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1 CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS Immaculate Conception 353 Grove Street Worcester, MA PHONE NUMBER CONTACT PERSON Sharon Rainville CHURCH NUMBER SOFTWARE Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard Windows XP Home Edition, Version 5.1, Service Pack 3 PRINTER Canon MX860 NUMBER OF PAGES 6 SUNDAY DATE OF PUBLICATION December 9, 2012 TRANSMISSION TIME Tuesday, 10:00 AM SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

2 Immaculate Conception Parish SUNDAY MASSES SATURDAY VIGIL: 4:00 PM SUNDAY: 7:30 AM, 10:00 AM RECTORY ADDRESS 353 Grove Street, Worcester, MA Phone: Fax: Religious Education Phone: Rev. Walter J. Riley, PASTOR SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday 3:00-4:00 PM (or by appointment) KEVIN DEIGNAN, PERMANENT DEACON MARY SYCKS ADMINISTRATOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND YOUTH MINISTER C. Henry Mason, MUSIC DIRECTOR Sharon Rainville, PARISH SECRETARY Matthew Foster, PASTORAL COUNCIL CHAIRMAN LYNDA MONAHAN, SAFE ENVIRONMENT COORDINATOR Please visit our website at WEEKDAY MASSES MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY 9:00 AM THURSDAY 8:00 AM SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Parents and godparents of infants to be baptized are expected to participate in a preparation session. Call the Rectory to register for this process and set a date for the actual Baptism. For Baptism of adults please contact the Rectory. SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE Please contact the rectory one year prior to your desired wedding date SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK Father Walter can be called whenever someone can benefit from this sacrament of healing. NEW PARISHIONERS Anyone is welcome to join the Parish Community. Please contact the Rectory and introduce yourself.

3 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT December 9, 2012 MASS INTENTIONS Sat. Dec. 8 8:00 AM Clara Baca by family 4:00 PM Jon Davies, 1st Anniversary Sun. Dec. 9 7:30 AM Robert J. O Neil, 3rd Anniversary by family 10:00 AM Donald Letendre by family Mon. Dec. 10 9:00 AM For Our Parishioners Tues. Dec. 11 9:00 AM Mass for Life in union with Our Blessed Mother Wed. Dec. 12 9:00 AM Thurs. Dec. 13 8:00 AM Sat. Dec. 15 4:00 PM Sun. Dec. 16 7:30 AM For Our Parishioners 10:00 AM Mary Cosgrove, 8th Anniv. & William Cosgrove, THIS WEEK the text for the Second Sunday of Advent may be found at #883 in the Journeysongs hymnal. RETIREMENT FUND FOR RELIGIOUS This weekend a 2nd collection will be taken at all Masses for the retired religious throughout our country. This support helps to assist them in their retirement after decades of individual service and commitment to the Catholic Church. In serving their lifelong call, they have served the needs of thousands, for which we are eternally grateful. A SPIRITUAL CONSIDERATION Thank you to the all parishioners cooperating every week in spiritual fasting and abstaining for the purpose of each week s intention. Please know that every Friday others here at Immaculate Conception and elsewhere are sacrificing for intentions directed at parish, worldwide, national, and local petitions connected to our common Catholic faith. Any others who wish to join our spiritual fasting, please feel free to speak with Fr. Riley. This Friday s intention is for all children in our religious education program, that their faith will continue to grow through their learning at home and at Church. RCIA CLASSES Rite of Christian Initiation for Adult classes will continue this Monday, December 10th at 6:30 p.m. in the rectory. These one hour classes in the faith will be preparation that will lead to the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil next March for any adults who have not been baptized, and/or received First Communion and Confirmation. Please call the rectory to inquire about preparation, or speak to Fr. Riley at any time. WEDNESDAY SCRIPTURE STUDY Scripture Study will be held this coming Wednesday, December 12th at 6:30 p.m. in the rectory. CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE Thank you to all parishioners who have taken tags from the Christmas Giving Tree. Presents may be returned by next weekend, at which time they will be picked up by Our Lady of Hope and delivered to the many families they will be going to. Please know that you make a sincere difference in the lives of many children throughout Worcester on Christmas morning. May your generous spirit be rewarded tenfold by our loving and generous God. RECENT BAPTISMS Blessings and congratulations to the families of those recently baptized at Immaculate Conception: Elizabeth Jane Kaphman, daughter of Matthew and Deirdre Kaphman, and Thomas Arthur Ward, son of John and Elizabeth Ward. May God bless the parents and children as we pray for all parents in their solemn responsibility of raising their children in the practice of the faith. Faith begins at home, extends to the Church community, and comes to fulfillment in our appearance before the Lord at the end of our lives. REST IN PEACE We pray for the repose of the souls of those recently deceased during the month of November, Kenneth Kerr, Sr., Cheryl Parker, Constance Fitzsimmons, Robert Jolin, and Robert O Keefe. May our loving and merciful God grant them eternal rest from their many labors in this life. And may we keep in our personal prayers the families of those who have died, especially at Christmas time, that God will grant them strength and sustain them in their sorrow and sadness. CHRISTMAS PAGEANT Next Sunday morning the children in our parish will be conducting a Christmas Pageant in the Church between the two Sunday Masses. The Pageant will begin at 8:30 a.m. All in the parish are invited to attend and to enjoy the preparation and hard work of our children and their instructors. We re hoping for a good turnout, so please consider adjusting your schedules in order to attend and support the children as they bring to us in person the story of the birth of Jesus.

4 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH WORCESTER, MA RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS Classes take place this week for grades K-6 this Sunday, December 9th at 8:45 a.m. Classes continue on Monday, December 10th at 7:00 p.m. for students in grades Classes have begun for the Sacrament of Confirmation. If you are a student in the 11th grade and would like to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, please contact Mary Sycks Christmas Pageant Rehearsals The next rehearsal for the Christmas Pageant is this Sunday, December 9th at11:00 a.m. Dress Rehearsal is on December 15th at 10:00 a.m. It is not too late to join the pageant! If your child is interested in participating in the pageant, please contact Mary Sycks at The Christmas Pageant Please join us on Sunday, December 16th at 8:30 a.m. for the children s Christmas Pageant. We hope that everyone will be able to join us for this very special event. The pageant will take place in the church. Please stay for the 10:00 a.m. Mass following the Christmas Pageant for the Children s Liturgy. BREAKFAST WITH SANTA The CYC will be hosting Breakfast with Santa on Sunday, December 16th following the 10:00 a.m. Mass. Come down to the coffee shop for pictures, story time, caroling and Breakfast with Santa. Each child will make a frame for their picture and more crafts! We will be serving pancakes, sausage, bacon, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and juice. Only $5.00 per person. HOPE FOR HOUSING FOOD CARDS We extend sincere thanks to our parishioners who continue to purchase food cards on behalf of Hope for Housing. 5% of the purchase of food cards goes directly toward preventing homelessness in Central Massachusetts. Many local families have not become homeless as a result of this program and the support we offer. We invite others to support this ministry for your weekly food purchases. The cards are sold after each weekend Mass. The total of purchases last week was $ GIRL SCOUT TROOP is collecting gently used or new baby clothes and items needed for babies such as bottles, pacifiers, etc. for the Visitation House. Collection bins will be located at every entrance of the church and the collection will go until December 16th so the girls can deliver the items as a Christmas gift to the people of the Visitation House. IMMACULATE CONCEPTION FACEBOOK PAGE Facebook can now be accessed from our Immaculate Conception parish website. Our hope is to have photos of the activities that take place in our parish throughout the year, as well as the Scouts who use our facilities. Presently there are photos of the 9th Division Ceremony for those who wish to view parts of the day. RELIGIOUS QUOTE OF THE WEEK How I thank you, Lord, that my being transcends me to pass out into you, and that my center lies beyond myself in you. Whether I like it or not, and in spite of all resistance, I must, so to speak, be derailed from the crooked track of my heart to cross over into you. Hans Urs Von balthasar, Heart of the World SIGN OF PEACE It s that time of year again when the cold weather affects our sinuses and body temperature. If you re not feeling 100%, please consider not shaking hands with other parishioners who may be susceptible to sickness from touching. For those who go to shake someone s hand at the sign of peace and are offered a nod of the head instead, please take no offense. If anything, we may wish to thank such a person for not sharing their sickness with us. Thank you for your consideration. RELIGIOUS READING A reminder that there are a number of books in a small bookcase located in the candle and prayer room in the back of the Church. These books are from Fr. Riley s personal library. Anyone is invited to take one or two, or more, for spiritual reading, with the expectation of returning them when finished. There are many excellent topics on the shelves connected to our faith. Some new titles have been recently placed into the bookcase. YEAR OF FAITH The Year of Faith...is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world. In the mystery of his death and Resurrection, God has revealed in its fullness the Love that saves and calls us to conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins. From the Book The Year of Faith, by Fr. Mitch Pacwa THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT December 1st & 2nd Sunday Ordinary Income $ Campaign for Human Development $ Misc. Envelopes $ 30.00

