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M
ASS
I
NTENTIONS
PLEASE SEE BULLETIN BOARD FOR UPDATES
Sunday, December 3
7:30 a.m.
The Crnkovich family
8:45 a.m.
Deceased members of Jennett and
McCabe families
10:30 a.m.
Parishioners of St. Catherine
1:00 p.m.
John O’Donnell
Monday, December 4
6:30 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
Dorothy Froelich
Tuesday, December 5
6:30 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
Wally Amberg
Wednesday, December 6
6:30 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
Chronowski Children and
Grandchildren
Thursday, December 7
6:30 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
Kevin Ferguson
Friday, December 8
6:30 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
Thomas Coleman
Saturday, December 9
9:00 a.m.
Okla Jordan
5:30 p.m.
Barbara Gorlinsky
Remember in your Prayers
Baby Naima, Joshua Basile, Marjorie Dolak,
Stephen Kennedy, Maria Keran, Carol McCarty,
Fr. Craig Merkel, William Meyer, Jan Michalski,
Brian Murray, Brad Phillips, Rachael Ragsdale,
David L. Wilson, Jr.
Notice:
December 8
th
, The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary is a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass schedule is:
6:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
A Word from Fr. Drummond
The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the
new liturgical year. This is a preparatory season leading to
Christmas, and as such is intended to be a penitential
season, not unlike Lent. As with Lent the colour for Advent
is purple, a penitential colour. And, as with Lent, Advent
should be marked by fasting, alms-giving and increased
prayer. Unfortunately, the secular world has made such an
observance of Advent increasingly difficult: it is a time of
partying and shopping for the world at large.
Every year we are faced with the challenge of keeping
the season of Advent a season of preparation for the
celebration of the birth of Christ. During this Advent
season, I invite all of you to attend our Wednesday evening
Holy Hour. I am trying to get visiting Confessors to come
as well, so that the Sacrament of Reconciliation might be
more readily available. If you do not attend daily mass, I
invite you to do so this Advent season. Here at St.
Catherine’s we are fortunate to have mass both at 6:30
a.m. and 9:00 a.m., Monday through Friday. However, you
may wish to find a Church near your work that offers a
noon mass instead. It’s not so important where you go to
mass so long as you go.
With regard to alms giving, there are many opportunities
both within our parish and without. Next week there will
be a special second collection for Catholic Charities. The
programmes supported by Catholic Charities are many,
ranging from soup kitchens to adoption and foster care to
services for the elderly. Please see the insert in today’s
bulletin for more details – and be generous next week.
At the same time do not forget the parish itself. Advent is
a good time to consider what you are giving to support the
parish and its upkeep. A parish is a living entity, which
needs adequate and steady support. In the past year I
have taken many steps to cut costs without sacrificing the
beauty of our liturgical services or other activities and
services, but the parish needs your help. Please take to
heart these matters.
Put the secular aspect of the season on a back burner
and focus more on your faith. Do this for the sake of the
Divine Infant of Bethlehem.
“Our” Seminarian
When writing your Christmas cards, please include our
seminarian Mick Kelly. Mick was with us this summer and
will be here for Christmas. He has been officially assigned
to St. Catherine’s as “our” seminarian. You can address
your cards as follows:
Mick Kelly
Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary
16000 Old Emmitsburg Road
Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727-7797
Above all, please keep Mick in your prayers.
Staff Directory
Maggie Radzik
Head of School
703.759.4129
Anson Groves
Director of Religious Ed
& CYO
703.759.3530
Neil Weston
Director of Music
703.759.4350
Nancy Caro
Sacristan
Rick Webb
Gen. Mgr. Financial Dir. 703.759.4350
Mary LaPlante
Parish Secretary
703.759.4350
Jackie Fox
Bulletin Editor
703.759.4350
Guillermo DeLeon Director of Maintenance 571.641.7999
Emiro Soto
Maintenance
Rosa Hernandez
Support Staff
Stephen Dolenc
Web Master
stephendolenc
@gmail.com
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December 3, 2006
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In his first epistle, St. John reminds us that “God is light” (1 John 1:6) and that we “abide in
the light” when we love one another (1 John 2:10_. Advent is a time to renew our commitment to
living in the light and love of Jesus Christ.
We are true to the light when we imitate Christ’s caring response to the poor and vulnerable.
Our diocesan Catholic Charities agency reaches out to needy and distressed individuals every day.
