St . John Cant ius Par i sh T h e C a t h o l i c C o m m u n i t y o f B r i d e s b u r g

"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about." So begins Matthew's narration of of Mary and Joseph's first adventure as husband and wife. The early Christians who were his audience must have been eager to hear the story of Jesus' early years, and wondered if what they had heard about Mary was true. It must have been Mary who handed this story down to the apostles, which subsequently found itself in the scriptural canon. One would imagine that this was a rather private matter between Mary and Joseph, but so important that it needed to be shared later. It's a tender and lovely story of a young couple in love and faced with a dilemma. JOSEPH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN Today's Gospel is one of only a few stories that mention Joseph. It is clear from these Gospel accounts that Joseph was a man of good character and also a loving man, not willing to harm Mary, even though it appeared that she had betrayed him in the most hurtful way. He could have denounced her publicly and she would have been stoned to death. But he did not want that to happen to her. Did he and Mary have a conversation about the Annunciation events, and could that conversation have made him more open to the dream in which the angel appeared to him?

4415 Almond Street ~ Philadelphia, PA 19137

Rectory Phone 215-535-6667 Rectory Fax: 215-535-7107 Parish Email sjc4415@comcast.net Parish Website www.stjohncantiusparish.org Rectory Hours Monday - Friday, 9:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Evenings by appointment only, Saturday & Sunday Closed REV. JOSEPH J. ZINGARO Pastor REV. KONSTANTY PRUSZYNSKI Parochial Vicar MRS. THERESA DOMBKOSKI Director of Parish Services EMAIL sjcparishservices@comcast.net MRS. LISA MARIE REMILLARD Parish Secretary Mass Schedule SATURDAY MASSES: 5:00 P.M. (English) SUNDAY MASSES: 8:00 A.M., 10:00 A.M. (English) 11:30 A.M. (Polish) HOLY DAY MASSES Vigil Mass 7:00 P.M. (English) 9:00 A.M. (English) 7:00 P.M. (Polish) DAILY MASSES: 8:00 A.M. Mon./Wed./Fri. (English) 8:00 A.M.Tues./Thur. & Sat (Polish) CONFESSIONS Saturday 3:30P.M. - 4:15 P.M. BLESSED TRINITY REGIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL Ms. Linda Milewski Principal 215-338-9797

December 18, 2016 Fourth Sunday of Advent

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December 18, 2016 Fourth Sunday of Advent

MONDAY – Dec 19th

8AM(E) Matthew Mosczynski req. daughter, Mania TUESDAY – DEC 20th

8AM(P) Alfreda Germack req. Barbara & Jessica Mawson WEDNESDAY – DEC 21st

St. Peter 8AM(E) Robert Volpack req. wife & children THURSDAY – DEC 22nd

8AM(P) For the People of St. John Cantius FRIDAY - DEC 23rd

St. John of Kanty 8AM(E) John Bandich req. friend, Walter SATURDAY – DEC 24th

8AM(P) Janina Korzenowski i Jan Krasek by Rodzina 5PM (E) Gocolinski & Augustine Family req. John & Kosh 9PM(E) Eleanor & Brian Osinski req. Donna & Jessica 12:00Midnight O Bl. Boze Uczestnikow Bliskich, wycieczki od Chin SUNDAY – DEC 25th

8AM(E) Edward James Reebenaker III req. Family 10AM(E) Walter Laskowski req. niece, Dorothy Pachucki 11:30(P) W intencj Rodziny i znajomych

Please pray for our recently deceased: Constance Houck & Thaddeus Kaminski. May God grant them eternal peace in His Presence.

The candle in the Church burns for Joanna Mizia, Ignatius Mizia & Leonard Miazia from loving daughter, Claire Walsh.

The candle in the Church burns for Bertha Maximillian Janyszek from Family. The candle in the Chapel burns for Matthew J. Mosczynski from loving daughter, Franny T. Alice. The candle in the Chapel burns for Dolores Bonikowski from Friends. (Happy Birthday in Heaven) The St. John Cantius Lamp burns In loving memory of Charles, Brian & Thomas Franklin from wife, & Mom Charlotte. The Second Collection today is for Christmas Flowers 12/18. . Next week’s is for Weekly Offering 12/25.

