December 23, 2018 Holy Family Church 129 Winthrop Street, Watertown, NY 13601 Phone: 315-782-2468 E-Mail: hfchurch@twcny.rr.com Website: www.holyfamilywatertown.org PASTOR: IN RESIDENCE: DEACONS: TRUSTEES: SCHOOL BOARD: PARISH STAFF Pastoral Associates: Rev. Steven M. Murray Rev. Leo A. Wiley Rev. Msgr. Paul E. Whitmore Deacon Edward R. Miller Ret. Deacon Michael J. Allan Mrs. Maureen Van Wormer Mr. John Eisenhauer Mr. Michael Ledoux Sr. Angelica Rebello, SCC Patrick Bates Christian Formation Director: Sr. Angelica Rebello, SCC 782-6750 R.C.I.A. Director: Kathy Allan 315-785-8576 Business Administrator: Carol Brown 315-408-6301 Secretary: Organist: Judy Geng Edward Kemp IMMACULATE HEART CENTRAL SCHOOL School Pastor: Rev. Msgr. Robert H. Aucoin 315-629-4678 School Principal: Mrs. Lynise Lassiter 315-788-4670 Vice Principal:(7-12): Mr. Geoffrey Andrews 788-4670 Vice Principal (K-6): Mrs. Kari Conklin 788-3935 BAPTISM: Baptisms are generally scheduled on Sunday. Parents must attend a class held on the second Monday of the month at 7:00 PM. WEDDINGS: Arrangements should be made six months In advance by calling for an appointment with a priest or deacon. SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Confession/Penance - Saturday 4-5 P.M. SACRAMENT OF THE SICK: Upon Request - Please call Fr. Murray if you are planning on having any surgery and he will be happy to anoint you. Holy Family Church Welcomes Everyone No matter what your present status is in the Catholic Church; no matter your family or marital status; no matter where you are in the practice of faith; no matter what your self image may be; you are invited, welcomed and loved at Holy Family Church.
RECTORY OFFICE HOURS Monday, 12:30PM- 4:00PM; Tuesday Thursday, 9:00AM-4:00PM, closed for lunch noon-12:30pm; Friday, 9:00AM-1:00PM. BAPTISMAL PREPARATION CLASS The next class will be Monday, January 14th, at 7PM in McGivney Hall. Please call the Rectory at 315-782-2468 during business hours to sign up if you are planning on attending this required class. Thank you. THIS WEEK IN OUR PARISH Sunday December 23, 2018 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 9:00 Kevin Shepard by Beverly Shepard 11:00 Garvin Cook by His Family 5:15 People of the Parish Monday 4:00PM 7:00PM 11:00PM December 24, 2018 Christmas Eve People of the Parish People of the Parish People of the Parish Tuesday December 25, 2018...THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (CHRISTMAS) 9:00 People of the Parish Wednesday December 26, 2018 Saint Stephen, The First Martyr 9:00 For the Intentions of Bill and Florence Heldt Thursday December 27, 2018...Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist 9:00 Frances McGowan and Deceased Members of the McGowan Family by the Estate of Frances McGowan 10:00 All Souls (At the Summit) Friday December 28, 2018...The Holy Innocents, Martyrs 9:00 Orson Bulluck by Jim and Connie Leana Saturday December 29, 2018 The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 5:15 James V. Williams by Mike and Judy Geng Sunday December 30, 2018...THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH 9:00 Norm Cummings by David Cummings and Lance and Cheryl Evans 11:00 Allen Fox by Lee and Donna Combs 5:15 People of the Parish Sunday: December 23rd 10:00AM Coffee Hour (Gathering Area) 1:30PM St. Joseph Cupertino Fraternity of the 3rd Order of Secular Franciscans (McGivney Hall) Monday: December 24th Rectory Closed Tuesday: December 25th Rectory Closed Merry Christmas! Wednesday: December 26th 9:30AM Holy Hour for Vocations (Church) 10:00AM Legion of Mary (McGivney Hall) Thursday: December 27th 9:30AM Holy Hour for Vocations (Church) 10:00AM Mass (Samaritan Summit Village) Friday: December 28th 9:30AM Holy Hour for Vocations (Church) INQUIRY If you are interested in the Catholic Faith or know of someone who is, please contact our R.C.I.A. Director Kathy Allan at 315-785-8576 for an appointment. The Diocese of Ogdensburg s Retirement Plan for Priests has long been supported by parish contributions from its annual Christmas Collection. Currently 37 retired priests, and 9 active priests age 70 and older, are expected to receive pension benefits of $872,000 in 2018-19. Also 100% of the cost of health insurance premiums for retired priests is paid by the Plan. Your generous contribution not only supports current retirees but will also help provide for the retirement needs of priests who will retire in the future. Say thank you to your pastor and all priests of the diocese through a generous contribution to our Christmas Collection. Fourth Sunday of Advent Hebrews tells us that it is by God's will that we have been consecrated. How is God calling you to grow in holiness? If He may be inviting you to the priesthood, diaconate or consecrated life, talk to Fr. Steven Murray at315-782- 2468 or Fr. Doug Lucia at 315 386-2543/ dlucia@rcdony.org or Cathy Russell, the Diocesan Vocation Coordinator at 315-393-2920, ext. 1450/crussell@rcdony.org. See us also on Facebook or at www.myvocation.net.
CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE Monday December 24th 4:00PM 7:00PM 11:00PM Tuesday December 25th 9:00AM ACTIVITIES AHEAD IN OUR PARISH BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING Our Parish Nurses will be in the Gathering Area of the Church the weekend of January 5th and 6th taking blood pressures after Masses. Please stop by and have yours checked. Winter can be a very stressful time of year so please take advantage of this ministry that is offered to us and have yours checked, and also thank our nurses for offering this special ministry to us. ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE OUR PARISH NEW EVANGELIZATION SUMMIT 2019 The Annual New Evangelization Summit will take place in Ottawa on May 4, 2019. The speakers for this year will be Fr. James Mallon, Cardinal Gerald C. Lacroix, Michael Dopp, Fr. John Bielawski, Michelle Thompson and Michelle Moran. Registration will not officially open until February 2019, but the Office of the New Evangelization would like to reserve a block of seats for participants from the Diocese of Ogdensburg. In a change from previous years, this year the New Evangelization Summit will be a one-day event and will be FREE. If you are at all interested in attending this one-day summit, please contact Marika Donders, Director of the New Evangelization at mdonders@rcdony.org or 315-393-2920 so we can keep you updated. MARK YOUR CALENDAR! IGNITE 2019, Catholic Men s Conference, is scheduled for Saturday, March 30th at the SRC Arena, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse. Eric Mahl, Divine Mercy Shrine Associate and former NFL linebacker with the Cleveland Browns; and Chris Padgett, National speaker and youth minister are speakers this year. To register please go to: www.ignitecatholicmen.org. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION The next class is scheduled for Sunday, January 6th, 10:00AM-10:50AM for grades K- 8 in the Greystone Building. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, BLESSED NEW YEAR. CONFIRMATION YEAR I will meet Sunday, January 6th, 11:00AM-2:00PM. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. IMPACT Youth Group for 6th-12th graders will meet Tuesday, January 8th, 6:00PM-7:30PM in the Greystone Building across from Holy Family Church. PRAYING THE ROSARY the Legion of Mary will be praying the Rosary Saturday, January 12th beginning at 4:45PM. Everyone is invited to this prayer gathering before the 5:15PM Mass. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN The Knights of Columbus will be at the doors of the Church after Masses the weekend of January 12th and 13th collecting for our Seminarians. Please be as generous as possible. ALTAR SERVER SCHEDULE DEC. 29TH & 30TH 5:15 9:00 Claire and Jillian Draper, Julian Zikowitz 11:00 Christopher, Nolan and Sarah Hennessey 5:15
Note From the Pope, In his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the Our Father prayer. SUMMARY OF POPE'S CATECHESIS Dear brothers and sisters, In our continuing catechesis on the Our Father, we now consider the attitude required by Christ of his disciples as they pray. Jesus invites us to invoke God as Father encouraging everyone to pray to Him in a way that breaks down barriers of subjection and fear. The prayer s seven questions are also rooted in our daily experience of life and its basic needs. We are taught, for instance, to ask for our daily bread a simple yet vital request. Our first prayer, in a sense, was the cry that accompanied our original breath as a new-born child, for it announced our life s destiny: our continual hunger and thirst and search for happiness. With this prayer, then, Jesus desires that every suffering and anxiety should rise up to heaven and become a dialogue. Indeed, to have faith is to be able to cry out in this way. God is truly a Father who has an immense compassion for us and wants his children to address him without fear. For this reason, we can speak to him about anything, even those aspects of our lives that are flawed or confused. And he has promised, moreover, to remain with us until the end of time. Pope Francis concluded by stressing the immense compassion of God and the need to speak to him about all aspects of one's life, including those moments filled with failure or confusion. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you! Andy Mider OUR TITHING PARISH SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT This Year $ 10,246.50 Last Year $ 11,199.50 Youth $ 31.50 Religious Retirement 2018 $ 3,367.25 Religious Retirement 2017 $ 4,515.00 Note From the Pastor, MONTH OF NOVEMBER This Year $ 34,787.00 Last Year $ 38,646.00 Thank you for your continued generosity! Religious give thanks. This money is pure gift, writes a religious sister of the support made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious. It enables us to continue providing care for our elderly sisters. Your gift to last week s collection helps hundreds of religious communities meet pressing retirement needs while continuing to serve the People of God. Thank you for your generosity! CAPITAL CAMPAIGN UPDATE Total Pledges and One Time Gift $420,271 Total Participating Households 178 Let s keep up the good work! Our goal is $555.000. This past week I received an email from a concerned parishioner. She felt that the goal of $750,000. was beyond many parishioners comprehension. The original Diocesan goal was $555,000, so perhaps I was too optimistic in the first place. However, situations change and one of our original goals was to purchase the Lennox property. The price was raised from $225,000 to $275,000 which is from my perspective a ridiculous price even at $225,000. It is far more than the property is worth. Several developers have been interested, however, they want to purchase most of the churches parking lot on the State St. side of the church. Also during this time we have worked with Jake Johnson and the State Street Market, providing 20 additional parking spaces which can be used by both the church and the market. This will be paved in the spring as winter came too fast. Our goal will still enable us to hopefully secure our beautiful stained glass windows and do some necessary repairs to insulate the newer part of the rectory. If you have not prayerfully considered a pledge or one time gift to It s Our Church, It s Our Future, I hope you will. Some time in the new year we will receive a parochial vicar (an assistant priest), Fr. Antony a priest from India. There are two priest from his community working in our Diocese at this time. Fr. Steve
Christmas 2018 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ: At the Christmas Vigil Mass, we will hear St. Matthew tell us that All this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin shall be with child and give birth to a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel, a name which means God is with us (Mt. 1:22-23). Sometimes, when faced with the uncertainties and anxieties of life, it s difficult to remember this awesome mystery of our faith: throughout all life s struggles, God is with us! To migrant families who are frightened and feel so vulnerable because government leaders have failed you Emmanuel: God is with you! To children robbed of innocence because Church leaders have failed you Emmanuel: God is with you! To moms, dads and children in Latakia and so many other places who are terrorized and feel isolated because you courageously live your Christian faith Emmanuel: God is with you! Yes, believe it: God is with us! Our God never fails us. Christmas 2018 is a beautiful occasion to recommit ourselves to embracing this truth of our faith. God has entered our world, was born among us, never to abandon us. Our God s unconditional love and boundless mercy became flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ so that we might touch and see God s constant compassion for every one of us. In many ways, this has been a painful year. However, the upcoming days of the Christmas season are a graced time for you and me to focus our prayerful attention on all who yearn to experience, in a tangible way, God s Presence in their lives. In this moment, when the Babe of Bethlehem brings light into gloom and darkness and the heavenly choirs sing of God s Peace, we seek forgiveness and conversion of heart for the times we have failed to be instruments of God s loving and merciful presence when we have fostered polarization rather than reconciliation and healing. Advent, Christmas, 2019 all indicators that this is a time of new beginnings. May the Christ Child bring you and your loved ones the Gift of Love, the Blessing of Hope and the Promise of Peace. A blessed Christmas and joy-filled New Year! Faithfully yours in Christ, Most Reverend Terry R. LaValley Bishop of Ogdensburg PLANNED GIVING: Please Consider Our Parish in Your Estate Plans When considering gifts in your Will or estate plans please remember our parish. Gifts can be made to our parish in the following manner: Specific dollar amount: a percentage of your estate or a particular asset such as savings bond, life insurance, real estate or other valuables. For more information contact: Scott Lalone, Executive Director, Development Office 315-393-2920, slalone@rcdony.org.
OUR PARISH NURSES NOTES Children with Special Healthcare Needs The CSHCN Program seeks to improve the system of care for children with special health care needs from birth to 21 years of age and their families. Children served by the CSHCN program have an illness or condition for which they need extra health care and support services. Call us at 315-786-3720 for more information. Join our Facebook group Children with Special Needs Jefferson County to learn about and share community events that are sensory friendly and to help support one another. DECEMBER 23: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT Readings: Mi 5:1-4a/Heb 10:5-10/Lk 1:39-45 We have a beautiful gospel today. Mary set out in haste to visit Elizabeth and what follows is a joyful greeting between the women and their infants. Today a lot of our interactions are no longer face to face, in person. We text and email and connect on Facebook and Twitter. But we are called to be Christ-bearers like Mary. We are called to share the gift of faith and salvation that we have received. Perhaps this week we can make an effort to be truly present to others, to visit a neighbor in need or an elderly relative who might be lonely, and in so doing, bring the love of Christ. Have a blessed Christmas. DECEMBER 25 Tue THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (Christmas) Readings: Day: Is 52:7-10/Heb 1:1-6/Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14 What do we think of when we think of Christmas? Many of us will picture the manger scene, the star, the angels, the shepherds, the animals in the stall, and baby Jesus in the manger with Mary and Joseph looking on. The readings of the Midnight Mass focus on the Christ Child and the familiar Christmas story. But the reading for the Mass for Christmas Day reminds us that this baby from the beginning, from before Creation, is the almighty Son of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And yet this God made his dwelling among us. This God, whom the universe cannot contain, comes to us and dwells among us so we can see his glory. We can see him! We can be in relationship with him! He is the light that shines in the darkness, letting us know that we are not alone. Through the Son, we have access to the Father. All the ends of the Earth have seen the salvation by our God. Let us praise him and adore him, allow ourselves to be loved by him and then go to share his light and love with all whom we meet. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: A Tip for Late Shoppers: Shop locally, purchase items produced in our North Country and share them with family and friends. Benefits? It saves transportation costs. Profits remain in our local communities. It celebrates the gifts of the earth and people who nurtured them.