December 20, 2020
–
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Fr. Clinton P. Honkomp, O.P. (303) 522-0196 Pastor
Deacon Mick Palazzolo Social Justice/Campus Ministry Deacon Jim Dodge Adult Education/Hospital Ministry
Mr. Dan Blentlinger Deacon Intern
Mrs. Denise Reavis Principal
Mrs. Debbie Mandeville Parish Administrative Assistant
Mr. Rich Harkins Business/IT Manager
Mrs. Angie Daniels School Administrative Assistant
Mr. Joe Dinardo Maintenance
Mrs. Alice Hill Liturgy & Music
Mr. Dave Klestinski Homebound Ministry
Mass Times: Saturday (vigil) 4:30 pm
Sunday 8:00 am, 10:30 am Holy Days: As announced Daily Mass: Tues, W, Th, F: 8:00 am
Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday, 3:30pm
Eucharistic Adoration:
First Friday/Saturday: Friday 7:00 am to Sat 8:00 am
Other Fridays: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
Parish Office Hours: M - F: 8:30 am - 4:00pm
School Office Hours: M - F: 7:45 am - 3:30 pm
2000 E. Sangamon Avenue (mailing address: 2125 N. 21st Street)
Springfield, Illinois 62702
Church: (217) 544-4554 Fax: (217) 544-4963
School: (217) 544-4553 Fax: (217) 544-1680
www.saintaloysius.org
Dear Friends in Christ,
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” – Lk. 1:28.
Af-ter Jesus, we look to Mary as an ideal steward.
Her entire
life was lived in obedience to God’s call.
Mary teaches us
to live with joy for all we have been given.
Just as the
moon reflects the light of the sun, Mary reflects the light of
Christ.
Like Mary, we are called to reflect Christ’s light to
the world through our gratitude and generosity.
In just 5 days we celebrate the Feast of Christmas;
Al-mighty God’s decision to become a man by assuming the
body of a human being. The Heavenly Father announced to
Mary that she was chosen to be the Mother of God’s only
Saint Aloysius Catholic Church
A Discipleship Parish
Begotten Son. Mary had been Immaculately conceived in
her mother womb and was made ready from her
concep-tion for this supreme moment in the history of the world.
Mary humbly accepted the Divine invitation and submitted
to the will of her Heavenly Father in all things. When her
time came, she gave birth to an infant boy and named him
Jesus. Being truly human, “He grew in wisdom, age and
grace.” This Divine Mystery is beyond our ability to
com-prehend fully but we can see the facts that surround the
Mystery.
It is important to know that the human and divine natures
of Jesus are not mixed; one does not dissolve into the
oth-er. We accept this on faith. Jesus is one Divine Person with
two natures. The human and divine natures in Jesus Christ
coexist without becoming comingled. His humanity is
al-ways fully present. And yet, Jesus is one Divine Person,
God incarnate.
Please plan to join the St. Aloysius community as we
cele-brate the Solemnity of Christmas in just a few weeks. The
schedule for our Christmas Masses is: 4:30 and 9:00pm
on Christmas Eve and 9:00am on Christmas Day. Some
have asked about making reservations for the Masses as is
being done at other parishes. At St. Aloysius we decided
not to do that. In light of the trending attendance over the
past few weeks we’ve decided this wasn’t necessary. If
you are planning on attending Christmas masses please
follow the instructions and directions of the ushers for
seating assignments. This will help us ensure we can
ap-propriately and safely accommodate our maximum
al-lowed attendance.
All of our Masses will be live streamed on Facebook. May
God bless your hearts as you prepare the way of the Lord!
St. Aloysius intercede for us that we might find the
cour-age to care for others during our pandemic like you did
during yours.
Be assured of my prayers for your and your family’s
health at Christmas and beyond… see you on
-
line!
With Pastoral Affection,
Fr. Clint, O.P.
Pastor
2 Pastoral Council Mikki Buhl John Cernich Mary Coady Joseph Lesko Gary McCandless Michelle Stewart Pam Tipps Bob Wheatley Finance Council Paul Brown Karl Kohlrus Amy Neal Matt Noonan Ryan Spearie Earl Schroeder Paul Palazzolo Troy Washko School Board Joel Washko (Chair) Tom Kohlrus Nicholas Gilmore Scott McCamant Rachel Towner Marianne Stremsterfer Joan Bestudik Nancy Ray Liturgy Committee Alice Hill, Chair
Linda Vono Mikki Buhl Paula Petrilli Rita Lesko Gary McCandless Rachel Schrenk Mary Coady Discipleship Committee Terri Maze Kim Lesko Michelle Daniels Lisa Fowler Ed Strode, Chair Kathy Paoni Tom Paoni Mary Ann Mann
Social Justice Committee Judy Cervellone Patti Crouch Matt Daniels Dave Klestinski Nancy Schrenk Michelle Stewart Greg Stumpf
Principal’s Page
Mrs. Denise Reavis
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you for the wonderful support
you give to our Parish School. This very special time of the year is full
of opportunities for friends and families to gather. All of us here at St.
