St Patrick CoCathedral December 24, 2017 Pastor Fr. Robert D. Grosch Weekend Masses Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 8:00AM &10:30 AM No 10:30 Mass on Christmas Eve Christmas Eve Masses 4:00 PM with the Christmas Pageant and 10:00 PM Monday at 9:00 AM New Year s Day Mass Monday at 9:00 AM Daily Mass TuesdayFriday 12:10 PM Reconciliation Saturday 3:004:00 PM or by appointment 215 N. 31st St. Billings, MT 59101 (406) 259-3389 Ofice Hours Mon.Fri. 8:304:00 Closed 121pm Bulletin deadline is 10 AM Monday : Email to stpatbulletin@gmail.com www.stpatrickcocathedral.org
Mon. 9:00 am Faye Ann Schaffer Kristi Schaffer Tue. 12:10 pm Ligget Family B. D. Peggie Ligget Wed. 12:10 pm Ardyth Wisebodhm Craig Thorgeirson Thurs 12:10 pm Jean Ott M & M Fargo Fri. 12:10 pm Kate Frah James Mangan Sat. 5:00 pm Patricia Reitler M & M Fargo Sun. 8:00 am Mary Gilluly Murnell Fargo 10:30am St. Patrick Parishioners In the event of a funeral, the Mass of intention will be rescheduled. STEWARDSHIP REPORT December 17, 2017 LITURGICAL MINISTERS December 30 December 31 December 31 5:00 pm 8:00 am 10:30 am Sacristan Vicki John Michelle Connie Min Co Murnell Joan Allen Ben Botts Host 2 Tom L. Bertha H Barb Depner PB 2 Judy M. Diane T. Patti Snyder PB 3 Tricia Duane C. Lynda Z. PB 4 Linda Casey Mike L. Bob Zirpoli PB 5 Anna Drager Mark Smith Wayne T. Lector 1 Conrad Rose L. Susan Cooper Lector 2 Margie M. Patrick Kass Ralph POF Veronica Altar Servers Sydney M. Annalies M. Mass Intentions December 2531 Due to the timing of the bulletin there will be no Stewardship Report for this week. Thank you for your patience. Alex Benner Lillian Smith Patrick Close Shawn Rogina December 2531 Adan Trevizo 26 Jonathan Benson 26 Betty Welsh 27 Clara Scherr 27 Peggy Pond 27 Garrett Cosgrove 27 Cathy Pasquarello 28 Michael Whittenberger 28 Lyla Perzinski 28 Mary Jean Paxton 29 John Turcotte 29 Andrew Powell 29 Philip Painter 30 If you don t see your birthday here, we don t have it in the ofice. Please let us know if we miss you! YOU ARE NUMBERED AMONG THE SAINTS AND OF THE FAMILY OF GOD EHPES 2:19 LIVE THE LITURGY INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK Mary said: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." A simple trust in God's word allowed the Mother of God to do incredible things. As a humble servant and listener, she embraced her mission and invested herself wholeheartedly in doing what God had asked. Do we know and trust that we are being led? Often, we can feel very much alone and without a source of inspiration, guidance, and love to enlighten our path. God is with us. This is the essential message of Advent and the truth revealed to us at Christmas. We are never alone. There is no need to fear. We too, with God's help, can do incredible things. Many thanks to the liturgical ministers and musicians who are serving at the Christmas liturgies as well as parishioners who helped set up the Christmas art and environment! Ofice Staff Pastor Fr. Robert Grosch 14 Hospital/Jail Min. Fr John Houlihan 10 R.C.I.A./ Baptism Sr. Jeanne Tranel 16 Dir. of Lit. & Music Jan Wood 13 Dir. of Religious Ed Mary Gilluly 22 Stephen Ministry Doris Choriki Parish Ofice Margery Chansler 10 Bookkeeping Deborah Ligget 18 Maintenance Sup. Rosie Schuff 6987398 Annulments BJ Sletta 6908016
GOSPEL MEDITATION 4th Sunday of Advent "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus." Today is the last Sunday of the Advent season, and we hear in the Gospel the anticipation of the feast we will celebrate in just one day. Christmas is coming! Jesus is on his way! We have had weeks to prepare for this momentous occasion, and now we are on the very verge of its arrival. The children in our midst can hardly contain their excitement as they wait to wake up on Christmas morning. The thrill of this coming moment is meant to remind us of the joy and anticipation we should all feel as we await the coming of Christ. Yes, Christmas is a great feast, but there is more here than a remembrance of the past or a fabulous party in the present. There is a lookingahead as well. We celebrate as we anticipate. Much as Mary must have waited in wonder during the nine months of her pregnancy, we wait in hopeful expectation as Christians looking forward to being reunited with our Savior. Our future is full of hope. The delating melancholy that aflicts many people after a holiday runs its course need not be the experience of the Christian waiting for Christ. We are always looking forward to something! There is never a moment when we have no cause for joy. Our lives are lived in a kind of unending advent as we stand in watchful waiting. Let us remember this as we enter into our Christmas Eve gatherings and festivities. As we join with family and friends to share in the good things of this life, may we carry with us the joy of knowing that even better things lie in store for us who welcome the infant Jesus into our hearts and homes. Readings for the week of December 25, 2017 Monday: Vigil: Is 62:15/Ps 89:45, 1617, 27, 29 Acts 13:1617, 2225/Mt 1:125 Tuesday: Acts 6:810; 7:5459/Ps 31:3cd4, 6, 8ab, 16bc and 17 [6]/Mt 10:1722 Wednesday: 1 Jn 1:14/Ps 97:12, 56, 1112 [12] Jn 20:1a, 28 Thursday: 1 Jn 1:52:2/Ps 124:23, 45, 7b8 [7] Mt 2:1318 Friday: 1 Jn 2:311/Ps 96:12a, 2b3, 5b6 Lk 2:2235 Saturday: 1 Jn 2:1217/Ps 96:78a, 8b9, 10 Lk 2:3640 Next Sunday: Gn 15:16; 21:13 or Sir 3:26, 1214 Ps 105:12, 34, 56, 89, [7a, 8a] or Ps 128:12, 3, 45 /Heb 11:8, 1112, 1719 or Col 3:1221 or 3:1217 Lk 2:2240 or 2:22, 3940 Adoration Chapel at St. Vincent Hospital Chapel Kathleen Simpson 6965984 Centering Prayer Sat. 9:00am, Parish Center Catholic Daughters of America 2nd Tuesday St. Thomas Community Center Financial Counseling Bill Belinski at 2593389 Knights of Columbus Grand Knight: Josh Twichel 2521602 Deputy Grand Knight: Aldo Rowe 8606363 Parish Council 1st Sunday of the month 11am Stephens Ministry 1st Saturday 12 Youth Room Ultreya Tuesday night 7pm Church Hall Parish Nurse Ministry Blood pressure checks on 1st Saturday before and after5:00 Mass and on 1st Sunday of the month after morning Masses. Call 2593389 if you would like a visit from the Parish Nurse during or after your hospitalization. Please Support our Advertiser of the Week Baptism Class: Tuesday, January 16,2018 at 6:00 p.m. For more informaon, please contact Sister Jeanne 2593389. In order for us to celebrate the Christmas season, RCIA will begin again on January 8, 2018. Bible Study will begin again on January 18, 2018. Thank you and have a very Merry Christmas!
