Entries for November 2022

ADVENT….. A TIME OF HOPE…..A YEAR OF GRACE

Advent invites me, you, everybody to acknowledge this: Dear God, the world is a mess, and my own life is less than whole. Something—NO—SOMEONE—is missing. We—I—really need YOU!

If you are willing to admit your life is not whole, that you need a rescuer, a helper, someone to intervene, and want a Savior:

PRAYER: These days of preparation during Advent is a great time to regularly spend some quiet time with God.

BIBLE: Read St. Matthew’s Gospel 5 minutes each Advent Day.

MASS: Participate in Sunday Mass and receive the Risen Christ in Holy Communion.

CONFESSION: Try to receive God’s loving forgiveness — available every Saturday beginning at 3:30 p.m. and after Mass as announced on some Advent Sundays.

CHARITY: Advent is a time to share, love, remember, serve, forgive, help out, let people know you care for them.

A GIFT FROM YOUR PARISH!

So that we all might embrace Advent, and spend these holy days together waiting — in prayer, penance, and hope —for the appearance of Christ our Savior, please accept Matthew Kelly’s “Holy Moments” or “The Eucharist…20 Answers” or both, on the tables at the Church doors.

NEW MISSAL AND HYMNAL

The new Liturgical year begins this weekend with the First Sunday of Advent. For the coming Church year, Annunziata has purchased WORD & SONG 2023 from World Library Publications. WORD AND SONG has an extensive selection of songs for Mass to encourage congregational singing.

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Happy Thanksgiving

PLEASE COME TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD ON THIS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH!

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered at 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.

There is a hurting world out there who needs to hear about Jesus and witness the difference He makes in our lives as we choose to grow in obedience and produce the fruit of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, heartfelt kindness, and love… Let’s choose to live lives of gratitude, growth, and not forget Heaven is waiting and one day there will be a welcome party for us as we come home…

Christ Our King

When Pope Pius XI instituted a special feast honoring Christ “the King” in 1925, he grieved for a world that had been ravaged by the First World War and which had begun to bow down before the “lords” of exploitative consumerism, nationalism, secularism, and new forms of injustice.

This Sunday’s celebration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe reminds us that the Kingdom of Christ isn’t some far-off reality. We are living in that Kingdom now. After all, Jesus tells the dying thief “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” But this feast also reminds us that while we should honor Jesus as our “Sovereign King”, we must also emulate his total gift of Himself, perfectly embodied in His sacrifice on the Cross. It is only by imitating our thorn-crowned King that we can help bring relief to those who suffer and God’s healing mercy to those who long for forgiveness, helping to proclaim the Good News of the Reign of Christ in the world today.

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“Sheltering”

WORLD DAY OF THE POOR

Pope Francis invited all the world to a call to action for the poor and the needy in 2016, an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. At the end of that year, the Holy Father established a World Day of the Poor to be celebrated every year on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The sculpture in the picture above was conceived by renowned Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz to shed light on the problem of homelessness in the world and to promote practical solutions, especially in supporting the ministry of the St. Vincent dePaul Society worldwide.

As Pope Francis blest the sculpture entitled, “Sheltering” in St. Peter’s Square last week, Mr. Schmalz, encouraged people, “It is everyone’s job to provide the homeless with a roof over their heads. To make them visible and address their needs.”

In the coming weeks, as families gather for Thanksgiving, I thank you for your faithful support of our St. Vincent de Paul Society, and your own ongoing sacrifices to help the poor, needy, and homeless.

God Bless You!

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VOCATION AWARENESS WEEK

As Catholics, we firmly believe that God has a plan for our lives! God calls some to marriage, some to the priesthood, and others to religious life or to live as generous single people. Fully living out our own vocations, and teaching young people how to discern God’s call, is a serious duty, but also a joyful one.

During this week, please pray and encourage the young people in your life—children, grandchildren, students, and friends—to be open if God calls them to the priesthood and religious life.

EVERYONE HAS A DIVINE VOCATION

“Jesus has a specific task in life for each and every one of us. Each one of us is hand-picked, called by name by Jesus! There is no one among us who does not have a divine vocation! Some are called audibly by God, but the usual kind of call is internal, through the inner working of the Spirit.”
—Homily by Pope Saint John Paul II 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT (continued)

The wellness industry is redefining the concept of purity as what you consume, rather than the moral state of your soul. This new use of the word purity to describe only the material world feels hollow. There may be some ritual comfort in collecting crystals or forgoing meat, but they are not substitutes for paying attention to our souls. Do you know a single woman who would prefer to be married to an adulterous vegan husband than a faithful husband who consumes the occasional hamburger?

In its worst form, wellness purity allows us to escape from our own moral impurity rather than make a genuine attempt to be a better person. Buying and consuming organic fruit smoothies is expensive, but it’s easy. Making an earnest attempt to confront one’s own moral failings and to be held accountable for them is challenging and uncomfortable—even if the financial cost is almost nothing.

The challenge for contemporary Catholicism is to reclaim ground that has been ceded to the wellness industry. Our faith tells us that embracing the virtues of confession is a great form of self-care. After all, sin hurts our relationship with God and with those around us. Therapy may be good for your mental health, and diets good for your body, but the Sacrament of Confession is still the way toward purity for your soul.

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