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 Genealogy of Jesus Sunday December 20, 2015 Christmas Celebrations 2015 Friday December 18: Christmas Candle Light Adoration (7:00 Pm) Sunday December 20: Christmas Concert (After 11:30 Mas) Thursday December 24: Christmas Children Mass (5:00 pm) Friday December 25: Christmas Midnight Mass (12:00 AM) Friday December 25: Christmas Day Mass (11:00 AM) Sunday December 27: Feast of the Holy Family (9:30 AM & 11:30 AM) New Year 2016 Friday January 1: Mass - Welcoming the New Year (5:00 PM) Sunday January 3: Mass - The visit of the Wise Men (9:30 AM & 11:30 AM) Wednesday January 6: Feast of Epiphany - Baptism of the Lord and blessing of the water (7:30 Pm) Page 1 of 7
رسالة القد يس بولس إلى أهل رومة 1:1-12. يا إخو ت ي م ن ب ول س ع ب د الم س يح ي س وع ال ذي د ع ي ل ي ك ون ر س وال وف ر ز إل ن ج يل ٱهلل هذ ا اإل ن ج يل ال ذي و ع د ب ه ٱهلل م ن ق ب ل ب أ ن ب ي ائ ه في الك ت ب الم ق د س ة في ش أ ن ٱب ن ه ال ذي و ل د ب ح س ب الج س د م ن ن س ل داو د و ج ع ل ب ح س ب ر وح الق د اس ة ٱب ن هللا ب ق و ة أ ي ب الق ي ام ة م ن ب ي ن األ م و ات وه و ي س وع الم س يح ر ب ن ا ب ه ن ل ن ا الن ع م ة والر س ال ة ل ك ي ن ه د ي إ لى ط اع ة اإل ي م ان ج ميع األ م م ل م ج د ٱس م ه وم ن ب ي ن ه م أ ن ت م أ ي ض ا م د ع و ون ل ت ك ون وا ل ي س وع الم س يح إ لى ج م يع ال ذين في ر وم ا إ لى أ ح ب اء هللا الم د ع و ي ن ل ي ك ون وا ق د يس ين: أ لن ع م ة ل ك م والس الم م ن هللا أ بين ا والر ب ي س وع الم س يح! The Gospel according to Saint Matthew 1: 18-25 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Family of Jesus Why does the church focus on the Genealogy of Jesus? First, the Genealogy in the Gospel affirms the humanity of Christ. The eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, did not merely appear to possess a human body. He is fully and truly human "like us in all things but sin", and he became man from the Virgin Mary. The Creed which we recite every Sunday, affirms that Jesus Christ is true God and true man. Second, the Genealogy testifies that Jesus is part of a human family. Jesus acquires his legal identity as a descendent of David through St. Joseph, who is his adoptive father. Under the Jewish Law, Jesus is part of the House of David because Joseph took Jesus into his household. Third, the Genealogy of Jesus, or Jesus Family Tree tells the Story of Salvation: From Abraham, who trusted God and God promised him that his descendant (Jesus) will bring blessing to the whole earth, to King David, who brought the people together and God promised him that from his descendants the true Messiah (Christ) will come to save his People, to all the prophets who predicted the come of the Messiah; and from the land of Egypt (slavery) to the Promise Land (freedom), then to the exile in Babylon (back to slavery because of sin) and to the Land of Nazareth (back to freedom). It is the Story of God entering our world, taking flesh, to redeem the children of Adam that we might become the children of God if we just believe in Page Him. 2 of 7
REMEMBER IT You are called to belong to Jesus Christ. ROMANS 1: 6 Deacon s Corner The "reason for the Season" is the Birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As the Season of Advent/Announcements comes to an end with the Birth of Jesus, we should not look at this as the end but the beginning. For the Angel of the Lord said to the lowly shepherds; "Behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord". Unfortunately, in today's society, Christmas has taken on more of a commercial meaning than a spiritual one. We tend to put the value of something based on what it cost. So let me ask you, how do we put a value on the gift of Jesus Christ? You are correct, there is NO WAY to put a value on the gift we receive with the Birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "gift that keeps on giving" every day, every moment of our lives and has been since His birth 2,000 years ago. One thing that has remained constant in my life and hopefully yours too, is that we end up in Church to give thanks to God for giving us His only Son. And with the Birth of His Son, God has given us the ability to carry Jesus Christ in our hearts every minute of every day. Yet he is the one who welcomes us. What greater gift could we ask for on Christmas? There is no greater gift. Mass Intentions for Christmas December 24 & 25 Christmas Eve Mass - 5 PM: For Peace in the whole world and for the Children of our Parish Midnight Mass: for The deceased founders of Our Lady of Lebanon: Joseph and Helen Shaker - The Boden Family - The Dumit Family and The Joseph Allen Family. Christmas Day Mass: for all the families living and deceased - of our Parish Page 3 of 7
