Saint Casimir Parish

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MINISTRY OF PRAISE
 

DECEMBER, 2015
 
St. Casimir Parish
 

Almighty God,
grant that with the help of St. Casimir’s intercession
we may serve you in holiness and justice.

 

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING INTENTIONS

 

  • That all may experience the mercy of God, who never tires of forgiving.     (December Papal intention)

  • That the birth of the Redeemer may bring peace and hope to all people of good will.
     

  • That God who has begun the good work of drawing our parish community together in faith will continue to perfect it this Advent.
     

  • That  Mary’s maternal mediation will raise us to the moral greatness befitting true children of God.
     

  • That God bless Father Bacevice and the Pastoral and Finance Councils in their efforts to secure the future of St. Casimir Parish.

  • That all parishioners recognize their responsibility to St. Casimir Parish’s future through financial support, fund-raising efforts, commitment to parish activities, sharing ideas, and most importantly prayer.

  • That there be an end to every practice that promotes the culture of death.     
                  

  • That blessings come to all expectant mothers, newborn infants, and young families.
     

  • That those who experience any kind of hardship or sorrow during the holidays receive the tenderness of God’s  love through the support of others.  
     

  • That our Ministers of Praise be validated in their belief in the power of prayer.

 

WHAT’S HAPPENING            AT ST. CASIMIR PARISH?

  • December 4th   - First Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 8:00 –9:00am in Church

  • December 9th     Evening Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 6:00 – 9:00pm in Church

  • December 14th    Collinwood Cluster Penance Service, 7:00 pm at St. Casimir

  • during December  The Giving Tree is set up in church.


SAINT FOR DECEMBER

 

ST. JUAN DIEGO CUAUHTLATOATZIN

Native American Convert
 (1474 - 1548)

 December 9th

      With deep joy I have come on pilgrimage to this Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Marian heart of Mexico and America, to proclaim the holiness of Juan Diego Cuauhtiatoatzin, the simple, humble Indian who contemplated the sweet and serene face of our Lady of Tepeyac, so dear to the people of Mexico.
   (From the homily by Pope John Paul II in Mexico City on July 31, 2002 at the Canonization of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin)

     A poor Aztec Indian who lived near Mexico City, Juan Diego was fifty-seven years old when the Virgin Mary appeared to him. When the local bishop would not believe his story, Our Lady told Juan to climb to the top of a hill and gather the roses growing there. Despite the fact that it was winter, Juan did as he was told and collected the flowers. When he opened his cloak to show the roses to the bishop, a life-size image of Mary also appeared. Juan Diego’s cloak with the picture of Mary still hangs in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

     Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego serves as a powerful reminder that Mary and the God who sent her accept all peoples. In the context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of significance for Native Americans. While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves. 

     In these days when we hear so much about God’s preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God’s love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the gospel itself.

Sources:  IN HIS LIKENESS by Rev. Charles E. Yost, SCJ, STL, and SAINTS AND FEAST DAYS, Loyola University Press.

 

THOUGHTS FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Mercy and Sin

 

Pope Francis has declared A JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY which begins

on the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2015.  It will close on November 20, 2016.

 

#1846  The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners. The angel announced to Joseph: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The same is true of the Eucharist, the sacrament of redemption: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

#1847  “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.” To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

REFLECTION
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