Saint Cecilia. First Sunday of Advent. 27 November Making Pottery E. Irving Couse (1912)

Transcription

1 Saint Cecilia P A R I S H First Sunday of Advent 27 November 2011 Making Pottery E. Irving Couse (1912)

2 our community news Ministers of the Liturgy Saturday 5:00 p.m. Rev. Peter Grover, OMV Daniel Hart, lector Sunday 8:00 a.m. Rev. Thomas Gariepy, CSC, presider Bob Murphy, lector Sunday 9:30 a.m. Rev. John Unni, presider Rosaria Salerno, Bob Mann, & Catherine, Horsley, lectors Sunday 11:00 a.m. Rev. John Unni, presider Fred Bachofner, Robert Ortega, & James Paradis, lectors Sunday 6:00 p.m. Rev. John Unni, presider Janice Miller & Letitia Howland, lectors today s readings Isaiah 63:16b 17, 19b; 64:2 7 I Corinthians 1:3 9 Mark 13:33 37 next sunday s readings Isaiah 40:1 5, Peter 3:8 14 Mark 1:1-8 Special intentions Saturday, November 26 5:00 p.m. Mary Julie Darcey, Memorial Sunday, November 27 9:30 a.m. George O. Patten, Sr., Memorial Sunday, November 27 11:00 a.m. The Deceased Members of the McGovern Family mass time change Beginning next Sunday, December 4, the eleven o'clock Mass will start at eleven-fifteen. This change will make it easier to transition between liturgies and and will provide a little breathing room for the celebrant. christmas flowers You are invited to remember your loved ones by donating towards the Christmas flowers that will grace our sanctuary. In the back of the church you'll find envelopes that you can use for this purpose. Please drop the envelope in the collection basket or hand it to any staff person. The names of those remembered will be published in the Christmas bulletin. Please be sure to PRINT clearly. santa loves books! As a prelude to the anticipated Bookshop at Saint Cecilia we will be offering a selection of new children s books for sale in the Parish Pastoral Center after the nine thirty and eleven fifteen liturgies on December 11 and 18. Please stop by and take a look at what we think is a selection of the very best new books for children. Proceeds will benefit folks from last Sunday s gospel in need during the holiday season. 3

3 ADVENT GIVING TREE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 TH FROM 2:00 6:00 PM CUT AND HOLE- PUNCH PAPER ORNAMENTS CUT AND TIE RIBBONS - - ADD LABELS TO ORNAMENTS SET UP AND DECORATE THE GIVING TREE! SUNDAY NOVEMBER 27 TH, DECEMBER 4 TH AND DECEMBER 11 TH ADD MORE ORNAMENTS TO THE TREE COLLECT, CHECK, SORT AND PACK GIFTS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18 TH AFTER EACH MASS ALL GIFTS ARE DUE ON THIS DAY COLLECT, CHECK, SORT AND PACK GIFTS ~ 6 DRIVERS WITH ROOMY CARS NEEDED PACK CARS WITH GIFTS (STARTING ~ 12 NOON) DELIVER GIFTS TO FAMILIES AT THE YMCA AND PROJECT HOPE ORGANIZE REMAINING GIFTS WEEK OF DECEMBER 19 TH ASSIST WITH DELIVERY OF GIFTS THAT ARRIVE LATE - (2 DRIVERS NEEDED) IF YOU D LIKE TO HELP, RSVP TO ANNTENFOUR@ YAHOO. COM INCLUDE THE DAY AND TIME YOU CAN HELP, YOUR AND PHONE # NEW VOLUNTEERS, FAMILIES AND KIDS ENCOURAGED TO HELP! RECIPIENTS OF THIS YEAR S GIFTS ARE: PROJECT HOPE, THE ELDERS LIVING AT HOME PROGRAM, FAMILIES IN TRANSITION AT THE YMCA, PINE STREET INN AND OTHER LOCAL NEIGHBORS AND ORGANIZATIONS

