On the weekend of November 17/18th, we will be asking for volunteers to donate Christmas gifts to the children of Most Holy Trinity Parish in Waukegan. Please pick up a form and return by December 16th. Your participation is appreciated!

The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. The final days of Advent, from December 17 to December 24, focus particularly on our preparation for the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas). (http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/advent/)

ACTIVITIES TO BE SCHEDULED. Reflection: In Luke 1:28 the angel Gabriel, speaking on God’s behalf, addresses Mary as “full of grace” or “highly favored”. In that context, this phrase means that Mary is receiving all the special divine help necessary for the task ahead. However, the Church grows in understanding with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit led the Church, especially non-theologians, to the insight that Mary had to be the most perfect work of God next to the Incarnation. Or rather, Mary’s intimate association with the Incarnation called for the special involvement of God in Mary’s whole life. The logic of piety helped God’s people to believe that Mary was full of grace and free of sin from the first moment of her existence. Moreover, this great privilege of Mary is the highlight of all that God has done in Jesus. Rightly understood, the incomparable holiness of Mary shows forth the incomparable goodness of God. (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/solemnity-of-the-immaculate-conception/)

Literally means “evening or night Mass.” As a devotional practice, it refers to the Philippine Catholic tradition of the novena, a series of nine evening Masses usually celebrated during Advent from Dec. 15-23, in preparation for Christmas Day. In the Philippines, the dates are from Dec. 16-24, since Simbang Gabi is held in the early morning. Here in the U.S., the practice of the Simbang Gabi has been adapted to local conditions, with the Mass being moved to the evening hours. St. Lambert Simbang Gabi will on December 15, 2018 @ 5pm (also a vigil Mass)

ACTIVITIES TO BE SCHEDULED. For our lives, incarnation means being focused on the spiritual and the eternal but bringing that focus deep into life. It also means having the capacity to be both carnal and spiritual, in love with life and yet able to connect with the eternal and the divine. This is really the heart of the Christmas theological message: Live in two worlds that overlap but are distinct. Don’t be a materialist, but don’t sacrifice your ordinary physical life for any spiritual ideal. Be lowly and lofty. If you take Christmas to heart and get past the anxieties in arranging for gifts and parties, you will rediscover yourself every year at this time and experience a birth in yourself, just like the one so beautifully described in the Gospel stories. It will be a celebration of both the birth of Jesus and the birth of your own soul. (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/the-true-spirit-of-christmas/)

ACTIVITIES TO BE SCHEDULED. Reflection: Other themes come together at today’s celebration. It is the Octave of Christmas: Our remembrance of Mary’s divine motherhood injects a further note of Christmas joy. It is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. It is the first day of a new year: Mary continues to bring new life to her children—who are also God’s children. (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/mary-mother-of-god/)

The Epiphany of Our Lord is the Christian feast observed on Jan. 6, 2016. The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek epiphainen, a verb that means "to shine upon," "to manifest," or “to make known.” Thus, the feast of the Epiphany celebrates the many ways that Christ has made Himself known to the world, mainly the three events that manifested the mission and divinity of Christ: the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12), the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11), and the miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11). The visit of the Magi is emphasized on Epiphany Day, and Christ's baptism is celebrated the first Sunday that follows. (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/the-epiphany-of-our-lord-672)