ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC PARISH SHERMAN, TEXAS DECEMBER 21, 2014

“THE LORD IS WITH YOU”

by Fr. Jeremy Myers Luke 1:26-38

The gospel of St. Luke begins with a familiar and unassuming line. The passage for this Fourth Sunday of Advent recalls that beginning for us: “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.” And what message did this winged angel from on high say, since angels always carry messages? He said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” Those words, of course, are not addressed only to Mary; they are addressed to this world, because in the end we are all blessed because the Lord is with us. As we enter this last week of waiting for the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem, we rejoice, as the angel instructed Mary to do. Surely we have cause to be full of joy. Why? Because the Lord is with us. For ages, there was some doubt in people’s minds as to whether or not the Creator had concern for them. Feeling abandoned and alone—much of it brought on by our own blindness—the world yearned and prayed for redemption. That prayer was answered by heaven, when Almighty God determined that He would show His love to this world unequivocally and unrivaled. He would come to be with us so that we would know that we were not alone, but had God with us all our days. In that classic and beautiful poem by Robert Frost called “Mending Wall,” he writes this line, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,/ That wants it down.” That poetic line could easily have been said by Almighty God just as surely as it was by Frost; in fact, it was said by God on a still night in the foothills of Bethlehem, as the world slept and shepherds watched their flocks. Angels appeared suddenly in the skies overhead, glittering like sparkling stars. A song of joy they sang to the sleeping world, rousing the shepherds with news of great joy. “A child is born to you,” they announced. Of course, he was a child and he was more. He was God—God among us. That which this world could only dream and imagine became real on that Christmas night. That prayer which had been uttered by many lips through so many centuries was answered in bodily form—a child in a crib who carried the name Christ. As the celebration of his birth comes to this world again, we ponder those holy and unimaginable words—the Lord is with you. There are times in all of our lives—dark moments of doubt and trial—when we ask ourselves if God is near or is God here. The answer was given on Christmas those many years before, when God spoke a word of intense love and longing for this world—the word “Jesus.” Since that entrance of God into our world, there has been no time and no moment without God, even the darkest moment. We celebrate with joyful song and festive dance the message of Christmas—that the darkness which had enveloped our world and ourselves was shattered by a ray of light which shone above shepherds’ heads on a still night in Bethlehem. Christmas, then, is not only the birth of a savior; it is also the birth of this world. Now, we have life again and we have hope. Why? Because the Lord is with us.

MASS INTENTIONS December 22 - 28, 2014

Monday, December 22—Advent Weekday 8:00 a.m. Intentions of Phillip, Nicholas, and Patrick Pantuso by Dad 1 Samuel 1:24-28; Luke 1:46-56

Tuesday, December 23—Advent Weekday 8:00 a.m. Intentions of my Children by Regina Krause Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Luke 1:57-66

Wednesday, December 24—Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord 4:00 p.m. Christmas Novena 6:00 p.m. Christmas Novena (Spanish) Isaiah 62:1-5; Matthew 1:1-25

Thursday, December 25—The Nativity of the Lord Midnight Christmas Novena Isaiah 9:1-6; Luke 2:1-14 10:00 a.m. Christmas Novena Isaiah 52:7-10; John 1:1-18

Friday, December 26—St. Stephen, First Martyr 8:00 a.m. Communion Service Actos 6:8-10, 7:54-59; Matthew 10:17-22

Saturday, December 27—St. John, Apostle 4:30 p.m. Christmas Novena Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Luke 2:22-40

Sunday, December 28—The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph 8:00 a.m. Christmas Novena 10:30 a.m. Christmas Novena 12:30 p.m. Christmas Novena Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Luke 2:22-40

STEWARDSHIP FOR DECEMBER 14, 2014

NEEDED TO MEET BUDGET $14,000.00 RECEIVED $15,246.00

RETIREMENT FUND FOR RELIGIOUS $ 3,968.00

Thank you for sharing your blessings with others.

“Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means.” Leo F. Buscaglia

St. Mary’s Parish observed the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th with parishioners decorating the shrine with roses and reciting the rosary and continued on December 13th with mañanitas, Mass and then breakfast in the McCullough Center.

