SECOND SUNDAY of ADVENT • DECEMBER 6, 2020 from the Pastor’S Desk
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WELCOME TO THE CHURCH OF St. Andrew the Apostle 27 KRESSON-GIBBSBORO ROAD • GIBBSBORO NJ 08026 MISSION STATEMENT Our Mission is... To live in God's peace by embracing the mind and heart of Jesus, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit... Centered in the Eucharist and living the Gospel as Disciples of Christ, we seek fulfillment through prayer, worship, education and Christian fellowship. As stewards of God's love, sharing our gifts and talents, we serve others both in and outside of our parish. Our Vision is... To be the model of a vibrant, loving and diverse faith community, welcoming all in the Catholic tradition. MASS SCHEDULE Saturday Vigil 4:00 pm Sunday 8:00 & 10:00 am Daily Mass Monday - Saturday 8:00 am CONFESSION Saturday 3:15 pm 856-784-3878 - VISIT US ONLINE - www.ChurchofStAndrews.org SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT • DECEMBER 6, 2020 From the Pastor’s Desk I am amazed that the prepare by celebrang the beauful Misa de Gallo Advent season has already (Mass of the Rooster), a nine-day novena of Masses begun. It is one of my that leads to the Christmas celebraon. Yet, amidst all favorite seasons of the of this planning and geng ready, we can easily miss year, as the parish makes the Spirit of Christmas. This is why those who give all of the preparaons to their Time/Talent in our Human Concerns ministry celebrate the Birth of the plan opportunies for parishioners to collect food, Savior. Most parishioners create/ distribute holiday food baskets, and adopt do not really think about families in need. This past Thanksgiving, we provided these things. They simply meals for over 100 families. The leadership of this have to decide which commiee provides the possibility for us to share our Christmas Eve/Day Mass they would like to aend, God-given blessings with others. We will soon begin and everything is in order. But to make it really to do something similar to make Christmas special for special, some might say it takes a village, but I say it those who are less fortunate. And we do it with takes a parish, and indeed, look what a stewardship "loving and grateful" hearts. parish can accomplish! Do you remember the beauful Christmas celebraon Those who give their Time/Talent in the ministry of hosted by St. Andrew the Apostle several years ago? Faith Formaon, Catechesis, and Spiritual You might recall that I received an email from a young Development, are busy execung the various classes, man whose marriage I performed a while ago, who programs, seminars, reflecon days, and was a young soldier in a very remote part of reconciliaon services that have been planned since Afghanistan. His email spoke volumes to us: He the summer. They all have a common goal; to keep spoke of how much he missed his family, his wife, his Christ in Christmas. They plan excessively to make baby; How hard life was on a remote army base; How sure the children learn the real Christmas story, not difficult he found it especially since they had no about the Grinch who stole Christmas, but about the chaplain on base, nor religious reading materials; how God who gave us Christmas. Our Adult Faith hard it was to communicate because they only had Formaon and Spiritual life programs/ services help three computers on base for all to share; and how us realize the real Gi of Christmas: That God so odd Christmas would be because without a Chaplain, loved the world, he gave us his only begoen Son, so there would be no Christmas Mass. It just ripped at that all who believed in Him would have eternal life. my heart. It was the Eucharist and just watching the Mass on TV that carried me through the most Our liturgical ministers have been planning, challenging me in my own life. And I heard that rehearsing, training, and scheduling to prepare for whisper of the Lord's voice in my heart that said, “It the fesve celebraon as best as possible during a takes a parish…a stewardship parish…to make it pandemic. Those on staff make sure that the happen”. materials we need have been ordered and that all will be here on me (hopefully). Some members of the And so, dear people, I turned to you to our Art and Environment Commiee meet to determine Technology ministry to see if they could find a way to how Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas will be broadcast our Christmas Mass to an Army Base in decorated, both inside and outside of the church. The Afghanistan. I emailed Human Concerns to see what Knights of Columbus set up our Christmas Tree could be done to make Christmas memorable for 28 Memorial Garden. Those in music and liturgy plan the soldiers in Afghanistan's remote area. I emailed the celebraons asking, "What can we do to make these young soldier and asked him if they could connect parcular liturgies extra special for the through SKYPE on one of their computers. In the congregaon?“ The Filipino Community helps us From the Pastor’s Desk sharing of everyone's gis, we believed that the Bambinelli Sunday - 12/13 broadcast would be a bit distorted. Sll, we invited A great tradion to start during the Advent season the parishioners to celebrate the 6:30 PM Christmas is preparing your Navity Set with the excepon of Eve Mass (which would be 7 AM on Christmas Day in Baby Jesus. A Navity set that is (temporarily) Afghanistan) as we aempted to make Christmas missing the Baby Jesus is a good reminder that it’s possible for a few soldiers who truly wanted to not quite Christmas yet! celebrate Christmas Mass. We reached out to St. John Paul II started the tradion of “Bambinelli Channel 10, who immediately jumped on the Sunday”, where he encouraged children to bring bandwagon and offered to broadcast the enre their baby Jesus from their family’s navity set to celebraon to a satellite that allowed the Christmas St. Peter’s Square for a special Papal blessing. The Mass from St. Andrew the Apostle to be viewed at children then place their baby Jesus figurine under every military base in the world. The liturgy involved the Christmas tree unl Christmas morning (when parcipaon from the Pentagon to assure that our he then rejoins the Navity set). Pope Francis soldiers would be kept safe, approvals from the connues this tradion today. Bishop to allow the Christmas Eve Mass to be broadcast earlier to stream it live at Midnight Bring your baby Jesus figurine the weekend (Afghanistan me, and for security purposes). You might recall the incredible cases of supplies and gis of December 12 and 13th for a blessing that the parishioners sent to the soldiers. You might during the Mass - If you are watching remember the abundance of hand-wrien leers online, please have your baby Jesus with from parishioners, who took the me to write a leer you for this blessing. in a Christmas Card to one of those soldiers. The leers expressed gratude for what it meant to be recipients of their service. That Christmas celebraon was one of the moments that I recall St. Andrew the Apostle Parish at its best. If by chance, you may have missed the moment, please visit our designed website. Go to the "About Us" tab and visit the video tab. You will find the enre Mass on video, as well as the Christmas Eve Poem that I shared with our troops. You can also find these video's on You Tube under the tle "Operaon Christmas Eve." Christmas Trees & Wreath Sale Christmas Trees and Wreaths are available for sale at the American Legion Hall on Route 561 in Gibbsboro, now unl Sunday, December 22nd. Proceeds from the sale of the trees are used to purchase the hams which the Legion donates to St. Andrew’s Christmas Holiday baskets. We are grateful for this annual donaon. Thank you for all your support! Please help the Legion help us! Mass and Worship Gloria Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begoen Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Liturgy of the Word First Reading A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the Introductory Rites wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall GreeƟng be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made C. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough the Holy Spirit.