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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden
December 15, 2019: Third Sunday of Advent
A Community of Ministries, December 15, 2019
40 Brattle Street Worcester, MA 01606 Parish Office: 508-853-0183 www.saintgeorgesparish.org Office Hours: Monday- Wednesday 9:00AM to 3:00PM Thursday 9AM to 12 noon, Closed on Fridays Parish Staff:
It is our privilege to serve you. Rev. Edward D. Niccolls, Pastor Ext. 12 Rev. Joseph M. Nally, Senior Priest Ext. 24 Deacon Paul T. Audette Ext.13 Annie Doyle, Pastoral Outreach [email protected] Ext. 11
Kate Lockney, Parish Secretary [email protected] Ext.10 Fax 508-854-0864 Online Giving: Kathy Hessel at: [email protected]
For information regarding Pastoral Care of the Sick, Marriage Preparation, Confirmation, and Ministry Involvement, we invite you to call the Parish Office. Baptism Information: Please contact Susan Pacek at 508-856-9960 or email: [email protected] Eucharist Celebrated: Saturday Vigil: 4:00 PM Sunday: 7:30, 9:00, 11:00 AM Monday,Tuesday,Thursday,Friday:8:00 AM Wednesday: 6:30 PM Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday 3:00 to 3:30 PM and by appointment
St. George Catholic Church
Parish Mission Statement
We, the parish community of St George, celebrate the welcoming presence of Christ in our lives. Together with the universal Church, we are nourished and sustained through the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist, and we are inspired by the proclamation of the Word,
guided by the Holy Spirit. We continually seek to grow in a deeper
understanding of our faith, to respect the sanctity of human life, and respond to what Jesus asks of
us in our time by sharing our gifts and participating in parish activities
and outreach to others.
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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden
December 15, 2019: Third Sunday of Advent
Please Join Us!
Join us downstairs in the Church Hall after Sunday Mass for coffee, and donuts as well as to enjoy being part of the parish community.
Coffee Shop Captain December 22 Dave Walsh 508-854-1332
All men and women are invited to join one of the St. George Coffee Shop Teams to serve once every 9 weeks. Please contact John Beahn 508-852-3115 for more information. All are welcome!
Mass Intentions
Saturday, December 14, Vigil 4:00 PM Memorial for Charles Keith by wife Virginia Sunday December 15: Third Sunday of Advent 7:30 AM For the Community of St. George 9:00 AM 2nd Anniversary Mass for Eva Marzilli req. by family 11:00 AM Memorial for Neil Olen req. by fami Monday, December 16: 8:00 AM Memorial for David Fay req. by Joan Talbot Tuesday, December 17: 8:00 AM Memorial for Jack DeCillis req. by family Wednesday, December 18: 6:30 PM In Memory of Benjamin and Rita Lobo req.
by family Thursday, December 19: 8:00 AM In Memory of Msgr. Francis Manning Friday, December 20: 8:00 AM In Memory of John Balcome Saturday, December 21: Vigil 4:00 PM Memorial for Bertha LeFrancois req. by family Sunday, December 22: Fourth Sunday of Advent 7:30 Am Memorial for George E. Niccolls req. by his son 9:00 AM In memory of Joseph, Monna and Stanley Lobo req. by family 11:00 AM Memorial for Ambrose and Helen Pike req. by Bob and Fran Pike Total Weekly Ordinary Collection Weekend of Dec. 8, 2019:
On line giving: $ 2,430.00
Parish Calendar Saturday, December 14: 8:00 PM AA Hall Sunday, December 15: 8:00 AM Coffee Shop Hall 9:00 AM Children’s Liturgy St. George Room 9:00 AM Toddler Liturgy Conf. Room 9:00 AM Confirmation Mass & Meeting Church/Hall 6:00 PM Religious Ed., Gr. 6-9 Center Monday, December 16: 4:15 PM Religious Ed., Gr. 1-5 Center 5:15 PM Finance Committee Mtg. Rectory 5:45 PM Yoga Hall Tuesday, December 17: 4:15 PM Religious Ed. Gr. 1-5 Center 6:30-8:00 PM Advent Evening of Prayer & Reconciliation Church Wednesday, December 18: 7:00 PM Faith Sharing Group Conf. Room Thursday, December 19: 6:30 PM Family Prayer Church Friday, December 20: 11:00 AM Grandparent Prayer Conf. Room Saturday, December 21: 8:00 AM Get Together with Fr. Nally Church Hall 8:00 PM AA Hall Sunday, December 22: 8:00 AM Coffee Shop Hall 9:00 AM Children’s Liturgy St. George Room 9:00 AM Toddler Liturgy Conf. Room NOTE: No Children’s Liturgy at 10:00 AM on Christmas Morning Bulletin Item Due Dates
December 22, 2019 Monday, December 16 December 29, 2019 Thursday, December 19 January 5, 2020 Monday, December 23
Please submit items by 10:00 AM on the due date.
