Index
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Saint Casimir Parish
MINISTRY
OF PRAISE
DECEMBER, 2016
St. Casimir Parish
Almighty God,
grant that with the help of St. Casimir’s intercession
we may serve you in holiness and justice.
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PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
INTENTIONS
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That the
scandal of child-soldiers may be eliminated the world over.
(December Papal intention)
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That the coming
of the Prince of Peace will put an end to all enmity and division, and unify
the peoples of the world.
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That our
country’s leaders will receive many blessings at Christmas and be
strengthened to lead our nation in the ways of enduring righteousness and
freedom.
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That God, who
has begun the good work of drawing us together in faith, will continue to
strengthenour bond this Advent.
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That the Lord
will be close to all those who risk their lives to protect us.
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That God bless
Father Bacevice and the Pastoral and Finance Councils in their efforts to
secure the future of St. Casimir Parish.
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That all
parishioners recognize their responsibility to St. Casimir Parish’s future
through financial support, commitment to parish activities, sharing ideas,
and most importantly prayer.
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That the love,
the unity, the self-giving, and the tenderness of the Holy Family will
overflow to all families and make them truly happy.
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That our
remembering that Jesus Christ came into the world as one who was destitute
and marginalized will urge us to love and rescue the needy.
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That our
Ministers of Praise be validated in their belief in the power of prayer.
WHAT’S HAPPENING 
AT ST. CASIMIR PARISH?
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December 2nd First Friday Adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament, 8:00 – 9:00am in Church
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December 14th Evening
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,
6:00 – 9:00pm in Church
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December
The Giving Tree is in church.
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SAINT FOR
DECEMBER
SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER
Priest
(1506 - 1552)
December 3rd |
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We have visited the villages of the new
converts who accepted the Christian religion a few years ago…the
country is so barren and poor. The native Christians have no
priests. They know only that they are Christians. There is nobody to
say Mass for them; nobody to teach them the Creed, the Our Father,
the Hail Mary and the Commandments of God’s Law.
(St. Francis Xavier)
Francis was born in Spain, the youngest son of
the chief counselor of the kingdom. He was privately tutored as a
child, and later studied at the University of Paris, where he became
a teacher of philosophy. He began a career that would bring him
prestige and honor, and he enjoyed an active social life. At the
university Francis met Ignatius of Loyola, a retired artillery
captain who felt the need to dedicate his life to God.
Ignatius worked tirelessly to persuade Francis
to join him. In 1534 Francis was among the first seven who took vows
in the Society of Jesus founded by Ignatius. Three years later he
was ordained a priest in Venice together with Ignatius and four
others. They went to Rome to offer their services to the pope.
In 1541 Francis set out for the East Indies. He
preached first to the Portuguese in Goa and then moved on to South
India, later to Malaysia and Japan. Francis was on his way to China
when he developed a high fever and died before reaching the
mainland. He is the first of the great missionaries to the Far East,
and the greatest post-apostolic missionary of the Church.
Francis lived with the poorest people, sharing
their food and rough accommodations. He spent countless hours
ministering to the sick and the poor, particularly to lepers. Very
often he had no time to sleep or even to say his breviary but, as we
know from his letters, he was filled always with joy.
We
cannot all be actual missionaries to the distant lands and peoples
who are still in darkness; but through “those whom God has chosen
for this very special work the whole community prays, collaborates
and works among the nations.”
(Ad gentes, 37)
Sources: IN HIS LIKENESS, by Rev. Charles E. Yost, SCJ, STL; SAINT
OF THE DAY, Leonard Foley, O.F.M., Editor;
SAINTS AND FEAST DAYS, Loyola University Press |
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THOUGHTS FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH |
The Christian Family
#2205
The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the
communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and
education of children it reflects the Father’s work of creation. It is called to
partake of the prayer and sacrifice of Christ. Daily prayer and the reading of
the Word of God strengthen it in charity. The Christian family has an
evangelizing and missionary task.
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REFLECTION |
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Let us
go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing
that
has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.
(Luke 2:15)
From the
shepherds we should learn not to be crushed by all the pressing matters in our
daily lives. From them we should learn the inner freedom to put other tasks in
second place – however important they may be – so as to make our way towards
God, to allow him into our lives and into our time. Time given to God and, in
his name, to our neighbor is never time lost. It is the time when we live our
humanity to the full…
Most of us in the world today live
far from Jesus Christ, the incarnate God who came to dwell amongst us. We live
our lives by philosophies, amid worldly affairs and occupations that totally
absorb us and are a great distance from the manger. In all kinds of ways, God
has to prod us and reach out to us again and again, so that we can manage to
escape from the muddle of our thoughts and activities and discover the way that
leads to him. But a path exists for all of us. The Lord provides everyone with
tailor-made signals. He calls each one of us, so that we too can say: “Come on,
‘let us go over’ to Bethlehem – to the God who has come to meet us.” Yes indeed,
God has set out towards us. Left to ourselves we could not reach him. The path
is too much for our strength. But God has come down. He comes towards us. He has
traveled the longer part of the journey. Now he invites us: Come and see that I
am here… Let us go there! Let us surpass ourselves…
God’s sign is his humility. God’s
sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him
and he asks for our love… God comes to us as man, so that we might become truly
human.
(Pope Benedict XVI, Homily,
December24, 2009, Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
Source: MAGNIFICAT, December 2010, pp.
389 - 390
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Lietuvi