Catholic Church. Fr. Frank T. Dicristina. Deacon Paul and Elsie Ann Myers Parish Office Hours

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1 Catholic Church Pastor Fr. Frank T. Dicristina Deacon Couple Deacon Paul and Elsie Ann Myers Parish Office Hours Monday - Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Closed during lunch 11:30-12:30p.m. (951) Facebook.com/StThomasRiversideCA Maria Cordeiro... Ext. 221 Secretary Rebecca Barragán... Ext. 225 Communications Coordinator / Bulletin Valerie Doran... Ext. 224 Funeral Coordinator Arcelia Maldonado-López... Ext. 239 Office Manager Elizabeth Méndez... Ext. 229 Bookkeeper Gary Owens... Ext. 221 Music Director Maricela Michel... Ext. 231 Wedding Coordinator Deanna Rice... Ext. 236 Liturgical Assistant Catechesis Staff Dana Robles... Ext. 240 Catechetical Coordinator Marisol Aceves... Ext. 227 Spanish Ministry / Catechesis Coordinator Lisa Upattiya... Ext. 240 Youth Ministry Office Geraldine Delafosse... Ext. 232 and Grace Fernandez. Ext. 233 RCIA Coordinators St. Thomas the Apostle School 9136 Magnolia Avenue Riverside, CA (951) Facebook.com /stthomastheapostleschool Dr. Dian Pizurie Jeanette Morrow Martha Sepúlveda Ochoa Principal Vice Principal Secretary We the Parishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle strive to live like Third Sunday of Advent December 16, 2018 Schedule of Masses Vigil: 5:00 p.m. - English, 6:30 p.m. - Spanish Sunday: 7:00, 9:00, 11:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m. - English Weekday: 8:00 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. Communion Service: Thursday and Friday - English Devotion: Novena to St. Anthony, Tuesday after 8:00 a.m. Mass Adoration: 3 rd Friday of each month in the children s worship room 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Enter through Parish Office Anointing of the Sick: 2 nd Saturday of each month at 4:00 p.m. in the Church. Sacrament of Reconciliation Confession English on 1 st, 3 rd, and 4 th Saturday of the month, arrive at 9:00 a.m. in the Church. Juniper Images Corp.

2 Celebrating Christmas!!! Third Sunday of Advent Tercer Domingo de Adviento There is only one week left until the celebration of the Lord s birth. Hopefully you have been preparing your heart and spirit to join in the love of this great Holy Day! All the preparations for gift giving and decorating of our homes will leave the day hollow if we haven t put as much, if not more into preparing ourselves to celebrate. With a week left you can put time into some extra prayer, reflection on the true meaning of Christmas and also help your loved ones do the same. Our children tend to be very focused on Santa Claus and the gifts he will bring and that is normal and wonderful. However, we need to tell the children of how Santa became the gift giver when he originally was St. Nicholas the Bishop of Smyrna. Look the story up on line if you don t know it and in this way you and the children will deepen your understanding of even the gift giving that will happen on Christmas morning. Make the setting up of the manger and all the figures a special time and read the story of the first Christmas which can be found in chapter 2 of Luke s gospel. Talk about the birth of Jesus with them and explain how important it is that we celebrate His birthday with Christmas trees that are evergreen, symbol of eternal life; lights on the trees and our homes, symbols of Jesus being the light of the world that God sent to help people see His love all around us; that Jesus was born in Bethlehem which means House of Bread in Hebrew and Jesus is the Bread of Life for all of us in the Eucharist, His Body; that he was born in a stable a place for the animals instead of a house, to show that we must take care of the animals of our planet and more importantly, the poor people who live in stables or garages or on our streets; that the angels are God s messengers, that is what angelus means in Latin, messenger and they came to tell us of the peace that God wants to fill our earth and for all wars to stop and all hurts are to be healed. Our celebration needs to include this and even more because we really need more now than ever to focus on the profound meaning of this celebration. The moment Jesus was born he began to preach and teach about the Kingdom of God and His love for His people and all creation. Don t miss this opportunity to reflect on this monumental, cosmic event of His birth and for all eternity. Come and adore Him the New Born King Every day!! Fr. Frank T. Dicristina Pastor We want to give a warm welcome to All Saints Episcopal Church which led the service in December and did a beautiful job. Please join us for services at ALL churches to help build up community among our Christian brothers and sisters. The next service will be held here at St. Thomas the Apostle on January 14, 2019 from 7:00-8:00 p.m.

3 Page 3 December 16, 2018 Mass Intentions Saturday/Sabado, December 15 th Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Ps 80: 2ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19; Mt 17:9a, :00 p.m. Cecil Green 6:30 p.m. Antonio Macias Sunday/Domingo, December 16 th Zep 3:14-18a; Is 12:2-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3: :00 a.m. George Griffith 9:00 a.m. Julie Archibald 11:00 a.m. Fr. Ed Cardoza 5:00 p.m. Manuel, Rosa Bernal, & Enrique Kaneshiro Monday/Lunes, December 17 th Gn 49:2, 8-10; Ps 72:1-4ab, 7-8, 17; Mt 1:1-17 8:00 a.m. Luis & Ramon Cervantes Tuesday/Martes, December 18 th Jer 23:5-8; Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19; Mt 1: :00 a.m. Mary Helen Cordeiro Wednesday/Miercoles, December 19 th Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a; Ps 71:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17; Lk 1:5-25 8:00 a.m. Ruth Gonzalez Thursday/Jueves, December 20 th Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-6; Lk 1: :00 a.m. Hildelisa Toscano Friday/Viernes, December 21 st Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21; Lk 1: :00 a.m. Sally Quesada Sanctuary Candle Ints. Mayanne Van Rassel Advent Wreath Prayer (Third Sunday): Lord God, may we, your people, who look forward to the birthday of Christ experience the joy of salvation and celebrate that feast with love and thanksgiving. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Responsorial Psalm: For you o Lord, my soul in stillness waits. Truly my hope is in You. Prayers for the Deceased We pray for all the faithful departed, especially Jim McBride, Raymond Byers, Ruth Gonzalez, Dorothy Masi, Lyle Christianson, John Burns, Lupe Lopez, Lino Rojas, Jose Guzman, Daniel Morrissy, Marjorie Prenger, Nick Cahill, Chris Bechtel, Hector Campus, Dolores Abbey, Raymond Guerrero, Bill Jewett, William Frogue, and Fr. Ed Cardoza. May the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. Prayers for the sick We pray for: Richard Ybarra, Peter, Esther, Jimmy Leon Guerrero, Adolfo Muñoz Sr., Yvette Hasty, Kevin Krieger, David Holscher, Anastasia Duran, David Juarez, Pamela Brown, Judy Mason, Margie Donahue, Chelsea Wandro, Herman Jackson, Fred Roybal, Miriam Maldonado, Charles Benedict, Paul Pettit, Elsie Ann Myers, Lorne Carter, Jacqueline Thurman, Jim Reed, Dcn. Paul Myers, Luz Maldonado, India Sepúlveda, Elise Renner, Robert Mitchell Sr., Joyce McNamara, and Mary Catherine Delafosse. May they feel the healing power of prayer. Amen. This week at a glance: Sunday, December 16 th Knights of Columbus Hospitality - Hall 8:00-11:00 a.m. Holy Land sales - church entrance after all Masses Children s Choir Practice - Choir loft 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 19 th Senior Luncheon - KDC 11:00 a.m. Thursday, December 20 th Fr. Ed Cardoza Funeral Service - Church 11:00 a.m. *All military, please come in dress uniform. Friday, December 21 st Adoration - Children s worship room 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Funeral - Church 11:00 a.m. Sunday, December 23 rd Knights of Columbus Hospitality - Hall 8:00-11:00 a.m. Children s Choir Practice - Choir loft 1:00 p.m.

4 Page 4 December 16, 2018 St. Thomas School News St. Thomas School Fundraiser Olivia s Mexican Food 9447 Magnolia Avenue Thursday, January 24 th from 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m. Bring this Coupon and St. Thomas School will receive 15% of the proceeds. This a great and delicious way to help support St. Thomas the Apostle School! Do you want to support St. Thomas school AND complete your Christmas Shopping? Consider gifting Stater Bros gift cards, or buying your gifts with gift cards purchased through ShopWithScrip.com. Follow the prompts on shopwithscrip.com, use the UNIQUE Enrollment Code: CC228FBL59892 and sign up for presto pay, then shop away! Thank you to everyone who made our blood drive a success! We achieved 115% of our goal and look forward to the next one in Spring. Keep an eye out on the bulletin around February to sign up. We hope to have more volunteers to help everything run smoothly and accommodate more donors! A Gift for the newborn King! We invite you and your family to give a gift to Jesus for His birthday in the form of a good deed. Children should also think of a gift they personally can give. As a sign of your good deeds, we ask that you bring an ornament that represents that gift, and place it in the baskets in the Manger. Please note that ornaments will not be returned. Thank you to the Party Ministry, Boy Scouts, Youth Ministry, Santa Claus, and everyone who helped make the Dicken s Dinner a success! We had a jolly time celebrating together as a parish family.

