HOLY FAMILY PARISH Don Bosco Chapel Fortbaan Schoten

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1 HOLY FAMILY PARISH Don Bosco Chapel Fortbaan Schoten November 2006 Year B Sunday Mass 10:30am Fr. Francis Peerlinck, Pastor

2 MESSAGE FROM FATHER : LET US REMEMBER... Dear Parishioners! - As mornings and evenings get chilly and days still get shorter, we feel that autumn has come, and the month of November is not far away. Chrysanthemums appear in shops and on marketplaces, and people start to think on buying them, as they are the favorite flowers to decorate the graves of their dearly beloved which they will visit in the coming days or weeks. The month of November - in the old Julius Calendar called the ninth month of the year - does spontaneously think on those who have died and have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. Thus we pray every Sunday in the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass for those who were near and dear to us. During November many people will go to the cemeteries and stay before the graves of members of their family and good friends. All kinds of memories will come up, as they look in retrospective to their dearly deceased, and many people will experience how much mutual love was present in them. Others will feel sorry for the love that was not always recognized at the right time, but that became clear as days and years passed away. Whatever our age in life may be, the month of November does also think on the time that once will come, as we too have to leave this world: There is a time of coming and a time of going, and when your time of going has come you have to leave, a proverb says. With the psalmist we pray: Lord, teach us to count how few days we have, and so gain wisdom of heart. As we did not bring anything into the world, so we shall leave this world without taking anything with us. November also is the month in which we shall celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a solemn Thanksgiving Mass and nice Thanksgiving Dinner. To say thank you belongs to our daily life. We say it for the smallest services performed. Sometimes we also say it whether we feel thankful or not. As the year goes up to its end, we also look back on the many good things that daily life and work brought to us, on the friendship and love we were able to give and to receive. As believing people we also thank God for the many things we were able to enjoy, far beyond many other peoples. We thank God for Jesus, in whose life and work we find the inspiration and strength to live our life in a way God expects from us. Father Francis Peerlinck

3 PRAYERS AND SPECIAL INTENTIONS For the families of our parish, present and past, who are having financial and job challenges. All those who have asked anonymously for our prayers For all the members of our parish who are traveling over the holidays, That they have a wonderful holiday and a safe return trip home. Thanksgiving and continued prayers for Patrick after his recent kidney transplant

4 PARISH REGISTRATION~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Belen The new directories have been distributed a couple weeks ago. If you have not received yours yet, it could be because Belen does not have your information. Please contact her if you think this might be the case. NOTE: Due to unfortunate circumstances and a computer that sometimes tries to think for itself, names of some new families as well as one older family have been inadvertently left out of the new directory. I heartily apologize to these families. I will make necessary corrections and have ready for distribution soon, a correction page that can be added to your directory copy. The missed families are: Patricio and Maria Angelica Lagos and baby Raimundo Jang and Ken Joen Liem-Na Bob and Sunny Martindale Timothy and Chintha Perera with son Schan and Maya Please accept my apologies. Belen WELCOME NEW FAMILIES! Darcy and Dixi Reiter Jose & Remedios Martinez Patricio & Angelica Lagos, with Raimundo who is 1 year old Robert and Sunny Martindale Kevin and Katie Young with 4 daughters: Samantha, Sydney, Ryann, and Courtney. Jang and Tek Joen Liem-Na

5 CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES To Victor Zenteno and his new bride Azucena, our very best wishes on your marriage! We re looking forward to welcoming you both back to Holy Family when you return from Mexico. A marriage...makes of two fractional lives a whole; it gives to two purposeless lives a work, and doubles the strength of each to perform it; it gives to two questioning natures a reason for living, and something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life. Mark Twain HOLY FAMILY S THANKSGIVING MASS AND POTLUCK CELEBRATION Saturday, November 18 th Our parish will celebrate Thanksgiving. Mass will be held at AIS and will start at 5:30 PM and be followed by a buffet style dinner in the AIS cafeteria ( Veltwijcklaan 180, Ekeren ). If you are unable to join us for the potluck feast, please plan to join us for Mass. This Saturday service will be in lieu of the regular Sunday Mass at Don Bosco Chapel. As always, friends and relatives are most welcome. The parish will provide the turkey, rolls, beverages, paper products and table wear; All families planning to attend are asked to bring a dessert and/or side dish. A sign-up sheet for this is posted outside the coffee room REMINDER Have you returned your reservation form for the Thanksgiving Celebration? If not, please do so as soon as possible. These can be returned to Linda Bosch or dropped off at the library at AIS to Barbara Noels.

