November 29, 2020
Today we begin the beautiful Season of Advent, wearing purple vestments. Advent (from, "ad-venire" in Latin or “to come to") is the season encompassing the 4 Sundays (and weekdays) leading up to the celebration of Christmas. The Advent season is a hopeful time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. The final days of Advent, from December 17-24, focus particularly on our preparation for the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas).
Advent is the beginning of a new liturgical church year, and the beginning of another cycle of scriptural readings (B) focusing primarily on the Gospel of Mark with the Gospel of John in the Easter Season. (We just finished cycle A readings that focused primarily on the Gospel of Matthew.) For more information on the different cycles of readings, go to: https://www.usccb.org/offices/new-american-bible/liturgy.
We are providing an Advent resource via the internet on p. 5. For those who do not have internet access, there are some Advent reflections booklets on the brochure rack in the narthex (entrance) of the church.
I encourage you all to have an advent wreath in your home. When lighting the respective candles, say some prayers and/or read the daily scriptures used at Mass. (To gain access to them, refer to p. 4.) The actual origins of the Advent wreath are uncertain. There is evidence of pre-Christian Germanic peoples using wreaths with lit candles during the cold and dark December days as a sign of hope in the future warm and extended-sunlight days of Spring. In Scandinavia during winter, lighted candles were placed around a wheel, and prayers were offered to the god of light to turn “the wheel of the earth” back toward the sun to lengthen the days and restore warmth. Eventually, the Christians adapted this tradition and used Advent wreaths as part of their spiritual preparation for Christmas. After all, Christ is “the Light that came into the world” to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God (cf. John 3:19-21). It appears that the wreath itself began amongst Lutherans in Germany and spread to Catholic Germans quickly, and then throughout the world in more recent times.
In preparation for Christmas, it is most appropriate to go to confession. Due to Covid, St. Maximilian, like many parishes though not all, have decided not to have a communal Penance Service with several priests available. But I have decided to be much more available for confessions throughout the week. See below for the expanded Confession schedule during Advent. Perhaps cut this schedule out and keep it in a prominent place to remind yourself when confessions are available. Please do not wait until the very end closer to Christmas to go. On Wednesday 6 pm-7 pm, I will be available for an hour or as long as necessary to finish those in line. I have added confession times around the 2 Marian feasts day Masses on Dec. 8 & Dec. 11 to make it more convenient for you to go to confession, as well as attend the Masses.
You may go to confession to any other parish, if the schedule is more convenient or you simply prefer to go to a different priest. That is fine. What is most important is that you go to confession to receive the graces of both forgiveness & the strengthening to avoid sin in the future.
Below is the Christmas & New Year’s Mass schedule. I have consulted the Parish & Finance Councils, the deacons & parish staff. We all have come to a consensus on this schedule. With attendance already lower due to Covid and with the numbers rising, we anticipate that Mass attendance will be lower than in previous years. But it is anyone’s guess to predict attendance. Since we are limited to 50% occupancy, our plans are to have overflow seating with live streaming in the Day Chapel, Kolbe Hall and the gathering space in the Gajowniczek Education Building, as needed. We just cannot be adding more Masses because of time constraints, availability of priests, musicians, other liturgical ministers, etc. Normally, the earliest Vigil Mass time is 4 pm, but the Cardinal has given a dispensation for only this year on Christmas Eve to begin at 2 pm. After consultation, it was decided we will begin at 4 pm.
In the busy-ness of this time, let us make time for Christ, as well as family and friends! Let us make every attempt to keep Christ in the coming Christmas Season.
Confessions during Advent
Wednesday: 7:45 am – 8:15 am
30 minutes after 8:30 am Mass
6 pm – 7 pm or as long as needed
Friday: 7:45 am – 8:15 am
30 minutes after 8:30 am Mass
Saturday: 7:45 am – 8:15 am
30 minutes after 8:30 am Mass
3 pm – 4:30 pm
Or by appointment.
Tuesday, Dec. 8—Immaculate Conception
Confessions: 7:45-8:15 am; 5:45-6:45 pm
30 minutes after 8:30 am & 7 pm Masses
Friday, Dec. 11—Vigil: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Confessions: 5:45 pm-6:45 pm
30 minutes after 7 pm Mass
Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24
(No 8:30 am Mass on Thursday, Dec. 24)
4 pm, 6:30 pm & 9 pm Masses*
10 am Mass*: Christmas Day, Friday, December 25
30 minutes of caroling prior to all 4 Christmas Masses.
(*There will be overflow seating with live streaming, as needed. Holy Communion will be brought to those in overflow seating.)
5 pm Mass*: New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31
10 am Mass*: New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1
(*There will be overflow seating with live streaming, as needed. Holy Communion will be brought to those in overflow seating.)
St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us!
Fr. Lawrence W. Jozwiak
St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Community
Pastor
“There is no greater love, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” John 15: 13
“The Cross is the school of love.”
“The most deadly poison of our time is indifference.”
---St. Maximilian Kolbe