St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church 2414 Seventeenth Street, Gulfport, Mississippi 39501 Telephone (228) 864-2272 Fax (228) 864-2273 Email: stjohnthee@cableone.net Website: stjohngulfport.org Staff: Rev. Ryan McCoy, Pastor Deacon David Allen, Pastoral Associate Deacon Rick Conason, Pastoral Associate Sr. Mary Kealy, PBVM, Pastoral Associate Teri Patton, Parish Secretary Masses: Saturday Vigil: 5:00 p.m. First Saturday Devotion: 9:00 a.m. Sunday: 8:00 & 10:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m. Daily Mass: Monday through Friday: 7:00 a.m. Spanish Mass: Sunday, 2:00p.m. Holy Days: 6:00 p.m., Vigil, 7:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. Confession: Before and after every Mass; and anytime on request December 11, 2016 ~ Third Sunday of Advent GOD'S FAVOR Jesus was deep into his work when John the Baptist was imprisoned for speaking truth to power. John's disciples were immersed in their own lives when his imprisonment was visited upon them. They didn't have the luxury of hindsight, and they were visibly shaken by John's imprisonment and certain fate. They came to Jesus to ask John's question and their own, "Are you the one?" As evidence of his identity, Jesus recites the signs of God's favor. The words he uses echo those of Isaiah. These are the very words from the first reading, and they are fresh in our minds. Jesus does not give us abstractions or highsounding ideas. He does not speak of a God who reigns in highest heaven. He speaks of a God who acts on our behalf. John's disciples can see that God's power plays itself out in compassion. We are invited to see this, too. Not only that, we are invited to be the instrument of God's compassion, just as Jesus was. GOD'S WORK Jesus also takes time to sing the praises of John, this principled man who does not change with the wind. Jesus reiterates that there is no greater person born of woman than John the Baptist. His was the privilege of heralding the coming of the Savior. But greater than this, Jesus pointedly adds, is John's participation in the reign of God. Our role is not to announce the coming of the Lord, but to receive the Lord whom John heralded. If the earth is to bud forth a Savior in our time, it will have to be through our healing mission that is his work. For John, this work cost him his life. We have the vocation of continuing this costly work. Especially during this season, we are asked to recall our commitment to healing, reconciliation, and peacemaking. This is a rejoicing Sunday because we can see and taste Christmas. This is a season of joyful anticipation as we consciously look for ways to be active, effective members of the reign of God. Copyright (c) 2007, World Library Publications. All rights reserved.
Third Sunday of Advent December 11, 2016 Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Isaiah 35:10a C.C.D. (Grades K-12)... Sundays, 9:00-10:15 A.M. Knights of Columbus... 1st & 3rd Wednesday, 7:00 P.M. K C Ladies Auxiliary... 3rd Tuesday, 6:30 P.M. R.C.I.A... Mondays, 6:30 P.M. St. Vincent de Paul... 2nd Wednesday, 9:00 A.M. Young At Heart... 4th Thursday, 12 Noon A SEASON OF HOPE Today we can bask in the imagery that the Mass readings offer us. In particular, Isaiah s vision of a parched land that blooms with abundant flowers holds a message for each of us. Too often we are just like that parched land. We can allow ourselves to become absorbed in the waves of consumerism that grip so many. We look for fulfillment in the things that money can buy. Unfortunately, this leaves us like parched land, thirsting for something that money can t buy. This holy season has much to offer to quench our thirsts. In a word, this season offers hope. We are told that those who are ransomed by God will know joy and gladness. For them, sorrow and mourning will be no more. Let us place our hope in these promises. Copyright J. S. Paluch Co., Inc. Welcome to St. John the Evangelist Parish! If you are new to the parish and have not yet registered, please fill out one of the registration forms on the back table or go to our website, stjohngulfport.org and click on the New Parishioner tab. Happy birthday wishes to: Mario DiRaimo,Jr., Mimi Salloum and Charlie Underwood celebrate Dec. 10; Tom Bailey & DeBorah Simpson celebrate Dec. 11; Emily Hale celebrate Dec. 12; Rogers Fredericks celebrates Dec. 14; David McGuffee celebrates Dec. 15. May God Bless them with many more Happy Birthdays! We extend our deepest sympathy to Veronica McCord and family in the death of her mother Helen Ford. May God reward Helen with Eternal Rest, Light and Peace and may He comfort her family in their sorrow. Advent is a season to prepare for Christmas A time when Christ s first coming is remembered. A season when that remembrance directs the mind and heart to await Christ s Second coming at the end of time. Advent is thus a period for devout and joyful expectation. Advent Penance Service!! To prepare for the celebration of Christ s coming, we will celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday, December 20th at 6:00pm. There will be a number of priests here to help us celebrate this Sacrament. Other penance services in the area: Dec. 19 6pm- St. Joseph, Orange Grove Dec. 21-7pm- St. Thomas, Long Beach Advent Prayer God of Eternal mercy and love, I lift my heart in prayer to you throughout these Advent days. Grant me patience as I prepare the way for the Christ s coming. Inspire me with hope to await eagerly the return of Christ in glory. Fill me with joy to cry out with the whole Church Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus. Amen! Novena in Honor of St. John the Evangelist, our Patron Saint. We honor our patron saint, St. John the Evangelist on his feast day Friday, December 27. We will start a novena in his honor on Monday, December 19 and continue until Tuesday, December 27. Copies of the novena will be available at the back tables.
The Pope s Prayer Intentions for December 2016 Christmas Mass times Christmas Eve: 4:00pm and 12:00am Midnight Mass There will be singing of traditional Christmas Carols 30 minutes prior to the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass Christmas Day: 8:00am, 10:30am and 5pm New Years Eve: 5:00pm New Year s Mass times New Years Day: 8:00am,10:30am and 5pm The second collection at all Masses next weekend is for the Christmas Flowers for the Altar. Thank you for your generosity! Help Needed!!! The Altar Society will be here to prepare the inside of the church for Christmas on Friday, December 23rd at 9am. Please come help prepare the church for the celebration of Jesus birthday. Universal: End to Child-Soldiers That the scandal of child-soldiers may be eliminated the world over. Evangelization: Europe That the peoples of Europe may rediscover the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Gospel which gives joy and hope to life. Sincere Thank you to the Members of the Men s club for cooking the turkey, ham and trimmings and serving the Young at Heart Christmas Luncheon last Thursday. The food was delicious and everyone enjoyed a tasty lunch. Thank you also to Mimi Salloum for providing the bingo prizes. The next Young at Heart gathering is Thursday, January 26, 2017. The annual Mass for Deceased Irish Priests will take place on January 10 at 6pm at Sacred Heart Church, 3702 Quinn Drive, Pascagoula. Father Enda McKenna, of San Antonio, Texas, will be the homilist. A reception will follow in the parish activities center. All clergy, religious and laity are invited to attend the Mass. XLT Adoration Every Tuesday, at 7pm. Come enjoy some one-on-one time with Jesus for an hour He wants to hear your troubles, your needs, your joys, your prayers...come and ADORE Him! If you've never been, let this be your invitation. Adoration with live worship music. Confessions will be available. Everyone is welcome!! Offering envelopes for 2017 are on the table in the back of church. Please pick up your envelopes on the way out of church. If you do not see your name please fill out the form on the table and we will prepare them for you to pick up next week. Thank you!! I CAN WAIT In today s reading Saint James urges us to be patient. Make your hearts firm, he says, because the coming of the Lord is at hand (James 5:8). Being patient means enduring without complaint. The farmer mentioned in today s Gospel cannot make the harvest arrive ahead of schedule, but must wait for the sun, the rain, and the good earth to do their work. Yet while the plants are growing there are tasks to be done in the effort to ensure a good crop, such as weeding, fertilizing, and keeping away pests. Thus it is in Advent: God is sending us a savior, but we must prepare for his coming. Children, however, are born impatient. Having their needs met translates into survival and helps them establish bonds with those who love and care for them. As children grow, they learn valuable lessons in tolerance and understanding when they do not get what they want right away. Everyone has seen toddlers who melt down when they have to wait for something. It is more unsettling to see this same behavior in older children or adults, but it happens if they have not learned patience. If we have children, Advent is a yearly opportunity to teach patience. The Church tells to wait four weeks a long time for children. Many families use Advent calendars and Bible story books to focus their children on the day-by-day unfolding of this season. They take their children to an Advent penance service and help them to choose gifts for people named on the parish giving tree. They light the candles on the Advent wreath before meals and say special prayers together. The family time spent savoring each bit of movement over God s good time helps children see the importance of waiting, watching, and learning. Copyright 2010, World Library Publications. All rights reserved.
Augie Alfonso Gil Bailey Katherine E. Bailey David Bell Jr. Mary Ann Bishop Melissa Bowles Carol Campbell Nunzio Caranna Nanette Carpenter Buddy Cospelich Kendall Dedeaux James Doles Gerald Ellis Betty Ferguson JonViolet Flickinger Mary Kay Gaspard Dan & Lorraine Goad Gee Gee Grandis Oren Haddock Ardeth Hessell Celeste Hewes Please Remember in Your Prayers Alibe Hinton Jordan Hoang. Annie Hosli Loyce & Nick Hire Roy Jones Margaret Jowers Mary Kealy Florence Keppner Norbert Keppner Les Knighton Gary Lacy Tommy LeTard Joann Liner Carol Loftin Patty Loftin S J Marengo Jace Mathews Celeste McInnis Cherie Mennis Msgr Mercier Helen Nilges Margaret Northrup Sophia Nuchereno Gus Pique, Jr. Jay & Sheila Poolson Gary Reeves Roland Riel Gaynelle Saucier Wayne Saucier Ken Saxon Aimee Seichshnaydre Austin Seymour Harry Smith Jason Sneed Charlie Underwood Felecia Vann Liza Alfonso Wall James Williams Mandy Woods Ginger Worth Doan The Xinh Prayer is the door through which all God s Graces comes to us -St. Theresa of Avila TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION When the ties of affection and authority that bound Europe s Catholics unraveled in the sixteenth century, many cultures lost time-honored customs of faith. Some customs proved to be especially difficult for the reformers to wrest away from the people, especially those celebrated in the home. This week in Sweden, a country where the Catholic Church was disestablished four hundred years ago, a Catholic martyr from Sicily is the most beloved figure. St. Lucia, Lucy, is celebrated on December 13. The long-story-short is that Lucy was a Christian whose father wanted to marry her off to a pagan fellow, and she rejected her father s authority. To make an example of her, her father had her killed. In the course of the brutal martyrdom, Lucy lost her beautiful eyes, but her vision was miraculously restored. The candles worn today by the eldest daughter of the family are tokens of the fire that refused to harm the saint. So this patroness of light and clear vision is revered on the shortest, darkest days of the Nordic winter. Before the reform of the Gregorian calendar in the sixteenth century, December 13 was the winter solstice. Today, young girls appear in the morning wearing lighted candles on their crowned heads (battery-operated now after many mishaps), and serve sweet rolls and coffee to everyone in the house. For the Swedes, who are not churchgoers, the Lucias are the official heralds of the holiday season and a sign of everyone s yearning for more light in this world. Europe once abounded with customs like this; the survival of this custom in Scandinavia is a sign of God s grace, and how fertile the soil is to receive the true message of Advent. Rev. James Field, Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. TODAY S READINGS First Reading The barren deserts will rejoice and flower. Tired bodies will receive strength. Aching hearts will be made glad (Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10). Psalm Lord, come and save us (Psalm 146). Second Reading Be patient, for the coming of the Lord is as sure as the rain (James 5:7-10). Gospel Tell of what you hear and see: The blind regain their vision, the crippled their movement, the deaf their hearing (Matthew 11:2-11). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from Lectionary for Mass 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved. READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Jdt 13:18bcde, 19; Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47, or any readings from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, nos. 707-712 Tuesday: Zep 3:1-2, 9-13; Ps 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-19, 23; Mt 21:28-32 Wednesday: Is 45: 6b-8, 18, 21b-25; Ps 85:9ab, 10-14; Lk 7:18b-23 Thursday: Is 54:1-10; Ps 30:2, 4-6, 11-12a, 13b; Lk 7:24-30 Friday: Is 56:1-3a, 6-8; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8; Jn 5:33-36 Saturday: Gn 49:2, 8-10; Ps 72:1-4ab, 7-8, 17; Mt 1:1-17 Sunday: Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-6; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24 SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES Sunday: Third Sunday of Advent Monday: Our Lady of Guadalupe Tuesday: St. Lucy Wednesday: St. John of the Cross Friday: Las Posadas begins Collections Dec. 3-4 Identifiable: $4715 Unidentifiable: $685 ACH: $1625 2nd Collection-SVDP Pharmacy : $814 Children s Collection: $32 Thank you for your generosity! The second collection at all Masses this weekend is for Retired Religious The second collection next weekend is for Christmas flowers for the altar. MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK Saturday: +Mary & Ludovic Lee Sunday: 8:00am: +Matthew & Thelma Serpa; +Vincent & Helen Dauro; +Johnny & Betty Fayard 1030am: +John McWaters; +Patrick Holley; +David McIntosh 6:00pm: People of the Parish Monday: +David McIntosh Tuesday: +Edward Panter Wednesday: +Mackie Fayard Thursday +Eric Argao Friday Special Int of Nga Steinbrecher & Tien Bui; +Daniel Adore
Spain Pilgrimage with Fatima and Lourdes Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Apparitions at Fatima This year we will be traveling to Portugal, Spain and France. In Portugal we will be visiting Fatima, where we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother. In Spain, our group will tour Avila, made famous by St. Theresa. We will also take us to the beautiful cities of Salamanca, Madrid and Barcelona. In France, our travels will take us to Lourdes, where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette and where healing occurs even today. The price is $3,699 Per person (double occupancy). This includes air fare from New Orleans, hotels and most meals. The dates are Nov. 7-17, 2017. For more information call 228 238 1050 or 228 697 7814 or email mpmn98@aol.com. In Christ, Father Mike Austin We really appreciate those who donate toward the flowers for our church. If you would like to have flowers placed in church, please contact the parish office at 228 864-2272. Calendar of Events Dec 20 Advent Penance Service, 6pm 24 Christmas Eve, Masses 4pm and 12am Midnight Mass 25 Christmas Day, Masses 8am and 10:30am & 5pm 27 St. John the Evangelist Feast Day 31 New Years Eve Vigil 5pm Jan 1 New Years Day, Masses 8am & 10:30am & 5pm Prayer Groups We have a prayer group that meets every Thursday afternoon from 5:15-6:15pm. Everyone is invited to join us. For more information call the Parish office, 864-2272. Weekly prayer group Thursday s at 10:00am. Call Annette Seymour 326-0851.