St. Nicholas Parish. CLERGY Rev. George P. Blais

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1 St. Nicholas Parish El Toro Road, Laguna Woods, CA (949) ; FAX (949) ; School of Religious Education: (949) Our Parish Mission Statement St. Nicholas Parish is a Catholic community, celebrating our faith through the Sacraments, Liturgy, Prayer and Service. We strive to nurture family life and to create one body out of many in the Lord. We share the Good News with people of all ages, cultures and faith backgrounds. Pastor Parochial Vicar Deacon Deacon Deacon CLERGY Rev. George P. Blais Rev. Quyen Truong Rev. Msgr. John Campbell Rev. Gerald Walker Rev. Brendan Hankins Rev. Jack Sewell Rev. Chin Dang Wayne Thompson Chau Tran Gerardo De Santos MASS SCHEDULE Saturday Vigil: 4:00PM, 7:00PM in Spanish Sunday: 7:30AM, 9:00AM, 10:45AM, 12:30PM, and 5:00PM in Vietnamese. Monday through Friday: 7:00AM and 9:00AM Saturday: 9AM Filipino Mass: 5:30PM, First Saturdays, October-June. Holy Days: 4PM Vigil, 7AM, 9AM, 12PM, 6PM and 7:30PM in Vietnamese RECONCILIATION (Confession) Saturday: 9:45AM to 10:15AM and 3:00PM to 3:45PM or by appointment. BAPTISM Fourth Sunday of the month at 2:00PM. Arrangements must be made a month in advance. Parents must attend two preparation sessions. MARRIAGE Arrangements must begin at least six months in advance with a priest of the parish. ANOINTING OF THE SICK Call Parish Office in an emergency. Special Service celebrated in fall/spring as announced. FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS At the death of a family member, please call the Parish Office at your earliest convenience to plan for the Mass of Christian Burial. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION DAY 24-hour adoration begins the second Wednesday of the month at the 9:00AM Mass. DEVOTIONS & BENEDICTION Wednesday evenings at 7:00PM; Vietnamese 2nd Wednesday of the month at 8PM. Recitation of the Holy Rosary and Benediction. Parish Office Hours: Sunday: 8:30 AM 1:30 PM Monday through Friday: 9 AM 12 Noon; 1 PM 7:00 PM; Saturday: 9 AM 12 Noon

2 Dear St. Nicholas Parishioners, Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday in the liturgical year, and we are encouraged in the Gospel to look forward and prepare ourselves for the coming of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is our life and our salvation, and at the end of time, we will be separated into two groups; the sheep and the goats. To one He will say, Come, you have my Father s blessing. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world To the other, He will say, Out of my sight you condemned May we always strive to live our lives preparing to be recognized as the sheep. Today we welcome new members to our community who have been inquiring about being initiated or completing their sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church. They come to us in the Rite of Welcome and Acceptance and are in two groups. Those who have not been baptized are called Catechumens and are seeking the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. Our Candidates are those who have already been baptized Catholic, or in any other Christian Church, and are seeking to complete their initiation by receiving the sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation. They will all receive these sacraments at the Easter Vigil. Please join me in welcoming them. Fr. George CHRIST, KING OF ALL On this, the final Sunday of the liturgical year, we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King. By concluding the year with this feast we are proclaiming our faith that Jesus Christ is the one and only king over all seasons, all peoples, and all of creation. At the end of time as we know it, Christ s work of restoring all things to unity and harmony with their Creator God will be completed. This Sunday, when we claim Christ as both our Shepherd and our King, we recognize our own calling to participate in Christ s saving work by caring for those whom Jesus calls the least ones (Matthew 25:45). Copyright J. S. Paluch Co., Inc. Retirement Fund for Religions Collection December 9th and 10th Your gift in the collection helps to provide prescription medications, nursing care, and more for thousands of elderly religious sisters, brothers and religious order priests who worked for many years for little, if any, pay. Like many Americans, religious communities face the monumental challenge of funding eldercare. By 2027, retired religious are projected to outnumber wage-earners by more than three to one. We appreciate your generosity. Stewardship of Treasure Weekly Required Budget Due to an early bulletin deadline, collection information for November 19th and November 23 (Thanksgiving) will be in a future bulletin.

