December 29th

, 2013

Feast of the Holy Family Those who respect the Lord honour their parents.

Readings for Epiphany of the Lord, Sunday, January 5, 2014

Isaiah 60.1 – 6; Ephesians 3.2 – 3a, 5 – 6; Matthew 2.1 – 12

New Year’s Mass Schedule ►Tuesday, Dec. 31st at 5:15 p.m. ► Wednesday, January 1st at 10 a.m.

The Parish Office will close at 12 p.m. on Dec. 31st and be closed New Year’s Day.

Happy New Year! May this coming year bring happiness in your life and let all the unfulfilled dreams and desires you had in year 2013 be fulfilled. May it bring a smile on your face and a glow on your cheeks.

May you have good health so you may enjoy each day in comfort. May the love of friends and family and

peace be in your hearts. May you be generous so that you may share all good things that come to you! God

gave each of us one more new year to undo the wrongs of the past, to see the unseen and to do the undone.

Happy New Year 2014 from The Parish Staff

~ Michelle Bedard, Vilija Tassone, Ruth Ingram, Brenda Cavallin, Stephanie Manarin & Dennis Ongaro

AWAY Yes! I have an opportunity thanks to Mass coverage by Monsignors Caswell and Caruso to take a break December 30

th – January 8

th. They will cover Sunday Masses as well as New Year’s. Funerals will be

covered by brother priests who make themselves available on a roster. No weekday Masses in my absence except

for: Tuesday, December 31st at 5:15 p.m. and Wednesday, January 1

st at 10 a.m.

Retiring! After 16 years as a Minister of Communion Joe Grottoli (88) is withdrawing from the Ministry – WHO WILL TAKE HIS PLACE??? Any gentlemen interested – please contact the parish office to connect with the co-ordinator.

- Also, Lorrie Gates ends 15 ½ years of her service to St. Patrick’s Parish. After the 10 a.m. Mass on

Sunday, December 29th , there will be a reception and farewells for her. You are invited to attend!

A New Year Prayer For the Elderly: God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones that I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

“Mary – Mother of God” The first day of the secular calendar invites us to rejoice in this oldest title given to Mary. In Canada, this day is a holy day and Catholics are expected to celebrate Mass which is on

Tuesday, Dec. 31st at 5:15 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 1

st at 10:00 a.m.

THANK YOU FOR LIGHTING MORE THAN A TREE! The St. Patrick's Parish 2013 Giving Tree Committee congratulates parishioners for their campaign support. The

Christmas Season's Giving Spirit will brighten the homes of 67 parishioners. Star guided parishioners contributed

over 250 gifts as well as monetary donations. Gifts, and monetary donations, in the form of food gift certificates,

were generously delivered by the Knights of Columbus, Father Jim, and other volunteers, on Saturday December 14th. All gifts

contributed, beyond our immediate Parish needs, were delivered to our extended Parish of the Inner City Home.

A most humbling and sincere thank you is extended to everyone at St. Patrick's Parish for their support and for keeping the

generosity and compassion of Christ Our Savior in the season of Christmas and for letting those in need know that St. Patrick's

Parish cares for them.

Don’t Throw Out Those Christmas Cards! Please save your used Christmas cards as they are used the following year to make the tags for the Giving Tree. They can be placed in the collection basket or in the

church entrances.

Volunteers Needed! St. Joseph’s Health Centre invites you to join their volunteer Community. They have a variety of Volunteer Services and Programs to suit your interest. Their Volunteers contribute to the Wellness of

their Long-Term Care Residents and Patients in their Continuing Care Centre. If you are interested in Volunteer

Opportunities please contact Volunteer Services at : St. Joseph’s Villa / St. Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre –

(705) 674-4447 ext. 1330.

Lecture Tour with A Difference: On New Year's Eve, Daniel was in no shape to drive, so he sensibly left his van in the car park and walked home. As he was wobbling along, he was stopped by a policeman. 'What are you doing out here at four

o'clock in the morning?' asked the police officer.'I'm on my way to a lecture,' answered Roger. 'And who on earth, in their right

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mind, is going to give a lecture at this time on New Year's Eve?' enquired the constable sarcastically. 'My wife,' slurred Daniel

grimly.

Au Revoir!! I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have told me how much they have appreciated my efforts on behalf of the parish throughout my service as your parish secretary/office manager. Thanks also for

your kind words of encouragement as I embark on this new stage of life called retirement. It has been my privilege to

serve you and it is YOU the

people that I will miss most. My wish is for all of you to have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

Lorrie Gates – now retired ☺

EPIPHANY Next Sunday the Church recalls how Jesus is for all nations – all people. The ancient story in Matthew’s gospel of visitors from the East to Bethlehem invites us to open ourselves also to welcome others.

Dieting – New Year Resolutions Pattern: 2010: I will get my weight down below 180 pounds.: 2011: I will follow my new diet religiously until I get below 200 pounds.: 2012: I will develop a realistic attitude about my weight.: 2013: I will work out

3 days a week.; 2014: I will try to drive past a gym at least once a week.

