December 7th Weekly Newsletter

12/8/2022

Holy Day Mass Schedule, Christmas Mass Schedule, Santa's Toy Closet, and more ...

Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him.

Dear Friends,

Happy Wednesday everyone! 'Tis the season ... yes to be Merry, but also to get sick! Please be sure to take care of yourself, we want you to stay well!!

Immaculate Conception Mass Schedule - TOMORROW, Thursday, December 8th, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, please see the Mass schedule below. Coffee will be available after the 9 am Mass.

BCAP Food Pantry - The Parish Food Pantry, located at SJB, has been RESTOCKED and ready to distribute food to those in need. Please spread the word ... you do NOT have be a parishioner to receive food.

Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish, Santa's Toy Closet - The Parish "Toy Closet" will be open NEXT Sunday, December 18th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please see below for more information.

Christmas Schedule - We hope to see you at one of our Christmas Masses, see the schedule below.

Our Lady of Guadalupe - Please note, tomorrow's (12/8) Novena will be held at St. Hedwig, after the 7 pm Mass.

Being Catholic - Did you know?! - Many of us grew up attending Catholic School, or CCD classes, etc ..., and knew "about" things, but we didn't really remember what they're called or knew the meaning behind a word/phrase. In this weekly newsletter, we will feature a "Did you know?!" It will sometimes be a word, or a place, or an object related to our Catholic Faith. So, did you know ... ?

Parish Forms on the Website - https://www.carloacutisparish.org/parish-forms.html Did you know that many of our forms and requests are on our website? Inquiring about a Baptism ... Need a copy of your Baptismal Certificate ... Want to schedule your wedding? It's all on our website! Simply fill out the form and we'll get back to ya.

Mass Intentions - All parishioners and friends are invited to request Mass intentions for those who have died, for loved ones on their birthdays or anniversaries, or for any other occasion or concern. As the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most powerful prayer of the Church, this is a very effective way to honor the living or pray for the dead. The suggested donation for these Masses is $10 per Mass. In order to ensure availability of your preferred day and time, please submit an electronic request on our website, or call the Parish Office at least two weeks in advance.

Prayers for the Sick - Both in the Sunday Bulletin, and here in the Weekly Newsletter, we list the names of those who are in sick and in need of our prayers. If you would like to add you someone's name to the sick list, please email the Parish Office. Please also email us when it's ok to remove them from the sick list. This helps to ensure our list is up to date.

MASKS are OPTIONAL - Use your best judgement when it comes to your own safety and the safety of others, and do not come to church if you are feeling ill. As always, be kind and respectful to one another if the person choses or not to wear a mask. Remember, we're all in this together!

We hope to see you at one of the Masses this weekend, wear a mask or not, and don't forget to bring a friend or two!!

God Bless, see you in Church!
Wear something PINK/ROSE Colored on Sunday for Gaudate Sunday!
Michael White, Director of Music and Liturgy AND Weekly Newsletter Editor

Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish Mission Statement

We are a multicultural, intergenerational Catholic parish community of people who through the help of the Eucharist, are on the journey to learning about, celebrating, serving and proclaiming our faith in the Risen Jesus.

Vision Statement

Our vision is transforming spirits, hearts and minds.

Core Values

We are welcoming, learning, believing, serving, celebrating,
understanding, sharing, diverse, community and focused on quality.

Goals

1). To have vibrant, welcoming liturgies.
2). To be an evangelizing community.
3). To reach out to youth.
4). To provide social justice education and outreach to the poor.

Your input is welcome.
Please send suggestions to Father Paul Sims, C.R. at [email protected].

Being Catholic - Did you know?!
Gaudate Sunday

The Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday because in Latin, the first words of the opening antiphon for that day’s Mass are“Gaudete in Domino semper” (“Rejoice in the Lord always”).

During the season of Advent, we await the celebration of Christ’s birth and His coming again at the end of time. Over four weeks, we prepare our hearts for Christmas in penitential reflection. But in the middle of the season, Gaudete Sunday calls us to rejoice in hope!

On this Sunday rose-colored vestments may be worn instead of the normal Violet, and the rose-colored candle is lit as a reminder that we are called to rejoice.

Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish Novenas for Our Lady of Guadalupe will take place at St. John Berchmans beginning this Saturday, December 3rd through December 11 at 7 pm nightly. (Thursday, December 8th will take place after the 7 pm Mass at St. Hedwig.)

Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration is on Monday, December 12 at St. Hedwig beginning with Las Mañanitas at 5 AM and Mass that evening at 7 pm. All are welcome!

La Novena de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe se llevara acabo empezando este sábado, 3 de diciembre hasta el 11 de diciembre en San Juan Berchmans a las 7 pm.

La celebración de la Virgen de Guadalupe es el lunes 12 de diciembre en Santa Eduviges empezando con Las Mañanitas a las 5 AM y la Misa a las 7 PM. Todos son bienvenidos!

