Bulletin for December 21, 2008
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Saturday, December 20 8:30 Lisa Lorden, Waters Family, and Lorden Family By the family Sunday, December 21 7:30 Mary and Frank Keegan, Chris and Natalie Dona By the family Monday, December 22 8:30 O’Loughlin Family By the family Tuesday, December 23 8:30 Peg and Bill McCarthy By their niece |
Friday, December 26 8:30 Katherine McGurl By Jean Marie Carey Saturday, December 27 8;30 Vincent James Amatucci 1st Anniversary by the family Sunday, December 28 7:30 Paul O’Dell, Jr. 8th Anniversary by Mom and Dad |
Parish Newsletter
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The Fall Parish Newsletter was recently mailed to every parish home. Additional copies are available in the church and at the pastoral center so that you may share them with family members, former parishioners and neighbors. You can also read the newsletter online - click here. Once again we are most grateful to Mary Donovan who serves as the newsletter editor, publisher and columnist. |
Liturgical Roles
December 27-28
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Mass |
Servers: |
| 4:30 |
D. Buricatu, K. Clougherty, D. Musgrove, T. Musgrove, D. Wassef, M. Wassef |
| 7:30 |
A. Berard, J. Goljan, W. Hayden, C. McCabe, T. O’Donnell, T. O’Donnell |
| 9:00 |
D. Cabrera, M. Cabrera, M. T. Egan, C. Jakubiak, G. Rocco, J. Rocco |
| 11:00 |
L. Cox, M. Curran, A. O’Connor, M. Terry, M. Travers, S. Travers |
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5:30 |
J. Armbruster, S. Campos, R. Hevey, B. Lemieux, P. Mangan, S. Nelson |
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Mass |
Lectors: |
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: |
| 4:30 | R. Lespasio |
J. Aubrey, K. Contreras, M. Damico, A. Figueiredo, I. Lespasio, L. McAllaster, M/M Piecz, H. Reynolds, A. Scribner |
| 7:30 | S. Gallerani |
M/M Donovan, T. Josie, G. Niklewski, A. Noone |
| 9:00 | M. Egan |
M. Benbenek, F. Doiron, J. Godek, G. Joubert, S. Landry, F. Mannella, M/M Nelligan, L. Shuba, D. Tivnan |
| 11:00 | W. Gooley |
P. Caouette, V. Cavanna, M/M Holland, M. Minnucci, E. Page, M/M Pratt, V. Sheehan |
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5:30 |
R. Blute |
M. Beaudry, A.M. Blute, M/M Casey, C. Cruz, M. Kiely |
Theresa Murphy
That J. will be accepted into an experimental treatment protocol for his cancer and for success of this treatment, D. to receive good results from a blood test, Kevin to have the time and care he needs in preparation for a serious leg operation, Bill's full and fast recovery from recent surgery, Joe to have continued strength and good health to fight back, a woman with recurrent cancer to fully heal, quick and uneventful recovery from surgery for M., a family in crisis to gain courage to fully see the situation and move through fear to wellness, a man who's health is suffering to find a path to wellness, Jerry, Sandy to recover from cancer, Luke to be safe, Lynn to gain work in her chosen field, Tim's job, strength for Kathleen, Andrea Paige with mental problems to accept help, Healing for Tara with a brain infection and heather from cancer, Frances DeGabriele speedy recovery, a special intention for two, success for C.'s dream and peace around the world. Continued prayers for: Bryan healing after bowel surgery, Eric, CF, Tim, Mike Jr., Connor ,J. ,and Dick. Thanksgiving for: Jerry's help, Susan’s successful cardiac procedure, Kevin's level of wellness, and multiple answered prayers.
Prayer Line: Tracy at 508.842.2279 or Susan at 508.934.0133 or susanbk@townisp.com
TOWN OF SHREWSBURY HOME HEATING BOOKLET
The Home Heating Group of the Town of Shrewsbury has published a booklet to educate the community on the wide variety of resources that are available to assist residents with their winter heating costs this year. Learn about home heating safety and home heating energy saving tips along. Become informed with the various assistance programs available to those in need. The 2008 Home Heating Booklet is available in the front vestibule of the church.
