This weekend we will celebrate the first Sunday of Advent 🌟
"Our parish Advent Wreath will be up near the sanctuary during this holy season in preparation for Christmas. It is also a tradition that many people do in their homes. In Church we use three purple and one rose candle, purple for our spiritual preparation and rose for the joy on Gaudete Sunday #3, when Christmas is drawing near. The wreath is made of evergreen branches, a sign of life and a symbol of resurrection. The wreath is circular, no beginning and no end, like the love of God which never ends. We light a new candle successively each week and the light continues to grow stronger, along with our anticipation.
At home we also use wreaths and candles but they can be as unique as each of our families. They provide a focal point for remembering the true meaning of Christmas, for prayer and quietude or intimate familial sharing of faith and life. Our home times around the wreath are less formal, more organic, sometimes even hilarious, and they all create memories and point the way to Christ in our everyday lives. Isn’t it a wonder, In the darkest time of the year Jesus, the Light of the world, comes to illuminate our hearts with hope.
All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Jn 1:3-5
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise to bring us life” I have come, that you might have life, life to the full! John 10:10
We encourage you to have a home wreath this year, to light the candle, keep watch, for Christ comes, our Emmanuel, which means God-is-with-us.
I was talking to my son in law about this yesterday I still have this from last year 🙏
franciscus: Let us ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us so that we may be able to give an account of our faith and hope to today's world with words and, above all, with the testimony of our lives.
So beautiful.
I ask of you, my Lord, to remove anything which separates me from you, and you from me.
- Prayer of Pierre Favre SJ
"Time is short.
We don't know how long life will last.
And so…
Meet your friends.
Meet people and utter words of
forgiveness, understanding.
Untie your heart, let it beat
again.
Let the heart of stone
become a heart of flesh.
Let it live."
- Cardinal Tagle
The Special Intentions of Pope Francis
December-For persons with disabilities
We pray that people living with disabilities may be at the centre of attention in society, and that institutions may offer inclusive programs which value their active participation.
January-For the Gift of Diversity in the Church
We pray that the Holy Spirit may help us to recognize the gift of different charisms within the Christian community and to discover the richness of different traditions and rituals in the Catholic Church.
❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️
NEW DATES ADDED!
January 11th, 12th, 13th
If you are going to be out of town during this time please let us know so we can make other arrangement to include you.
Volunteers are needed for Hosting and phone callers.
If you can help, please contact:
Mary Davidson at (619) 917-8846
Community Makes God Visible
Nothing is sweet or easy about community. Community is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows but make them visible to each other as a gesture of hope.
In community we say: “Life is full of gains and losses, joys and sorrows, ups and downs—but we do not have to live it alone. We want to drink our cup together and thus celebrate the truth that the wounds of our individual lives, which seem intolerable when lived alone, become sources of healing when we live them as part of a fellowship of mutual care.”
Community is like a large mosaic. Each little piece seems so insignificant. One piece is bright red, another cold blue or dull green, another warm purple, another sharp yellow, another shining gold. Some look precious, others ordinary. Some look valuable, others worthless. Some look gaudy, others delicate. We can do little with them as individual stones except compare them and judge their beauty and value. When, however, all these little stones are brought together in one big mosaic, portraying the face of Christ, who would ever question the importance of any one of them? If one of them, even the least spectacular one, is missing, the face is incomplete. Together in the one mosaic, each little stone is indispensable and makes a unique contribution to the glory of God. That’s community, a fellowship of little people who together make God visible in the world.
-Henri Nouwen
Jesus, King of the Universe, the Light beyond all light, enlightening us…
You whose Mercy forgives all who come to you…
You who so loved the world…
You who blesses with Peace those that follow You…
You, the healer of our souls…
You in whom we live and move and have our being…
You who teaches us that to reign is to serve…
You who judges us good by how we treat the least…
You who lives and dwells among us & within us…
You whose Love is everlasting…
You who shepherd us with steadfast kindness…
You, true Bread of life who calls us to Your table…
Lord Jesus Christ, rule in our hearts,
Lord Jesus Christ, hold us steady to follow your way,
Lord Jesus Christ, may our lives proclaim your Peaceable Kingdom.
BLESSED FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING
