Bulletin for December 27, 2009

              Feast of the Holy Family

         “Those who respect the Lord honour their parents.”

       Readings for the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord  ~ Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010

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

Message from Fr. Jim:  Dear Parishioners:  I would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Blessed and Happy New Year.  My sabbatical leave is coming to an end and I am looking forward to being among you once again.  I will arrive back in Sudbury on Tuesday, January 5, 2010.  See you then!!

Happy New Year!! When a new year begins, many of us feel it is a time of renewal, a new beginning.  We spend January 1^st walking through our lives, room by room drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives not looking for flaws but for

 potential.  The parish staff would like to extend to each and every parishioner we serve, a very Happy and Healthy New Year.  Without all of you, there would be no we!!  St. Patrick’s Parish is a great place to work.      Lorrie Gates, Yvon Lavigne, Brenda Cavallin, Vilija Tassone, Stephanie Manarin      Please note that the office will be closed on Friday, January 1^st for the holiday.

Thank You!! to all who came to help decorate the church last Sunday.  It was really nice to see so many working together for a common goal.  Some were young and some were not so young.  Thanks to Tony Chezzi, Rieta Cortis and Roxanne Rinneard for their leadership in this endeavour.  Thanks also to our custodian Yvon Lavigne for going above and beyond the call of duty once again.

Gold, Fur and Common Sense:  My husband and I had been happily married for 5 years but hadn’t been blessed with a baby.  I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if He would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my guide.  God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son.  The next year God blessed us with another son.  The following year, He blessed us with yet another son.  The year after that, we were blessed with a daughter.  My husband thought we’d been blessed right into poverty.  We now had four children, and the oldest one was only 4 years old.  I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it.  As a minister once told me, “If you pray for rain make sure you carry an umbrella.”  I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs.  I was off to a good start.  God had entrusted me with 4 children and I didn’t want to disappoint Him.  I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks.  I tried to be understanding…when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all 23 frogs.  When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humour rather than the mess.  I n spite of changing over 25,000 diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than 30 minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children.  While I couldn’t keep my promise to be a perfect mother – I didn’t even come close – I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God.  I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to “wash up” Jesus, too.  Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give his “last wife”.  My proudest moment came during the children’s Christmas pageant.  My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man.  This was their moment to shine,  My 5 year old shepherd had practiced his line, “We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.”  But he was nervous and said, “The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes.”  My 4 year old Mary said, “That’s not wrinkled clothes, silly.  That’s dirty, rotten clothes.”  A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing.  I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, “Mama-mama.”  Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived.  My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, “We are the 3 wise men and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur.”  The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation.  “I’ve never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one,” laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes.  “For the rest of my life, I’ll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur.”  My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing,” I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.  Jesus has no servants, yet they called Him Master.  Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.  Had no medicines, yet the called Him Healer.  Had no army, yet kings feared Him.  He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.  He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.  He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.  Feel honoured to serve such a Leader who loves us.  God Bless you all!!   ~ author unknown

Attention of Parents of Children in Grade 3  Registrations for 1^st Reconciliation (to be celebrated in the Lenten Season 2010) and 1^st Communion (to be celebrated in the Easter Season of 2010) will take place at our Parent Faith Enrichment Evenings. Mark your calendars now to attend either January 20^th or 21^st from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.  Choose one date to attend. If you child was NOT baptized at St. Patrick’s you need to bring a photocopy (no originals) of your child’s Baptismal Certificate.

Blank Pink CWL Annual Membership Envelopes for members who have opted to make their donations through the Pre-Authorized Donation Program or who don’t use regular donation envelopes are available at the entrances to the church.  Please ensure to put your name, address and phone number on the front of one of those envelopes, or put the same information on a blank one specifying its purpose.  The cost for membership is $15.00.

Mark Your Calendars:  The next Christian Unity Supper will be held in our parish hall on Sunday, January 24^th.  This yearly event is organized by representative from St. James Anglican, St. Mark’s United, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox and St. Patrick’s Churches.  It will be a pot luck supper and parishioners of St. Patrick’s are responsible for the main dishes.  Cost for tickets is $2 and only 80 will be sold.  They will be available after Masses in January as long as they last.  So get in there quickly to assure a spot. 

