Holy Spirit ~ St. Nicholas Parishes

Transcription

1 Holy Spirit ~ St. Nicholas Parishes December 10, 2017 Second Sunday of Advent St. Nicholas Parish (SNP) A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust 24 Maryland Ave. Millvale, PA Sunday Mass Schedule: Saturday: 6:00 pm Sunday: 12:00 Noon Croatian Language Mass: 3rd Sun., ea. month, Noon Fax: Daily Mass: Wednesday only, 8:00 am Holy Spirit Parish (HSP) A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust 608 Farragut Street Millvale, PA Fax: office@ Fr. James K. Mazurek Administrator pastor@ Deacon: Mr. Steve Kisak deacon@ Business Manager: Pamela Ebner Simard businessmanager@ Internet: Sunday Mass Schedule: Saturday: 4:00 pm Sunday: 8:00 & 10:00 am Daily Mass: Monday, Tuesday, & Friday: 8:00 am Holy Hour after every First Friday 8 am Mass Holy Days: See Bulletin Reconciliation: Saturdays 11:00-11:30 am Pastoral Assoc./CCD & Music: Pastoral Associate/DRE: Mrs. Elaine Magill pa@ Music Director: Mr. Terry Schiebel music@ Fr. James K. Mazurek Administrator pastor@ Deacon: Mr. Steve Kisak deacon@ stnicholascroatian.org office@ stnicholascroatian.org Internet: stnicholascroatian.org Holy Days: See Bulletin Reconciliation: Saturdays following 6:00 pm Mass Cemeteries: Catholic Parish Cemeteries Assoc. CPCA: Church Tours: Saturdays: 11 am & 12:30 pm Other: Holy Rosary Society: Sandy Koch, Parish & Sacramental Life Please contact the Parish Office concerning any sacraments. New Members: Always welcome! Please contact the Parish Office, or website, or by church doors, for a registration form. Infant Baptism: Celebrated at HSP on first and third Sundays at 2:00 p.m.; or at HSP and SNP, on a date and time agreed upon with the Priest. A Baptismal Seminar is required. Adult Initiation: The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process sees to the needs of those who are inquiring about the faith of Catholics. At a convenient time, to be determined. Marriage: Consultation with the Pastor at least six months in advance is required. An initial interview must be scheduled, at which time further information will be provided. Anointing of the Sick / Communion Calls: For any parishioner at anytime, as long as the priest is available. You are encouraged to see the priest after Mass, but visits to hospitals and homes also can be made. Please anticipate; call in advance if you know you are going into the hospital in the near future, for surgery, etc. Confirmation: For adults (over 18) who have not been confirmed.

2 MASS SCHEDULE Saturday, Dec. 9 4:00 p.m. HSP +Josephine Troian, Ray Perl & Family (Sylvia Troian) 6:00 p.m. SNP +Mary & Leonard Jaksic (Vince & Mary) Sun., Dec. 10 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8:00 a.m. HSP +Parishioners 10:00 a.m. HSP +Catherine Leas (Jack & Ruth Varley, John & Betty Lang, Bob & Jeannie Klann) 12 Noon SNP +Frank & Mary Vidina (Daughter, Mary Jane) Mon., Dec. 11 St. Damasus I, Pope 8:00 a.m. HSP +Dolores Coll (Month s Mind) Tues., Dec. 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe 8:00 a.m. HSP +Mario Sciulli (Donato Sciulli) Wed., Dec. 13 St. Lucy, Virgin & Martyr 8:00 a.m. SNP +Edward Vogrin (Carol & Larry McManus) Thurs., Dec. 14 No Mass Scheduled. Friday, Dec. 15 Advent Weekday 8:00 a.m. HSP +Charles & Rose Hassinger (Brother) Saturday, Dec. 16 4:00 p.m. HSP +Effinger Family & Marion Bencsics (Family) 6:00 p.m. SNP +Mary Yoha (Vince & Mary) Sun., Dec. 17 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8:00 a.m. HSP +Parishioners 10:00 a.m. HSP +Ralph, Josephine & James Zurcher and Kathy Aland (Family) 12 Noon SNP +Branka Colnar (Daughter, Arleen) Second Sunday of Advent SANCTUARY CANDLES LIT THIS WEEK HSP Sanctuary: Jean Reithmiller By: Neal & Michele Niklaus SNP Sanctuary: Mary M. Jaksic By: Jaksic Family SNP Grotto: Vidina Family By: Family FR. JIM S CORNER Fr. Jim [This column is a reprise from previous years; I do so by the request of many.] Thanksgiving is behind us and we are half way through Advent. Christmas and New Years are fast approaching. While we look forward to these Holidays and holy days, many of us also struggle with feelings of discouragement, depression or sadness during this time of year. Some call it the holiday blues. We all review the last year and maybe we have passed several milestones in our lives: marriages, births, successful surgeries and a new job. But chances are, we have also faced difficult situations in our lives this past year: death of a loved one, loss of a job, diagnosis of cancer or some physical or emotional condition. While you might ask, where did this year go?, others are saying, good riddance Some are probably looking over the past few years and feel like they may have not accomplished much. With that can come discouragement, depression and blaming ourselves. So we seek help perhaps a psychologist, a therapist, a counselor, a spiritual director or a priest and we look for words of encouragement. We are trying to identify what our goals should be and stick with it! Sometimes our goals are quite simple mail our Christmas cards, decorate the house and prepare the holiday meals. Sometimes our goals are far more serious regain the will to live, the desire to turn our lives around and to strive to be a better person. These goals require sacrifice, prayers, willpower, discipline and daily struggle. Without this personal effort we grow weak and may succumb to difficulty. Life throws us good and bad experiences, positive and negative moments. There are a lot of good friends out there. Many of these people can be found in our communities and in our parishes. Of course, Jesus Christ wants to be near us at all times, especially in prayer, the Mass and in the Sacraments. Remember, we can fail in some goals and achieve others. We all have the ability to be happy and we know the reason to stay alive Our Savior Jesus Christ! God Bless. Idi sa Bogom. Fr. Jim Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us.

3 THIS WEEK AT HOLY SPIRIT PARISH CM/WG Christmas Party is Monday at 6:30-cafeteria. Bell choir practice is Monday at 7 pm. Voice choir practice is Tuesday at 7 pm. Church cleaning is Thursday at 8 am. HSP CONTRIBUTIONS: Sunday, December 3, 2017 Offertory $ 3,522 Parish Share 1,293 Debt Reduction 55 Christmas Flowers 10 Christmas Offering 5 Christmas Charities Diocesan Collection 10 Retirement Fund for the Religious Diocesan Collection 25 All Saints / Immaculate Conception 35 Total for the week: $ 4,955 Votive Candles $ 125 Rental of School to Adelphoi 4,164 Rental of Lyceum 785 General Donation Little Books 22 Grand Total for week: $ 10,051 Thank you for your generosity! CM/WG ANNUAL COOKIE SALE YUM! The Christian Mothers/Women s Guild will be holding their annual cookie sale this weekend (Dec. 9th & 10th) and again next weekend (Dec. 16th & 17th) in the vestibule of Holy Spirit Church. Don t miss this chance to buy some delicious holiday treats! 2018 LOTTERY CALENDARS Lottery calendars will be on sale after weekend Masses and are available in the church office on weekdays. The calendars make great gifts. The cost is $20. Winning numbers are based on the PA evening 3-digit number. CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR S MASS SCHEDULE This may be a year where there could be some confusion due to the days on which the holidays fall. To help you plan your worshipping with us, below is the Mass schedule: Sat, Dec 23 rd - 4 th Sunday of Advent: 4 pm-hsp; 6 pm-snp Sun, Dec 24 th 4 th Sunday of Advent: 8 am-hsp; 10 am-hsp; Noon-SNP Sun, Dec 24 th (Christmas Eve) Children s Mass: 4 pm at HSP; 9 pm Croatian Mass-SNP Mon, Dec 25 th Christmas Day Masses: 8 am-hsp 10 am-hsp; Noon-SNP Sat, Dec 30 th Feast of the Holy Family: 4 pm-hsp 6 pm-snp Sun, Dec 30 th - Feast of the Holy Family: 8 am-hsp; 10 am-hsp; Noon-SNP Mon, Jan 1 Solemnity of Mary (not a holy day obligation this year) two Masses: 8 am - HSP; 10 am-snp CALENDAR OF EVENTS Dec 10 Dec 13 Dec 9-10 Dec Dec 19 Dec 25 Jan 1 Jan 13 Feb 10 Feb 14 Feb 24 Feb 24 SNP HRS Christmas Party The Light is on for You! CM & WG Cookie Sale CM & WG Cookie Sale Communal Advent Penance Service Christmas Day Solemnity of Mary HSP/SNP Family Movie Night HSP Night at the Races Ash Wednesday HSP/SNP Family Movie Night Pierogi Fundraiser PARISH GUIDE BOOK & DIRECTORY FOR SNP & HSP LAST CALL FOR ADVERTISERS We are in the process of updating our annual Guide Book & Directory. The guide is subsidized by local businesses through their advertisements. The book can therefore be provided at no cost to our church including mailing to all parishioners in both parishes. Please contact the Parish Office by Mon., Dec. 11th, if you own a local business and would like your advertisement to be included. CONGRATULATIONS! Audrey Larimer, a parishioner and student at Quigley Catholic High School, has been awarded Highest Honors. Nice going, Audrey HOLY SPIRIT PARISH ENVELOPES Please take your new box of offertory envelopes, available at the main entrance of the church. If you cannot find your box, please notify the parish office. CHURCH DECORATING HELP WANTED Christmas decorating at Holy Spirit Parish will take place on Sun., Dec. 17th, after the 10:00 AM Mass. Volunteers are welcome to participate in preparing the church for the celebration of the birth of Christ. ANGEL TREE Please take an angel from the tree. Purchase one (or more) of the suggestions listed, wrap the gift, attach the angel to the outside, and place it under the tree by next Saturday, December 16th. Thank you for making someone s Christmas a little brighter. Please pray for the deceased of our parishes. Mary Yakich Joseph Scobbo, Sr. Thomas C. Bechtold May they rest in peace.

4 ST. NICHOLAS PARISH CONTRIBUTIONS: Sunday, 12/3/2017: Offertory: $2,652; PSP/Generations: $704; Improvement Fund: $88; Sanctuary Candle: $160; All Souls Day: $3; St. Nicholas Patron Day: $484; Immaculate Conception: $15; Religious Retirement Fund: $130; Christmas: $85; Little Books: $13; World Mission Fund: $3. Puno vam hvala i Bog vas blagoslovio! PARISH OFFICE HOLIDAY CLOSING The parish office for Holy Spirit and St. Nicholas churches will be closed from Sat., Dec. 23rd until reopening on Tue., Jan. 2nd, at 8 am. CROATIAN MASS NEXT SUNDAY A Croatian-language Mass will be celebrated next Sunday, Dec. 17th, at 12:00 Noon. Due to Fr. Blasko s duties as pastor of a parish in Cleveland, this will be the final regularly scheduled monthly Croatian Mass at St. Nicholas. CHRISTMAS EVE MASS PRACTICE The next choir and tamburitza orchestra practice for the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Nicholas will take place this Tuesday, Dec. 12th, at 7 PM in the church. Please bring your voice and/or your tambura. Any questions, please contact Chuck Cubelic at (412) SPECIAL GIFT IDEA-PRAYER CARDS St. Nicholas Parish Prayer Cards include Birthday, Get Well and Congratulations and are available for a $25 donation. The names of those who receive the prayer cards are entered into our Parish Book of Prayer and remembered at all Masses. To view the cards, please call Jan Kopec at NEWS OF COMFORT In a time of preparation, much of it having to do with material things, it is good to hear the words of Isaiah, "Comfort, give comfort to my people, / says your God" (Isaiah 40:1). In a time of such stress and rush, when