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Home , Peter Canisius

Vol. 30 Number 2 November 2016 Newsletter of St.

Inside: Advent & Christmas Schedule pg. 2; Community News, pg. 3; CDA, Aquinas Seniors & Guild, pg. 4; RCIA pg. 5; Liturgical New Year Resolutions, pg. 6; Faith Formation, etc., pg. 7.

Advent ______by Fr. Gary Lazzeroni

With the First Sunday of Advent on November 27, we enter into a new liturgical year. Advent is a time of hopeful preparation for Christmas that has a two-fold dimension. We begin by looking forward, to preparing for the Second Coming of Christ. We conclude Advent by looking back and preparing to celebrate the beginning of our redemption in the birth of the Word-Made-Flesh, of Emmanuel.

At Christmas we will gather with family and friends and fellow parishioners to celebrate the mind-boggling truth of God coming among us as a human being. Then we will spend the next 15 days celebrating. Unlike our culture, the Church’s celebration of Christmas begins on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And while the Christmas Carols on the radio and in the stores will end on Christmas Day, we will just be getting started.

Our Christmas Season lasts through Monday, January 9th, and concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Liturgically, this is the final manifestation of what we celebrate on Christmas. In Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, the one described by the angel of the Lord as the one who comes to “save his people from their sins,” will be revealed as God’s beloved Son, in whom the Father is well pleased.

This new liturgical year also marks a shift in the that will accompany us throughout the coming months. From now until November 26, 2017, we will hear Matthew’s Gospel for the vast majority of Sundays. The shift from Luke’s Gospel to Matthew’s Gospel means we will get another rich portrait of Jesus from a different perspective.

We can thank the for this opportunity to explore the scriptures more fully. Before the Council, we would hear the same scriptures proclaimed year in and year out. The readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary time this year would be the same scriptures proclaimed last year, and they would be the same scriptures proclaimed next year.

One of the many gifts of the Council was the opening up of the Bible for further exploration, prayer and use at Mass. The Bishops of the Council encouraged people to read and study the scriptures, and the Bible studies that exist today in our parish and in the wider church are a direct result of this encouragement.

We also shifted to a three-year cycle for Sunday readings, and two-year cycle for weekday readings. Over the course of three years, the church now proclaims a large portion of the Bible for all of us to hear and to reflect upon.

The Sunday cycle of readings is divided into Year A, where we read primarily from Matthew’s Gospel, Year B, where we read primarily from Mark’s Gospel, and Year C, where we read primarily from Luke’s Gospel.

We just completed Year C and the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Luke’s Gospel was the perfect text to accompany us through this Year of Mercy. The portrait St. Luke paints of Jesus shows us “the merciful face of the Father,” as Francis wrote as we began the Jubilee Year.

“Portrait” is a good word to describe the four . Sometimes we are tempted to see the Gospels as biographies of Jesus, and that is really not a good description. “Gospel” means “Good News,” and each of the four Gospel writers proclaim this Good News from a particular perspective. So a Gospel is more like a portrait than it is a photograph. In a portrait the artist emphasizes particular aspects of a person’s features. While two photographs of a person can look almost identical, a portrait of a person is always different, depending upon who is painting.

This year, as we read through Matthew’s Gospel, we will see Jesus from the perspective of the “New .” St. Matthew will show us that Jesus came not to do away with, but to fulfill the law first delivered to the people through their great leader.

For Catholics, the Gospel of Matthew is key in understanding the roots of the Petrine Ministry. More than the other three Gospels, Matthew features Peter (Petros or “rock” in Greek) in a special leadership position in the Christian community. Since the third Century the has understood Jesus’ teaching in Matthew to be the basis for the pope’s authority in the Church.

The heart of St. Matthew’s portrait of Jesus is the on the Mount. We will hear this section proclaimed from January 29th until February 26th, from the Fourth to the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During these five weeks Jesus teaches us how we must enact the Kingdom of Heaven in our life on this earth.

