Slowing down is hard to do! Advent invites us to take a long view of
history. The Present Moment calls us to
respond right here and right now.
Between these perspectives, there is also the simple fact that many
voices are calling out to us.
Last weekend, we heard John the
Baptist, echoing Isaiah, exhorting us to “Prepare
the way of the Lord.” At the same
time, we had a Holy Day as an Obligation Day on Saturday, the burial of a
50-Year Time Capsule, the Masses of the Second Sunday of Advent, the Sale of
Olive Wood carvings by a native of the Holy Land on behalf of his family
members still living near Bethlehem, our regular classes for R.C.I.A. and
P.S.R., and the Latino celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with food and a
mariachi band….. St. Vincent De Paul was reminding us to keep
our brothers and sisters warm with Coats
for Christmas. The Knights of
Council 14345 called us to “Keep Christ
in Christmas.” And our 8th
Graders asked to support a 50/50 Raffle to raise funds for their upcoming trip
to Washington , DC
In the middle of the week, some of
our members paused to experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to prepare
their hearts for Christmas.
This weekend, once again, we hear
from John the Baptist, still echoing the call of the Prophets of old, "I am baptizing you with water, but One
Mightier than I is coming. . . . He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to
gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable
fire." The gentle invitation to
“prepare the way” is now replaced by a dire warning of the need to be ready for
the Lord Who is Coming.
As we continue our journey through
Advent, let us open our hearts to the Lord.
He wants to make His Home among us.
Are we ready to welcome Him?
Year of Faith
IN BRIEF
44 Man is by nature and vocation a religious being. Coming
from God, going toward God, man lives a fully human life only if he freely
lives by his bond with God.
45 Man is made to live in communion with God in whom he
finds happiness: “When I am completely united to you, there will be no more
sorrow or trials; entirely full of you, my life will be complete” (St.
Augustine
46 When he listens to the message of creation and to the
voice of conscience, man can arrive at certainty about the existence of God,
the cause and the end of everything.
47 The Church teaches that the one true God, our Creator and
Lord, can be known with certainty from his works, by the natural light of human
reason (cf. Vatican Council I, can. 2, § 1: DS 3026).
48 We really can name God, starting from the manifold
perfections of his creatures, which are likenesses of the infinitely perfect
God, even if our limited language cannot exhaust the mystery.
49 “Without the Creator, the creature vanishes” (GS 36).
This is the reason why believers know that the love of Christ urges them to
bring the light of the living God to those who do not know him or who reject
him.
Comment: Our
Catholic Faith cannot be reduced to words.
And yet, the Catechism and the other teaching tools of the Church come
up with lovely and simple forms of expression of the Faith. The “In Brief” sections of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church offer summaries of the discussion that has preceded. It is useful to ponder these in order to come
up with personal ways to speak of our Faith.
Can you offer a summary of some of the points made here in your own way?
This Week in Our History: December 16-23
Note: This project was
started in February 2012; we will continue it until a full year of review is
completed.
1963: The outdoor Crib Scene is the result of the
generous work of some members of the Men’s Club and the resources of the Men’s
and Women’s Clubs of the parish.
1965: Newly baptized: Christine Anne, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John
Clifford; Molly Ann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Quigley; Craig, son of Mr. and
Mrs. J. Cline; Kimberly Ann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. T. Davis
1970: We sincerely welcome the following new
parishioners: Mrs. Carol Hudson, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Ticknor, Mrs. Frances
Stare, Mr. and Mrs. Jos. L. Reinhard, Mr. Richard Elosh, Mrs. John Jewett
1975: We have a sad duty to announce the death and
burial this past week of a most faithful parishioner, Tony D’Amico. Please remember him and his family in your
prayers.
1977: We have received donations in the amount of
$650.00 in memory of Gene Stark. Thank
you to Mrs. Stark and her daughters for being so thoughtful of the parish in
their time of grief.
From the Pastor’s Desk
Some people have
remarked that they have not yet been contacted about their thoughts on the
proposed school consolidation…If you have strong feelings about the school one
way or the other, please write a short letter expressing your opinion to your
area representative, or to the president of the parish council, Robert Gardner,
before January. The decision about the
school, no matter what it is, has to be made by the whole community of St.
Timothy Parish, not just those with school age children.
1978: Christmas came to St. Timothy early this
year, as Mr. Len Immke has donated 2000 shares of Wendy’s stock to us. (This stock must be held for two years.) Please remember Mr. Immke and his family in
your prayers. He is not a member of our
parish, and has many calls upon his generosity from other organizations. It was very generous of him to give US this
gift.
1979: As you can see, we have begun our remodeling
of the sanctuary area and hope to have it completed by Christmas. The painters are scheduled to come the first
week in January. We feel that our church
will be a beautiful place to come and worship our God together….We have
received special gifts to buy a new tabernacle and a new baptismal font. We hope eventually to design and build a new
altar of sacrifice. We will also need
choir chairs, new chairs for the sanctuary and new lights in church. For these we will need more money. Please continue to use the special envelopes
in your packet when you have something extra to give.