2014 Membership: The membership drive is now on. Please use the pink envelope found in the box of Sunday Offering Envelopes, or use a plain one marked CWL and drop it in the collection baskets or at the parish office.

United Way Sudbury and Nipissing Districts are looking for Volunteer Receptionists and Income Tax Preparers to help with their Community Volunteer Income Tax Program during March and April. If you are

comfortable completing your own income tax return, you can help others! Contact Sarah at 705-560-3330 ext. 216

before February 7, 2014.

Stamps, Stamps, Stamps The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace want our used stamps. Please save the stamps from you Christmas cards and parcels. Containers for them are located at church

entrances.

New Year's Day Prayer for One and All: Dear Lord, So far this year I've done well. I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord,

I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on I'm probably going to need a lot more help. Amen

Please Pick-Up Your 2014 Offering Envelope Box located at the back of the church. A new set has been issued for everyone who used them in 2013. Please carefully look for a box with your name on it. Using

these envelopes enable us to issue you an income tax receipt at year end. Blank sets are available for those who

wish to start using them in the New Year. For those who would prefer to set up their donations to be directly

withdrawn from their bank account, forms are also available in the office to participate in the Pre-Authorized Donation Program.

60th

Anniversary Calendar Our 2014 Parish 60th Anniversary Calendar will continue to be sold in our Parish Office. They only cost $12 each. They make a wonderful Christmas gift and are going fast so hurry if you

want one!!

A New Year's Wish: On New Year's Eve, Marilyn stood up in the local pub and said that it was time to get ready. At the stroke of midnight, she wanted every husband to be standing next to the one person who made his life worth living…Well, it was

kind of embarrassing. As the clock struck - the bartender was almost crushed to death.

Community News ► First Saturday of the Month Devotion is on January 4th at La Porte des Eaux/The Water Gate, 1534 Pioneer Rd. at 9:30 a.m. ► Pyrogy & Cabbage Roll Sale ~ St. Mary’s Church Roof Fundraiser! Every Sat. from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at St.

Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church Auditorium, 40 Notre Dame Ave., 705-675-8244

Intention Schedule Dec. 30 – Jan.5: Tues. 5:15 p.m. [┼ Donata Riley / ┼ Mary Bernardi] Wed. 10 a.m. [in thanksgiving/ ┼ Leota MacIsaac] Sat. 5:15 p.m. [┼Attilio Dozzi / intentions of Gwen Charette / ┼ Lillian Orselli]

Sun. 10 a.m. [for the parishioners of St. Patrick’s].

Holy Families The lovely gospel accounts that we revel in during

these days of Christmastime hold up for us the

image of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family

of Nazareth. And so we celebrate the Holy Family

on the Sunday after Christmas Day. It’s easy to

gaze on the images in the Christmas crib and

recognize the holiness of the newborn Jesus, his

mother and his guardian. It may be harder to look

at your own children or parents or brothers and

sisters and see reflections of that same holiness in

them. After all, living together, you see each

other’s bad sides as well as the good, the warts as

well as the dimples.

But if we truly believe in what we are

celebrating, the incarnation of God in the flesh,

and the fact that Jesus saved us by his death and

resurrection into which we are baptized, then we

must cultivate the ability to see a reflection of

the baby Jesus’ holiness in each child in our

own families, to see the holiness of Mary and of

Joseph reflected in ourselves as parents and in

our own parents.

Maybe it will help to remember not just the

gurgling baby Jesus in the crib, but also the

toddler Jesus at age two — in his own version of

the “terrible twos.” Or to meditate on Mary and

Joseph changing diapers and picking up the

ancient Palestinian version of Cheerios from the

kitchen floor — and the living room floor and the

bedroom floor and. . . . The gospels are silent

about Jesus’ childhood, but truly human as well

as truly God, Jesus no doubt had nosebleeds and

skinned knees, tried dangerous stunts, didn’t get

enough sleep sometimes and so was cranky.

Maybe there were even battles over homework.

(Jesus would have studied Hebrew and the

scriptures.)

And think of Jesus as a teenager. We get a

glimpse of him in the gospel of Matthew at age

twelve, wandering off in Jerusalem, causing Mary and

Joseph to panic. Of course he didn’t have the

opportunity to take driver’s ed or ask for the car keys,

but there were a myriad of other but similar parent-

teen encounters, to be sure.

Some may find such speculation to be

sacrilegious. “Jesus is perfect,” they’ll object. “Jesus

is God!” How very true. And Jesus was a baby, a

teenager, a young adult, too. True God, true man. And

maybe, just maybe one of the delights of this

Christmas season is that some of the small quirky

things about us as human beings — the terrible twos,

the teenage struggle for independence, parents’ angst

about their child — maybe all of these are holy and

part of what it means to grow toward perfection.

Glory in heaven and peace on earth, now and

forever!

Copyright © 2002 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1800

North Hermitage Avenue, Chicago IL 60622-1101; 1-800-933-1800; www.ltp.org.

Text by David Philippart. Art by Steve Erspamer, sm. All rights reserved. Used

with permission.