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2 Page Two Second Sunday of Advent December 5, 2010 MONDAY, December 6, St. Nicholas 8:30am Nettie & Joseph Waitas Joseph, Edward & Richard Murphy TUESDAY, December 7, St. Ambrose 8:30am Michael Dominowski WEDNESDAY, December 8, The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 8:30am The People of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish 1:30pm The People of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish 7:00pm The People of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish THURSDAY, December 9, St. Juan Diego 8:30am Michael & Raymond Sullivan Walter & Mary Sullivan FRIDAY, December 10, Advent Weekday 8:30am Marie Stecker SATURDAY, December 11, St. Damasus 8:30am Jack Swanson, Mary O Connor 5:00pm Bernice & Eugene Gaskin, Wanda Placek John & Lillian White, Edward Valadez Clara & Elaine Konieczny, Rosa Santos SUNDAY, December 12, Third Sunday of Advent 7:30am Betty Grote, Sr. Cornelia Harrison Gladys Taraska, Jim O Meara 10:00am Roman R. Karwat, Tony Kurr James Dillon, Vince Wroblewski 12:00pm Stella Slusarczyk, Otto Seiler Deceased Members of Witucki Family Deceased Members of Wilson Family FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP November 20/21,2010 Offertory 404 envelopes $8,398 Loose Collection $ 804 Total Offertory $9,202 Other Collections: Sharing Ascension/ St. Susanna 14 envelopes $ 102 All Saints 4 envelopes $ 40 Seminary 1 envelope $ 5 Campaign for Human Development 135 envelopes $2,081 Thank you for your generosity! Please remember to pray for the souls of all our faithful departed, especially: Victor Konieczny & Joseph P. Lentine Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah prophesies about the coming of the Messiah and the inauguration of the reign of God. The Messiah will come with the wisdom, power and spirit of God to bring justice and peace to the earth. The Messiah will be a descendant of Jesse, the father of King David. St. Paul exhorts the Romans to live in harmony and to welcome one another as Christ welcomed them so that all the Gentiles will come to faith and glorify God. In the gospel John the Baptist appears in the desert preaching repentance, announcing the coming of the kingdom of heaven, and baptizing the people in the Jordan for the forgiveness of their sins. When the Pharisees and Sadducees come to him, he denounces them as a brood of vipers, challenging them to produce good fruit as evidence of their repentance. He tells them that when the Messiah comes, he will baptize with water and the Holy Spirit, separating the wheat from the chaff. The wheat he will gather into his barn but the chaff he will burn in unquenchable fire. Isaiah 11:1-10 Romans 15:4-9 Matthew 3:1-12 Feast of the Immaculate Conception On Wednesday we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a defined doctrine of the Church that Mary was conceived without original sin as part of God s plan for our salvation. Mary was filled with grace so that she could be the perfect tabernacle for the infant Jesus, God himself entering our human condition. Because she was conceived without sin she was able to open herself completely to the will of God in perfect humility. Thus she is our model as well as our Mother. What God did for Mary through her Immaculate Conception he does for us in baptism, opening up for us the possibility of salvation. We appropriate this grace when we, like Mary, say yes to God s will in perfect trust and humility. Wednesday December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, is a Holy Day of Obligation. Our mass times are: 8:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. (School Mass) 7:00 p.m. Genesis 3:9-15, 20 Ephesians 1:3-6, Luke 1:26-38

3 December 5, 2010 Second Sunday of Advent Page Three Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent. Our scriptures today begin to transition the story of the coming of the Messiah from his return at the end of time to his coming in time into human history. We re not to the birth of Jesus quite yet. Isaiah foretells the coming of the Messiah to judge the people, bringing justice to the poor and the afflicted while striking the ruthless and slaying the wicked. Then all nations will be at peace on his holy mountain. John the Baptist comes to fulfill the words of Isaiah, crying out in the desert and preparing the way of the Lord. He calls the people to repentance for their sins because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The One who is coming will baptize with water and the Holy Spirit. John is announcing Jesus public ministry, inaugurating the kingdom of God. The good news is that the righteous will enter the kingdom (the wheat will be gathered in the barn). The warning is that the unrighteous will be like the chaff that is burned in the unquenchable fire. St. John gives us the very correct spiritual and theological principle that if there is no evidence of sanctification (the work of the Holy Spirit) in our lives we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. He challenges the Pharisees and Sadducees to produce good fruit (righteousness deeds) as evidence of their repentance and warns them that the tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. The season of Advent reminds us to be grateful for God s mercy and to share his grace by doing good for others. We had a busy and blessed week in the parish. We celebrated the first of our Advent Evening Prayer Services. Chrissy Zaker led an evening of formation and discussion on How We Pray as part of our ongoing adult faith series. The Happy Club hosted their Christmas Luncheon. We had a wonderful meal, an enjoyable social and some of our Girl Scouts came and sang Christmas carols with us. Thank you to Cathy Desmond for making it all happen. On Friday the school hosted its annual Volunteer Appreciation Party in recognition of all the hard work, time and effort so many people contribute to make our school such a wonderful place for our children. Saturday morning we celebrated the Sacrament of First Reconciliation Service for the children in our school and religious education programs. Thank you to Alan Schmitt, our DRE, and the teachers and catechists who spend so much time sharing our faith and preparing the children. A shout of thanks also goes to Kathy Ernst who coordinates our Market Day program. Because of the parish participation in buying good food at great prices offered by Market Day, the school receives between percent of the total purchase dollars, and we are already over half way to our goal to earn a new freezer for our lunch program. Today we welcome our RCIA candidates with a special Rite of Acceptance at the 10 o clock mass. This marks their formal declaration of intent to prepare for the Easter Sacraments and our commitment to journey with them. Our candidates are Jo Anna Dexl, Aimee Schwarz, Andy Springer and Sarah Thomas. Please keep them in your prayers. We also welcome our Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who will be speaking today on behalf of the Retirement Fund for Religious. The religious sisters and brothers who have worked so tirelessly throughout the years to support our schools, hospitals and missions rely on our support now to take care of them. The second collection will be held next weekend. This week our Advent Evening Prayer Service will be celebrated on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary this Wednesday. It is a Holy Day of Obligation. Our masses will be celebrated at 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. (with the school) and 7:00 p.m. See page two for details. The parents association will host their Visit with Santa on Friday. Our SPRED group will be hosting Coffee and Donut hospitality after all the masses next weekend. Next Sunday we will have a very special guest. Cardinal George will be with us to celebrate the 10 a.m. mass and dedicate our new icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. This lovely painting will add to the devotional life of our parish and help us to realize the great gift of Christ in our life. One of our parishioners has generously donated the cost of commissioning this beautiful work of art. We do request that no one touch the icon as the oils on our skin can lead to the deterioration of the paint. There is an error in the brochure of the Advent and Christmas schedule that was sent to all parishioners. The correct date of our Advent Reconciliation Service is Tuesday, December 21st at 7p.m. (not December 14th as stated). We received a letter this week from the Women s Center, thanking us for our participation in the Baby Bottle Project. Because of your generosity we were able to raise $3, to help families in crisis pregnancies. With the additional donations we received in November, our total is well over $3,500! The Giving Tree is up in the vestibule of the church. There are 185 names of children from our sharing parish, Ascension-St. Susanna, who are in need of gifts this Christmas. Please take a name or two to help brighten this holy season for these children. Have a blessed week. Sincerely, Fr. Neil

4 Page Four Second Sunday of Advent December 5, 2010 Advent Season As in the past we will be blessing the advent wreath and lighting the candles each week. There will be a sign-up poster in the church vestibule for those families who would like to volunteer to light the candles at the beginning of our Eucharistic celebrations. Our Advent Prayer Services will be celebrated at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays (the Novena will begin at 6:30 p.m.). Dec. 07 Evening Prayer Service Dec. 08 Immaculate Conception Masses 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 7 p.m. (Wed.) Dec. 14 Evening Prayer Service Dec. 15 Adoration/Benediction (Wed. 5 p.m.) Dec. 21 Reconciliation Service During the busy preparations for the holidays, all are invited to share these times of quiet prayer and reflection. New Mass Schedule Sunday 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. Saturday remains the same at 5:00 p.m. SRB Religious Education Christmas Pageant Saturday, December 18, 10:30am in Church Enjoy the Christmas story as presented by the young people in grades 1 7 O Come Let Us Adore Him Parents, Families, and Parishioners Welcome! Christmas wafers (oplatki) are available at the rectory or in the weekend sacristy. Please see an usher after mass. $2.00 donation welcomed. One of the classic Advent hymns, On Jordan s Bank was originally written by a French scholar, Charles Coffin, for a Latin hymnal, and later translated into English by John Chandler. John the Baptist figures prominently in the Gospel for both the second and third Sundays of Advent. The first line ( On Jordan s bank the Baptist s cry announces that the Lord is nigh ) make clear John s announcement of the coming of Jesus. But this hymn also looks ahead to the Jesus baptism at the Jordan River. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks the official end of the Christmas season, and will be observed this year on January 9. Giving Tree Every Advent Season the Giving Tree in our vestibule reminds us as we prepare for Christmas to be mindful of those who are poor. Christ's humble birth, and his message of hope for the poor is important to reflect on throughout Advent as we prepare our hearts for Christ's birth. If you would like to help out families in need during the Advent Season there are two ways the Giving Tree could use your help. 1) On the tree you will find ornaments that have the name of a child from our Sharing Parish - Ascension- St. Susanna in Harvey. Each person who takes one of those ornaments is asked to buy one warm item of clothing and a little toy for the child. 2) Under the tree you can place items of warm clothing, warm bedding, kitchen supplies or toiletries that can be shared with people in need. These items are distributed to members of our own parish as well as to agencies like Marillac House and Catholic Charities who distribute them to the needy of Chicago. Thank you and God Bless You! New Rectory Office Hours In order to accommodate those who attend the noon mass on Sundays, the rectory office will now be open on Sundays from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Volunteers Needed Want to get more involved in St. Robert Bellarmine? Looking for a way to meet new folks? Have an hour here or there that you are willing to share with your parish? Looking to give a little bit back in service? There are plenty of ways that St. Robert Bellarmine parish could use your help. We have a new volunteer coordinator and a new way of connecting people interested in helping out with the needs in our community. Some volunteer positions are one hour a month, some are weekly, and some are available for you to do right in your own home. Take a moment to fill out a Volunteer Interest form. You can find these at the back of the church in the vestibule, on our parish website, or call Chrissy Zaker-our parish volunteer coordinator at the rectory to learn more about how you can help. Volunteers make a huge difference in the life of our parish - volunteering makes a huge difference for you!

5 December 5, 2010 Second Sunday of Advent Page Five EVANGELIZATION THROUGH TV ADS Evangelization has always been the mission of the Catholic Church. The call to evangelize first given to us by Christ requires that we proclaim the word of God using every means of communication. In the Church today using the media has become indispensable in bringing the Gospel message into the world through the internet, radio and television. In 2009 Cardinal George collaborated with the Bishops in the Dioceses of Rockford and Joliet on an evangelization initiative using television advertisements. Catholics Come Home Chicago gave us 5 ½ weeks of ads in 3 languages, broadcast on 10 networks that invited Catholics who had drifted from the practice of the faith to come home. As the events of Catholics Come asked parishes to complete a sur440 surveys from Pastors and Parstating that the evangelization in several ways. Our efforts redance, more people participating renewed sense of Catholic idenmation for Parish Staffs who have individual parishes. While we in number and strength, we know ment is the responsibility of every Home Chicago came to an end, we vey on the initiative. We received ish Contact Persons with over 70% initiative was a benefit to their parish sulted in an increase in Mass attenin the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a tity in active parishioners and affirfocused on evangelization in their have experienced a period of growth that the continuation of this moveperson in every parish. This year there will be NEW Catholics Come Home ads shown on TV from mid-december to Mid-January. Once again, the ads will become a catalyst for faith conversations and moments of evangelization in homes, schools, neighborhoods and places of business all around the Archdiocese. You can find out more about this evangelization effort and how you can participate by going to our website at Youth Sacraments Congratulations to the second graders of St. Robert Bellarmine School and Religious Education who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time this Saturday, December 4 at 10:30am in the church. r Reminde Articles for the December 19 bulletin are due by Tuesday, December 7. Articles for the December 26 bulletin are due by Tuesday, December 15. Articles for the January 2, 2011 bulletin are due by Tuesday, December 22. Holy Name Christmas Party Wednesday, December 15, 2010 starring Rick Elvis Saucedo $25 per person includes dinner Cash Bar 6:00 Cocktails, 7:00 Dinner, 8:00 Raffle, 8:30 Elvis Show (Kernaghan Hall) Ticket sales in church vestibule December 4, 5, 11 & 12 For more info contact Kathy Ernst

6 Page Six Second Sunday of Advent December 5, 2010 Remember to Pray for the protection & safety of all our family and friends serving in the Armed Forces. Edward Bell (Army) Staff Sergeant Timothy R. Hogan (Marines) Captain Patrick J. Collins (Army) Raymond Weernink (Navy) Captain Christopher Engelhardt (Air Force) Captain Kevin P. O Grady (Air Force) Captain Dan Allen (Army) Brigadier General Tau aika Uta atu (Tongan Defense) Sergeant Joseph Konieczny (Army) Mike Janson (Navy) Lance Corporal Kurt Williams (Marines) Specialist Sean Cheker (Army) Bernard Brennan, (Marines) Private 1 Michael Barry (Army) First Lieutenant Brian G. Lutz (Army) Private James A. Gaudio (Army) CM Sergeant Bruce Heinzen (Air Force) Martin Durcan (Navy) Sergeant Scott Pekar (Marines) CM Sergeant Diane Foote (Air Force) Private Colleen McDonald (Army) Micha Barcus (Coastguard) Captain Albert Eiffes (Air Force) Private 2 Michael Rosenthal (Army) EM3 Abraham Ubi (Navy) Captain Lauren Eiffes (Air Force) Ewa Dabrowski (Navy) READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Is 35:1-10; Lk 5:17-26 Tuesday: Is 40:1-11; Mt 18:12-14 Wednesday: Gn 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38 Thursday: Is 41:13-20; Mt 11:11-15 Friday: Is 48:17-19; Mt 11:16-19 Saturday: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Mt 17-9a, Sunday: Is 35:1-6a, 10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11 Weekly Schedule Monday, December 6 2:45-4 p.m. Children s Choir (MR) 7-8:30 p.m. School Board Mtg. (MR) Tuesday, December 7 6:30 p.m. Novena (C) 7 p.m. Advent Prayer Service (C) Wednesday, December 8 Immaculate Conception Masses 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m. Thursday, December 9 7 p.m. RCIA (R) 7-9 p.m. Choir (MR) Friday, December p.m. Visit with Santa (KH) Sunday, December 12 After All Masses SPRED Coffee and 10 a.m. Mass Dedication of the OLPH icon Cardinal George to Preside 2nd Collection-Retired Religious 0779 $500 Jo Ann Rizzi 1289 $200 Lorraine Manata 0864 $100 E. Patricia Donaldson 0188 $100 Sinead Malone 0874 $ 50 Tom O Brien 0410 $ 50 Mary Murphy 0373 $ 30 Sister Grace M. Meehan 0463 $ 30 Chris Strelzyk 0078 $ 30 Joseph Karson 0288 $ 30 Caldrin O Connor 1318 $ 30 Barbara Kilton 0231 $ 30 Ryan & Scott Blake 1910 $ 30 Becky Martich 0926 $ 30 Christy Cleary 1056 $ 30 Mary Wildman 1326 $ 30 Catherine Glad 1866 $ 30 Honorio Benavides 1386 $ 30 Christine Zagnoba 0550 $ 30 Dorothy Lieser 0164 $ 30 Donnawell Family 0012 $ 30 Mr. & Mrs. Al Egan MASS SCHEDULE December 11/12, 2010 MASS PRESIDER SERVERS LECTORS AUXILIARY MINISTERS 5:00pm Fr. Neil Fackler Leticia Camacho, Leema Kalayil Lino Kalayil Matt Loudon Jim Ryan, Mary Ryan, Madeline Garofalo 8:00am Fr. Scott Donahue Margie Griggs, Katie Griggs Abbey Porretta Kathy Caminiti Margaret Callaghan, Sheri Fitte, Mitchelle Kmiec 10:00am Cardinal George Jamie Borkowski, Sean Conway, Jenna Carlson, Juliana Conway, Nathan Wilson Jane Hearrin Adolfo Benages, Isabel Benages, Sheelagh Spooner, Mark Calcagno, Tom Calcagno, Sue Calcagno, Chuck Bell 12 Noon Fr. Neil Fackler Michael Kelly, Cynthia Morales Samantha Welz Ed Stecker Rebecca Borghi, Nicole Connelly, Erin Radcliffe, Anne Conway, James Ouper, Daniel Gandor, Pastora Gandor

7 Rev. Neil E. Fackler, Pastor Rev. Scott Donahue, Resident Rev. Michael A. Goergen, Pastor Emeritus James Schiltz, Deacon Mrs. Carrie Mijal, School Principal Alan Schmitt, Coordinator of Religious Education Jean Tuohy, Music Director PARISH OFFICE AND RECTORY 4646 North Austin Avenue Chicago, Illinois Tel. 773/ Fax 773/ Website: Virginia Underwood, Secretary RECTORY OFFICE HOURS Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Closed from 12:00-1:00 p.m. for lunch) Saturday - 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday - 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OFFICE Alan Schmitt, Coordinator Joyce Schoenecker, Admin. Asst West Eastwood Avenue Tel. 773/ ST. ROBERT BELLARMINE SCHOOL Mrs. Carrie Mijal, Principal 6036 West Eastwood Avenue Tel. 773/ OFFICE OF MUSIC DIRECTOR Jean Tuohy 6036 West Eastwood Avenue Tel. 773/ BULLETIN Beverly O Connor, Editor 773/ BULLETIN DEADLINE Friday by 12 Noon for the following Sunday (9 days in advance). Drop off at the rectory, -srbbulletineditor@hotmail.com or via fax to PULPIT ANNOUNCEMENT DEADLINE Friday by 6:00 p.m. in the rectory. MASS SCHEDULE Weekdays - Monday through Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Weekends - Saturday Evening at 5:00 p.m. Sundays at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 12:00 noon Holy Days - 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. WEDDINGS Arrangements should be made with a priest or deacon at least six months in advance. Please contact the rectory for date and time availability before making other arrangements. BAPTISMS Celebrated the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 1:15 p.m. Parents need to contact the rectory to register for a baptism. Please note: there are no baptisms scheduled during the season of Lent. Preparation Class is on the last Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the rectory. CONFESSIONS/RECONCILIATION Saturday afternoons from 4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. or by appointment. ANOINTING OF THE SICK First Saturday of the month after the 8:30 a.m. mass. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION & BENEDICTION Third Wednesday of every month. Adoration begins after 8:30 a.m. mass. Benediction at 5 p.m. Please sign up at the rectory or call NEW PARISHIONERS Welcome to Saint Robert s! Please register at the parish rectory office. NOVENA Mother of Perpetual Help Novena is offered on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the church. RECITATION OF THE ROSARY Monday through Saturday at 8:00 a.m.