CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY

Transcription

1 CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY MASSES Monday-Friday Saturday Saturday Vigil Sunday 6:30 & 8:00 AM 8:00 AM 5:30 PM 8:00, 9:30, & 11:00 AM 12:30* & 6:00 PM (*Spanish) December 9, 2018 Second Sunday of Advent EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Monday-Friday Thursdays ROSARY Daily 7:00-8:00 AM & 8:30-9:30 AM 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM 7:40 AM SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturdays at 4:30 PM Monsignor Jude O Doherty, Pastor Father Alex Rivera, Associate Pastor Deacon Don Livingstone Deacon Norman Ruíz-Castañeda Deacon Thomas V. Eagan Deacon Marcos Pérez Deacon Eduardo Smith SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Call the Parish Office two months in advance. SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY Call the Parish Office one year in advance. CHURCH ADDRESS 8235 S.W. 57 Avenue Miami, Florida RECTORY/MAILING ADDRESS 8080 S.W. 54 Court Miami, Florida Telephone: Fax: info@epiphanycatholicchurch.com epiphanycatholicchurch.com MINISTRY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION & PASTORAL SERVICES Mrs. Isabel Prellezo, Director Telephone: MINISTRY OF MUSIC Mr. Thomas Schuster, Organist Mr. Georgi Danchev, Choirmaster Mr. Eddie Valdés, Cantor Telephone: SCHOOL Ms. Ana Oliva, Principal Mrs. Dolores Alea, Vice Principal 5557 S.W. 84 Street Miami, Florida Telephone: Fax: epiphanycatholicschool.com CONVENT Sister Carmen Teresa, IHM, Superior Telephone:

2 PASTOR S PEN Our Gospel reading is a summary statement of the work of John the Baptizer in preparation for the public ministry of Jesus; St. John announced the coming of the King. The long-awaited Messiah was standing in the wings, ready to begin the work of redeeming the world. The Scripture says, All mankind shall see the salvation of God. That is what Jesus did. He made God visible; He made salvation visible; He painted a picture of a redeeming, saving God, so that all people could see Him and know what He is like. That is how salvation ought to be, taken out of the abstract and made concrete. James says this same thing in his epistle. He is writing about salvation by faith, and he says, Show me your faith without works. I will show you the faith that underlies my works. Making salvation visible is something we can all do. Not everyone can preach beautiful sermons or deliver learned lectures, but anyone can make salvation visible. We can paint a picture of it with our own lives. The New Testament doesn t make it something vague and abstract, but something clear and concrete. It talks about specific qualities of life. Jesus said, By this shall all men know that you are my followers, that you love one another. The Book of Acts says, When the people saw the courage of the disciples, they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Paul writes in his Galatians letter, The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Much of it is not easy to explain or understand. How did sin become a part of God s creation? Why do good people hurt and suffer? Those are tough questions, and we may never have the answers in this life. But, the doctrine of salvation becomes more understandable when it becomes visible in someone s life. There is no difficulty with understanding illustrated Christianity. When you see love in action, you may not be able to explain it, but you know what it is. In business, you meet a man who is both honest and compassionate. He has opportunity to take advantage of you, and there would be nothing illegal about it, but he doesn t do it. Instead he deals with you in a way that is fair and considerate. You can t explain that, but you recognize honesty and compassion when you see them. These are the kinds of things that salvation is all about. It has to do with character and quality of life. And the greatest need of the church today is for that kind of preaching. People who are real and honest and loving and kind make salvation visible, and a visible salvation is the easiest kind to understand. Finally, a visible salvation is the most difficult to deny. What possible argument can there be against a life changed by the grace of God? One picture is worth a thousand words. One person in whose life Christ is real is worth a thousand arguments. These are the things that salvation means having Jesus Christ in your life producing those traits of character. Now, you may not be able to preach about them, but you can do something much better: you can practice them. You can live so that salvation becomes visible in your life. People look at you, and they see love and courage and patience and kindness and self-control. Those are the things that salvation really means, not something mystical and magical, but something real and moral. And everyone can paint a picture of those things with his or her own life. Another thing about a visible salvation is that everyone can understand it. There are many mysteries and complexities to our Christian faith.