our usual burdens are augmented by piles of Christmas preparations, we can choose to slow down, take some time to heal, and appreciate the enormous gift we are about to receive. Christ, the Son of God, has become one of us, and knows our human limitations. Yet God, even now, is freeing us from the burdens that our inattentiveness to our God and to our deepest inner longings have heaped upon us. The Lord comes, not as a king with mighty armies, but as a shepherd leading the flocks with care and tenderness. Isaiah prophesies good news: our oppression is over, our sins forgiven. The savior we have awaited is coming, not the first time, but in the end times, as our salvation. J. S. Paluch Co., Inc SNP JANUARY LOTTERY Lottery raffle tickets for January are now being sold but time is running out so please purchase now. Sellers please return tickets to Jan Kopec. If you have questions, please call Jan at MAXO VANKA MURAL DVDs An unusual, informative and treasured gift. DVDs are on sale after Masses. Only $20 each. ($4.95 each to mail). Help to make known the beauty, heritage and history of St. Nicholas church. Remember them in your prayers HOLY SPIRIT PARISH Anonymous, Alma Anzelone, Florence Atkinson, Robert Bajus, Mayor Vince Cinski, Helen Crouse, William Dietrich, Florence Dubis, Jean Duss, Erika Gray, Joan Hanselman, Bertha Hartung, Betty Hertweck, Tracie Hillard, Susan Huerbin, Tom Hollinger, Frank Iozzo, Thomas Kane, Linda Kennedy, Ann Kisak, Justin Kist, Regina Kowalski, Charles Kress, Florenz Kress, Jr., Florenz Kress III, Kathryn C. Kress, Lisa Kunkle, Carlee Majernik, Audrey McIntyre, Dorothy Mehrlich, Pat Miksic, Rose Marie Morgan, Fr. Jack Nanz, Lois Nedimyer, Thomas Nedimyer, Barbara Oswald, Annalena Pearsons, Gerry Piskurich, Lynn Richter, Dee Russell, Betty Scheuring, Jeffery Scheuring, Terry Schiebel, Loretta Sciulli, Diane Schmidt, Dorothy Schreiber, Lois Sippel, Elaine Staniszewski, Amy Steinmetz, Henry & Gertrude Szymanski, Vi Tourville, Joanne Victoria, Carla Wasielewski, Barbara Wassell, Ralph Wesolek, Mary Zellmer, Mary Ann Zmuda. ST. NICHOLAS PARISH Anonymous, Dorothy Chutko, Anna Fabina, Fr. Mirko Hladni, Coleman & Ann Horvath, Ann Kisak, Carol Kristoff, George Kusevich, Mary Matkovic, Mary Petrich, Mary Poslusney, Danica Pupich, Nikola Radmanovic, Joanna Raida, Robert Rocky Rothmeyer, Terry Schiebel, Marshall Simonic, Anna Smokovich, Edward Stankovic, Helen Tolley, Margaret Vogrin, Louise Vybiral, Ryan Woodrow. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY The Church asks people to believe what they cannot see, to do what they do not want to do, not to do what they want to do, and then to pay for it all. Cardinal Krol ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK Our advertisers make this bulletin possible. Think of them first for your needs and services. To advertise, call Pittsburgh Window & Door Co. Diocesan Child Abuse Hotline:

5 PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD Advent is our annual time of anticipation and expectation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas and, ultimately, at the end of time. During this season we make many preparations so that we can be ready to meet the Lord. We prepare our hearts through prayer and reconciliation to be a fitting place of welcome for Jesus to dwell. We also prepare our homes as places of warm hospitality to welcome neighbors and strangers alike with a loving and generous heart. This Advent, we also find ourselves anticipating the changes that will soon be upon as part of the On Mission for The Church Alive! initiative. How are you preparing for the new realities in our parishes? Will your heart meet these changes with resistance or with the resolve to do what it takes to foster new life in your