St. William Catholic Church 4932 Easley Street Millington, TN (901)

Transcription

1 St. William Catholic Church 4932 Easley Street Millington, TN (901) December 2016 MISSION STATEMENT We, the people of St. William, are dedicated to living out our Baptismal commitment through worship and sacramental life in accordance with the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. We commit ourselves to evangelize to all people by: communal prayer and liturgical celebrations, teaching, preaching and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ; stewardship of resources to provide charity and service; promotion of the family; respect for all life and life long education. FORMED THE BEST CATHOLIC CONTENT. ALL IN ONE PLACE. Congratulations! You now have access to the best e-books, movies, talks and videos in the Church today. Visit formed.org to claim your free content, if you have not already done so. Log in using your PARISH CODE FBXBH2 FORMED EL CONTENIDO CATÓLICA MEJOR. TODO EN UN SOLO LUGAR. Enhorabuena! Te han dado los mejores libros electrónicos, película, charlas y videos en la Iglesia de hoy. Visita formed.org para reclamar su contenido libre, si aún no lo ha hecho. Entrar usando su CÓDIGO PARROQUIA FBXBH2 Thank you for your pa ence in allowing the William Tell to grow into the new year. With a new staff of writers to lend a hand, you should have an informa ve newsle er. QR Code Wishing you all God s blessings, St. William Website: Debi Yetman Lisa Schmidt Debbie Breckenridge St. William Facebook Page: -TN /

2 ! YOUTH NEWS! PRE Retreat On December 11 th, 2016 we will have our first semester PRE retreat. Our Theme is THE MASS and we are very excited about hosting it. The retreat will take place of PRE and all children are expected. The retreat will be for students K-6 th grades. The Religious Education Council, PRE teachers, 7 th and 8 th grade PRE classes and High School Youth group will be hosting this fun-filled event to get our youth more excited about Mass. The retreat begins at 9:30 and will end with a Mass for all involved and their parents at 2:30 pm. Our extra AWESOME St. William Knights of Columbus have so graciously offered to provide lunch for the youth and volunteers of the retreat! Hats off to you guys and all the wonderful things you do!! Youth MASS Our featured Religious Education Class this month will be the 3 rd grade with help from the Confirmation class. The December Youth Mass will be held on December 18 th at the 11:00 Mass. I know you join in their excitement to BE A LARGER PART OF OUR MOST BLESSED CELEBRATION! Please note that the High School youth group prepares breakfast on that Sunday and your donations for their fabulous breakfast is their primary source of fund raising for all that they do. Please plan on eating breakfast in between Masses or after the 11:00 Mass to support their activities. All of these wonderful youth need your continued support and prayers for the Holy Spirit to guide them in all of their endeavors. Delila Whalen, Maria Bautista, Cesar Perez, Dom Waugh, Brady Brown, Tialoc Castro, and Rowan Melander Teachers: Carol Sneed and Mary Woodard (not pictured Gaige Concepcion-Valls, Gavin Concepcion-Valls and Dylan Mallady) Off for the holidays There will be no PRE on December 25 th or January 1 st. PRE will resume on January 8 th for its second semester.

3 Apostles of Prayer Welcome to St. William! My name is Lois Hayden, parishioner here at St. William and I would like to talk to you about Prayer in its most basic forms. If you ve been here at St. William any length of time you may have noticed we pray the Rosary, the Chaplet of Mercy and many other prayers in celebration of our Catholic traditions and beliefs. Our group, The Apostles of Prayer gather in a small groups when possible, partner up or pray individually. Groups large or small always help us to learn, share and support one another on our spiritual journey in the Christian traditions of our faith. We would love to see our group grow and are taking this opportunity to invite all parishioners to join us and form a larger group. As we all know, there is strength in numbers and the more prayers we can offer up to Jesus Christ, the more everyone s lives throughout the world will benefit through his grace. Prayer groups can be as small as two people or as large as the room you are allowed. Our goal is to build our group strong enough to keep the prayers flowing in our church daily. Prayer time is normally one hour a day on the day your schedule allows. There are days when more of us can gather and pray together and share these special moments. If you can spare an hour a week, we invite you to join The Apostles of Prayer and help keep prayer alive at St. William. You can join by contacting myself (901) or the Parish Office (901) and leave your contact information and we will contact you and talk about the group. God bless you on your journey of prayer. I'll see you next time! The Christmas Season This is the lesser of the two major feasts of the Liturgical Calendar, with Easter being the greater feast. The Christmas Season begins December 25 th, the date the Church celebrates Christ s birth. Let s take a look at the important dates that occur during this Holy Season. Christmas Day (December 25 th ): The first day of the Christmas Season, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Feast of the Holy Family (Sunday after Christmas): We celebrate Mary, Joseph and Jesus and the importance of family. Feast of Mary, the Mother of God (January 1 st ). This is a Holy Day of Obligation. This day we celebrate Mary role as the Mother of God since Jesus is the 2 nd person of the Holy Trinity. This belief and the belief of the Immaculate Conception are the only two in the Church history that the popes defined as doctrine that must be believed, accepted and celebrated by all Catholics. Epiphany (the first Sunday after January 1 st ): this has also been called Little Christmas. We celebrate the three kings or magi visiting the child Jesus and bringing him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. We celebrate the manifestation of Jesus to the world. The Baptism of Jesus (the Sunday after Epiphany): This feast completes the Christmas Season. John the Baptist baptizes Jesus and God makes known that Jesus is his Son and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from Heaven, You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased. Lk 3:22