3 ADVENT A Few Thoughts for Advent There is no feast in the year that calls for as much preparation as Christmas does. There are very few people who can avoid being caught in the rush; presents to be bought, toys to be secured, provisions to be stocked up, trolley lines to be frowned on but endured. Even when the shopping is done and the plastic bags have all been binned, there are further preparations to be made within the confines of the home cards to be dispatched, letters to be written, decorations to be hung, baking or cooking to be done, s to be sent to Santa Claus.com. There are crowded days ahead of us before the country draws its breath hectic days in store for us before the sudden Christmas calm. It s no harm to remind ourselves then, before the annual rush begins, that with all we have to remember, there may be one thing we ll forget. It s just possible, especially in a consumer-driven time of year, that we d have everything ready for Christmas, and not be prepared at all! Christmas is above all a spiritual feast. Not Chrismas. Christ-mas. Christmas is all about love about God s love for us, about divine love taking human shape: "For a Son has been born for us, a Son has been given to us." Christmas is a miracle of condescension. Christmas is God stretched out on straw in our midst, telling us in the nakedness and helplessness of a little baby how much he cares. "The word became flesh, he lived among us." That much we can grasp. God s coming down gives us all a little lift. Christmas is all about relationship. If Christmas is God s love for us, it must also be our love for others. If there is bitterness within our family, now is the time for healing. Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to His people on earth. Our love should extend in a very practical way to the poor. He was born in a stable. He didn t just come on earth, he came in poverty as well. As a young child he had no fixed abode. His mother presented him in the Temple with the offering of the poor a pair of turtle doves. For all of his public life he was an itinerant preacher. Indeed, he once drew attention to his own poverty: "The birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." God doesn t do things by accident. He was deliberately identifying with the deprived. A good proportion of our Christmas sufficiency should go to the poor. Christmas is a personal challenge, a call to repentance. The important thing to remember here is that Christ came not just as brother but as Saviour too. He came for a redemptive purpose, on a mission of rescue. He came to draw us into a union with himself, to coax from us a personal response, to save us from our sins. According to Matthew s Gospel, the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, "She will give birth to a Son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins." Would you not agree then, that all of us should be at Holy Communion on Christmas night or Christmas morning? And because we re all sinners, doesn t that mean that we should avail ourselves of Christ s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Please don t recoil from that now! The fact that we celebrate this sacrament less often doesn t mean we shouldn t celebrate it at all. Christmas is a good time to open our hearts, in all our vulnerability, to our loving Redeemer. To be openly welcoming of other people and yet seal our sinfulness in, is not the best preparation for our Saviour s coming. It s a sad fact of life that last Christmas some of us may have welcomed all comers to our homes except the Lord. The Inn will have been open to everybody except himself. Let s not let it happen this Christmas.

4 MASS INTENTIONS Date Time Mass Intentions Requested by Saturday Dec. 8 5:30 PM Alice & John Scott Soldiers in Harm s Way Octavio Pasos Shahin Sunday Dec. 9 8:00 AM Arnoldo Robelo Ana & Walter Hoar 9:30 AM Maria T. Cronin Faustino Menendez Patricia Lawrence 11:00 AM PEOPLE OF EPIPHANY 12:30 PM Melissa Rodriguez Francisco Paulus 6:00 PM Ana Luisa & Jose Antonio Gonzalez Ana Alicia Fernandez Agnes Robelo Hoar Sacher Casamayor Bell Marianela Perez Orlando Gonzalez & Pistorino Monday Dec. 10 6:30 AM 8:00 AM Deirdre Tiernan Harry & Edward Tiernan Wlodzimierz Grocholski Flora Martinez Beba Rams Tuesday Dec. 11 6:30 AM 8:00 AM Brendan Tiernan Lucia Salas Haydee Nicot Roberto Barreto Martinez Ray Lopez Wednesday Dec. 12 6:30 AM Emily Ann & Charles Pistorino Delia S. Gandulla 8:00 AM Sophia Alexander Lucia Ulloa Pistorino Alexander Hernandez-Zambrano Thursday Dec. 13 6:30 AM 8:00 AM Paula Gallinal-Dominguez David A. Gonzalez Guillermo Miranda Ramon Lopez Gallinal Gallinal Ray Lopez Friday Dec. 14 6:30 AM 8:00 AM Eduardo Arango Thomas Houston Van Bibber Alejandro Vargas Oscar Raul Gonzalez Kavanagh-Van Bibber Gonzalez Saturday Dec. 15 8:00 AM Irma Garza Teresa Azrack Saturday Dec. 15 (Sunday Vigil) 5:30 PM Caridad Mora George & Carmina Aguilera Her Granddaughters Sunday Dec. 16 8:00 AM 9:30 AM 11:00 AM 12:30 PM 6:00 PM Sergio Miyares George Azar Silvia Pavon Mary Romeo PEOPLE OF EPIPHANY Maria Luisa Comella Dito Fadel Graziella Rodriguez Barry Hanna Esther de Fernandez Miyares Beatriz Suero Felicia Christin Sevilla-Sacasa & Aldrich Families Tejera-Avila Myriam Grad Fernandez