Your support of the agency’s work enables it to offer services to the less fortunate in our
community.
It is important for us to remember that, without our assistance, many in our diocese, will go
wanting this season. Last year, our diocesan Catholic Charities assisted nearly 25,000 people
through its soup kitchen, food pantry, hypothermia shelter, rent and utilities assistance, service for
the elderly, counseling, aid to women in crisis pregnancies, adoption and foster care programs,
immigrant assistance, aid to the disabled, parish social ministry, and prison ministry.
The annual second collection for Catholic Charities will take place on the weekend of
December 9-10. I remain grateful for your generous support last year and amconfident that you will
continue to be generous this year.
Asking the Lord Jesus to bless you and your loved ones and keep you in His light as we
anticipate His blessed birth, I remain
Faithfully in Christ,
Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington
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St. Catherine of Siena - Christmas 2006
Saturday, December 23
9:00 a.m. Mass and 5:30 p.m. – Vigil Mass
Sunday, December 24 – Fourth Sunday of Advent
Masses at 7:30 a.m., 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
There will be no 1:00 p.m. Mass
Christmas Eve
5:30 p.m. – Family Mass
11:30 p.m. – Choral Prelude
12:00 midnight – Solemn Latin Mass with Choir and
Brass
Monday, December 25 - Christmas Day
Masses at 7:30 a.m., 8:45 a.m and 10:30 a.m. (with
Treble Choir)
There will be no 1:00 p.m. Mass
December 25 through December 29
There will be no 6:30 a.m. daily Mass
Saturday, December 30
9:00 a.m. Mass and 5:30 p.m. – Vigil Mass
Sunday, December 31 - Feast of the Holy Family
Masses at 7:30 a.m., 8:45 a.m., 10:30 a.m. (Latin), and
1:00 p.m.
Monday, January 1 - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
One mass only at 10:00 a.m.
Daily Scriptures
READINGS AND CELEBRATIONS FOR THE WEEK
Sunday – 1
st
Sunday of Advent
Jer 33:14-16, Ps 25, 1 Thes 3: 12 – 4: 2, Lk 21: 25-28, 34-36
Monday – St. John of Damascus
Is: 2: 1-5, Mt 8: 5-11
Tuesday – St. Christina of Markgate
Is 11: 1-10, Lk 10: 21-24
Wednesday – St. Nicholas
Is 25: 6-10, Mt 15: 29-37
Thursday – St. Ambrose, bishop Doctor of the Church
Is 26: 1-6, Mt 7: 21, 24-27
Friday – The Immaculate Conception of the BVM
Gn 3: 9-15, 20, Ps 98, Eph 1: 3-6, 11-12, Lk 1: 26-38
Saturday – St. Juan Diego (Cuatitlatzin)
Is 30: 19-21, 23-26, Mt 9: 35 – 10: 1, 6-8
Eucharistic Adoration and Holy Hour
Adoration is every Wednesday and every First Friday
beginning after the 9:00 a.m. Mass and ending with the
reposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 8:55 a.m. the next
day. Holy Hour is every Wednesday and every First Friday
at 7:30 p.m. Adorers are always needed. Please
remember to get a substitute if you are unable to attend. If
you are interested in helping, please contact Anneke
Coleman at 703.759.2599.
Eucharistic Adoration
Adorers Urgently Needed
We are in urgent need of more adorers for Wednesdays
and First Fridays, both for the day and night hours. Please
prayerfully consider whether you can make a commitment
to spend an hour with our Lord. Please call Anneke
Coleman at 703.759.2599 if you can help.
Parish Stewardship
Thank you for you generous contributions for November
19
th
and 26
th
. The regular collection for November 19
th
brought in $13,423 and the poor box yielded $224. The
regular collection for November 26
th
brought in $16,347
and the poor box yielded $448. Contributions for
Thanksgiving Mass on November 23
rd
brought in $826.
The total contributions for November will go to benefit
Covenant House.
Altar Boy Schedule
December 2/3
5:30 p.m.
E. Watson, D. Krohn, the Rielings
the Maldonados, T. Bylund
7:30 a.m.
the Kerans, the Woods, A. Spalding,
K. McQuade
8:45 a.m.