1980: Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Welsh
on their 50th wedding anniversary, December 27.
Father John Tague has been transferred …to Chaplain at Grant
Hospital St. Joseph
Father DeVille, Father Cadden, and all the staff at St.
Timothy wish each of you a very happy Christmas Day and Season. May it be a time when you realize more deeply
God’s love for you and what He has done for us in giving us Jesus, His Son, to
be our Brother.
1981: The priests of the parish, Fathers James
Hanley and Stephen Virginia, and our deacon, Reverend Patrick Rogers, extend
sincere wishes to all of you for a Holy and Happy Christmas Season. We pray that the peace and light of Christ
will dwell in your hearts and homes throughout the coming year.
1983: Congratulations to Tim Rennick of Boy Scout
Troop 169. He received the Eagle Scout
award on December 12th. Troop
169 is sponsored by the Men’s Club.
1986: NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: This would not be a good time of year to get a bill for unreturned sports
uniforms. All PAST and PRESENT SPORTS
PARTICIPANTS who have unreturned uniforms, get them in NOW. C’mon, it can’t be that difficult to remember.
Two-four-six-eight,
we would all appreciate RETURNING SPORTS UNIFORMS NOW.
1988: A Special Thank You from the Women’s Club to
all the volunteers who made the Breakfast With Santa such a great success. Because this was the first year for this
event, we didn’t know what the response would be. We apologize if you couldn’t get
reservations. Next year we will try to
accommodate everyone. Merry Christmas
from your parish Women’s Club.
1992: Fathers James Hanley, Michael Nugent and
John Brezovec extend to all of you sincere wishes for a very holy and happy
Christmas Day.
1993: Fathers James Hanley, Michael Nugent and
William Arnold…(pray) in all our Masses that the Peace and Joy of the Birth of
Christ will be yours on the Feast of Christmas and through all the year to
come.
1994: Advent Wreath. The new Advent Wreath for the Sanctuary was
designed and made by Jane Sullivan, former member of the parish, and Cathy
Carlin, Jane’s daughter and a member of the parish. It was funded and donated to the parish by
Mike and Cathy Carlin, members of the parish.
We thank them for this attractive addition to the worship life of the
parish.
1995: The new 1995 Snowflake Ornaments are
available…These pieces are specially designed, handcrafted, limited editions;
100% of the money you spend on these special pieces is added to the St. Timothy
School Endowment Fund. In just two years
these ornaments have increased the fund $4,000.
Call Carol Berry.
1996: Fathers Tom Shonebarger, Andy Nugent and Jim
Nugent extend to all of you wishes for a holy and happy Christmas.
1997: Fathers Tom Shonebarger, Andy Nugent, Jim
Nugent and Joe Jerabeck extend to all of you sincere wishes for a very holy and
happy Christmas.
1998: Holy and happy Christmas wishes from
Fathers Tom Shonebarger, Mike Ellifritz, Jim Nugent and Joe Jerabeck.
2001: The Twelve Days of Christmas Carol Explained
From 1558 to 1829, Roman Catholics in England
The partridge in a
pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves—the
Old and New Testaments
Three French
hens—faith, hope and love
Four calling
birds—four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Five golden rings—the Torah or Law, the first
five books of the Old Testament
Six geese
a-laying—six days of creation
Seven swans
a-swimming—seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; prophesy, serving, teaching,
exhortation, contribution, leadership, mercy
Eight maids
a-milking—eight beatitudes
Nine ladies
dancing—nine fruits of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control
Ten lords
a-leaping—the Ten Commandments
Eleven pipers
piping—the eleven faithful disciples
Twelve drummers
drumming—the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed
2002: Father Tom Shonebarger, Father Jim Coleman,
Monsignor James Nugent extend to all of you sincere wishes for a holy and happy
Christmas.
2003: Our prayers and sympathy go to the families
of those who died recently: Bill Price, Sara Thompson and May Jo Koerner.
2007: Are you interested in helping with the
First Annual St. Timothy Silent Auction Event??? The idea has been kicked around for a couple
of years and, with Fr. John’s consent, I would like to see if there is enough
interest in having a silent auction event that is separate from the parish
festival….Please call Andrea Marchese or Mike Foley.
2008: Feast of the Holy Family. All families are invited to attend the Mass
of their choice on Holy Family Sunday, the Sunday after Christmas. At the end of this Mass, as the final song
begins, individual family blessing will be offered in front of the altar. This practice has become a tradition in many
parishes and it begins at St. Timothy this year.
2011: Please remember in your prayers, Janice
Ghidotti, who died. Our sympathy is
extended to her family.
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