Monday, December 2^nd at 7:00 p.m. we will celebrate our Regional Advent Communal Penance Service together with the churches of Our Lady of Lourdes, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Holy Name.  The Church invites us to gather as a community of faith to repent and prepare a place for Christ to be reborn in our hearts this Christmas.  We will have 6 priests to hear your confessions:  Rev. Joseph Callahan, Rev. Ralph Hudak, Rev. Andrzej Panek, Rev. Msgr. Richard Antall, Rev. Anthony Schuerger, and myself.

We are hoping that we all hear the words of John the Baptist in Matthew’s Gospel: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Just like Ebeneezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol,” we are called to reflect upon our lives, repent and experience the grace of conversion this Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. to meet Our Savior Who is Christ the Lord.

We will have First Saturday Devotions this coming Saturday, December 7^th at 3:15 p.m.   Because December 8^th is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is transferred to Monday, December 9^th which is a Holy Day of Obligation.  Everyone is required to go to Mass for the Holy Day.  We will have Masses at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

On Sunday, December 8^th we will have our Cell hour of holiness at 11:15 a.m.  

On Saturday, December 14^th after our 4:00 p.m. Mass, we have private Eucharistic Adoration 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.  At 5:30 p.m., we have our Solemn Closing of Eucharistic Devotions with Benediction and Taize Meditation.  On Sunday, December 22^nd at 11:15 a.m. we have inside decorating of our church for Christmas.  WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP US.

We thank Mary Lou Sheets, Kelly Lister, and Phil Balli for working at the Ozanam Center on November 23^rd.  We are grateful to Stasia and Pete Gentile for hosting Friendsgiving which was a wonderful event.  We thank the volunteers who helped.  We thank Karen Small, Jim Armbruster, and Patti Briganti for their work in putting up Christmas decorations in our garden.

If you have not already done so, please take a tag from the Giving Tree (Christmas Tree by Mary’s Altar) to purchase a gift for a child in need.  Gifts should be returned by Sunday, December 8^th.  DO NOT wrap the gifts.  Please bring the gifts in gift bags.  Suggested price is $25.00.

Please see our Parish St. Vincent de Paul Financial Report.  Through your generosity and their work, we serve 250 families (550 individuals) through our rectory food pantry a year.

Blue advent books are at the church exits, pick one up after Mass.

Our Altar and Rosary Society is sponsoring a Gift Card Raffle on January 1^st.  Donations of Gifts Cards for this Raffle are welcome.   You may donate gift cards in an envelope in the collection, mail them to the rectory, or drop them off at the rectory.   Similarly, Raffle Tickets are enclosed in the parish bulletin.  You can follow the same procedure as well.

As we have just celebrated Thanksgiving:  remember what St. Paul would say:  “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”   (Ephesians 1:16)

May we all have a Blessed Advent and a Joyful Christmas!

Fr. Jasany