2015 North Texas Catholic Men’s Conference

“Sword of the Spirit: Fight the Good Fight of Faith”

Men are taught at an early age to fight for what’s theirs. But as men grow older, it’s easy to forget how to fight for what’s right, particularly when it comes to one’s faith. In the Book of Ephesians, the call for us as Christians to be armed with the clothing of Christ teaches us how to wage battle against sin and pursue goodness. The 4th annual North Texas Catholic Men’s Conference will celebrate how men can model their life after Jesus and how to fight the good fight of faith. On Saturday, Feb. 7th, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Registration begins at 7 a.m.) men 18+ will experience a day of fun, food, fellowship, joyful music, reconciliation, mass, praying the rosary and Eucharistic adoration. The state-of-the-art Hurst Conference Center will be our setting to serve both the Dallas and Fort Worth Diocese. Lunch is provided. Please go to www.ntxcmc.org to register today!

Bishop Michael Olson - Prior to becoming the Bishop of the Fort Worth Diocese, Bishop Olson was Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary. A recipient of the CRS Global Fellowship with a focus on global development in social justice, he has earned many other distinctions such as a doctorate in moral theology at the Academia Alfonsiana in Rome. Father Larry Richards - A gifted and captivated speaker, preacher, retreat master, evangelist, author and Catholic Radio guest speaker. Tom Peterson - The founder of Catholics Come Home, has presented at the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Bishops. He is often seen, heard and read in various media outlets including EWTN program The Journey Home. Michael Coren - Host of The Arena, an evening TV Show on Sun News broadcast from Canada. He is an author of 15 books and a weekly columnist for various publications including The Catholic Register, Catholic Insight and Catholic World Report.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

On your mark, get set, GO! St. Mary's Catholic School wishes to thank all runners, volunteers and sponsors of our annual Run Run Rudolph 5K. We are also thankful for the nice weather God brought us this year. The school raised over $15,000.

Blessing to Tom Avila, Jr. and Kara Hurt who were united in marriage last Saturday. May they shine as witnesses to the love of God and the ways of heaven.

Please remember in your prayers all the sick and suffering, especially Richard Frazier (son of Sharon Fleitman) and Josefina Pinales (grandmother of Cynthia Reyes). May they receive the care and consolation they need.

Please remember in your prayers all the faithful departed, especially Sally Armijo (aunt of Tony Armijo), who died recently; Hannah Barnes (niece of Gina Smith), who died recently; Jim Jacobs, who died last week and was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery; and Rob Welborn (brother of John Welborn), who died recently and was buried in Austin. May they share in the fullness of glory and heavenly peace.

We want to wish a happy anniversary to all couples celebrating a wedding anniversary this week, especially Don & Marilyn Baird and Manny & Lupe Soltero. We wish them many blessings and much happiness.

If you would like to have someone remembered in the Christmas Novena of Masses, cards are available in the narthex of the Church. Please return the envelope by Tuesday, December 23rd.

RCIA class will not meet December 23rd or December 30th. Class resumes on Tuesday, January 6th.

Choir practice is this Tuesday, December 23rd from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at St. Anne’s Church.

The Parish Office will close this Wednesday at noon for the Christmas holidays. We will reopen on Friday, January 2nd.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the Child Jesus of Bethlehem enter your hearts and your homes and find there a place to rest and a place to abide. May these days be days of good cheer and happiness as we remember the cause of our joy—God among us. May the New Year be filled with that same joy to the Lord.

Join us in wishing Fr. Antonio a happy birthday this Friday, December 26th. May God grant him many blessings and much happiness on his special day.

The Covered Dish Dinner hosted by the Knights of Columbus has been cancelled for December.

Wednesday, December 24th

4 p.m. Vigil Mass of the Nativity of the Lord 6 p.m. Mass of the Nativity of the Lord in Spanish 10 p.m. Mass of the Nativity of our Lord’s Birth at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Whitesboro

Thursday, December 25th

12 a.m. Midnight Mass of the Nativity of our Lord’s Birth (Bilingual) 10 a.m. Mass of the Nativity of the Lord

St. Mary’s Choir and Voices of Angels Youth Choir invite all to an Advent Service of

Lessons and Carols this afternoon, December 21st, at 2:30 p.m.

at St. Anne’s Church.

Please join us for the Christmas story told in music and words.