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St. Louis de MontfortOak Lawn, IllinoisDecember 18, 2016Fourth Sunday of Advent

Page 2Advent is about newness. God acts and He does something absolutely new. Both the firstreading and the gospel today refer to this newness, and they refer to it by reference to somethingthat’s a core teaching of our Catholic Faith: the Virgin Birth of Christ.In the book of Isaiah, King Ahaz is in dire straits. Enemies are besieging him, and Godwants to help him out. He says, “Ask for a sign, any sign.” However, Ahaz doesn’t really trust God,so he says “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Rather strange since God explicitly told him toask. Unfortunately, Ahaz doesn’t want to rely on God. Therefore, God takes matters into His ownhands. He inspires Isaiah to say: “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive,and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us.’”Why is this important? Because for a virgin to conceive means that God has done something outside thenormal course of nature. It means that he will do something new. St Augustine wrote that God makes himself a debtorto us, not because He receives anything but because He promises us so much. In the gospel, He fulfills the promisemade to Ahaz 600 years earlier. The angel tells Joseph that it was through the Holy Spirit that Mary conceived. “Shewill bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus was born of avirgin, and that means that God has done something new. God has actedto save us! This child is truly God and truly one of us. He would die tosave us from our sins and restore us to friendship with God. He wouldgive us hope, peace, and joy. God has done something absolutely new.So, what now you might say? What do I do with this message that Iread so far? How about we become the hands of Christ here on thisearth: in our homes, families, work places, schools, shopping stores,playgrounds, vacation sites, etc.Living a Christ centered life means dedicating ourselves toChrist's priorities, and His highest priority is building up His Kingdom,the Church. We have an active role in building up His Kingdom. Thisis why He became a man on Christmas Day because he wanted us to beable to become sons and daughters of God, co-workers of His Kingdom.He came to share in our humanity, so that we could share in his divinity.At Mass, when you watch the priest pour the wine into the chalices, thenhe adds drops of water into the chalices with wine while saying a prayerinaudibly at every Mass to the Father saying, “By this mystery of waterand wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbledHimself to share in our humanity.” Now, when you are sitting in thepew next time, remember how the priest is praying at every Mass and itis just not a priest/deacon simply pouring wine and droplets of waterinto chalices. We are called to share in His holiness and divinity intoour lives!During World War II, a church in Frankfurt, Germany, was heavily damaged by bombs. At war's end theparishioners began repairing. One badly broken object was a statue of Christ. They finally found and put together allthe parts, except the hands. After considerable debate and discussion about engaging a sculptor to make a new pair ofhands, the people of the parish decided to leave the statue without hands. They put a plaque beneath it that reads:"Christ has no hands but our hands."Notice in the painting the angel is pointing Joseph to get up and do something! Stop questioning and let’s go!We do not have much time! That is why at the end of every Mass, the most challenging words are about when weleave the church, after we receive our blessing from God, the priest/deacon states, “Go and announce the Gospel of theLord!” We are called to carry on Christ's work in our challenging times.This Advent, counting on God's help, let's do the same thing with the material and mundane commercializationthat's all around us: instead of complaining about it, let's transform it, let's infuse it with spiritual meaning, with JOY!So let us not say “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” to anyone who responds this way. Rather, for the love ofGod, have the courage to say the truth at the stores and malls and please say Merry Christmas!I continue to thank all of you for your continued hospitality and warmth you are showing me and each other.Please spread the good word of our wonderful parish and it is very nice to see more and more people coming back toworship God. Many of us are still saying how great it is to see our parishioner families returning back.St Louis de Montfort, pray for us! Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, pray for us!Have a great week and enjoy life with a great smile! Pray always!

Page 3FROM THEPRINCIPAL’S DESK!!JOY!Students in Miss Hurley’s 5th grade were given a STEM challenge. Their challenge wasto each build a piece of the nativity completely out of Legos! Then, the students combined all oftheir individual pieces together to create the Nativity Scene. As you can see from the pictures below, they were successful in their challenge and very proud of their work! Nice job, 5th Graders!Our Breakfast with Santa was a great success as well as Santa Secret Shop. We are so grateful for the many hours ofvolunteered time and the devotion of our FSA for always making our children feel special! Thank you, FSA!!Merry Christmas,Mrs. WilsonSt. Louis de Montfort RaffleDID YOU GET YOUR RAFFLE TICKET YET?Grand prize Skybox for Blackhawks vsSt. Louis Blues at United Center, February 26Included in the package, valued at 6,800:Skybox tickets for 20 guests 4 Parking PassesFood & beverage for four hours2nd Prize 1,0003rd Prize 750.004th Prize 500.00 5th & 6th Prize 250.00With only 300 tickets being sold don’t wait to getyours! Makes a great Christmas gift Split the cost with friends or family School families get credit toward fund raisingcommitment for each ticket they sellCongratulations to Week 14 WinnerMary McGuinness— 25*****************************************St. Louis de MontfortFSAFSA collects “box tops” and “labels foreducation” which can be found on manypopular food and household products packaging.Please save these labels for our school. Theyprovide a variety of free merchandise, such asplayground equipment and arts & crafts supplies.We also receive cash rebates!There is a mailbox located in the church and schoolvestibule where you can conveniently drop off yourlabels.We thank you for your help!

