Dec 09, 2021

Greetings,

This weekend at Mass we (and possibly you in your home) will be lighting the rose candle, the third one, on the Advent wreath. The reason it is rose (not pink - although . . . could have fooled me) is because it is supposed to be a light purple, a day of rejoicing, because our wait for the coming of Christ is half over and we are well on our way to our celebrations!

That being said, I would like to give you a heads up about our Christmas/Sunday schedule so you can begin to make plans. Christmas, which is never skipped, is on Saturday this year. That means, not only do we get to celebrate Christmas on Friday and/or Saturday, but then we get to turn around and come right back for Sunday Mass. However, there will be no Saturday 4:30 Mass on Christmas day in anticipation for Sunday. Please make plans for attending the 9:00, 11:00, or 1:00o’clock Mass on Sunday.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but there will be no confessions on Friday or Saturday of Christmas Eve/Day due to the Mass schedule. Please plan your confession in advance. The final confessions before Christmas will be on Tuesday the 21st, at 7:00pm, but there is only one priest and confessions end promptly at 7:30 due to compline and benediction.

IN OTHER NEWS:

ADVENT OPPORTUNITIES:  Need a recharge, a moment to think and pray, some Christmas spirit? There are still a few special opportunities at your parish:

On Tuesdays we have all day adoration, which is an awesome enough opportunity. But during Advent, at noon, there is also an organ recital (that lasts about 20 minutes) to aid your prayer time. This year we feature young men who play in area churches who are surprisingly good considering their ages (high school mostly.) I hope that you are able support these young men as well as take advantage of the time for prayer.

Also, on Tuesday nights at 7:40, we have compline and benediction with organ. This time of prayer ends at approximately 8:00pm.

For those who are reading this early online, there is still time to purchase tickets to hear the Baldwin-Wallace Men’s Choir Christmas Concert this Friday night at 8:00pm. Tickets are available at the door.

On Sunday, December 19, our own, award winning parish choir will be performing their candlelight Christmas concert in the Church at 7:30pm. This concert is free and open to the public.

GIVING TREE:  Please don’t forget to return the gifts as soon as possible from the tags on the Giving Tree. This gives our volunteers the time to get the presents to their destinations on time!

SERVERS:  Sign up for Christmas Masses. As I say, the more the merrier! Let’s have a great turn out!

OPLATKI:  As of this writing, there were a limited number of oplatki available in the back of the church at the parking lot entrance for sale.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck