St. Peter Catholic Church Montgomery, IN Founded 1818 Saturday Mass 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass 9:30 a.m. SUNDAY MASS can be heard each Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m. on WWBL, 106.5 FM CONFESSIONS 4:30 p.m.—5:15 p.m. Saturday at St. Peter 8:30 am – 9:10 am Sunday at St. Peter 5:30 p.m.—5:50 p.m. Tuesday at All Saints

CONTACT INFORMATION Fr. Sudhakar Bhastati 305 North 2nd St./ P.O. Box 10 Montgomery, IN 47558-0010 EMAIL: [email protected] PARISH OFFFICE: 812-486-3149 FAX: 812-486-2571 IN EMERGENCY: 812-449-8387 (FR. SUDHAKAR’S CELL) PARISH SECRETARY’S HOURS:WEDNESDAY 8:00 A.M. TO NOON AND THURSDAY 9:30 A.M. TO 1:30 P.M. EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.stpetermont.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/stpetermont

PRAYER CHAIN 812-644-7698 HALL RENTAL CONTACT THE OFFICE Please contact the office to register in the parish. ALL weddings must be scheduled at least 6 months in advance Check weekly bulletin for weekday and Holy Day Mass times. Please contact the office for all the Sacraments and any spiritual needs. Reconciliation: check the bulletin for times or call the office to schedule an appointment. If you have any bulletin announcements; please email them to the office at [email protected] before Wednesday

. THE FAMILY THAT PRAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER

MASS INTENTIONS FOR December 16 - - December 22 SP Saturday 12/14 5:30 p.m. Michael Craney SP Sunday 12/15 9:30 a.m. Dorthy Colvin 00 Monday 12/16 0:00 NO MASS AS Tuesday 12/17 8:00 a.m. Don O’Brian Jr. SP Wednesday 12/18 8:00 a.m. LaVerne and Gene Welp SP Thursday 12/19 NOON Alice Fisher SP Friday 12/20 8:00 a.m. Amy Bullock SP Saturday 12/21 5:30 p.m. The Intentions & Triumph of the B.V. Mary SP Sunday 12/22 9:30 a.m. Buck Sellers ______

DEPOSIT---12/08/2019 $6,134.63 (Sunday Collection - $5,199.63, Candles - $10.00, Flowers - $615.00, Retirement for Religious - $310.00) CPC PLEDGES RECEIVED $46,754.00 BALANCE $32,973.00

SATURDAY 5:30 p.m. DECEMBER 21 & 22 SUNDAY 9:30 a.m. R: Terry O’Brian R: Beth Kirsch H: Josh Kirsch H: Lucas O’Connor C: Diane Reilly C: Marita Wagler C: Emma Silcock C: Linda Lane Server: Kavanaugh Server: Owen Fuhs Server: Server: Faith Fuhs Greeters: Normita Aishe & Emma Silcock Greeters: Terry and Jennifer Steiner Collection: John and Lea Ann Taylor Collection: Charles Gilkey and Eric Lane -bearers: Bill and Janet Baker Gift bearers: Brian and Imogene Lechner Collection counters for Sunday, December 22nd – Dave Kavanaugh, Kevin Hart, Harold Fox, and Dean Harwood

Jason Novicky, from LPi, our new bulletin printer, will be working on advertisements. Please consider purchasing an ad to promote your business. Your participation makes our bulletin successful; you attract customers and your support for the church is so appreciated! Please call or email Jason! 216-258-6185 or [email protected]

Religious Education - All classes, Grades 1 - 12 are on break until January 6, 2020 Confirmation Class will meet on Dec. 15, after Mass, 10:30 - 12:30. for Keith Hart: Christmas for our parish seminarian, Keith Hart, can be dropped in the collection basket in an envelope marked “Keith.” Make checks out to St. Peter so a single check can be presented to Keith. Your donations will help Kieth with incidental expenses. Going to a seminary can be expensive. Any financial gift, big or small will be greatly appreciated. All St. Peter’s members are proud of Keith. Visit of Santa: Santa will be visiting St. Peter parish after the 9:30 Mass on Sunday, Dec. 22. in the school cafeteria. We will also have Donuts and Coffee! New Secretary: We have the new secretary, Marisa Bradley. Let us congratulate her and welcome her into our family, St. Peter. FORMED - The Wednesday evening study group will be completing their study of FORGIVEN on December 18 at 7 pm in the Fellowship Center. FORMED has many resources available for your preparation, be sure to sign up and browse the content on FORMED. There is a Liturgical Calendar on the Bulletin board in the back of church with suggestions. Advent Reflections - sign up at formed.org/advent.

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ” said by St. Jerome

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY Every Tuesday 9:00 – 11:00 am the women’s Bible Study group meets in the Fellowship Center. We are studying First Corinthians, 11: 2 – 31, Paul looks at the Eucharist table where the Christian community eats, drinks and worships and deepens their unity as a body. Dec. 17, we will be watching the DVD, followed by a Christmas lunch at Aces. Dec. 17 will be our final meeting of this year.

MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Every Tuesday at 6:30-8:30 pm the men meet in the Fellowship Center. Romans 7: 1-25 is the scripture we will be discussing this week. We will be very happy to have anyone who would like to be part of it.

ST. PETER FARM The current contract for farming St. Peter Farm has expired. The Farm Committee is inviting all interested parties to submit bids. Include the price per acre in your bid. Additionally, a Certificate of Insurance protecting St. Peter Cemetery and The Diocese of Evansville from harm must be furnished and approved by the Diocese. Send all communications to St. Peter Church; P.O. Box 10; Montgomery, IN 47558-0010. All requests must be received no later than January 1, 2020.

REMINDER: Christmas Flower Memorials need to be in by December 18, 2019, so that we will have time to print the pages.

From Father Sudhakar:

How St. Nicholas was the first ‘secret Santa” by Philip Kosloski

The modern-day mythical character of is well-known for being a secret gift-giver. This is due in part to a popular story surrounding the 4th century bishop, St. Nicholas of . The story is recounted in the Golden Legend, a compilation of medieval stories about many early saints of the Catholic Church. And it was so that one, his neighbor, had then three daughters, virgins, and he was a nobleman: but for the poverty of them together, they were constrained, and [had the intention of selling them into prostitution], so that by the [money]…they might be sustained. When the holy man Nicholas knew hereof he had great horror of this villainy and threw by night secretly into the house of the man a mass of gold wrapped in a cloth. And when the man arose in the morning, he found this mass of gold, and rendered to God therefor great thanksgivings, and therewith he married his oldest daughter. And a little while after this holy servant of God threw in another mass of gold, which the man found, and thanked God, and purposed to wake, for to know him that so had aided him in his poverty. The man had no idea whom the secret gift-giver might be, but when St. Nicholas came a third time, he caught him in the act. After a few days Nicholas doubled the mass of gold, and cast it into the house of this man. He awoke by the sound of the gold, and followed Nicholas, who fled from him, and he said to him: Sir, flee not away so but that I may see and know thee. Then he ran after him more hastily, and knew that it was Nicholas; and he kneeled down, and would have kissed his feet, but the holy man would not, but asked him not to tell nor discover this thing as long as he lived. St. Nicholas gave gifts to those in need in the secret of the night and did not want anyone to know the truth of his identity. Why didn’t he want anyone to know who he was? The stories don’t give us the full details, but being a holy man, Nicholas likely found inspiration in the words of to his disciples. When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:3- 4)

St. Nicholas was the first “Secret Santa” and reminds us that the best gift-giving is that done from a loving heart, not desiring any personal recognition, but only desiring the good of the other person.