Today on this special day, the Feast of Christ the King, we come to our churches with gratitude for every individual and every family, for our parishes, schools, and country, and we ask the King of Kings, for protection and blessing for the new liturgical year and the season of Advent that begins next week.
 
I hope you enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving Day with family and friends and enjoyed The Santa Parade in the Village on Friday. Thank you to those who participated in our Mass on Thursday as we gave thanks for the many blessing in our lives. During the Thanksgiving holiday we welcome back many family members who are home for the weekend along with all visitors to our Eucharistic celebrations.  It’s always good to see old familiar faces in the crowd as well as newcomers.
 
This Thursday, we welcome Margy Nagel as our Faith Formation - Journey to Holiness- speaker.  Margy is part of the St. Paul Street Evangelization project and will teach us how to tell our story in two minutes. She can surely give me some tips on shortening my homilies that you will enjoy… haha just kidding, I love my homilies.
 
Friday, November 30, is the feast of St. Andrew. He was the first of the Twelve to meet Jesus. Tradition says that he may have preached in Asia Minor and Greece before being crucified on an X shape cross. This is my Patron saint, so please join me in prayer at the 8 am morning Mass.
 
Once again thank you to
· Our Bereavement Ministry for their continued effort to comfort the families of those we have buried and to keep the memory of their loved ones alive through prayer.
· Our Wedding Ministry – for their effort in preparing our couples for their vocation of marriage.
· Our Baptismal Ministry – for their effort in guiding parents in their role of sharing our Catholic beliefs and nurturing faith in their children. In the month of November, we welcomed to our Church family Jacob Ryan Van Camp.
 
As Advent begins, two things I would like to mention, #1 The Advent Missalette with readings and reflection for each day are available at the entrances to our church.  #2 The Rorate Mass.  On Tuesday evenings in Advent during the celebration of the Mass the church is lit only by candlelight. In the dimly lit setting, priests and faithful prepare to honor the Light of the World, Who is soon to be born, and offer praise to God for the gift of Our Lady.  Let the Holy Season of Advent begin.
 
Wishing you many blessings,
Fr. Andrew