Fourth Sunday of Advent December 23, 2012 When Elizabeth heard Mary s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women and blessed it the fruit of your womb. -Luke 1:43 www.imagevine.com St. Veronica Church Established 1951 434 Alida Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080 Fax: 650-588-1481 www.stveronicassf.com Phone: 650-588-1455
St. Veronica Parish Parish Office Hours Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Lunch Noon - 1:00 p.m. Phone: 650-588-1455 Fax: 650-588-1481 Parish Staff Mass Intentions WEEK of December 23, 2012 Sun 12/23 6:45 Risso Family 8:00 Mary Isonio 9:30 Emanuel Borg 11:00 Engy Del Rosario 12:30 People of St. Veronica Mon 12/24 NO MASS INTENTIONS Tue 12/25 NO MASS INTENTIONS Fr. Charles Puthota, Ph.D., Pastor Fr. Linh Nguyen, Parochial Vicar Deacon Roger Beaudry Deacon Joseph LeBlanc Jennifer Baylor, Administrative Assistant Stephanie de Prume, Finance Manager Ext. 306 Patricia Spiteri, Parish Secretary Karen Guglielmoni, Faith Formation & Wedding Coordinator Ext.305 Christopher Lindstrom, Music Director 650-588-1455 Ext. 308 Wed 12/26 6:30 Terry Martinez 8:30 Mike & Kevin Folan Thu 12/27 6:30 Helen Agius 8:30 Juanita Daza Fri 12/28 6:30 Helen Agius 8:30 Sally Vernale Sat 12/29 8:30 Armando Galan 5:00 Lee Heise Sun 12/30 6:45 Eileen Rocks 8:00 Rafeal & Juliette Montalvo 9:30 Steve Dub 11:00 Juan & Marcela Aguirre 12:30 People of St. Veronica St. Veronica Catholic School www.saintveronicassf.org Phone: 650-589-3909 Kathryn Lucchesi Principal Pam Cavagnaro Vice Principal SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION Sacrament of Baptism Baptismal Preparation classes are held once a month. Call the Parish Office 650-588-1455 Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) Call the Parish Office to register 650-588-1455 Ext.309 Faith Formation: 650-588-1455 Ext. 305 Catechetical instructions (1st to 8th grades) Confirmation Classes: 650-588-1455 Parish Office email: churchoffice@stveronicassf.com
Mass Schedule Saturdays: 8:30AM & 5:00PM Sundays: 6:45, 8:00, 9:30, 11:00AM, and 12:30PM Holy Days: 6:30, 8:30AM, & 6:30PM Monday Friday: 6:30 & 8:30AM Spanish Mass First Sunday of each month at 6:00 PM unless otherwise announced Confessions Saturdays: 4:00 5:00PM Liturgy of the Hours Monday Friday: Morning Prayer at 6:00AM Eucharistic Adoration Monday Friday: 9:00AM 9:00PM Parish Registration Please complete and return form to the parish office, or simply drop it in the collection basket. Kindly print all information Name(s) Name(s) Address City & Zip Phone E-mail: Updating Current Parish Registration Moving / Please remove from mailing list. Important Christmas Eve Mass Time Notice Please take note... The Christmas Eve Masses will be at 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. The 4 p.m. Mass will feature the children of the parish in the annual Christmas Pageant. Christmas caroling with the St. Veronica adult choir will begin at 8:15 p.m. Pastoral Center Holiday Schedule The Pastoral Center offices will be CLOSED on Tuesday, Dec. 25, Monday, Dec. 31 and Tuesday, January 1, 2013 for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The offices will be OPEN on Wednesday, January 2, 2013. Please remember the sick and the care-givers in our community. Pray that they may find comfort and healing in Christ. Kindly contact the Parish office if Homebound Eucharistic services are needed. Seeking New Ushers Are you interested in becoming an usher? Our 6:45 AM, 11:00 AM, and 12:30 PM masses are seeking new ushers to assist during the mass. Men, women, and young adults are welcome. Training will be provided. If interested, please contact T.J. Rafael at 650-952-3659. This is a new registration Please call me. Year-end Contribution Statements for 2012 SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION Sacrament of Baptism Baptismal Preparation classes are held once a month. Call the Parish Office 588-1455 Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) Call the Parish Office to register 650-588-1455 Ext.309 Faith Formation: 650-588-1455 Ext. 305 Catechetical instructions (1st to 8th grades) Confirmation Classes: 650-588-1455 A friendly reminder: Any donations that you wish to be recorded on your contribution statement for 2012 must be received in the Pastoral Center office by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 28. If you mail a donation and it is postmarked by Dec. 31, 2012, it will be recorded as a 2012 contribution. Donations postmarked after that date cannot (by law) be recorded as a 2012 contribution. Additionally, donations placed in the offertory collection basket during the weekend masses of Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, 2012, will be recorded as a 2013 donation. Thank you for your continued contributions to St. Veronica Parish. Thank you for your sacrificial offering in supporting St. Veronica. Due to holiday printing schedules, our collection numbers for last week will be reflected in a future bulletin. Thank you for your continued support.
From the Pastor s Desk Dear Parishioners, The First Christmas: As we welcome another Christmas, we are enchanted by the beauty and mystery of the first Christmas. Heaven met the earth. Infinity touched the finite. Eternal embraced the ephemeral. Transcendent encountered the immanent. God became man in Jesus Christ. Because of him, we will live forever. Because of Noel, there s no hell! Christmas 2012: Christmas happens all over again in our lives. Jesus is born in a whole new way, like never before. He encounters us as we face life and becomes one with us and our families. Through the mystery of the Incarnation, he makes our ordinary lives extraordinary. Everyone and everything is made holy. We could look at Christmas through three basic spiritual gifts: Love, Peace, and Joy. Love: Christmas is a festival of love. God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. At Christmas the love of God shakes us up---and wakes us up---to Jesus Christ who calls us to love one another as he has loved us---unconditionally and absolutely. Any meaningful celebration of Christmas will inspire us to a life dedicated to love. Peace: Christmas is a festival of peace. Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth. The new-born baby brings peace to our fragmented, harried lives and to a world torn by strife. Any true celebration of Christmas will enable us to surrender our lives and the whole world to the peace of Christ. Joy: Christmas is a festival of joy. The angel announces: I proclaim to you good news of great joy A savior has been born for you While the world may be familiar with pleasures, it has not often tasted the gift of joy that comes from the new-born divine baby. He will give us joy which no one can take away. I wish each one of you at St. Veronica parish (and School & Faith Formation) community the love, peace, and joy of Christ. Thank you for your amazing faith that blossoms into love and service for one another. Thank you, too, for your generous donations which make God s work in our parish grow and prosper. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Your friend and pastor, Father Charles Puthota
Christmas liturgy Schedule 2012 Monday, December 24, 2012 Christmas Eve 4:00PM (Children s Mass) & 9:00PM (8:15PM - Christmas Caroling) Tuesday, December 25, 2012 Christmas Day 6:45, 8:00, 9:30, 11:00AM & 12:30PM Monday, December 31, 2012 8:30AM Tuesday, January 1, 2013 New Year s Day (A Holyday of Obligation) 8:30AM & 6:30PM The Legend of the Candy Cane Many years ago, a candy maker wanted to make a candy at Christmastime that would serve as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy. The white symbolized the virgin birth and the sinless life of Jesus. He made the candy hard to symbolize the that Jesus is the solid rock and the foundation of the church. The firmness also represents the promises of God. The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. He thought it could also represent the staff of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The candy maker then added red stripes. He used small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could be forgiven and have the promise of eternal life. The flavor of mint is similar to hyssop. In Old Testament times, hyssop was associated with purification and sacrifice. It was also used at the cross as they gave Jesus a drink of vinegar before He gave up his spirit. With Appreciation! Thank you to all who donated in so many ways during the Advent season. The St. Veronica parish, School and Faith Formation communities continued to express the spirit of stewardship through buying gifts for the less fortunate for our Giving Angel, by contributing food to the St. Vincent de Paul pantry, by turning in jackets and coats to the One Warm Coat drive, and by donating toys and books to the South San Francisco Fire Department s Toy Drive. Remembering those who are less fortunate in our community is one of the kindest ways to share the Christmas spirit, throughout the holiday season and always!