Dear Friends,
Today as we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent we know that Christmas is very near. People are finalizing their travel plans and college students are returning home to be with family and friends. Last week’s ice storm certainly stalled Christmas preparations for many people as they dealt with the loss of power, displacement and property damage. But as always seems to be the case when storms come and people are in great need, there are always so many neighbors and strangers who come forward to assist. We are grateful in our Town of Shrewsbury for such people and for the many professionals who worked tirelessly throughout the long weekend – emergency workers, police, fire, town officials, Tree experts, SELCO, Verizon, Red Cross and so many more.
Now we look forward to celebrating the Gift of God’s love on Christmas Eve and Day. Many parishioners have been busy preparing for our Christmas liturgies. Our choirs and musicians have been rehearsing, the outdoor crèche has been set up and blessed, the children have rehearsed for the Christmas Eve Pageant, volunteers are ready to clean and decorate the church on Tuesday and your generous gifts for the Giving Tree have been delivered.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas day let us open our church doors with a warm welcome and a true sense of Christian hospitality. We all have a special role to play in welcoming visitors to St. Mary’s and others who may not be with us week in and week out during the year. Some will be guests who have traveled to be with their families. Others may be former parishioners returning home to visit family and friends. Some will be seekers who are simply looking for a place to celebrate Christmas this year. Christmas will also bring to our church people who have been alienated from the Church. There will be some who may feel that they are no longer welcomed by the Church and yet will have the need and spiritual desire to celebrate the Lord’s birth with a community of faith. To everyone who comes we offer a warm welcome and a place at our Eucharistic celebrations. For this is what it means to be “church”. Please consider extending an invitation to a family member, neighbor or friend to join with you at Christmas Mass and let them know who welcomed they will be.
God bless you all.
Fr. Mike
THANK-YOU to all those parishioners who have made their pledge to St. Mary’s Capital Campaign. As we move forward, we encourage parishioners who have not made their pledge to please do so during the month of December. Construction is still scheduled to begin in June of 2009. Visit the parish website (www.stmarysparish.org) for an update on our construction plans. Pledge envelopes are available in the sacristy as well as the pastoral center. Thank-you for your ongoing support of Our Enduring Covenant.
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Sunday, December 21 9:00 Adult Choir – Grade 8 Classroom Monday, December 22 9:15 Weight Training – Mary’s Room Tuesday, December 23 1:30 Prayer Service – Church |
Wednesday, December 24 4:30 Mass – Church and Calvary Thursday, December 25 9:00 Mass Friday, December 26 9:00 1:00 Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament - Chapel |
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2009 CALENDAR The 2009 calendars are available this weekend in the front and side vestibules of the church. We are grateful to Shannon Henry and David Bellerose of Britton Funeral Home and Worcester County Memorials for making these calendars available to us. |
WELCOME BACK TO ST. MARY’S
We welcome Deacon Patrick Ssekyole back to St. Mary’s as he joins us for the Christmas season while on break from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, MD. Deacon Patrick will be entering into his final semester at the seminary and is looking forward to his ordination as a priest in June. He will be ordained a priest at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday, June 6 and will celebrate his First Mass here at St. Mary’s on Sunday, June 7.
Free Christmas Concert with the 5:30 Band!