May the portrait Matthew paints for us of Emmanuel, “God with us” in flesh and blood, draw us closer to Him and to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Fr. Gary Lazzeroni Pastor St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SEASONS NOVEMBER 27, 2016 —JANUARY 8, 2017

T INCENT DE AUL OF S . V P GIVING TREE THE BLESSED MARY Thursday, December 8* Gifts collected Nov. 19 up to Masses at 8:30 AM and 7:00 PM* Dec. 18 at 1:30PM

ST. THOMAS CHOIR & VOX CLARA CONCERT AT THE GROTTO FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS Tuesday, Dec. 20, 7:00 PM

ADVENT MISSION SOLEMNITY OF CHRISTMAS Saturday, December 24, 2016 Missionaries of the Most Holy Eucharist  Vigil Mass at 5:00 PM December 5 & 6  Vigil Mass at 7:30 PM Monday & Tuesday: Sunday, December 25, 2016 Presentation at 7:00 PM SOUTHERN DEANERY  Mass at Midnight* RECONCILIATION EVENINGS  Mass at 8:30 AM (Individual Confession)  Mass at 11:00 AM* OLEMNITY OF ARY ALL in Vancouver S M —except where noted— MOTHER OF GOD Saturday, December 31 Thur., Dec. 1, 6:30 PM, WEEKLY CONFESSIONS AT Vigil Mass: 5:00 PM* St. Rose, Longview ST. THOMAS AQUINAS Sunday, January 1 Tues., Dec. 13, 6:30 PM, Mass at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM* Sacred Heart, Tuesdays 5:30 - 6:20 PM Battleground Saturdays 10:00 - 11:00 AM Thur., Dec. 15, 7:00 PM, Saturdays 3:30 - 4:30 PM or by appointment during office hours Fri., Dec. 16, 7:00 PM, “In the life of the body a person is St. sometimes sick, and unless they take Thur., Dec. 22, 6:00 PM, medicine, they will die. Even so in the Holy Redeemer spiritual life a person is sick on account SOLEMNITY OF THE of sin. For that reason they need EPIPHANY medicine so that they may be restored SIMBANG GABI MASS to health; and this grace is bestowed in Saturday, January 7 Vigil Mass: 5:00 PM Filipino for “Night Mass” a devotional the Sacrament of Penance.” nine-day series of Masses practiced by -St. Thomas Aquinas Sunday, January 8 Roman Catholics. Mass at 8:30 AM Tuesday, December 13 and 11:00 AM* Mass: 6:30 PM 2 Epiphany Concert Reception to follow in the Hall In the Church at 3:00 PM * Indicates incense will be used at Mass. COMMUNITY NEWS St. Vincent de Paul

Our “Giving Tree” is going up in the church vestibule on Saturday, November 19 and will be stationed there through December 10th. Please take tags from the tree, purchase and wrap the gifts, with the gift tag attached securely and clearly visible to the outside of the package. Place the gifted items into the Christmas box at the front of the church by December 18.

Last year we served a total of 21 families. These families in the Camas/Washougal community receive a Christmas tree, your Giving tree gifts, an essential toiletries package, laundry detergent, a complete ham or turkey Christmas dinner with all of the fixings, and supplemental groceries and fresh produce, all donated by our parishioners and friends of St. Thomas Parish. Our families are always overwhelmed, grateful, and most gracious for your generosity supporting this ministry. Thank you for your contributions to this huge project every year!

Food donations are still a big need this time of the year and we have our non- perishable food bin in the vestibule for donations. Protein and cereal are the biggest needs.

The Friends of the Poor Walk/Run was a lot of fun in spite of a little rain. Tommie’s Tennies will be out there again next year, with your support and feet to join us, in September 2017! Advent and Year End Giving

What better way to express our joy and gratitude to God for His amazing gift of Jesus than by giving a generous gift that will serve people in need and allow the gospel to touch the lives of those in our own parish community and those who know nothing of God’s gift of Jesus!