5 FROM THE PASTOR Make a straight path for the One who is to come. So says the great John the Baptist. Driving in New England is very different from driving in, say, Florida. In Massachusetts and other states throughout New England, driving the main roads and back roads of our area is anything but boring. There are hills and valleys, corners and turns for what seems to be every half-mile, if not less. Just drive down Park Avenue from the start at the bottom of our driveway. Or up Grove Street beginning at the intersection across from Shaw s. If you don t turn your wheel at a certain point, you may end up in Institute Pond down Park Ave. or Indian Lake up Grove Street. Driving in New England is exciting and keeps our attention. However, driving in Florida is a different story. You can go for miles without turning the steering wheel even the slightest. If you happened to turn the steering wheel in Florida as much as we turn it in New England, you will end up in a swamp visiting a family of alligators. That s not a good proposition. From the Gospel this weekend comes the image given by John the Baptist of making a straight path for the Lord. The Baptist says, repeating the words of Isaiah, make straight his paths. Not ours, but his. Hmm. Makes a believer wonder if we have no need of straightening our own paths, which we all know are crooked. Unless we re one of those folks who have a difficult time discovering our personal crookedness, our awryness if you will. Search deeper I say. You ll eventually strike some dirty oil. But what does it mean for us to make straight a path for Jesus? John almost seems to turn the image of a straight path on its head. We re the ones that work hard on straight paths in our faith-filled lives. Not our Lord! He s without sin! I offer one simple thought, although many more can be told. We have a two-way street with the Lord. Yes, making a straight path in our lives for ourselves through the practice of our Catholic faith is the goal. Stay on the path to Jesus. But the Lord also comes to us. And it seems we have a say in making the path of Jesus either straight or crooked for the One who desires to walk with us. It seems, according to John the Baptist, that it s possible to push Jesus off the path that leads to us. What avoids such a spiritual condition is our openness to receiving Christ in the sundown to sunset of our lives. This Advent may we be willing to open the door of our hearts more widely, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The power and grace of this sacrament makes straight a path for Jesus to come to us without hindrance. Peace, Fr. Riley

6 THIS WEEK AT IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Sat. Dec. 8 8:00 AM Mass 3:00 PM Confessions 4:00 PM Mass Sun. Dec. 9 7:30 AM Mass 8:45 AM Religious Ed 10:00 AM Mass Mon. Dec. 10 8:30 AM Rosary 9:00 AM Mass 1:00 PM Mass at Colony 6:30 PM RCIA 7:00 PM Religious Ed Tues. Dec. 11 8:30 AM Rosary 9:00 AM Mass 7:00 PM Boy Scouts Wed. Dec12 8:30 AM Rosary 9:00 AM Mass 6:00 PM Girl Scouts 6:30 PM Scripture Study Thurs. Dec. 13 7:30 AM Rosary 8:00 AM Mass Fri. Dec. 14 Sat. Dec. 15 3:00 PM Confessions 4:00 PM Mass Sun. Dec. 16 7:30 AM Mass 8:45 AM Religious Ed 10:00 AM Mass YES, WE WOULD LIKE TO REGISTER AT IMMACULATE CONCEPTION!! Name Address: City &Zip Phone Number of People in Household PLEASE, TEAR THIS OFF AND PLACE IN THE COLLECTION BASKET!