Holy Family Catholic Church

Third Sunday of Advent
December 15, 2013
Holy Family Catholic Church
FAMILY PRAYER
God Made us a family.
We need one another.
We love one another
We forgive one another.
We work together.
We play together.
“Behold, I am sending my
Together we learn God’s Word.
messenger ahead of you: he will
Together we grow in Christ.
prepare your way before you.”
Together we love all people.
Together we serve our God.
Together we hope for Heaven.
These are our hopes.
Help us obtain them, Father,
through Jesus your Son, our Lord. Amen.
Mailing Address: P O Box 482
Van Alstyne TX, 75495
Parish Office:
903-482-6322
For a Priest:
972-542-4667
Website: www.holyfamily-vanalstyne.org
Clergy
Fr. Salvador Guzmán, Pastor
Fr. Eugene Azorji, Parochial Vicar
Deacon Patrick A. Hayes
Mass Schedule
Sunday: 9:00 am - English Mass
12:00 pm - Spanish Mass
Thursday: 9:00 am - Daily Mass
ESTABLISHEDIN1980⦁919SPENCERD.,VANALSTYNE,TX.75495
Third Sunday of Advent
December 15, 2013
SACRAMENTS
Baptism
Baptisms in English: 2nd Sunday of each month
Baptisms in Spanish: 1st Sunday of each month
Anointing of the Sick
Please call the Parish.
Pre Baptismal Class Registration: Registration required by
the Sunday before class begins. Classes are held on the 3rd
Tuesday of each month. Parents: Bring copy of child’s birth
certificate. Both parents must attend class. Godparents:
Must be practicing Catholics. Copy of marriage certificate
through the Catholic church. Both godparents must attend
class. As a courtesy, please do not bring children to class.
Reconciliation/Confession
First Communion
Holy Orders/Priesthood
April 27, 2014 10:00 am
March 1, 2014 10:00 am
PRAY
For
Antonio Fernandez
Frank Reynolds
Arnie Clark
Charann Thurwanger
Margaret Cockerham
Abigail Kaminski
Katrina Kaminski
Tommie Rosenthal
Brooklyn Schulze
Jose’ A Maldonado
Offering
A endance:
Offerings:
Building Fund:
Priest Pension:
Marriage/Wedding
Both must be free to marry in the Catholic Church.
Arrangements should be made at least 6 months prior to
planned Wedding date.
Talk to your Parish priest or call Fr. John Szatkowski, Director
of Vocations of the Diocese of Dallas
at 214-379-2860.
Confirmation:
Cecil Hermes
Evelia Santibanez
Debby Hooper
Karen Elliott
Tabetha Moore
Bartolo Torres
Dave Parker
Courtney Hicks
Colby Davis
David Klinkhammer
Immediately following the 1st Mass
December
December
December
December
8, 2013
No
8, 2013 $ Mass
8, 2013 $
Due to
8, 2013 $ Weather
Weekly Calendar
Sunday, December 15
8:30 am Rosary
9:00 am Mass
10:15-11:15 am Faith Formation
12:00 pm Spanish Mass
Monday, December 16
9:00 am Rosary
Tuesday, December 17
7:00 pm RCIA
Wednesday, December 18
6:00 –7:00 pm Faith Formation Classes
Thursday, December 19
9:00 am Morning Mass
Bible Class Members Visit
7:00 pm Spanish Youth Choir
Friday, December 20
7:00 pm Spanish Adult Choir
Saturday, December 21
11:00 am Quince
1:00 pm Confirmation Service Project
.
2013 Bishop’s Appeal
Upcoming Dates to Remember
Dec.15th Last Sunday Faith FormaƟon Class for 2013
Dec. 18th Last Wednesday Faith FormaƟon Class for 2013
Dec. 18th 7:00 pm The Light is On (Confessions)
Dec. 18th 7:00 pm Confessions at McKinney (also)
Dec. 22nd aŌer the 12:00 pm Mass Decorate for Christmas
Dec. 24th 4:00 pm Christmas Vigil Mass at Holy Family
Dec.25th 10:00 am Christmas Day Mass at Holy Family
January 1, 2014 11:00 am Solemnity of Mary
Come Home for Christmas
Come Home for Christmas, a Diocesan Advent
initiative, begins with the first Sunday of Advent on
December 1st. All parishes of the diocese are invited to
especially welcome back home all those who have
been away from the Church and who are looking for
ways to return. The Diocesan-wide Sacrament of
Reconciliation will be held the evening of Wednesday,
December 18, 2013 at all parishes.