Page 4Christmas Schedule of ServicesSaturday, December 24th Christmas Eve3:30 PM Christmas Carols4:00 PMMass10:00 PMMassSunday, December 25th Christmas DayRegular Sunday Mass Schedule7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 AMATTENTION BINGO LOVERSBingo is taking a hiatus during December,but will be back in January!!Mark your calendars for Sunday January 8th and 22nd!More details will follow.ST. JOHN PAUL IIEUCHARISTIC ADORATION ASSOCIATIONADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENTEvery SaturdaySt. Louis de Montfort Chapel9:00—10:00 AMPlease join usKnights of Columbus Council 14553CHECK OUT THE GIVECENTRAL WEBSITEwww.givecentral.orgMany parishioners are registered and using the thisapplication to make their contributions to the parish. Itis easy to register, and a convenient way to keep track ofyour donations for tax purposes.If you have any questions, please feelfree to contact the parish homeduring regular business hours!CHRISTMAS FOR VETSThe Knights of Columbus Council 14553is sponsoring a drive to collect gifts for themilitary men & women serving our country. A boxwill be located in the vestibule for you to drop offyour donations. Some suggested items include:Socks Underwear ToiletriesDuring the Christmas season it’s a nice way to thankthem, let them know we are thinking of them andappreciate their sacrifices.Please, always, keep them and theirfamilies in your prayers.

Page 5Our Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Communion will be on a volunteerbasis for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses. If you haven’t alreadysigned up for a Mass, please do so in the Sacristy. During our ChristmasMasses, if you notice a shortage of volunteers, pleasestep in to assist.On behalf of Fr. Stan, Fr. Francis and all of St. Louis de Montfort Parish, we wouldlike to thank all of our lectors and Ministers of Communion, who each week,help to make our time of worship meaningful and prayerful.In every successful organization, there are the “behindthe scenes” groups that keep things running seamlessly.At St. Louis de Montfort it’s the many ministries that wedepend on. At this blessed time of year, we want you toknow that your time, efforts and dedication to our parishare appreciated and do not go unnoticed.REST IN PEACEWe pray for our family and friendsthat have recently died.Please keep them and their familiesin your prayers.We pray for those among us who aresuffering from illnessesSacristan Martha’s MinistryBereavement Minister Minister of CareEucharistic Minister LectorChoir Bell Choir CountersPre-Baptismal Class Facilitator Needle WorkersFood Pantry Minister of Hospitality (ushers)Women’s Auxiliary Knights of ColumbusSchool Board FSA Technology Committee(My apologies if I’ve missed anyone!)GIVING TREEGifts will be picked up on Wednesday,December 21st.This year our giving tree for St. Martin de Porres Houseof Hope is set up by the Holy Family at the back ofchurch. Although we got a late start with this annualevent, we look forward to continuing the tradition ofsupporting St. Martin de Porres in their efforts to makesome less fortunate families enjoy a Merry Christmas.You can take an ornament either from the tree or theycan also be found in a basket on the counter in thevestibule.Cash donations are accepted, however we ask that youDO NOT make checks payable to St.Louis de Montfort, please make thempayable directly to St. Martin de PorresHouse of Hope.As always, thank you for yourgenerosity and thoughtfulness!Jackie AdomoviczJesse AndererGeorge BadkeJim BallRichard BaniaErik BaranowskiIrene BaranowskiLillian BerenisSr. BernardineMikey BevanJoyce BitinasJesselyn BruckiDonna ChlebekDiane ChrapkiewiczPat ChudyBetty ConnollyDonna DongMary DragozeticRita DuchowiczJohn Furmaniak Sr.Dave GallagherSandra GilbertLorraine GramsDorothy HaydenJanis HaydenMary HincheyTheresa IserMarilyn JonesMary Jane KirchnerDoris KonieczkaDaniel KosiekKurt KutschkeJoyce LenziJosie MaracicAgnes MarkRita MazurMary Ann & Bill MeskowskiRosemary MihelicBarbara MinsterJudy MitchellVencia MunisChristopher MurphyTeresa MyczekMichael NolanSr. Therese O’DonnellDebbie OrnatKari RaspantiKelly RobertsonFrances SchmidtJoan SchrammBridget SchroederRuth Ann SmithJim StarosMercedita SuclanTerry SwierkJay TarczonDorothy TinmanDiane UryaszJerry Wantroba IIMary WantuckCathy Jo WernerRobert & Carol Zucas