First Week of Advent

November 22, 2016

by Fr. Reginald Samuels

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Grant your faithful, we pray almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming…..” with these words we begin our Advent walk with God and the new liturgical time is set. With the Advent season, there is a sense of urgency, of expectation because Christ is coming and we are to meet him with our prayers and great deeds. The Advent season is a time of waiting and anticipating, not just the celebration of Christmas, and the commemoration of Christ’s coming into the world incarnated in the flesh of an infant, but also the celebration of Christ’s Second Coming at the end of the world. We start Advent with looking forward to Christ’s Second Coming.
STHY will have our annual Advent Penance Service on Tuesday November 28^th 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. Especially if you haven’t been to confession in a long time, now would be an ideal time to come and be reconciled to God and the Church. It would be a great way to start off the new liturgical year and get yourself in the right frame of mind for the approaching holidays.
We have a special treat for everyone at STHY as for our monthly Potluck supper in Guyot Hall this Wednesday, November 30^th at 7:00 p.m., with guest speaker Deer Park Police Chief Gregory Grigg. Police Chief Grigg will speak with us on a variety of topics dealing with the public safety of our community. Come out on Wednesday and bring a dish to share.
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 Angel Tree is up in our Church narthex and the angel tags are on the tree. Please take the time before or after Mass to view the various tags on the tree to take it to make a purchase to help those in need this Christmas season. Angel Tree gifts are due for collection in Guyot Hall on Sunday December 4^th between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p. m. Thank you for your generosity.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception which is a Holy Day of obligation is Thursday December 8^th. There will be three scheduled Masses for Immaculate Conception on Wednesday (Vigil) December 7th at 7:00 pm and Thursday December 8^th at 8:00 am and 7:00 pm in the main Church.
The Immaculate Conception teaches the faithful in the Catholic Church that from the moment when she was conceived in the womb, the Blessed Virgin Mary was kept free of original sin, so that she was from the start filled with the sanctifying grace normally conferred in baptism. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was dogmatically defined on December 8, 1854, by Pope Pius IX in his papal decree Ineffabilis Deus.
I send out my sincere thanks to all who made a pledge for our Building Faith, Family and Future Capital Campaign. I truly appreciate your generosity and support. There is still time for you to make your pledge. Envelopes are in the Narthex along with our collection box specifically designed for our Capital campaign or you can do so online through the parish website. When you complete your pledge envelope, drop it in the collection box, offertory basket, or mail it or bring it by the office at any time. Remember, we ask every family to consider an equal sacrifice, not an equal size gift. As we enter the Christmas season and the time for giving, we can all do our part, and every pledge, of every size, is most needed and welcomed. Thank you for doing your part to help us reach our goal.

God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels