To seek, trust and glorify God through humble service and continual prayer. To raise up devoted disciples. St. Ann Church & Model Schools 46-129 Haiku Road Kaneohe, Hawaii www.saintannhawaii.org The Third Sunday of Advent On the third Sunday of Advent, we light three candles on the Advent wreath. The third candle is the Candle of Joy. It reminds us of what the shepherds do when the angels proclaim the birth of Jesus to them. First, they listen and obey the angels even though they are afraid. Then they see Jesus and believe. Finally, they proclaim to all with what they have seen and heard. Mary's "yes" in response to Gabriel's message gives her great joy as the mother of Jesus. In addition, the account of the shepherds reminds us who proclaimed the Catholic faith to Kaneohe. In 1839, the Catholic Hawaiians suffered persecution. These Catholic natives moved to a place where the chiefs and government in Honolulu were less likely to notice them. Kaneohe was one of the centers where Catholics gathered. In 1841, Father Martial Jan of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary established St. Ann as the second Catholic parish in Hawaii. We also call the Third Sunday of Advent Gaudate Sunday (similar to the Third Sunday of Lent, Laudate Sunday). The first word of the antiphon at the Entrance Rite or the opening act of worship in the Mass is "Gaudate" or Rejoice (from the Latin translation of Philippians 4:4-5.) It sets a tone of joyful expectation for the Lord s birth and his Second Coming. The use of rose-colored vestments also contributes to this joyful tone. December 17, 2017 Advent Prayer By Henri J. M. Nouwen Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do, seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, Come, Lord Jesus! Amen. Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The image of the reign of God that the prophet Isaiah proclaims is both comforting and challenging. We are to take these words to heart and put them into practice in our daily lives. As this Advent season unfolds, we turn our gaze once again to John the Baptist, who prepares the way of the Lord. Let us pray that today's Sacred Word will inspire us to become Christ for others bringing glad tidings to the poor and healing to the brokenhearted. Let this be our prayer: "Come, Lord Jesus." What are some ways you can bring hope to someone who is brokenhearted? Next Sunday s Readings - December 24, 2017 - Fourth Sunday of Advent 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 Meditation: Does the proclamation of the Gospel message fill you with joy and hope? When the Lord comes to redeem his people he fills us with his Holy Spirit, the source of our joy and hope in the promises of God When God made a covenant with David as King over Israel he made a promise to David and to his descendants that David's dynasty would endure forever through the coming of the Messiah King (2 Samuel 7:16). This King would establish an everlasting kingdom of peace and security for his people. We often think of peace as the absence of trouble. The peace which the Messiah brings cancels the debt of sin and restores our broken relationship with God our heavenly Father. The new era of salvation begins with the conception and birth of Jesus: We see the fulfillment of God's unfolding plan of redemption in the events leading up to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah King. The new era of salvation begins with the miraculous conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary. This child to be born is conceived by the gracious action of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, who finds favor with God (Luke 1:28). This child will be "great" and "Son of the Most High" and "King," and his name shall be called "Jesus" (Luke 1:31-32), which means "the Lord saves." "He will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). The angel repeats to Mary, the daughter of the house of David, the promise made to King David: "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end" (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 1:32-33). http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2017/dec.24.htm
Sunday Masses Saturday 6:00pm Sunday 7:00am, 8:45am and 11:30am NO 5:00pm Sunday Mass Christmas Schedule 2017-2018 Sunday, December 24 Christmas Eve Masses 7:00pm, 9:30pm, 12:00Midnight Church doors open at 5:45pm Christmas Caroling ½ hour before each Mass Monday, December 25 Christmas Day Masses 8:45am and 11:30am Church doors open at 7:30am NO 7:00am Mass in the Chapel Monday, January 1, 2018 New Year s Day Mary, Mother of God Mass at 8:00am in the Church NO 7:00am Mass in the Chapel 2017 Windward Advent Penance Services Take time to prepare yourself for this Advent season. Make it a priority to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation at 7:00pm at the following locations: Monday December 18 St. George, Waimanalo Tuesday December 19 Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Waikane Mother of God and Our Mother St. Ann Monday, Dec 18th Full of Grace Advent Reflection Parish Center 7:00-8:30pm Come and See! Holiday Food Drive 2017 On behalf of the Knights of Columbus 14620, We extend a warm..."mahalo" to all of our St. Ann Parishioners who donated food during our FOOD FOR FAMILIES/ PROJECT SHARE Campaign. In total we collected over 800lbs of food!! God Bless you and your generosity during this special time. Keep in mind that our St. Ann Project Share is always in need of donations throughout the year! Contact our St. Ann Business Office if you have food and other items you wish to donate now and in the near future!
