s & s . m · fr. steve’s prayer for consideration: “o god, who wonderfully created the...

WELCOME TO THE PARISHES OF

Holy Spirit Parish 227 Third St. Two Harbors, MN

HOLY SPIRIT & ST. MARY’S

HOLY SPIRIT PARISH Mass Schedule Confession Schedule

Saturday: 4:30 pm Friday: 7:30 - 8:00 am

Sunday: 11:00 am Saturday: 3:30 - 4:15 pm

Or by appointment.

Eucharistic Adoration: Fridays 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Holy Spirit Office Hours:

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Monday - Thursday

7:00 am - 11:00 am Fridays

Office is located in parish basement.

Office ................................................. (218) 834-4659

Office E-mail ............................. [email protected]

Liturgy E-mail ........... [email protected]

Rectory ............................................... (218) 834-4313

Parish Website ............ www.holyspirittwoharbors.org

Deacon Tim Egan ............................... (218) 349-9175

Deacon Scott Peters ............................ (218) 834-2543

Youth Ministry ................................... (218) 226-3100

Prayer Intentions ................................ (218) 834-4659

Birthright ............................................ (800) 550-4900

ST. MARY’S PARISH Mass Schedule Confession Schedule

Saturday: 7:15 pm Saturday: 6:30 - 7:00 pm

Sunday: 8:30 am Sunday: 7:50 - 8:15 am

Or by appointment.

Eucharistic Adoration: Wednesdays 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

St. Mary’s Office Hours:

8:00 am - 2:00 pm Monday - Thursday

Office is located in St. Mary’s Rectory.

Office/Rectory .................................... (218) 226-3100

Church Hall ........................................ (218) 226-3691

Parish E-mail .............. [email protected]

Parish Website .................... www.stmarysilverbay.org

Deacon Fred Wright ........................... (218) 220-1790

Deacon Jack Ferris (Retired) .............. (218) 226-4753

Father Michael Lyons (in Residence) (218) 830-1600

[email protected]

Prayer Chain ......... (218) 226-3639 or (218) 226-3841

SACRAMENTS OF MARRIAGE, BAPTISM, ANOINTING OF THE SICK:

Please contact your parish office.

Pastor: Rev. Steven Laflamme

St. Mary’s Parish 57 Horn Blvd.

Silver Bay, MN

Fourth Sunday in Advent / The Nativity of the Lord | December 24, 2017

[email protected] (218) 834-4313

EARLY BULLETIN SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 31 Wednesday, December 20 January 7 Friday, December 29

St. Mary’s, Silver Bay

Parish News:

Help Prepare the Church for Christmas Volunteers needed to join the FUN! We will decorate after Mass on Sunday, December 24. It is much easier with LOTS of help. No one is too young or too old to help, and all help is greatly appreciated.

Come Early to Mass on Christmas Eve Our Music Ministry will be providing Christmas music starting at 6:45 pm on Christmas Eve. Come early to enjoy!

Poinsettias Thank you to everyone who helped make our church beautiful by donating a poinsettia in memory of or honor of a loved one. Please see the special bulletin insert for the names of those we are remembering/honoring this Christmas season.

Bible Study We will not meet December 24 or December 31. We will resume our study on Prayer: Finding Intimacy with God on Sunday, January 7 at 6:30 pm. The Bible Study Group meets Sunday evenings, 6:30 - 8 pm, in the Social Hall. New members are always welcome.

Family Faith Formation We will meet next on Wednesday, January 3 at 6 pm. We’ll start our night with dinner at 6 pm, followed by classes at 6:30 pm. Remember, our Faith Formation program is not just for the kids, the parents will meet in the Social Hall so they can also grow in their faith. All parishioners are invited to join the parents on this Adult Faith Formation journey. There is child care available for

those who have children younger than kindergarten.

SAVE THE DATE - St. Mary’s Annual Spaghetti Dinner Our dinner will be held on Wednesday, January 31. The spaghetti dinner is hosted each year by our Religious Education Department to raise money to feed the poor. This is a great opportunity for us all to work together, having fun while we are helping those in our community.

Looking for a way to grow in your faith? Join us for our Adult Faith Formation on Wednesday, January 3, dinner & fellowship at 6 pm, followed by class at 6:30 pm. We meet the first and third Wednesday of each month. This is an opportunity to not only grow in your faith but to meet new people, too. Child care available.

Parish Holiday Office Hours: The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, December 25 and Monday, January 1.

Please Keep These People In Your Prayers

Parishioners: Joe Rollins, Elwood Youngberg, Mary Wright, Rick Scheradella, Lino Rauzi, Gale Fredrickson, Greta

Stefanich, Ted Youngberg, Tim Downey, Joan Scallen, Deanna Larson.

Clergy: Deacon Fred Wright, Fr. Francis Paquette.

