ST. NICHOLAS’ VISIT

We invite all children, next week after all Sunday Masses December 7th, to meet St. Nicholas  in the Parish Church Hall.

 

SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

In its origin and purpose, this feast has no relation to Advent. It was placed on December 8 simply to complete the needed 9 month period before September 8, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, the feast readily lends itself to Advent themes. During the time when we are awaiting the Savior, when we are striving to arouse in ourselves a deep consciousness of the need for redemption, when we lovingly look up to Mary as our model, then, indeed, does this feast seem like the golden dawn before the rising sun of Christmas. December 8, therefore, is a genuine Advent feast.

History of the Feast. The feast first appears during the sixth-seventh century in the Greek Church as a  celebration in honor of the conception of St. Anne on December 9, and, already in the tenth-eleventh century, it had become a Holyday. By way of Naples, it came to the West, where it first took root in Ireland and Normandy. All through the Middle Ages, the dogmatic foundation of the mystery was contested, and it was not until 1854 that Pius IX raised it to the rank of a holy-day of obligation for the entire Church.

For December 8, the Solemnity of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI is granting a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions to “the faithful if they participate in a sacred function in honor of the Virgin, or at least offer open testimony of Marian devotion before an image of Mary Immaculate exposed for public veneration, adding the recitation of the Our Father and of the Creed, and some invocation to the Virgin". In his decree the Holy Father expressly ties this spiritual favor to that December 8^th, 1965, when Pope Paul VI, in closing the Second Vatican Council, offered great praise to the Blessed Virgin Mother, who, as Mother of Christ, is Mother of us, the members of his Mystical Body.

In our church on that day, Dec. 8^th, we will celebrate five Holy Masses: 8.00am (E); 10.30am Novus Ordo  Latin  Mass;  12.30pm - Tridentine;  6.00PM Tridentine High Mass &  8.00pm (E).

THIS FEAST IS A HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION.

 

ADVENT PARISH  RETREAT: Dec. Date TBA

In our Parish we will have a Parish Retreat as part of spiritual preparations before Christmas. Conferences will be preached  after 8.00AM and 6.00pm Masses. Please reserve that time for your spiritual wellness. More information and detailed program will be printed in the next week Parish Bulletin.

 

GAUDETE SUNDAY: 

Our Third Week of Advent; December 14th  begins with "Gaudete” Sunday." Gaudete means "rejoice" in Latin.  It comes from the first word of the Entrance antiphon on Sunday.  The spirit of joy that begins

this week comes from the words of Paul, "The Lord is near."  This joyful spirit is marked by the rose-colored third candle of our Advent wreath, and the rose-colored vestments used at the Eucharist.  This week we begin the second part of Advent.  The plan of the readings changes.  The first readings are still from the  prophesies, but now the gospels are from the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke.  We read the stories of faithful women and men who prepared the way for our salvation.  We enter into the story of how Jesus' life began.  These stories are filled with hints of what His life will mean for us.  Faith and generosity overcome impossibility.  Poverty and persecution reveal glory. We prepare this week by feeling the joy.  And so we consciously ask:  Prepare our hearts and remove the sadness that hinders us from feeling the joy and hope which His presence will bestow.   Each day this week we want to light a third inner candle.  Three candles, going from expectation, to longing, to joy.  They represent our inner preparation, or inner perspective.  In this world of "conflict and division," "greed and lust for power," we begin each day this week with a sense of liberating joy.  Perhaps we can pause, breathe deeply and say, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior." Each day this week, we will continue to go through our everyday life, but we will experience the difference our faith can brings to it.  We will encounter sin in our own hearts and in our experience of the sin of the world.  We can pause in those moments, and feel the joy of the words, "You are to name Him Jesus because He will save His people  from their sins." Mt 1:21. We may experience the Light shining into dark places of our lives and showing us patterns of sinfulness, and inviting us to experience God's mercy and healing.  Perhaps we wish to celebrate the Penance Service with Confession this week, December 15, 3.00pm.  We may want to make gestures of Reconciliation with a loved one, relative, friend or associate.  With more light and joy, it is easier to say, "I'm sorry; let's begin again." Each night this week we want to pause in gratitude.  Whatever the day has brought, no matter how busy it has been, we can stop, before we fall asleep, to give thanks for a little more light, a little more freedom to walk by that light, in joy. Our celebration of the coming of our Savior in history, is opening us up to experience His coming to us this year, and preparing us to await His coming in Glory.

Come, Lord Jesus.  Come and visit Your people. 

We await Your coming.  Come, O Lord.

 

LECTORS NEEDED

Do you like to read aloud, and would you like to proclaim the readings, psalm and Prayer of the Faithful at Mass to the congregation?  If so, please contact Father Stanislaw Zak: stanzak7@yahoo.com; or

Lectors Coordinator Lynn Suer (lynnsuer@aol.com),  your contact information, and let us know which Mass you usually attend so we can make up a schedule.  Also tell us when you are not available to read. God bless you!

 

THE CLOSING  OF THE JUBILEE YEAR

       December 8th 2008 in Lourdes, will be celebrated for the closing ceremony to mark the end of the