FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT – December 18, 2022

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.

TODAY’S MASS INTENTION: Berta Szeles, by the Csók Family

MASS SCHEDULE & INTENTIONS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

December 24 Saturday 9:00 AM Traditional Latin Mass
December 24 Saturday 5:00 PM Celebrant’s Intention
December 25 Sunday 9:15 AM St. Elizabeth parishioners

FROM THE DESK OF FR. BONA: Do you know how long the Advent season is? Many people think that there are always four weeks of Advent. Well, only in some years does the liturgical Season of Advent last four full weeks. In most years, Advent is a little shorter, depending on which weekday December 25 (Christmas!) happens to be that year. The more precise answer to the question posed above is that there are always four Sundays of Advent, but that the Season of Advent can be between three and four weeks long. This year we happened to have the longest Advent season (full four weeks) and the next year it is going to be the shortest (only three weeks).

The last week of the Advent season (Dec. 17-24) is marked with a special emphasis and attentiveness to the celebration of the Birth of our Savior. During these days, the liturgy does not allow celebrations of memorials of saints (only as commemorations). Additionally, the seven traditional “O Antiphons” are utilized (Dec. 17-23). These are actually over a thousand years old and they have long been used at the very end of Advent in the liturgical prayer of the Church, as antiphons for the “Magnificat” sung or recited during Vespers (the Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours). Since the Second Vatican Council, they have also been adapted (slightly reworded and rearranged) for the “Alleluia Verse” of the Mass (the short scriptural text or paraphrase that immediately precedes the Gospel reading). Each Antiphon invokes the coming of the Messiah, beginning with a biblical (Old Testament) title and closing with a specific petition. These titles are: O Sapientia (O Wisdom); O Adonai (O Lord); O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse); O Clavis David (O Key of David); O Oriens (O Dayspring); O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations); O Emmanuel (O With Us is God). In the traditional arrangement, when viewed from Christmas Eve backward, the first letters of the Latin texts spell out the phrase ero cras, which means, “I come tomorrow.”

Let us in this last week of Advent prepare well the celebration of the Birth of our Savior.

CONFESSIONS: to prepare ourselves well for Christmas, I will hear confessions on Tuesday, December 20 at ST. EMERIC. After the 9AM morning Mass and then in the evening from 6-7PM. For the evening session, Fr. Peter Boksay will be available as well.

REPORT FROM OUR PARISH MEETING (12/11): Thank you for all those who stayed for the meeting last week. Bob Purgert presented the financial situation of our parish. This overview covered not only the current years, but we were able to review that last 10 years. The bottom line is that on average we have to take $100,000 out of our savings. With the current income streams and the economic situation, we have only 4-5 years of life. If we do not want to have a decision made for us, we need to do something now. I formed a committee to explore the possibilities for us. It is important to remember the mission of our parish – serving the Hungarian Catholics – and how we are fulfilling this mission. The options raised at the meeting were: more fundraising, reaching out to some Hungarian organizations for collaboration, the need to increase the membership (we are a small parish), highway sign, reducing our expenses, creating associate membership for support, merging with St. Emeric, inviting religious order to govern the parish, the possibility of changing our mission. Thank you to all for expressing your opinion and we will continue to work together. Please, as a spiritual contract, say 3 Hail Marys for our parish daily.

TODAY: THE BLESSING OF THE BAMBINELLI: after the Mass, please come forward with the baby Jesus from your home Nativity set for this special blessing.

MASS SCHEDULE FOR CHRISTMAS – NEW YEAR
for St. Elizabeth of Hungary & St. Emeric parishes

December 24:   5:00 PM Mass (St. Elizabeth) – Hungarian/English

December 24:  10:30 PM Christmas Carrols (St. Emeric) – Hungarian

December 24:   11:00 PM Mass (St. Emeric) – Hungarian

December 25:   9:15 AM Mass (St. Elizabeth) – Hungarian/English

December 25:   11:15AM Mass (St. Emeric) – Hungarian

December 31:   5:00 PM (St. Emeric) – English

January 1:         regular Sunday Mass schedule

SUNDAY COLLECTION FIGURES: Dec. 11: Sunday Collection: $495, donations: $241. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY in supporting our parish. Thank you for sending in your offertory donation through the mail, or through the PayPal option found on the website: https://www.stelizabethcleveland.org/donations/

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK, especially, Kathy Szabó, Kamilla Szabó, Anna Melega, Dorothy Fromhercz, and Alex Szaday.

THIS SUNDAY the 11:15 Mass from livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/saintemeric  and on the website, https://stemeric.com/

This post is also available in: Hungarian

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Designed and Maintained by Zsolt Molnar