LECTORS DEC 24 5PM Anthony Golembiewski 9PM Phyllis Rooney LECTORS DEC 25 8AM Dori Michalak 10AM Michael C. Finn EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS DEC 24 5PM Dave Higman, Walt Gasiewski, Casey & Gloria Jankiewicz DEC 25 10 AM Donna & Joseph Slabinski, Lisa Green & Kathy Lisiewski

FLAME OF LOVE Flame of Love Cenacles

Wednesday, 8:30 AM, 2PM & 3:30PM in

St. Joseph’s Hall.

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Letter From Pastor

We invite you to the Ceremony of Carols this Sunday evening, December 18th at 7:00. This special evening will be presented by the children and adults of our parish and our choir. The depiction of the Christmas story, Scripture Readings will be proclaimed and our Choir and those present will sing hymns and carols. At the end of the Ceremony of Carols, those who have purchased gifts will be asked to bring your wrapped gift and present it to the Christ Child. This is a very beautiful ceremony. I hope you will take the time to come and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Your generosity and love in the past have been outstanding and I am sure the children for whom you purchase gifts will be most grateful.

Fr. Konstanty and I wish all of you a most blessed Christmas. We realize that Christmas is next Sunday but many of you may spend the day with family and friends in other areas. We do hope though that you do take the time to attend Mass on the day we celebrate the birthday of our savior. May the Christ Child bless you and your families and may He bestow upon all of you the gifts of peace and joy. We thank you for all the Christmas cards, gifts and greetings that you have sent us. To serve you in this beautiful parish is a privilege and a joy. Many of you – we are sure – will celebrate the tradition of the Vigil Dinner. This special dinner gives many families the opportunity to enjoy a special meal together, sing hymns and later process to Church to celebrate the Lord’s Birthday at Mass. It gives us the perfect opportunity to thank God for His many gifts and to show appreciation to those in our families, our friends, and our neighbors. Let us not forget “Jesus” on His Birthday and give Him the gift of yourself.

The Christmas Schedule was mailed to all parishioners. For your convenience we list it below.

CONFESSIONS: CHRISTMAS EVE: 3:00 - 4:30 P.M.

MASSES: Saturday, December 24th: 5:00 P.M. & 9:00 P.M. (English) & 12:00 Midnight (Polish)

Our Parish Choirs will sing Christmas Carols at 8:30 and 11:30 P.M.

Sunday, December 25th: 8:00 A.M. (English), 10:00 A.M. (English), 11:30 A.M. (Polish)

THERE WILL BE NO EVENING MASS ON CHRISTMAS DAY

We will begin to decorate our Church for Christmas on Monday evening, December 19th, at 7:00. We could use some help hanging the garland and wreaths, and preparing the manger scene. Please come and help make our Church beautiful for the Christmas season.

The Mass Intention Book for 2017 is now open for Masses from January 1st to June 30th.

Oplatek (Polish Christmas Wafers) is available in the Rectory during office hours and also in the sacristy after Mass on Sunday.

The Rectory Office will be closed Christmas Week, December 26th thru January 2nd and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3rd.

OUR DYNAMIC CATHOLIC THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: “We know there is more to Christmas, and more to life. That meaning speaks into the core of who we are and who we can become.”

Remember the Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic:

PRAYER --STUDY- GENEROSITY -EVANGELIZATION

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Zapraszamy na Galę Kolęd w najbliższą niedzielę, 18 grudnia o godzinie 19:00. W ten wyjątkowy wieczór zostaną zaprezentowane kolędy przez dzieci i dorosłych z naszej parafii i naszego chóru. Przedstawimy historie Bożego Narodzenia i odczytamy Ewangelię. Nasz Chór i obecni parafianie będą śpiewać pieśni i kolędy. Pod koniec ceremonii Kolęd ci, którzy mają zakupione prezenty zostaną poproszeni o przyniesienie zapakowanego prezentu i przedstawienie go Dzieciątku Jezus. Jest to bardzo piękna uroczystość. Mam nadzieję, że znajdziecie trochę czasu do przyjścia i zastanowienia się nad prawdziwym znaczeniem Bożego Narodzenia. Wasza hojność i miłość w przeszłości były wspaniale i jestem pewien, że dzieci, dla których kupiliście prezenty będą najbardziej wdzięczne.

