Sacred Heart Parish
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Saturday, December 4
4:00 PM Enrico and Annunciata Tonelli
Sunday, December 5
9:00 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
11:45 AM Pasquale Nuzzi
Monday, December 6
12:05 PM Irene Sontag
Saturday, December 11
4:00 PM Antonio Nicolazzo
Sunday, December 12
9:00 AM Parishioners of Sacred Heart
11:45 AM Joseph G. Paglia
CELEBRANTS FOR NEXT WEEKEND’S MASSES
Saturday, December 11
4:00 PM Fr. Collins
Sunday, December 12
9:00 AM Fr. Connelly
10:30 AM Fr. St. Martin
11:45 Am Fr. Imbelli
CONFESSIONS
Saturday, December 11 – 2 to 3:30 PM Fr. Connelly
READINGS FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10
Second Reading: James 5:7-10
Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:2-11
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Wednesday, December 8, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary– a holyday of obligation. Masses will be celebrated at 7 AM, 12:05 PM and 7:30 PM in the Lower Church.
2010 CHRISTMAS GIFT DRIVE
Our Christmas gift drive continues. Please pick up a card for St. Ambrose Family Inn, Julie’s Family Learning Program, New England Home for the Deaf, or Walden School for the Deaf. Gifts should NOT be wrapped and should be dropped off with their cards at the parish Advent celebration on Sunday, December 12, from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Parish Center.
OFFERTORY INCOME AND
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Weekend of November 20/21 $5.042
Weekend of November 27/28 $4,576
Campaign for Human Development $1,270
Retired Sisters $2,528
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
Advent is here and we begin to mark the time of waiting and preparing for the birth of the Messiah, just as our ancestors waited eagerly for centuries! In these present days we are used to the lightening speed of technology and our ability to wait for anything wanes at the same lightening speed. As Catholic parents, despite two parents working in many households, we need to find time to devote to the spiritual life of our families or else there will be none. Advent comes with age-old practices that can help us to live closer to Christ and grow in patient and watchful waiting. Children love to anticipate! Make an empty manger to fill with straw for small sacrifices. Make and light the Advent wreath and have each child tell the story of the prophets foretelling of Jesus coming and His birth. Put out an empty crèche and let figures of Mary and Joseph and the 3 Kings travel throughout the house until they reach the stable on Christmas Eve with Christ arriving on Christmas morning! With the ritual and practice of preparing for Christmas, the children won’t be as anxious to celebrate Christmas before it is time. There is an Advent packet given out at Religious Ed classes and in all the entrances of the church. Pick one up and let’s celebrate Advent!
CCD classes on Sunday, Dec 12 will be shortened to one half hour due to the Parish Advent Party. Please come and continue to wait for the Messiah.
DON’T FORGET TO BUY FOOD BAGS FOR OUR NEIGHBORS IN DORCHESTER who are suffering in these tough times.
1 bottle of vegetable oil 1 bag of rice
1 jar of Spaghetti sauce 1 box of pasta
1 box of cereal 1 jar of peanut butter
1 jar of jelly 1 can of gravy
1 can each of: peas/carrots/corn
1 can of cranberry sauce
Please deliver the bags to the lower church on or before Tuesday, Dec 14th so that the Missionaries of Charity can distribute them to families before Christmas.
Michelle Solomon, Religious Ed Director
PARISH ADVENT PARTY -- BAKERS NEEDED!
The Parish Advent Party will take place on Sunday, December 12th from 10am-1pm and, as in past years, we are relying on the generous hospitality of our parishioners to make this special event a success. Please consider contributing a food item to the party. If baking isn't your forte, we would be happy if you would simply purchase a goodie or beverage for the event. Sign-up sheets are located at the entrances to the church. Questions? Contact Kathy Winters at 795-1815 or winters41@mac.com. Thank you!
“THE LIGHT IS ON FOR YOU”
Last Lent a new program was started with the hope of expanding opportunities for the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance. Oftentimes, it’s not easy for families and individual Catholic Christians to get to celebrate Reconciliation on Saturday afternoons during the regular hours. The program was quite successful. Our bishop has asked us to resume this program once again. For the season of Advent, “The Light is on for You” will take place in every church of the Archdiocese from 6:30 to 8 o’clock on Wednesday, December 15 and Wednesday, December 22. The program will also come into play during our next season of Lent. During Lent 2011, the Light is on for You for all six Wednesdays of Lent.
Please Come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation this Advent — The Church encourages all Catholics to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently. In addition to our normal Saturday afternoon confession times, Sacred Heart and all the Catholic parishes and chapels of the Archdiocese will be open for confessions on Wednesday 12/15 and 12/22 from 6:30-8:00pm. Please take advantage of this opportunity to make a good confession before Christmas. Please also reach out to the Catholics you know that have been away from the regular practice of our faith and invite them to seize this chance to begin again. The Archdiocese’s website for this initiative, www.TheLightIsOnForYou.org, has great material to help everyone prepare to make a good confession.
MANUEL (PETER) CASTELLANOS AND
THE BISHOP CHEVERUS MEDAL
Who was Bishop Cheverus? You have been in the diocese for so many years, and you do not know? Bishop Cheverus, a priest from France, came to Boston with another wonderful priest from France to serve in the mission territory of the New England area of the young United States. His full name is Jean-Louis Anne Madelain Lefebvre de Cheverus (1768-1836). He became the first bishop of Boston in 1808, Apostolic Administrator of New York from 1810-1815. He was named the Bishop of Montauban, France and then later Archbishop of Bordeaux. He was named a Cardinal on
Feb. 1, 1836 and died at Bordeaux on July 19, 1836. His Episcopal motto, by the way, is: “Let us love one another.”
Each year the diocese awards the Bishop Cheverus Medal to various men and women who have served in a distinguished way the needs of their parishes and thus are deserving of recognition. One of the recipients last Sunday of the Bishop Cheverus Medal was Peter Castellanos. Our bishop has said to Peter – “I have learned of your selfless dedication and commitment and your many contributions to advancing Christ’s mission. We are blessed by your service to the Archdiocese and are privileged to name you for this honor.” I’m sure all here at Sacred Heart Parish will say – AMEN!
BUSINESS MANAGER
The purple vestments you see for the season of Advent are most appropriate, of course. A good number of us see in the purple vestments the coming resignations of Joan Troy and Carol Groden. We are advertising for a Business Manager. We have composed a job description which is open for anyone to see. At the moment we have six applicants. By the end of this week, the pastor will have met with each one of the six. We hope to have interviews with all six. The interviewers will be members of the Search Committee. Anybody interested ought to forward a resume, letters of reference, and salary expectations to Father Connelly at the rectory.
SACRED HEART SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
Soon and very soon we will be sending out notices to those who have indicated an interest in enrolling in the Sacred Heart School of Theology. The letter will contain all the information. We invite anyone who has not indicated an interest but would like to do so, please give us a ring.
There will be two dates in the month of December – Tuesday, December 14 and Tuesday, December 21. The area of concern will be the Second Vatican Council, its impact on the Church at large and its relevance for us at this time in history. In fact, the Conciliar history of the Church is a fascinating subject. Catholic folks often don’t realize that the First Council of Nicea, the First Council of Constantinople, the Council of Ephesus, and the Council of Chalcedon all come to the fore when we recite our Creed. The key to interpreting the Second Vatican Council would be the four Constitutions from the Council: the Constitution on Divine Revelation, the Constitution on the Liturgy; Lumen Gentium or the Constitution on the Church, and Gaudium et Spes, the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. It will take us about ten years but, I assure you, we can have a lot of fun.
Father Connelly
ST. FRANCIS HOUSE
Thank you for your donations during the month of November. Items needed for December are instant coffee and teabags. Please continue to support this outreach ministry by placing your donations in the shopping cart or boxes at the church entrances.
APARTMENT AVAILABLE
Single, mature person wanted to rent a one bedroom apartment with a large living room and kitchenette in Dedham – all utilities included. It is centrally located near shops, public transportation and Route 128. Pets okay. Rent negotiable. If interested, please call Dori at 781-405-0448.