4 Wait for the Lord Advent 2011 Evening Prayer on Thursdays December 1, 15, 6:30 p.m. At evening, the Church gathers in prayer & thanksgiving for Christ, the Light of the world. In song and silence, through scripture and intercessions, we entrust our cares and those of our world to the God who loves us so much as to become one of us. Please join us as we prepare for Christmas and the coming once again of Emmanuel God with us. 18 Belvidere Street in Boston s Back Bay

5 Prayers & Occasions Our Sick Please pray for all our sick and for those who are in need of our prayer, especially Josephine Parker, John Saulenas, K. Champoux, Patricia Hoggard, Jennifer Serpico, Christine St. Pierre, Jessica Coviello, Harold Williamson, Jessica Rivieccio, Earl Chilcote, Ellen Nora Toombs, Colonel Robert C. Tashjian, Roseanne Borgioli, Rosemary Messina, Kim Murray, Heather LoRe, Rudy Kikel, Herbert Simmons, Peggy Furey, Janice Mascia, Winnie Dyer, Jane Cox, Pamela D Ambra, Sue Lucas, Suki Coughlin, Roberta Keenan, Bridget Spence, Annette Kulas, Sam Gowan, Rhea Richard, Pil-Yun Son, Mary Yanez, Larry Buckley, M. Frances Driscoll, Father Harry Giroux, Ed Langlais, Bob McLaughlin, Steven Whitkens, Diana Slaton, Leo Garcia, Jean Marino, Joe Ford, Danny Cotter, Natalia Chilcote, Amy Sweetland, Jim Keyes, Michael Zawikowski, Cheryl Proctor, John Kiernan, Patricia Macdonald, Elvera Dowsky, Frank Ackley, Fred Haslee, Lorraine Haslee, Robert Menson, Paul Flaherty, William Louttit, Lucie Kelly, Bro. Adam Zielonka, O.C.S.O., Amy Duarte, Karen & Rick, Phyllis Porras, Jim Linderman, Mark Amerault, Sr. Nuala Cotter, R.A., Kristen DeFranco Martinez, Michele Crowley Tippens, Sara Lima Santos, Joseph Driscoll, Pete Huttlinger, Anthony Simboli, Lisa Caputo, Edward Gill, Darlene McLendon, Jeanne Tibbs, Debbie Pace, Peter Schwahn, Deidre Sullivan, Roosevelt Brown, Mary O Donnell, Ginny L Abbe, Steve Chamberlain, Matt Penchuk, Carrie Penchuk, Christy Cosgrove, Jacques Romberger, John Scaife, Maureen Sullivan, Alyce Haley, Joe Capizzi, David Walsh, Joe Huenke, Kaylin Marcotte, Avito Pacifici, Charlotte Egan, James Noone, Keith Plaster, Frederick Flather, David & Paula Fillion, Fred Maglero, Sarah Sweeney, Jeanne Boger, Susan Shea, Bill Croke, Ettore Bergamaschi, Ryan Delaney, and Anita Cipriani. Anniversary of the Death of Dorothy Day This Tuesday, November 29, marks the thirty first anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day. Pray for all who dedicate themselves to upholding the principles of the Catholic Worker Movement. More than 185 Catholic Worker communities remain committed to nonviolence, vuluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and foresaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence in all its forms. Pray also for those who show hospitality to the poor and for all who work to uphold the God given dignity of every human person. Anniversary of Four U.S. Churchwomen Martyred in El Salvador December 2, 1980 The word "martyr" is derived from the same Greek word as "witness" and for Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan, their witness to serving the poor indeed led to their deaths. Thirty one years ago this Friday, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel and lay missioner Jean Donovan drove their van to the El Salvador airport and picked up Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford. Members of El Salvador's National Guard stopped their van and they were taken to an isolated location where they were sexually and physically abused before being brutally murdered. Pray for all victims of violence and for all who put themselves in harm's way at the service of the Gospel. Our AIDS Memorial Quilt Next Sunday, at the eleven o'clock liturgy, designated members of the assembly will come forward for the solemn reading of the names inscribed on our AIDS Memorial Quilt. The Rainbow Ministry will host the coffee hour following Mass. Please bring something sweet or savory to share during the coffee hour. 4

