Christmas Wafers (Oplatki) are now available at the Rectory and the Religious Counter.

Transcription

1 CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE 2010 Advent Confessions Saturdays, December 4, 11, 18, :00 AM and after 7:00 PM Mass MONDAY, December 6, :00 AM Tina Salvemini, r/o Dave & Pat Miller 8:45 AM Rose DeGregorio, r/o Bob & Gert Zdanowski TUESDAY, December 7, :00 AM Dorothy Lynam, r/o The Priests of SJV 8:45 AM Colleen Dowling, r/o Paradise Family 7:00 PM Fred DePazza, r/o Anthony Cyrana WEDNESDAY, December 8, 2010 HOLY DAY The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 7:00 AM Michael Keker, r/o Wife and Family 8:45 AM Bernie Primiano, r/o Family 7:00 PM C. Wm. Bowkley, r/o Wife and Son THURSDAY, December 9, :00 AM Linda Nemcick-Castro, r/o Robert & Rita Scarpone 8:45 AM Edward Russell, r/o Matthew & Maria Rusin FRIDAY, December 10, :00 AM Sheryl Swiderski, r/o Enza & Tony Pagano 8:45 AM Adolf Lesniak, r/o Renee Lesniak Wall SATURDAY, December 11, :00 AM Jack Frost, r/o Joann & Bill Cisko 5:00 PM Jean Duda, r/o Aviation Explorer Post 224 7:00 PM Susan & Robert Whitlock, r/o Patricia Dulinski SUNDAY, December 12, :00 AM Living and Deceased Members of the Parish 9:00 AM Francisco Pinho, r/o Vondras Family 10:45 AM Elizabeth & Paul Blasco, r/o M/M Connie O Donnell 12:15 PM Patrick Doherty, r/o Ray & Elba Padilla Remember and pray for the sick of the parish, those who are hospitalized, and their caregivers, especially Midge Custode, Maria Charbonneau, Sgt. Michael Brattole, Delmiro Salgado Jr., Felicia Raviola, Barry Schubert, Thomas Miller, Joseph McQuade, Teresa Syslo, Alexander Sohayda, Jean Hilyer, Baby Christian Pecoraro, Finney Saporito, Angie Sheviti, Loretta Gabriele, Curto Family, Eric LeGrande, Bethany Ciccarelli, Jean Sheahan, Matthew Guarino, and please remember our service men and women in your prayers. Children s Christmas Pageant Friday, December 24, 2 PM Christmas Masses Christmas Eve Friday, December 24, :00PM, 5:30PM, 7:00 PM, Midnight Mass Christmas Concert 11:15 PM This year we have added an additional Vigil Mass at 4:00 PM, to allow us to accommodate more people in our newly renovated church. Christmas Day Saturday, December 25, :00, 9:00 and 10:45AM, 12:15 PM There will not be any Vigil Masses at 5:00 PM or 7:00 PM on Saturday, December 25 in anticipation of Sunday. The Sunday masses for December 26, 2010 (the Feast of the Holy Family will be: 7:00, 9:00, 10:45AM and 12:15 PM New Year s Masses This year New Year s Day is not a Holy Day of Obligation. There will be no Vigil Mass on Friday, December 31, 2010 New Year s Day Saturday, January 1, :00 AM There will be 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM Vigil Masses on Saturday, January 1, 2011 in anticipation of Sunday, January 2, 2011 The Feast of the Epiphany. The Bread and Wine have been offered up in Loving Memory of Bernie Primiano from The Family The Sanctuary Light Has Been Donated in loving memory of Thomas W. Rusinelli from The Michnewicz Family God s Plan for Giving Tithing A Way Of Life: Let us pray for our recently departed brothers and sisters Alma Jacobi, Charles Mitchell, John Kloepfer, Rose Gambo, Dorothy Lynam, Frank Whitam asking God through our prayers to reward them a place in heaven and eternal rest. Christmas Wafers (Oplatki) are now available at the Rectory and the Religious Counter. Tithing: weekend of 11/21/10 $14, Tithing weekend of 11/28/10 $13, PARISH BREAKFAST DECEMBER 19TH HOSTED BY THE ST. JOHN VIANNEY SCHOOL HSA. COME JOIN US FOR FOOD AND FRIENDSHIP!! ATTENTION ALL BAKERS! We need your tasty treats for a Bake Sale to help out a parish family. The bake sale is next weekend. To volunteer to bake contact Pauline at

2 Next Baptismal class will be December 21st... Call the Rectory to register. e welcome the following new member to our parish community who was Baptized in water and the Holy Spirit on November 21, 2010 Sophia Marie Stadtmiller Child of Eric and Rose Taggesell Stadtmiller CHILDREN S MASS The next Children s Mass is Sunday December 19th at the 9 AM Mass. Mandatory Rehearsal is Saturday December 18th from 9:30 10:30 in a classroom next to the gym on the lower level of St. John Vianney School. We need readers, singers, and children for the offertory procession. Please contact Jennie Esposito at to sign up. Children have to be at least in third grade to participate. St. John Vianney School News If you placed an order for poinsettias or a wreath, you can pick up your order on Monday, December 6, between 12 noon and 6 PM in the Parish Center. Santa s Workshop will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 7, Wednesday, Dec. 8, and Thursday, Dec. 9, during school hours. All students will have the opportunity to purchase gifts for family and friends. The students will be attending Mass on Wednesday, December 8, for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. We will have a 12:10 PM dismissal on Friday, December 10. Aftercare will be provided. If your child will be staying for aftercare, please send them to school with a lunch. Story Time with Santa will be held on Friday, December 10, at 6 PM. Progress reports will be ready for parents to view on Power School on December 17. The Giving Tree Thank you all for taking an ornament and helping those less fortunate in our community have a Merry Christmas. Please be sure to return the New,Unwrapped gift with the tag securely attached, no later than next Sunday December 12. Gift cards and monetary donations may be placed in the box provided. Please indicate the gift card amount. SJV families in need, St. Vincent DePaul, SJV ProLife, Local Senior Citizens and Catholic Charities will be the recipients of your generous gifts. Give and it shall be given to you. - Luke 6:38 Barbara Morrisey Donna Worosila On Friday, December 17, there will be a Christmas Pageant performed by our second grade students. It will take place at 7 PM in the Church. All are welcome! Now that the weather has started to change, please be sure that the school office has all of your current phone numbers and that you have logged on to the Honeywell System and made any changes. If we have to close school during the day due to inclement weather, we must have the correct phone numbers so you can be notified. In the event that school must be closed, a message will be sent out via the Honeywell Instant Alert System and posted on the SJV website; it will also be on the radio on WCTC 1450 AM; and on TV on News 12 New Jersey, WCBS-TV (Channel 2) and Channel 11. In the event of an early dismissal, there is no aftercare. We ask that you make arrangements for your child/children to be picked up. Also, with the colder weather, please be sure your child is dressed appropriately. Children should have a winter coat, gloves, and a hat in case they go outside for recess. Pre-School News We will follow our half-day schedule on Friday, December 10. Students who attend the AM session will dismiss at 10 AM. Full day students will dismiss at 12 noon. Aftercare will be available.

3 Catechetical Program and more Confirmation Retreats Our students in the second year of preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation will have retreat experiences on Saturday December 11 and Saturday December 18, What does this have to do with those of you who are not preparing for Confirmation? First, these kids are part of our parish. We ask you to pray for them that they will be open to the many graces God will offer during the retreats. Second, for those of you who regularly come to the 5:00 Mass on Saturday be prepared to welcome close to 70 teens to our regular Saturday evening mass. They will be seated as a group in the front on the Blessed Mother side on both December 11 th and December 18 th. So, if you usually come to the 5:00 and sit in the front section on the Blessed Mother side you will be displaced these two weekends. Please come anyway and check out a different pew! Advent Confessions Our students in grades 3 8 will have the opportunity for confession on December 6 th and December 9 th. Sadly, many of our students seem to have no experience with coming for this sacrament other than during Advent and Lent when we provide the opportunity for them to go with their classes. I recently had parent meetings for parents whose children will be receiving First Penance in February. During my presentation I spoke of the anxiety all of us experience when we are thrust into a situation that is unfamiliar to us. How do we address situations that are unfamiliar? We make it our business to develop a comfort level through repeated experience. The same is true for this Sacrament Christmas Pageant December 24, 2010 at 2:00 p.m The 2010 Christmas Pageant will be held on Friday, December 24, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. We invite all children in our parish, whether attending classes on Monday or Thursday evenings or coming every day to our school, to participate. We are looking for children for the choir, for narrator roles and for various speaking and non-speaking parts. The kids who participated in the pageant in prior years really enjoyed it. What a great Christmas present the pageant was for their family and friends! A number of the kids who participated last year have already asked about the Pageant for this year. In addition to the children we are hoping to get some adults to help with the practices. If you can help us out, please sign up as an adult volunteer. Sign-up will be held on Sunday, December 5 th after all Masses. The sign-up will give us a better idea of how many children are interested in participating. We will have table with a sign-up sheet in the Gathering Area. We are planning to have four evening rehearsals with the last rehearsal being a dress rehearsal. The dates and times for rehearsals will be available at the sign-up table. YOUTH MINISTRY Greetings and blessings to all! There is a youth ministry meeting tonight from 7:00pm to 8:30pm in the youth ministry office. Permission slips for the Christmas retreat and final payments are due at this meeting. There is also a mandatory parent meeting for those who have teens attending this retreat weekend. The parent meeting will take place at the office of youth ministry beginning at 8:30pm and ending at 9:15pm. Since I will be engaged in professional development at the National Conference for Catholic Youth Ministers next weekend, and the retreat is the following weekend, December 17-19, this will be our last meeting until January 9th. Your current youth ministry schedule is good until the end of January, but please check your for the spring into summer schedule which will come out soon. That schedule will have dates for; "The Living Stations of the Cross," "The Spring retreat weekend," "Tooling Around the Township, "Both Parish Fairs," "The Appalachia Project," "Youth Ministry meetings" and more. Stay Tuned and God Bless you! ADOPT-A-TURKEY: The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the St. John Vianney Social Justice Ministry would like to thank all of the parishioners that supported this program. With your generosity we were able to feed more than 125 families for Thanksgiving. We will also be providing fresh produce and vegetables to the needy during the winter.

