ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST

ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST

MASS & SACRAMENTS New Members: We welcome new parishioners and are thankful God has sent you. Please visit our website to register online (www.stlukestl.org). Sunday Masses: Saturday Evening Vigil at 5:00 p.m. Sunday Morning Mass at 10:00 a.m. Weekday Mass: 8:00 a.m. Monday - Friday in St. Francis Chapel (effective July 2, 2018) Holy Days and National Holidays: Please see schedule/ calendar for times. CHRISTMAS EVE, 12/24 ~ Mass at 4:00pm CHRISTMAS DAY, 12/25 ~ Mass at 9:00am Sacrament of Penance: Saturday 4:15-4:45 p.m. Baptisms: Please see Fr. Pete after Mass. Baptism classes are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7pm in the rectory. Please call Donna to register. Marriages: Please contact the rectory at least six months before your anticipated marriage. Bulletin Deadline: Please submit material in writing to Donna by Friday at 12:00 noon. email to office@stlukestl.org Homebound Parishioners: Please call Donna if you know of anyone in the parish who needs the Eucharist brought to the home. Alcoholics Anonymous: Please call Rhonda for more information, 314-810-2709. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ~ Matthew 7:7 Devotions at St. Luke the Evangelist Rosary: Monday - Friday at 7:30am (St. Francis Chapel - effective July 2, 2018) Perpetual Help Devotions: Tuesday at 8:30am Communion Calls: Friday Communion Calls-Visit the Sick If you would like to be put on the list for a home visit please call Donna (644-2144). Anointing of the Sick If you are being scheduled for surgery or will be checking into the hospital for any reason and would like to receive the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, please call Donna (644-2144) to schedule an appointment with Fr. Pete prior to your hospital stay. 2 S. L E Pastor In Residence Deacon Business Manager Music Director Wedding Coordinator Funeral Organist Maintenance Finance Council Parish Council Anne Bisch Anne Feise John Nighbor STAFF Father Peter M. Blake 314-644-2144 ext. 11 pastor@stlukestl.org Monsignor C. Eugene Morris 314-644-2144 ext. 21 msgrmorris@gmail.com Deacon Dave Osmack cell phone: 314-941-2412 Donna Mueller 314-644-2144 ext. 10 office@stlukestl.org Frank Jorns cell phone: 314-406-3724 Cathy Laskowitz celaskowitz65@gmail.com cell phone: 314-566-6996 Sue Vonderheid cell phone: 314-398-4851 Amir Tadzic Tom Kubsh Daniel O Sullivan Julie Schulte John Weiler The Parish Council meets on the 4 th Tuesday of the month (except for July, August, and December) in the rectory dining room at 7:00pm. Parishioners are invited to attend the meeting as non-participants. If you have an item you would like to be on the agenda, please submit the item to Donna one week prior to the meeting. Parish Council members serve as liaisons to the following committees: Altar Society ~ Anne Feise Helping Hands, Bread for Life, Giving Tree ~ John Nighbor Men s Guild, Finance Committee ~ Tom Kubsh RCIA, Adult Education, Retreats ~ John Weiler St. Vincent de Paul ~ Dan O Sullivan Women s Guild, Worship, Music, Respect Life ~ Anne Bisch CONTACT US St. Vincent de Paul 314-289-6101 x2237 Parish Office Email Office Hours Website Facebook 7230 Dale Avenue Richmond Heights, MO 63117 phone: 314-644-2144 fax: 314-644-4624 office@stlukestl.org M/T/Th/F, 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. www.stlukestl.org www.facebook.com/stlukestl