FAMILY PROMISE It s been almost 6 months since we have been asked to provide support for Family Promise at Kailua United Methodist Church. St. Anthony of Padua has taken on a two week commitment over the Christmas holidays. As part of that, St. Ann Parish is providing support for the second week, December 31, 2017 January 6, 2018. Please check your calendars to see you will be able to join us in helping in this special ministry. Needs: Dinner and Overnight Hosts Dates: Thursday, January 4, 2018 and Friday, January 5, 2018 For questions or to volunteer: As an overnight host contact Sue Slavish at 371-0714 or 236-2480 or via e-mail sueslav@gmail.com To assist with preparing an evening meal contact Linda Heu at 561-4804 via e-mail at HEUD001@hawaii.rr.com May God s grace and blessings be with you. Religious give thanks. A religious sister writes, When we see the generous response of so many thousands of persons in order to help us, religious men and women, we are left speechless. Senior sisters, brothers, and religious order priests across the country send heartfelt thanks and prayers for your donation to last week s Retirement Fund for Religious collection. CALL OUT FOR ALL CRAFTERS!! We are currently signing up Crafters for the April 14, 2018 Ho'olaulea. If you are a Crafter or know of any Crafters, please visit saintannhawaii.org to download a application or email Jocelyn Tamashiro at jocdav@hawaii.rr.com.
The 6 th Annual Saint Ann Advent Giving Tree With deepest gratitude and appreciation, we thank you for your generous contributions to the Advent Giving Tree Campaign. Your generosity was overwhelmingly appreciated by Family Promise, Pu a Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity, St Ann Project Share and the Institute of Human Services. These agencies serve the children and adults in our community who are homeless, in prison transition programs and who are in need of just a little support to get back on their feet. Your generous gifts of love and hope have made all of this possible this Advent season. The gifts and merchandise you lovingly gave amounted to $5,520.00! You have demonstrated God s merciful love and kindness with your generosity to those who are less fortunate than us. May Our Lord bless each of you this Christmas Season with His merciful love. Thank you! MAHALO NUI LOA to all our church cleaners and flower ministers. Wishing you many blessings and thank you for your dedication to St. Ann Church. Saturday, December 9, 2017 Cleaners: Tara Anuskewicz, Billie Corpuz, Michael Del Rosario, Brenda Duarte, Herb & Abby Farm, Nancy Fukushima, Sam Granadosin, Ligaya Guzman, June Hashimoto, Linda Heu, Ken & Danette Hiura, Angela Jocson, Dawn Kaniaupio, John & Betty Kaniaupio, Maya Kaniaupio, Alyson, Kau-Toyama, Frank & Carmen Kiyabu, Kim McDaniel, Bernadette Mesina, Margie Pedrina, Bill Rodenhurst, Gary Sakamoto, Robert Tabaniag, Ernie Tumacder, Carl Wild and Bev & Patrick Yearian Advent Wreath: Nancy Fukushima, Vernon & Charlene Gomes and Robb Guro Donation by: Robb Guro and St. Ann Garden. FINANCIAL PROFILE FOR WEEK December 8-10, 2017 Gift-wrap your Sunday donation by using the church numbered envelopes. For more information, please call the Business Office at 247-3092, ext. 124 Regular Collection $16,290.88 Immaculate Conception $4,193.00 Retirement Fund for Religious $3,100.00 Children s Weekly $62.00 TOTAL COLLECTION $23,645.88
2018 Collection Envelopes Just a reminder to our envelope users, your 2018 envelope box will ready for pick up in the vestibule the weekend of December 23 & 24. If you are not currently registered for the envelope program and would like to participate, please call the Rectory at 247-3092, ext. 111. Are you are new to our parish? Please complete and return the church registration form and mark the box, send us envelopes. Income Tax Reporting for 2017-2018 Contributions Rule #1: The General Rule The income tax regulations specify, ordinarily, a contribution is made at the time delivery is affected. The unconditional delivery or mailing of a check, which subsequently clears in due course, will constitute an effective contribution on the date of delivery or mailing. According to this language, a check dated December 31, 2017, but physically delivered in January 2018 is deductible only on the donor s 2018 federal tax return. This is so even though a donor backdates a check to read December 31, 2017 during church services conducted in January 2018, or in fact completed and dated the check on December 31, 2017, but deposited it on or after January 1, 2018. Rule #2: The Exception The only exception to the general rule is a check that is dated and mailed (and postmarked) in December 2017. The fact that the church does not receive or cash the check until January 2018 does not prevent the donor from deducting it on his or her 2017 federal tax return. These rules are summarized in the following table. Stewardship Envelopes for Children Parents, we encourage you to teach your children about stewardship giving of one s time, treasure and talent to serve God and His people. Please consider ordering envelopes for your child/ teen for the 2018 year. To sign up, contact the Religious Education Office at 247-3092, ext. 101. Type of Contribution Checks written in 12/2017 & deposited in church offering in 1/2018 Checks written & deposited in church offering in 1/2018 but back-dated to 12/2017 Checks written & deposited in church offering in 12/2017 but post-dated to 1/2018 Checks written in 12/2017 & deposited in the mail & postmarked in 12/2017 but not received by the church until 1/2018 Checks written in 12/2017 & deposited in the mail in 12/2017 but not post-marked until 1/2018 & not received by the church until 1/2018 Reports as a 2017 Contribution Reports as a 2018 Contribution