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THINGS to do DURING ADVENT

Daily Mass:= How about coming to daily Mass dur= ing Advent? This would be a great= way to stay

focused during a busy time of year. 7:= 00 AM (Mon. - Fri.), 9:00 AM (Saturday only).

Reflect on Daily Scrip= ture Readings

Exposition of the Bles= sed Sacrament every Monday. The Blessed Sacramen= t will be exposed after the

7:00 AM Mass and remain as such until Benediction at = 5:30 PM =

The Giving Tree

Our project for Advent for the past 23years has been the “Giving Tree.” Originally, list= s of needy

people were obtained from the Genesis School in Providence and gifts were bought and delivered.

After a few years, it was brought to our attention that what these people needed = most was food. So our current meth= od has been used for several years.

Each year we try to si= mplify the procedure. You are asked = to take one tag

from the Christmas tree in= the Church. Buy or make a Christmas card and sign it with your family name. Peel off the name label on the tag a= nd stick it to the unsealed envelope with your card. Return your card to the proper box= under the tree and put a monetary donation in the other box. (All gifts must be in no later tha= n 12:00 pm on Monday, Decembe= r 18)

The monetary donations are then used to purchase food vouchers which are in turn inserted into your cards by members of the St. Vince= nt dePaul Society. All cards are assembled and then delivered back to the Genesis School where they are dispersed in the classrooms.

The more prompt you are in returning your cards, the quicker we can complete our project.

Please note there are far fewer tags than there are St. Luke families, therefore, = even if you do not have

a tag, we welcome and need your donations.

The 2006 Chr= istmas Mass Schedule

PLEASE NOTE: There will be No 11:30 Mass Christmas Eve Morning.

December 24= (Christmas Eve):=

4:00 pm &= nbsp; 6:00 pm &nbs= p; 11:00 pm

(Children’s Mass= )

December 25= &n= bsp; (Christmas Day):

7:00 am &= nbsp; 8:30 am = ; 10:00 am

&= nbsp;

PLEASE NOTE: There will be NO 11:30 = am Mass on Christmas Day.

THE ADVENT SEASON

= Advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning coming. It is the season immediately before Christmas, beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew (November 30) and lasting for four weeks. In about the 9th Century, the first Sunday of Advent became the beginning of t= he Church year.

&nb= sp; = Advent has a twofold character: as a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ’s first coming to us is remembered; as a season when that remembrance directs our minds and hearts = to await Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. These two events remind= us that we live in that “in-between” time when the kingdom is pres= ent but not yet fulfilled. Advent= is thus a period for devout and joyful expectation (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, no. 39).

&= nbsp; Keeping Advent implies a sense of timing different from the rest of society, indeed= a sense of the season quite different from that held by many Christian communities. To hear the soun= ds of hoping and dreaming, the Catholic says that we must discipline ourselves in= our liturgical gatherings and in our households. The wisdom of our ancestors is tha= t we must savor the longing for weeks before we jump into full-throated praise of the incarnation. The gentle s= inging of our dreams, the repeated invocations of “Come, Lord Jesus”, = the attention given to the “end-times” all need their own space and time. These aspects of Advent= - the hymns, the prayers of hope in Christ and in the end of time, the patient “holding back”, the avoidance of crass materialism - shape our affections and form us as a people who find light and grace in the Lord (Sourcebook 1993).

An Advent Grace before meals: “God, the Father of mercies, = you willed your Son to take flesh, in order to give life back to us. Bless these your gifts with which = we are about to nourish our bodies, so that, receiving new strength, we may wait i= n watchfulness for the glorious coming of Christ. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

T= he Advent Wreath

The advent wreath may be sprinkled with holy water and blessed with

the foll= owing words:

Lord God, let your blessing come upon us as we ligh= t the candles of this wreath. May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise to bring us salvation. May he come quickly and not delay.= We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

FIRST WEEK OF = ADVENT SUGGESTED RE= ADING: &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Jeremiah 33:14-16=

(One = violet candle is lit every evening.)

Pray= er: J= esus, you are the light of the world. Teach us to leave the darkness behind and to live in your light. Help us not to hurt each other by = our words and actions. Make us thoughtful and generous so that we can be ready = to greet you when you come. Amen= .

SECO= ND WEEK OF ADVENT SUGGESTED RE= ADING: &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Baruch 5:1-9

(Two = violet candles are lit.)

Pray= er: J= esus, you are the light of the world. May the fire of your love burn away our sins. May it help us to prepare the way = for you by being kind, forgiving and fair. Amen.

THIR= D WEEK OF ADVENT SUGGESTED RE= ADING: &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Isaiah 12:2-6

(Ligh= t two violet candles and the one rose candle.)

Pray= er: J= esus, you are the light of the world. May your light shine brightly so we can see you everywhere.= Help us to spread your light and j= oy by giving freely and happily to all we meet.&= nbsp; Amen.

FOUR= TH WEEK OF ADVENT SUGGESTED RE= ADING: &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Micah 5:1-4a

(Ligh= t all four candles.)

Prayer: J= esus, you are the light of the world. Yet you were born in darkness of night, in a cold stable with only the animals = to warm you. Let the light of yo= ur love shine on us so we can see you today in all the helpless children, in a= ll who have no home. Teach us ho= w to love you in them. Amen.

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