ST. BRIDE THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF

CHICAGOParish Office: 773-731-8822Church Hall: 773-734-9125 Fax: 773-721-0673 Email: stbride@archchicago.org

The Baptism of the Lord

Our Parish Staff Reverend Robert J. Roll, Pastor

Ms. Laura L. Zbella, Administrative Manager

Mr. Terry Rose, Youth Minister Mr. Tommy Slay, Facilities Manager

Liturgy ScheduleSunday at 10 AM

Monday thru Friday as scheduled 8 AM in the House Chapel

The Sacrament of ReconciliationBefore Mass and anytime by appointment!

The Sacrament of the Sick Please make arrangements with

the Parish House to have the Sacraments brought to the sick and homebound.

The Anointing of the Sick should take place early in any

illness and as often as necessary. Please note: Hospitals are not allowed,

by law, to contact the parish. Please have someone contact

the Parish House for a hospital visit.New Parishioners

Please consider registering after Mass at the Activity Table in the Church or call the

Parish House at your convenience!Welcome Visitors to St. Bride

We are honored to have you with us!Please be sure to sign our guest book.

WWW.ST-BRIDE.ORG Founded 1893 7811 SOUTH COLES AVENUE – CHICAGO, IL 60649

The Baptism of the Lord JesusJanuary 10, 2016

MASSES THIS WEEKDaily Mass is celebrated at 8 AM

In the Parish House Chapel as scheduled The Baptism of the Lord:

For the Intention ofFritz and Laverne Baumgartner

For the Intention of Kelly KohlstruckFor the Intention of Sister Leona Metra

For the Intention of Jean StemperFor the Intention of Fr. Bob Roll

On his 65th BirthdayMonday: First Week in Ordinary TimeTuesday: WeekdayWednesday: St. HilaryThursday: Weekday

For the Intention of Fr. Bob RollFriday: WeekdaySaturday: WeekdayThe Second Sunday of the Church Year:

For the Intention of Margaret CmarikFor the Intention of Carol Perry

For the Intention of Ralph MaioranoFor the Intention of Gloria Tepavchevich

For the Intention of Marge MachayFor the Intention of

Sister Gertrude Marie WisniewskiA

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: 1 Sm 1:1-8; Ps 116:12-19;

Mk 1:14-20Tuesday: 1 Sm 1:9-20; 1 Sm 2:1, 4-8abcd;

Mk 1:21-28Wednesday: 1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20; Ps

40:2, 5, 7-10; Mk 1:29-39Thursday: 1 Sm 4:1-11; Ps 44:10-11, 14-

15, 24-25; Mk 1:40-45Friday: 1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a; Ps 89:16-

19; Mk 2:1-12Saturday: 1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1a; Ps 21:2-7;

Mk 2:13-17Sunday: Is 62:1-5; Ps 96:1-3, 7-10; 1

Cor 12:4-11; Jn 2:1-11

Support Our Food PantryThe St. Bride Food Pantry is

open again. We will welcome your donations of NON-PERISHABLE food items to stock our shelves and prepare bags for those

who utilize our outreach program when you bring them to Church each week, September to June! Food can be brought on Sundays to the Church! Gift cards for groceries are also welcome!

Upcoming Dates and Events 2015/2016

January 17th – Father John Cunningham, SJ, of Loyola University will be our presider today!February 7th - Mardi Gras Party:

After Mass in the Church HallFebruary 9th – St. Bride Revival Night: Dinner at 5:30 PM; Mass and Revival Talk at 7 PM. Rev. Robert Cary of Old St. Mary’s will be our preacher for the evening!February 10th – Ash Wednesday: Mass at 8 AM and NoonMarch 13th – St. Patrick and St. Joseph Dinner following Mass

March 20th – Palm Sunday: Mass and Procession at 10 AM

March 27th – Easter SundayMay 15th – Annual Spring LuncheonAll tickets and ads must be completed and paid for by May 9, 2016. Add $10 per ticket, if available, after May 9, 2016 Electronic Giving for Weekly Offerings

Since we have started Give Central, more than $7550.00 has been contributed through this electronic means of giving! It is an excellent way of scheduling your offerings to St. Bride, as well as a way of marking special events. Click on the “Donate Now” button on our web site at WWW.ST-BRIDE.ORG

MANIFESTING THE SPIRITThe Christmas season closes this Sunday with the Baptism of the Lord. This feast is a sister to

last week’s feast of the Epiphany. Each of them celebrates an “epiphany,” or a manifestation of the Spirit of God in Jesus—first in his birth, and now at his baptism.

The divine Spirit is manifested in all of the scriptures for this feast. Psalm 104 highlights the Spirit of God creating and renewing the earth, while the reading from Isaiah describes God restoring Israel. In Luke’s account of the baptism of the Lord the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus. And the letter to Titus reminds us that the Holy Spirit was “richly poured out” on us also, through the “bath of rebirth” (Titus 3:5, 6).

TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITIONMerry Christmas! Share that cheerful greeting with some folks today. They may wonder if you

have had any Elvis sightings lately, attended Star Trek conventions, or were Cleopatra in a previous lifetime. Despite the skeptics, today is solidly within the Christmas season. In fact, in some strands of the Christian tradition it represents the clearest manifestation of the mystery of the Incarnation. On Christmas Day, for example, the Gospel reading is the Prologue of John’s Gospel, which reveals the glory of Christ shining through our humanity precisely in his baptism.

At any rate, this is an ancient feast, celebrated first in Egypt sixteen centuries ago. More than most other ancient people, the Egyptians understood the life-giving properties of water. On this day, they drew water from the Nile, so central in the history of their people, and reserved it in honor. Many other places copied the custom, so that St. John Chrysostom wrote of people in Antioch gathering at midnight to collect flowing water into vessels they brought from home since “today there is a blessing on the water.” At home for dinner tonight, decorate the table with beautiful bowls of water and white candles, toast one another with goblets of sparkling water, and light a Christmas candle in the window one last time.

The Baptism of the LordThe Baptism of the Lord is the name of a feast day observed in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church. The feast commemorates the baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist.God the Father attests to the divinity of the Son at the moment of his baptism in the waters of the Jordan and, by this means, Jesus "manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him." "While Jesus after his own baptism was at prayer, heaven opened and the

Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily shape like a dove." "You are my Son the Beloved" Today, we are asked to reflect on the baptism of Christ in the Jordan and on our own baptism too. The baptism of Jesus was no ordinary event. It was the beginning of his public ministry among us. God was with his Son Jesus in power, and made it known that Jesus was his specially chosen witness on earth.

Prayer for the Feast of the Baptism of the LordOpen the heavens almighty Father, and pour out your spirit upon your people.

Renew the power of our baptismal cleansing and fill us with zeal for good deeds.Let us hear your voice once again, that we may recognize in your beloved Son our hope

in inheriting eternal life. Grant this through Jesus Christ, your Word made flesh, who lives and reigns

with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, in the splendor of eternal light, God forever and ever.

Amen.

St. Bride Church – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago –January 10, 2016