6 MONTHLY ROSARY NOV. 6TH ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALAN BARNETT Our Monthly morning rosary group will meet again Monday, 6 th November, commencing at 10 AM to pray one of the mysteries. Each of the five decades start with a short meditation and the whole rosary takes about 30 minutes to pray. This month, we will meet at Belen s home, Augustijnslei 56-B, Brasschaat. I would like to quote from a book titled We fly To Thy Patronage O Holy Mother of God In the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary, whoever prays with faith will experience Mary s helping hand. In the Gospel, the reality of God becomes something tangible. In the Rosary, the saving and supporting hand of the mother of Christ reaches out to us. When all other supports fail, then it is to this hand that we can confidently entrust oneself. On the end of the Rosary hangs the cross. Saint Thomas Aquinas said, The cross is the book that we can never come to the end of studying. On the Cross we pray the Creed. This is our Rule of Faith. Then comes the first three Ave s with the three theological virtues. Faith, Hope & Charity. This is our Rule of Life. Finally, in a threaded sequence, in a sort of brail, there follows the entire new testament, decipherable only by the praying hands of the believer. The Rosary contains all what we need to believe and live by. It is the summary of our entire faith. Please come along and join us, even if it s only once. For more information contact Alan Barnett: ADVENT PENITENTIAL SERVICE Each year during Advent we have a Penitential Service to do our spiritual housecleaning before Christmas. This year it is during Mass on December 17 th. Please plan to join us for this very special Sacrament of Reconciliation service or see Father to arrange private confessions.

7 THANKSGIVING FOOD COLLECTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~VIVIANNE We will be collecting non-perishable food items again this year to give to the hungry. We especially need sugar, coffee,( ground or instant), pasta, rice and cooking oil. Please bring these to our Thanksgiving Mass on November 18 th where they will be collected during the offertory. There will also be a food basket the following Sunday, November 26 th at the entrance to the chapel for anyone who may have forgotten something for the Thanksgiving service. Many thanks in advance for your contributions. ADVENT CANDLE LIGHTING~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ROWENA Advent begins December 3rd this year. Each Sunday during Advent, we ask a family or group of friends to say the Advent Prayer for the particular Sunday and light the candles on the advent wreath at the beginning of Mass. If you would like to participate in this lighting ceremony any Sunday during Advent, please contact Rowena. PRIVATE INTENTIONS SAID DURING MASS If you have any prayer or intention that you would like Father to say during Mass, either for your family, someone or something in the Parish, or the community, please give these to Father in writing before Mass. This way, the prayers read aloud are directed to the needs of those present.

8 GIVING TREE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~VIVIANNE Our Advent Giving Tree is a way to connect with needy children in the Antwerp community at holiday time. The Giving Tree will be at the alter by the first week of Advent. Just take a tag or two from the tree and purchase a gift or couple small gifts worth no more than 10 to 12 Euros. Like last year, Zenith has asked NO TOYS THIS YEAR, but rather for clothing items. The items the children need most are PANTS AND TIGHTS FOR 3 4 AND 5 YEAR OLDS. Gloves, mittens, scarves and warm T-shirts for children to 12 years of age are always welcome this time of year as well. These need not be wrapped, but please place them under the tree by the second or third Sunday of Advent. COMMUNION FOR CHILDREN All children who have received their First Communion are welcome to receive the Eucharist at communion time. If your children are younger, please encourage them to cross their arms for a blessing at the altar at communion time. MONTHLY PRAYER CONNECTION The International Christian Women's Club of Antwerp warmly invites you to their monthly Prayer Connection Tuesday November 7th, We start at 10 o'clock in the morning with coffee/tea and conversation. Prayer time starts at 10.30h. This months connection will be held at the home of Marie Lyn Lauwereins, Gezondheidslei 139, 2930 Brasschaat. Tel The theme of the morning is: "Unfailing power". If you would like more information or you need directions or a ride please contact Marie-Louise ( ) or Sharmini ( )