Razem z Ksiedzem Konstantym, życzymy Wam wszystkim najbardziej błogosławionych Świąt. Zdajemy

sobie sprawę, że Boże Narodzenie jest w najbliższą niedzielę, i wielu z was może spędzić ten dzień z rodziną i przyjaciółmi wyjeżdżając. Mamy nadzieję, że znajdziecie czas aby uczestniczyć we Mszy świętej w dniu Swiętowania urodzin naszego Zbawiciela. Niech Dzieciątko Jezus błogosławi was i wasze rodziny i niech obdarzy was wszystkich darami spokoju i radości. Dziękujemy za wszystkie kartki świąteczne, prezenty i życzenia, które zostały dla nas wysłane. Służyć Wam w tej pięknej parafii jest przywilejem i radością. Wielu z was - jesteśmy pewni - będzie obchodzić tradycyjną Wigilię. Ta specjalna kolacja daje wielu rodzinom możliwość uczestniczenia w specjalnym posiłku, śpiewaniu kolęd, a później pójściu do Kościoła na Msze z okazji urodzin Pana. To daje nam doskonałą okazję, aby podziękować Bogu za Jego wiele darów i okazać uznanie dla naszych rodzin, przyjaciół i naszych sąsiadów. Nie zapominaj o JEZUSIE w dniu jego urodzin i dać podaruj mu siebie. Nasz list na Boże Narodzenie i harmonogram Świąteczny zostały wysłane. Dzisiaj Przypominamy jeszcze raz:

SPOWIEDZI będziemy słuchać w WIGILE, Sobota 24 grudnia, od 15:30 - 16:30.

MSZE SW.: W Wigilię W Sobote 24 Grudnia

odbędzie się o 17: 00 i 21: 00 (w języku angielskim) i 00:00 O północy (w języku polskim) Nasze Parafialne Chory będą śpiewać Kolędy i Pastorałki o 20: 30 i 23:30

W Niedziele Bożego Narodzenia 25 Grudnia

Odbędą się trzy (3) Mszy Św.: 08:00 (po angielsku), 10: 00 (po angielsku) i 11:30 (po polsku).

NIE BEDZIE WIECZORNEJ MSZY SW. W DNIU BOZEGO NARODZENIA Zaczniemy stroic nasz Kościół na Boże Narodzenie w poniedziałek wieczorem, 19 grudnia o 19:00. Prosimy i pomoc. W wieszanie wieńców i przygotowaniu Żłobka. Proszę przyjść i pomóc wystroic nasz Kościół pięknie na święta Bożego Narodzenia. Książka Intencyjna na Msze Sw. na rok 2017 jest już otwarta dla Mszy od 1 stycznia do 30 czerwca. Oplatek jest dostępny w probostwie w godzinach pracy, a także w zakrystii po mszy w niedzielę. Biuro Plebanii będzie nieczynne w świąteczny tydzień, od 26 grudnia do 2 stycznia i zostanie ponownie otwarty w wtorek, 3 Stycznia. NASZA DYNAMICZNA KATOLICKA MYŚL TYGODNIA: "Wiemy, że jest więcej do Bożego Narodzenia niż tylko to, co widzimy, i tak jest więcej w życiu. Jak my to widzimy tłumaczy nam kim jesteśmy, i kim możemy się stać. „

Pamiętaj Cztery oznaki Dynamicznego Katolika:

MODLITWA – NAUKA – HOJNOŚĆ – EWANGELIZACJA

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The Liturgy of the Word for Children will be celebrated on Sunday, January 8th at the 10:00AM Mass. We invite all children Pre-School to Grade 4 to participate. This is a celebration of the Word at a level which can be understood by children.