As Christmas day falls on a Sunday this year, we know that we will experience a significant impact on our collections, so in anticipation of this, we would like to ask that you please bring your weekly offertory envelope and your Christmas offertory envelope to the Mass you attend. We will have Christmas envelopes in the pews for visitors or if you have forgotten your envelope. If you are unable to attend our Christmas Masses due to travel, you can either mail your offering to the office or place it in the offering basket of the next Sunday. Just make sure to write “Christmas Offering” on the memo line of your check.

In order to make certain that your donation for 2016 is received and posted to the correct year, please make certain you leave adequate amount of mailing time or drop it by the parish office by December 31st.

May the awe & wonder of Christmas touch you powerfully this year and may God bless you abundantly for your generosity!

Addressing Poverty in Our Community

In October, we gathered as a community to engage with the poor among us. People from around the area told stories of the realities of living on the margins. Their stories touched our hearts and moved us to consider ways in which we can make a difference for those who are most in need. Earlier this month the bishops of Washington State released a letter on poverty. With this letter and the stories of people firsthand experiences in poverty we must consider how we can best move forward for the greater good.

In addition to the supporting the good work of Vincent de Paul, currently there are a few ways in which we as St. Thomas can actively address poverty in our community. We are seeking to form groups that can journey with poor families who are navigating the important times both when they recently return to having a home from homelessness and also to join the bishops program to be companions with families in need of support when they are bringing a new life into the world. The bishops’ want us to be a resource for families that are struggling with difficult decisions. Now is our opportunity to make the important and simple choice to be in relationship with those who need us the most. It is the simple, repetitive challenge of Christ to feed, clothe, house, and care for the poor among us. As a community, we continuously have opportunities to accept that call, as with all decisions, it is on our shoulders to make the choice to act in the way that Jesus asks.

Advent, the start of our liturgical year, is a perfect time to take further steps on our path of putting our faith into action. We now have a message from the bishops that gives us a perspective on poverty in our state and we have a chance to listen to words of Jesus from Matthew 25: 34-40 and live them out by simultaneously caring for the marginalized and caring for Christ and in turn growing our faith and building the kingdom of God.

3 CDA The Catholic Daughters of the Americas is an organization through which today’s Catholic women can make a difference in today’s world. Friends can be made and personal growth attained. We are a national non-profit charitable organization that operates under the motto, “Unity & Charity.” CDA is the largest organization of Catholic women in the world! We are proud to serve God, Church, and Country.

Year of Mercy This year, a group from our court walked through the doors of the Proto-Cathedral of St. James in downtown Vancouver together to celebrate the Year of Mercy, and shared a lovely dinner together after the 5pm Mass. It was a wonderful evening!