4 Prompts for Prayer and Discussion on Immigration. Prompts are posted for a deeper understanding of the misery of those struggling with immigration. Second Sunday of Advent December 5, 2010 Isaiah 11:1-10 Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land s afflicted. Psalm 72 (Responsorial) Justice shall flowers in his day For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. Asylum seekers and refugees - I wish to underline how the tendency is to stop at the question of their arrival, while disregarding the reasons for which they left their native land. (Benedict XVI World Migration Day 2005) How do I/we make the way straight for our brothers and sisters struggling with immigration issues? SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL The members of the Society gratefully acknowledge the financial contributions made by the parishioners and parish societies during the Thanksgiving holiday. The Vigil Mass and Thanksgiving Day Mass collections amounted to $995. The funds will be used to provide food and financial assistance to the poor in our parish and community. The parishdonated food and scrip were distributed to needy families and institutions. Your interest in the Society is appreciated and we thank you for the generous support that enables the Society to function successfully. Let us pour out our alms on the poor, and these very alms will pray for us. St. Clare of Assisi PRO-LIFE The monthly maternity collection is every third weekend. If you have larger items to donate such as strollers, car seats or clothing (baby and maternity) call us anytime to make arrangements for your donation: Our next meeting will be January 18 th at 7 PM in the church board room. For information on current issues, check the U.S. Catholic Bishops website at Birthright: US The National Life Center Inc LOVE (5683) Also, if you are pregnant and the prenatal diagnosis is poor, Pieta Ministry can help X 225 or pietamoms@aol.com Post Abortion Healing: or Pro-Life Christmas cards and calendars are available for sale. The cards are in packs of 10 for $6. The 2011 calendars illustrate some of the winners of the annual Diocesan Respect Life poster contest and three students from St. John Vianney are represented this year. The calendars are $ To purchase either of these items, call Carolyn at or Terry at Thank you for your support for the cause of Life.

5 THE OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP ACT Catholic schools continue to provide an important educational option in New Jersey, and they are a needed resource for the mission of the church to educate students of all economic incomes. S-1872/A-2810 (known as the Opportunity Scholarship Act) offers opportunities for parents who might be unable to send their children to a Catholic school or another nonpublic school in New Jersey. In a series of questions and answers, the New Jersey Catholic Conference offers a response to misinformation that has been promulgated in many public forums. Q. Do nonpublic schools accept classified students? A. Yes, nonpublic schools accept classified students. Unfortunately, these nonpublic school students do not receive the same level of state and federal aid given to public school students. In last year s budget, special education for public school students was funded at a level of over $700M in State aid. This is in addition to the millions of dollars in additional federal aid or local aid given to public school students. On the other hand, nonpublic school students, when they are classified, receive an ISP (Individualized Service Plan) rather than an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). The IEP indicates all the needs that the public school student has and the services to be received using a combination of state, federal, and local dollars. The ISP is more restrictive in scope, indicating only services which will be provided to the nonpublic school student through the limited state and federal dollars, regardless of the child s needs. In other words, the IEP reflects what special education services students need, while the ISP provides fewer services. Nonpublic school parents are willing to trade limited services for their classified children in return for the greater rewards of attending a nonpublic school of their choice. Nonpublic school administrators are more than willing to accept classified children; however, with those children should come the same state and federal dollars available to public schools, especially since it would still result in a lower overall cost to the taxpayers in total education dollars expended. The Catholic Spirit will be available after Masses next weekend, Dec Upcoming features and stories include: Diocesan Annual Report Thanksgiving Events Girl Scout Gathering Christmas Mass schedules BISHOP S ANNUAL APPEAL Christ for One Another The mission of the Office of Family Life to promote the sacra mentality of family at every stage of its evolution -- is effectively promoted through its broad range of services. Every program is a reminder that in all of our relationships with one another lays a gift that warrants our careful and deliberate tending. A complete list of the programs offered by the Office of Family Life, and supported by your gift to the Bishop s Annual Appeal, can be found on the Diocesan website: wwwdiometuchen.org. CHRISTMAS BAZAAR: St. Andrew s Church in Avenel on Saturday, December 11 from 10 AM to 3 PM. Baked goods, homemade food, raffles, face painting, pictures with Santa and much more!