MISSION STATEMENT

Let us be open accepting individuals

sensitive to change and willing to take

Courses untraditional, unknown to us.

Let us live as examples of God’s love.

VISITING EUCHARISTIC MINISTRY If you know of someone who is house-bound or in a nursing home/hospital and would

like a visit from the Pastor or the Visitation Team, please call the office at 250-656-7433.

NEW TO THE PARISH? WELCOME! Please fill out the information below so we can get to know you. Pick up one of the blue information pamphlets next to the bulletins in the foyer so you can get to know us.

Name: __________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________

Phone: ___________________ Postal Code: ____________

Email: ___________________________________________

Need Pre-Authorized Debit package? Yes ___ No ___

Need donation envelopes? Yes ___ No ___

SUNDAY EUCHARIST at ST. ELIZABETH’S at OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION

10030 Third Street, Sidney 7742 West Saanich Road, Saanichton

Saturdays at 5 pm, Sundays at 10:30 am. Sundays at 8:30 am

RECONCILIATION at ST. ELIZABETH’S: Saturdays 4 - 4:30pm, or by appointment.

WEEKDAY MASSES

Daily at St. Elizabeth’s: Tues. (8:30 am), Wed. & Thu. (9:00 am), and First Fridays (9:00 am) Third Friday: 9:00 am at Legion Manor, 7601 East Saanich Road, Saanichton Last Friday: 11:00 am in the Chapel at Saanich Peninsula Hospital Remaining Fridays: 9:00 am in a private home (for location see “This Week in Our Parish” ...)

Parish office: 10030 Third St., Sidney Mailing address: Box 2116, Sidney, BC, V8L 3S6

Parish office: 250-656-7433 Rectory: 250-652-1990

Email: spparish@shaw.ca Web site: www.spparish.com Office hours: Tuesday to Friday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Pastor: Father Rolf Hasenack, O.P. Parish Administrative Assistant: Gary Koett Parish Council: Derek Finall (Chair)

Saanich Peninsula Parish A ROMAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN COVENANT WITH ST. STEPHEN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH

Pastor’s Corner - December 14, 2014 -God speaks to us in our own wilderness

While we live in a culture and a world which seems to have ceased to look for God our Advent liturgies invite us to continue to actively search for God in our lives or in the words of Jesus to “stay awake”, to be open and still, and actively wait in prayer and in action for the rebirth of Christ in our hearts and in our world. Isaiah (40:1-11) called on us “in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

That wilderness if first of all ourselves! Last Sunday during the homily I invited each one of us in a moment of silence to connect with our own personal wilderness. After all, we all live at times in human situations of loneliness, of barrenness and emptiness, of emotional and spiritual chaos. We all go through desert experiences: the death or absence of a loved one; a sudden unexplained or maybe a long-lasting illness; an accident; the loss of a job; separation or divorce; an uncertain future; or maybe simply the maturing as a teenager or as some one entering that supposedly “golden” age. Well, God spoke to the Hebrew people in the wilderness, in their exile far away from home when everything seemed to be lost. He did so through messengers such as Isaiah, John the Baptist. In the same way God speaks to us in our own wilderness, in our deserts, in our moments of desolation. And again God uses messengers to reach out to us wherever we are. These can be parents, children, friends, strangers, events in our lives as well as the Word of God spoken, broken open for us each Sunday or at other life-giving moments. It is amazing how God finds some surprising ways to reach out to us. I suspect that God uses Twitter and Facebook! I am sure God is into all those fancy ways of communicating! After all, isn’t God the ultimate source of all these wonderful creations which we as humans are capable of?

I know for sure that God comes to us especially in the wilderness of our lives. Last Sunday I used the story of the Protestant theologian Howard Rice who was asked: “How is it that you have become so wise?” He fell silent, eyes filled with tears. Then, grabbing the sides of his wheelchair, Rice choked out these words: “MS mm ss, multiple sclerosis! I was pastor in Chicago, doing great. Things were going well. But you know what I was doing? I was living on talents. I was preaching on talent. I was ministering on talent. I was administrating, doing pastoral care and all the things that I had learned … all on my talent, with God’s blessing of course! But when I got MS, I could not handle it because I couldn’t walk anymore. I had to give up a lot; suddenly I stopped living on my talent and started to live in trust and it changed my life. I thank God (as he grabbed his wheelchair), I thank God for my multiple sclerosis. God didn’t bring it to me, but he sure used it to help me mature in my faith, to find him and to trust him!”