National CDA Day Our Court St. Therese celebrated National Catholic Daughters of the Aquinas Seniors Americas day by attending Holy Mass as a group on October 15th, followed by a delicious breakfast at a local restaurant. The Aquinas Seniors had their monthly potluck on October 26th, and had a great time as usual. Bake Sale Fr. Gary and the office staff joined us. Which We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all who gave many people a chance to sit down and ask supported our Annual Bake Sale on October 16th. Your generosity questions. We had a great time and there was will help us to support our charitable works. plenty of food (and St. Thomas has the best Thank you so much! cooks in Clark County). The monthly surprise gifts were won by Barbara Queen and someone Coffee Hour News!! else that I can't remember (which if you are of Beginning with the November 20th Coffee Hour, this generation, you will understand). We won't CDA will sell fabulous Mystic Monk Coffee have a potluck this month because it would be brewed by Carmelite Monks located in Powell, the day before Thanksgiving, so we will have a Wyoming. Your purchase will not only help our special Christmas potluck on December 14th at charitable works, but also those of the monks! noon in the Fireside Room. It will be special, Seminarian so do come and join us and don't forget to bring Our CDA ladies are sponsoring our seminarian Louis Cunningham at your pennies for Pokino. If you haven’t played Mundelein Seminary again this year. Following our November Pokino before, it is so easy, and you can win meeting, we shipped a “care package” to help him through the weeks back your pennies and more! If you remember before his Christmas break. We look forward to his letters and Helen Dietzman, you will remember how much updates on the progress with his studies. she enjoyed Pokino, and that is why we play it. Hope to see you December 14th at noon! Next Meeting CDA meets on the first Monday of each month (Sept-June). Our Aquinas Guild next meeting on December 5, 2016 will begin with a potluck at 6:30pm, followed by our business meeting. We will be voting that The Aquinas Guild will meet on (that infamous evening on proposed Charitable Contributions for the upcoming day of) December 7th, for our monthly year. We hope to see you there! meeting. Please join us! All women of St. Thomas are members of the Guild if you are a registered parishioner. At our meeting we will be voting on who we will give checks to, in appreciation of what they represent, and what they do. And there will be other items on the agenda as well. We will also have our Christmas Potluck. AND don't forget that the Guild will have a Make and Bake Sale after all the Masses on December 4th, and there will be a drawing for the Christmas banner, Pillow and Christmas books that we have been selling raffle ticket for. Our meeting will be at 10:30 am in the Fireside Room. Hope to see many of you there.

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On October 30th Paul and Kristina Elseth made their profession of faith and received the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Com- munion. Please keep them in your With our many Advent customs and feast prayers as they joyfully begin their lives as members of the Catholic days, there come many opportunities to Church. Perhaps you can pray to share our Catholic faith with those we their Confirmation to inter- know who may be searching for cede for them! something more. If you have established traditions in your home such as lighting Paul chose St. John Paull II an Advent candle, using an Advent Kristina chose St. Bernadette calendar with a daily Scripture reading or celebrating the feasts of St. Nicholas’, Immaculate Conception or , share these wonderful practices with family and friends.

We Gotta Laugh! Go to this link to hear a hilarious RCIA paraody to the classic tune of YMCA! https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=hA7imD94a54 You can give no better gift than the gift that God has given to us: his Son, Jesus You will thank me! and an invitation to discover the church he established. Invite someone who is not Catholic to join you in your Advent customs and rituals and the of course the glorious feast day this time of year, the Christmas Mass.

"No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples" (John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, no. 3).

5 Happy (Liturgical) New Year!

The Liturgical New Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent (sundown on Nov. 26, 2016) so that means it must be time for some Liturgical New Year’s resolutions. Here are a few recommendations:

 Celebrate two distinct seasons this year: Advent and Christmas. By early November, the signs of Christmas are everywhere and we can feel "Christmased" out by Dec. 25 — too many parties, rich foods and stretched budgets. But we don’t need to hide inside while the rest of soci- ety is celebrating Christmas in advance. Instead, embrace both seasons, as shown on the following calendar. Use Advent to prepare with joyful expectation for the Lord’s Second Coming and then celebrate the anniversary of his coming in the flesh throughout the Christmas season.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Nov 27 28 29 30 Dec 1 2 3 1st Advent Andrew

Dec 4 5 6 7 8 Immaculate 9 10 2nd Advent Nicholas Conception Juan Diego Parish Advent Mission Dec 11 12 Our Lady of 13 14 15 16 17 3rd Advent Guadalupe Lucy Dec 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 4th Advent Peter Canisius John of Kanty Christmas Eve

Dec 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Christmas Stephen John Holy Innocents Holy Family Sylvester I

Jan 1 Mary, Holy 2 Basil and 3 Most Holy 4 Elizabeth Ann 5 6 7 Raymond of Mother of God Gregory Naz. Name of Jesus Seton Andre Bessette Penafort Jan 8 9 Baptism of 10 11 12 13 14 Epiphany the Lord

