St. Paul the Apostle

Saturday, December 21 4:30PM Comfort & Mowbray Families by: K. Broderick Sunday, December 22 7:30AM The People of St. Paul the Apostle 9:00AM Thomas Dooley by: C. Dooley-Harding Catherine Ryan by: Family 10:30AM Edward Keenan by: Keenan Family Jack Kane by: Ann Kane Monday, December 23 7:30AM Agnes Stubler by: Family Tuesday, December 24 Christmas Eve 3:00PM Intention of the Celebrant 5:00PM Intention of the Celebrant 10:30PM Intention of the Clelbrant

Wednesday, December 25 Christmas Day 7:30AM Intention of the Celebrant 9:00AM Intention of the Celebrant 10:30AM The People of St. Paul the Apostle Thursday, December 26 7:30AM Edward Janes by: J. Tierney Friday, December 27 7:30PM Catherine Ryan by: Friends Helen Vercelli by: Family & Friends Saturday, December 28 4:30PM Lois Draznik by M/M Kowal Next Sunday, December 29 7:30AM John McCormack by: Family 9:00 AM Thomas Devine by: Adele Devine John Bodesky by: Mrs. Bodesky 10:30 AM The People of St. Paul the Apostle

NEXT WEEKEND’S LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS TIME READERS EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS

Saturday, December 28 4:30 PM J Bebar/ C Hinkleman N Pultorak/ R Lemke/ P & C Wilda J Pultorak/ R Baskerville/ J Militello Sunday, December 29 7:30 AM L Deiss/ A Henderson E Cora/ M A Schwerha/ K Burla J Peceniak/ C Lukowski/ K & L Briick 9:00 AM M Gross/ D Gross P Bowden/ J Simpson/ C Sinwell L Laux/ J & J Klika/ L Nichols 10:30 AM L Garcia/ T Bailey S Hobbs/ B & P Bodach/ B Bayci J Szymanski/ J Hatfield/ M L Crossen

Next Weekend’s Servers: Saturday, December 28 4:30 PM H & Z Bebar/ B Hinkleman/ K Sears Sunday, December 29 7:30 AM M Talarico/ G Sigler/ J Parfitt/ G Underhill 9:00 AM M Trizna/ N Bartelt/ L Gregurich/ C Castillo 10:30AM J Scherf/ P Picciolo/ G Hardin/ J McGinnis

Weekday Mass: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM (Wed 8:30 AM when school is in session) Saturday Vigil: 4:30 PM Sunday Mass: 7:30,9:00,10:30 AM Holy Day Masses: Variable-check bulletin. Reconciliation: Sat 3-4 pm or by appointment. Baptism: Usually 2nd Sunday of the month after 10:30am Mass. A preparation meeting for parents is mandatory. Call the parish office for details Weddings: Engaged parishioners must contact the parish office at least 6 mos. prior to intended date, and before making any arrangements. RCIA: Classes from September to Easter for those interested in becoming Catholic. Becoming a Parishioner: Please contact the parish office to register All Are Welcome!

Parish Office: 815-725-1527 Parish Fax 815-730-9907 School: 815-725-3390 Religious Education 815-725-6927 Youth Ministry: 815-730-8599 RCIA (Roberta Lemke) 815-725-1403 Parish Email: parishsec@stpauljoliet.com

Rev. John Klein, Pastor frjohn@stpauljoliet.com x243 Rev. John Belmonte, S.J., Resident x230 Rev. James Lennon, Weekend Celebrant Deacon William Bevan, III Deacon John Freund jfreund@dioceseofjoliet.org Lynne Passarella, Parish Secretary x200 Denise Rowan, Business Manager x203 Mary K. Robbins, Principal x401 Sr. Karen Marie Lanigan, O.S.F., D.R.E. x301 Jeremy Hylka, Dir. Of Liturgy & Youth Minister x320 Tanya Rand, Dean of Development & Marketing x201 Raymond Kaufmann, Director of Music

Parish News St. Paul’s ‘FOLLOW’ Youth Ministry Members always welcome. You must be confirmed and/or in high school! Contact Youth Minister Jeremy Hylka at 815-730-8599 or stpaulsyouth@sbcglobal.net Website: www.stpaulyouth.com Facebook: St. Paul’s Youth Ministry Joliet Twitter: stpaulsfollow Instagram: stpauljolietyouth Text Message News Reminders: text @drstp to 815-207-8341 Mission Week in Ohio – all high school students are wel-come to join us for our week-long Catholic Heart Mission Week to Toledo, Ohio June 8-14. A deposit of $85 with form is due January 7. Please contact our office for more information.

R.E.P. NEWS In need of information about

Our Religious Education Program? Please call the REP office at 815-725-6927

There will be no REP classes on Monday, December 23 and 30, 2013. Classes will resume on Monday, January 6, 2014 at 5:45 pm in school. At that time parents are asked to stop by the REP desk to pick up student progress reports. The REP office will be closed through January 5, 2014. The office will reopen at 9 am on Monday, January 6, 2014. The faculty and staff of St. Paul’s Religious Education program wishes all parishioners a holy Christmas season.

St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School News

Mary Kay Robbins, Principal, all the teachers, staff and stu-dents wish all the parishioners of St. Paul the Apostle a Blessed holiday season, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to ALL!!

St. Paul’s is now on Facebook and Twitter!

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/stpauljoliet

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: stpauljoliet

Why Support the New Annual Fund for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School? Two of the four goals of our Annual Fund state that we need to update textbooks and library books to meet the more rigor-ous Common Core State Standards (CCSS). There has been much debate about these standards, and 47 states have adopted them, including Illinois. The Diocese of Joliet has also adopt-ed them and added Catholic Identity Standards as well. The negative statements being published about the CCSS cen-ter on the false belief that the federal government is somehow going to dictate what must be taught, when it must be taught, and how it must be taught. This is not true: these are stand-ards, not a curriculum, and they truly raise the bar for all stu-dents. In mathematics, there is greater emphasis on deeper understanding of concepts, and their application to problem solving using a variety of strategies. In reading, there is em-phasis on higher level thought processes used in reading more difficult informational text across the curriculum.

As with any change, it is not a matter of what you do, but how you do it. Our teachers are making significant changes in the way they teach, engaging students in higher level thinking while using updated technology like never before. It is excit-ing and very gratifying to observe these changes in the class-room as our students become more knowledgeable and more confident learners. Your support of our Annual Fund will allow us to continually update our materials and methods.

PRAY FOR ALL THOSE WHO WILL NOT BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. GOD BLESS THEM FOR THEIR COURAGE AND DEDICATION

FROM FATHER JOHN: “The Word who found a dwelling in Mary’s womb comes to knock on the heart of every person with singular intensity this Christmas.” – Blessed John Paul II, Angelus Message, December 19, 1999.

On Christmas, we celebrate the Incarnation of the Lord. We celebrate the fact that the Word has become flesh; that God the Father has given us his only Son and that our God loves us so much that he became one of us to save us from our sins. We celebrate that, in our Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself is with us, that God came into the world because he loves us and that as we receive the Son of God into our hearts and into our souls and into our lives, God the Father gives us all good things.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1 – 4, 14)

I want to continue my Advent series of articles from the thoughts and prayers of the saints. Today’s entry is an excerpt from St. Augustine, Priest, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He speaks to us about how John the Baptist prepared the way of our Lord by focusing everything on the beloved Son of God.

“John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives forever. Take away the word, the meaning, and what is the voice? Where there is no understand-ing, there is only a meaningless sound. The voice without the word strikes the ear but does not build up the heart.

However, let us observe what happens when we first seek to build up our hearts. When I think about what I am going to say, the word or message is already in my heart. When I want to speak to you, I look for a way to share with your heart what is already in mine. In my search for a way to let this message reach you, so that the word already in my heart may find a place also in yours, I use my voice to speak to you. The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the word to you and then passes away. The word which the sound has brought to you is now in your heart, and yet it is still also in mine.

When the word has been conveyed to you, does not the sound seem to say: The word ought to grow, and I should diminish? The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word, and has gone away, as though it were saying: My joy is com-plete. Let us hold on to the word; we must not lose the word conceived inwardly in our hearts. Do you need proof that the voice passes away but the divine Word remains? Where is John’s baptism today? It served its purpose, and it went away. Now it is Christ’s baptism that we celebrate. It is in Christ that we all believe; we hope for salvation in him. This is the message the voice cried out.

