DECEMBER 16, Rev. Mark A. Mahoney, Pastor

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1 ST. JULIA PARISH ST. JOSEPH CHURCH 142 LINCOLN ROAD LINCOLN, MA DECEMBER 16, 2018 ST. JULIA CHURCH 374 BOSTON POST ROAD WESTON, MA Rev. Mark A. Mahoney, Pastor Pastoral Minister Mr. Colm McGarry Business Manager Mr. Joshua Phelps Parish Secretary Ms. Kathleen Dolan Faith Formation 1-6 Ms. Cindy Harrington Faith Formation 7-12 Mr. Colm McGarry Faith Formation Secretary Ms. Ann Beré Deacon Dcn. Rafe Brown Music Director Mr. Brian Moll Music/St. Joseph Mr. Daniel Farretta Facilities Manager Mr. Greg Smith Saturday Vigil: Sunday: 4:00pm (St. Julia) 7:30am (St. Joseph) 9:00am (St. Julia 10:30am (St. Joseph) 12:00pm (St. Julia) 5:00pm (St. Julia) Daily: Monday 7 AM (St. Julia) Tuesday 9 AM (St. Joseph) Wednesday 7 AM (St. Julia) Thursday 7 AM (St. Julia) Friday 9 AM (St. Joseph) Saturday/Holiday 8 AM (St. Julia) COME AND WORSHIP THE LORD WITH US! THE MISSION OF SAINT JULIA PARISH We, the parishioners of Saint Julia Parish, seek to live our belief in Christ as we worship and serve Him according to His example and teachings. With appreciation of the diverse gifts of our individual members, we strive to gain the participation of each parishioner and work to ensure that everyone feels welcome in our community of faithful. We do this while mindful of God s love for us and the power of His Spirit that makes us holy, heals our brokenness and sustains us in all the good we do. We are committed in the spirit of Chris an stewardship to share generously our time, talent, and treasure.

2 OFFICE HOURS 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Mon. through Friday. RECONCILIATION Parish Center Conference Room, Saturday: 3:15-3:45 PM ANOINTING OF THE SICK After the 4:00 PM Saturday Mass; or contact Parish Office. EUCHARIST AND VISITS TO THE SICK Contact Parish Office to notify of anyone ill, homebound or hospitalized. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION St. Julia Church: Every Friday, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM First Friday, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. St. Joseph Church: Every First Friday, 9:30 to 10:30 AM. ROSARY IN ST JULIA CHURCH: After daily Mass. BAPTISM Please contact the Parish Office in advance to make arrangements. BULLETIN NOTICES should be proposed, by if possible, to the Parish Office by Monday morning. THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT GOSPEL REFLECTION In Christianity, we hear often about the "Good News." We might often associate it with Jesus' compassion to the poor, his healings and miracles, and the salvation he won for us. In today's Gospel, we read of John the Baptist. "Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people." Yet as we examine the rest of the reading, we see examples of John's preaching. If you have two cloaks, give one away. Don't cheat others out of their money, extort, or lie. And, of course, the warning that the Messiah is on the move and "his winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Merry Christmas? Not only do John's listeners enjoy his message, but they seem to think he might be the awaited Messiah! To understand today's Gospel, it's important to understand the Jewish people. For most of their history, God's chosen people had been under someone else's heel. They were slaves in Egypt. Their kingdoms were ravaged first by the Assyrians, then the Babylonians. Now they were under the yoke of the Roman Empire. Familiar with being strangers in a strange land, welcoming the stranger, caring for the vulnerable, and enacting justice was incredibly important to them as a people. While John's words may seem odd or strong to our modern ears, this call to justice was welcome, even if it was directed at the hearer. The truth is, no one is exempt from John's call to repentance. We all have further to go in the Christian life. We can all grow in virtue and love our neighbors more generously. The Church gives us the Advent season to examine our own hearts. Did any of John's warnings resonate with you? That could be a great thing to bring to Jesus this week!