From Jan THE PRESENT OF PRESENCE While Santa gives presents, Jesus gives presence. We hold Jesus in our hands each me we receive the Eucharist. In sharing the Eucharist, we thank God for the gis God has given us. We rejoice with all whose presence we see each week. God was very extravagant in giving us Jesus. Our own Christmas giving is meant to symbolize God's generosity to us. As we give our gis, let's be grateful that the Father gave us the greatest gi of all. What good is it to me if the eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace and I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son, if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? From Meister Eckhart, 12601327 Come early to the Christmas Masses with friends and family. Enjoy scripted lessons, singing carols, as well as listening to Christmas instrumentals. It s New Year Resolution Time The New Year is nearing, and with the holiday season already upon us many people are indulging in retrospection and reevaluating some of their life choices. New Year s resolutions are the perfect opportunity for all those who have failed to start making the changes that they said they would make next week, or next month. Here are some healthy ideas for resolutions: Get in shape: Lose weight Become more active Start eating healthier food, and less food overall Watch less TV Stop procrastinating Get more quality sleep Improve your concentration and mental skills Meet new people Become more conident and take some chances Reduce stress There is a great opportunity coming up with the New Year. Our Sunday Visitor is hosng a webinar series called Loaves + Fishes. It will be offered live monthly on the second Tuesday of every month and a recording of the webinar will be available the following day. You must preregister for this event. The theme of the webinar is on Stewardship, so it fits very well with our diocesan priories. One very important piece of informaon pertaining to the webinar is that it is free of charge to parishes and parishioners given that it is funded via the Catholic Communicaons Campaign. The first webcast is January 9, 2018 Jan 9 From Gossip to Greatness in a Parish Community Lorie Duquin You can ind the webinar link on our Parish webpage www.stpatrickcocathedral.org, under Links. Please contact Judy Held in the Ofice of Stewardship if you have further questions.
Community Volunteers Needed! To help with Children s Liturgy of the Word. Volunteer one Sunday a month at the 10:30 a.m. Mass to help our children break open the word of God in ways they can understand! This is an approximately 20 minute commitment one Sunday each month (when you are here, anyway!). Volunteers will receive training and the reward of relationships with our youngest parish members! Please call Mary at 2593389 for more information! Thank you for considering this very important opportunity to serve our littlest members! February 24, 2018Ursuline Centre Great Falls, Montana Retrouvaille helps couples through dificult times in their marriages. It is designed to provide the tools to help get your marriage back on track, the opportunity to rediscover each other, and examine your lives together in a new and positive way. This program has helped 10 s of 1000 s of couples. Retrouvaille is for any couple who would like to rediscover their marriage and improve communication. For more information about an upcoming Retrouvaille Weekend program for couples, contact registration team: at18004702230 or visit our website: www.retrouvaillemt.org or www.helpourmarriage.com Middle school relections Gabriel visited Mary and Joseph in the town called Nazareth. This helps us understand that God is always watching over us. This also helps to know that our guardian angels are always watching over us. He then said "Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you." This perplexed Mary, for she didn't know why the angel had visited her. Gabriel told Mary that she was going to carry God for nine months. For about a split second, these were Mary's emotions: bewildered, startled, awed, and then faith. She said with great faith "Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your Word." Special thanks to Hanser s Automotive for once again donating our parish calendars for 2018! Your generosity is greatly appreciated! Be sure to pick up your calendar at the back of the church. Elegant Afternoon Tea Hosted by Sisters in Faith of St Bernard Church, 226 Wicks Lane. January 20, 13 pm. Bring your little girls, Nieces, or Grand Daughters for savories, sweets, tea and entertainment! Call Alice for more information 2482420. World Wide Marriage Encounter is offering a Marriage Encounter weekend in Billings on the weekend of January 2628. I will be a team priest on this weekend and will be providing additional information in the near future and hopefully a lyer. This is to alert parishes, especially in the Billings area, to this great opportunity for married couples. Couples who have made the weekend can attest that the time spent on a weekend truly enhanced their relationship. If anyone would like additional information please call Paul and Tracy McElvery at 3076892820 5
SPY NEWS The high schoolers talked about the meaning of Joy on Wednesday night and how to attain it through prayer, faith and love for one another. After that, they had a Spoons, tournament lots of noise, but no injuries! McKenna Shea beat out Elizabeth Johnson in the championship round! Congratulations, McKenna! No Youth Group or Religious Education December 27 or January 3 rd. We will resume classes and youth groups on Wednesday, January 10 th. Enjoy this time with your families! 4 th and 5 th graders working on their lesson upstairs while pizza is baking. They spent time learning their mealtime prayers before and after enjoying a pizza dinner.