5 Page 5 December 16, 2018 Youth Ministry had a wonderful time at the Christmas Open House! 3 benefits of hanging out with your fellow Catholic teens; 1. Spiritual Growth Each individual has a unique spiritual journey. Having a guiding light outside the family can be helpful. 2. Engagement at Church Teens don't always look forward to attending Mass, but knowing others can make it more enjoyable. 3. No Fear of Judgement When teens have a leader and peers they can rely on, they're more likely to talk about their problems. Youth Ministry - 7 th - 12 th grade Get regular Youth Ministry updates to For more information, contact Lisa Upattiya: lupattiya@sbdiocese.org Faith Formation News: English - Dana Robles, Coordinator of Catechesis at (951) , ext. 240 drobles@sbdiocese.org Español - Bertha Muñoz (951) ext. 235 bamunozmarquez@sbdiocese.org Confirmation News Important Dates Winter Session Begins: Sunday - January 13 th Monday - January 14 th Signing of the Senses Mass - for 2019 Confirmation Youth: Please RSVP to Bertha for one of the following Masses. bamarquezmunoz@sbdiocese.org Saturday, January 19 th 6:30 p.m. Spanish Mass Sunday, January 20 th 11:00 a.m. OR 5:00 p.m. English Mass Important Dates Classes Resume: Sunday January 13 th Wednesday January 16 th First Holy Communion Parent Meeting Year 2: Sunday January 27 th Wednesday January 30 th First Reconciliation: Saturday February 9 th, 10:00 a.m. First Holy Communion Retreat: Saturday February 23 rd, 8:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Passion Experience Begins Sunday, February 24 th 6:15-8:30 p.m.

6 Page 8 December 16, 2018 The Sisters of Agape will be selling gifts from the Holy Land and delicious homemade desserts after all Masses THIS weekend of December th. This is their sole source of income, please be generous. CHILDREN S CHRISTMAS CHOIR Children s Christmas Choir rehearsals will be held Sunday December 16 th and 23 rd at 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. in the choir loft. All children 3 rd grade and up are invited to attend. We will be singing at the Christmas Eve 5:00 p.m. Mass Merry Christmas Senior Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, December 19 th in the Parish Hall. Doors open at 11:00 a.m. and lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. We will be serving Ham. Please bring a side dish to share, and a wrapped $10 gift for our gift exchange. We look forward to celebrating with you! Our next Adoration will be held on Friday, December 21 st 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Please enter through the parish office door. Do you want the Best Advent Ever? Sign up for Matthew Kelly s Advent list with prayers, reflections, and more at : Future Needs and Endowment is looking for experienced tile workers to help install the next panel on our Memorial Wall. If you would like to help, please contact Rebecca in the Parish Office. Call (951) or rbarragan@sbdiocese.org Adopt a St. Thomas Family for Christmas! Have you adopted a family yet? The Christmas W ish Tree is in the vestibule, and will be available until Today, Sunday, December 16 th. Consider helping by donating gift cards which may be brought to the parish office or put in the collection basket, please put in an envelope and clearly mark Adopt a Family. Popular options are Target, Stater Bros, and Walmart. Please attach receipt to gift. If you re interested in donating, please contact parish office (951) Holiday Office Hours Parish Office will be closed: Christmas Eve, Monday December 24 th Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25 th Boxing Day, Wednesday, December 26 th New Year s Eve, Monday, December 31 st New Year s Day, Tuesday, January 1 st We will be open from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon on Thursday/Friday, December th. Normal hours resume on Wednesday, January 2 nd. Come celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Christmas Mass Schedule Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24 th 5:00 p.m. (English) 7:00 p.m. (Spanish) 9:00 p.m. Lessons & Carols with Mass (English) Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25 th 8:00 a.m. (English) 10:00 a.m. (English) New Years Mass Schedule New Year s Eve, Monday, December 31 st 5:00 p.m. (bilingual) New Year s Day Mass, Tuesday, January 1 st 10:00 a.m. (English)