3 THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT DECEMBER 15/16, 2018 Sunday, December 16 Christmas Pops Concert, 3PM, St. Julia Parish Hall Friday, December 21 Adoration, 12 NoonȄ1PM, St. Julia Church And Prayers Requested Mon., Dec. 17 7:00AM Tues., Dec. 18 Wed., Dec. 19 9:00AM 7:00AM Thurs., Dec. 20 Fri., Dec. 21 Sat., Dec. 22 Sun., Dec. 23 7:00AM 9:00AM 4:00PM 10:30AM 12:00PM St. Julia Parish Christmas Mass Schedule Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24 4:00 PM in St. Julia Church with pageant 4:00 PM in St. Julia Parish Center Hall 6:00 PM in St. Joseph Church 8:00PM in St. Julia Church with choir [Music beginning at 7:30PM] Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25 7:30AM, St. Joseph Church 9:00AM, St. Julia Church 10:30AM, St. Joseph Church 12:00PM, St. Julia Church No 5:00PM Mass on Christmas Day VISITATION MINISTRY: As the Holy season of Christmas approaches, the Parish team who bring Communion to people in their homes want to remind everyone that this VISITATION MINISTRY continues throughout the year. If you know someone is unable to come to Mass for any reason but would like a visit and Holy Communion please contact Kathy in the parish Office. CONFESSORS: Luigi & Giovana Franchi Italo DiNitto Frank & Estia DiDuca Jimmy Carbone Mary O Loughlin Nancy Campbell Joan Corrigan Maguire Terrence Frechette December 22 December 29 Fr. Mahoney Fr. Mahoney CHRISTMAS COLLECTION Among the gifts you give this Christmas season, please consider contributing to a special Christmas Collection for the health and well being of 580 active and senior priests in good standing in our Archdiocese. Amid these difficult times for your Church, our hardworking priests need your support more than ever. Please take this opportunity to say thank you to all the priests, including our senior priests, who have devoted their lives to our Church...and to all of us. To donate on line, please visit clergytrust.org or text the word PRIEST25 TO to donate $25. Msg and data rates may apply.

4 READINGS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD Monday: Gn 49:2, 8-10/Mt 1:1-17 Tuesday: Jer 23:5-8/Mt 1:18-25 Wednesday: Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a/Lk 1:5-25 Thursday: Is 7:10-14/Lk 1:26-38 Friday: Sg 2:8-14/Lk 1:39-45 Saturday: 1 Sm 1:24-28/Lk 1:46-56 Sunday: Mi 5:1-4a/Heb 10:5-10/Lk 1:39-45 December 23 First Reading: He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD. (Mi 5:3a) Psalm: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. (Ps 80) Second Reading: By this "will," we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Heb 10:10) Gospel: "How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy." (Lk 1:43-44) LIVE THE LITURGY This Gaudete Sunday calls us to rejoice because the Lord is near. Does your heart rejoice and sing, or are the pressures and burdens of life weighing you down? We can easily become overwhelmed. The weaknesses and sins of life, indeed our own weakness and sin, eat away at the joy and hope God wants us to know. Those who are grounded in their faith and possess deep spiritual lives know that God is near. Realizing this puts life into perspective. We really want to be free from our burdens but do not always know how to achieve this. We keep stumbling and falling. Advent is a time when we can learn to "do life differently," just like John the Baptist instructed the crowds. Joy and hope are the gifts God offers, not anxiety and despair. SUPPORTING OUR PARISH S MISSION Weekend of December 8/9 $5,346 Weekend of December 1/2 $6,841 Weekend of November 24/25 $6,181 IMPORTANT NOTICE PHISHING S and itunes CARDS Scammers are "phishing" for donations by using s supposedly from St Julia's. Extra care is necessary with any online requests. Please be aware of these scams. Contact the Parish office directly, thanks. Weekend of November 17/18 $5,104 November 3 November 25(Includes mail-ins) $ 23,089 Online Giving $ 10,535 Total $ 34,304 Avg/Week Nov 3rd thru Nov. 25h (4 weeks) $ 8,576 Budgeted Total for FY 2019 $ 440,000 Attention Altar Servers! Your Christmas gifts are available for pick up in the sacristy. Thanks to our young people for their commitment to this ministry. Merry Christmas! Budgeted Avg/Week $ 8,462

