On Monday we will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation. While the Immaculate Conception is normally celebrated on December 8, because that date falls on a Sunday of Advent this year, the holy day has been moved to Monday. We have four Masses on Monday: 6:15, 8:15, 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Please note that the 8:15 Mass will be an all-school Mass with limited seating. I repeat the confusing word about our Sunday evening Mass on December 8. This Mass will be an Advent Sunday Mass, with the same readings, prayers and homilies from Saturday evening and Sunday morning. However, if you have already attended a Sunday Mass, this Mass will count for the obligation on Monday.
Bishop Rhoades will be here for the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday evening, December 13. Everyone is welcome for our Confirmation Mass at 7 p.m. Because of the Confirmation Mass, we will not have a 6:30 p.m. Mass nor a holy hour on Friday.
With Christmas approaching, many people are making plans for guests and visitors. I offer our Christmas liturgy schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning:
-4 p.m. At this Mass we welcome the biggest crowd of the year; you will need to arrive early for a seat. Our chamber singers and a group of woodwinds will lead the music.
-6:30 p.m. The Children’s Choir will sing and we will use incense at this Mass.
-Midnight. The adult choir and a professional group of brass players will lead music at this, our most formal Mass. A concert of sacred music will begin at 11:30. At midnight, the church will be darkened. We will hear the Christmas Proclamation sung in the dark. Then we will sing Silent Night as we enter the church, lighting candles in the darkness. Incense will be used at this Mass.
-9:00 a.m. A festive Mass for Christmas morning
-11:00 a.m. A beautiful Mass for Christmas during the Day.
Advent is a time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I offer a reminder of our schedule: we hear confessions from 7:30-8:00 a.m. on Monday through Saturday. On Thursdays we hear confessions from 7 p.m. until all are done. On Saturday afternoons we have two priests from 2:30-4:30. We also have a parish penance service scheduled on Wednesday evening, December 18, at 7 p.m. Many priests will be here that evening to hear confessions.
Our Reconciliation Rooms are located in the chapel, behind the church altar. You can enter through the doors facing Reed Road or through the church. Look for the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the doorway and enter there.
We have a very simple guide for the Sacrament of Reconciliation available on the tables in the back of church. If you haven’t been to this sacrament for a long time and you have forgotten the format or the prayers, pick up one the of the guides and bring it with you.