As the end of the year approaches, we sometimes
spend time revisiting our charitable donations for the
year. If you have made a pledge to the 2013 Bishop’s
Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries, the Appeal Office
thanks you. The support of your parish and the
Bishop’s Annual Appeal is a very tangible way of giving
thanks for all God’s blessings you have received. If you
are writing a check or paying by credit card, we ask that
it is dated before December 31, 2013. You may go to
www.cathdal.org/donatenow for online Appeal
payments. Thank you.
THE LOOK OF LOVE
What does love look like?
It has feet to go to the poor and needy.
It has eyes to see misery and want.
It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of others.
—St. Augus ne
Reconciliation and Healing “The Light is On” Wednesday December 18th 7:00 pm
Advent is a wonderful me to celebrate the reconciling love and the healing graces our Lord offers us. Like all religious experience, it takes
prepara on.
Preparing Reconcilia on is what God does. We prepare for it by opening ourselves up, by reflec ng upon the areas of darkness in our lives into
which God so deeply desires to shine a light. It might begin with the simple ques on: Where might God be offering me forgiveness and healing?
If my answer is, "I don't know," then I have some reflec on to do. I can examine my life - what I have done and what I have failed to do - and see
what graces are offered me there. If I've come through that "era" of saying that any guilt, anything that makes me feel bad about myself, is a bad
thing, to be avoided at all costs, then I might have a difficult me coming to genuine sorrow for my sins. If this is the case, I need to "go to work" on
my reflec on, asking God to rouse a sense of embarrassment, leading to deep sorrow, for any way I may not have been faithful, honest, loving, selfless or generous - in my rela onship with God, with my family, with others. I can look at each of my responsibili es - as a ci zen of a city and a
country and the world, a neighbor, an employee, a member of a parish or congrega on, as a parent or a spouse or as a son or daughter. God will
always shine light into these important parts of our lives, to help us experience remorse and a genuine desire for forgiveness and healing. The point
here is not ul mately to focus on ourselves. God always reveals us to ourselves, so that God might reveal to us our need for a Savior. The focus is on
God's reconciling, healing love. As John says, "God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our
love for God, but God's love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven." 1 John 4:9-10
It may be that I have experienced troubling guilt - coming out of deep childhood trauma or a long-standing sense of shame This may plague my
ability to feel good about myself at all, and therefore to be able to reflect upon my sins - the ways I fail at loving. I can s ll prepare for genuine
reconcilia on by preparing to be er trust God's love for me, based upon two convic ons: First, God's love is un-condi onal. It is not condi oned on
my being be er, or my overcoming anything, or even my being good at all. God just loves me. I am always precious in the eyes of the One who made
me and desires to embrace me with the gi of complete freedom, in everlas ng life. Secondly, God knows everything, including what I'm struggling
with or suffering under. And, the God of all compassion, understands me and loves me. It may be that my greatest sin - the place where I need the
greatest sorrow and desire for forgiveness and healing is my lack of trust in God's complete and uncondi onal love for me. We can be certain that
that is a gi God deeply desires to offer me.
It may be that when I ask myself the ques on about where God might be offering me forgiveness and healing, I might first come up with a single
thing that seems "big" to me. I might say, "I feel sorry for how I treat my spouse or my children." I might focus on a long established habit of selfindulgent sexual fantasy, pornography on the internet or masturba on. I may feel most sorrow for what I fail to do - all the "good inten ons" that
never make their way into ac on. It is so important not to stop there. None of the "big" things about which we might immediately feel sorry for
sums up all of who we are before God and others. They may be very important in giving some clues or some leads in iden fying some larger
pa erns. For example, if a "big" thing that worries me is that I tend to be "loose" with the truth, at mes, I can ask what that means, what it reveals
about me. I may discover that the real pa ern of sin has to do with a deeper dishonesty or lack of integrity: hiding from God; leading a double life;
not being who I really am called to be; trying to manage my life on my own terms; manipula ng others for my own needs and desires. When the
Light of God's love shines into this level of self-awareness, then I am touched by a powerful experience of reconcilia on. Even here, in a place I might
be most embarrassed and feel most naked, God is loving me and offering me wholeness and joy.
