St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church

Transcription

1 Mass Schedule Saturday 5:00 p.m. SFX 7:00 p.m. (on Jekyll) Sunday (SFX) 8:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. in Spanish St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Weekday Masses St. Joseph Chapel Mon. - Noon Tues. Thurs. Fri. 7:00 a.m. Wednesday 8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Reconciliation: Church Saturdays 4:00-4:30 p.m. Sunday 7:45-8:15 a.m. (Or by appointment) St. Joseph Chapel (Please go to the main office for a key) Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. St Joseph Chapel First Friday Adoration 2:00-7:00 p.m. Holy Hour 7:00-8:00 p.m. First Saturday 8:45 a.m. Church Address: 1120 Newcastle Street, Brunswick, GA Phone: (912) Fax: (912) annbuebel@bellsouth.net

2 The Parable of the Talents We are two weeks from the end of the Church year and our Mother continues to cry out to us, "Stay on the watch. Be prepared!" Last week was the parable of the 10 bridesmaids with their lamps. This week we are given a new lesson, the Parable of the Talents. What is the spiritual message for us? We begin by acknowledging that God has given us all many gifts and talents. We all share the beautiful gift of life. Many people count among their blessings the gift of parents, a spouse, children, friends, family, a job, health, food, a warm house and the gift of grace. Jesus is clearly telling us that one day we will give an accounting for these gifts. They are distributed so that we might build the Kingdom of God. The gifts are not an end in themselves. Let us step back for a moment. Do I realize that live immeasurably better than not only 90 % of the world but of 99.9% of everyone who has ever lived? A middle class American has so much more at their fingertips than the most powerful rulers of history. Did Pharaoh or Caesar have air conditioning, cell phones, refrigerators, and 300 horsepower under the hood? We have so much! Are we sharing it? Are we helping those who are in need? We might also look at our spiritual lives. The greatest gift we have been given is that of grace. It has come to us in countless ways; the example and faith of our parents, the Sacraments, loyal friends, Church teaching. What do I do with all of this grace? Our hope is that we become channels of grace for others. That we might pass on the grace of Jesus to others. The spiritual lesson here is that what is important is not the amount of gifts you have. All gifts are God-given and we should not boast about what we have been freely given. What is important is what you do with them. How do I use my gifts? The servant who earned two talents is identically praised as the servant who made five because they were industrious. The servant who buries his talent is chastised. Jesus is looking at our efforts, not the quantity of our gifts. The servant is chastised because he does nothing. It would have been better if he had come to the Master and said, "You gave me one talent and I went out and invested it but have lost my investment." We might imagine that his treatment would have been better than what he received, "You, wicked lazy servant" Note carefully how our Lord treats sins of omission. This reading should be sufficient motivation to never want to hear those words from Almighty God. This parable also teaches us that we can never rest in the Kingdom because there is always more work to be done. We can never say, I have been active in the Church for 25 years so now I can rest." The servants in the parable are praised for their industriousness and then immediately given more work to do. In reality, for Christians there is no retirement on this earth. There is always more of the Kingdom to be built. I remember attending a youth conference in Atlanta for 20,000 Catholic youth. One of the performers who most touched me was a man named Tony Melendez. He was born without any arms but due to great dedication and perseverance on his part he plays the guitar. How does he do it? With his feet! It is amazing and inspiring to behold. Tony uses all of his gifts for the Lord! Of course our greatest example is Jesus Christ who came and exhausted all of his gifts to build up the Kingdom of God. He died stripped and naked on the Cross and placed in a borrowed tomb. He gave all that He had for the Father. This is how we are to use our gifts all for the Father! Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, "Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them." May we sing the song God has planted in our hearts and use the many talents he has bestowed upon us to build up the Kingdom! Our Master has gone away but today our Mother reminds us that HE is returning soon and very soon. When He does return may we hear those beautiful words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" -Fr. Tim McKeown