Saint Ambrose
Saint of the Day for December 7

(337 – April 4, 397)

Saint Ambrose’s Story

One of Ambrose’s biographers observed that at the Last Judgment, people would still be divided between those who admired Ambrose and those who heartily disliked him. He emerges as the man of action who cut a furrow through the lives of his contemporaries. Even royal personages were numbered among those who were to suffer crushing divine punishments for standing in Ambrose’s way.

When the Empress Justina attempted to wrest two basilicas from Ambrose’s Catholics and give them to the Arians, he dared the eunuchs of the court to execute him. His own people rallied behind him in the face of imperial troops. In the midst of riots, he both spurred and calmed his people with bewitching new hymns set to exciting Eastern melodies.

In his disputes with the Emperor Auxentius, he coined the principle: “The emperor is in the Church, not above the Church.” He publicly admonished Emperor Theodosius for the massacre of 7,000 innocent people. The emperor did public penance for his crime. This was Ambrose, the fighter sent to Milan as Roman governor, and chosen while yet a catechumen to be the people’s bishop.

There is yet another side of Ambrose—one which influenced Augustine of Hippo, whom Ambrose converted. Ambrose was a passionate little man with a high forehead, a long melancholy face, and great eyes. We can picture him as a frail figure clasping the codex of sacred Scripture. This was the Ambrose of aristocratic heritage and learning.

Augustine found the oratory of Ambrose less soothing and entertaining but far more learned than that of other contemporaries. Ambrose’s sermons were often modeled on Cicero, and his ideas betrayed the influence of contemporary thinkers and philosophers. He had no scruples in borrowing at length from pagan authors. He gloried in the pulpit in his ability to parade his spoils—“gold of the Egyptians”—taken over from the pagan philosophers.

His sermons, his writings, and his personal life reveal him as an otherworldly man involved in the great issues of his day. Humanity for Ambrose was, above all, spirit. In order to think rightly of God and the human soul, the closest thing to God, no material reality at all was to be dwelt upon. He was an enthusiastic champion of consecrated virginity.

The influence of Ambrose on Augustine will always be open for discussion. The Confessions reveal some manly, brusque encounters between Ambrose and Augustine, but there can be no doubt of Augustine’s profound esteem for the learned bishop.

Neither is there any doubt that Saint Monica loved Ambrose as an angel of God who uprooted her son from his former ways and led him to his convictions about Christ. It was Ambrose, after all, who placed his hands on the shoulders of the naked Augustine as he descended into the baptismal fountain to put on Christ.

Reflection

Ambrose exemplifies for us the truly catholic character of Christianity. He is a man steeped in the learning, law, and culture of the ancients and of his contemporaries. Yet, in the midst of active involvement in this world, this thought runs through Ambrose’s life and preaching: The hidden meaning of the Scriptures calls our spirit to rise to another world.

Saint Ambrose is the Patron Saint of:

Beekeepers
Beggars
Learning
Milan

~ Franciscan Media

“The only thing we have to ask God for, in prayer, is the desire to be holy.”

Pope Francis is cautioning people not to get accustomed to the war in Ukraine, and is calling for the faithful to keep those suffering "this tragic reality" in our hearts and prayers. "The thought of the people of Ukraine, afflicted by war, should remain vivid in our hearts." Please continue to pray for them.

Online Book of Intentions

Praying for each other's intentions is an important part of our parish life. If you would like the parish to pray for your intention, please write the intention in a sentence or two in this Online "Book of Intentions." These intentions will be remembered in our intercessions at our Sunday masses. Click HERE

Please pray for the Sick of our Parish

Fr. Paul Reicher, Martha Ibarra, Natividad Galeana, Doreen Maneely, Anna Mann, Nicole Vilches, Karel O’Brien,Angela Rivera, Mary Anne Sedey, Linda Klickmann, Barbara Durbin, Danny Olivero, Junior Burgos, Dolores Kryszak, Joseph Price, Teresa Ellison, Grace Gauss, Tallulah Andresen, Robert Bauer, Antionette Krerowicz, Ana Flores, Apolonio Alarcon, Antonio de Vera, Patricio A. Yanez Guerra, Manglio Bonilla Gail, Jason & Family, Basilisa M. De Guzman, Daniel Brady, Cyndi De Lira, Carolyn S. Duckunue, Transito Alvarez, Frances Alequin, Alejandro Carmona, Sophie Hernan, Eleanor Jura, Monika Kloniecka, Joseph Wyse, Verena Tonnesen, Berenice Sosnowski, Nick Jurado, Jackie Schuman, Terry Brady, Salomea Olszewska, Hertha Runowski, Angie Schuman, John Graff, Joseph Murphy, Linda Riske, Margaret Flisiak, Jazzmyne Aguilar, Hailey Marose, Sarah Ellison, Nancy Idaszak, Sally Cox, Daniel Salas, Eleanor Rylko, Nancy, Brian, Jimmy Denges, & Crystal Mohetano.

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