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The ensemble that plays the 5:30 Mass each week will be putting on a short Christmas program in the church on December 21st at 7pm! Hannah, Dave, Ryan, Ben, Rick, Paul and others will be performing some traditional carols along with contemporary arrangements of carols and advent songs. It is guaranteed to be an exciting and festive evening. The program should last about 45 minutes. There is no admission charge, but donations will be accepted to benefit our high school service program, as well as our 5:30 Mass music ministry (we will be recording a CD in the new year!). |
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The Fourth Week of Advent BLESSING OF THE CRECHE God our Father, bless all who gaze Fill our hearts with the song of angels, This Advent, grant us the virtue of hope, Help us to discern the signs of your Spirit, Make of our home a new Bethlehem |
A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT
The angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she has found favor with the Lord and will give birth to a son and call him Jesus. Mary responds that she is the servant of the Lord and accepts His will for her. As we open our hearts to the gift of the Christ-child, in what ways have we acknowledged that we are stewards of the Lord? Do we know God’s will for us? How do we accept it?
BLESSING OF HOME NATIVITY
Choose a prominent place in your home to display your nativity set. As you place each figure in the crib scene, pray the following prayers:
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Mary: May our mother Mary help us to love her Son as much as she did. Joseph: May Joseph watch over us and protect us as he did for the Holy Family. The Shepherds: May we approach the Lord with as much wonder and awe as did those poor shepherds from the fields. The sheep: May we follow Christ our whole lives, dependent on him as sheep are on their shepherd. The donkey and other animals: May we be willing to carry our burdens in life just as the donkey carried Mary and her baby. The Magi: May we offer our gifts and adoration to Christ, the Lord, every day of our lives. The Angel: May the light of Christ radiate from our lives like an angel’s halo. Finally as you place the infant in your manger scene sing “Away in the Manger”. Then conclude with the following prayer. The Christ child: Lord, just as you graced this manger scene, bless our home with your constant care and presence among us. Amen. |
JOIN US FOR CHRISTMAS AT ST. MARY’S
The Christmas Mass schedule will remain the same as it has been for the past years with one exception – Instead of holding the second 4:30 Vigil Mass in the parish hall, it will be celebrated at the Chapel at Calvary Retreat Center on South Street.
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Wednesday, December 24 4:30 pm Mass in Church Thursday, December 25 9:00 am Christmas Mass |
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CHRISTMAS FLOWERS - The December packet of offertory envelopes contains one marked Christmas Flowers. Your offerings will assist us in decorating the church for the Christmas season. Please write the names of family members on the envelope so that we may remember them at Mass. |
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
December 24, 2008 at 7:00 pm
It’s not too late to participate!!
Children and parents share the special meaning of Christmas while participating in the annual Christmas Pageant. Family involvement is needed as we bring the Christmas story to life during Mass on Christmas Eve. Our second rehearsal for adults and children of all ages will be held in the church on Monday, December 22 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm. Please contact Mary Cote 508.829.5422 with any questions.
DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS
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Tuesday, December 23 at 6:30pm Please join us as we decorate the church to celebrate the birth of our Lord. There is lots to be done – hanging garland, putting up the Christmas trees and setting up the nativity. Pizza will be served!! |
CHRISTMAS CD by DAVID FOLEY, JR
Every Christmas parishioners look forward to David Foley’s return home to St Mary’s for the Midnite Mass and Christmas morning. As you anticipate his return this year, enjoy the sounds of a CD he released two years ago – Home for Christmas. A limited number of CD’s are available for $15 in the sacristy after Mass or at the Pastoral Center during the week.
ATTENTION LAST MINUTE SHOPPERS:
Let’s redefine Christmas with a gift to Heifer Project
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Bring joy to the world in a very real way by giving the life-changing gift of a Heifer Project animal. Imagine Christmas in which a portion of the money spent on frivolous gifts instead went to those who need it most. The gift of one animal can bring hunger and poverty relief, hope, education and self-reliance to the world’s poor. And because peace cannot take root amidst poverty and hunger, a gift to Heifer Project can ease the desperation that drives conflict. When you make a tax-deductible contribution to Heifer Project, you enable your children, family and the person to whom you are giving the gift to be part of something much bigger than themselves. |
This is the last weekend to contribute to St. Mary’s annual Heifer Project alternative gift animal market. Please consider giving a gift to the Christ Child by helping to lift family out of poverty. Stop by the Heifer Project table inn the vestibule of the church after all the Masses this weekend. You may also call Corinne Hetzler at 508.842.2449 for more information.