Advent Season Christmas Season Octave of Christmas Ordinary Time

 Adopt and/or Deepen a Spiritual Discipline. A wonderful Liturgical New Year’s resolution might be to grow in holiness — but where to begin? St. Paul compared spiritual development to a race toward a goal (Phi 3:14). Runners must train to develop themselves for a successful race. The spiritual disciplines are the various ways we train to reach our goal of spiritual maturity. There is no single list of spiritual disciplines but there are a number which can be recommended as practical guides for our effort to grow in discipleship in order to intentionally develop authen- tic spiritual intimacy with God. They are not ends in themselves but rather provide several means by which we can focus on particular aspects of our spiritual growth. These are deliberately self-imposed habits that nurture spiritual health. They are called disciplines because they are not naturally intuitive actions; we need to adopt them intentionally to form new habits. How might you work these into your schedule in 2017?

 Prayer. Start here. Christianity is all about relationship; prayer is spending time to be with and to communicate with the beloved. Make time for personal prayer as well as family prayer (if applicable) and public prayer (the Liturgy). If you are not yet talking with God like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, consider using the Mass readings (or saint) of the day to get started. Ready for more? Try Eucharistic Adoration.  Reading Scripture. St wrote, “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” The Gospels are the privileged place we learn about Jesus and therefore about how to follow him, how to be his disciples. Try “Opening the Word” at FORMED.org to help you get started.  Service. The Year of Mercy reminded us of the necessity of putting our Faith in action through Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. Start close to home: who in your family or on your block could use a hand? Parish groups such as the Knights of Columbus or Catholic Daughters organize or support many excellent service efforts each year and make service fun and easy: join them for one event a year or two a month.  Solitude. We are in the world but not of the world. Make time to get away: at an annual retreat weekend or with :15 of daily meditation.  Studying the Faith. We cannot love what we do not know. Make time to study the content of the Faith by reading the of the Catholic Church or another excellent book or check out trustworthy Catholic multimedia content from an online outlet such as FORMED.org.  Giving. Develop the habit of generosity (“give to the one who ask of you” - Matt 5:4).  Morality. Still dealing with your favorite vice after all these years? Embrace the discipline of intentionally avoiding the near occasions of that sin and by employing a diligent examination of conscience every night. Hint: give up on doing it all alone. Tap into divine assistance with frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and consciously give God permission to take care of this (and anything else).  Fasting. It’s not so much about food... but about training the will. We are reminded of our dependence on God and we gain confidence through small victories in fasting to also be able to tackle larger issues when our will may not want to follow our conscience.  Let’s all pray for and encourage one another in our mutual efforts to practice these and other spiritual disciplines this year.

6 Faith Formation, etc.

Youth Confirmation First Reconciliation YOUTH CONFIRMATION RETREAT: JAN. 13-15 CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT AS A FAMILY AT REG- ULAR PARISH CONFESSION TIMES: DEC. 5-17 CONFIRMATION MASS: FEB. 26, 5:00PM, ST. JOSEPH’S

Please keep our Confirmandi in your prayers: Please keep our sacramental prep class in your prayers: Eva, Anna, Isabel, Liam, Lydia. Brett, Warren, , Hans, Elia, , Porter, Dalilah, , Lilly, Nick, Devyn, Maia, Jackson, Madison, Anthony, Mason, Marisol, Cole, Marso, Alex, Jose, , Kevin, Diego, Aaron, Billy, & Ian Katherine, Parker, Yeilan, Gael, James, Dean, Sawyer, Casey, & Bianca

FORMED.ORG Respect Life Events in January

THE BEST CATHOLIC CONTENT. ALL IN ONE PLACE 9 Days for Life: an annual period of prayer and action

For those who have not yet logged onto Formed.org, you surrounding the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of owe it to yourself to check out this impressive resource. Unborn Children on Jan. 22. The novena is scheduled The parish is paying a monthly subscription fee so you for Saturday, January 21 - Sunday, January 29, 2017. don’t have to. Logon to create an account and stream Washington State March for Life: mark your calendars hundreds of hours of inspiring movies and video series, to join us Monday, January 23, 2017 for the annual Mass read Catholic eBooks, and listen to audio presentations & rally in Olympia. A chartered bus will be available; sign from compelling speakers. All available from virtually any up information will be in the bulletin by late December. device...anytime, anywhere.