CONTINUED FROM COVER PAGE IN A DREAM Do we believe that our dreams hold meaning for our lives? Many psychologists say so, and yet we often dismiss what we have dreamed because our dreams may seem so far-fetched and implausible. If we paid attention to our dreams, and God revealed something important to us, would we believe it? If something scary or evil occurred in a dream, would we just shake it off, or would we say a prayer to God to protect us from evil and know that God would never will bad things for us? The Jews then, as today, looked for the Messiah to come. When the angel told Joseph that this child was conceived through the Holy Spirit, he readily believed that Mary would bear a son who would save people from their sins. They named him Jesus, which in Hebrew is "Yeshua." It means "God saves." Joseph was willing to believe that the prophecy from Isaiah, "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, / and they shall name him Emmanuel, / which means 'God is with us' " would be fulfilled in his own life (Matthew 1:23). When he awoke, he did not shake off the dream, but acted on it in a way that would change his life, and would change the world. In this season of waiting for the Messiah, we can dream of that time of the Reign of God to come, and we can believe that it will be fulfilled.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a; Ps 71:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17; Lk 1:5-25 Tuesday: Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-4ab, 5-6; Lk 1:26-38 Wednesday: Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21; Lk 1:39-45 Thursday: 1 Sm 1:24-28; 1 Sm 2:1, 4-8abcd; Lk 1:46- 56 Friday: Mal 3:1-4, 23-34; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-10, 14; Lk 1:57-66 Saturday: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29; Lk 1:67-79 Sunday: Vigil: Is 62:1-5; Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27 29; Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25 [18-25] Night: Is 9:1-6; Ps 96:1-3, 11-13; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14 Dawn: Is 62:11-12; Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12; Ti 3:4- 7; Lk 2:15-20 Day: Is 52:7-10; Ps 98:1-6; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18 [1-5, 9-14]

GETTING EVEN The only ones you should try to get even with are those who have helped you. —Anonymous

CHRISTMAS CHILDREN It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas. —Charles Dickens

Fourth Sunday of Advent December 18, 2016 They shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” — Matthew 1:23

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COLLECTION COUNTERS FOR SUNDAY

Dec 18 Joe Foster Dec 25 Lucille Mocarski & Terry Casey

LOTTERY TICKETS Lottery tickets will be sold in the back of the Chapel or Church Calendars are now available for distribution. The cost is $5.00 each for the month, based on the evening of the Pennsylvania Lottery drawing. Daily prizes of $50.00 a day and Sundays are $100.00. Plus each month a bonus day! Sellers are needed. Tickets will

be sold before and after each Mass. This will be an on going fundraiser. We ask for you help and support to make this an ongoing success. Thank you for your support of our Parish. DATE NUMBER PRIZE WINNER SELLER Dec 5 787 $50 Unsold Dec 6 445 $50 Deb Kolakowski Dec 7 985 $50 Unsold Dec 8 035 $50 Unsold Dec 9 068 $50 Unsold Dec 10 740 $50 Unsold Dec 11 797 $100 Unsold Dec 12 316 $50 Diane Chapman Dec 13 764 $50 Unsold

Collection Count for Dec. 11, 2016

Attn Env Cash Checks Total 5pm 121 87 $574 $1,025 $1,599 8am 83 50 $399 $475 $874 10am 120 74 $661 $743 $1,404 11:30 134 58 $751 $47 $798 Total $2,385 $2,290 $4,675 Mailed In 31 $4 $1,555 $1,559 HS 1 $2 $2 Fuel 224 $1,159 $788 $1,947 Im. Con. 192 158 $923 $398 $1,321 Rel. Retirement 12 $22 $100 $122 Grand Total $ 4,495 $5,131 $9,626 Total Deposit $9,626

HELP WANTED

A parishioner in her 90’s needs a live-in person, 8:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. daily. If interested, please call Terry at the Rectory, 215-535-6667.

Save the Dates: Look what’s coming up! Italian Dinner Night: Sat. Feb. 11 Cash Bingo: Sun. March 12 Annual Fish Fry: Fri. March 31 Dinner and Show: in April

Ceremony of Carols this Sunday evening, December 18th at 7:00pm.

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