Because it is hard to distinguish word from voice, even John himself was thought to be the ‘Christ. The voice was thought to be the word. But the voice acknowledged what is was, anxious not to give offense to the word. I am not the Christ, he said, nor Elijah, nor the prophet. And the question came: Who are you, then? He replied: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness is the voice of one breaking the silence. Prepare the way for the Lord, he says, as though he were saying: “I speak out in order to lead him into your hearts, but he does not choose to come where I lead him un-less you prepare the way for him.”

To prepare the way means to pray well; it means thinking humbly of oneself. We should take our lesson from John the Baptist. He is thought to be the Christ; he declares he is not what they think. He does not take advantage of their mistake to further his own glory.

If he had said, “I am the Christ,” you can imagine how readily he would have been believed, since they believed he was the Christ even before he spoke. But he did not say it; he acknowledged what he was. He pointed out clearly who he was; he hum-bled himself. He saw where his salvation lay. He understood that he was a lamp, and his fear was that it might be blown out by the wind of pride.”

We celebrate Christmas because we have received the greatest gift in the history of the human race, in the history of the entire uni-verse. In the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus, in the Incarnation of the Word, in the birth of the baby Jesus, we receive the gift of sharing in the Divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our Humanity. We receive the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus. And this gift is what makes Christmas so very, very special. I hope and pray that you and your family have a most Blessed and Merry Christmas. I wish you an abundance of peace and joy as we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus.

Christmas Mass Schedule

Christmas Eve - Tuesday, December 24 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 10:30 PM (10:00PMChristmasChoralPrelude)

Christmas Day -Wednesday, December 25

7:30 AM 9:00 AM 10:30 AM

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God Wednesday, January 1st

8:30 AM 10:30 AM

Sacrament of Reconciliation Wednesday, December 18

(Individual Confessions with 8-10 Priests Available)

Wednesday,

December 18 6:30 PM

PleaseNote:Thenormalweekend

mass&confessionscheduleappliestoallotherdates&times

notlistedabove

For Information or to register Contact Deacon John

Call: 630-212-6002 Email: jfreund@dioceseofjoliet.org

If you have not received this Christmas Schedule in the mail with your Christmas Card, please contact Lynne at the Rectory to register as a Parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle.

Discovering Christ Coming to St. Paul the Apostle Parish!

Enjoy a light dinner, listen to dynamic teaching and join in a small group discussion about the meaning of life in Jesus Christ. Discovering Christ is a seven-week series that will begin Wednesday January 22nd at 6:30pm and includes a life-changing retreat on Saturday, March 1st. Wednesday meeting dates are 1/22, 1/29, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/19 and 3/26.

This course is designed for you to revitalize your faith or to bring your friends and family who have been away from the church and are open to exploring the meaning of life in Jesus Christ. Check out the You Tube video at :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-QPh2_3n2k

Special Offer: If you are a baptized Catholic, age 18 or over, have received First Eucharist, but have never been confirmed this program could serve as preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Contact Deacon John for more information.

From Fr. John Klein, Fr. John Belmonte, Fr. James Lennon, Fr. Larry Gorski,

Sr. Karen Marie Lanigan, Deacon William Bevan III,

Deacon John Freund and the Parish Staff ;

Our warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas !!!

Calendar News

Thursday, December 26 7:30am Mass Church Friday, December 27 7:30am Mass Church Saturday, December 28 9:00am Basketball Practice Gym 3:00pm Confessions Church 4:30pm Mass Church 5:30pm Music Ensemble Church Sunday, December 29 7:30am Mass Church 9:00am Mass Church 10:00am RCIA Convent 10:30am Mass Church 12:00pm Basketball Practice Gym NOTE: THE PARISH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED IN OBSERVANCE OF THE CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR HOLIDAY FROM 12/23 THROUGH 12/27/13. THE PARISH OFFICE WILL BE OPEN THE FOLLOWING WEEK ON MONDAY 12/30/13, THURSDAY 01/02/14 AND FRIDAY 01/03/14, AND CLOSED ON TUESDAY 12/31/13 AND WEDNESDAY 01/01/14.

