Parish Social Ministry
- Seniors Ministry / Young at Heart – No meeting
- Seniors Ukulele Class – No meeting.
Christmas Bazaar in Front of the Church
- (Sat) November 21st – 12noon to 5pm
- (Sun) November 22nd – 6:30am to 12:30pm
- (Sat) November 28th – 12noon to 5pm
- (Sun) November 29th – 6:30am to 12:30pm
St. Michael’s Quilts & Crafts Group “Holy Kapa” will be selling quilts, tablecloths, table runners, aprons, ornaments, local goodies and much more! All profits will be donated to our Church’s Building Fund. Come and find that special Christmas gift! A big mahalo to those who donated of their time and talent.
You still have time to make a donation and receive a ticket for the quilt drawing! Tickets will be available during both Bazaar weekends. At 12:30pm on Nov. 29th the winning ticket for the Christmas Quilt will be drawn.
One ‘Ohana
One ‘Ohana is coming up again on Sunday, December 6th. We have a new topic. We’ll be doing activities related to Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. It is a perfect theme for Advent as we prepare for the Feast of the Incarnation of the Lord. It is a season when we tend to be “other directed.”
We look forward to greater participation in One ‘Ohana but that means preparing more food for lunch. If you have not registered before, please call either the parish office at 326-7771, Zola at 329-4049 or Cynthia at 960-0734. There should be more parents with children. These are children in Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Instead of learning from books, One ‘Ohanais learning through experience. We will also be asking for volunteers again to help with various tasks. Helping to make this experience worthwhile for the parish is a great ministry. Thanks again for all you do.
Global Solidarity Ministry
The members of the Global Solidarity Ministry continue to sell Christmas Cards after all the Masses this weekend. Proceeds from the sale of the Christmas Cards will go towards support of current projects in Kenya (Miaani Medical Clinic, bore hole water project, and school uniforms for orphans), and in the Philippines (Payatas and Amigonian Youth Centers, and the rehabilitation of victims of prostitution and human trafficking). Your support will be greatly appreciated.
Eucharistic Ministers Training
There will be a Eucharistic Ministers training on Saturday, November 28th at 9:30am in the tent. Fr. Lio will be conducting the training. It is very important for all to attend – new and not-so-new, come to learn about changes that will take place beginning at the Mass later the same day!
Ministers are needed at all the Masses, especially the 11am Mass. Pray and join us on Saturday, November 28th at 9:30am.
*Please Note: Sign-up schedule for Eucharistic Ministers for the Christmas Masses is in the Kitchen.
Ushers and Hospitality Ministers Training
There will be a small training for all Ushers and Hospitality Ministers immediately following the Eucharistic Ministers training, also with Fr. Lio, at 10:30am on Saturday, November 28th. Please plan to attend since you will need to be aware of changes that are taking place.
Painting Party Correction!
Last week’s bulletin asked for volunteers to help paint the inside of Immaculate Conception Church. However, due to liability issues by the Diocesan insurance company, we will not be able to have volunteers paint the Church. (Not even signing a liability waiver will suffice.) Instead, arrangements have been made for a professional painter to do the job. Details later about the improvements…
Advent Evening Prayer
We will again have the Liturgy of the Hours / Evening Prayer on the Wednesdays of Advent at St. Michael’s, beginning December 2nd at 5:30pm, followed by a simple meal. There will be four opportunities in December to attend the Evening Prayer. Please join us as we prepare for Jesus’ coming.
Treasures From Our Tradition
Although our Puritan forebears at Plymouth Rock were almost a hundred years removed from their Catholic roots, the old liturgical calendar still had an unconscious claim on their hearts. We’ve already seen how on St. Martin’s Day, November 11, medieval continental Europe observed a great harvest day of Thanksgiving, with games, dances, parades, and a festive dinner of roast goose. With the goose went ample draughts of “St. Martin’s Wine,” the first wine of the new harvest. Martinmas celebrated full barns and larders stocked for the winter. Even after the Reformation, the tradition of eating goose on St. Martin’s Day was retained in Holland, and it was there that our Pilgrims encountered this tradition. When Governor Bradford sent four hunters out into the Massachusetts wilderness in the autumn of 1621, they did indeed find some geese and ducks, and were persuaded by the indigenous people to try turkey, too.
Just as the liturgical calendar has been tweaked over the years, President Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the third Thursday in November in 1939, probably to extend the Christmas shopping season. The protest was so great that in 1941 the day established by President Lincoln, the last Thursday in November, was restored. If the Pilgrims had known of the Martinmas connection, they might never have celebrated at all.—Rev. James Field, © Copyright, J.S. Paluch Co.
True Gratitude – “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” —Theodore Roosevelt
Heritage Books Available at the Bazaar!
The reviews on our Catholic history book have been very positive – for both Catholics and nonCatholics. You will have an opportunity to buy your copy during the two weekends the Quilting Bazaar is happening, and of course, they are also available at the Gift Shop. Stop by to pick up your copy as a keepsake or a Christmas gift! St. Michael’s Church will soon be demolished, and all proceeds from the book sales will go toward our Building Fund. Cost = $20 each; mail orders = $22.50 each.
Next Infant Baptism Session
Please note that the next Baptism session has been moved to December 20th (instead of January). Baptisms will be held the following weekend of Dec. 26th-27th. This session is for parents and godparents who plan to have their child baptized.
- Mass First: Attend the 11am Mass on Sunday, Dec. 20th at St. Michael’s. Please arrive no later than 10:45am so you can sit in the front row. Parents and child will be presented to the faith community, then your child will be anointed with the Oil of Catechumens. You cannot miss this part of the Baptism ceremony. If you miss the Mass and the anointing, you must wait until the next session to have your child baptized.
- Class After Mass: The Baptism Class will take place immediately following the 11am Mass, at approximately 12:15pm. All paperwork must be turned in to the parish office no later than Thursday, Dec. 17th. This includes the Baptism Form and a copy of your child’s Birth Certificate.
Please call the parish office to sign up and request a Baptism form. Thank you.
Reflecting on the Gospel
We humans live in the future more than we think. We are always hoping and living to buy some new gadget, receive a promotion, have better health, awaken new friendships, achieve some accomplishment, and on and on. This “future living” has the positive benefit of giving us goals to strive for that carry on beyond ourselves, chal lenging us to grow. At the same time, too much “future living” can cause us to miss all the goodness that is already at hand, right before our eyes.
At this time when we near the end of another liturgical year, we always hear Gospels about the end times that call for us to look far into the future. These Gospels inevitably paint a dark and dismal picture of calamity and doom, and so we often dismiss them. The apocalyptic imagery of this Sunday’s Gospel (“sun will be darkened,” “moon will not give its light,” “stars will be falling from the sky,” and “powers in the heavens will be shaken”) is no exception. We are tempted to ask, “When, Lord?” Jesus’ answer, “no one knows,” ought to bring us to pay more attention to the present. Now is an opportune time for the in-breaking of Christ. Now is what counts.
Apocalyptic language is always uttered by people under going difficult times (at the time of the writing of Mark’s Gospel, the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed and the Jewish people saw themselves once again challenged as a nation). The word “apocalyptic” comes from the Greek, meaning to “uncover” or “reveal.” What is revealed in the apocalyptic passages of the Gospels is the hope and prom ise of Christ’s abiding presence now and not just in terms of a future promise. The words of Jesus in this Gospel com municate hope: when our world is falling apart, He is breaking in and will “gather His elect” to share in His “great power and glory.”
We think of Jesus’ second coming as a future event. In fact, the darkening of the sun and moon and stars is already happening in the trials and tribulations that not only beset the first disciples, but also are part of our own lives. Jesus promises that all these things will happen. He further promises that He is “near, at the gates.” This Gospel is about the ultimate victory over darkness that belongs to those who are faithful. That victory is now.
What ought to startle us into sober reality is that we know the end will come. Like the Gospel, Daniel’s vision describes in the First Reading “a time unsurpassed in dis tress.” Also like the Gospel, His vision reveals the victory of those “written in the book”: they “shall shine brightly … forever” and thereby give hope to people of their own time. We have all the means at hand to face darkness and evil with confidence, sure that one day we “shall live forever.” The future holds no fear for us; rather than fear, we antici pate our future with joyful expectation, because the one we await is within and among us now.