6 a note of gratitude Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead. Saint John Chrysostom As the meals and celebrations of Thanksgiving weekend wind down and we enter into Advent, a period of expectant waiting and preparation for our celebration of the Incarnation, we would like to express our gratitude to so many of you who support and volunteer with our ministries that work to feed the hungry in our midst. We thank those who served a Thanksgiving meal and a smile at Morville House this week. We thank those who helped welcome our guests from Pine Street Inn who came to the Parish Hall for Thanksgiving dinner. We thank those who have volunteered in Community Servings kitchens preparing meals for those who are suffering from critical illnesses while living in poverty. We thank those who cook and serve dinners to the homeless women at Pine Street s Women s Inn. And we thank those who give up weekend evenings to perform the same ministry at Pine Street s Men s Inn. We thank those who enter into the community of poor and homeless women at the Women s Lunch Place to treat them to ice cream sundaes. We thank everyone, including the youngest members of our community, who donate to Catholic Charities food pantry at the Haitian Multi-Service Center and we thank those who deliver food donations to this pantry. It is in the work of feeding the hungry that God continues to take on flesh in our midst. The right to food, like the right to water, has an important place within the pursuit of other rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life. It is therefore necessary to cultivate a public conscience that considers food and access to water as universal rights of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination. Pope Benedict XVI s encyclical on social teaching, "Caritas in Veritate" (Charity in Truth) the advent wreath Advent wreaths were originally part of folk traditions of Northern Europe. Wreaths of evergreens were decorated with candles to symbolize life and light during the dark months of winter. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God. Evergreens stay green all year and so signify continuous life. Each of the four candles represent one of the Sundays of Advent. We needn't worry about the colors of the candles; traditionally, three violet candles and one rose candle are used, but you may prefer to use all royal blue candles, four violet candles or four white candles. The symbol is the flame, not the color. Each Sunday, the light of the wreath glows brighter as a reminder that Christ comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. Tonight, light the first candle, sing a verse of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, re read part of today's Gospel, and say a brief concluding prayer. If you prefer, here is a prayer that you can use. FIRST WEEK Light one of the violet candles. During the rest of the week, this candle is relit at the evening meal or whenever you choose to do so. Jesus, as we wait for your coming, help us not to be afraid but to trust in you. As we light this candle, we remember that you bring the light of hope into our lives. May your Word be always in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts. Amen. 5

7 bridgewater christmas collection This weekend is the final opportunity to provide items for the holiday packages for the men at Bridgewater State Hospital. If you are reading this on line, please bring one or more of the following items with you to Mass this Sunday: Bottled shampoo (no more than 15 ounces) Toothpaste (4 6 ounce size) Pads of white lined paper (8.5 x 11 no wire allowed) These are the only items the Department of Corrections will allow the men to receive. These gifts will be put to good use, but most important, these small items will tell the men living at Bridgewater that they are being thought of and cared about. Your gift will be an expression of God's love. There is a bin in the narthex where you may leave your gift items. Thank you for your generosity. christmas cards for sale Starting next weekend, we will once again be selling Christmas cards to support the mission of Pine Street Inn, where Father John and several parishioners serve on the Board of Directors. This is a wonderful way of supporting Pine Street's mission of finding permanent solutions to homelessness while sharing some wonderful Boston themed Christmas cards with family and friends. BE SURE TO TAKE HOME A LITTLE BLUE BOOK FOR ADVENT Six minutes a day. That's what you might consider giving during these next 44 days the 28 days of the Advent season and the 16 days of Christmastide. The Little Blue Book includes daily reflections based on the Sunday Gospels for Cycle B. These books are in baskets in the rear of the church. Take one home and spend just six minutes a day in reflection. This is a great way to keep Advent and prepare for the coming of the Lord at Christmas. strike the harp and join the chorus We are looking for additional voices to join our Christmas Eve choir at either the four o'clock or six o'clock Mass (or both!). Rehearsals will be held in the church from seven to nine o'clock on the following Thursday evenings: Thursday, December 15 Thursday, December 22 If you are interested in singing with us, please see Music Director, Richard Clark or e mail him at RClark@stceciliaboston.org. great website for advent: "Following the star" Following the Star, the on line devotion site for Advent, returns to the web today. Scripture, prayer, and meditative thoughts, accompanied by gentle music, can be accessed every day at With new devotions available each day from now until Epiphany, this meditative resource can be a part of your personal preparation for our celebration of the Incarnation. 6