Relatives & Friends: Jeremy Tedrick, Michelle Stebbins, Cyndi Correll, Mae Dehnhoff, Jeff Mitchell, Mark Rollins, Jan Hardel, Brad Hove, Dan Moudry, Johnny Jerabek.

Military: Todd Curry, John Ferguson, Karen McGrane, Michael Seipke, Sam West, Chris Grensing, Sean Stebbins.

Thank You to ALL our Volunteers

To those who offer themselves very generously in the service of our parish life, we can’t tell you enough how much it is greatly appreciated. There are too many to identify individually; they include our Priests & Deacons, cantors, altar servers, Eucharistic Ministers, sacristans, catechists, Finance Council members, parish staff, funeral luncheon crew, Women's Circles, Knights of Columbus, snow removal crew, and others who, from time to time, pitch in to help with various programs and events. God has truly blessed our parish with amazing people who care deeply for their church and their church family!

Thrivent Choice Dollars

A reminder from Thrivent to designate your 2017/2018 Thrivent Choice Dollars to the organization of your choice. For your funds to go to the charity of your choice you need to call in twice a year and it is that time of year again. Make a call to 800-847-4836 today and state "Thrivent Choice" to designate your dollars. If you have questions, contact Greg Hanson at 218-226-3442.

Thank you to Thrivent Financial members who have designated St. Mary’s Church as your charity for your Thrivent Choice Dollars. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Upcoming Diocesan Events:

Theology of the Body Immersion for Teens (TOBIT) January 12-14. A winter retreat for 9th-12th graders.

Men’s Conference February 17, at Marshall School in Duluth. This year’s theme is “Men of the Spirit.” The guest speaker is Peter Herbeck.

Women’s Conference February 24 at Marshall School in Duluth. This year's theme is “Beyond Me,” and the speakers are Teresa Tomeo and Father Jim Sichko.

Go to our parish website to register for these events.

Fr. Steve’s Prayer for Consideration:

“O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and still more wonderfully restored it;

grant, we pray, that we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our

humanity. Who lives and reigns...” Collect for Christmas- Mass during the Day

As we know, this weekend is unique in that this Sunday is both the Fourth Sunday of Advent as well as Christmas Eve day. And so, for my bulletin article, I chose to share the collect (opening prayer) from the Mass for Christmas, specifically, the set of prayers for a Christmas Mass that is being celebrated during the day of Christmas itself (there are several sets of prayers at Mass for Christmas depending upon what time the Mass is being celebrated- Mass at midnight, Mass at dawn, Mass during the

day, etc.). I chose this collect because it speaks of both a specific and a general principle of faith, and so it can easily and appropriately be reflected upon either during Advent or Christmas. Specifically, it recalls the fact that God began the immediate process of redeeming the human race that He had created, but which had been enslaved to evil and sin after Adam and Eve’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, with the incarnation- the birth of God as man through Jesus Christ. God’s entire plan in sending His only Son to the world- to become man and to live like us in all things but sin, and to eventually die on the cross for our sins and rise from the dead- that plan begins in earnest with His virgin birth in Bethlehem, which we celebrate on Christmas Day. Thus we pray, “O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature, and still more wonderfully restored it...” But this prayer also recalls a more general view of God’s plan as well, which is something that we should remember not just at Christmas time, but the whole year through: God’s ultimate plan to restore the dignity of human nature, which has been gravely wounded by sin and death, is a plan not just to forgive our sins, but a plan to make us divine. It’s simply not enough for God to just forgive the guilt of our sins; God wishes to make us members of His own divine family. He wants to raise our human nature to be like His divine nature. So much so, that as we pray in this collect: “Grant ... that we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” Wow! Did we catch just how unbelievable a request of God that is? We are asking to be made divine! And we believe that is possible because of Jesus. In Him, God became a man; God humbled Himself to the point of becoming one of His own creatures, sharing in our humanity, being born as a human being, in poverty, to a virgin mother. And because of His human birth, His life, His suffering, death and resurrection and Ascension into heaven, we now can become like Him: redeemed, reigning forever in heaven, sharing in the glory and happiness of God Himself. As one of the great Church fathers, Saint Athanasius, stated boldly, “The Son of God became man so that we might become God.” In fact, this holy exchange is so vitally important to who we are as Christians, that the Church makes use of this very phrase from the collect above in every single celebration of the Holy Mass. As the priest is at the altar preparing the wine for the celebration of the Eucharist, he, or the deacon if one is present, mixes in a little water with the wine in the chalice and prays, “Through the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.” Brothers and sisters, this is the joyful truth of Christmas: By His birth in Bethlehem, the Son of God has become one of us, and in doing so, He has made it possible for us to become like Him. Because of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we can be reconciled with God the Father, forgiven of our sins, and adopted by God the Father as His own son or daughter. This in fact happens at the moment of our Christian baptism. Brothers and sisters, we are the sons and daughters of God! And because of that, we can share in the life of God Himself! There is no greater gift possible on this earth, and no better reason to celebrate with joy the day of Christ’s birth! Merry Christmas!~ Fr. Steve