CelebraƟng ReconciliaƟon:
Reconcilia on is what God does. Receiving it and celebra ng it is what we do. For those of us who are Catholics, the Sacrament of Reconcilia on is a
most natural way to celebrate God's reconcilia on. We used to think of this sacrament as only about "confession" - that it was like a dumping
ground for my sins, where I got forgiven, and I had to "pay a toll." One of the great recoveries in our Chris an history is to re-discover the meaning
of this sacrament.
It is God who forgives sins. And God forgives us the very moment that we come to the experience that we need forgiveness (which itself comes
through God's grace). At that moment, I feel sorrow and a desire for forgiveness and healing. In that moment, I am reconciled with God. The
reunion, the bond, the connec on, the joy are all there. Three more things remain: to receive it deep within my heart, to celebrate it, and to
par cipate in the healing process.
When I experience God's forgiveness and love, I am invited to savor it and let it touch me deeply. Experiencing compassion, pa ence, understanding,
and forgiveness is itself transforming. If I fail to appreciate what I have just received - freely and undeserved - then I will take it for granted and risk
moving on without a real healing happening.
Then, I need to celebrate the reconcilia on I have received. In the Sacrament of Reconcilia on - individually or in common - I have the wonderful
opportunity to ritualize that celebra on. In the Sacrament, my personal journey is joined with the mystery of God's saving love, as seen in the
scriptures, and in God's desire to save us all. There, in ritual form (even if it is just me and the priest) I "step forward" and admit that I am a sinner,
express my sorrow, and I name the places in my life where God is shining a Light into what I have done and what I have failed to do. Then, God's
forgiveness is proclaimed "out loud" - for me to hear and rejoice in: "May God grant you pardon and fill you with God's peace."
An integral part of the reconcilia on involves the healing process. If I sprain my ankle, the doctor will offer me a number of therapies for healing - ice
for the first 24 hours to reduce the swelling, wrapping it, eleva ng it, and then gradually and carefully using it, un l it is healed and strong again. Part
of the Sacrament of Reconcilia on is to seek and prac ce a "remedy" or "medicine" for the healing I desire. O en that will simply be prayer. O en,
expressing my gra tude to God is one of the most important steps on the road to recovery from my independence from God. Some mes, I will need
to prac ce a therapy that is more carefully planned - making choices about what I can prac ce doing and what I can prac ce avoiding.
May our Lord grant us all the gi of reconcilia on, and may we all receive it and celebrate it well in the holy days ahead.
Gaudete Week
Our week begins with “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice” in La n. It comes from the first word of the Entrance
an phon on Sunday. The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of Paul, “The Lord is near.” This joyful spirit is
marked by the third candle of our Advent wreath, which is rose colored, and the rose colored vestments o en used at the
Eucharist.
The second part of Advent begins on December 17th each year - this year, in 2013, it is Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent.
For the last eight days before Christmas, the plan of the readings changes. The first readings are s ll from the prophesies, but
now the gospels are from the infancy narra ves of Ma hew and Luke. We read the stories of faithful women and men who
prepared the way for our salva on. We enter into the story of how Jesus' life began. These stories are filled with hints of what
his life will mean for us. Faith and generosity overcome impossibility. Poverty and persecu on reveal glory.
Preparing our Hearts and asking for Grace
We prepare this week by feeling the joy. We move through this week feeling a part of the wai ng world that rejoices because
our longing has prepared us to believe the reign of God is close at hand. And so we consciously ask:
Prepare our hearts
and remove the sadness
that hinders us from feeling
the joy and hope
which his presence
will bestow.
Each morning this week, in that brief moment we are becoming accustomed to, we want to light a third inner candle. Three
candles, going from expecta on, to longing, to joy. They represent our inner prepara on, or inner perspec ve. In this world of
“conflict and division,” “greed and lust for power,” we begin each day this week with a sense of libera ng joy. Perhaps we can
pause, breathe deeply and say,
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
Each day this week, we will con nue to go through our everyday life, but we will experience the difference our faith can bring
to it. We are confident that the grace we ask for will be given us. We will encounter sin - in our own hearts and in our
experience of the sin of the world. We can pause in those moments, and feel the joy of the words,
“You are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people
from their sins.” Mt 1:21
We may experience the Light shining into dark places of our lives and showing us pa erns of sinfulness, and invi ng us to
experience God's mercy and healing. Perhaps we wish to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconcilia on this week. We may want to
make gestures of reconcilia on with a loved one, rela ve, friend or associate. With more light and joy, it is easier to say, “I'm
sorry; let's begin again.”