Heavenly Ham Supper  St. James Church will be holding their “Heavenly Ham Supper” on Sat., Jan. 23^rd 2010 at 6:15 p.m.  Tickets are $15, children under 10 $7.50.  Please call 524-1175 for information or for tickets.

Small Faith Sharing Groups  Seven groups journeyed together through Advent preparing for the coming of the Lord.  On Dec. 29^th we will provide and serve a dinner at the Elgin St. Mission again this year.  My thanks to all participants and especially to our leaders who take time out of their busy lives to gather us together for the seasons of Advent and Lent.  Best wishes to everyone for a Blessed, Happy and Healthy 2010. 

Marie Chambers ~ Co-ordinator

Christmas Concert/Sing Along/Fundraiser Friday January 8^th @ 7:30pm:    Our 3 parish choirs and solo performances by parishioners who have given so much of their time to serving our community through music ministry will be showcased.  Sing along seasonal songs to end the Christmas season will be lead by Daniel Currie and friends.  Tickets are $5.00 and children 10 and under are free. Funds raised will continue to help support parish youth ministry efforts like World Youth Days 2011and the 3 young parishioners who have officially registered with Free the Children to head off to Africa July 3^rd 2010 to help build a school and a well in Kenya.  Alex Catalano, Arthur Cavallin and Alina Tassone thank you for continuing to support their Pennies From Heaven campaign and remind you that we are now accepting Canadian Tire money as well.  They are rolling the last of the ’09 pennies so get your jars of pennies into the office this week if you want a receipt in ’09.

We Remember our recently deceased and their families in our prayers especially at this time of the year:  Pasquale Padovan, Elsie Charbonneau, Hélène Laliberté & Juergen Kuik. 

St. Patrick’s Church Memorial Fund  Please consider making a donation towards St. Patrick’s Parish Memorial Fund when someone dies.  These donations are used exclusively for the needs of the church and

all revenues from this source will currently be put towards our loan for the recently completed “Our Hall for All Project”.  These donations can be made directly at the parish office or at the funeral homes and are acknowledged with an appropriate card to the bereaved family or individual.  Charitable donation tax receipts are issued.  The names of each loved one in whose memory donations are made, are entered in the St. Patrick’s Parish Memorial Book of Remembrance and acknowledged at our annual Mass of Remembrance.  Please note that when donations are made at the funeral homes, 100% of your donation is remitted to us.  You can also support your faith community who served you in this life be designating a gift to our Memorial Fund in your Las Will & Testament. 

Community Events  ► Niagara Falls Getaway ~ 4 days and 3 nights from Sept. 20^th to 23^rd  ~  $590 per couple ~ Sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 1387 ~ Call 983-4347 by March 31^st to reserve your spot  . 

Mass Intention Schedule Dec. 28 to Jan 3  Tues. 10 a.m. [┼ Gabriella Barbadoro];  Wed. 10 a.m.  

 [┼ Pasquale Padovan ];  Thurs., 5:15 p.m.  [ ┼ Larry O’Hara];  Fri. 11 a.m.   [┼ Walter Jūska];  Sat. 5:15 p.m. [ ┼ Albert & Gisele Leguerrier  / ┼ Getulio Filippini ];  Sun. 9:30 a.m. [┼ Normand Perras  / ┼ John Cotnam];  Sun. 11:30 a.m. [for the parishioners of St. Patrick’s].

Offering Envelopes for 2010 Please pick up your 2010 offering envelope box located at the back of the church.  The ones issued are for those who have been using them in 2009.  Please carefully look for a box with your name on it.  Using these envelopes enables to issue you a receipt at year end which may be used for income tax purposes.  Blank sets are also available for those who wish to start using them in 2010.  Please print your name and address on the first few OR join the growing number of parishioners using the convenient Pre-Authorized Donation Program which enables your donations to be directly withdrawn from your bank account whether you are there or not.  Forms are also available.  We thank all of you for your continued support.