December 2, 2018 First Sunday of Advent FROM THE PASTOR S DESK Today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. Happy New Year! The green of ordinary time is replaced with purple; not the purple of mourning and repentance, but the purple of expectant joy as we prepare for the nativity of our Lord. But, if all we do is count down the days to Christmas, we might be selling Advent short. If this holy season had a slogan I believe it might be, Good things come to those who wait. For most of this new year, our Gospel will be from St. Luke. Last year our Gospels were from the fourth evangelist, St. John. In this new year, let s allow the beautiful words and stories of St. Luke, our patron, inspire us to deeper faith. Today Jesus tells us, Be vigilant at all times. We are to be faithful disciples, focused on the power of heaven for guidance and comfort. Today s readings begin our journey, which we mark with the traditional Advent wreath, blessed this weekend, and our first candle lit. We begin to look for signs of Jesus, the just shoot of the House of David, in our midst. This year let us make a special effort to remember Christmas begins with Christ, Emmanuel, God always with us. Thank you to all who turned out to help with the annual Church cleaning. It was great to see both St. Luke parishioners and Oratory members joining hands to work together to make the Church spic and span. Thanks one and all. Our Advent Giving Tree has been up for a week and many have already taken an ornament (or two), to share Christmas with those less fortunate. Ornaments list a gift to consider purchasing. Our St. Vincent de Paul Society, along with our Pro-Life Committee will be coordinating the distribution of your generosity. Please see the bulletin for details. Our Memorial Poinsettia Campaign is currently underway. Those who use their weekly envelopes will find a Flower Offering envelope in last month s packet. There are also a few envelopes in the pews. All flowers this Christmas will be in loving memory of our loved ones. Please write the names of those to be remembered on the outside. Names of our loved ones will appear in the Christmas bulletin. Festival Choir for Christmas rehearsals continue this weekend at 7pm in the Choir loft. We are happy to welcome a few more voices. Please join us this weekend and join in the gift of this special music ministry. You ll be glad you did. Church decorating for Christmas will be on Dec. 22 nd, beginning at 10:00am. We hope with many hands helping to decorate we will be finished by Noon. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us. Finally today, a good way to prepare the way for the Lord is to make a good celebration of Penance during this season. Christmas is always a special time to welcome Christ into the manger of our hearts. Let s allow God s grace to remove anything that blocks the Advent of our God and encourage us to Prepare Him Room. God Bless! Have a good week! Remember those 3 Hail Marys (Fr. Pete).. 3

Monday 8:00am Tuesday 8:00am MASS INTENTIONS December 3 ~ St. Francis Xavier War Veterans December 4 ~ St. John Damascene Raffaella Maria Stroik Wednesday December 5 8:00am Ellen M. Frank Thursday 8:00am Friday 8:00am Saturday 5:00pm Sunday 10:00am December 6 ~ St. Nicholas Marianne Slokjowski December 7 ~ St. Ambrose; First Friday Ann & Harry Shea December 8 ~ The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Gerry Mahoney December 9 ~ Second Sunday of Advent People of the Parish Please join us Monday through Friday at 7:30am to pray the rosary. In your charity, please Pray for: the sick and shut-ins of our parish, especially Alice Beck, Lily Becker, Fr. Boisaubin, Michaeleen Cradock, Paul Eigelberger, Patricia F. Heneghan, Mary Ann Hentschel, Mary Guyon Hill, Joyce Hyland, Bob Jacquin, Nancy Long Mueller, Lili Ramirez, Debra Reid, Henry Russell & Carole Stempien. the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, may they rest in peace. PLEASE PRAY for our PARISHIONERS and/or LOVED ONES SERVING in the UNITED STATES MILITARY Richard Brady, Marine Corps Michael Frame, Navy Richie Murphy, Marine Corps Thomas Raybuck, Army 4 S. L E BAPTISM CLASSES Baptism classes, for first time parents and Godparents, are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:00pm in the Rectory and last approximately 35 minutes. The next class is scheduled for December 4. Please call Donna to register. To add your loved one s name(s) to the list please contact Donna at the office READINGS for the WEEK Monday: Is 2:1-5; Ps 122:1-9; Mt 8:5-11 Tuesday: Is 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Lk 10:21-24 Wednesday: Is 25:6-10a; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 15:29-37 Thursday: Is 26:1-6; Ps 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a; Mt 7:21, 24-27 Friday: Is 29:17-24; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; Mt 9:27-31 Saturday: Gn 3:9-15, 20; Ps 98:1-4; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38 Sunday: Bar 5:1-9; Ps 126:1-6; Phil 1:4-6, 8-11; Lk 3:1-6 SEE GOD in the FACES of the POOR ~ St. Vincent de Paul Your generous donations enable us to help the needy in our community. You are the face of Christ to so many in need. Thank you for your support! Donations can be dropped off in the containers located in the vestibule/entry ways of Church after daily or weekend Masses or at the rectory (Monday through Friday 9:00am-1:30pm). If you have questions, please contact the parish St. Vincent de Paul office at 314-644-2144 ext.22. Please remember to pick up your copy of Our Sunday Visitor! Thank you for your continued support of the needy in our community! CALENDAR of EVENTS Monday December 3 6:00 pm SVDP Meeting Tuesday December 4 7:00 pm Baptism Class ~ Rectory Dining Room ** Please call Donna to REGISTER ** Wednesday December 5 7:00 pm RCIA ~ St. Joseph Hall Thursday December 6 7:00 pm Men s Guild Meeting ~ St. Joseph Hall Friday December 7 5:00 pm Wedding Rehearsal Saturday December 8 1:30 pm Wedding 5:00 pm Mass 6:00 pm AA Meeting ~ St. Joseph Hall Sunday December 9 8:00 am Latin Mass 10:00 am Mass 11:30 am Latin Mass 1:00 pm Baptism 7:00 pm Festival Choir Rehearsal