5 MASS SCHEDULES Extraordinary Ministers Dec. 15/16 Lectors Altar Servers Of Holy Communion N Diaz C Kathy Moorman A L Hernandez 1 Kathy Moorman C Isom 2 John Moorman Sat 5:30 PM Allie Penie C Lamas 3 Alfredo Arguelles Msgr. O'Doherty Debra Menegay G McCormick 4 Lynn Arguelles T Miller 5 Lilliam Arguelles P Ortega 6 Isa Diaz A Palacio 7 Max Diaz C Chuck Broyard 1 Susana Yllanes Sun 8:00 AM John R. Steinbauer A Illa 2 Tom Beier Fr. Massieu Lourdes Boue J Illa 3 Juan Farach 4 Chuck Broyard 5 Martha Osorio C Lucy Moas 1 Lucy Moas T Leibkuchler 2 Carlos Moas Sun 9:30 AM Jason Johnson E Molina 3 Nydia Gonzalez Fr. Rivera Pat Parker A Pargas 4 Monica Perez E Villamil 5 Alfie Perez 6 Mari Pinero 7 Ron Quintero C Ray Casas S Aun 1 Lourdes Cooper N Baboun 2 John Cooper Sun 11:00 AM Guillermo Castillo E Cardenal 3 John W.M. Cooper Msgr. O'Doherty Gromy Latour N Careaga 4 Manolo Dominguez J Castiglione 5 Maite Dominguez A Cooper 6 Tere Larrieu A Cosculluela 7 Manolo Larrieu G Cruz 8 Ray Casas C Hermida Licea 1 Hermida Licea 2 Alcides Licea Sun 12:30 PM Adriana Giuffredi M Parra 3 Carlos Vertiz Fr. Massieu Gisela Cacciamani A Quiros 4 Raul Zabala 5 Liliana Acosta 6 Gloria Acevedo 7 Plinio Gonzalez M del Valle C Georgina Angones J Diez 1 Georgina Angones S Eljaiek 2 Frank Angones Sun 6:00 PM Bob Dickinson N Falcon 3 Gladys Patiño Fr. Rivera María Iparraguirre M Feenane 4 Maria Cristina Rodriguez C Ferrer 5 Alberto Rodriguez B Garza 6 Rosie Verde E Garza 7 Armando Verde

6 ANNOUNCEMENTS WHAT GIFT COULD YOU GIVE JESUS? During the Christmas Season, thousands of children are brought to see Santa Claus so they can tell him what they want. Children are thrilled just to meet Santa. Many years ago, at a wedding reception I was attending, I had the good fortune to meet an elderly man who played Santa at the old Jordan Marsh Department Store in Dadeland Mall. As we chatted, I asked him... What s your favorite Christmas story? He said they were many of them but there was one about a little girl he will never forget. She was carried up by her Dad and placed in his lap and arms. Santa noticed that she had artificial limbs from the knees down. Good morning, young lady. What s your name? Maggie and I am four years old Oh, that s wonderful. What would you like for Christmas? If you bring me a doll and a dollhouse, that would be nice but most of all please don t forget the Baby Jesus. I want him to have a present on Christmas morning. Santa that was puzzled. What should I bring him? Maggie patiently thought for a moment and finally, said... A Blanket. So that I could cover him all night in his crib near our Christmas tree. But get a small blanket. OK Maggie. Let s call Daddy now. Santa whispered what she had said in her father s ear. He just smiled and hugged his little daughter. Santa also told me that this little girl never complained about her legs and really knew the true meaning of Christmas. Hopefully, all of us are focused on the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus. May our faith be as strong as that of the Magi who didn t forget Jesus at Christmas. What gift could you give Jesus? That s up to you. but not a blanket. He already has one. Advent/Christmas Confessions Monday, December 10, beginning at 6:30 PM In today s Liturgy we hear the lonely but insistent voice of John the Baptist urging us to prepare a way for the Lord. The Lord comes to us in the Eucharist. Let us prepare ourselves to receive Him. First reading (Baruch 5:1-9). Jerusalem is told to forget the sufferings of the past because God is going to bring back her exiled children to her. Second reading (Philippians 1: ). Paul urges his fellow Christians to prepare for the second coming of Christ by pure and blameless lives. Gospel (Luke 3:1-6). John the Baptist urges the people to prepare a way for the Lord through repentance. On December 9 we will begin The Forty Hours Devotion, starting with the Solemn Mass of Exposition and the procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The Blessed Sacrament cannot be left unattended when it is exposed. We are counting on our parishioners to devote an hour of adoration during the 40 hours of exposition. For your promise to devote an hour of your time, please visit our online sign-up sheet at: ttps://tinyurl.com/yco6v4jr For a complete schedule of the 40 hours of Devotion, please visit our website at: BE THE LIGHT ROSARY ARI ARTEAGA FOUNDATION Let us come together with our children and join in group prayer for our loved ones and our community. Epiphany Catholic Church Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 PM.

7 ANNOUNCEMENTS Congratulations to the families whose children were baptized during the month of November: Olivia Michelle Aguiar Child of David & Jessica Aguiar Valentina Stefania Chirinos Child of Ronald & Marilyn Chirinos Andres Alejandro Hugues Child of Roberto & Gabriella Hugues Jordi Thomas Esteva Child of Eric & Erica Esteva Dominic Antonio Cordoba Child of Douglas & Lourdes Cordoba Amy Marie Nieto Child of Cesar & Melissa Nieto Mateo Andres Zaldivar Child of Roberto & Cristina Zaldivar Congratulations to those who were married during the month of November: Francisco Leon De La Barra & Celeste Cereijo Diego Jenkins & Vanessa Garcia Derek Robertson & Elizabeth Masson Michael Perez & Michelle Vargas HOLY NIGHT Wednesday, December 19 at 7:30 PM Epiphany Choirs and Orchestra celebrate the miracle of our Lord s Incarnation, with this favorite festival of beloved sing-along carols and traditional Christmas music from around the globe and across the centuries. Concerts are free and about one hour in length. Come join us! Parish Pilgrim Virgin Ministry During the week of December 9 the Parish Pilgrim Virgin will be in the home of: Carl & Carolina Marrelli Carlos & Ana Maria Diaz Sign-Up To receive the Pilgrim Virgin in your home during 2019, please register after all the Masses: Today - December 8-9, and Next Weekend - December To schedule your visit, please call Luis & Patricia Siman at Calling all Young Couples! Our next meeting is Wednesday, November 12 at 7:30 PM REMINDER ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TOY DRIVE ST. MARTIN DE PORRES Please remember to bring your gifts to the Epiphany School - Religious Education Office, no later than next Friday, December 14. All gifts should be UNWRAPPED and please firmly attach the original tag. For more information, please contact the Religious Education Office at PRAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL: Michael Bier; Dean Carr Calleja; Ana Alicia Fernandez; Oliver Ford Gibson; Cesar Izique; Paige Klekner; Ashley Mahan; Armando Puente; Christopher Suarez; Paulina Tawil; Francesco Torres Covella; Virginia Walden. PRAY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED: Maria Argudin; Paula Blanco; Ines Ferreiro; Miquel Angel Gascue; Jose Gutierrez; Jeannette Hausler; Madeleine Kelly; Mari Tere Luzarraga; Gisela Quintero; Maria Teresa Salazar; Ana Maria Zuluaga. The names in Our Prayer List remain for four consecutive weeks. If you need a name added or kept on the list, please call the Rectory at or leave a note for the Bulletin Staff.

8 RETIREMENT FUND F O R R E L IGIOUS At all the Masses today, the annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will be taken up in parishes around the country. In past years, people have been most generous. Rising costs and dwindling resources have put many religious communities at risk and in need of material assistance. Catholic religious institutes were faced decades ago with financial shortfalls for elder care. Through sacrifice and strategic planning -- and simply doing with less -- institutes have kept their average cost for skilled nursing care to a bare minimum. People who have experienced their own special and very dramatic passage from an old world to a new one, are the aging women and men in the religious communities of our Church. Their old world, was a relatively secure one. They found spiritual, emotional, and material support in their life among large numbers of their fellow religious. Because they were many, they weren't concerned about meeting spiritual and physical needs. We have it in our power to alleviate the uncertainty and anxiety of our aging religious sisters, brothers and religious order priests. Bearing these burdens is painful enough at any age, but is intensified with the onset of old age. Elderly religious women and men deserve to be in the forefront of our concern. As we gather to celebrate this Advent Eucharist today, we can hold the concerns and needs of these religious before God. We can also ask God to move each and all of us to open our hearts and our resources to help make life better for them, in the wake of their journey from an old to a new world. Women and men whose lives embody what the Scriptures talk about are the aging religious sisters, brothers, and religious order priests of our Church. Their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience released them from ordinary personal and material pursuits so that they would be free to give themselves in a particular way for others. Their work in schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, parishes, social agencies -- anyplace where there were people to be served -- was their way of giving. And over the years, like John the Baptist, they were able to grow into a quiet kind of joy. Today, that joy is being tested. The modest income of most communities has gone down dramatically. The number of people entering religious life has decreased and the number of retirees has increased. This has made long-term health care a serious concern for all religious. More than twenty years ago, the Retirement Fund for Religious was created to help narrow the gap between income and expenditures for religious communities. During these years, Catholic people have been most generous. They remember the ways in which their lives have been touched, how religious sisters, brothers, and religious order priests helped them develop their minds and learn the skills with which they earn a living. Religious women and men may have staffed the hospitals where they were born or the retirement homes where parents were cared for. Today we can give something back by contributing to the Retirement Fund for Religious. Our generosity can be an abundant source of Advent joy. Gathered around this altar, we can join our giving with the giving of the one who continues to offer his life for us in the Eucharist. 93% of every donation to the R.F.R. aids senior religious. Please give to those who have given a lifetime.