A sincere welcome to those who are new among us. We hope you find a warm and welcoming faith-home with us. Please introduce yourself after Mass and call the Rectory to register.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (A) NOVEMBER 28, 2004

SANCTUARY LAMP - ST. MALACHY:
November 20 - December 3 by a parishioner in thanksgiving for answered prayers.

SANCTUARY LAMP - O.L.V.:
November 28 - December 11 for the intentions of Veronica Smith.

WE BEGIN THE ADVENT SEASON :
Yes, Christmas is coming. However, the Church goes about it in a different way compared to the commercial and entertainment world all around us. The Church prepares for Christmas by observing the Advent season. That is not easy; it goes a bit against the grain. And yet a proper observance of Advent may well be the most effective way of maintaining the specifically Christian meaning of Christmas.

Here are some Advent features that may help us observe the spirit of Advent:

• The weekly Sunday bulletin will include short reflections for each day of the Advent season. They are taken from Catholic Update and could be used, for example, before we begin supper.
• The music we use at Church in the Advent season is different from the rest of the year; it is part of the Advent repertoire. Perhaps the melody of the short acclamations click with you and you could sing them at home as you begin or finish the above-mentioned reflection.
• The Advent banners in Church may help us focus.
• We could have an Advent wreath with Advent candles in our home.
• The Advent Penitential Service is Monday, December 20, 7:00 p.m.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR FIRST COMMUNION PREPARATION? :
A few parents have contacted us to register their children for first communion preparation. Before we set up something concrete we want to get together to sort out what it is that the parents want for their children. "First Communion", some may argue. Yes, but is what the parents and children are asking the same as what the Church would want it to be?

"Why that sort of question? What is the problem?" The problem is that there is often a fair distance between what parents and children are asking and what the church officially says they are asking. How do we bridge the gap? A huge task.

We get together this coming Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

FAITH FORMATION FOR CHILDREN? QUITE A CHALLENGE :
Eight of us got together last Tuesday evening to explore this area a bit. What is it? What do we expect it to do or accomplish? Who is to provide it? Where does it take place? It is just a little too easy to have "the parish" set up something and look after it. It is not that "the parish" is not interested. On the contrary, it has a lot at stake in it. But the first educators of the faith are the parents as parishioners and the first school of faith is the home as well as the parish. Nothing that "the parish" will do can substitute for that.

Something concrete? With Christmas approaching the suggestion was made that for Christmas Eve Mass we get some children together to act out the-birth-of-Jesus-story. A great idea. Please let us know!

Our group gets together again in January to look at some proposal that makes family and parish interact with and support each other in awakening, guiding and strengthening the life of faith of our children.

THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?
The plan is to have that be part of our Sunday bulletin. What is the point?

When we come to Sunday Mass, half of the Mass is devoted to the proclamation of the Scripture readings followed by the priest's homily which is supposed to take its lead or inspiration from these Scripture readings. That is potentially an immense resource for our faith-life, for us as a parish, for our households-of-faith, for us individually as believers. But what happens all too often is that we soon forget about the Scripture readings once we have left the church. "They sort of stay in the church."

That is unfortunate, because the Scripture readings are God's way of nourishing us with his life-giving Word, something not to be limited to the hour we are at church, but to touch, guide, inspire, nourish us precisely in the places we go to once we have left the church; in other words, where we really live our lives as believers, as followers of Jesus Christ.

So how about taking God's Word with us. We take it from our all-important Sunday Mass and digest it during the week. How? By going over the Sunday Scripture Readings during the week at home a couple of times. We reflect on them with the help of the Question of the Week, but especially with the help of the Holy Spirit (after all, we are believers!), and share an insight with each other. That is the way we support each other in the faith we cherish. Wow! What a readily available means to have us grow in faith! If we do that for the next 10-25 years, we will have a revitalized church on our hands!

There is one catch to it. Let us take our Living with Christ Sunday Missal home and use it at home. Come to think of it the title of the Sunday Missal makes a lot of sense. It is at home and from our home that we are called to live with Christ.

PLEASE PRAY for Antoinette D'Aoust, Andre Perron and Kirk Achtell, who died recently.
May they rest in the peace of Christ.

CHRISTMAS TEA:
O..L.V.,Saturday, December 4, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Food table, Craft (Novelty table), Christmas Crafts.
Admission - Adults: $4.00; Children 6-12: $2.50. All welcome!

CHRISTMAS CONCERT:
Our Lady of Annunciation Church, Hull, December 8, 7:15 p.m. featuring the Castenchel Choir, Dennis Alexander & Jim Hunter, Stephen Picard, Kristina DaCosta and the O.L.A. Adult Choir.
Admission.: $10. (advance); $12. at the door. For information please call 778-2827.

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS!
Volunteers are needed to look after Fellowship (Coffee & Cake) on the first Sunday of each month at O.L.V. If we can get enough volunteers, each person would be responsible for Fellowship only once a year. For info. please call Babe at 986-6900.

Weekly Receipts	O.L.V.	St. Malachy
Regular	$830	$324	THANK YOU!