Aloysius School would like to wish you a very safe and happy holiday
season. May you receive the gifts of this holy season – gifts of love,
peace and joy.
The
Spirit of Advent
was found all through our halls! From decorating cards for
nursing homes and homebound parishioners, Advent ceremonies in the chapel, and
cre-ating an outdoor chalk Advent wreath to circle the school!
Thank you, St. Aloysius School Magic Match Sponsors
… St. Aloysius School
functions as one of the educational missions of the Parish. We would like to thank and
acknowledge our Magic Match Sponsors for their belief in Catholic Education and their
continued support through the school year. This year’s sponsors for the 2020
-
2021
school year are... Heartland Credit Union, Tony’s Electric Services, Inc. Truman Flatt &
Sons, Inc. Knights of Columbus #4175, In Memory of Helene Rachford, Triad Industrial
Supply Corp., Bank of Springfield, Noonan True Value, Marine Bank, Luers
Uni-form,
Michael & Beth Beasley, St. Joseph’s Parish, Cathedral of Immaculate
Concep-tion Parish, Dr. Jim McDermott, Skeff Distributing and a St. Aloysius
Parishion-er.
Please support our Magic Match Sponsors! Their continued support for Catholic
Education and dedication is appreciated!
Sounds of Christmas
… Students from the Springfield Catholic Schools came
to-gether to record a Christmas Commercial. The commercial will air now through
Christ-mas Eve. Tune in to stations 104.5 WFMB, Sports Radio 1450, 99.7 The Mix or 96.7
Bob FM.
Sanitizing Wipes
… Please consider picking up a container or two and donating them
to the school. These are used daily in all the classrooms. Thank you!
Have you been to the school
page lately? Keep up on the latest events!
Make sure to follow us as we use Facebook as one of our communication tools to share
information with our parish community.
Are you ready to be a Cyclone
... Although we cannot have our traditional Preview
Night or Placement Test this year, SHG is still gearing up for the 2021
-2022 school year! If you are an 8th grader or transfer student interested in
attending SHG, visit
shg.org/Admissions
starting
Monday, December 7 to
fill out a registration inquiry form. We will mail you a
registra-tion
information packet from there! If you have questions or would like to
set up an individual tour
(after school hours), contact Amanda Mandeville.
Director of Enrollment Management and Communications, at
mandeville@shg.org
or
787
-
9732 ext. 155.
Have a Wonderful Winter Break! December 21
-
January 3. Classes will resume Monday,
January 4!
3
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Parish Data
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In charity, please remember in your prayers… 2017… Donald Drendel, Denzil DeVanney, Walther Fliege, Barbara
Todd, Helen Richardson, Mary Bedolli, Donald Mroscak, August Papilli, Frances Emmons, Robert Berberet Sr. Katie Raffa, John Williams, Barbara Veseling, Mike Timko, Richard Neal Sr. Marianne Charles, Robert
Wolf, Virginia Wagner and Betty Andretta. 2018… Larry Brooks, Katherine Stoecker, Betty Chernis, Kathy Martin, Beatrice Nimpson, Fredrick Bedolli, Mary Kulek, Bernie Hagele, Dorothy Warrington, Mary LeMas-ters, Peg Wilson, Annette Hickman, Edna Kennedy, Joseph Carlove, Bernadine Seitz, Joseph Crowe,
Patri-cia Rigdon, Janet Coe, Jeannette O’Ravis. 2019... Lena Ostenburg, Bonnye Locke, Alda Bretz, Della Maurer, Leonard Naumovich, Leanne Schleyhahn, Delores Anthony, Carl Venvertloh, Elmer Schuster, Nor-man and Helen Reeves, Pat Capranica, Richard Murawski, John Wolosick, William Eck, Leonard Jann, Laura Palazzolo, Christine Kohlrus, Carole Wetherell, Larry Tebrugge Sr. 2020... John Power Jr., John Bensi, Ceil Trello, Anne Mitrone, John Trstensky, Matt Cosgrove, Dominic Titone, Bernice Ralph, Patricia Mathews, Marian Reinbold, Anthony Pianezza, Brian Wheatley, John Ciotti, Diane Stevens and Elsie Venvertloh.
Parish Ministry Schedule - Sat-Sun - December 26-27
Saturday, 4:30pm
Sunday, 8:00am
Music
Melissa Blankestyn Janet Kehoe and familyLector
E.M.
