The Nativity of the Lord

Transcription

1 Blessed Sacrament Church "I am the Living Bread come down from Heaven. If any man eats of this Bread, he shall live forever; and the Bread I will give, is My Flesh." John 6:51-52 SCHEDULE OF MASSES LORD S DAY: Saturday: 4:00 p.m. Sunday: 10:30 a.m. HOLYDAYS: Vigil: 6:00 p.m. Holyday: 9:00 a.m. WEEKDAYS: 9:00 a.m. SATURDAYS: First Saturdays only: 8:00 a.m. SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Saturday 2:45 to 3:30 p.m. and by appointment The Nativity of the Lord FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 BAPTISM: As part of the preparation process an interview with the Pastor and two instructional sessions are required. Please contact Laurie at ENGAGED COUPLES: Arrangements for your marriage must be made at least nine months in advance of the marriage date. NEW PARISHIONERS: We welcome you and ask that you register at the Rectory. We want to know and serve you! We hope that you will favor your parish with your prayers, your presence and your talents. Pastor Rev. Timothy J. Campoli Church Rectory 221 Federal Street 182 High Street Greenfield, MA Greenfield, MA blessedsacramentgreenfieldma.org (413) Deacons Deacon John Leary Deacon George Nolan (413) (C) (413) deaconjohnleary@gmail.com gnolan5366@gmail.com Director of Organist Religious Education Choir Director Laurie Tilton Stephen Glover lltilton2@gmail.com Alternatives Pregnancy Ctr. Calvary Cemetery Pregnancy Tests, Counseling, Support Wisdom Way Post Abortion Support Greenfield (413) Hispanic Ministry Sr. Caritina Olmos, M.P.S. Natural Family Planning Ed & Suzi Cottrill Sr. Rosa Torres, M.P.S Perpetual Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place in the side chapel twenty-four hours a day, every day. All are welcome to come and worship and adore our Eucharistic Lord. Could you not watch one hour with Me? Matthew 26:40

2 Blessed Sacrament Church Greenfield, MA Weekend of December 29 & 30 Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: Saturday, December 29 4:00 Deacon George Nolan Bill Randall Francis Campbell Hannah Lively Monica McCarthy Brian Luippold Joanne Yestramski Kathy Burrows Kerry Semaski Sunday, December 30 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22 ND (Fr. O Connor) 4:00 Mildred & Paul McLeod by Laurie SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 RD Fourth Sunday of Advent (Bishop McDonnell) 10:30 Walter & Josephine Grealis by Mary Ellen Grealis MONDAY, DECEMBER 24 TH (Our Deacon Candidates) 9:00 Grace and Blessings for Mary Ann Almeida by The Charbonneau Family *4:00 Deceased members of the Boudreau/Canuel Families TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25 TH The Nativity of the Lord (Our Seminarians) Christmas - *Holy Day of Obligation* *10:30 Henry & Yvonne Campoli by Family WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26 TH St. Stephen (Fr. Roach) 9:00 Anthony Pregony, Jr. by Wife and Sons THURS., DEC. 27 TH St. John the Evangelist (Bishop Rozanski) 9:00 Edward H. Letourneau (19 th Anniversary) by Family FRIDAY, DEC. 28 TH The Holy Innocents (Deacon DeCarlo) 9:00 Grace and Blessings for Stephen Filiault by Mom SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29 TH St. Thomas Becket (Clergy in Purgatory) 4:00 Campbell and Clark Families by Family SUN., DEC. 30 TH The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 10:30 Jim DeJoy by Family (Fr. Reardon) ************************************************** REMINDER: Please join with us in praying the Rosary before each daily Mass at 8:15 a.m., before the 4:00 p.m. Saturday Mass and 8:00 a.m. Sunday Mass. Confessions after each weekend Mass. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy will be recited Fridays at 3:00 p.m. in the Adoration Chapel. All are invited to come and pray with us. Blessed Sacrament has a Prayer Chain which is available for anyone. Simply contact Marie Boynton at or memeboynton@comcast.net with your petition. Sponsor Certificates - Many parishes require certificates of sponsorship for Godparents and Confirmation Sponsors. These will be issued only to those who are confirmed adult Catholics, registered in the parish, regular participants at Mass, validly married in the Church (if applicable) and providing for the religious education of their own children (if applicable). 10:30 Joyce Thibodo Suzanne Hunter Bob Page Mary Jane Bardwell Judy Lapointe Lionel Martin Bob O Connor Holy Trinity Church Weekend Mass Schedule Sunday: 8:00 a.m and 10:30 a.m. Poet s Seat Nursing Home: Sunday, Dec. 30 Lectors / Cantors: Kerry Semaski Sat., Dec. 29 4:00 Jason Semaski / Betsy Grybko Sun., Dec :30 Mike Motisi / Brenda Hill Greeters: 4:00 Prima Chadwick, Hannah Lively 10:30 Alex Duda Saturday, December 29 4:00 Piper Day, Penley Day Sunday, December 30 10:30 Casey Christi, Nathaniel Pierce

3 December 23, 2018 The Sanctuary Candle will burn this week in memory/honor: Alfred LeBeau, Sr. - from Marie Boynton The Adoration Chapel Candles will burn this week in memory/honor of: 1.) Pat Duffey from Bob Earley 2.) Alfred LeBeau, Sr. & Alfred LeBeau, Jr. from Joyce Thibodo 3.) For a special intention for John David C. from Claire Heath 4.) Joseph Brozo, Jr.-from Wife, Daughters and Grandchildren Spiritual Food for Thought It was fitting that the Giver of all holiness should enter this world by a pure and holy birth. For He it is that of old formed Adam from the virgin earth, and from Adam without help of woman formed woman. For as without woman Adam produced woman, so did the Virgin without man this day bring forth a man. For it is a man, saith the Lord, and who shall know him [Jer. 17:9]. For since the race of women owed to men a debt, as from Adam without woman woman came, therefore without man the Virgin this day brought forth, and on behalf of Eve repaid the debt to man. That Adam might not take pride, that he without woman had engendered woman, a Woman without man has begotten man; so that by the similarity of the mystery is proved the similarity in nature. For as before the Almighty took a rib from Adam, and by that Adam was not made less; so in the Virgin He formed a living temple, and the holy virginity remained unchanged. Sound and unharmed Adam remained even after the deprivation of a rib; unstained the Virgin though a Child was born of her. St. John Chrysostom, Homily on Christmas Morning Gifts for the Manger Thank you for remembering Alternatives again this Christmas! Our moms are in need of: diapers and wipes (larger sizes for our growing babies: 3, 4 and 5), clothing for baby: footed warm pajamas all sizes, boy or girl; newborn clothing for boy or girl; long sleeve newborn onesies; 0-3 months (boy outfits only), 3-6 months (boy outfits only). March for Life Catholics for Life, along with the Franklin County Deanery, are sponsoring a chartered bus to attend the Annual March for Life in Washington, DC on the 46 th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. The bus will depart from Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenfield on Thursday evening, January 17 th. We will spend Friday, January 18 th in Washington, leaving at 4:00 p.m. We will arrive back in Greenfield early Saturday morning. All students may attend at no charge; sponsorship will be available. For additional information, please contact Deacon John Leary at deaconjohnleary@gmail.com or (413) K of C Refundable Bottle and Can Drive The Knights of Columbus in Greenfield are having a refundable bottle and can drive to help support the different programs with which the Knights are involved. Drop off your clean bottles and cans at the rear entrance of the church in the barrel or at 18 Shattuck Street in Greenfield. Please call Jerry Ethier at or Jay Dillon at for pick-up. Catholic Youth Night at the Springfield Thunderbirds Mark your calendar to join us for our Catholic Youth Night (for both Catholic Schools & Youth Ministry) on Sat., Feb. 2, 2019 at 7:05pm when the Springfield Thunderbirds take on the Utica Comets. Tickets are $12 each and must be ordered by Jan. 30 th Fourth Sunday of Advent Christmas Season Masses The Nativity of the Lord Holy Day of Obligation Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24 th 4:00 p.m. Blessed Sacrament 3:30 p.m. Program of Music 9:00 p.m. Holy Trinity 8:30 p.m. Program of Music Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25 th 9:00 a.m. Holy Trinity 10:30 a.m. Blessed Sacrament Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, January 1 st Holy Day of Obligation Vigil, Monday, December 31 st 4:00 p.m. Blessed Sacrament New Year s Day 8:00 a.m. Holy Trinity 10:30 a.m. Blessed Sacrament Annual Epiphany Party Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Annual Epiphany Party at the Fr. Casey Hall is cancelled for this year ONLY. So sorry for this but it will take place again next year, even bigger and better than before! God bless you all for your understanding. Large Paper Grocery Bags Needed for Food Pantry We are in need of LARGE paper grocery bags for our Food Pantry. If you can help, please drop the bags off by the back door of the church by the parking lot. Thank you! A Pilgrimage to Greece, Patmos, Ephesus Oct , 2019 Join us on a spiritual journey to many towns of the New Testament where St. Paul first spread the Good News. Also visit Patmos where St. John wrote Revelations and Mary s House in Ephesus. Included is a three-day cruise to the Greek Isles. Fr. Timothy Campoli and Msgr. Ronald Yargeau are our Spiritual Directors. Daily Mass will take place. The cost is $4199 but if you register before January 31, 2019 you will receive a $200 Early Bird Discount. A bus to Logan will be arranged if there is interest. For a flyer and more info., please contact Helen Shea Murphy at or helensheamurphy@verizon.net. View the website at New Year s Eve Gala Join The Knights of Columbus Council 4044 for a GATSBY themed New Year s Eve Gala at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Featuring a five-course dinner, dancing to the sounds of Dave Colucci and classic rock band RIPPLE EFFECT, a Casino and midnight champagne, this event has become the best venue to ring in the New Year and all for $65. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dancing until 1a.m. Dressing for the theme is optional but jackets are required. For details go to or Worldwide Marriage Encounter May the peace of Christ be with you this Christmas! Savor Christ's presence in your marriage by attending a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. The next Weekends are Jan , 2019 in South Kingstown, RI and Mar. 8-10, 2019 in Duxbury, MA. For more information, call Stephen & Michelle O'Leary at or visit them at News of Our Shut-Ins If you know of anyone who is a shut-in and unable to attend Mass, or if you know of any parishioner who is in the hospital or nursing home, please notify the rectory at We would be happy to bring them Communion on a monthly basis.

