Bulletin for Dec. 3

Dear friends in Christ,

As we begin the four-week season of Advent today we are called to wait joyfully for the Lord. We know Christmas is near. The Thanksgiving holiday is behind us and many of us are probably already in high gear in terms of preparations for Christmas. We know it’s always a stressful time. Why not make a “liturgical new year resolution” to wait patiently? While everyone else is speeding up, try slowing down and listening for the voice crying out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Our Advent wreath is blessed today and the first candle is lit to remind us of the coming of the light of Christ. Let us not allow the darkness of the world to overshadow that light. It has been entrusted to us to be kept burning brightly. Just as we light our trees and homes these days, do not fail to show forth the light of Christ in all you say and do in these coming weeks.

One liturgical note for Advent: As has become our custom, we will profess the Apostles’ Creed during these four weeks of this holy season. The Church gives us the option of saying either the Nicene Creed (which we do most of the Sundays of the year) or the Apostles’ Creed. It’s probably the one you learned first as a child so it seems appropriate to focus on it during these four weeks of active waiting for the Lord. Your worship aid has the words printed so you might follow along.

Since Advent starts a bit later this year the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is coming up sooner than we might expect. It’s this Friday, Dec. 8 and it is a Holy Day of Obligation. We will again use our new holy day schedule with Masses at 6:30 a.m., 9 a.m. (with the school children), 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., in addition to a vigil Mass the night before at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7. It is under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception that the United States of America has been dedicated as well as our Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. While the Blessed Virgin Mary has many titles and days dedicated to her, the Immaculate Conception is supreme. Please make plans to join us at one of the Masses this week either on Thursday evening or on Friday. As with all Holy Days of Obligation, our Parish Offices will be closed on this day.

Let’s take a look ahead to the Christmas schedule. It’s a bit unusual as this is one of the years where we are going to have to do our Advent waiting in a hurry. The 4th Sunday of Advent falls on Dec. 24, meaning we’ll have only that morning to celebrate the last week of Advent before we immediately transition into Christmas later that same day. On Sunday, Dec. 24 we’ll have just two morning Masses at 7 and 9 a.m. – there will not be an 11 a.m. Mass on Dec. 24 so that we can set up the church for the Christmas Masses that follow beginning in the afternoon. To be clear, the obligation to attend Mass extends to both the 4th Sunday of Advent and to Christmas Day. You should not choose one or the other, but rather attend both because they are two different celebrations. Perhaps you might like to come to the vigil Mass on Saturday, Dec. 23, and then again on Sunday afternoon or evening for Christmas. Or once in the morning and once again in the evening. Regardless, plan out in advance how you and your family can attend both Masses. We’ve got plenty of opportunities to do so.
    
Our Christmas Mass schedule is as follows: Sunday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve: 4 p.m., (with an additional 4 p.m. overflow Mass in the Parish Hall), 6:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 12 midnight, and Monday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. 

I might encourage you to consider the 8:30 p.m. Mass, or, of course, the great Midnight Mass, particularly for those who ordinarily come to the 4 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Masses. The 4 p.m. Mass is always extremely crowded with more than 2,500 people and the 6:30 p.m. is also very popular. Remember we will again offer an additional Mass at 4 p.m. in the Parish Hall. This will be its own Mass with priest, deacon, musicians, and all the ministers, in the hall. We will not use incense at this Mass, either (as we will at all the other liturgies), so it might be a good option for those whose allergies are sensitive.

Of course, if you don’t want to go to Christmas Mass in the hall you might find it more comfortable to come to a later Mass on Christmas Eve or even stay up late for the beautiful Midnight Mass. Or consider coming to one of the two masses offered on Christmas morning, because while they are usually full they are not often overcrowded. You’ve got two choices that morning at either 9 or 11 a.m. and I find them to be especially spiritual. There’s just something nice about waking up on Christmas morning, getting dressed up (this is a day to get “decked out,” so to speak), and coming to do homage at the creché of the Lord.

With all those Masses we will be stretched thin on ministers to help cover the many needs of the liturgy. In particular I’m asking our Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion to please sign up in advance to assist at one (or two) Masses if at all possible. Same goes for our ushers and greeters. We’ll have a lot of visitors with us and we need your presence, please.

We’ll also have opportunities to assist with the Art and Environment set-up in the church. That’s always a special thing to do and given the short time between the end of Advent and the start of Christmas we’ll need extra help this year. I’ll have more information in the next couple of weeks of how you can help, but consider giving of your time to assist our wonderful team of volunteers.

As you are busy doing your shopping, remember that we will once again have our toy and gift drive for the children of our sister parish, Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Houston’s Fifth Ward. Thanks to the great efforts of Tim Herbert from CtR we’ve developed a tradition of delivering gifts to the children of this small, but faith-filled inner-city parish. Tim is hoping this will be our most generous year yet and I know with your help we can deliver on that promise. We’ll collect the gifts at Mass over the next two weekends and deliver them on Saturday, Dec. 23. Plan now when you are at the store to pick up an extra item or two that might brighten the day of a young boy or girl at OMOM.

A little closer to home we will again be participating in collecting Christmas gift cards for Cypress Assistance Ministry. In light of those still recovering from the flood waters earlier in the summer this will be an even extra important endeavor for us this year. This weekend we pass out simple Christmas cards that you are encouraged to take and return the following two weeks with a gift card from a local merchant (think Wal-Mart, Target, etc. as they seem to be the most popular options) and a short Christmas note and greeting. We’ll collect all the gift cards and distribute them through CAM to the many needy families in the area. Again, we’ll have more details next week but keep it on your radar.

Peace,
Fr. Sean