- Below is our schedule of Masses for the upcoming celebrations. To fulfill the precept of attending Mass, you must participate in one Mass for each of the two celebrations below:
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
- Dec 31 at 5p
- Jan 1 at 9a*
- The Epiphany of the Lord (Sunday after Mary, Mother of God)
- Jan 2 at 8a, 10a, 12p
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
* Please note: There will be no 5p Mass on Saturday, January 1.
- As I've mentioned, our plan has been to add an automatic door to the Greenwood Ave entrance to increase ease of access from our new limited mobility parking lot. Unexpectedly, one of our own families has stepped forward and offered the services of their business. I would like to extend my gratitude to Jonathan and Paige Cianfaglione at Family Door Service, and CCS Inc., a general construction company. They have chosen to place their gifts and blessings in the service of the Lord and their generosity will continue to allow our Church to be a place of welcome and hospitality. I am very grateful for their initiative and desire to invest in our community. Thank you, Jonathan and Paige!
- Tomorrow, January 1, our normal confessions are canceled. The next time for scheduled confessions is at 4p on Tuesday. As always, please call the ministry center (847.823.2550) if you need to schedule a confession outside of our normal times.
- I would like to offer a special word of gratitude to all who worked to make our celebrations of Christmas beautiful. Our musicians are second-to-none, and truly bless our community by sharing their charism of music. Isabel DuPont, Colleen O'Dowd, Kevin O'Connell, and Brad Koenig were present to both guests and parishioners alike, helping all to remember that we are part of one family. A special word of thanks to Fr. John Szmyd, who has stepped into the role of Director of Liturgy and thereby has the unenviable responsibility of directing this circus. Our greeters continued to demonstrate what it means to be welcoming and inviting, our lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion served our liturgy well, and Fr. Alex and Deacon Keith helped us to enter into the most important prayer that we have. Thank you all!
- As always, please keep an eye out below for our "Praise Report" and "Help Wanted" sections.
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 ...
- the parish family who made and donated 40 handmade Christmas Goody Bags to our families with children served by Ransom Responds;
- our parishioners who supported the Soup Kitchen at Our Lady of Lourdes by donating socks and toiletry items;
- the continued inspiration and blessings received by the faith and courage of a parishioner battling cancer with love, joy, peace, and hope;
- the dedication of the Filipino Catholic Community and their joyful celebration of Simbang Gabi, helping us prepare ourselves for the celebration of the birth of Jesus;
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 DO LAUNDRY? DO YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE MASS?
We are in need of several additional parishioners to give their time to clean and iron some of our liturgical items. Each week, we use a significant number of purificators (the small cloth used with the chalice) and corporals (the medium size cloth that is placed on the altar). The work can be done in your home and simple training will be provided on how to handle these sacred objects.
If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out to our associate pastor, Fr. John Szmyd, by emailing him at frjohn@olransom.org.