9 NEW BOOKS ON THE LIBRARY CART~~~~~~~~~~~BRIGITTE Last week we had a surprise visit from a former Parish president, Annette Malkus. It was so good to see her again. She was so kind to bring some books with her from America for our library cart. There are a couple nice children s books and a few others for adults. Thank you so much Annette for your generous donation. Please be sure to check out the new books to see if there s something here that might interest you. With the cold days ahead of us, it s always nice to snuggle on the sofa with a good book. Perhaps you would like to donate a book to the Parish Library in your name or memory of someone. RWANDA DONATIONS The last count from the Rwanda jar, as of Oct. 8 th was Euro. A great Thank You to all coffee and tea drinkers, may they continue in this way. BEING A CHRISTIAN IS LIKE BEING A PUMPKIN. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.

10 MARK YOU CALENDARS FOR A SPECIAL SINTER KLAAS PARTY! This Party is organized by the AIP Church (International Protestant Church). December 10, 2006 from 2 to 5 pm at the Kapellen Refugee Center. Every year we are invited to participate in this generous event. - It will start with a short program with the Christian magician who came to participate at the VBS (Vacation Bible Study) we did at Holy Family this summer. Then the gifts will be distributed and there are cake/cookies/coke for the kids. IPC is asking their parishioners to provide home baked cookies and cakes for the party and the gift bags. The staff suggested euros maximum per gift bag. AIP will be purchasing bags this week and will receive a list of the gift suggestions from the Kapellen center children s' workers. If you were here last year you may remember bags being distributed at the end of Mass and many families at Holy Family beautifully decorated and generously filled a bag for a refugee child. We think that will help us to have a better-focused gift giving experience, one that can be fun for those buying the gifts and putting the bags together, but also for the kids on the receiving end as well. They have 131 children at the center at this time, which means 131 bags to fill. Think about how many bags you might like to decorate and make ready for the kids. It is a much enriching experience for our kids and those at the Center! If you also will like to donate bake goods, they are always welcome. If you need more information and/or want to participate, please contact me, Belen McPherson at (home), (GSM), or mariabelen@gmail.com

11 THANKSGIVING HUMOR What did the mother turkey say to her disobedient children? If your father could see you now, he'd turn over in his gravy! If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims! Why did the turkey cross the road? It was the chicken's day off If the Pilgrims were alive today, what would they be most famous for? Their AGE Why can't you take a turkey to church? Because they use such FOWL language What are the feathers on a turkey's wings called? Turkey feathers What do you get when you cross a turkey with an octopus? Enough drumsticks for Thanksgiving How can you make a turkey float? You need 2 scoops of ice cream, some root beer, and a turkey Which side of the turkey has the most feathers? The outside What did the turkey say before it was roasted? Boy! I'm stuffed! What's the key to a great Thanksgiving dinner? The turkey

12 PARISH COUNCIL 2005/2006 Pastor... Fr. Francis Peerlinck President... William Carey Vice President... Alan Barnett Treasurer... Brigitte Preuss Religious Ed.... Nicole Rajkumar Parish Registration... Belen Orrantia Bulletin... Rosanne Pizzella + Paul Van den Bossche mswazoo@scarlet.be Hospitality... Linda Bosch lcbosch@gmail.com Sunshine... Vivianne Staplehurst viv@verijke.com Liturgy... Rowena Verhees roalex@scarlet.be Advisor... Barbara Noels BNoels@AIS-antwerp.be Music... Eric wouters & Olga Velez Rismi@skynet.be UPCOMING EVENTS: November~~~ 18 th Thanksgiving Celebration: Mass (5:30pm), dinner 7:00 To be held at AIS 23rd Happy Thanksgiving! December ~~~ 10 th : Sinter Klaas Party at AIS 2 5 PM 17 th Advent Penitential Service 24 th Christmas Eve Mass 5:30 PM 25 th MERRY CHRISTMAS! January~~~~~21 st Ecumenical Service at Holy Family Parish PLEASE SEND ROSANNE ALL SUBMISSIONS FOR THE DECEMBER/JANUARY BULLETIN BY NOVEMBER 27TH. THANK YOU!