email to our parish Secretary at : [email protected]
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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden
December 15, 2019: Third Sunday of Advent
From Your Pastor
Soon, in our Advent season, we will enter into an oc-tave before Christmas Eve, from December 17
th –
23rd
, known as the “Golden Nights.” On these seven days centuries ago, the Benedictine monks arranged antiphons for each of these days beginning with the letter “O.” They address Jesus with a unique title that comes from the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah. They are “O Sapientia” (O Wisdom, O holy Word of God) on Dec. 17
th; “O Adonai” (O Sacred Lord of An-
cient Israel) on Dec. 18th; “O Radix Jesse” (O Root of
Jesse’s Stem) on Dec. 19th; “O Clavis David” (O Key
of David) on Dec. 20th; “O Oriens” (O Rising Sun) on
Dec. 21st; “O Rex Gentium” (O King of the nations) on
Dec. 22nd
; and “O Emmanuel” ( O king and lawgiver) on Dec. 23
rd. On Dec. 24
th a monk would start with
the last of these Latin titles and read the Latin words “Eros Cras.” (taken from the first letter of each title)meaning “Tomorrow, I will come.” This statement assures us that the Lord Jesus, whose coming we anticipate and prepare for during Advent and whom we address in these Messianic titles, assures us he will soon be here. The “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity in these final days of Advent preparation, but they also bring it to a joyful conclusion. This year, like in the past few years, in order to avoid excessive overcrowding in the church building as well as to avoid a serious parking problem in the church parking lot and the surrounding streets (especially Rochelle Street) on December 24th in the afternoon, we are offering a second Mass that afternoon at 4:30 P.M. at St. Peter-Marian High School. We are very grateful to the staff of St. Peter-Marian for letting us use this facility and its parking area which accommo-dates approximately 250 vehicles. Therefore, in an-ticipation of Christmas, I want to mention that the Mass schedule for this holyday is as follows: Tuesday, December 24th: 4:00 P.M. - Church 4:30 P.M. - St. Peter-Marian High School Wednesday, December 25th: 8:00 A.M. - Church 10:00 A.M. - Church Calendars for the year 2020 are available here in church.
We invite adults interested in receiving Baptism, First Eucharist, Confirmation or the Sacrament of Marriage to learn more
There is always more for all of us to learn about our Catholic faith. Are you a baptized Catholic or baptized into another religion but have never received any formal religious education? Perhaps God is calling you to learn more about the Catholic faith to explore the possibility of becoming Catholic? Are you married to a Catholic and attending Mass but you are now possibly considering becoming Catholic? Are you an Adult Catholic who has not received the Sacraments of Holy Communion and/or Confirma-tion? If so, we invite you to join us to learn more about the Catholic faith. Please see a member of our pastoral staff for more information. Classes begin soon. Please see Fr. Niccolls after Mass or contact Annie Doyle 508-853-0183 x12 or [email protected].
Altar Ministries
We are thankful to the Altar Servers and Ministers of Holy Communion from Team A who will serve at our Masses next weekend.
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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden
December 15, 2019: Third Sunday of Advent
Religious Education
“Growing Together in Faith”
Sarah Kelly, Administrator - 508-852-1784 email: [email protected]
Important Dates for First Reconciliation and First Communion
1st Reconciliation Retreat - January 11, 2020, 2:30-4:00 P.M. Ceremony- January 25, 2020, 10:00 A.M. 1st Holy Communion Retreat & Potluck Dinner-Saturday, March 28, 2020, 2:30-6:00 P.M. Rehearsals- April 28 & 29, 2020 4:15-5:15 P.M. Mass- Sunday, May 2, 2020 10:00 A.M.
This Weekend ‘s Stewardship Thought Good stewards believe that God, who has begun this good work in them, will carry it through to completion. In words and deeds, they can sing with the psalmist, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy!”