Start enjoying your gift: Sunday Morning Faith Formation 2016-17:  Go to formed.org Date Activity  Enter our Parish Code on the homepage: 3FRM2C 11/27/16 No Class – Thanksgiving Break  Create a personal account with email and password 12/4/16 Class High School families: all YDisciple materials (videos and 12/11/16 Class handouts) are available on the site; click "Programs" at the 12/18/16 No Class – Advent Break top of the page, then scroll down to "For Youth: YDisciple" 12/25/16 No Class – Christmas Day and arrow over to see topics as listed in email updates. 1/1/17 No Class – New Year’s Day 1/8/17 Class

1/15/17 No Class – MLK, Jr Weekend Music Concerts 1/22/17 Class

The Grotto Festival of Lights 1/29/17 Class - Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7:00pm 2/5/17 No Class – Enjoy the Superbowl 2/12/17 Class St. Thomas Parish Epiphany Concert & Reception - Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3:00pm 2/19/17 No Class – Presidents’ Weekend 2/26/17 Class If you have ever considered joining the St. Thomas music 3/5/17 Class program, this is a really great time to do it! We are always happy 3/12/17 Class to welcome new voices and those playing orchestral instruments. Please conta ct Kristin at 3/19/17 Class [email protected] or 360.834.2126, ext. 212. 3/26/17 Class 4/2/17 No Class – CSD Spring Break The children’s choir, Vox Clara, rehearses weekly on Thursdays 4/9/17 No Class – CSD Spring Break from 4:30pm-5:30pm. Children aged 8-13 are welcome to join. 4/16/17 No Class – Easter Sunday We practice weekly, sing once-a-month at Mass and perform at 4/23/17 Class the Grotto Festival of Lights and the annual Epiphany concert. 4/30/17 Final Class Contact Kristin Yoshimura for more information. 5/6/17 First Holy Communion Saturday 7 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE 324 NE OAK ST PAID CAMAS WA 98607-1439 Permit #4 Change Service Requested Camas WA 98607

Parish Leadership

Pastor: Fr. Gary Lazzeroni, 834-2126, ext. 205 Parochial Vicar: Fr. Brian Thompson, 834-2126, ext. 202

FINANCE COUNCIL OUTREACH COMMITTEE

Dan Monaghan, chair 216-7451 Anita Burkard, SVdP & Co-Chair 833-8786 Lori Lendvoyi 210-6070 John Hynds, KC’s & Co-Chair 607-3317 Ellen Varsek 834-3658 Jean Carpenter, Guild & Seniors 835-3601 Jessica Hoffmann 773-398-6851 Karen Ferguson, CDA 833-8805 Tom Farrelly 503-297-0953 Mike Hansen, Consolation 835-2898 Lorrie Conway, staff (ext. 208) Lisa Hix, Prayer Group 513-5731 Kim Steinke, Homebound 210-5391 PASTORAL COUNCIL Lester, staff (ext. 207)

Brett Herrmann, chair 425-223-1230 Linda Nicacio 834-7750 LITURGY . Randy Huibregtse 885-3460 Kristin Yoshimura, staff (ext. 212) Katelyn Steinke 518-5224 Amy Parent, Flowers 609-4218 Ted Meany, staff (ext. 215) Amy Parent, Readers 609-4218 Christine Bolger, EMHC 834-7732 PRAYER CHAIN Jeremy Baenen, Servers 281-9998 email: [email protected] Dan Madden, Ushers 885-1429

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