3 St. Francis Xavier Staff Fr. Timothy McKeown Pastor ext. 11 Fr. Chris Ortega Associate Pastor ext. 12 Ann Buebel Office Manager ext. 0 Maggie Shafer Director of Finance ext. 16 Permanent Deacons Rev. Mr. Ntungwa Maasha Rev. Mr. Larry Guyer Director of Religious Ed ext. 14 Christian Formation Center Juan Perez-Valdes Hispanic Ministry ext. 11 Marisol Soler Youth & Family Ministry ext. 12 Joe Sechkar Director of Liturgy Facilities Maintenance St. Francis Xavier Catholic School 1121 Union St. Brunswick, GA Dr. Terry Mermann Principal Lori Carden Office Manager 2018 Calendars are available at the exits. Please pick up one per family. Advent will begin on Sunday Dec. 3. We will have Blue Books available on the weekends of Nov. 19 and 26. These are daily meditations for the season of Advent. Please take one per household so every family may have one. Please note that there is no school at SFX the week of Nov. 20. There will be no 8:00 a.m. Mass on Nov. 22. Thanksgiving Mass will be Thursday Nov. 23 at 9:00 a.m. There is no mass scheduled for Friday Nov. 24. The Parish Office will be closed Thursday and Friday. In preparation for Advent we will offer the following Penance Services: Wed. Nov. 29 at 7:00 pm at SFX Thurs Nov 30 at 7:00 pm at St. William (SSI) Please join us for Parish Nite on Wed. Dec. 6. We will listen to a Southern Gospel group featuring our own Leah Simpson who cantors at the 8:30 Sunday Mass. Undone Ministries is a southern gospel group. They write: We are guided by Philippians 1:6; Being confident of this very thing, that which he hath begun, a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. We are incomplete. And we relish in bring Jesus through song to those in our community. Covered dish meal at 5:15 pm. Music at 6:00 pm. Mass at 7:00 pm for those who wish to attend.

4 The Knights of Columbus will host a blood drive on Sunday, December 3rd from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in Xavier Hall. Please consider giving a pint of your precious gift of life to others. Your donation will remain in the local community. Scheduling an appointment will ensure your time is respected. The Knights of Columbus will provide the volunteers needed for service. For questions, please call Dave Robson at Thank you to everyone who had their photos taken for the Parish Directory. We are trying to make it a perfect memento for our 150th Anniversary as a parish. We are making arrangements to have a photographer take group photos of the parish organizations. Please call Ann at the office with the name, phone number, and address, if any, of the main contact for each organization. Also we are seeking two types of photos to include: pictures of the various activities that happened throughout the past couple of years, and clear photos of the old church, the old school, and any related photos from that era. Collections for: November 11th & 12th $ 9, Immaculate Conception December 7th: Vigil 7 p.m. December 8th: 8 a.m. (school Mass), Noon and 7 p.m. (bi-lingual) Special Collections for December Dec. 10th Retired Religious Dec. 25 Diocesan Catholic Schools Today Pre-Thanksgiving Bake Sale CCW will host an array of goodies for your table. After Masses this weekend Check us out-thanks

5 November 19, 2017 Anna Hardwick Huong Thi Phan Richard Brunegraff David Higbee Gloria Quiñones Charlotte Cornelius Vera Borkowski Kathleen Koreski Billie Lou Henjum Michael Mleko Jr. Steven Gentzle Savannah Jones Shelby Jones Jason Runyon Wyatt Kersey Steve Williams Frances Nohrden Kathy Poliwka Michael Rafolski Jane Rafolski Carmen Zuba Marlana Padovani Jane Allen Andrew Robson Jr. Sr. Mary A. Curran Judy Wyatt Lewis Dawson Jean Davis Kevin Nicklay Pierce Rogers Ida Chapman Welch William Waddell William Pankin Georgia Burgess-Erwin Maria Zambon Moira Kaluzienski Gertrude Roberts Byron Bankston Judy Perry Majka Benjamin Koreski Leslie Kaufman Buddy Vasquez Bradley Huffman Pat Ragsdale Venus Gines Maria Borrego Vicky Hancock Jackie Maasen Helen Berry Margaret Young Peggie Cash Katharine Thompson Jim Holland Sr. Kathleen J. McMenamin Deborah Pitts Betty Jean Murray Betty Blouin Lisa Ann Pankin Jason Runyon Eunice Petrich Kathy Rogers Arlene Dixon Tony Brimer Greg Zito Jack Zinkenlaker Dusty Sloan Let us pray for all those in the military and police force both active and retired. Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Saturday, November 18 5:00 p.m. t Hal Brown Mass Intentions 7:00 p.m. t Maria Zagami/Sandee Coddington ( At Jekyll United Methodist Church) Sunday, November 19 8:30 a.m. t W.H. Smith 11:00 a.m. t Sandra Sanzeri Vlieger 6:00 p.m. Our Parish Family Monday, November noon t Hal Brown Tuesday, November 21 7:00 a.m. t Kay Tompkins Wednesday, November 22 8:00 a.m. No Mass 7:00 p.m. t Giuseppina & Giuseppe Tozzi Thursday, November 23 9:00 a.m. SFX Families Friday, November 24 7:00 a.m. No Mass Saturday, November 25 5:00 p.m. t Jack & Jeanne O Donnell 7:00 p.m. Our Parish Family ( At Jekyll United Methodist Church) Sunday, November 26 8:30 a.m. de los Santos & Soler Families 11:00 a.m. t Jose Manuel Ezeta 6:00 p.m. Our Parish Family Flowers can be purchased in honor or memory of. Standard donation is $30. Masses are $10. Please call the office or come by Mass book is ready. The prayer list is refreshed at the end of every month. To add a name to the prayer list or to offer a Mass, please call the church office at ext. 0 or by to annbuebel@bellsouth.net.

