St. Michael & St. Francis Bulletin December 6 & 7 , 2014 Pastor: Fr. Harry Tully Second Sunday of Advent
THE PROPHET’S SONG
The rapturous lines we hear at the very beginning of the Liturgy of the Word today are some of the most familiar of this season. They were written by an author whom scripture scholars call “Second Isaiah,” since this one writes with a different style, vocabulary, and content from the author of the first thirtynine chapters of this book of the Bible. The beautiful words of trust, confidence, and faith were written when Israel was in one of its most profound periods of sadness and turmoil: exile from their land, their Temple, and (some would have believed) their God. Scholars also tell us that this passage was most likely a song or canticle sung by the exiled Israelites during prayer or worship. Like today’s psalm, it calls us to look forward in confidence to that day when “kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss” (Psalm 85:11).
THE HERALD’S CALL
Few of us know what it is like to be in exile. Perhaps we have, at one time or another, been homesick or estranged from family. But we do many things in life that exile us, put us at a great distance from God. John the Baptist, herald of Christ, today is shown calling people to end that exile by his baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It is this repentance, Peter tells us in his letter, that we ought to be about as we await the return of the Lord. Even though Advent is not focused on repentance in the same way or to the same degree that Lent is, our repentance is definitely one component of our own making straight a path for the coming of the Lord. We remember Jesus’ words from last week’s parable to be watchful; for the master does not necessarily end our exile, our distancing, by returning us to him, but by returning to us, and expecting us to be prepared and ready when our days of separation are at an end.
Today’s Readings: Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11; Psalm 85:9–14; 2 Peter 3:8–14; Mark 1:1–8
St. MichaelCharlestown
Eucharists
Sat – 5:30 pm
Sun – 11 am
La Misa Española
Domingo – 12:30 pm / Fr. Harry Tully, Pastor
Website -
St. Michael - 101 St. Michael Drive, Charlestown, In 47111
Ph. 812-256-3200 - Fax 775-307-6142
E-Mail -
Office Hours – 9:00 am-1:30 pm Tues. Wed., & Fri.
St. Francis Xavier – 101 North Ferguson, Henryville, IN 47126
Ph. 812-294-4682 - Fax 775-307-6142
Office Hours – Thursday 9:30am-2:00pm
Reconciliation – 5:00 pm Saturday or call the Rectory
Marriage – Please contact the pastor a year in advance. Advent and Lent are not times for celebrations.
Baptisms of Infants or Adults Joining the Church – Must be a practicing/registered member for three months. Please contact the DRE: St. Michael–Juliann Eickholtz, St. Francis–Father Tully
New To The Parish: Please call the office to register. Please introduce yourself to the pastor at mass.
Parishioners Who Are Ill: Please call the pastor if a relative or friend is sick. Due to privacy laws hospitals no longer inform churches.
Bulletin Announcements: Get all bulletin announcements to the office in writing by Tuesday evening. / St. Francis Xavier
Henryville
Eucharists
Sunday
At 9:00 am
Las Horas de Oficina - 8:30 am-1 pm Martes, Miércoles, y Viernes
Reconciliación – 5 pm Sábado,12 a 12:20 pm Domingo o llama la Rectoría
Casamiento – contactarse el padre un año antes el día de la boda.
Advenimiento y Cuaresma no son los tiempos apropiados para bodas.
Los Bautismos de los Bebés o los Adultos Afiliando a la Iglesia – Por favor, llama Padre, o a San Miguel – JuliannEickholtz; a San Francisco – Padre
Miembros Nuevos de la Comunidad – Por favor, acérquense al Centro de información. También es necesarios registrarse en la parroquia. Pregúntenos por el formulario de registro. / Los Enfermos Es muy importante comunicarse con el Padre (debido a las leyes privadas, los hospitales no se comunican con las iglesias).
Doctrina Cristiana: Las clases de educación religiosa para niños son cada domingo de 9:30 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. en la escuela. Recuerden que la Arquidiócesis requiere que los que van a recibir los sacramentos estén inscritos en las clases de religión.
Monaguillos: Los niños que quieran ayudar como monaguillos en el altar tienen su ensayo el segundo domingo de cada mes después de la misa de 11:00 a.m. Estos niños y niñas tienen que haberhecho la Primera Comunión. Los interesados comunicarse con Pbro.
St. Michael Early Childhood Center – Infancy Care, Pre-S, Pre-K, Kindergarten & Day Care
Rita Poff – Director – School Ph. 256-3503/ Infancy Care 256-3500
El Centro para las Primeras Niñez de San Miguel - Preescolar-Kindergarten y Servicio de Guardería a Infantil
La Directora – Rita Poff – Ph. 256-3503
Mass Schedule Mass Intentions
St. MSt. FX / 8 / Mon / 9:00am
6:00pm / Immaculate Conception
St. M / 9 / Tue / No Mass
St. M / 10 / Wed / 7:00 pm / Penance Service
St. FX / 11 / Thurs / 7:00pm / Mass
St. M / 12 / Fri / 7:00pm / Our Lady of Guadalupe
St. M / 13 / Sat / 4:30 pm / Tom Schafer
St. FX
St. M
St. M / 14 / Sun / 9:00 am
11:00 am
12.30 pm / Martha Harbeson
For the people of St. Michael
Spanish Mass
Pastor’s Corner
Dear Friends,
We gather together this weekend to begin the second week of Advent. The season of watching and awaiting with great anticipation the coming of the Lord is seemingly lost in the frantic hunt for the best sale price and the blare of "Christmas" muzack. The readings from the Scriptures are full of joy and challenge for us. The joy comes from our realization that our God is Faithful in fulfilling His promises and the challenge is for us to keep the faith in such a way as to be a contradiction to the fruit less search for what we think will make us happy here and now. You and I are graced to be prophets whether we like it or not. We know what the future holds for us and how we must live to reach our goal of full union with our God. Let the remaining weeks and days of Advent be a time of faith lived not faith lost as we prepare for His coming.
This Monday is a holy day of obligation for us Catholics for it is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. We celebrate this favor granted to our Lady for her "Yes" to God and ask God's grace for our nation. On Wednesday evening we will celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with several priests available as confessors for you. If you haven't celebrated the sacrament (gone to confession) for a while this is a wonderful opportunity to do so. It really doesn't hurt and it will make you feel better, more like the you God created! On Friday we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe whose appearance in the 15 hundreds brought conversion tothe native Mexican people. Please check the bulletin for the times of these celebrations.
Keep up the 'good' works,
Fr. Tully
RCIA “The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults”
We meet on Tuesday at 7:00pm at St. Joe Hill School.
December 9, 7:00pm- History & 4 Marks of the Church
December 16,7:00pm- Mary & the Rosary
January 6 7:00pm - Prayer
Please keep in your prayers Denise Hannigan and Jaclyn Evans.
/ StewardshipSecond Sunday of Advent
Weekend of December 6/7, 2014
Today’s second reading is about Christ’s coming again, “The day of the Lord,” Peter calls it, but that day isn’t December 25th. It’s that other day, that second-coming-day about which Peter is concerned. He waits with great hope and anticipation for God to remake the earth into a place of perfect justice and peace. And he sets some demanding goals for the Christian community as it awaits that final day of accounting and reconciliation: strive to be at peace, without spot or blemish. Christian stewards work for peace. As we await the coming of Christmas, what can we do to promote peace in our homes, workplaces, community and world?
Communal Penance Service will be at St. Michael on Wednesday December 10th at 7:00pm.
Rosary at 4:00before Saturday Evening Mass
Rosary at 10:30 before Sunday Mass
Saturday Evening Mass Intention: Charlotte Buckman
The Prayer Group at St. Michael welcomes everyone to come and pray with them at 6:00pm every Monday in the Church.
Bible Study on Monday at 7:00pm. We are studying the book of Matthew and there will be a fee for the workbook.
Envelopes for “In Memory of Poinsettias” are in the back of church.
Children’s Liturgy of the Word
Available for Preschool – 6 yrs of age during the 11:00 Mass
First Reconciliation-Will be Saturday, January 3 @ 9:00am. Please keep in your prayers our First Reconciliation students: Ezra Fouts, Zoe Hanrahan, Christian Hernandez, Jose Hernandez, and Litzy Martinez.
***Classes Preschool thru High School class at 9:30am on Sunday morning.
Faith Formation Religious Education Calendar
Dec 7 – Session Fifteen
Dec 14 – Session Sixteen-Rosary & Music Practice
11:00 Mass, Youth Choir (Gift bearers, Grade 2)
Dec 21 – Christmas Program Practice at 10:00am
Dec 21 & Dec 28 – Christmas Break
Plans are in the making for a Parish Christmas Program. Please let Nathan Fouts or Juliann know if your children will participate. Practice time will be Sunday morning at 10:00am on December 7th and December 21st.
The Faith Formation Commission has scheduled the Birthday Bash for Saturday, January 10th. Let a commission member know if you would like to host a table. The December Meeting will be Thursday, December 11th at 6:30pm in the Rectory Meeting Room.
Knights of Columbus Christmas Party is on December 6th after the 4:30 Mass.
Finance Committee will meet on December 17th at 6:45pm.
St. Michael Ministries Schedule
Sat. Dec 13- 4:30pm – St. Michael
Eucharistic Ministers: C. Ledbetter, S. Seals, Volunteer
Servers: J. Worley
Gift Bearers: R/W Lindenmayer Family
Cantors: S/S Buit
Musician: C. Eickholtz
Lector: S. Buit
Sun. Dec 14–11:00 am – St. Michael
Eucharistic Ministers: J. Dean, C. Dunn, J. Kinder
Servers: C. Jackson, T.J. Jackson
Gift Bearers: Grades 2 Rel Ed.
Cantors: Youth Choir/C. Peek
Musician: C. Eickholtz
Lector: C. Dunn
We ask the parishioners to bring non perishable food items to be donated to the North Clark Outreach Center. There will be a wooden box in the church for donations.
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
Sunday Mass Intention: James Harbeson
St. Francis Faith Formation ProgramCalendar
Dec 14- Class after Mass
Jan 4 - Class after Mass
Jan 11 - Class after Mass
Come out and enjoy St. Francis Xavier’s Fish Fry on the 1st Friday of every month, 5-7pm. The menu includes fish, fries, slaw, fried biscuits, drinks & desserts. Thanks toeveryone for your support.
If you would like to use the basement at St. Francis for a function please contact Vicky Horine at 502-494-5335.
St. Francis Xavier Ministries Schedule
Sun. Dec 14- 9:00am
Eucharistic Ministers: Jennifer Haycraft, Darlene Reul, Lawrence Yochum
Servers: Conner Martin, Aaron Banet
Ushers: Jack Murphy, Tom Nolot
Gift Bearers: Mark & Lisa Guthrie Family
Lector: Jack Murphy
***Remember Sacrament Preparation***
The Faith Formation Commission and the Archdiocese states that a child must be enrolled and attend classes a year before receiving the Sacrament of First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, or Confirmation. Our next Confirmation Program will start in summer 2015. In order to be eligible you must be in the 10th grade, registered and attending Faith Formation classes this year.
“To everything there is a season and a time to every
purposeunder heaven a time to be born a time to love a time to heal a time to die and a time of peace.”
PLEASE PRAY FOR HEALTH & STRENGTH:
Carroll Adams, Allen Barker, George Bland, Bea Beach, Fr. Don Buchannan, Nancy Bussey, Darlene Carter, Jim Corcoran, HealtherCourson, Bernice Donahue, Patrick Dunn, Raymond Eickholtz, Jacob Hearns, Curtis Ingram, Kenny Jackson, Mary King, Billy Lemmons, Terri Lynn Maples, Bob Masters, Michael Murphy, Ian Newland, Mitch Newland, Chuck Phillips, Carroll Schafer, Estelle Scott, Dorothy Smith, Lynn Sullivan, Jane Synovec, Roger Synovec, Joseph Douglas VanDyke, Thelma VanDyke, Tim Wafford, Logan Westerhouse, RogerWesterhouse, Nancy Williams, Rose Wimsett, Kenneth Yost, Emma Yount.Names will remain on the list for 6 months unless you tell us to remove them or request that they be kept longer.
St. Michael and St. Francis Parish Councilmeet every other month. These meetings are open for Parishioners to bring questions or concerns they may have. If you would like to address The Parish Council with a question or concern please contact Council President, Nathan Fouts or Randy Allen to be added to the agenda.
We will have a celebration for Virgin of Guadalupe at St. Michael: Rosary December 11 at 7:00pm and December 12 mass 7:00pm, after Mass Demetrio talk about Virgin of Guadalupe, and will share food in the multipurposes room. Everyone is welcome to come and bring food if you want.
Celebraremos a la Virgen de Guadalupe: Con el Rosario el dia 11 de Diciembre a las 7:00pm y Misa el dia 12 de diciembre a las 7:00pm. Despues Demetrio hablara acerca de la Virgen de Guadalupe y tendremos un convivio en el salonmultipropositos, puedes traer algo de comer para compartir.
"Posadas" beginDecember 16 at 7:00pm. at St. Michael Church. Wouldyoutohelp? Luz Elena 502-294-5976
Empiezan las "Posadas" este dicembre 16 a las 7:00pm en la Iglesia de San Miguel. Quieres apoyarnos?comunicate con Luz Elena.
Question of the Week
The twofold character of Advent calls us to prepare for the Word made Flesh at Christmas and directs us to wait with alertness for Jesus’ second coming.
Second Sunday of Advent
Theme: Preparing a pathway in our lives.
Step 1: Look into Your Life.
Children: How do you experience God taking care of you, even in times of trouble?
YouthAdult: John went out to announce the good news of the Messiah’s coming. How can you be “good news” to your friends and family this week?
MARCH FOR LIFE. Registration is now open for the 2015 Deanery March for Life Pilgrimage to Washington, D.C.. Any high school student is encouraged to join us for this incredible opportunity to stand up for the gift of life. The Pilgrimage will take place from Jan 21-24. Visit for more information and for registration materials. Contact Gillian at 812-923-8355.
Catholic StoryTime at the Aquinas Center on December 17th from 10:00 to 11:30, and will focus on the Nativity! This month parent and child will be involved in the story, movie and “Edible Nativity” Activity! We are asking for RSVP’s this month so that we have an activity packet for each child!
For more information, please call Christina at 812-246-5044, or email .
Gather with friends over Christmas Break! Join us for a fun afternoon/evening of Lazer Tag and Pizza for College age young adults. Bring money for lazer tag and pizza. We will meet to carpool at 3pm, Monday, Dec. 22 at the Catholic Youth Ministries office at: 101 St. Anthony Dr., Mt St. Francis, IN 47146. Contact for more info. or visit us at
Winter Retreat for college age students “Bucket List”– Join us Jan. 4-5 at Mt. St. Francis to reconnect with old friends, meet new friends, continue to live the 4th, take an honest look at your faith life, re-ignite your prayer life, play some games, just relax and chill, it’s all a part of this retreat experience!. Register online at by Dec. 29. Contact Gillian for info at or calling 923-8355.
Winter Jam Concert – 10 Christian Bands for $10 – Jan. 3. College-age students will be meeting at the Catholic Youth Ministries Office and carpooling over to the concert. Contact Gillian Mocek for more information, or 812-923-8355. This event is open to families and youth groups as well – check with your parish youth minister.
Give thanks for religious. A parishioner writes, “We thank God today and every day for every religious sister who taught us in school, not only our ABCs, but also to love God.” Share your gratitude for the senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests who made a positive difference in so many lives. Please give generously to next week’s collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious.
STEWARDSHIP November 22 & 23
St. Michael $ 3,084.00
St. Francis Xavier $ 1,450.00
STEWARDSHIP November 29 & 30
St. Michael $ 2,429.00
St. Francis Xavier $ 1,924.35
The Centre Singers will give a free concert at St. Augustine on Tuesday, December 16th at 7:00 pm. The Centre Singers is a select group of 26 undergraduate students from Centre College, which is ranked as one of the top 50 liberal arts schools in the nation. They have performed internationally in Spain (January 2014), the Yucatan Peninsula (2011) and Greece (2008). We are honored to host them at St.Augustine. Under the direction of Dr. Barbara Hall, who holds a doctorate from Indiana University, they will sing a variety of traditional and classical holiday repertoire. All are invited to attend. There will be an offering taken at the concert to support their travels.
ST. MICHAEL EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
812-256-3503 Rita Poff Director
Mon-Fri. 7AM-6PM
Infant Care/Day Care: Full or part time
Before & After Care: ages 6-12
Summer Camp: ages 6-12
Pre-School: 9-11:30AM Tues. & Thurs.
Pre-K: 9-11:30AM or 12:30-3PM Mon. Wed. & Fri.