Each night this week we want to pause in gra tude. Whatever the day has brought, no ma er how busy it has been, we can
stop, before we fall asleep, to give thanks for a li le more light, a li le more freedom to walk by that light, in joy.
Our celebra on of the coming of our Savior in history, is opening us up to experience his coming to us this year, and preparing
us to await his coming in Glory.
Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people.
We await your coming. Come, O Lord.
Tercer Domingo de Adviento
TRADICIONES DE NUESTRA FE
Reflexionemos sobre la Palabra de Dios
La tradición mexicana de las Posadas se acompaña de las
tradicionales piñatas. Aunque hay piñatas de animales y
caricaturas, la piñata original es una estrella con siete picos.
La alegría es diferente a la felicidad. La felicidad es una
experiencia transitoria, pero la alegría es algo más profundo
y con raíces más duraderas. No depende de las
circunstancias a nuestro derredor. En el Evangelio de san
Juan, Jesús dice a sus discípulos la noche antes de morir,
que desea que par cipen en su alegría y que su alegría sea
completa (Juan 15:11). Y Pablo le dice a los tesalonicenses:
“Estén siempre alegres” (1 Tesalonicenses 5:16).
La piñata llegó al con nente con los misioneros agus nos
procedentes de España, mismos que la habían recibido de
italianos; y éstos, a su vez, la obtuvieron de Marco Polo
quien conoció decoraciones de animales coloridos en China.
El asociar la piñata con las Posadas viene de la cultura
Náhuatl quienes celebraban a Huitzilopochtli (dios de la
guerra) del 17 al 26 de diciembre. Estos ponían cazuelas de
barro decoradas con listones y plumas sobre palos en el
templo. Al romperlas, tesoros y alhajas caían a los pies de
su dios.
Los misioneros mezclaron las dos costumbres para la
catequesis. La estrella de siete picos representa al diablo
y los 7 pecados capitales, mientras que la venda en los ojos
es la fe en Cristo. El acto de pegarle a la piñata son nuestros
esfuerzos cris anos a pesar de las desorientaciones que
trae la vida. Romper la piñata es estar bañado con la gracia
del Espíritu Santo y recibir los dones de Dios.
—Fray Gilberto Cavazos-Glz, OFM, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.
¿A QUÉ SE PARECE EL AMOR?
El amor ene manos para ayudar a los demás.
El amor ene pies para ir junto a los necesitados y los
pobres.
El amor ene ojos para ver la miseria y la pobreza.
El amor ene oídos para escuchar los lamentos de los
hombres.
A eso es lo que se parece el amor.
—San Augus n
Las lecturas de hoy nos invitan a pensar acerca de lo que
nos trae alegría. Isaías ofrece imágenes de un mundo que
saltará de alegría y florecerá en todo su esplendor. El
profeta nos ofrece hermosas imágenes de un desierto y una
erra reseca, que súbitamente se convierten en un lugar
florido con una vida nueva y abundante.
Esta plenitud también resulta como consecuencia de algo
que se había perdido o nunca exis ó, y ahora se ha
restaurado: visión, oído, poder cantar y saltar de alegría,
salud de cuerpo y espíritu. Tal plenitud viene de Dios. Es
simple y sencillamente un don de Dios.
Dios quiere que tengamos esa plenitud de vida y que nos
sintamos seguros. Eso vendrá con la venida del Señor.
Mientras tanto debemos esperar pacientemente, sin
quejarnos y con un corazón marcado por la certeza. Ya
tenemos la certeza de que hemos sido recibidos en el reino
por nuestro bau smo. El resto vendrá a su empo.
Refiriéndose a Juan como más que un profeta, Jesús
concluye diciendo: “sin embargo, el más pequeño en el
reino de los cielos es mayor que él” (Mateo 11:11).
—James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.
Vivamos la Palabra de Dios
Podemos pedirle a Dios que nos dé esa alegría
que el mundo no puede dar, una alegría
enraizada en nuestra fe en Dios, en nuestra
confianza de que Dios, que resucitó a Jesús,
también nos llevará a nosotros a la plenitud de
la vida.
Derechos de autor © 2013, World Library Publica ons. Todos los
derechos reservados.
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Holy Family Quasi-Parish
020915
Date: Sept 18, 2011
Janis Hicks 903-744-7999
Transmission Date / Time Tuesday 12:00pm
Special Instruc ons