3 Monday: 9AM Gonzalos Escobar (d) Tuesday: 9AM Leo Carey (d) Wednesday: 9AM Fr. Phuong Nguyen Thursday: 9AM Robert Collins (d) Friday: 7AM Sr. Brigid (d) 9AM Everett Stone (d) Saturday: 9AM Jessica Marie Quiambao 4PM Norma Capetta Sunday: 7:30AM For the Parish 9:00AM Mary Ferrero (d) 10:45AM Deceased Family/Friends of Lydia Moussa 12:30PM Anna Nguyen Thi De (d) TODAY S READINGS We Remember For All Our Beloved Dead who entered their new and eternal lives in Christ. Grant to all our dearly departed, eternal rest, O Lord, and may your light shine on them forever. First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-12, I will rescue my scattered sheep. Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 As in Adam all die, so too in Christ all shall be brought to life. Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46 Whatever you did to the least ones, you did to me. Parish Calendar This Week MONDAY Sewing Group, Small Hall, 8AM Religious Education for Elementary, Parish Center, 4:15PM Spanish Rosary, Church, 6:30PM Bible Study, Rooms , 7PM TUESDAY CCW Exec-Wrapping Project, Room B, 10AM Religious Education for Elementary, Parish Center, 4:15PM Spanish RCIA, Room C, 6PM SRE Confirmation I, Parish Center-upstairs, 7PM 7 & 8 Grade SRE, Parish Center-downstairs, 7PM Remembering Church, Room C, 7PM St. Nicholas Chorale, Small Hall, 7:15PM WEDNESDAY Charismatic Prayer Group, Room A, 9:45AM Bible Study, Rooms , 10AM Religious Education for Elementary, Parish Center, 4:15PM Devotions & Benediction, Church, 7PM Hispanic Choir, Room C, 7PM Filipino Choir, Small Hall, 8PM THURSDAY Faith Alive-Faith Sharing, Room A, 10AM Hispanic Council, Room C, 6:30PM RCIA, Parish Center-Room 201, 7PM St. Nicholas Choir, Small Hall 7:15PM FRIDAY Divine Mercy-St. Faustina Study, Room C, 9:45AM Hispanic Bible Study, Small Hall, 7PM SATURDAY First Saturday Devotions, Room C, 9:30AM Hispanic Choir, Room C, 4PM Filipino Choir, Parish Center, 6:30PM SUNDAY K of C Pancake Breakfast, Parish Center, after 7:30AM, 9AM and 10:45AM Masses Library is OPEN, Room C, 8:45AM Hands-only CPR Tuesday, December 19 at 9:30am and 10:30am Laguna Woods City Hall, El Toro Road. Call to reserve your spot in either class. Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR in the first few minutes of a sudden, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest! Sunday Missal Living With Christ Sunday Missals for , Cycle B, which begins The First Sunday of Advent on December 3rd, are on sale now in the Parish Office. They contain the Sunday readings, Mass prayers, a short meditation and some questions at the end of each section. The Missal is $5.00 (shipping /handling costs included), and can be picked up in the Parish Office. Limited supply.

