Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church 950 North Grace Street, Lombard, IL 60148 Tel: 630-932-9640 / Fax: 630-932-9463 Rev. Fr. Pierre El Khoury Cell: 713-972-2990 www.ollchicago.org The Birth of John the Baptist Sunday December 06, 2015 Page 1 of 8
إنجيل القد يس لوقا 57 : 1 66 ت م ز م ان إ ليص اب ات ل ت ل د ف و ل د ت ٱب ن ا. وس م ع ج يران ه ا وأ ق ار ب ها أ ن الر ب ق د ع ظ م ر ح م ت ه ل ه ا ف ف ر ح وا م ع ه ا. وفي الي و م الث ام ن ج اؤ وا ل ي خ ت ن وا الص ب ي وس م و ه ب ٱس م أ ب يه ز ك ري ا. فأ ج اب ت أ م ه و قال ت :»ال! ب ل ي س م ى ي وح ن ا!«. فق ال وا ل ه ا:»ال أ ح د في ق راب ت ك ي د ع ى ب هذ ا ٱٱلس م«. وأ ش ار وا إ لى أ ب يه م اذ ا ي ريد أ ن ي س م ي ه. فط ل ب ل و ح ا وك ت ب:»إ س م ه ي وح ن ا!«. ف ت ع ج ب وا ج م يع ه م. وٱن ف ت ح ف ج أ ة ف م ز ك ر ي ا وٱن ط ل ق ل س ان ه و ج ع ل ي ت ك ل م وي ب ار ك ٱهلل ف ٱس ت ولى الخ و ف على ج ميع ج يران ه م وت ح د ث الن اس ب ك ل هذ ه األ م ور في ك ل ج ب ل الي ه ود ي ة. وكان ك ل م ن س م ع ب ذل ك ي ح ف ظ ه في ق ل ب ه ق ائ ال :»ما ع س ى هذ ا الط ف ل أ ن ي ك ون «. وكان ت ي د الر ب ح ق ا م ع ه. Gospel of Luke 1:57-66 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, No. He will be called John. But they answered her, There is no one among your relatives who has this name. So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, John is his name, and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. God's gracious gift to us This child, John, has been named from above! The name John means "the Lord is gracious". John s birth shows the mercy and favor of God in preparing his people for the coming of Their Savior. John the Baptist's life was fueled by one burning passion - to point others to Jesus Christ and to the coming of God's kingdom. The fire of the Spirit dwelt in John and made him the forerunner of the coming Messiah. John was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. He broke the prophetic silence of the previous centuries when he began to speak the word of God to the people of Israel. He tried to awaken true repentance in the people, and stir in them enough good will to recognize and receive Christ when he came. Like John the Baptist, the Lord invites each of us to make our life a free-will offering to God. God wants to fill us with his glory all the days of our lives, from birth through death. Renew the offering of your life to God and give him thanks for his mercy and favor towards you. Let his grace refresh and restore you today in the hope and joy of the great victory over sin and death." Page 2 of 8
REMEMBER IT What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. Luke 1: 66 Deacon's Corner God has given all of us the same opportunity. I know for myself, many times I look at my brothers and sisters and I ask God why do they have this or that? Why has God given them joy, happiness, satisfaction, and I seem to struggle with attaining the same? But on the other hand, I also see that God has given them sadness, loss, heartache, etc. Many times I have seen my children and/or grandchildren going through some struggle in their lives that I attempt to correct. I am sure many of you are the same way. But as I have grown older, I have come to realize that I cannot control all that goes on in and around my life. I now utilize the "power of the Holy Spirit" through prayer to help me deal with things. I would suggest that everyone consider making a transition this Holiday Season to a conversion. A conversion of making God our "special partner" in dealing with the changes in our lives. And the best way to accomplish this is to better understand that the blessings God has given us over the past year, month, or even yesterday have been given to us for a reason. Not to store up for a future date, not to keep to ourselves, but to share with others. And by sharing with others, we will feel better about tomorrow than we do today. We will know that our "special partner" who is with us always, will help us to be "better tomorrow than you were today" and what a wonderful feeling that will bring. Mass Intentions for Next Sunday December 13 09:30 Mass: Lucile and Victor Wertz & Tammer and Mary Caleel & Marie Louise Caleel (Req. by Annette and the Caleel Family) 11:30 Mass: Francis George (Req. by Christine Rossmiller) Nicholas Dandan (Req. by Elias and Feryale Masud) Page 3 of 8
The recipe for effective Christian living Two main ingredients God provides: His Divine Word His Body and Blood. The ingredients we must add: 2 Cup of Faith 2 Cup of Prayer 1 Cup of Self-control 1 Cup of Perseverance 1 Cup Virtue 2 Cup of Brotherly kindness 3 Cup of Love Preparation Begin with a personal relationship with Jesus by reading his Word and receiving His Body and Blood. Add Faith and an equal amount of Prayer. Stir in self-control and perseverance. Combine with virtue and goodness. Mix thoroughly with Brotherly kindness Bake with an abundance of love. Don t change the ingredients and then blame God when things go wrong. Instead, follow His instructions diligently. His recipe brings Spiritual Success to your life. Obedience to God is the recipe for spiritual success. Page 4 of 8
New Years Eve Party Our Lady of Lebanon Church 950 N Grace St Lombard, IL 60148 Entertainment by DJ Danny 7:00pm Cocktail 8:30pm Dinner $50 per Person Cash Bar Kids under 2 Free Limited Seating For reservations Call Elias Masud: 630-991-1111 elias.masud@gmail.com Or Page 5 of 8
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Mass Celebration The Birth of John the Baptist: Page 48 Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles: 754 Sunday Readings 1st Reading: Galatians 4:21-31 & 5:1 (Christian Freedom) Holy Gospel: Luke 1:57-66 (The Birth of John the Baptist) Mass Intentions 9:30 A.M. Norma and Richard Boden Deceased members of Jage family habeeb and Mae Jage (Req. by terry Boden) Nicholas Dandan (Req. by Nabil Dandan & Family) 11:30 A.M. Tom & Nabiha Basile Chuck Basile Dr. Simon Basile (Req. by Mr. & Mrs Pierre & Ann Naffah) Schedules 9:30 A.M. Mass 11:30 A.M. Mass Altar Servers Andres Ballines, Leila Nehra Estifan Azzo, Cassandra Chahoud, Yasmina Mulcahey, Ramez Sayegh Readers Nabil Zahra Gisele Mulcahey (Arabic) Julie Akouri (English) Ushers Robert Antoon, Frank Kermend Tony Boumitri, Ed kneip Elias Bourjais, George Zgheib Page 7 of 8
Announcements CHILDREN S CHRISTMAS PARTY After 11:30 Mass, children s Christmas party will take place in the Shaker Hall. All are invited to bring their children. And in the same time, we will be selling Christmas Gift Baskets. NEW YEAR S PARTY Our Lady of Lebanon will host a New Year s Eve Party on Thursday, December 31 st in the Shaker Hall from 7 PM to 1 AM! DJ Dani will provide the music. To purchase your tickets, or for more information contact Elie Masud (630-991-1111 / Elias.Masud@gmail.com), and for the annual holiday raffle tickets please see Tony Kozaili after Mass. BREAKFAST WITH ABOUNA Next Saturday December 12, our Lady of Lebanon is hosting a Breakfast with Abouna from 10 AM to 12 Noon in the Shaker Hall. If you are willing to attend, today is the last day to sign-up your name. Please see Mirna Abboud after Mass. All are invited. All are welcome. BAKE SALE Our annual Christmas Bake sale is on Sunday, December 13th. For Christmas cake log all pre- Orders need to be submitted no later than December 20, and the pick-up day is December 23 rd. We appreciate your generosity and your support! For more info please call Mrs. Madeline Malek (847-533-5698). CHRISTMAS CANDLE LIGHT ADORATION In preparation for Christmas, Our lady of Lebanon invites all our families to celebrate a Christmas Candle light Adoration with Christmas Prayers, Songs, and reflections on Friday December 18, from 7:00 PM - 8: 30 PM. This Adoration prayer is designed for the whole Family. Let us come together and prepare ourselves to receive God who became man and dwelt among us. CHRISTMAS CONCERT Sunday December 20, after 11:30 Mass, our choir will be presenting a Christmas Concert. All the children who are interested in singing and joining the Christmas Concert, please see Mrs. Julie Kozaili after Mass. Joseph Basil Sarah Bolis Helen Dandan Linda T. Fischer George Gage Regina Gage Richard Gorra, Jr. Let us remember and pray for Our Beloved Ones who died during the month of November Saleme Gossan William Halowi George J. Hanna Anton Ibrahim Joanne Ibrahim Herbert Jage Theodore W. Jage Nasafe Kassis Farida Khattar Robert D. Kooiker Thomas A. Neely Selma Jage Vokal Joseph Windsor Collection: Sunday November 22, 2015: $ 2,267.00 Page 8 of 8