I am sure we all have our own stories, our own moments of truth or we will have sooner or later, you can be sure! In this Advent season God invites us to recognize him, not somewhere outside, but rather within the wilderness of our lives. It is there that we are challenged to respond and to act or re-act concretely. Christmas time brings us to reflect on many things. Isn’t it amazing how God finds surprising ways to come back into our lives again and again? If only we could recognize them, learn from them, discover in them the presence of God who calls us forward, who challenges us to find a deeper meaning in whatever happens to us. Yes, God is like the shepherd in Isaiah 40:1-11who cares and comforts us, who is faithful to his promises, all the while entering into our pains to transform them into new life. Let us in all humility allow God to do just that! A new road is being cut through the desert and it is Jesus who will help us deal with hills and valleys too difficult for us to overcome alone.

On this Gaudete (“Rejoice!”) Sunday, we can truly rejoice because God is near, because we are willing to come before God the way we are with all our faults and blemishes in order to be liberated from sadness, to be freed of all that encumbers our lives. That is why we are invited to come to St. Elizabeth this Thurs. Dec. 18 at 7:00 pm when we will all approach our God with humility and ask for forgiveness during our community celebration of reconciliation (confession). Micah 6:8: “What God wants of you. Only this, to do what is right, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Shalom!

DECEMBER 14, 2014

3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Isa 61.1-2, 10-11 / 1 Thess 5.16-24 / Jn 1.6-8, 19-28

Psalm: My soul shall exult in my God.

IN OUR PARISH

COLLECTIONS:

Sunday, Dec. 7 ................................. $ 5,473

Pre-Authorized Debits (PAD’s) ......... $ 4,755

Monthly Target: Approx. ............. $ 23,000

We offer condolences to the family and pray for the repose of the soul of Douglas Howell,

the husband of Jacqueline Bouchard

FILIPINO SAMAHAN FELLOWSHIP Come and join us for coffee and cake at the

Dec. 21 coffee fellowship to celebrate our first

year anniversary. Thanks for supporting us in our

fundraising for special projects in the Philippines. We look forward to continuing our ministry.

NEW MISSALS AVAILABLE FOR $5 We are asking $5 instead of $4. The extra

money helps pay for the youth missals ($7 each).

HANTI SIDRA GIFT CARDS Gift Cards are available after mass for $20 from Hanti Sidra One Global Family. Donate in the

name of a friend or relative who doesn't really

need anything but would like to do some good,

then send the card. Tax receipts issued for donations of $20 or more.

CHRISTMAS PROJECTS Anawim Aunts are preparing toilet kits for men on the streets. We need touques, gloves, scarves, gift cards, books etc. It is a good way to use your points cards at this time of year. Place contributions in the Anawim box in the foyer. Many thanks from Bunny & Anne.

CHRISTMAS TREE FOR YOUTH Make Christmas brighter for a youth. Pick up a tag from the Christmas tree in the foyer. Bring the gift with the tag attached by Sunday, Dec. 14.

CHRISTMAS TREE HELPERS NEEDED We’ll be setting up the Christmas trees and nativity set next Sunday (Dec. 21) after 10:30 am mass. Some helpers are needed. Thanks!

FLOWERS NEEDED Help decorate the area around the altar either by making a financial donation or by bringing flowers on Dec. 21 or after.

BLUE CHRISTMAS: DEC. 14 Christmas is difficult for many people and can be a time of grieving: loved ones gone, a time that is overtaken by feelings of depression, loss of job, financial stresses, illness, estranged family. A Blue Christmas service may help people cope. St. Paul’s United is offering a Blue Christmas service on Sun. Dec. 14, 7 pm at 2410 Malaview

ANAWIM HOUSE DONATIONS Anawim House is collecting donations of new or nearly new men’s clothing & toiletries. Items can be dropped off in the foyer or at Anawim House, 973 Caledonia (250-382-0283).

A COURSE FOR COUPLES: DEC - APR Pacific Institute of Family Life "Married Love" course for couples. 5 general and 3 group sessions: Dec. 5, Apr. 24, 7 - 9 pm at St. Andrew's High School. $150. Contact Elizabeth elizboyd@shaw.ca or 250 483-7459. Register at: marriedlove2014-15-victoria.eventbrite.com. It was pride that changed angels into devils;

it is humility that makes men as angels. St. Augustine

NEXT WEEK IN OUR PARISH

TUESDAY, Dec. 16 8:30 am Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

9:00 am Eucharistic Adoration

11:30 am Friendly Hours Soup Kitchen

7:00 pm K of C Rosary

7:30 pm K of C General Meeting

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 17 9:00 am Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

THURSDAY, Dec. 18 9:00 am Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

7:00 pm Communal Reconciliation Service

FRIDAY, Dec. 19 9:00 am Mass at the Legion Manor

SATURDAY, Dec. 20 4 - 4:30 pm Confession at St. Elizabeth’s

5:00 pm Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

SUNDAY, Dec. 21 8:30 am Mass at Our Lady of Assumption

10:00 am Children’s Religious Education

10:30 am Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

11:30 am Coffee Fellowship sponsored by the

Filipino Samahan

For the latest schedule, please check the online parish calendar at http://tinyurl.com/sppcal.

Communal Reconciliation Service this Thursday, Dec. 18 at 7 pm.

2014 CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, Dec. 18 7:00 pm Reconciliation

SATURDAY, Dec. 20 5:00 pm - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

SUNDAY, Dec. 21 8:30 am - Mass at Our Lady of the

Assumption (OLA)

10:30 am - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

TUESDAY, Dec. 23 8:30 am - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 24 Christmas Eve

6:30 pm - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

8:30 pm - Mass at OLA

10:30 pm - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

THURSDAY, Dec. 25 Christmas Day

10:30 am - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

FRIDAY, Dec. 26 11:00 am - Mass at Saanich Pen. Hospital

SATURDAY, Dec. 27 5:00 pm - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

SUNDAY, Dec. 28 8:30 am - Mass at OLA

10:30 am - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

TUESDAY, Dec. 30 8:30 am - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 31 7:00 pm - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

THURSDAY, Jan. 1, 2015 New Year’s Day

10:30 am - Mass at St. Elizabeth’s

PARISH GROUPS’ CHRISTMAS BREAK

The following groups are taking a well-deserved Christmas break on the dates listed:

Friendly Hours closed Thu. Dec. 18, re-opens Tue. Jan. 6 at 11:30 am

Faith & Reflection stops Mon. Dec. 15, re-starts Mon. Jan. 5 at 1 pm

Prayer Group stops Thu. Dec. 18, re-starts Thu. Jan. 8 at 2 pm

Taiji Qigong stops Thu. Dec. 11, re-starts Wed. Jan. 7 at 10 am

Religious Educ. stops Sun. Dec. 28, re-starts on Sun. Jan. 11 at 10 am

For latest schedule see www.tinyurl.com/sppcal.

FROM THE DIOCESAN MARRIAGE OFFICE

Bishop Gary Gordon, in consultation with the Council of Priests and the Diocesan Finance Committee, has decided that our Diocese will no longer charge for formal Marriage Nullity cases. Things to note: petitioners can make a donation to the Diocese and receive a tax receipt in order to assist with costs as the costs still exist but are being carried by the Diocese (approximately $1,000 per case). However, if the case must be transferred to another diocese because our Diocese lacks jurisdiction then that diocesan tribunal may charge the petitioner. We have no control over this and charges vary. If anyone has suffered a divorce and wishes to explore whether he / she has grounds to proceed to a formal nullity case, please contact your pastor.