A Christmas Prayer Loving Father, help us to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the Wise Men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus sake. Amen. -- Robert Louis Stevenson Living God s Word We pray that whatever form our journey takes, we will persevere in becoming, individually and communally, a new creation. We ask the Father to send forth the Holy Spirit upon us so that we will be recreated as this same Spirit continues to renew the face of the earth. From Renewed by God s Word Baptism Information Registration forms are available from the Pastoral Center during regular office hours, or you may download a form from our website at www.stveronicassf.com. Baptisms are celebrated on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month at 11:00 a.m. unless otherwise noted: January 5 & 19 February 2 &16 March 2 (Noon) & 16 April 6 & 20 May 4 (Noon) & 18 June 1 & 15 Preparation classes for parents & godparents are held monthly on Tuesdays as noted below. Classes are held in the Pastoral Center from 7:30-9:00 p.m. (Adults only please). January 8 February 12 March 12 April 9 May 7 June 11 Please call the Parish Office at 650-588-1455 to reserve your space for the Baptismal Prep Classes. Poinsettias at Christmas There is an old Mexican legend about how Poinsettias and Christmas come together; it goes like this: There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita sadly walked to the chapel, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up. Pepita, he said I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus Happy. Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had witnessed a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night. The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity. Save the Date Saint Veronica Annual Men's Club CRAB FEED 2013 will be on February 9, 2013. Join us for a night of "Surf and Turf", fabulous raffles and a whole lot of DANCING! Christmas from Washington D.C. airing on EWTN Catholic Television On Monday, Dec. 24, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, will celebrate the Solemn Mass of Christmas Eve from the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, which will air on EWTN at 7:30 & 9:00PM. On Tuesday, Dec. 25 Cardinal Donald Wueri will celebrate the Christmas Day mass at 9:00 a.m. Also on Dec. 25 from St. Peter's loggia, Pope Benedict XVI gives his blessing to the city and the world at 7:00 p.m. EWTN is carried on Comcast 229, AT&T 562, Astound 80, San Bruno Cable 143, DISH Satellite 261 and Direct TV 370. There will be no Bingo on Wednesday, December 26 and Wednesday, January 2. Bingo will resume Wednesday on January 7, 2013.
Our Faith in the Coming Christ Simbang Gabi 2012 The parish community of St. Veronica would like to thank and acknowledge the following contributors to the 2012 Simbang Gabi celebration, as of December 14: Frank & Lita Acob Steve & Ofie Albrecht Ester Baldovino BLD Ministry Members Evelyn Broas Adelaida Catahan Jaime P. Corral Greg & Mars Corrales Chito & Cecile Crisostomo Larry & Perla Cruz Cres & Rosalinda Cuaton Manuel & Alma Dela Fuente Joe & Carmella Da San Martino Garden Chapel Funeral Home James & Karen Guglielmoni Lulu Julao (in memory of Carmelita Julao) Joey & Juvy Laurito John & Marilyn Lee Rosalinda Madrona Cynthia Mak (in memory of Ramon Pablo) Elmer & Flaviana Mamaradlo Linnie Monterola Maryann C. Moreno Jay & Rachel Naidu Sonia Nuñez and Family Josephine Pablo (in memory of Ramon Pablo) Joel & Maria Palacio Lennie & A.J. Perreras Jim & Aurie Piguing Lisa Rimando Romeo & Puri Soriben Trinidad Tabaldo Pete & Norma Zarate