Living the Paschal Mystery
Self-giving service is a small price to pay for our share in this eternal glory. Living the Paschal Mystery means that we don’t count the cost, but always find strength, hope, encouragement in the glimpse of final victory that we are repeatedly given throughout the liturgical year. Living the Paschal Mystery means that we see the victorious Christ even in the everyday trials and difficulties that we face. Living the Paschal Mystery means that we are ever faithful to the rhythm of dying and rising as it unfolds in our every day prayer, work, leisure. Living the Paschal Mystery means that we are “priests” (that is, mediators) for those whom we meet – that we are the Body of Christ leading others to holier lives and happier commitment. If someone should then ask us, “What have you done?” (see Gospel) our answer would come quickly and surely – we have served our King. We have loved our King. In doing so, we have shared in the greatest wealth possible – His kingdom where is all glory. —Living Liturgy™ Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis or Sundays and Solemnities, Year B ? 2009; Liturgical Press, © 2008 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN. All rights reserved
“First and foremost, let us surrender totally to the friendship of the Lord Jesus, our Brother.” —Servant of God Maria Kaupas
Stewardship Report - Week of Nov. 7th-8th
|
|
# of Attendees |
Total Contributions |
|
St. Michael’s |
|
|
|
Saturday 5pm |
175 |
$1,350.00 |
|
Sunday 7am |
246 |
$1,648.00 |
|
Sunday 9am |
283 |
$2,689.00 |
|
Sunday 11am |
134 |
$739.00 |
|
Sunday 4pm |
95 |
$281.00 |
|
Sunday 6pm |
256 |
$525.00 |
|
Immaculate Conception |
55 |
$503.00 |
|
Holy Rosary |
46 |
$331.00 |
|
Totals = |
1,290 |
$8,066.00 |
Homily Points
Today we have our own apocalyptic visionaries – environmentalists warn of global destruction and activists warn of nuclear annihilation. We ourselves are apocalyp tic visionaries when we, for example, warn our children to stop destructive behavior, chide ourselves to healthy diet and exercise, or moan one more time, “Where’s this all going to end?” Such apocalyptic outcries call us to see likely futures so that we might change present ways.
Jesus teaches us to respond to life’s inevitable dark ness by finding in this very darkness His in-breaking pres ence. Jesus uses apocalyptic language not primarily to talk about the future, but to call us to the hope that is in the present situation. The source of this hope is His abiding presence.
We can come to hope in Jesus’ abiding presence through very human ways. Often, for example, when we face difficulties it is others who come to us with a word of comfort or insight, help us see more clearly the whole situation, give us strength to make changes in our lives through their presence and compassion. Or our own past experience of growth through the challenge of difficulties brings us to deeper wisdom. We don’t find Jesus “in the clouds,” but here on earth; we don’t await victory over darkness only at the end of time, but find it here and how.
—Living Liturgy™ Spirituality, Cele bration, and Catechesis or Sundays and Solemnities, Year B · 2009; Liturgical Press, © 2008 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN. All rights reserved.About Liturgy
Celebration: Just as Lent opens onto Easter, if we have patiently worked our way through Ordinary Time – and, indeed, through the whole of this past liturgical year – when we come to this solemnity we are ready for a jubilant celebration. The fruits of our labors will be consistent with the extent of our labors. If our liturgical year has been rather lackadaisical, then these high festivals probably won’t move us. We will depend on the environment and the music to carry us rather than on the inner strength that comes from watching ourselves be transformed ever more perfectly into the Body of Christ during this past year.
Liturgical celebration has little to do with “whoop-dee-do” and much to do with self-emptying. Our greatest joy and celebration come not from what we do but from the deep experience of what God has done in us. We need to be careful that we don’t cloud the real meaning of these high festivals with externals that actually keep us from the deepest and most satisfying feasting. Celebration is really the play between surrender and encounter in which we are transformed. Anything less than this gets in the way of our being God’s presence, God’s reign in this redeemed world.—Living Liturgy™ Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis or Sundays and Solemnities, Year B ? 2009; Liturgical Press, © 2008 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN. All rights reserved.
- The One Catholic Ohana Youth Group will meet on Sunday, November 22nd at 12noon in Immaculate Conception Hall.
- Middle School Youth Group will continue to meet regularly at 6pm on Monday evenings at Immaculate Conception Hall.
- Check out what we’re up to by searching for One Catholic Ohana Youth Group on Facebook.
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