4th Sunday of Advent and Christmas: As we prepare for Christmas, please remember that the 4th Sunday of Advent and Christmas are two DIFFERENT celebrations. Therefore, we are required to go to Mass for BOTH the 4th Sunday of Advent and for Christmas. Mass times for the 4th Sunday of Advent (December 23rd and 24th) will be the normal weekend Mass times. Mass times for the celebration of Christmas (December 24th and 25th) are listed on the back Mass Schedule page.

Please Note: Father Steve will be out of town from Monday, January 1st through Monday, January 8th. If you are in need of a priest during this time due to a sacramental emergency (i.e. Last Rites), please contact Fr. Michael Lyons at (218) 830-1600.

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year, since it falls on a Monday.

Holy Spirit, Two Harbors

Parish News: Baptized in Christ: Wesley Roger Pybas (parents: Adam &

Stephanie Pybas). We congratulate the child’s parents on this

happy occasion and we thank them for the gift of their child

to the Church. May the child grow in age and grace before

God and all.

Parish Office Hours:

The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, December 25th,

in observance of Christmas, and Monday, January 1st, in

observance of New Year's Day.

A Christmas Thank You to all of our many volunteers. To

those who offer themselves very generously in the service of

our parish life, we are extremely grateful. From our Church

school teachers to our liturgical ministers, from our finance

council members and trustees to our parish staff and to all of

our many volunteers who help with various programs and

events in our parish, we say thank you! A special thank you to

all those who helped to make our Christmas celebration so

wonderful. Thank you to our choir members, altar servers,

lectors, decorators and all of those who helped to beautify the

church this Christmas. May God bless you!

Rosary:

Our Blessed Mother Mary is pleading with all of us to pray

the Rosary—a very powerful prayer. Besides praying the

Rosary prior to weekday Masses, we also pray the Rosary

at 4:00 pm before the 4:30 Saturday evening Mass and at

10:30 am before the 11:00 am Sunday morning Mass. Please

join us in praying the Rosary. If you are interested in leading

the Rosary prior to one of the weekend Masses, please call

Linda at 834-3568.

Coming Home Basket: The basket located in the vestibule

(Church entrance) on the right side is a “Coming Home

Basket.” Anyone who knows of someone who has drifted

away from their Catholic faith is encouraged to write the

name of the person on a sheet of paper located in front of the

basket and place the paper inside the basket. As a faith

community we are encouraged to pray for the people whose

names have been placed in the Coming Home Basket as well

as to encourage those who have drifted away to return.

Last Week’s Contributions

Due to the fact that this weekend’s bulletin had to be

submitted much earlier than usual because of Christmas,

contribution amounts from the weekend of December 16-17

were not available before the printing deadline.

Please Keep These People In Your Prayers:

PARISHIONERS: Deel Hoffman, Arthur Barthman, John

Erickson, Ron Kor, Bonnie McGregor, Mary Murphy, JoAnn

Payment, Verna Rafn and Joe Seeber.

FRIENDS & RELATIVES: Cathy Brewster, Bill Carlson

and Patty Harrison-Isakson.

MILITARY PERSONNEL: Garrett Aho, Nate Berger,

Jacob Kearin, James Mickle, Christopher Uremovich,

Maddison Zavoral and Sophia Zavoral. SACRED HEART CANDLE: August & Erna Illg.

Family Faith Formation

We will meet next on Wednesday, January 10. The

families will start with dinner together at 6 pm, followed by

classes at 6:30 pm. For the Adult Faith Formation, Father

Steve will continue his series on the Mass. All parishioners

are invited to attend the Adult Faith Formation with the

parents in the Church at 6:30 pm. There is child care

available for those who have children younger than

kindergarten. If you would like to know more about our

program, contact Cindy at 226-3100.

Eucharistic Adoration:

We have Eucharistic Adoration every Friday 9:00 am until

noon. There is a sign-up sheet in the back of the church to

be certain that someone is always in attendance during the

time of Exposition. If you are available during this time,

please consider signing up to spend an hour with the Lord

in prayer.

UCA Update:

Please Note: As of today, our parish has currently collected

$24,063.36 towards our UCA goal of $25,667.93. We still

need to collect $1,604.57 by December 31st to meet our

parish goal. Please remember that all UCA monies go

directly to assist our diocese in its many programs which

directly benefit our parish. Please also remember that if we

do not meet our goal, we will have to make up the rest of

the monies from our general parish funds. Thank you!

