Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church 6596 Smiley Avenue St
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Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church 6596 Smiley Avenue St. Louis, Missouri 63139 Staff Pastor The Rev. Michael Rennier [email protected] Deacon James Tetreault [email protected] Music Director Elizabeth Wildman Plant Manager John Ellison [email protected] Parish Secretary Trish Nerviani [email protected] Mass & Sacraments Sunday Masses: 8:00 & 10:30 am Weekday Masses Monday through Friday: 8:00 am Tuesday Evening Mass: 6:30 pm Saturday Masses 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Sacrament of Penance: Saturday, 7:30-7:50 am Sundays, 10-10:20 am Tuesdays, 6-6:20 pm OR by appointment Baptisms: Meeting first Thursday of the month. Preregistration required. Marriages: Contact the priest at least 9 months prior to the wedding date. Funerals: To be arranged by contacting the Parish Office. Third Sunday of Advent Change of Address or Telephone December 17, 2017 Number: Please call the Parish Office. Phone: 314-781-1199 www.epiphanystl.org Bulletin Deadline: 4:00 pm Monday. Third Sunday of Advent December 17, 2017 . LIVING OUR FAITH FROM THE DESK OF FR. MICHAEL Thank you to our Church decorators who are meeting after Mass today to put up all the Christmas decorations. Many hands make light work. Rorate Caeli Mass, St. Lucy Procession, and Advent Celebration everyone is welcome to join in and celebrate a Rorate Caeli Mass at 6:30pm, Tuesday December 19. A Rorate Mass is a votive Mass to the Blessed Virgin that is offered during Advent only by candlelight. It's a beautiful experience to see the altar lit up by candles and remember that even in the darkest nights of winter Our Lord is the light of the world. I highly encourage everyone to attend! Directly after the Mass we will have a candlelight procession in honor of St. Lucy, whose feast day is in December, and end with an Advent Party in the Assumption room. If you plan to attend the party, we only ask that you bring a plate of Christmas Cookies before Mass to the Assumption Room. Breviary Coffee is ready for everyone who pre-ordered. You can pick it up in the back of Church after masses this week- end. Each bag is $7 and the purchase benefits our St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. We may have a few extra bags, too, if the coffee smell is tempting you but you didn't order. Mass Explanations – Do I have to come to Mass two days in a row at Christmas? I won't tell you what to do, but...Yes. Kind of. Every seven years the calendar gives us a Christmas, Dec 25 on Monday, which means that the morning of Christmas Eve, Dec 24 is the last Sunday of Advent. This means the Sat 5pm Mass on the 23rd and the Sunday morning Masses on the 24th are for the last Sunday of Advent and are not counted for the Christmas Holy Day of Obligation. To fulfill that, you'll want to come back the evening of the 24th for the 5pm or 10pm or on Christ- mas morning for the 8am or 10:30am. So, I guess, you could come in the morning and then again the evening of the 24th! Whatever Mass times you prefer, you will end up coming a few times over those few days. I look forward to spending the extra time with you all! Fr. Michael Attention Epiphany Women of Faith Consider Making a Year-End Please Save The Date for the 2nd Tues of each month Gift to Epiphany (until May)- Our Women's Faith Sharing follows 6:30 PM Mass (7:15PM) until 8:45PM. We meet in the Rectory. Tues., Dec. 12, we will discuss 4-5 questions about As the end of the year approaches, we begin to "Gift" and sharing where it can be found in the Bible reflect upon the many blessings bestowed upon us. and the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) to The end of the year also provides a great oppor- strengthen the foundation of our Catholic Faith. Bring- tunity to thank God for these blessings by gifting to ing the resource books are NOT required to participate Epiphany The benefits of income tax deductions, in the sharing. capital gains savings and other financial bene- Please join us when you can, even if you can't at- fits are significant advantages that provide an in- tend every Faith Gathering. There are new topics each centive to make a gift at the year-end. A gift can month. Looking forward to exploring our Faith Togeth- also help support Epiphany for years to come. er. Please call or text Mary Jo Martin -314-324-7224 for additional information. There are many different ways of contributing a gift. However, two of the easiest and most direct methods to