8 evening Prayer for life on death row THE COMMUNITY OF SANT EGIDIO IS HOST ING TWO EVENTS: A PRAYER VIGIL AT SAINT CECILIA & A LECTURE AT BOSTON COLLEGE Join the Community of Sant Egidio for an Evening Prayer for Life on Death Row, a vigil for victims of violence, for prisoners condemned to death and for a justice that respects the dignity of life. This service will be held at Saint Cecilia this Tuesday, November 29 at six thirty. The following evening, Wednesday, November 30, from seven to nine o clock, the Community of Sant Egidio will host an anti-death penalty event: From Death to Life, with a lecture by Bob Curly, who led the fight to bring back the death penalty in Massachusetts after his son s murder, but who courageously changed his position from advocate to opponent. This event is part of the Community of Sant Egidio s worldwide campaign, Cities for Life, to abolish the death penalty. This event will take place at Devlin Hall on the Middle Campus of Boston College. For more information, contact parishioner David Sulewski at (617) or djsulewski@gmail.com. save the date December 13 PARISH CHRISTMAS CONCERT FEATURING THE COPLEY SINGERS AND RECEPTION WITH CAROL SING Please plan to be with us on Tuesday evening, December 13 at seven o clock for our parish Christmas concert, featuring the Copley Singers, under the direction of Brian Jones. This will be a wonderful evening for both adults and children. Following the concert, there will be a festive reception in the Parish Hall with a carol sing and a visit from that right jolly old elf, Santa Claus! Founded in 2006, the Copley Singers are a congenial group of auditioned volunteers and professionals, all dedicated to the art of fine choral singing and the joy of communicating their love of this art to the public. Director Brian Jones is Emeritus Director of Music at Trinity Church, Copley Square, an active organ concert artist and guest conductor with many recordings to his credit. The group has performed throughout New England, including programs in Boston, Cambridge, Plymouth, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha s Vineyard, and many other venues. They collaborated with the Harvard University Choral Scholars in the 2007 Easter Service at The Memorial Church at Harvard, and offered a hymn festival for a convention of the Organ Historical Society several years ago in Plymouth, led on that occasion by Brian Jones and the late Reverend Peter J. Gomes. In the spring of 2009, they joined with the Ensemble Singers of Bermuda to perform a special concert which was part of the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Island. They were honored in September, 2010 to be invited to sing for the memorial service of Rosemary Thompson, daughter of Harvard composer Randall Thompson. This fall, they were invited to sing at the 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Commemoration at Trinity Church Wall Street in Lower Manhattan and were one of nine choral groups that performed at the full day concert featuring celebrated choirs from New York City, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Boston regions forever linked by the tragic events of 9/11. You won t want to miss this fun evening. Tickets are $20 ($10 for students and seniors and no charge for children) and will be sold at the door. 7