community and help grow the Church? Take some time this Advent to prepare the way of the Lord as he comes to make us and our Church ever more alive! Visit onmissionchurchalive.org to learn more and to stay informed. CONFESSION OPPORTUNITIES As we approach the Christmas Season, we wanted to remind you about the opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. EACH SATURDAY, confessions are heard at 11 am at HSP and following the 6 pm Mass at SNP. This Wednesday, December 13th, the annual THE LIGHT IS ON FOR YOU! opportunity will be held in every church in our diocese from 6-9 pm. Since we have only one priest, HSP will be open for the 6-9 pm time frame. St. Nicholas Church, however, will be closed. On Tuesday, December 19th, a COMMUNAL ADVENT PENANCE SERVICE will be held at HSP beginning at 7 pm. There will be four priests available for individual confessions. This will be the last opportunity for confession prior to Christmas. NOTE: No confessions on Saturday, Dec 24 th! HOW DID THE POPE KNOW? For the last few months, we have been focusing on the fact that the church is sacred space and Catholics would be able to pray before, during and after Mass in silence. Well, Pope Francis must be reading our bulletin because at his general weekly audience he stated that Catholics should spend their time in silence before Mass, preparing to meet with Jesus instead of engaging in chitchat. He went on, silence is so important; remember when I told you the last time: we are not going to a show. Silence prepares us and accompanies us. He concluded by saying, the encounter with God is a living encounter. And departing from his remarks he said, it is not an encounter of a museum, it is a living encounter. And we go to Mass, not a museum! We go to a living encounter with the Lord. Amen, Papa! LOW GLUTEN HOSTS FOR COMMUNION With Christmas coming, are you holding back from going to communion because of gluten intolerance? We have special gluten-free hosts. No one should be unable to receive the Eucharist because of this condition. Please let one of the sacristans know before Mass and a separate pyx will be prepared for you. Just come up in the line where the priest is distributing and let the priest know you need the gluten-free Eucharist. You will consume it at your pew and return the pyx to the sacristy after Mass. MINISTRIES SCHEDULE WEEKEND OF DECEMBER pm-hsp: Lector L. Soltis; EM S E. Magill; J. Powell; K. Powell; L. Duermeyer; B. Stout 6 pm-snp: Lector M. Cavlovich; EM S D. Oberle; MA Librich 8 am-hsp- Lector D. Brown; EM S B. Kruszewski; J. Guentner; M. Miller; S. Loch 10 am-hsp-lector T. Donovan; EM S K. Ferrari; K. Simard; P. Simard; K. Seiler; MJ Dono Noon-SNP: Lector-D Juric; EM S I. Juric; K. George LITTLE BLUE BOOK FOR ADVENT The Little Blue Books for Advent are available at the churches entrances. These books of reflections have been read and enjoyed by many people each year. A donation of $1.00/book is suggested to cover our costs. ANNUAL HOLIDAY TRAIN DISPLAY The display at St. Aloysius, sponsored by their Christian Mothers, operates Saturdays (10 AM-3 PM) and Sundays (Noon-4 PM) through January 14th. (Closed on Dec. 23rd & 24th.) Free admission; donations appreciated. RACHEL S VINEYARD WEEKEND RETREAT A post-abortion healing retreat will be held on March 2nd-4th, 2018, at Tabor House in Millvale. To register or for more information, call Toni Jester at or toniafj1@comcast.net. NEW RECYCLE BINS FOR MILLVALE RESIDENTS Waste Management will begin to drop off new recycle bins on Tues., Dec. 12 th. Options for current recycle bins: 1 Keep the old bin for personal use. 2 Place the old bin out for trash with a clear note on the unit to PLEASE DISPOSE OF RECYCLE BIN.

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