Upcoming Events. Anybody for Pie? A Family of Faith. Tuesday December 18 6:00pm. St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry

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2 Welcome to St. John the Evangelist! Whether you re just visiting for a brief time, looking for a new parish home, returning to the practice of your Catholic faith or interested in finding out more about the Catholic Church, we are happy you re here! To learn more about St. John, please visit stjohngulfport.org If you are new to the parish, please complete a registration form on the back table or go to our website and click on the New Parishioner tab. Upcoming Events Anybody for Pie? Our Youth Group will be selling Waffle House pies for Christmas. The pies are $10 and come in chocolate, apple or pecan. Orders will be taken after Mass on December 15th and 16th, or you may contact any Youth Group member or Bridgett Bermond. The pies will be available for pickup on the afternoon of December 19th. Please buy some pies! A Family of Faith Family Gathering December 16 / 1:00pm - 3:00pm Presentation Hall Tuesday December 18 6:00pm All married and engaged couples are welcome to come and join in fellowship and Christmas fun. As usual, a meal and baby sitting will be provided. There is no charge, but to plan properly, please reserve your spot 48 hours in advance by contacting Mara Russo at (228) or mrusso@stjohngulfport.org or on GroupMe on the Couples Date Night Group Nativity Pageant Christmas Eve / Dec. 24 / 4:00pm All parish children in grades K-6 are invited to participate in the pageant, and all parish children in grades K-12 are invited to participate in the Mass as choir members, lectors, altar servers, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion (if properly confirmed and commissioned). Contact Linda Hebert in the Parish Office with any questions. Kris Allen Chris Arleth David Belew Regina Papania Bell Mary Ann Bishop Suzanne Bowles Cono Caranna Gail Charlot Garry Cooper Anna Cospelich Buddy Cospelich Bev Crawford Chuck Cruthirds Aaliyah Daughtery Cindy Dickinson Shellie Ely Cindy Fore Ashley French Mary Ann Galle Warren Galle Mary Gibbs Please Remember in Your Prayers Dan Goad Ronnie Guidry Louis Helwick Alibe Hinton Jordan Hoang Joann Hoda Mike Hoda Etoile Jenkins Kathy Joyce Mary Kealy Bernie & Bryan Koehr Don LaFlamme Joan Liner Betty Martin Connie McKay Kathy McKeague Pam Miller Kevin Murray Sophia Nuchereno Cheryl Papania MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK Saturday: 7:00am For the Intention of the Donor 12:00pm +John McWaters 5:00pm +Anthony Verin Davis Sunday: 8:00am +Vincent & Helen Dauro 10:30am +Marion & Edna Garrett 5:00pm People of the Parish Monday: 7:00am +Kaleel Salloum, Sr. +Sr. Rita O Connell Tuesday: 6:00pm +Kaleel Salloum, Sr. For the Intention of the Donor Wednesday: 7:00am +Cecil & Margaret Dubuisson Thursday: 7:00am +Mackie Fayard Friday: 7:00am +Dr. Edmund Crane +Felipe Fernandez Collection December 1-2 1st Collection: $ nd Collection: St. Vincent de Paul Pharm. - $751 Children s Collection: $27 Thank you for your generosity! The 2nd collection at all Masses this weekend will be for the Retired Religious. The 2nd collection at Masses next weekend will be for the Christmas Flowers. Parish Ministry Meetings Estelle Papania Willie Payne Josh Parker James Platt Colette Marissa Quigley Nena Revon Diane Riel Tracie Ryan Skip Ryland Peggy Ryland Ken Saxon Mary Ann Smith Jason Taylor Adolph Tolentino Mrs. Benny Turner Felicia Vann Alexa Zupko Wier Winkey Williams Richard Wilson Knights of Columbus: 1st & 3rd Wednesday, 7:00pm K C Ladies Auxiliary: 3rd Tuesday, 6:30pm Young At Heart: 4th Thursday, 12 noon Prayer group: Every Thursday, 5:15pm For information, call the Parish Office. Legion of Mary: Every Thursday, 10:00am For information, call Annette Seymour FORMED.ORG provides access to the best Catholic entertainment, movies, audio talks, ebooks, and video courses. To gain access: 1.Go to formed.org. 2.Click on Enter Code 3.The parish access Code is: ZQXK2X 4.Fill out all of the requested fields. Catholic Education St. James Elementary 603 West Av. Gulfport, MS Principal: Jennifer Broadus Tel #: St. Vincent De Paul Elementary 4321 Espy Avenue, Long Beach MS Principal: Carol Church Tel #: St. Patrick High School St. Patrick Road, Biloxi, MS Principal: Matt Buckley Tel #: Altar Servers, Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion We are deeply grateful to those who serve in our ministries, but we are in need of additional help. We invite all parishioners who want to serve in one of the three above capacities to sign up. A sign up sheet is on the center table, and we will schedule classes soon! St. John s Youth Ministry Group invites all high schoolers to come join them on Sunday evenings after the 5:00pm Mass. There are games and discussions, and we also share a meal together. All are welcome! Bring a friend! St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry Our Food Pantry is running low. Any non-perishable food, or monetary donations would be most helpful. Thank you very much! Please Take One! Copies of the Advent The Word Among Us are available on the tables in the back of the Church. Pick one up. They are a wonderful spiritual resource during this season of preparation.