4 School of Religious Education All classes will resume the week of November 26th. SRE Elementary: Monday through Wednesday, Nov , in the Parish Center from 4:15pm to 5:30pm. 7th & 8th Grades: Tuesday, Nov. 28, at 7pm to 8:30pm, downstairs in the Parish Center. Confirmation I: Tuesday, Nov. 28, upstairs in the Parish Center, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Special Events coming in December On Dec. 4th, 5th and 6th, our patron Saint, St. Nicholas, will be visiting all our Elementary Classes in the afternoon. Sunday, December 10th, after the 9am and 10:45am Masses, Santa Claus will be visiting at Coffee and Donuts in the Parish Center. Don t forget to bring your Angel Tree Gift, by Dec. 13th. Last week of classes for Elementary and Junior High and Confirmation is Dec 17th. The School of Religion will be closed for the Christmas and New Year s break the weeks of Dec. 24th and 31st. Classes will resume on Jan. 8, 2018, for Elementary and Jan. 9th for Junior High and Confirmation. On Christmas Eve, Dec. 24th our SRE Students and Youth Ministry will be presenting a Christmas Pageant at 3:30pm in the Church followed by Mass at 4pm. RECHARGE! With Patrick Coffin Saturday, December 9 Mass: 5PM/Mexican Dinner: 6PM. Early Bird: $18/person. After November 9th: $23/person Recharge! 7PM 9PM at San Francisco Solano Church, Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita. Join popular host/author, Patrick Coffin, for a night of faith building and evangelization called RECHARGE! It s designed for Catholics who want to take their faith to the next level, to become more confident in the way they speak with people about it, and to reconnect with Jesus Christ. Patrick has presented Recharge! across the US and Canada. The presentation is followed by an open Q&A session and book signing. Register: or pay by phone: Check us out on Facebook! Teen/Family Choir Rehearsal: Choir Rehearsal on Thursdays, Dec. 7th and 21st at 7:30pm in the Choir Loft. We will be singing at the 3:30pm Christmas Pageant and at the 4pm Mass on Christmas Eve. We will also sing at the Saturday, Dec. 30th, 4pm Parish Mass. We need volunteers to perform in our annual Christmas Eve Pageant please call the SRE Office, , if you are interested in taking part. There are NO speaking parts! On Dec. 10th, Confirmation & Youth Ministry students will be serving Coffee and Donuts, and our special guest will be Santa Claus! Santa will be here after the 9am and 10:45am Masses. Come join us! THE UNITY GROUP INVITES YOU TO come worship with your St. Nicholas Family at our semi-annual Eucharistic Adoration. As an Advent preparation, we will have an evening of Prayer for Unity, Peace and Vocations with a multi-lingual program presented by the Unity Group on Wednesday, December 6th at 7PM in the Church. Everyone is welcome to participate in this special Advent Service. ADVENT RETREAT FOR ADULTS Look for the Lord; He is near! Sunday, December 10th, 10am 3pm 2927 S. Greenville St., Santa Ana. Mass and lunch are included. Freewill offering greatly appreciated. Please RSVP by December 4th Space is limited. Call: or RetreatCenter@sacredheartsisters.com Our website: Mater Dei High School Early Qualification Deadline December 13, Christmas at the Corner: A Performing Arts Faire at Mater Dei, on Sunday, December 3rd at 5pm. Admission is free!

5 The Month of All Souls We are dedicating Masses during the month of November to the remembrance of our beloved deceased. Envelopes are provided around the Church for parishioners to list the names of those they wish to have remembered, and you may include an offering in those envelopes for those November Masses. Please bring All Souls envelopes to the Parish Office or place them in the weekend Collection basket. Please DO NOT place envelopes in the basket by the Altar! SOLIDARITY WITH PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS AROUND THE WORLD Christ Cathedral Cultural Center (Freed Theater), Chapman Ave., Garden Grove. Presenters: Mr. Dotty Hage, Chair of the OC Chapter of In Defense of Christians Fr. Steven Tsichlis of St. Paul s Greek Orthodox Church, Irvine Fr. Kyrillos Ibrahim of St. Paul s Coptic Orthodox Church, Irvine Fr. Ashur Elkhoury of St. Paul s Assyrian Church of the East, Anaheim Please join us as we come together in...solidarity with Persecuted Christians Around the World on Wednesday, November 29th, 6:30pm-9:00pm. Reception at 6:30pm Presentations at 7:30pm. St. John Neumann Church invites you to it s Christmas Concert on Friday, December 15th at 8PM at St. John Neumann Church, 5101 Alton Parkway, Irvine. Admission: $25/person until November 30th; Seniors/Children: $20.00; Children under age 5: Free. Admission is $35/person on December 1st until sold out! Come bid Buon viaggio! to our Parish and Children s Choirs for their upcoming trip to the Vatican to sing for Pope Francis on New Year s Day. A raffle event will also be held on concert night wherein the winner can join this 10-day choral pilgrimage