Christmas Carols
On Monday, December 16 and Tuesday, December 17, everyone is invited to join the religious education classes in the church for Christmas carols. The stu-dents will have regular time in their classrooms with their teacher for the first half of class. We will then head over to the church at 4:45 where our music di-rector, Mr. White will help each grade level lead us in singing a Christmas carol. Students will be dismissed from the church.
Christmas Pageant
In addition to the Christmas Carols that will be done during class time, this year we will also be having an optional Christmas Pageant on Sunday, January 5 at 1:00pm. We will have the pageant in the Church and then join together downstairs for some refreshments. I have a wonderful script that includes speaking parts who act as narrators, a choir of angels who sing parts of different Christmas songs and the members of the Nativity. We will need one planning meeting and 1-2 rehearsals with the children before the actual pag-eant. Please let me know if you would like to be in-volved as a volunteer, and if your children would like to participate.
Third Sunday of Advent
“You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm be-cause the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8) Patience is another one of those things many of us struggle with. We want things to go ac-cordingly to our plan and our schedule. Any change brings anxiety and fear. Through daily prayer we better align ourselves with God’s will and His plan, which is far better than anything we can come up with on our own.
This Week… This Third week of Advent we light
the pink candle on our Advent Wreaths. We are joyfully reminded that, “The Lord is near.” Let us pray in a special way for those who are sad or grieving, that they may be
surrounded by loved ones who will share the peace of Christ with
them.
Rectory Open House – December 29, 2019
Please join us as we celebrate the Christmas Season with our annual rectory open house.
Everyone is invited to stop by the Rectory on
Sunday, December 29 after all Masses.
Scripture for the week of December 15, 2019
15 SUN Is 35:1-6a, 10/Jas 5:7-10/Mt 11:2-11
16 Mon Nm 24:2-7, 15-17a/Mt 21:23-27
17 Tue Gn 49:2, 8-10/Mt 1:1-17
18 Wed Jer 23:5-8/Mt 1:18-25
19 Thu Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a/Lk 1:5-25
20 Fri Is 7:10-14/Lk 1:26-38
21 Sat Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a/Lk 1:39-45
22 SUN Is 7:10-14/Rom 1:1-7/Mt 1:18-24
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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden
December 15, 2019: Third Sunday of Advent
Eucharist and Prayers for the Sick
Please: Call to let us know if a family member or neighbor is hospitalized, home bound or ill.
We can arrange to visit and bring Eucharist. Remem-ber that due to HIPAA regulations, unless you allow the hospital or health care institution to release infor-mation and list St. George’s as your religious affilia-tion, we are not told that you are a patient.
We call the area hospitals each week to see if any of our parishioners are hospitalized. Thank you for your understanding.
From Father Nally:
Read the full version at respectlifeprogram.org/navigating-infertility.
As a mom who had my first baby in college, I know that an unexpected pregnancy can sometimes bring fear, shame, and doubt. Perhaps one of your friends has become pregnant unexpectedly. I encourage you to support her in her new journey of being a mother.
It’s okay if you don’t know the perfect words to say. Let her know you are there for her, and ask how you can support her. Assist her in lining up practical help. She may not feel she “deserves” to show happi-ness; reassure her it’s okay ( and good ) and to be happy. Your support might be the only support she receives. You can make a difference in her life. Will you?
This is a summary of a USCCB Respect Life Program article by the
same name and is reprinted with permission. Circa 2019 USCCB,
Washington D.C. All rights reserved.
For times when you are especially busy during the holidays, online giving is a good solution to keep
your weekly donation systematic.
For more information contact Kathy Hessel at: [email protected]
Dear Parishioners, The Marines of Detachment 911 are one again ask-ing for your help with our Toys Drive. We have a do-nation box located at the Brattle Stop Market, 1 Brat-tle Street, Worcester, MA. Please help us make Christmas brighter for Children who otherwise would not have a Merry Christmas.
Bob and Linda Mulhearn
Giving Tree Gratitude
As many of you know, this year the Giving Tree gifts were donated to Aids Project Worcester, Winter Hill Rest Home, Blaire House, Crescent Manor Rest Home, St. Mary’s Health Care, St Fran-cis Nursing Home, Diocesan Seminarians, and the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker.
More than 500 gifts were given for those who would otherwise have very little or sadly would have gone without!
Thank you for all the care and attention that you gave to make Christmas possible for so many men, women and especially for the children. Your kindness was obvious in the lovely gifts and the extra treasures that you have added along with the requests.
We are very grateful to Ann Lauring, Cheryl Labreque and Andy Labreque for coordinating the requests, the sorting and the delivery effort.
Special thanks to the dozens of friends who helped to sort the gifts after Mass! It was great fun to work to-gether! It has become a great tradition for so many of us now!
Please Note
Toddler & Children’s Liturgy of the Word will not take place during Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas! See you again at the 9AM Mass on December 29th!
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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden
December 15, 2019: Third Sunday of Advent
A Community of Ministries
THE FAMILY CONNECTION
As Christmas gets closer, sometimes “rest” can creep to last place on our family’s to do list. There’s so much to do and we’re so afraid that somehow Christ-mas will be less than perfect if we fall short. God cer-tainly wouldn’t mind if we just stop, pause, rest and be quiet with him just for a minute and remember how much he loves us.
You Can Help to Prevent
Homelessness after Mass today
We invite you to use “Hope for Housing cards” to buy your weekly groceries or prescriptions. You receive the full face value of the a card in the amount you choose. The stores donate up to 5% of that amount to “Hope for Housing” to assist children with families in crisis. See Dave and Sue Genereux who are in the Church Hall after every Mass. Contact them at 508-829-5776 or email [email protected] for more information.
Holiday Outreach
December 14/15 - Christmas Food Drive All non-perishable food items, paper prod-ucts and cleaning supplies are welcome. Please leave bags around the outer rail in the sanctuary or at any church entrance. December 15th- Mustard Seed Family Christmas Party. Please call Annie Doyle if you would like to bake cookies or do-nate finger sandwiches.
All are Welcome to the Sacrament of Baptism
For registration, preparation session dates and more information please contact: Susan Pacek at: 508-856-9960 or [email protected]
St. George Parish Outreach
Ann Doyle 508-853-0183
Ext. 11 [email protected]
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Ages 3-5years
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a religious education program for children ages 3-5. The class meets one morning a week for an hour. The day for the 2019-2020 school year is Wednesday at 11;00am. Learn more at https://www.cgsusa.org/ Please contact Sarah Kelly at [email protected] to learn more.
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Saint George Church - Worcester & Holden
December 15, 2019: Third Sunday of Advent
Our Parish Vision: To welcome all, build connections to Christ
and one another, and live our faith as true disciples of Jesus.
Spiritual Growth Ministry Ministry Contact: JoAnn Nally
508-527-6973
St. George’s “Food Donation Team”
For information on bargains and/or to join the team, just email Dave at
Special needs for December are:
Cereal, Peanut Butter and Cans of Chicken ( If possible, flip top cans are helpful! )
All non-perishable food items are always welcome and can be left in the Outreach area at the foot of the stairs inside the church entrance near the parking lot.
Toilet Paper and all types of soap can not be bought with food stamps so they are always appreciated.
Attention of Parent of Young Children The Church building is open to the public. We ask parents of young children to please accompany their children at all times. Thank you.
CALLING ALL MEN!
Get Together with Fr. Nally Saturday Mornings 8:00-9:00AM
Church Hall, during Advent December 21
st
Talk about the: Upcoming Sunday Gospel, Ask Questions, Share Ideas
All Men (Teens to Older Adults) Are Welcome!
ADVENT FAITH SHARING GROUPS
Would you like to try out a Faith Sharing Group?
Advent is a good time to come and join with oth-
ers as we prepare for Christmas.
Groups meet on Wednesday: 7:10- 8:15PM or
Friday: 10:00-11:15 AM and started the week of
December 2nd
If you have any questions, please
speak with one of the Priests, Joyce Purcell or
JoAnn Nally.
SAVE THE DATE ADVENT EVENING of PRAYER and REFLECTION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2019 6:30- 8:00 pm In the Church. There will also be an opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Heartfelt thanks to the all our parishioners and friends who have been knitting scarves and hats for the homeless. . They are now keeping hundreds of people warm! They also loved the cozy warm fleece scarves that Donna sewed!
Room for Christ
“It is no use saying that we are born 2000 years too late to give room to Christ. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts. But now it is with the .. heart of any-one in need that He longs for shelter. And giving shelter or food to anyone who asks for it, or needs it, is giving it to Christ.”
Dorothy Day (1897-1980)
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