3 Upcoming Events Continued Christmas Eve Vigil (Children s Mass ) - 4:00pm Christmas Eve Midnight Mass - 12:00am Christmas Day Mass - 10:30am Solemnity of Mary Vigil Mass (Dec. 31) - 6:00pm Solemnity of Mary Holy Day Masses (Jan. 1) 7:00am / 12:00pm / 6:00pm XLT on New Year s Day - 7:00pm Keyboard Concert Thursday / Jan. 3, 2019 / 7pm Chase Castle, an organist and collaborative musician from Norwalk, Ohio, will be returning to St. John to perform a concert, along with Rachel Fogle, a classical pianist. A Family of Faith Parent Catechetical Gathering Sunday / Jan. 6 / 11:30am - 1:00pm Married Couples Retreat St. Joseph Abbey s Christian Life Center March 16-17, 2019 / St. Benedict, Louisiana You and your spouse will spend time growing closer in your marriage through inspiring talks, private couple time, individual prayer time, Reconciliation, Eucharistic Adoration and the celebration of the Mass. Consider taking this time to enrich your Marriage! For more information on the retreat fee schedule, and to register contact Mara Russo at , or at mrusso@stjohngulfport.org. Riches are the instrument of all vices, because they render us capable of putting even our worst desires into execution St. Ambrose Advent Concert December 15 / 2:30pm Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Cathedral s music ministry will be presenting, Service of Advent Lessons & Reflections. This hour-long concert offers the prophecies of the Promised One - Emmanuel, and the Annunciation Story of the Archangel Gabriel greeting Mary. Finally, we celebrate with Mary and Elizabeth by singing The Magnificat. The performance will be by a massed choir comprised of Gloria in Excelsis - the Biloxi Diocese Choral Society, the Mobile Vocal Arts Choral Society, and other Choral friends. This is THE ADVENT STORY - often overlooked in the shadow of secular Christmas craziness. The program is free and open to the public! Right of Acceptance The Rite of Acceptance of our RCIA Candidates will be celebrated this Sunday. Please welcome to our Parish Family, Ricky Dombrowski, Lee Anne Hoffman, and Rosemary Zuniga. We look forward to the day when they will share fully with us in the Lord s Table. Happy birthday wishes are extended to: Sheldon Peterson on Dec. 9; Mimi Salloum and Charlie Underwood on Dec. 10; Tom Bailey and DeBorah Simpson on Dec. 11; Emily Hale on Dec. 12; Rogers Fredericks on Dec. 14; and David McGuffee on Dec. 15. May God grant them many blessings in the coming year! Attention Lectors! The 2019 Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers and Proclaimers of the Word is now available and may be picked up in the Sacristy. The Jesse Tree helps us connect the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the events leading to Jesus birth. Jesse was the father of King David, and the Jesse Tree gets its name from Isaiah 11:1: A shoot shall come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. We adorn a Jesse Tree with illustrated ornaments that represent the people, prophesies, and events leading up to the birth of Jesus. The ornaments of the Jesse Tree tell the story of God in the Old Testament, connecting the Advent season with the faithfulness of God across four thousand years of history. Our Jesse Tree is located at the front of the church in between the statues of St. John the Evangelist and Jesus, the Good Shepherd; and our tree ornaments were made by the families who participate in A Family of Faith. Please stop by and look at the family tree of Jesus! TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION Look around most Catholic churches, and you will discover an image of John the Baptist, often in the old baptistery, or in a window near where the font is or was located. He has two feast days in the calendar: one commemorating his birth, and the other his death. There are only three nativities in our calendar: for Jesus, for Mary, and for the Baptist. John s birthday is reckoned according to the schedule given in Luke s Gospel of the angel s announcement to Mary. The angel tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is in the sixth month of pregnancy, and so Mary hastens to help her. Reckoning Christmas as December 25, we count backwards nine months to March 25 for the Feast of the Annunciation. Then we count forward three months to June 24 for John the Baptist s birth. Halfway to Christmas, his nativity gives ample reason for rejoicing in the summer, and his symbols of fire and water are used playfully in bonfires and dives into the sea. Even at the polar opposite of Christmas in the calendar, the energy of Christ s birth in the Incarnation provides cause for rejoicing. James Field, Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Is 35:1-10; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 5:17-26 Tuesday: Is 40:1-11; Ps 96:1-3, 10ac, 11-13; Mt 18:12-14 Wednesday: Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Jdt 13:18bcde, 19; Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47, or any readings from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, nos Thursday: Is 41:13-20; Ps 145:1, 9-13ab; Mt 11:11-15 Friday: Is 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-4, 6; Mt 11:16-19 Saturday: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Ps 80: 2ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19; Mt 17:9a, Sunday: Zep 3:14-18a; Is 12:2-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18 Extension Society Calendars The 2019 calendars have arrived and are on the tables on the back of the Church. Please take one home! When John proclaimed a baptism of repentance, as today s Gospel relates, he called people to a deep change of heart. For John the Baptist, repentance was not simply regret for past failings, but a commitment to orient life around God s desires and purposes. What might living in alignment with God s desires look like? Baruch indicates that when mercy and justice are embraced like a royal garment, we may see the fruits of repentance. Paul notes how the Holy Spirit has been active within the church in Philippi, forming them to live in a loving and united community of faith, so they may witness to the love of God. And John himself suggests that a repentant heart clears a path for God to enter. John the Baptist preached from the desert. The desert not far from Jerusalem is extremely rugged, where steep hills and deep valleys are common across a barren landscape. Transforming the human landscape, like the task of smoothing the desert hills and valleys, is an enormous undertaking, truly the work of God. Yet God looks for partners in this transformation. John the Baptist and Jesus called followers to participate in God s work. We the Church respond to this call today. Our Advent preparation for Christmas includes opening our hearts to God, so that Jesus might come to take residence there.

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