to Italy for FREE! Tickets are available at or call Save the Date! The Knights of Columbus will again be sponsoring a FREE bus ride to the 2018 March for Life in LA on Saturday, January 20th, All those interested in attending should contact Bill White, KOC, at , to reserve a seat. The bus will leave the Church parking lot at approximately 9:45am, the morning of January 20th. For more information, see posters available in the Church and Parish Center, or contact Bill White. A Prayer for Hope Heavenly Father, I am your humble servant, I come before you today in need of hope. There are times when I feel helpless, There are times when I feel weak. I pray for hope. I need hope for a better future. I need hope for a better life. I need hope for love and kindness. Some say that the sky is at it s darkest just before the light. I pray that this is true, for all seems dark. I need your light, Lord, in every way. I pray to be filled with your light from head to toe. To bask in your glory. To know that all is right in the world, as you have planned, and as you want it to be. Help me to walk in your light, and live my life in faith and glory. In your name I pray. Amen. Wordnet Productions presents The Word in the World week of Nov. 26: Ronald McDonald House Mike Kovack, Exec. Dir. In high demand, lodging for parents of hospitalized children provides support in community. TCT (Direct TV-377) - now on Sundays, 4am -record it!! (TCT is on Channel 205 in Laguna Woods Village.) Or go to Program Archives, or YouTube: Wordnet Productions Channel. Come to the Parish Library! The Library is open on Sundays, 8:45am to 12:45pm, and the last Wednesday of the month, 2pm to 4pm. We have a cart of free items: rosaries, prayer cards, etc. The Library is located in Room C, behind the Parish Office.

6 Council of Catholic Women Christmas Luncheon Friday, December 8th at 11:30AM in the Parish Center Men and women of the parish are invited to join us for a catered luncheon. $12.00 donation. Reservations required by Thursday, November 30th No tickets sold at the door! Reservations: Mary at or Myriam at With PRIZES ** PRIZES ** PRIZES And lots of fun!! The Knights of Columbus... are hosting a Pancake and Sausage Breakfast NEXT SUNDAY after the 7:30am, 9am and 10:45am Masses on Sunday, December 3rd. This is a major fund raising event for the Knights of Columbus and your patronage would be most appreciated. Come with your family and friends for a delicious breakfast! PLEASE NOTE!! The St. Nicholas Parish Office has NEW office hours. Monday through Friday we are open as follows: 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 7pm. Anyone who has reserved a room at the parish for ministry events will need to pick up the room key by 6:30pm in the Parish Office. Parish Office hours for the weekend remain the same: Saturday: 9am 12 Noon Sunday: 8:30am 1:30pm The Angel Tree will be up starting the weekend of Nov. 25/26 until Dec. 11th. In the alcove, on the small parking lot side of the Church, our annual Angel Christmas Tree will be up and decorated with angels that have been colored by our SRE children. On the back of each angel is a label with the description of a child or an adult. Please purchase an appropriate gift for the person described, and bring it to the Parish Office by Wednesday, December 13th unwrapped please! Put the angel on your own tree so that you can remember the person who received your gift in your prayers. Gifts will be distributed to South County Outreach and other charitable organizations in the county. Thank you for your generosity! TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION Today we have a modern feast, less than a century old, and placed at the very end of the liturgical cycle of Sundays only in In 1925, the world was in a sorry state from the vantage point of Pope Pius XI. The winds of war had swept the map of Europe raw, and ancient Christian dynasties had fallen in Russia and Spain. Although the Great War had ended, wars were breaking out everywhere. Fascism was already in control in Italy, and Nazism was on the horizon for Germany. The disorder making its claim on the human race was, the pope felt, an insult to the Divine Order. Pius XI designated the last Sunday in October as a day of universal recognition of the kingship of Christ. Creating this feast was an act of bravery by the pope, who was standing up against idolatry of the state and the dehumanizing forces of the modern world, things that are not hard to detect in today s world as well. In 1969 it seemed fitting to move the feast to a place of honor at the end of the year, a way of summing up the whole movement of the liturgical year toward the perfection of the Kingdom of God. In recent decades, many Protestant churches have adopted this day from the new Roman calendar, so it is shared now with the Church of England, the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Lutheran churches, and others. Rev. James Field, Copyright J. S. Paluch Co.