blessed sacrament parish community december 2016...
TRANSCRIPT
BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH COMMUNITY
December 2016 Newsletter
December 2 First Friday
4 Second Sunday of Advent
Children’s Celebration
Preschool Christmas Program &
Soup Supper
8 Immaculate Conception/Holy Day
of Obligation – Masses at
12:05 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
11 Third Sunday of Advent
Food Pantry Sunday
Retirement Fund/Religious
Collection
13 Baptism Preparation Class
14 Prime Time Group
18 Fourth Sunday of Advent
Communal Reconciliation Service
at Blessed Sacrament
19 Communal Reconciliation Service
at St. Leo’s
20 Communal Reconciliation Service
at Resurrection
21 Communal Reconciliation Service
at St. Mary’s Cathedral
23 Children’s Choir Practice &
Caroling
24 Christmas Eve – Masses at 4:00
p.m., 7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.
25 Christmas – Mass at 9:00 a.m.
26 Parish Offices/Building Closed
27 Knights of Columbus Meeting
31 New Year’s Eve
Thank you so much for your generosity and
support with regard to our recent Roof Project.
We surpassed our goal of $32,779.00 the first
week, and money is still coming in. All of the
funds that we receive above our goal will be
designated for Future Major Projects around the
Parish. Our roof is already being repaired. I will
keep you informed on goals and projects as they
become necessary. Thanks again!
Fr. Marty
BLESSED SACRAMENT PRESCHOOL
The Preschool Christmas
Program will be Sunday, December
4, at 4:30 p.m. in the church
sanctuary. All of the preschool
classes will participate. Following
the program, we will gather in the
Jubilee Center for a soup supper &
silent auction. A free will offering
will be taken for the supper. Mark your calendar
to attend our program and soup supper.
Themes during December will be Candy
Canes, Advent Connections and Happy Birthday,
Baby Jesus. Jesus Time activities will center on
the reason for the season, Jesus.
Thank you to our preschool families and the
parish family for your enrichment of our program.
We appreciate your apple tree “contributions,”
smiles and interest in our activities.
Mrs. Anspauch, Mrs. Brondel, Mrs. Carlson,
Mrs. Osborn and Mrs. Seier wish all of you a
blessed holiday season.
Barb Seier, Director
ATTENTION: All Contributors
If you wish to make an additional contribution to
be reflected in your 2016 giving, it must be
labeled 2016 and be received no later than
December 30.
Thank you for your cooperation!
BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH ADVENT/CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE Communal Reconciliation Services
Sunday, December 18 – 7:00 p.m. at Blessed Sacrament
Monday, December 19 – 7:00 p.m. at St. Leo’s
Tuesday, December 20 – 7:00 p.m. at Resurrection
Wednesday, December 21 – 7:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral
(Individual confessions by appointment only at Blessed Sacrament after December 21.)
Christmas Eve Mass—December 24
4:00 p.m. – Youth Mass
7:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m.
Christmas music begins 30 minutes before all Masses.
Christmas Day Mass – December 25
9:00 a.m.
May the wonder of that first Christmas,
the joy of God’s abundant blessings,
and the peace of Jesus’ presence
be with you always.
A most Blessed Christmas and
New Year to you from the
Blessed Sacrament Parish Staff!
ETERNITY’S CLOCK AND CROWN What is this Advent wreath whose four candles help us mark the passing of the weeks before
Christmas? It is eternity’s clock—a circle that says, “In our ending is our beginning.” It is the
wheel of time—a circle of evergreen branches—cut and left to wither—revealing that death
and life are both a piece. It is also a crown, the victor’s laurel garland, the sign that the race is
done, the prize won. It is the crown of us as a people, a chosen race, a royal priesthood. It is
the crown of each of us as individuals—baptized individuals (all of a piece) whose heads were smeared with that
royal oil, chrism. We are marked for eternity. With four candles lit, the Advent wreath is the fiery crown that we
give to Christ the King, the Savior who returns in the glowing gloom to gather us into our eternal home, the new
and heavenly Jerusalem.
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Holy Day of Obligation
Masses at: 12:05 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
On the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate our belief that Mary was full of God’s
grace from the moment she was given life in the womb of her mother, Anne. This privilege was given
in preparation for her role as the mother of God. Mary did not earn this freedom in any way. It was
simply a gift bestowed out of God’s goodness.
Recognition of Mary’s preservation from all sin began in the East, spread to the West in the middle
ages, and was declared a dogma of the Church in 1854. Four years later, in 1858, Mary appeared to fourteen-year-old
Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. She said of herself, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The miracles of healing
at the scene of the appearances quickly spread devotion to Mary under this title.
By the time European immigrants began arriving in the United States in large numbers, December 8 was a popular feast.
Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the patron of the United States. A very large basilica in Washington,
D.C., the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, is dedicated to her.
CHRISTMAS—A Sense of the Season
You probably know the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Even though a radio station once proclaimed the twelve days of Christmas as those before December 25, Christians have always kept Christmas as a season from December 25 until January 6 (the traditional Epiphany). The church calendar today even extends the celebration until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord—the Sunday after Epiphany. Here is what the church says about the season of Christmas: “Next to the yearly celebration
of the paschal mystery [meaning the Triduum and Easter season], the church holds most sacred the memorial of Christ’s birth and early manifestations. This is the purpose of the Christmas season.” (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, #32) More than just “Jesus’ birthday,” the Christmas season is a time for remembering and reveling in the nativity of Christ, the revelation of Christ to the Jewish shepherds, the revelation of Christ to the Gentile magi (that’s us!), Christ’s baptism by John in the Jordan, and Christ changing water into wine at the wedding “on the third day” (John 2:1) in Cana of Galilee. In all these saving events, we know that “the Word is made flesh and dwells among us.” How can we keep Christmas not just as a day, but as a season? Keep the tree up (and watered!) and shining bright until the Baptism of the Lord. Sing carols and read the scriptures every day. Safely put candles around your crèche: Use small glass votive candle holders, and place them away from the straw. You might also want to add a little water to the bottom of the glass before putting the candle in—an added precaution that will also help you clean the glass more easily. When you light the candles, sing or say the prayer of the angels: Glory in heaven and peace on earth, now and forever. Amen!