4 Advent Wreath Prayers for Home THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: LOVE Leader: The fourth candle of Advent is the Candle of Love. Its light is meant to remind us of the love that God has for us. Jesus shows us God's perfect love. He is God's love in human form. The Bible says that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." VOICE: Love is patient, love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful or conceited, rude or selfish. Love is not quick to take offense, it keeps no records of wrongs, it does not gloat over other people's troubles, but rejoices in the right, the good, and the true. There is nothing that love cannot face, there is no limit to its faith, to its hope, to its endurance. Love never ends. We light this candle today to remind us of how God's perfect love is found in Jesus (Light Advent Candle Four - Purple.) Leader: Let us pray - Loving God, we thank you for your gift of love - shown to us perfectly in Jesus Christ our Lord. Help us prepare our hearts to receive Him. Bless our worship. Help us to hear and do your word. We ask it in the name of the one born in Bethlehem, Jesus our Lord. Amen.

5 The Inn and the Stable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Every artist has the feeling of being at home in his studio, every patriot at home in his own country, and every man at home in his house. One should therefore expect that the Creator would be at home in His own creation, and that God would be at home in the world He had made. And yet the most startling fact of human history is that when God came to earth, He was homeless at home. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. (1 John 1:11) Ere yet the great portals of the flesh swung open, Mary and Joseph sought in vain for a place where might be born the One to whom the heavens and earth belonged. And so, when human history shall have written its last word in the scrolls of time, the saddest line of all will be There was no room in the inn. (2 Luke 2:7) There was room in the inn for those who bore on their breasts the screaming eagles of Rome; there was room for the daughters of the rich merchants of the East; there was room for all clothed in fine purple and soft garments; there was room for everyone except the foster-father and the mother of the One who was to bring redemption to the world. And so, away from the inn and out to the stable they had to go, to a crude cave into which shepherds drove their flocks in storms. In that little haven, with manger beasts as companions, and at a central point between the three great civilizations of Memphis, Athens, and Rome, something happened the only thing in the world that ever happened and mattered. That which happened was nothing less than Heaven being found on the earth as the cry of a God cried out in the cry of a Child. A startling paradox indeed: When God came to earth, there was no room in the inn, but there was room in the stable. What lesson is hidden behind the inn and the stable? What is an inn, but the gathering-place of public opinion, the focal point of the world s moods, the residence of the worldly, the rallying place of the fashionable and those who count in the management of the world s affairs? What is a stable, but the place of outcasts, the refuge of beasts, and the shelter of the valueless, and therefore the symbol of those who in the eyes of public opinion do not count, and hence may be ignored as of no great value or moment? Anyone in the world would have expected to have found Divinity in an inn, but no one would have expected to have found it in a stable. Divinity, therefore, is always where you least expect to find it. If, in those days, the stars of the heavens by some magic touch had folded themselves together as silver words and announced the birth of the Expected of the Nations, where would the world have gone in search of Him? The world would have searched for the Babe in some palace by the Tiber, or in some gilded house of Athens, or in some inn of a great city where gathered the rich, the mighty, and the powerful ones of earth. They would not have been the least surprised to have found the newborn King of kings stretched out on a cradle of gold and surrounded by kings and philosophers paying to Him their tribute and obeisance. But they would have been surprised to have discovered Him in a manger, laid on coarse straw and warmed by the breath of oxen, as if in atonement for the coldness of the hearts of men. No one would have expected that the One whose fingers could stop the turning of Arcturus would be smaller than the head of an ox; that He who could hurl the ball of fire into the heavens would one day be warmed by the breath of beasts; that He who could make a canopy of stars would be shielded from a stormy sky by the roof of a stable; or that He who made the earth as His future home would be homeless at home. No one would have expected to find Divinity in such a condition; but that is because Divinity is always where you least expect to find it. Excerpt from God s World and Our Place in It