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December 8, 2020Third Week of Advent
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In this week’s gospel we are brought to the preaching of John the Baptism through the lens of the gospel of John. We have the priest and Levites question John about his identity, he points to the one who is coming after him. John the Baptists points out to all of us that we are called to testify to the light ,and to carry the light of Jesus to the rest of the world.
Church Tradition lets us know that the third Sunday of Advent is “Gaudete,” “Rejoice,” Sunday, named after the entrance antiphon in the Roman Missal. At the midpoint of our season, the liturgy overflows with rejoicing. This season is meant to show the joy of our faith in Christ the Light. The season of Advent encourages us to make time in our preparations to joyfully greet Jesus in the Christmas season.
STHY will have our annual Advent Penance Service on Wednesday December 16th at 7:00 pm in the Church. We will have multiple priest confessors available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation that night. I encourage you to come and experience this most powerful and healing sacrament.
Now that the Holiday season is in full swing and there are several opportunities for our parish community to witness the love of Christ to those in need this season. The SVDP Food collection box is also located in the narthex of the Church for food donation for the holiday season. Thank you for your generosity.
The next opportunity for you to give is to the parish itself. The 2020 STHY gift list is out and this presents a great opportunity to support our parish in a special way to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Check out the list in the bulletin or Sthaycinth.org and see how you can share the gift of Christmas with STHY.
With the busy times of the Season of Advent and Christmas, enrolling in Faith Direct today is a great way to ensure your gifts of treasure to St. Hyacinth are received even if you may be out of town. Please pick up an enrollment form located on the information table in the narthex, from the parish office, or enroll online at www.faithdirect.net our Church Code is TX526. Already using Faith Direct? Don't forget to add your Christmas or End-of-Year contributions to your account this season. Thank you for your support.
FORMED.org is a digital online platform that gives STHY unprecedented access to video-based study programs, feature films, audio presentations, and eBooks from the Church’s foremost presenters. With your free access to FORMED, 24/7 on your television, smart phone, laptop, I-pad, or Kindle; you can:
- Prepare for Mass each week by watching an insightful five-minute video on the Sunday Readings.
- Study the Scriptures at your own pace and time.
- Enjoy movies as a family that are both nourishing and entertaining.
- Enrich your marriage with the award winning video program Beloved.
- Help your children grow in faith and character with engaging children’s materials.
Please go ahead and register for your free access to all the amazing content on FORMED. Go to FORMED.org to register and enter Code:77GVZ3.
One of our goals for the New Year is to increase the number of people using our electronic formats for the dissemination of information from our parish. We have our website: Sthyaicnth.org, which is updated almost daily with information about the activities that go on in the parish. There is Flocknotes, which is our information delivery service for the parish, in which we email and or text information about the activities of the parish. Go to Flocknote.com/sthyhouston and join the group “Parishioners”. We are on Facebook, go and ‘like’ our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StHyacinthchurch .
With Christmas day, December 25th falling on a Friday it’s going to be a busy time for us in the church as we transition from our Advent season environment to the Christmas season. Due to the tight schedule, we need lots of hands in decorating the church, Guyot Hall, the Religious Education building and the parish grounds. Call the parish office for details on how to help.
Let’s take a look ahead to the Christmas schedule. Our Christmas Mass schedule is as follows: Thursday, December. 24th, Christmas Eve: 2:00 pm 4:00 pm, 4:30 in Guyot Hall, and 12 midnight; Friday , December. 25th, Christmas Day: 10:00 am.
With all those masses we will be stretched thin on ministers to help cover the many needs of the Christmas Liturgy. In particular I am asking our Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion to please sign up to assist at one (or two) masses if at all possible. Same goes for our Sacristans, Acolytes, Altar Servers, Ushers and Greeters. We will have a lot of visitors with us this Christmas season and we need your presence, please.
Finally, Cardinal DiNardo has released a statement on the moral permissibility of the COVID – 19 vaccines. Please go to our website Sthaycinth.org under COVID updates for our parish to review the document.
God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels
