THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF OAKMONT, PLUM & VERONA St. Irenaeus, Oakmont St. Januarius, St. John the Baptist, Plum St. Joseph, Verona, Our Lady of Joy, Plum www.opvcatholic.org The only official website for our parishes. School sites can also be accessed from this website. CLERGY Group Email: [email protected] Rev. Kevin G. Poecking Priest Administrator Rev. George Dalton Senior Parochial Vicar Rev. David DeWitt Senior Parochial Vicar Rev. Frederick Gruber Parish Chaplain Deacon Joseph Vannucci Deacon Timothy Noca Weekend Mass Times Saturday Vigil: 4:00 PM St. Irenaeus 4:00 PM St. John the Baptist 5:30 PM St. Joseph 6:00 PM Our Lady of Joy Sunday: 8:00 AM Our Lady of Joy 8:30 AM St Joseph DECEMBER 8, 2019 9:00 AM St. John the Baptist 10:00 AM Our Lady of Joy 11:00 AM St. Januarius 11:00 AM St. Irenaeus 11:30 AM St. John the Baptist 6:00 PM St. John the Baptist Confessions: Monday 6:00-6:20 PM St . Januarius Wednesday 6:00-6:20 PM St. Irenaeus Saturday 9:30-10:00 AM St. John the Baptist - Or By Appointment - Kristin Consuegra Youth Ministry Coordinator OPV Catholic Parishes My friends in Christ, One of the most inspiring moments of the trip was the closing mass of the conference in Lucas Oil Stadium. It was In this week’s gospel, St. John the Baptist tells us to prepare an awesome hour and a half in which the Holy Spirit filled the way for the Lord! Prepare for the one that is coming who the building that normally houses football games and will baptize each one of us with the Holy Spirit. Prepare our concerts. The stadium became a sanctuary of the Lord with hearts for the coming of Christ. Which leads to the question, vibrant worship and love. It was a period of time where How are each one of us preparing? Heaven was truly on Earth in an unexpected place and none The youth of our church have been busy preparing their own of us wanted it to end. hearts as well as bringing the love of Christ to others. A few Seeing 25,000 young people gathered around the table of weeks ago, five ninth grade students from our parishes and Christ to praise Him and grow deeper in His love is myself traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana for the National promising for the future of the church. Having listened to Catholic Youth Conference with the Diocese of Pittsburgh. their cheers of God’s goodness and experienced the During the four-day trip, our teens opened their hearts to be outpouring love the teens have for others and their faith is softened and changed by the Lord. The newly confirmed of inspiring to me as an adult Catholic Christian. The youth of our church chose to step out of their everyday lives to our church is willing to be bold in faith and prepare the way enhance their spiritual life through this experience. for Jesus, are you? As the gospel says that “every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” This group of I pray that each one of you teens is an example to the church as each one of them have a spiritually inspiring chose to be open to growing in their faith to bear good fruit. Advent season as we The youth of our church listened to various witness talks, prepare together for the participated in different workshops to learn of different coming of Christ. cultures, and worshipped with 25,000 of their fellow youth from across the country. Peace & Blessings, There were several fantastic Catholic speakers to listen to Kristin and gather their messages. The topics and testimonies var- ied but all shared one common message: centering our lives around our Catholic faith is more important than anything else because it is in each one of our encounters with Christ we grow deeper in His love. Do each one of us take time out of our every day lives to grow in our faith and prepare our hearts? The youth of our church have chosen to. In addition to our own, thousands of teens across the country took time to travel away from their homes, to miss school, to miss extracurricular activities, to miss social events, but to choose Christ; to choose their faith and gather eagerly and openly praising the Lord. 2 SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT READING I I S 11:1-10 R. Alleluia, alleluia. LK 3:4, 6 On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of all flesh shall see the salvation of God. strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight R. Alleluia, alleluia. shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, GOSPEL MT 3:1-12 and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy acknowledged their sins. mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee be glorious. from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 72:1-2, 7-8 12-13, 17 Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever. Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down O God, with your judgment endow the king, and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, and with your justice, the king's son; but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to he shall govern your people with justice carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His and your afflicted ones with judgment. winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever. his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable Justice shall flower in his days, fire." and profound peace, till the moon be no more. 7 Medios espirituales para recibir a Cristo en la Navidad (segunda parte) May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 5. Visitar a Jesús: La Navidad no es de “Santa Claus”, sino del pequeño niño en el pesebre. Es el Hijo de Dios quien alimenta verdaderamente, tan pequeño R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever. y, que sin pretensiones, está presente en todos los tabernáculos. For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. “La Navidad es la celebración del ‘pan vivo’ que ha llegado del cielo como nuestro alimento. Belén significa ‘casa del pan’”, explica el P. Kolfhaus. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. Todos los días se puede visitar la iglesia aunque sea solo unos minutos. También, asistir a Misa es una forma de devoción. R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever. 6. Confesarse: Jesús nace en un establo, en pobreza y modestia, lejos del May his name be blessed forever; bullicio de los albergues.