9 Sick of Christmas? Move it to June Break out the burgers and fruit cake why celebrating Christmas in summer will help connect us to Christ By JAMES MARTIN, SJ This Thanksgiving, I saw an ad for Kohl's department store, announcing that they would be open early the next day. At four in the morning! At that point, I decided to throw my shoe at the television set. However, since it was my sister's television (and a plasma one at that) I refrained from any public display of anger. Besides, my nephew was in the middle of a sixteen-hour cartoon marathon, and I feared disrupting him, much as you would fear waking a sleepwalker. As a Catholic priest, I like Christmas as much as the next person maybe a little more. Only a Scrooge couldn't find joy in Christmas carols, Christmas cheer, and Christmas Mass. But as an American, I find the holiday has become almost an endurance test. Only a saint could maintain the patience needed to confront Christmas shopping, Christmas stress, and Christmas credit card bills. I get tired of lamenting the same thing every year. So this year I'm taking action. Thus my modest proposal: Move Christmas to June. Here's my plan. First, we hand over Decem ber 25 to the corporations and let them have their way with it. Let Macy's, for example, tell us that the Christmas season starts not with Advent, but right after Halloween, since that's when they start decorating their stores anyway. Let Kohl's tell us that the appropriate way to begin Advent is not with the traditional evergreen wreath with four candles, but by camping out with surly crowds at 3 a.m. in front of their stores, so that you can buy an iphone, or some other techno gadget you don't really need. Give the corporations December 25. It will be our final Christmas present to them. Then what? Well, the rest of us can celebrate what we could call New Christmas in, say, June. A useful model for New Christmas is Easter: minimum stress, maximum prayer. Easter catalogues do not sclerotically clog mailboxes in the springtime. Fistfights in overheated department stores do not herald the start of Lent. People don't obsess about how many Easter cards to send this year. When was the last time you heard someone complaining about pre-easter stress, or having to attend too many 8

10 Easter egg rolls? No one needs to put Christ back in Easter because nobody has taken him out. At least not yet. The timing of Christmas was never precise anyway. It was scheduled to supplant an earlier Roman pagan feast on the same day. Plus, we don't know exactly when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Some Scripture scholars wonder if it was even in Bethlehem.) So we could mark New Christmas in June, when there aren't as many big-name holidays to compete with. Right now, Christmas comes between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Hanukah arrives in December as well. Then comes Kwanzaa. That's way too many parties, way too many gifts, and, basically, way too much competition. In June, the only serious competition for New Christmas is Fathers' Day. Oh, and Flag Day, too. But New Christmas would easily whip Flag Day. Just think how much fun New Christmas could be. If we take Easter as our model, that means no more insane shopping trips, no more endless lists of cards, no more crazed shuttling from one family gathering to the next. Without those burdens, say goodbye to everyone's least favorite part of Christmas: guilt. Santa would still visit the malls, but in a red short-sleeve shirt, bearing the message that one present per kid is more than enough for New Christmas. (I predict that Santa's popularity among parents would grow exponentially.) and worrying about slipping on the ice as they race out of the church parking lot. Best of all, more people would actually go to Christmas services, since they've saved time from not having to open all those presents. Then just a simple summer meal with the family and pretty soon the Christmas barbecue would become a beloved tradition. "Happy New Christmas, Dad! Any burgers left?" Now I know that part of the season's symbolism lies in the image of light in the midst of darkness, and you lose that in the summer. But admit it: It wouldn't be half bad in June. Overall, a relaxed, shopping-free, spiritually grounded holiday celebrating the person whose radical life changed the world would do everyone a little good in June Christian or otherwise. As an added bonus for those in the northern climes, there wouldn't be many travelers delayed by blizzards. (Though the way global warming is going, a snowy June next year in New England wouldn't surprise me.) So when June rolls around, you can wish me Happy New Christmas. But don't worry no need to send me a card. And certainly no need camp out in front of a department store at 3 a.m. to buy some expensive gift. A pair of Christmas sunglasses will do just fine. Christmas Eve services could be held on a warm summer's night perhaps even at sunrise with believers better able to ponder God's coming among us as a human being. Certainly better than now, when they're more focused on fighting the flu, wondering how they'll pay off their January credit card bills, 9