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GIVING TREE THANKS - Many thanks to all the parishioners of St. Mary’s who gave so generously to this year’s Giving Tree. Hundreds of gifts were delivered last week to St. Anne’s Human Services and Catholic Charities – Refugee Resettlement Program and Youville House. You have helped to make the coming celebration of Christmas all the more joy-filled for so many children and families. A special word off thanks to Maryanne Damico for coordinating the Giving Tree and for all those who assisted her these past several weeks. |
St. Mary School to Host First Annual Battle of the Brains / Pizza Night
Sunday, January 4 at 3:00 pm - St. Mary School Hall
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St. Mary School alumni from the classes of 2000 to 2008 are invited to participate in the St. Mary School First Annual Battle of the Brains event. Battle of the Brains is a Pub Quiz without the Pub. Players register as teams of four and show their “smarts” by answering questions which range from pop culture and music to sports and movies. Some of St. Mary School’s favorite teachers will be on hand as team coaches including: Mrs. S. Leahy, Mr. J. Ferdella, Mrs. K. Curley, Mr. P. Gannon and Mr. M. Moakley. |
Great prizes include: movie tickets, restaurant gift cards, lunch in the St. Mary School cafeteria and more. Cost $2.50 per person / $3.00 per person with registration at the door. Enter by December 22, 2008. To register: contact Sira Naras at 508.842.1601 or naras@stmarysparish.org by 12/22/08.
Only one team member needs to be a St. Mary School alumnus.
For more information contact Sira Naras, in the St. Mary School Advancement Office 508.842.1601, naras@stmarysparish.org
LIVING THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
The Stewardship Committee would like to thank all who accepted the challenge to live out the Parable of the Talents and for embarking together on a mission to invest personal talents to multiply these monetary talents, just like the faithful servants in Jesus' parable. We handed out 65 envelopes to 65 enthusiastic parishioners and families and have already heard some exciting ideas of how some plan to multiply their talents. We have heard stories of raking, making blankets, painting pictures, making jewelry, baking and plans to buy shovels to shovel driveways and walkways for snow that will inevitably come!
On Sunday, March 1st, those that have participated in this challenge are asked to bring the $50 back (along with any additional money they have made). During the weekend of March 1st, we will have a Parable of the Talents Fair so that people can either sell what they have made or make a display that tells their story of how they used their 50 talents. All the money raised beyond the initial $50 will be donated to the charities that St. Mary's Parish supports.
The Parable of the Talents teaches us that we are called not just to appreciate the gifts God has given us, but to nurture them, and to return them to the Lord in a greater way than when we receive them. It is a challenge, but it is a joyful response to God's graces.
Saint Mary Stewardship Committee
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE
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The Sacrament of Penance will be celebrated in the Reconciliation Room /Confessional on Tuesday, December 23 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. |
CHRISTMAS AND YEAR END GIVING
Many people enjoy using Christmas and year’s end as a special time to give to their favorite Catholic institutions and also positively impact their federal and state income taxes. Christmas and year end giving provides many advantages to you
EXTENSION FOR NONTAXABLE IRA TRANSFERS TO CHARITIES
Parishioners who are 70 ½ years old may make a gift up to $100,000 directly from their IRA to a charitable organization. This two year extension allows a person to make such a gift without having to include it in their gross income which would then make the amount part of their taxable income. Be sure to contact your CPA or financial advisor.
MATCHING GIFTS FOR SUNDAY CONTRIBUTIONS
Two parishioners recently discovered that their employer’s Matching Gifts Program would match their regular Sunday offertory throughout the year up to $1,000. By filling out their company’s paperwork, they were able to double their support of St. Mary’s Parish. Check with your employer on Matching Gift opportunities that you may have.
Copyright © 2008, St. Mary's Parish, Shrewsbury MA.
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