Third Sunday of Advent

Kathy Parish Activities, Weekly message

The Third Sunday of Advent is often referred to as Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday. The title comes from the beginning of the Latin introit for this Sunday, “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete” (“Rejoice in the Lord; again I say, rejoice,” Philippians 4:4, from the second reading for this Sunday).

  With only one more Sunday before Christmas, the liturgy takes on a more eager and urgent sense of anticipation. The option of rose vestments and a rose candle for the third candle of the Advent wreath help heighten this emphasis. It is not surprising that the verbs “sing” and “rejoice” (synonyms for a musician) are heard over and over in the readings for this Sunday.

 Right from the first reading, we hear this note of rejoicing from the prophet Isaiah. He is rejoicing because God had shielded him in all the ways.

 Paul, in the second reading, begins by telling us what we must do at all times. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). At all times and in all circumstances we must rejoice, pray and give thanks. He adds that this command reflects the will of God for those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ we know that life on earth is not always rosy, but life after death is bliss. Our hope is not in this life only. That is why we are able to rejoice in good times and in bad, as Jesus himself did.

 Paul invites us to be holy. The life of holiness to which Paul invites us this Advent is the life of God in us. It is God in us who makes it happen. Our part is mainly to say yes to God, to surrender totally to Him. It is hard for us to live a life of rejoicing always, but the One who calls us to this life is one who always gives us what He commands. He is faithful, and He will do it in our lives.

Waiting for The Lord.

Fr. Henry

 

St. Valentine Parish Council Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, November 21, 2017

 

Old Business

Selection of New Officers:

Chair/Vice Chair : Mary Anthony and Ron Fron discuss and decided that Ron would be Council Chair and Mary would be Vice. There was no objection

 

Fund Raising

● Gym was open for the dates discussed in previous meetings (Lisa to send dates)

● Ideas for events

○ Silent Auction (Is this event sustainable every year?)

○ Craft Show (OLL is doing in 2018, St. Valentine will consider in years that OLL are not)

○ Dinner dance (Didn’t raise enough by itself, but was good source of fellowship)

○ Raffle (Action Item: Ron to explore possible arrangement with local dealership)

○ Horse Racing (Action Item: Ron to discuss with Mike Kelly)

 

Commission Reports

Pastoral Update

· Synod – Father has implored the council to read the Synod letter as it contains a lot of directives that need to be addressed in coming years

http://www.unleashthegospel.org/

● The Parish Mission Statement needs to be addressed in 2019

● Fr. Socorro has selected the 5 people to attend seminar for leadership

● 16 new altar servers have been trained (10 from the school and 6 from Faith Formation)

 

Finance

● Committee meeting met last month

● We are about 2% to the good on the budget so far this fiscal year

● We have paid down $22,000 from the debt so far this fiscal year

● Total debt is now ~$260,000

● The committee will produce a 1 page summary for the parish in the coming months

● The council agreed that this was a success story that needs to be shared more with parish as a whole

Worship

● Mike asked council members to take advantage of the many activities during Advent

· “Lessons and Carols” service will be held on January 7, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

 

Rountable

● December meeting will be changed to the second Tuesday due to the school choir concert on the third Tuesday

● Jeff indicated that he was involved in the Confirmation Retreat that our confirmation class attended at St. Kenneth. There were 18 attendees from St. Valentine who along with their teacher (Megan) represented our parish very well. We should be proud of this group.

· Frank wished to thank the school for installing enthusiasm for the Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey. His grandson watched the entire mass with enthusiasm. Great Job to the school for installing this enthusiasm.

 

Next Meeting is December 12 – 7:30 PM

Second Sunday of Advent

Kathy Parish Activities, Prayer Opportunities, Weekly message

 As I was reading some reflections, I came across this thought from a preacher named Daniel Houghton and it piqued my interest (since I know nothing about hunting) when he described the difference between turkey (or deer) hunting, and pheasant hunting. In one you sit and “wait passively” in a concealed “blind,” and hope a target comes along. In the other, you get out there to be seen, “actively wait” for a target while walking the fields, and make things happen.

 In this weekend’s readings we hear two commands from the Lord: Give comfort, and prepare the way for the Lord. One is from a prophecy of Isaiah, the other from Mark’s gospel quoting Isaiah. Both are commands, calling us to be “active,” not passive involvement in the work of living and spreading the Good News.

 According to Daniel the preacher, “active waiting” for the Lord would mean taking our prayers and turning them into action. Active waiting turns our prayers for the hungry into food boxes, our prayers for the homeless into soup kitchens, or helping the needy accordingly. Active waiting turns our prayers for the sick and the lonely into visits and invitations. Active waiting transforms individuals and parishes into doers of the Word, and not just hearers only.

 St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Whatever you do in your family, for your children, for your husband, for your wife, you do for Jesus.”  Every night when we go to bed, let us ask ourselves, “Where have I found Christ today?”  The answer will be God’s Advent gift to us that day. By being active and waiting we will receive an extra gift:  Christ himself.  Let us remember the saying of St. Thomas Aquinas: “Without God, I can’t.  Without me, He won’t.”  