11 Parish RESOURCES Parish Office & Mailing Address 18 Belvidere Street, Boston, MA Hours Monday Friday, 9:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Phone Fax Website Parish Staff Richard J. Clark, Director of Music and Organist, Mark Donohoe, Pastoral Associate for Administration, Genevieve Fiorente, Office Administrative Assistant Scott J. MacDonald, Director of Faith Formation and Leadership Development, Maureen Sullivan, Administrative Assistant to the Pastor, Rev. John J. Unni, Pastor, Assisting Clergy Rev. Charles Connolly, SJ Rev. Thomas Gariepy, CSC Rev. Peter Grover, OMV Rev. James Shaughnessy, SJ Rev. George Winchester, SJ In Residence Rev. Thomas A. Mahoney Schedule for Liturgy Lord s Day Sat 5:00 p.m.; Sun 8:00, 9:30, 11:00, and 6:00 p.m. Holy Days 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Reconciliation By appointment at any time and Wednesday evenings from 6:30 8:00 during Advent and Lent. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the communal process through which non-baptized men and women become members of the Catholic Church. It is also suitable for those baptized in different faith traditions who are interested in becoming Catholic, or, for those who were baptized Catholic, but have yet to receive the sacraments of eucharist and confirmation. For more information, please contact Scott MacDonald. Baptism for Infants Infant baptism is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month. For more information, please contact Mark Donohoe. Faith Formation for Children To register your child for our Faith Formation Program, please contact Scott MacDonald in the parish office. Marriage Couples who wish to prepare for marriage should contact Mark Donohoe in the parish office at least six months in advance. Care of the Sick To arrange for the Sacrament of the Sick, for Holy Communion to be brought to those unable to attend the Sunday celebration, or for Viaticum for the Dying (Holy Communion for those in danger of death), please contact the parish office. It is always possible to anoint the sick during regularly scheduled liturgies. Order of Christian Funerals The parish is prepared to celebrate the Vigil (wake) in the church. Please contact the parish office for more information. Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Team The CAP Team is responsible for training all parish staff and volunteers in mandated reporting laws and the Protecting God s Children program (VIRTUS). They also provide consultation and support to anyone in the parish who has concerns about reporting child abuse and neglect. Please contact Lois Flaherty (loisflaherty@gmail.com), Ginny DiSanto (gin250boston@gmail.com) or Peg Quilty (nursempeg@gmail.com) if you have any questions or concerns. The Archdiocese of Boston has in place a vigorous program to protect children from harm and to educate its ministers and faithful about the nature of abuse, with a goal of increasing knowledge, creating a safe environment for children, and recognizing and reporting potentially dangerous situations. The full text of the policy is also available in the vestibule and parish office, as well as on our website. For Those with Celiac Disease If you have celiac disease, please let us know. We have a supply of low-gluten altar bread available for those who cannot tolerate gluten. Hearing Assistance in Church The church is equipped with an FM listening device. Small receivers are available for anyone who may have trouble hearing the sound system. Simply request a receiver from any one of our greeters before Mass. Access for the Disabled The church is accessible by elevator. Parking Reduced-rate parking (maximum of three hours) is available Sundays at the Prudential Center parking garage, LAZ Parking (53 Belvidere Street), and at the Hilton Boston Back Bay. Please bring your parking ticket to church for validation before returning to the garage. Joining Our Community We re happy that you re with us! Our community offers a warm, spiritual home for a diverse group of Catholics. We come from many neighborhoods in and around Boston but also have parishioners from as far afield as Marlborough, Newburyport, and Stow. Please introduce yourself to a staff member, drop in for coffee on Sunday, or fill out a new parishioner form in the gathering space. No matter what your background, please know that you are always welcome at Saint Cecilia. 10