Parish Contribution Envelopes

Your assigned packet of envelopes is available at the

back of Church for the coming year. Envelope usage is

very important as it helps support intentional steward-

ship by everyone. We urge you to use your envelopes, it

makes our record keeping much easier when you do. If

you need envelopes, please let us know.

Saturday ST. JOHN OF KANTY 12/23/17

6:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Mass - Intention for Robert Swindlehurst

Reader…...Jody Majewsky

Cantor........Andy Buell

Plate……...Michael Rowlee

Chalices….Cindy Rowlee & Leanne Buell

Servers...…Brooke Velcheff & Thomas Rowlee

Sunday FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 12/24/17

7:50 a.m.

8:30 a.m.


Mass - Intention for All Parishioners

Reader…...Marge Jorgenson

Cantor........Joanne Curry

Plate……...Deacon Jack Ferris

Chalices….Judy Zupancich & Jeff Asmussen

Servers…...Zack Fredrickson & Owen Zabrocki

Sunday VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD 12/24/17

7:15 p.m.


Reader…...Tom Frericks

Cantor........Terri Frericks-Blood & All Cantors

Plate……...Don Seipke

Chalices….Michael & Cindy Rowlee

Servers…...Jason Blood & Thomas Rowlee

Monday THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD 12/25/17

9:00 a.m.


Reader…...Laura Swartz

Cantor........Patty Armstrong


Chalices….Evan Swartz & Jeff Asmussen

Servers…...Nicholas Swartz & Valerie Melander

Tuesday ST. STEPHEN 12/26/17

No Mass

Wednesday ST. JOHN 12/27/17

No Mass

Thursday THE HOLY INNOCENTS 12/28/17

7:50 a.m.

8:15 a.m. Rosary

Mass - Intention for Terresina Shepersky

Friday ST.THOMAS BECKET 12/29/17

7:50 a.m.

8:15 a.m. Rosary

Mass - Intention for MaryAnn Schmoll

Saturday 6TH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE

NATIVITY OF THE LORD 12/30/17

6:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.


Mass - Intention for Barbara Haynes (mother of Joe Haynes)

Reader…...Gerry Bahar

Cantor........Sue Bahar

Plate……...Lanay Frericks

Chalices….Jeff Asmussen & Gerry Bahar

Servers...…Giovanni & Corinna Marolt

Sunday THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS,

MARY AND JOSEPH 12/31/17

7:50 a.m.

8:30 a.m.



Reader…...Jim Frericks

Cantor........Tom Palen


Chalices….Judy Zupancich & Mike Rowlee

Servers…...Lucas & Jake Stadler

St. Mary’s Mass Schedule Holy Spirit’s Mass Schedule Saturday ST. JOHN OF KANTY 12/23/17

10:00 a.m.

3:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m.



Mass — Intention for All Parishioners

Reader……Gloria Uremovich

Cantor........Mary Simonsen

Chalices….Beth Egan & Shawn McMahon

Servers…...Ava Fosness & To be assigned

Sunday FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 12/24/17

11:00 a.m.


Reader…....Michelle Thewis

Cantor........Judy Fleischer

Chalices….Chris Lemke & Gina Lemke

Servers…...Anthony Lemke & Nathan Campbell

Sunday VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD 12/24/17

4:30 p.m. Mass—Christmas Eve, The Nativity of the Lord

Reader…....Barb Haynes


Chalices….Shawn McMahon & Kathy McMahon

Servers…...Isaiah Beamer & To be assigned

Monday CHRISTMAS DAY 12/25/17

9:00 a.m. Mass– The Nativity of the Lord

Reader…....Mike Hoffman


Chalices….Linda Hoffman & To be assigned

Servers…...To be assigned & To be assigned

Tuesday ST. STEPHEN 12/26/17

No Mass

Wednesday ST. JOHN 12/27/17

No Mass

Thursday THE HOLY INNOCENTS 12/28/17

8:15 a.m. Mass—Intention for Alex VanHorn

Friday ST. THOMAS BECKET 12/29/17

7:30 a.m.

8:15 a.m.

9:00 a.m.


Mass — Special Intention “H”

Eucharistic Adoration with Benediction

Saturday 6TH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE

NATIVITY OF THE LORD 12/30/17

3:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m.



Reader…....To be assigned


Chalices….To be assigned

Servers…...Kate Thomasen & To be assigned

Sunday THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS,

MARY, AND JOSEPH 12/31/17

11:00 a.m.

Mass—Christmas Eve, The Nativity of the Lord

Reader…....Louis Button


Chalices….Shari Hendren & Joanne Button

Servers…...Livy & Sid Hendren

Please Note: There will not be Masses on

Tuesday, December 26 and Wednesday, December 27

at either St. Mary’s or Holy Spirit.

s & s . m · fr. steve’s prayer for consideration: “o god, who wonderfully created the...

Documents