December 2, 2018 DECORATING ST. LUKE S Saturday, December 22 nd 10:00 a.m We will be decorating the altar SATURDAY (12/22) morning, at 10:00am. We hope you will join us in this special ministry. BIRTHRIGHT CHRISTMAS CARDS The Birthright cards will be available after all the Masses the weekend of November 24-25 & December 1 & 2. A package of 15 cards is $10. Please plan to pick up some of these beautiful cards and support the wonderful work that Birthright does by serving expectant moms and their families in time of need. SAVE THE DATE! December 12, 2018 @ 6:00pm Attention all Ladies of the Women s Guild: We will meet at Pietro s on Watson Road at 6:00pm. We will continue our tradition of taking up a collection for our parish St. Vincent de Paul Society and we also invite you to bring a wrapped gift ($5 limit) for Rob Your Neighbor! Please RSVP to Jeanette O Brien at 781-8720 no later than Monday, December 10. RITE of CHRISTIAN INITIATON of ADULTS The RCIA process is for adults who are: Not Catholic & seeking information on what the Catholic Church doctrines & beliefs are. Baptized active Catholics, seeking to update their knowledge of the Catholic Faith. Baptized Catholics, but not practicing, who would like to connect again with the Catholic Church. RCIA meetings are held on Wednesday nights @ 7:00pm in St. Joseph Hall. If you are interested or know someone who is, please call Donna for more information. EARLY DEADLINES: Please note the following early deadlines for upcoming bulletins: December 23, 2018 ~ deadline to submit is 12/12/18 December 30, 2018 ~ deadline to submit is 12/18/18 January 6, 2019 ~ deadline to submit is 12/26/18 If you would like something published in the bulletin you will need to send it to Donna by the deadline dates above. First Sunday of Advent MASS SCHEDULE CHRISTMAS FLOWERS Please join us as we remember our loved ones in a special way with our beautiful Christmas Flowers. There is no set donation for this campaign. Please print names of those you are remembering/honoring on the space provided (on the envelopes). Flower envelopes were in your November monthly packet and they are also available in the pews. Names of those being remembered/honored will appear in the Christmas bulletin. THE GIVING TREE Our annual giving tree is up and loaded with tags for our parish St. Vincent de Paul clients and families served by Birthright. Please take a tag from the tree, and be sure to keep it and attach it firmly to your gift, as each numbered tag is for a specific person. Where there is no specific info: size, etc., on the tag, no size gifts such as scarves, gloves, afghans, books, and music are always welcome, as are gift cards in any amount. Baby items for Birthright need not be wrapped. Please leave your gift under the tree in three weeks, the weekend of December 15/16 th. Please call Dianne Burpee at 645-8066 with any questions. WOMENS GUILD CHRISTMAS BAKE SALE Please join us for Mass this Christmas Season Monday, Christmas Eve @ 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, Christmas Day @ 9:00 a.m. It's almost here! Mark your calendars for the weekend of December 15-16, when holiday goodies will be available in the vestibule after all Masses. Save yourself some time this busy time of year and leave the baking to us! *Members, please call Jeanette O'Brien at 781-8720 if you would like to sign up to volunteer your baking skills and/or sign up to man the tables.*.. 5

6 S. L E STEWARDSHIP GIVING ~ 11/18/2018 Total Envelopes Used/Issued: 56/312 Total Online Giving Users/Households: 42/354 ACTUAL NEEDED DIFFERENCE Envelope Total... $ 2122.00 Loose... $ 110.00 Online... $ 2400.47 Total... $ 4632.47 $ 3830.00 $ 802.47 YTD Total... $ 82,438.28 $ 80,430.00 $ 2008.28 Parish Maintenance... $ 20.00 St. Vincent de Paul... $ 323.00 Special Collections... $ 245.00 Christmas Flowers... $ 151.00 December 8 5:00 p.m. Online giving is available on our website. Please remember St. Luke in your estate planning. Servers Panzer Beaudoin Lectors John Weiler Lili Ramirez Eucharistic Ministers Neil Clavers, Kevin Kelly & Patty Kelly December 9 10:00 a.m. Julia Beaudoin, Ann Deer, Suzie O Sullivan Gift Bearers Joann Frame Sheri & John Cronin Children s Liturgy ~ Julia Beaudoin Greeters Ushers STEWARDSHIP GIVING ~ 11/25/2018 Total Envelopes Used/Issued: 44/312 Total Online Giving Users/Households: 42/354 ACTUAL NEEDED DIFFERENCE Envelope Total...$ 959.00 Loose...$ 277.00 Online...$ 745.61 Total...$ 1981.61 $ 3830.00 $ -1848.39 YTD Total...$ 84,419.89 $ 84,260.00 $ 159.89 Parish Maintenance...$ 120.00 St. Vincent de Paul...$ 357.00 Special Collections...$ 15.00 Christmas Flowers...$ 1010.00 Joann Frame & Mary Ann Hentschel Tim Day, Kevin Kelly & Patty Kelly Online giving is available on our website. Please remember St. Luke in your estate planning. LITURGICAL MINISTRIES ~ December 8 & 9, 2018 Sheri & John Cronin, Dee & Ron Brockman John Cronin, Paul Eigelberger, Mike McBride & Dan O Sullivan The PROMISE of JUSTICE We are in fairly good company when we ask God for justice. Often enough we hear and agree with the lament of the people of Israel asking God why the wicked prosper. However, when we call out for justice, we usually want someone to get his or her comeuppance. God s justice is something other than this, of course. God s justice comprises a wonderful rightness between God and humankind. Today, Jeremiah looks ahead to a time when a just one will sprout from the shorn-off stump of Jesse of the house and family of David. Life was not fair in Jeremiah s time. Israel s kings held the promise of God s fidelity, but it was difficult to see how God s promise could be realized through them. Nevertheless, Jeremiah lifts his voice and announces that the Promised One will come. Luke s Gospel echoes that announcement, and Paul is filled with sturdy encouragement. And so Advent begins with a promise. Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. iblessed and gratefuli But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. ~ Luke 21:28 We celebrate Advent each year in preparation of the birth of Jesus. His first coming, as we await his second coming. In this Advent season, use the sacrament of Reconciliation to strengthen your relationship with Jesus. It s never too late.

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December 2, 2018 UNITY in COMMUNITY Christmas Concert Sunday, December 9, 2018 3:00pm First Church of God 7770 Dale Avenue Richmond Heights All are invited to a special Unity in Community Christmas Concert featuring choirs from different Richmond Heights churches. All are welcome to join us for fellowship immediately following the concert. For questions or for more information, please contact Mary Binns at 314-655-3504. ** IMPORTANT ** YEAR-END UPDATES If you are currently enrolled in online giving there is no need to do anything to continue your contributions for 2019. You can make modifications to your account at any time; if you do nothing, your current elections will continue. If you are still receiving envelopes and you are enrolled in online giving please contact Donna to have the envelopes discontinued ~ it helps the parish save costs. If you are not enrolled in online giving...you can join at any time! Please call Donna if you need assistance. All contributions must be made by Monday, December 31 st in order to be included in your 2018 contribution statement. Thank you! First Sunday of Advent FIRST FRIDAY ADORATION Our next First Friday Adoration will be on December 7 th after the 8:00am Mass until 1:00pm in St. Francis Chapel. Please sign up for an Adoration time on the sign-up sheet in the main foyer. We need at least one adorer for every time slot. When you enter this Church it may be possible that you hear the call of God. However, it is unlikely that He will call you on your mobile. Thank you for turning off your phone. If you want to talk to God, enter, choose a quiet place, and talk to Him. If you want to see Him, send Him a text while you are driving. This sacred space is a NO phone zone. ST. PATRICK CENTER Christmas Wishes The St. Patrick Center Christmas Wishes program assists more than 500 individuals and families who have little or no money to purchase gifts for their children. Thanks to all who are sponsoring families this Christmas season! We currently need donations of $20 Target gift cards for single clients in our Shamrock Club Day Treatment Program. To donate gift cards, contact Katie Joseph at 314-802-1976 or kjoseph@stpatrickcenter.org. PILGRIMAGE to the HOLY LAND March 18-28, 2019 Spiritual Leader: Fr. Peter Blake Please join Fr. Pete as he makes a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The itinerary includes: visiting the Summit of Mt. Olives; Bethlehem; the Holy Grotto of the Nativity; Church of All Nations at Gethsamane; the Old City of Jerusalem; praying the Way of the Cross along the same streets, and among the markets and shops, that Jesus traveled on His journey to Calvary; Mt. Zion; Bethany; the Tomb of Lazarus; Cassarea Philippi; the Sea of Galilee; Cana; and much more! Brochures with more information are available in the parish office. Please call Donna (644-2144) or visit stlukestl.org.. 8