6 John 1:35-39 The First Disciples of Jesus The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God! The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, What do you seek? And they said to him, Rabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. MEDITATION: Everything in our life, today as in the time of Jesus, begins with an encounter. An encounter with this Man, the carpenter from Nazareth, a man like all men and at the same time different. Let us consider the Gospel of John, there where it tells of the disciples first encounter with Jesus(above) Andrew and John: they feel themselves being looked at to their very core, intimately known, and this generates surprise in them, an astonishment which immediately makes them feel bonded to Him. Pope Francis INTENTION: We pray that all men and women have a renewed desire for encountering Jesus through prayer to discover their vocation. Pope Francis calls us to Open the door This is what praying is opening the door to the Lord, so that he can do something. If we close the door, God can do nothing! The Vocation Office will sponsor a discernment retreat for men ages 18 to 40 from Friday, December 29 th to Saturday, December 30 th at Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge in Helena, GA (south of Dublin). Please register at and click on the retreat icon. There is no cost for the retreat and registration will close Christmas day. The Most Reverend Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., Bishop of Savannah Invites all couples celebrating their Silver or Gold (25 th or 50 th ) Wedding Anniversaries in 2018 to join him in celebrating the Please consider bringing canned goods to mass next week. Especially helpful are pop -top cans that people can open without an opener. Meats, tuna fish and peanut butter and crackers are good protein items. We are grateful for your help. Gold & Silver Wedding Jubilee Anniversary Mass in your honor at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia on Sunday: February 11, If you're interested in helping those in need, serving our parish, growing in your faith or having exclusive access to top-rated insurance protection for your family, then the Knights of Columbus is the organization for you. Men are asked to call Dave Robson or sign the inquiry sheet at the main church entrance. Those wishing to attend should register online at by December 18, 2017 in order to receive a formal invitation with the detailed information. Questions? Contact the Diocesan Office of Family Life,

7 Parish Activity Contacts Adult Bible Study, Joe & Linda Kirby Altar and Environmental Care, Diane Lott Bereavement, Ann Buebel CCW, Cate Gooch-Coolidge Culture of Life, Rose Lodise Greeters, Ginger Dorcas Jekyll Island Catholic Ladies, Eleanor Daniel Knights of Columbus, Bill Schuster Religious Ed., Larry Guyer ext. 14 Religious Articles Shop, Rose Lodise St. Monica Society, Peggie Cash St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store Parish Council, RoseMary Jones at Most Rev. Gregory John Hartmayer, OFM Conv. Bishop of Savannah M embership To be a registered member of the parish is to have a sense of belonging to a family. Newcomers are requested to register at the church office soon after arrival to meet the staff and learn about your new parish. In the time of family sickness, death or special need, parishioners are asked to notify the Church office. If requested, Holy Communion will e brought o anyone desiring to receive the Eucharist but are unable to attend Mass for serious reasons. Church Office 405 Howe St., Brunswick, GA 31520