Pope Francis: Jubilee of Mercy means We must open our hearts to forgive others. Pope Francis opened the holy year of Mercy and called on Catholics to use the ongoing Jubilee year of mercy to open wide the doors of their hearts to forgive others and to work against social exclusion, even of those that may have caused them bother or upset. The Jubilee year of Mercy should be a sign of true conversion of our heart. It is good to remember that we must also open wide the doors of our heart, said Francis, suggesting people can even stand before Jesus and ask: Lord, help me to open the doors of my heart! The holy year won t be very effective if the doors of our heart do not let Christ enter, who pushes us to go towards others, to bring him and his love, said the pope. Our hearts -- must always be open to not exclude anyone, he said. Not even those that bother me. No one! The door indicates Jesus himself who said: I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture, said the pope. Going through the holy door is the sign of our trust in the Lord Jesus who did not come to judge, but to save. Pope Francis also said that mercy and forgiveness must not remain beautiful words, but must be realized in daily life. Loving and forgiving are the concrete and visible signs that the faith has transformed our hearts. The pope also asked people to consider going to confession during the holy year. Courage! Francis exhorted those in the Square. Courage and go ahead! Jubilee year is a special year celebrated by the church to receive blessing and pardon from God and remission of sins. Page 4 of 7
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 The Church Office: 630-932-9640 Page 5 of 7
Mass Celebration The Genealogy od Jesus: Page 66 Anaphora of Saint John the Apostle: 815 Sunday Readings 1st Reading: Romans 1:1-12 (Jesus, Son of David and Son of God) Holy Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17 (The Genealogy of Jesus) Mass Intentions 9:30 A.M. Jeanette Mattar and Abdo Daou Joseph, Helen and Betty Shaker (Req. by Dr. and Mrs. Ray Daou) Joseph Boden, George Boden and Ed Boden, James and Effie Boden (Req. by Terry Boden) 11:30 A.M. Nicola Estephan (Req. by George Estephan) Toufica Ghassan and Antoun Dakhoul (Req. by Sam and Siham Ibrahim) 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 Cheryl Blum Edgar Lutfallah (Arabic) Rania Lutfallah (English) Ushers Nabil Zahra Frank Kermend Henry Abboud, Amir Geha Bashir Aoun, Marc Cortbawi Page 6 of 7
Announcements CHRISTMAS CONCERT Today Sunday 20, after 11:30 Mass, our Lady of Lebanon choir will present a Christmas Concert. CHRISTMAS LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS Thursday December 24, 2015: Christmas Children Mass (5:00 pm) Friday December 25, 2015: Christmas Midnight Mass (12:00 AM) Friday December 25, 2015: Christmas Day Mass (11:00 AM) Sunday December 27, 2015: Feast of the Holy Family (9:30 AM & 11:30 AM) 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. Let us remember and pray for our Beloved Ones who died during the month of December Sophie Abraham Emile Ayan Eugene D. Boden George Bohakel Helen Botwin Helen Cordell Sophie Fahl George L. George Safa Ghandour Gerges Hattar Rose Halowi Michael Ibrahim Anton Kassis Jamile Maalouf Patrick O Shea Genevieve Salem Nicola Shahwan Alice C. Thomas Michelle York Hattie Yorecki COLLECTION Sunday December 06, 2015: $ 1,929.00 Christmas Bake Sale: $ 8,519.00 Thank you for your generosity and May God reward you a hundred fold! Page 7 of 7