BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH COMMUNITY

December 2016 Newsletter

December 2 First Friday

4 Second Sunday of Advent

Children’s Celebration

Preschool Christmas Program &

Soup Supper

8 Immaculate Conception/Holy Day

of Obligation – Masses at

12:05 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

11 Third Sunday of Advent

Food Pantry Sunday

Retirement Fund/Religious

Collection

13 Baptism Preparation Class

14 Prime Time Group

18 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Communal Reconciliation Service

at Blessed Sacrament

19 Communal Reconciliation Service

at St. Leo’s

20 Communal Reconciliation Service

at Resurrection

21 Communal Reconciliation Service

at St. Mary’s Cathedral

23 Children’s Choir Practice &

Caroling

24 Christmas Eve – Masses at 4:00

p.m., 7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.

25 Christmas – Mass at 9:00 a.m.

26 Parish Offices/Building Closed

27 Knights of Columbus Meeting

31 New Year’s Eve

Thank you so much for your generosity and

support with regard to our recent Roof Project.

We surpassed our goal of $32,779.00 the first

week, and money is still coming in. All of the

funds that we receive above our goal will be

designated for Future Major Projects around the

Parish. Our roof is already being repaired. I will

keep you informed on goals and projects as they

become necessary. Thanks again!

Fr. Marty

BLESSED SACRAMENT PRESCHOOL

The Preschool Christmas

Program will be Sunday, December

4, at 4:30 p.m. in the church

sanctuary. All of the preschool

classes will participate. Following

the program, we will gather in the

Jubilee Center for a soup supper &

silent auction. A free will offering

will be taken for the supper. Mark your calendar

to attend our program and soup supper.

Themes during December will be Candy

Canes, Advent Connections and Happy Birthday,

Baby Jesus. Jesus Time activities will center on

the reason for the season, Jesus.

Thank you to our preschool families and the

parish family for your enrichment of our program.

We appreciate your apple tree “contributions,”

smiles and interest in our activities.

Mrs. Anspauch, Mrs. Brondel, Mrs. Carlson,

Mrs. Osborn and Mrs. Seier wish all of you a

blessed holiday season.

Barb Seier, Director

ATTENTION: All Contributors

If you wish to make an additional contribution to

be reflected in your 2016 giving, it must be

labeled 2016 and be received no later than

December 30.

Thank you for your cooperation!

BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH ADVENT/CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE Communal Reconciliation Services

Sunday, December 18 – 7:00 p.m. at Blessed Sacrament

Monday, December 19 – 7:00 p.m. at St. Leo’s

Tuesday, December 20 – 7:00 p.m. at Resurrection

Wednesday, December 21 – 7:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral

(Individual confessions by appointment only at Blessed Sacrament after December 21.)

Christmas Eve Mass—December 24

4:00 p.m. – Youth Mass

7:00 p.m.

10:00 p.m.

Christmas music begins 30 minutes before all Masses.

Christmas Day Mass – December 25

9:00 a.m.

May the wonder of that first Christmas,

the joy of God’s abundant blessings,

and the peace of Jesus’ presence

be with you always.

A most Blessed Christmas and

New Year to you from the

Blessed Sacrament Parish Staff!

ETERNITY’S CLOCK AND CROWN What is this Advent wreath whose four candles help us mark the passing of the weeks before

Christmas? It is eternity’s clock—a circle that says, “In our ending is our beginning.” It is the

wheel of time—a circle of evergreen branches—cut and left to wither—revealing that death

and life are both a piece. It is also a crown, the victor’s laurel garland, the sign that the race is

done, the prize won. It is the crown of us as a people, a chosen race, a royal priesthood. It is

the crown of each of us as individuals—baptized individuals (all of a piece) whose heads were smeared with that

royal oil, chrism. We are marked for eternity. With four candles lit, the Advent wreath is the fiery crown that we

give to Christ the King, the Savior who returns in the glowing gloom to gather us into our eternal home, the new

and heavenly Jerusalem.

FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Holy Day of Obligation

Masses at: 12:05 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

On the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate our belief that Mary was full of God’s

grace from the moment she was given life in the womb of her mother, Anne. This privilege was given

in preparation for her role as the mother of God. Mary did not earn this freedom in any way. It was

simply a gift bestowed out of God’s goodness.

Recognition of Mary’s preservation from all sin began in the East, spread to the West in the middle

ages, and was declared a dogma of the Church in 1854. Four years later, in 1858, Mary appeared to fourteen-year-old

Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. She said of herself, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The miracles of healing

at the scene of the appearances quickly spread devotion to Mary under this title.

By the time European immigrants began arriving in the United States in large numbers, December 8 was a popular feast.

Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the patron of the United States. A very large basilica in Washington,

D.C., the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, is dedicated to her.

CHRISTMAS—A Sense of the Season

You probably know the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Even though a radio station once proclaimed the twelve days of Christmas as those before December 25, Christians have always kept Christmas as a season from December 25 until January 6 (the traditional Epiphany). The church calendar today even extends the celebration until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord—the Sunday after Epiphany. Here is what the church says about the season of Christmas: “Next to the yearly celebration

of the paschal mystery [meaning the Triduum and Easter season], the church holds most sacred the memorial of Christ’s birth and early manifestations. This is the purpose of the Christmas season.” (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, #32) More than just “Jesus’ birthday,” the Christmas season is a time for remembering and reveling in the nativity of Christ, the revelation of Christ to the Jewish shepherds, the revelation of Christ to the Gentile magi (that’s us!), Christ’s baptism by John in the Jordan, and Christ changing water into wine at the wedding “on the third day” (John 2:1) in Cana of Galilee. In all these saving events, we know that “the Word is made flesh and dwells among us.” How can we keep Christmas not just as a day, but as a season? Keep the tree up (and watered!) and shining bright until the Baptism of the Lord. Sing carols and read the scriptures every day. Safely put candles around your crèche: Use small glass votive candle holders, and place them away from the straw. You might also want to add a little water to the bottom of the glass before putting the candle in—an added precaution that will also help you clean the glass more easily. When you light the candles, sing or say the prayer of the angels: Glory in heaven and peace on earth, now and forever. Amen!

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