gift are donations of cash and appreci- Epiphany Bell Choir The bell choir ated stock or other investments. You can also is seeking one new member. No experience make other financially advantageous gifts such as is necessary but ability to read music help- real estate, life insurance, charitable remainder ful. Practice is held on Wednesdays from trusts, gift annuities, will/trust bequests and IRA/ 6:30pm to 7:30pm. If interested or would retirement accounts. like more information please call Mary Young at 314-645-0303. For more information on how you can help make a difference by contributing a year-end gift to Epiph- any, please contact our plant manager, John El- Stewardship “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give lison, at the parish office, 314-781-1199 or the Of- thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in fice of Stewardship and the Annual Catholic Ap- Christ Jesus for you” - 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16 -18 peal's Planned Giving Department at 314.792.7680. This scripture reading sums up Stewardship. “Rejoice al- ways” means place your trust in God; He will provide all that you need. “Pray constantly” means prayer should be a running conversation with God throughout the whole day, every day. “Give thanks in all circumstances” means even in bad situations, thank God. Suffering a little bit I & II Lauren Emerson, Epiphany helps build empathy for others in similar situations. and Jason Grant, wedding here at Epiphany on Saturday, De- cember 30th at 2:00 pm. Third Sunday of Advent 2 December 17, 2017 . LIVING OUR FAITH rolife PRO-LIFE MATTERS STL Young Adult Pro-Life Holy Hour & Social: Join STLYA and young adults throughout the archdiocese for this annual event on Thursday January 18 to pray for an end to abortion and promote a greater respect for all life. A speaker and social with light refreshments will follow in Boland Hall. E-mail [email protected] or call 314-792-7555 for more information. PAnnual Memorial Mass: The 2018 Annual Memorial Mass will be Saturday January 27 at 10 AM at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Please make plans to join us in prayer and remembrance. The mass is a memorial of all the babies who have died and all those whose lives continue to be affected by the effects of abortion and Reo v Wade. Hope For The Broken-Hearted: Whether you are the mom, dad, grandparent or sibling, abortion can leave a hole in the heart of any family member. Find healing for your heartache at Project Rachel and Project Joseph with free, confiden- tial, professional counseling at 314-792-7565. Project Rachel For more information contact Marisol 314-792-7451 [email protected] or STLprojectrachel.org. Project Joseph For more information contact Chuck 314-974-6787 [email protected] or STLprojectjoseph.org. Marriage Encounter Want to give your spouse a gift that says you truly love them and want to make the March for Life 2018 – most of your marriage? Give your spouse a gift certifi- cate for a Marriage Encounter weekend as a Christmas Registration Now Open present! You will never regret these 44 hours of growth. The next Worldwide Marriage Encounter week- Missouri Life Caravan is now accepting registrations for ends are February 2-4, 2018 in St. Peters, MO; March 23- our bus trip to the annual March for Life in Washington, 25 in Springfield, IL, Apr. 20-22 in St. Peters, MO. Simply D.C. Thursday- Saturday, Jan. 18- 20, 2018. Join us and click on www.stl-wwme.org or call 314.649.7317. thousands of others from across the U.S. for this huge pro- life gathering in our nation’s capital. This trip is open to anyone ages 7 and up (chaperones not provided). We de- part from several locations in the St. Louis area and we do Attention All Highschoolers! not stay in hotels as we sleep on the buses. The cost if Join us this Wednesday, Dec. 20th from received by Dec. 22 is $190. The cost after Dec. 22 is 7-9pm at Bishop DuBourg High School as $205. For registration and bus information contact us at: we close out our Advent series and pray 314-434-4900 or [email protected]. You can also & prepare for our Lord to come at download our registration form Christmas. See saintlouislifeteen.org for at www.missourilife.org. Registration deadline is Jan. 2, more information. 2018. Congratulations to St. Mary's High School A huge thank you to all of our Heaven- sophomore, John Hannibal, a parishioner of ly Dusters for cleaning our church for Epiphany, was named the Sophomore Student of the Advent/Christmas Season and all the Month for November for his good deeds both year!.