Page Two Fourth Sunday of Advent December 23, 2018 Calendar 23 24 5p Children s Mass 7p and 9p Masses 25 Christmas Day 8:30a, 10:30a Christmas Day Masses 26 8:30a Coffee Hour, Sunburst Room 7p Choir Practice, Music Room Parish Office Closed 27 7p Cornerstone Rehearsal, 28 6:30a Altar Society, 8:30a Lively Seniors, HCH 6:30p Adoration with Benediction, 7:30p ROCCC, Sunburst Room 29 We pray for our sick parishioners that they may know the healing of Christ. Teresita Blazon Kirk Taylor Doris Owings Barbara Kouri Vashie Ratzinger Jane Walsh Kathy Segura Christina Bonano Reyna Cervantes Olivia Smith Michael Castro Tom Cooper John Bonano Joyce Rudolph Joe Ventura Nadia Agaman Maria Sampley Bernie Baima Colette Craan Felix Diaz Andrew Alles Cheri Kehrli Just a reminder that the Parish Office will be closed, Monday, December 24th, Tuesday, December 25th and Wednesday, December 26th in observance of the Christmas Holidays. When you do your holiday shopping at smile.amazon.com, be sure to choose St. Francis Xavier as your favorite charity and the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to SFX.
St. Francis Xavier From the Desk of Fr. Sebastian, Page Three Dear Friends, Little Tony was going through his Christmas presents. He did not look happy. Tony, are you not happy? Didn t you get everything that you wanted? his mother asked him. But it is not my birthday. It is Jesus birthday. I am looking for something for Jesus! Tony replied. In a few days we celebrate Christmas. We can approach Christmas in two ways: Either Christmas as a memorial of a historical event or it is a personal celebration of Christ s birth in our lives. Jesus has already come into our lives at the time of our Baptism. Therefore, it is a time of awakening of His presence in our lives. To help us in our preparations, normally we reflect on the life of the three Advent figures. They are John the Baptist, Joseph and Mary. Among these three, Mary s role definitely comes first. And our gospel reading for the fourth and final Sunday in Advent is the story of Mary. Mary s life tells us two things: How did she prepare her life to welcome Jesus and what had taken place in her life after she said Yes to the Angel. First of all, she made God s plan her plan. So she said: Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. This was the hardest decision for Mary to make, considering her religious and societal background. She had to risk her name, risk her marriage and risk her life. She found the courage to say yes to the Lord. Therefore, the first step to prepare our hearts as the dwelling place of God is to acquire the courage of Mary that empowered her to surrender her plan to the plan of God. Secondly, when she received the baby Jesus in her womb, two things happened. She became not only a recipient of the baby Jesus but also a bearer of Jesus serene presence. The presence of Jesus within Mary brought joy to Elizabeth. Her presence became a Joyful presence. Secondly, she became another centered person. Even without asking for her help, Mary sensed the need of her cousin and went in haste to serve Elizabeth. Her presence became a merciful presence. We must become another Mary. I wish you all the blessings of Christmas. Please come with your family and friends, and celebrate the gift of God at this Christmas. May God bless you. Readings for the week of Dec. 23, 2018 Sunday: Mi 5:1-4/Ps 80:2-3,15-16,18-19/Heb 10:5-10/Lk 1:39-45 Monday: 2 Sm 7:1-5,8-12,14,16/Lk 1:67-79 Tuesday:Vigil: Is 62:1-5/Ps 89:4-5,16-17,27,29/ Acts 13:16-17,22-25/Mt 1:1-25 Night: Is 9:1-6/Ps 96:1-3,11-13/Ti 2:11-14/Lk 2:1-14 Dawn: Is 62:11-12/Ps 97:1,6,11-12/Ti 3:4-7/Lk 2:15-20 Day: Is 52:7-10/Ps 98:1-6/Heb 1:1-6/Jn 1:1-18 Wednesday: Acts 6:8-10;7:54-59/Mt 10:17-22 Thursday: 1 Jn 1:1-4/Jn 20:1-8 Friday: 1 Jn 1:5 2:2/Mt 2:13-18 Saturday: 1 Jn 2:3-11/Lk 2:22-35 Adoration with Benediction Fridays at 6:30 p.m. December 23, 2018 to December 29, 2018 Sunday: Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Rosario Albuja de Quinonez and Peter Nolan Dolores Piccirillo
Page Four Fourth Sunday of Advent December 23, 2018 Keep an Eye on Those Christmas Candles Twelve percent of home fires caused by candles will occur in December the combination of increased candle use and flammable decorations isn t a good one, especially if candles aren t used safely. Never leave candles burning in a room you are not in, or while you re sleeping. Clear the area before lighting a candle, making sure that the flame will be contained, that there s nothing flammable nearby, and that the candle is safely out of reach for children. If you have plans for a fire in your fireplace, check your chimney to make sure it s clean. For more tips, visit https://www.nsc.org/home-safety/ tools-resources/seasonal-safety/winter/ holiday. We have many volunteer opportunities here at St. Francis Xavier, including opportunities to help at Mass. Please consider a ministry Sacristan, Lector, Eucharistic Minister, Usher, or Altar Server. Please call the Parish Office at 818/504-4400 for more information. St. Francis Xavier Food Drive - Hunger Knows No Season During the month of December, the Peace and Justice ministry will be focusing on collecting for the Holiday Outreach program. Consequently, there is no needed item for this month. We will accept all non-perishable food items during this period and will donate all food collected to a charity under the program. Thank you again for your generosity during the holiday season and throughout the year! God Bless. Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Operation Christmas Joy Peace & Justice s Christmas Outreach Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who donated gifts and money for the Philippine orphanages and the Native American children on the Rincon Reservation. Thank you, also, to those who have adopted families through the Burbank Coordinating Council program or donated items for the St. Vincent s Meals on Wheels Stocking Project.
St. Francis Xavier SFX SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE Meet our students, parents, teachers and principal; see our campus, classrooms and play areas; learn about our curriculum; survey our family activities; and scope out our extracurricular activities. Save the dates: TK and Kindergarten Open House Incoming New Families Sat., Feb. 2nd 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. TK through Grade 8 Sun., Feb. 3rd Following the 10:30 a.m. Mass 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Be a Chef for the Day! Do you make one very special something? The Feast of Ten Tables Needs You! Page Five We are looking for friends who like to cook and could host a table at this year s Feast. You only need to make one thing that can be served in small portions to 350 people. If you are interested please contact Rita in the Parish Office at rita.recker@sfxburbank.com or 818/504-4400. This year s Feast is Sunday, January 27, 2019. Free Sunday Programs for Children in TK through 3rd Grade Sunday School and Children s Liturgy of the Word at the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Please have your child join us! CHILDREN'S LITURGY OF THE WORD (For children in the 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd Grade) In addition to your child's regular religious education instruction, this program runs through April during the Sunday 10:30 a.m. Mass and is a great opportunity for children to understand the Sunday Gospel at their own age level. SUNDAY SCHOOL Do you have a little one in Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten (ages 4, 5, 6)? St. Francis has a Sunday School program designed just for them which meets during the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Simply sign your child in to the lower school, TK classroom, prior to the 10:30 a.m. Mass (around 10:25 a.m.) and pick up immediately following Mass. The calendar of Meeting dates for both Children's Liturgy and Sunday School are: Jan 6, 13, 20, 27; Feb 3, 10, 17, 24; Mar 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Apr 7, 14, 28 For questions, please contact Rosie Roope at rosie.roope@sfxburbank.com.
Page Six Fourth Sunday of Advent December 23, 2018 Tax-Wise Year End Giving Options Don t forget to mark down these dates of upcoming events at SFX: Mon., Dec. 24 Masses, 5 p.m. & 7 p.m. Tues., Dec. 25 Christmas Day Masses, 8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Sun., Jan. 13 Baptism Sunday, 1 p.m. Sat., Jan. 19 Baptism Workshop, 10 a.m. Sun., Jan. 20 Santo Nino Mass, 10 a.m. Sun., Jan. 27 Feast of Ten Tables, 4 p.m. Sat., Feb 2 TK and Kindergarten New Family Open House, 10 a.m. St. Francis Xavier is on Social Media! Follow us so you don t miss out on our great events and activities. @LoveSFX Twitter St.francisxavier Instagram St. Francis Xavier Facebook Gifts from an IRA If you are 70 ½ or older, you can make a tax-free gift directly from your IRA account to the parish. This law allows you to transfer any amount up to $100,000 annually directly to a qualified charitable organization without paying income tax on the distribution. The transfer does not generate taxable income or a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemized your tax deductions. Your gift can satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution. Gifts of Stock Gifts of appreciated assets such as stock are an excellent way for you to make a charitable gift. Stocks may be transferred directly to the Archdiocese for the benefit of parish, school or favorite Catholic ministry. These gifts will not affect your cash flow, and they provide the following tax benefits: A possible charitable deduction to help you save on taxes Bypass of federal and state capital gains taxes Avoidance of the tax on net investment income From a tax perspective, a gift of appreciated assets makes good sense. You can make the capital gains taxes optional, achieve significant tax savings and support our programs. Please contact Brooke Glazer at 213-637-7381 or bglazer@la-archdiocese.org. Have you remembered your parish, school or ministry in your will or trust? Our legal title is The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles, A Corporation Sole, for the Benefit of (parish, school, ministry). For more information, please call Kimberly Jetton at 213-637-7512. Welcome to St. Francis Xavier Parish! We invite you to become a member of our community! Thank you for printing neatly and dropping in the collection basket or Parish Office. Name: Address: Email DIRECTORY OF MINISTRIES Annulments Deacon Jaime Baptism Bereavement Ministry (Funerals) Children's Liturgy of the Word Confirmation Eucharistic Ministers to the Sick First Eucharist (Grades 1 & 2) Marriages Pastoral Ministry to the Sick (818)767-0407 Quinceñera R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) Reconciliation by Appointment Peace & Justice Ministries (818)504-4428 Interested in engaging in the spirituality of Justice call Food Pantry Environmental Stewardship Advocacy Formation & Leadership Program Community Outreach