- On this special Thanksgiving episode of "Ransomed," I want to take a moment to offer my gratitude for some important people whose hard work may fly under the radar, but has an incredibly big impact on our parish:
- Frank Monaco has been regularly assisting our facilities team. Through his generosity and hard work, we've been able to make substantial progress on different projects and clean-up efforts. Thanks Frank for all your hard work!
- Mary Therese Cleghorn, Jackie Demo, Cecilia Hernandez, Gina Ivy, Susanne Maso, Lynda Santrella and Debbie Strohm have been dedicated to living out the works of mercy by leading our Ransom Responds social outreach initiative. We are blessed to have a team like them.
- Speaking of Ransom Responds, a special word of gratitude to Robbie Gawronski and the Knights of Columbus for shopping for and transporting items to keep our food pantry stocked. Thanks Robbie for your generosity in serving our community!
- Linda Polan and Catherine Valeroso have jumped in to accompany families through our School of Sainthood experience. Their willingness to navigate these uncharted waters and be open to the newness of the Holy Spirit has been critical for our success. Thank you Linda and Catherine!
- Many of our parishioners responded to our "Help Wanted" request for joining our parish clean up crew. A special thanks to Vickie Berge, Edgar Berge, Mary Miller, Cheryl Parmet, Jackie Demo, Donna Kotty, and Eddy Kotty for helping to care for our facilities.
- Reneda Mittman spends time every week inputing information into our database. Many things that people take for granted only happen because people like Reneda are working behind the scenes. Thank you Reneda!
- Lisa Christopher, Linda Polan and John Dobbins have valiantly lead our Solanus Casey Welcome Ministry though tough times, always willing to show radical hospitality even in challenging situations.
- Men and women like these are the reasons that we are able to do what we do. A parish should never be dependent upon a priest or staff - we come and go. A community must decided if it will allow Christ to be King by placing their gifts - including that greatest gift of time - at the service of The Master. To all those mentioned and those unmentioned who do so much to make Jesus Christ more visible here at Our Lady of Ransom - Thank you!
- As you saw in our special mid-week update, we have a potential donation of $10,000 for our Evangelization Fund. I say potential because it is dependent upon us raising an additional $10,000 by next Tuesday. Please make whatever contribution you can to our Evangelization Fund by next Tuesday, as every dollar you give has double impact. The quickest way to give is online by clicking here. Special envelopes will also be available in the gathering space. To count for our match, donations must be received by Tuesday at 11:59p.
- This weekend begins the holy season of Advent. Sharing some similarities to Lent, but of a markedly different character, Advent is meant to be a season of penance where we empty ourselves in a way that opens us to receive the joyful peace that is the hallmark grace of Christmas. As such, I'd encourage you to consider how to incorporate the three traditional penitential practices into your Advent: Prayer, fasting, almsgiving. For example, maybe you will choose to prayerfully read Pope Benedict's "Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives," abstain from meat on Wednesdays in addition to the normal practice of doing so on Fridays, and make an extra donation to our Evangelization Fund. Whatever you do, the better you prepare yourself during Advent, the more our Infant God can fill you with grace during the season of Christmas.
- We found out that one of our long-time parishioners who recently passed away left a large donation from her estate to our parish. As you saw in the stewardship report last week, our parish is currently in a challenging financial situation, so this donation is providential. Not knowing the desires of her estate I will keep her name private. However, please pray for the repose of her soul and in thanksgiving for her generosity and kindness to the parish she called home.
- Ransom Responds Food Pantry is getting ready for Christmas. We are collecting $10 gift cards for Ransom Responds recipients, in addition to the standard bag of non-perishables, plus one special treat. Please help us to fill these bags by donating the following before December 8th: $10 Gift Cards from: McDonalds, Walgreens, Jewel, CVS, Aldi, Walmart or Target. Also, the following food items are needed: Cereal (boxed and oatmeal in packets are in greatest need at this time); pasta and pasta sauce; rice; mac & cheese; peanut butter & jelly; canned vegetables; canned tuna or chicken; canned soup; canned fruit; applesauce. We’d also like to include a Brownie or Cake Mix w/Frosting for each bag as a special treat. Donations are gratefully accepted at the Food Pantry on Saturday’s 12-2pm. We also will have the bins available in the church for you to easily drop your donations into. We are feeding 100 families this year. Thank you for your generosity.
- The time has come! Tomorrow we will begin using our new "Source & Summit" in-pew missal. More information to help you navigate this resource will be shared at Mass. Please keep an eye out in the gathering space for signs with a QR code that you can scan to access our new electronic worship aid. Also, the hymn boards will be placed in the church with the page numbers for the hymns we will be using.
Heavenly Father, we are thankful for the gifts that you give, those we recognize and those we fail to recognize. We are especially grateful for ...
- all the parishioners mentioned in this newsletter who quietly and generously give of their time to the parish;
- the hard work of Paul Matijevic in evaluating and selecting new music resources for our community;
- the generosity of our donor offering a $10,000 matching donation to our Evangelization Fund;
- all those who have discerned to enter or continue with a liturgical ministry;
Jesus, for those graces spoken and unspoken, we give you thanks; and we ask that you multiply their fruits in our lives and the lives of those around us.
- Amen
DO YOU LOVE THE WORD OF GOD & REGULARLY ATTEND OUR 12:15P MASS?
After the successful launch of our 12:15p daily Mass, we are now looking for individuals to discern if the Lord is calling them to lector one of these Masses. As is the case at our 8:15a Mass, we are hoping to assign people to a specific day of the week, providing stability for our schedule.
Training and formation will be provided for those who discern serving in this important liturgical ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out to our pastor, Fr. Matt Bozovsky, by emailing him at frmatt@olransom.org.
Part 5
Well, this is it! Starting tomorrow, we will be using Source & Summit Missal as our worship aid at Our Lady of Ransom.
The cover of the Source & Summit Missal is a beautiful gold etching of the archangel Gabriel. Holding a trumpet and a banner proclaiming Christ, the angel on the cover is meant to convey the unity of the Church with angelic choirs during the Mass, and the power of God's own revelation. In addition, the back cover of the missal contains several common Catholic prayers, including the St. Michael prayer that we pray after the conclusion of every Mass.
The hymns included in the Source & Summit Missal are those considered part of the “core repertoire” of Catholic hymnody because they have “withstood the test of time, endure because of their beauty, both in music and in text, and express the truth of the Catholic faith.”
The Missal takes into account guidance from the U.S. bishops. Last year, the United States bishops conference released “Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church: An Aid for Evaluating Hymn Lyrics” which detailed why some hymns that had been commonly used in the Mass in the U.S. were not recommended by the bishops for future use, because they expressed ideas contrary to, or not in harmony with, Catholic teaching. The Source & Summit missal heeds that advice.
A new digital platform is also available for our use, allowing us to customize the accompaniments, harmonization, verses, and create custom worship aids for special occasions.
We are all very excited for the opportunity to elevate liturgical music here at Our Lady of Ransom and look forward to experiencing the use of the Source & Summit Missal.