J. Brake, S. Goodwin, the Hales,
the Hadfords, A. Kotoriy
10:30 a.m. P. Falcone, C. Smedberg, W. Twetten,
J. Wilkinson, the Moriartys, the deSas,
J. Livaudais
1:00 pm
S. Cynkar, the McCabes, J. Walburn,
the Ketts, the Galbraiths
Catechist Corner
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD)
Class Calendar
December 2006
3,4,5
All classes in session
10,11,12
All classes in session
17,18,19
All classes in session
24,25,26
The Nativity of Our Lord - No classes
January 2007
1,2
The Solemnity of the Mother of God – No classes
7,8,9
All classes in session
14
All classes in session
15
Martin Luther King Day – No classes
16
All classes in session
21,22,23
All classes in session
28,29,30
All classes in session
Bible Study
“Our Lord – An Introduction to the Gospel of St. Luke.”
No Prior knowledge of Sacred Scripture is necessary. All
are welcome. Bring your Bible.
December 2006 – Bishop Justs Hall
4, 10:00 a.m.
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5, 7:30 p.m.
7, 5:00 p.m.
“Fatherhood and Spiritually”
December 4
th
, Monday at 7:00 p.m.
A practical lecture on divine filiation as a foundation for lay
spirituality and its implications for parenting. Presented by
Bob Best, founder and first president of the Culture of Life
Foundation and President of the Private Sector Initiatives
Foundation. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about
the faith and practical parenting while your child is in CCD.
In this presentation you will learn,
►What is divine filiation?
►How to trust God and have confidence in Him.
►How to pass on that trust and confidence to your
children.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)
Classes are held each Sunday at 12:00 p.m., in the school,
(room 8, St. Gregory the Great classroom).
December 2006
3, 10 I Believe in Jesus Christ the Only Son of God
17
I Believe in the Holy Spirit
Are you considering becoming Catholic or returning to the
Church? Please contact the Office of Religious Education
at 703.759.3530.
Catholic Youth Organization
December 2006
3, Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting – “In the Image of God” – New York style pizza
6, 13th, 20th Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m.
Eucharistic Holy Hour
9, Saturday, location and time TBA
The Nutcracker
16, Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Ice Skating at Reston Town Center
23, Saturday, time 8:00 p.m.
Christmas Party
24, Sunday after 10:30 a.m. Mass
Parish Christmas Decoration Party
Please see the CYO bulletin board in the narthex for
specific information events
Christmas Party Celebration
Father Drummond will be hosting the Parish
Open-House
Christmas
Party.
All
parishioners are cordially invited to attend
this annual event. The date to save is
Friday, December 22
nd
at 7:30 p.m., at the
rectory.
Opus Dei
►A priest of the Opus Dei prelature presents an “Evening
of Recollection” for women on the 3
rd
Monday of each
month from 7:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. in the church.
►The schedule for “Evenings of Recollection” for men may
be obtained by visiting the Opus Dei Website at:
restonstudycenter.org and clicking on: 2006 Schedule,
Evening of Recollection for Men. The Reston Study Center
is located at 1810 Old Reston Avenue in Reston.
Annual Children’s Book Fair
Siena Academy is sponsoring its Annual
Children’s Book Fair beginning on Monday,
December 4
th
through Monday, December
11
th,
(with the one exception of Friday,
December 8
th
). There will be beautiful
Christmas books and Advent gifts available
as well as many other selections. Everyone
is welcome so, bring your friends and relatives. Please do
your Christmas shopping at the book fair and help us
celebrate the Joy of Reading and the Joy of Siena
Academy. Schedule of hours is as follows:
December 6
9:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
December 7
9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
December 9
9:45 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
December 10
7:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
December 11
9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Advent History
In 490, Bishop Perpetuus of Tours
officially declared Advent a penitential
season in the Frankish Church of Western
Europe, ordering a fast on three days of
every week from November 11 (the feast
of St. Martin of Tours) till Christmas. This
forty days’ fast, similar to Lent, was
originally called Quadragesima Sancti
Martini (Forty Days’ Fast of Saint Martin’s). The Readings
for the Eucharistic Liturgies were taken from the Masses of
Lent.
By contrast, the Advent season of the Roman liturgy,
developing a century after that of the Frankish Church, was
a non-penitential, festive and joyful time of preparation for
Christmas. When the Church unified the liturgical season,
the non-penitential nature of the Roman Advent conflicted
with the longer and penitential Gallic Advent. By the
thirteenth century a compromise was reached, which
combined the fasting and penitential character of the Gallic
observance with the Mass texts and shorter four-week
cycle of the Roman Advent liturgy. The liturgy of Advent
remained substantially unaltered until Vatican II mandated
a few minor changes to more clearly delineate the spirit of
the Lenten and Advent seasons.
PRO-Life Greenery Sale
The annual PRO-Life Green Sale in
support of A Woman’s Choice will be held
following all Masses the weekend of
December 2
nd
/3
rd
. Decorate your home
and doors with beautiful and fragrant large
wreaths and sprays. Advent candles and
wreaths will also be available. A Woman’s
Choice is a non-profit pro-life organization that provides
many services to women concerning their pregnancy, e.g.
information on abortion, adoption and pregnancy; providing
infant clothing/supplies; counseling for women of past
abortions. So, beautify your home and at the same time
support one of the Church’s most important ministries.
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Knights of Columbus News
Keep Christ in Christmas!
Order forms for religious Christmas cards
can be filled out at the Knights of Columbus
table in the church narthex.
Pancake Breakfast
Today, December 3
rd
. All are cordially invited to the
Pancake Breakfast in Bishop Justs Hall following the 8:45
and 10:00 a.m. Masses.
Christmas Tree Sale
Please consider purchasing your live Christmas tree from
the Knights of Columbus. Trees are being sold in the
church parking lot and come with free delivery.
Business Meeting
December 5
th
, Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Padre Pio Hall.
Thank You!!!
Our annual pie sale was extremely successful due to the
generosity of our parishioners. Thank you to all of you who
baked such delicious pies and sweet breads. Many, many
thanks from the St. Catherine’s Women’s Association
Junior Legion of Mary
Dear Children,
Do you want to be part of Mary’s Army? She
has many spiritual works of Mercy for you to
perform, including group prayer and learning
to make rosaries. If you have made your first
Holy Communion come join us! We meet
every Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. until 5:30
p.m. in Padre Pio Hall. For information
contact Cathy Fairbairn at cathyfairbairn@yahoo.com.
Sister Parish in Nicaragua Presentation
Mark your calendar for Friday,
December 8
th
, following the 7:30 p.m.
Mass. There will be a presentation
by Andy Usera and Paul Bernier
about their recent mission trip to our
Sister
Parish
in
Nicaragua.
Refreshments will be provided.
Note: If you have not yet brought
your toy to be donated to the children of our sister parish’s
feeding center for Christmas, please bring it with you at that
time.
Christmas Ornament Exchange Party
Save the Date!!! Sunday, December 10
th
from
2-4 p.m. to be held in Bishop Justs Hall.
The Women’s Association invites all women
(members and current non-members) to
attend our annual Christmas Party. Please
bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert to
share, as well as a wrapped religious ornament, (if
possible) and it valued at $10.00 so that you can participate
and join in the fun, as we play our ornament exchange
game.
Angel Tree
The CYO teenagers will decorate the
annual Angel Tree in the narthex. The
gifts donated by parishioners will go to
Catholic Charities of Arlington. Please
take an angel, (or two) and leave the
unwrapped gift under the tree by Sunday,
December 17
th
. Thank you for your
generosity at this blessed time of the year.
Holy Land Christians
Be prepared to purchase some
beautifully olive wood hand-
carved items just in time for
Christmas. There will be a
display of unique and unusual
hand-made carvings from the
town of Bethlehem in the narthex
the weekend of December 16/17. Made by the Christians
of Bethlehem, they supply a much-needed source of
income. Buy some of your Christmas gifts and support our
Christian brethren in the Holy Land at the same time!
Cookbooks
Need a last minute gift? Don’t know what to buy someone?
On the weekend of December 16/17 St. Catherine’s
Women’s Association will be selling their cookbook
“Celebrate the Feast” after all Masses. With hundreds of
recipes, cooking tips, even a section on napkin folding.
The cookbook is also available for purchase in the Parish
Rectory. The cookbooks are selling for $10 (unwrapped) or
$12 (wrapped). Give a gift that will last and benefit the
parish at the same time!
Vocation
“Strengthen your hearts in holiness.” Are you
being called to grow in holiness as a priest,
deacon or in consecrated life? Call Father
Brian Bashista at 703.841.2514 or write:
b.bashista@arlingtondiocese.org.
Vocation Prayer:
O Mary, Virgin and Mother, draw close to
your heart all those who are discerning the vocation to
which your Son Jesus is inviting them. Help them realize
the presence of the Word within them and teach them to
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listen to Him in the silence of prayer, that they may respond
with faithfulness and love. Amen