4 What is the Immaculate Conception? The Immaculate Conception is the teaching of the Church that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. It was Mary's closeness to Christ that made her receive God's "fullness of grace" to be sinless. Without God's grace, it would have been impossible for Mary to be sinless, and she too would be like the rest of humanity. However, because of her decision to say, "yes" in giving birth to Christ, she was given a special privilege by having no sin touch her. Catholics believe that God wanted a perfectly pure woman to carry His Son, the God of the universe, for nothing else short of perfection would do. Evidence from the Scriptures: "And coming to her he said, Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." - Luke 1:28 It is the term Favored One or "full of grace" that is emphasized by the Church when dealing with Mary's Immaculate Conception. The title "full of grace" comes from the Greek word kecharitomene, which describes a "perfection" and "abundance" of grace. In other words, Mary was proclaimed by the angel to be with a perfection of grace, which was a very powerful statement. How can Mary be completely and perfectly with God's grace, yet still have sin left in her? Christians eventually came to recognize that it was extremely possible for Mary to be without sin, especially if she was completely filled with God's grace. Luke 1:28 happens to be the only place in the Bible where anyone is addressed with the important title of "full of grace." "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you: therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God." - Luke 1:35 Luke 1:35 shows Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. According to the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was the pure and holy vessel that held the Ten Commandments (the Old Covenant). The Ark was so holy in fact, that if anyone where to touch it they could actually fall down and die! It was housed in the Holy of Holies, which was a perfectly clean place where the Jewish high priests could enter only once a year according to their law (See Lev. 16:2-4). So how are Mary and the Ark related? The same language that describes God's "dwelling" place for the Old Ark is used again for Mary's overshadowing by the Holy Spirit. Put another way, the Old Ark held God's Ten Commandments and could not be touched by human hands because of its holiness. Mary, the New Ark, holds the New Covenant in her womb, which is Jesus Christ. How much holier is Christ than the Ten Commandments? It only makes sense that for Mary to hold God in her womb, she too would be completely pure and without any sin. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head while you strike at his heel." - Genesis 3:15 What does the book of Genesis have to do with Mary's Immaculate Conception? Genesis 3:15 is the first passage in the Bible that refers to Jesus defeating Satan on the cross. It is also the first verse that shows us how Mary would become the New Eve. The seed of the woman, who would crush the serpent's head, is Jesus. The woman at enmity, or hostility with the serpent, is Mary. It was God who put this hostility between Mary and Satan (the serpent), and it is believed to be in the same likeness as Christ's hostility for the seed of the serpent. What exactly does all this mean? For Mary to be like Christ in His hostility for Satan forever, it is very possible to say that this passage implies Mary's lack of sin. What better way is there to be in total hostility with Satan than to be in God's constant grace? As the New Eve, Mary undid the "no" of the Old Testament Eve by saying, "yes" to carry Jesus. Continued..