SIGNINGS
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. God, through John the Baptist, calls us to get ready by repentance. This means we need to admit our sins, we need to recognize our own sins, we need to name our own sins. It also means that we need to be sorry for these sins, we need to grieve over our own sins, we need to mourn for the bad effects of our sins. When we do this sincerely we are ready to turn away from sin and start again loving God and neighbor and we have repented.
However, like Christ after him, John the Baptist makes a very clear point about God's love for repentance. He gives us a way to repent not as an end in itself. Repentance is not the end of the story. Repentance is not the victory. If it were we would simply stay away from sin after repentance and "go to Heaven."
God loves repentance so that we can get busy loving. This is the good fruit John speaks of. Getting busy after repenting is important. We need to turn from sin for a reason. God wants us to love. He made us for love. He is love. He made us out of love. He loves to love us. He loves us to love.
If only we could just stay out of trouble. We are the worst people! We are vipers. If we think we can find some way to be in God's family by a trick or games or magic words, we are wrong. We don't need magic words. We need magic works. These are works of love.
Don't be afraid to be generous. Be afraid not to be generous. God hates it when we are not generous. Keep on loving and when our Love, Jesus Christ, returns on the last day things will be good. If we are simply "staying out of trouble" and not actively loving, the last day will be eternally bad.
In Christ, Fr. St. Martin
CHRISTMAS FLOWERS
It has been our happy custom here at the Parish to accept donations for Christmas flowers in memory of deceased relatives and friends. Please include the names of those you would like listed in the bulletin. All of the people will be remembered during the Masses on Christmas Day and through Epiphany on Sunday, Jan. 2nd. Checks can be made payable to Sacred Heart Parish and forwarded to the rectory.
A BIG THANK YOU FROM MOTHER CAROLINE STUDENTS
Check out the tri-fold poster with thank you messages (located at the Centre Street church entrance) from the students at Mother Caroline Academy. We will run the MID-YEAR SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE: January 22/23 and 29/30. Thanks for your generosity!!
HOLLY HARVEST FAIR
Thank you for coming to the Holly Harvest Fair. We hope that you had fun. Special thanks to:
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Everyone who donated items, helped at workshops and helped to transport items to the gym.
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The Confirmation candidates who helped at the Fair serving and cleaning up.
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Everyone who helped during the Fair and especially the clean up.
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Special thanks to Lita Altea who prepared lunch and to all the kitchen crew.
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All the wonderful bakers who helped make the Bake table so successful.
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The volunteers at the various tables who put in long hours decorating, setting up and selling – you are all special angels!
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Lastly, please remember the generosity of our merchants who continue to support us every year.
Barbara Hatem Lisa Nahabedian
CALENDAR NOTES
ASL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
Sunday, December 5 – 9 AM – Lower Church
EXTENDED COFFEE HOUR:
Sunday, December 5 – 10 AM to 1 PM – Parish Center
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – GRADES 1-5:
Sunday, Dec. 5 – 10:30 AM to11:45 AM – Lower Church
WOMEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP:
Sunday, December 5, 10:30 AM – Convent (DR)
SOCIAL JUSTICE FORUM:
Sunday, December 5 – 7:30 PM – Lower Church
BOY SCOUTS:
Monday, December 6 – 7:30 PM – Parish Center
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – Tuesday, December 7
Grades 1-5 – 4:00 to 5:15 PM – Lower Church
Grades 6-10 – 7:00 to 8:30 PM – Lower Church
GUILD OF ST. FRANCIS BOARD MEETING:
Tuesday, December 7 – 7 PM – Convent (Guild Room)
HOLYDAY MASS SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, December 8 – 7 AM, 12:05 and 7:30 PM – L.C.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS:
Wednesday, December 8 – 7:30 PM – Convent (DR)
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING:
Thursday, December 9 – 7:30 PM – Convent (Library)
COFFEE HOUR:
Friday, December 10 – Following 9 AM Mass – Parish Ctr.
LITURGY, ADORATION AND THE ROSARY:
Saturday, December 11 – 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Lower Church
COFFEE HOUR/PARISH ADVENT CELEBRATION:
Sunday, December 12 – 10 AM – 1 PM – Parish Center