Sunday, December 22 7:30am Mass Church 9:00am Mass Church 10:00am RCIA Convent 10:30am Mass Church 12:00pm Basketball Practice Gym Monday, December 23 7:30am Mass Church 8:00am Eucharistic Adoration Church 3:45pm Basketball Practice Gym 7:00pm A A Meeting A 1 Tuesday, December 24 Christmas Eve 3:00pm Mass Church 5:00pm Mass Church 10:00pm Choral Prelude Church 10:00pm Mass Church Wednesday, December 25 Christmas Day 7:30am Mass Church 9:00am Mass Church 10:30am Mass Church

Pray for the Sick Please remember the following people in your prayers who are seriously ill

or who are suffering from long-term illnesses:

For the most current calendar information please go to www.stpauljoliet.com

Patricia Balla Erin Bartel Gerri Bertino Mason Briese Patricia Burda Noemi Canales Laura Criel Sally Drauden Jean Fabich Judith Gahala Harn Family

Matt Gross Sami Henderson James Hickey, Jr. Ann Juhlmann Ann Kane Mary Kaplan Helen Locher Carol Malnar Shirley Max Helen Meyer Terry Meyer

Betty Modlin John Mowbray Jeanie Nunuue Kurt Palmer Kay Prock Walter Ratkovich Amy Remallard Lisa Savero Barbara Schreiner Richard Schreiner Tony Simone

Louis Toka Sal Ventura Lorraine Welch

SUNDAY OFFERING—THANK YOU! Offering for Sunday, Dec. 8…………….$17,823.00 Collection Amount Budgeted…………...$16,731.00

Week’s Budget Shortfall..………………($ 1,092.00) Year to Date Shortfall…………………..($29,190.00)

Our Parish depends on a weekly collection of $16,731.00 to meet our budget. Thank you for your generous support of our parish. Your donations of time, talent, and treasure enables us to provide many ministries and services for the benefit of our parishioners and the local community. God bless you and your family!

Hospitality Ministry is looking for Greeters to welcome parishioners to

St. Paul’s at all weekend masses. Requirement: A Sunny Smile and a Positive Greeting to those coming for Mass. All we are asking is one

Saturday or Sunday a month. You choose your favorite mass.

For more information: call Dolores Fassola 815-725-2022 Thank You.

LIFE

The Divine Child’s Birth Advent leads the Church to the Silent Night when God Himself is revealed as one of us. This season leads us to the joy of His birth. If God has joined His nature to ours, how can we ever allow our nature to be despised? If He has come to bring us Divine Life, and will return to take us to the skies, how can it be all right to throw people in the garbage? May His birth shed protection on all about to be born, and as we work to end abortion, may we "wait in joyful hope for the coming of Our Savior, Jesus Christ."

Prayer for Spread of Eucharistic Adoration Heavenly Father, increase our faith in the real presence. We are obliged to adore Jesus, to give Him thanks and to make reparation for sins. We need your peace in our hearts and among nations. We need conversion of heart and the mercy of Your forgiveness. May we ob-tain this through prayer and our union with the Eucharistic Lord. Please send down the Holy Spirit upon all peoples to give us the love, courage, strength and willingness to respond to the invitation to Eucharistic Adora-tion. We beseech you to spread adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in parishes around the world. We ask this in the Name of Jesus the Lord. Amen. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, help us to spread the glory of Your Son, Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Amen. We welcome adorers from 8-10 on Mon., Tues., Thurs., or Fri. We’re looking to have at least two adorers at any given time and day, for Jesus must never be left alone. Name:____________________________________________ phone:____________________________________________ E-mail: _________________________________________ Please check which day and time you prefer: ___Monday ___Tuesday ___Thursday ___Friday _____8:00-9:00am____ 9:00-10:00am

Adorers Especially Needed Monday 9-10am and Friday 8-9am Please return completed form via collection basket at Mass or to the Parish Office, or you may call Diana Harms 815-727-5783, or Lynne at the Parish Office 815-725-1527.

DECEMBER 22, 2013 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT Today's readings remind us that God has been

faithful to the covenant promises he made to this Chosen People, Israel. Christ is the long awaited Emmanuel–God with us!