5 What is the Immaculate Conception?..Continued Pope Pius IX officially defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in the year He did so with the understanding that this belief would help the Catholic faithful grow spiritually towards Christ. This belief and teachings have strong root in Church writings going back to the 4 th century. Here are some of the Church Father s teachings: "Every personal sin must be excluded from the Blessed Virgin Mary for the sake of the honor of God." - St. Augustine, 390 AD. "Mary, a virgin not only undefiled but a virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free from every stain." - St. Ambrose of Milan, AD. "You, and your Mother are alone in this. You are wholly beautiful in every respect. There is in you, Lord, no stain, nor any spot in your Mother." - St. Ephraem, 350 AD. RCIA Update In the November William Tell, we explained what the Rite of Acceptance and Rite of Welcoming are and the importance of these rites for those who are currently going through study and preparation for becoming full members of the Catholic Church. We would like to introduce them to you. When you see them, please make sure to introduce yourself and welcome them into our parish family. Catechumens (those to receive Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) Kevin Carris Danielle Macias Jamie Payne Debra Ann Stockstill Gage Concepcion Valls Gavin Concepcion Valls Jack Wilson Candidates (those to complete the Sacraments of Initiation) Shane Blevins Elizabeth Booker Tara Concepcion Faith Cooper Allen Flanick Katie Gibson Brendon Magruder Dalton Meadors Sandra Norvel CJ Pinner Jr. Margaret (Marty) Pinner Vincent Pinner Brenda Velazquez Rudolpho Velazquez Patrick Whitney Please keep them their sponsors and instructors in your continued prayers and support.

6 Read the Bible in One Year Dec 1 Jonah 3-4 Sir 21 2Pet 3 Dec 2 Micah 1-3 Sir 22 1Jn 1 Dec 3 Micah 4-5 Sir 23 1Jn 2 Dec 4 Micah 6-7 Sir 24 1Jn 3 Dec 5 Nahum Sir 25 1Jn 4 Dec 6 Habakkuk Sir 26 1Jn 5 Dec 7 Zephaniah Sir 27 2Jn Dec 8 Haggai Sir 28 3Jn Dec 9 Zech 1-2 Sir 29 Jude Dec 10 Zech 3-4 Sir 30 Rev 1 Dec 11 Zech 5-6 Sir 31 Rev 2 Dec 12 Zech 7-8 Sir 32 Rev 3 Dec 13 Zech 9-10 Sir 33 Rev 4 Dec 14 Zech Sir 34 Rev 5 Dec 15 Zech Sir 35 Rev 6 Dec 16 Malachi Sir 36 Rev 7 Dec 17 1 Macc 1-2 Sir 37 Rev 8 Dec 18 1 Macc 3-4 Sir 38 Rev 9 Dec 19 1 Macc 5-6 Sir 39 Rev 10 Dec 20 1 Macc 7-8 Sir 40 Rev 11 Dec 21 1 Macc 9-10 Sir 41 Rev 12 Dec 22 1 Macc Sir 42 Rev 13 Dec 23 1 Macc Sir 43 Rev 14 Dec 23 1 Macc Sir 44 Rev 15 Dec 24 2 Macc 1-2 Sir 45 Rev 16 December 25 Christ our Savior is Born Dec 26 2 Macc 3-4 Sir 46 Rev 17 Dec 27 2 Macc 5-6 Sir 47 Rev 18 Dec 28 2 Macc 7-8 Sir 48 Rev 19 Dec 29 2 Macc 9-10 Sir 49 Rev 20 Dec 30 2 Macc Sir 50 Rev 21 Dec 31 2 Macc Sir 51 Rev 22 St. Juan Diego Feast Day: December 9 On December 9, 1531, a native Mexican named Juan Diego rose before dawn to walk fifteen miles to daily Mass in what is now Mexico City. Juan lived a simple life as a weaver, farmer, and laborer. That morning, as Juan passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow. A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the Virgin Mary and asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said, "I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most devoted mother... to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings." The bishop was kind but skeptical. He asked Juan to bring proof of the Lady's identity. Before Juan could go back to the Lady, he found out his uncle was dying. Hurrying to get a priest, Juan missed his meeting with the Lady. The Lady, however, met him on his path and told him that his uncle had been cured. She then told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where they first met. Juan was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen soil. He gathered them in his cloak and took them at once to the bishop. Juan told the bishop what had happened and opened his cloak. The flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (which were not grown in Mexico). But the bishop's eyes were on the glowing image of the Lady imprinted inside Juan's cloak. Soon after, a church was built on the site where our Lady appeared, and thousands converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the patroness of the Americas.

7 Angelic Angelical Angels Annunciation Archangels Assistance Avenging Cherubim Choirs Christmas Defense Devil Dominations Gabriel Guardian Guidance Heaven Heavenly Host Hierarchy Intercession Messengers Michael Powers Prayer Principalities Prostrate Protection Raphael Resurrection Seraphim Spirits Thrones Virtues Worship W O R D S E A R C H Angels Bethlehem Birth Christmas Frankincense Gold Holy Infant Homage Jesus Joseph Magi Manger Mary Messiah Myrrh Nativity Shepherds Son Star Swaddling Clothes Virgin Mother Word