5 Dates to Remember: GRADES 1-6 December 15: Grade 2 First Penance Service, 10:30 am (Saturday) December 23/24: No classes December 25: Merry Christmas! Did you know that the Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday? Some people call it Pink Sunday. The third candle on the Advent Wreath, the pink candle, is lit. Gaudete means rejoice. We are rejoicing for many things, among them the Incarnation when God came to earth as a little baby boy called Jesus. God took the form of a human person, and lived, taught, and healed among us. We are also rejoicing because Advent is more than half way over, and soon it will be the season of Christmas! At Mass, listen to how often the words Joy, Joyfully, and Rejoice are said. It will be at least ten times! Take some time to consider what makes you rejoice. Do you realize the joy you receive is a gift from God? Be grateful for that gift, and share it with everyone you meet! I will be wearing pink to Mass that day will you? For further information, please contact Cindy Harrington at or stjulia.org. YOUTH MINISTRY Thanks to all the students who participated in our retreat on Saturday and thanks to the teen leaders from wayland who facilitated our gathering. Many Many thanks for your generosity in returning the Christmas giving campaigns for both presents and meals. Your generosity makes a huge difference for these families. In other parts of the bulletin you may have noticed that our parish is partnering with Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH), which means "Our Little Brothers and Sisters". This organization does fabulous work and we want to sponsor a group to travel to one of the orphanages in the Dominican Republic in early summer. The dates of the Parish trip are June 16th - 21st.While this life-changing trip is not limited to our young people we would like to encourage their participation. Fr Mark is planning to attend a fact finding trip to Honduras in February to learn more about the lives of these children and the adults who take care of them. The parish trip in June will build on this knowledge and help us to build a meaningful connection with our brothers and sisters in the South. An informational meeting is scheduled Tuesday January 15th at 7pm, upstairs in the Parish Center Additionally, In the Fall of 2019, families in Lincoln and Weston will have the opportunity to sponsor directly one child served by NPH when we host "pequenos" from Mexico to be present for a weekend at our Masses.

6 MANY THANKS for all the gifts that were generously donated for this year s Giving Tree. Your kindness is much appreciated. CHRISTMAS FLOWERS: If you would like to donate a Poinsettia in memory of loved ones, in Lincoln, please place their names in an envelope with an offering of $ Envelopes marked Christmas Flowers, St. Joseph may be placed in the collection basket or in the collection box at the entrance of the church. Please make the checks payable to St. Julia Parish. In Weston: The provided envelope can be used to make Christmas Flower donations of any amount. DECORATING OUR CHURCHES: Volunteers are welcome to assist the Christmas flower committee in decorating the church for Christmas. This year we will meet from 10am - to 12 Noon, Friday December 21st to decorate St Julia's and after the 10.30am Mass December 23rd to decorate St Joseph's in Lincoln. Your help is so appreciated. ST. FRANCIS HOUSE WINTER CLOTHING COLLECTION As done in years past, a Clothing Drive will take place in early January. All gently used coats, boots, and items which can be worn during the winter months, will be collected and donated to St. Francis House. Please look for more specific details soon. As our journey begins with our association with NPH USA, partnership opportunities for St. Julia Parish offers tangible ways to help break the cycle of poverty of thousands of children. The impact of our connection with NPH USA will be felt for generations. As a Church Partner the parish commits to promoting NPH USA s mission and finding sponsors for children in need. Through our partnership, our parish will have an opportunity to put our faith in action, while raising funds for and awareness of vulnerable children. All members of our parish can be involved by responding to the call to care for our brothers and sisters in need, and put our social justice mission into action. In January, 2019 the parish will begin a Sponsorship program involving service trips, events and child sponsorships. More information will be shared over the following weeks, which will highlight NPH USA s mission of transforming lives through nutrition, education, spiritual guidance, health care, clothing and home maintenance.