 Happy Advent, Happy waiting.

 Penance Service:

 This coming week we have a wonderful opportunity to take part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as we will have the Advent Penance Service on December 13th at St. Valentine Church. This service will begin at 7 p.m. with a little preparation followed by individual confession. Besides Fr. Henry and myself there will be Fr. Rick Hartmann and Fr. Sal Briffa from the Clergy Village and Fr. Pat Brennan from St. Paul of the Cross. Advent is a good time to heal all that keeps us from experiencing the divine love and mercy.

 

Christmas Collection:

 This is my yearly gentle reminder about your Christmas Contribution. Every year I was surprised by the amount we collected at Christmas. You always surprise me. I want to thank you for your contributions throughout the year and especially at Christmas. As you know we get to keep 100% of this collection whereas we only keep 93% of the regular collection. So this year too you can serve and honor God with a special gift for the Christmas, and I ask you to be as generous as your situation allows. Know for sure that every dollar you contribute will be used for the good and betterment of St. Valentine Parish Community. Thank you in advance.

 Blessings,

Fr. Socorro

 Evening Prayer Reminder – Sundays During Advent

Prepare for Christmas; and join fellow parishioners as we pray:

  “Come Lord Jesus, Come”

Where: School Chapel—please use the Dow street entrance.

When:   5pm on these Sundays:  December 10 and 17

 

Check this Out!!! – Continued Video Presentation Today

Today we will be viewing Religious Mysteries, Volume 1, Episode 1, The Secret of Bernadette. (47 minutes)

December 17th: The Story of the Nativity. (The story is told as if the events were happening for the very first viewers, the Jewish people, and it connects every event with the prophecies foretold in the Old Testament. 59 minutes)

We will take the Christmas holiday off and resume on January 7, 2018.

Parish Office Hours Christmas/New Year 2017-2018

The parish office will observe the following schedule during the Christmas Holidays.

Monday, December 18— Thursday, December 21: 8:30 am – 4:00 p.m.

Friday, December 22— Tuesday, December 26:  OFFICE CLOSED

Wednesday, December 27: 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Thursday, December 28: 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Friday, December 29— January 2 : OFFICE CLOSED

Wednesday, January 3 – Resume office hours of 8:30 am—4:00 pm

The parish office has a voicemail system that will take messages when the office is closed. Messages will be returned in a timely fashion. Please speak slowly and clearly when leaving a message. Thanking you in advance for your understanding and patience.  The office phone number is 313-532-4394.

 If you have an emergency, please, enter extension 106.

Staff phone extension directory:

Fr. Socorro – 105

Fr. Henry – 102

Mrs. Sue Daly – 100

Mrs. Bonnie Danic – 101

Ms. Kathryn Potts – 103                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

First Sunday of Advent

Kathy Uncategorized, Weekly message

A quiz for you. You are sleeping. You are dreaming. A big lion is chasing you. You try to run away and you see a tiger coming in front of you. You turn sideways, but every side you turn to, you find a ferocious animal coming after you. How can you escape? The answer is: Wake up. By waking up one enters a whole new world of reality, different from that of the dream world. What was a huge problem in the dream state becomes a non-issue in the waking state.

Today is the First Sunday of Advent. The word advent is coming from the Latin word, “Adventum”, meaning, “coming”, but who will come? Many of us would answer that it is the coming of the birth of Jesus on Christmas day. But Jesus had already been born two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. This advent is not only the coming of Jesus during Christmas day but also his coming at the last day, we call it Parousia or His second coming by which He will no longer save us but judge us.

When we are expecting a very important person to come, a particular reality called waiting is very imminent. When we wait, we feel anxious, uneasy, impatient and unsure if that person will come. Waiting is one of the large realities of life. And there are so many waiting in life. 

The gospel of the day says, “Stay awake….You do not know when the appointed time will come.” In other words, be prepared always and to stay awake while waiting for His coming at an unknown time.

So, while waiting, let us prepare ourselves for His coming. How?

First, let us renew the way we speak, by using our God given tongue to uplift those people in distress.

Second, let us renew the way we act. A saying goes: “Action speaks louder than words”. Actions are very much important. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical letter, said that “today we don’t need good teachers, what we need are witnessing teachers.”

Third, let us renew our attitude. We have so many attitudes that need to be renewed.

Lastly, let us renew our deeds.

 

Immaculate Conception

 

December 8th we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a Holy Day of Obligation and Masses will take place at 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the church.

Stewardship Thoughts

Today’s Scripture readings express the Advent themes of hope, vigilance, and repentance. The Prophet Isaiah desires his people to atone for their sinful ways and turn their hardened hearts back to the Lord, who has done great deeds for them. In St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus urges us to be watchful and alert, for we do not know when He will return. St. Paul reminds the Corinthian community, and us, that fellowship with our Lord strengthens us with many spiritual gifts — a timely reminder as we begin our journey into this Advent season. May we, as faithful stewards, put our hope in the Lord, acknowledge our sins, and seek with contrite hearts, His mercy and forgiveness. Advent is an excellent time to confess our sins by participating in the sacrament of Reconciliation.