Servers
Total 80 81 161 Weekly Attendance-December 12-13 PARISH CALENDARThe budgeted amount is the minimal required to maintain services, employ-ee benefits, utilities, and maintenance at current levels and does not provide for debt payment, unbudgeted repairs or improvements for the Parish. Weekly Offerings budget for the month of December is $40,000.00. We have received 45 % of needed funding to meet essential budget obligations.
PARISH CALENDAR
PARISH CALENDAR PARISH CALENDAR PARISH CALENDAR WEEKLY PARISH OFFERING
Week 23 December13 Total to Date
Weekly Offertory $7,529.50 $181,663.00 Shepherd one Student $200.00 $6,672.00 Building Fund $500.00 $1,560.00 Bingo $20,992.40
PARISH CALENDAR Debt/Accrued Deficits
Unpaid Diocesan Liabilities Paid
Amount owed
Annual Diocesan Stewardship Campaign
Assessment (FY20-21) $62,606.00
Pledge
Residual (due June 30, 2021)
PARISH CALENDAR
Special Prayers
Pease pray for the repose soul of
Peter Bolt
Joseph Ramirez
Eternal Rest Grant to them, O Lord and let
perpetual light shine on them.
PARISH CALENDAR
December 20 8:00am Sunday Morning Mass
December 20 Communion Service
December 22 8:00am Morning Mass
December 22 3:00pm Rosary
December 23-28 Parish Office Closed
December 23 8:00am Morning Mass
December 23 3:00pm Rosary
December 24 4:30 & 9:00pm Christmas Eve Mass
December 25 9:00am Christmas Day Mass
December 26 Street Ministry
December 26 3:30pm Confessions
December 26 4:30pm Evening Mass
December 27 8:00am Sunday Morning Mass
December 27 Communion Service
December 21-January 4 School Christmas Break
St. Aloysius Catholic Church: A Discipleship Parish
Around the Church
Third Sunday of Advent ...Fourth Sunday of Advent Decem-ber 20.
How Can This Be?
Words of a visit-ing angel: Do not be afraid; God has this plan; you are full of grace. Mary speaks aloud what we all are thinking: “How can this be?” God makes it possible because God makes us holy! What should I stop fearing? What is God’s plan for me just for this day? What will I do this week as God’s holy person that benefits someone else?Be Not Afraid to PRAY BIG! We currently have 16 seminari-ans, which is great! But wouldn’t 40 be better?? YES!!! We invite you to pray a Hail Mary EVERY DAY at 4:40 for our diocese to have 40 seminarians. 4:40 for 40 Seminarians!
Please help us meet our parish goal for the Annual Diocesan Stewardship Campaign. As you prepare your end of the year charitable giving please respond to the Campaign request. Please mail, if you have not done so, your pledge/gift to the diocese in the envelope provided in the mailing. Many thanks! The parishes in the diocese are now embracing the SEASON OF STEWARD-SHIP. This Season of Stewardship invites our parishioners to pray about and embrace the gifts of time, talent and treasure. In the invitation letter you received from me, there is a pledge card to complete and then return to the parish office. Many have taken the time to do this, so please join your fellow parishioners in mak-ing your commitment of time, talent and treasure for the new year ahead. MANY THANKS.
Stewardship Thought for the Week... We can define stew-ardship quite simply: Stewstew-ardship is an inner attitude which with faith and gratitude recognizes that everything is a gift from God and with openness of heart willingly gives a portion of those gifts to others, especially the poor, for building up the Church and making this a better world.”
Grateful Caretakers of God’s Many
Gifts Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
A Great Light.
Isaiah declares: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” We have surely walked in darkness during this pandemic year. Some of us, perhaps all of us may still be there. We have been confined to home. We have jobs and homes in peril. We grieve the sickness and death of family, friends, and unknown-to-us citizens of this country and of the world. Yet we take hope this Christ-mas. For we are not alone. We are not left in darkness. Today, the Lord Jesus Christ is with us. In truth, he never abandons us. He will be with us today and tomorrow and tomorrow’s to-morrow. And all the tomorrows.Please remember... The City of Springfield Mask Mandate includes St. Aloysius Church, School and Parish house from en-tering to exiting our parish facilities. Thank you !
Who we’re really worshipping
Sometimes it seems like people are reading from different Bibles. I don’t mean different translations.
Depending on who it is, listening to what they say about the Bi-ble. And the way they talk about what it means. It’s more like they’re reading radically different books.
It’s always made me uneasy. Still does. But I never understood what was going on until I was studying to become a deacon. When one of my instructors started explaining all of the different ways that people read the Bible. Going over my notes after class, it occurred to me that (except for the ones designed to reduce the Bible to dreary academic trivia) all of them were really just dif-ferent ways of doing one of two things.
Either they were a way for me to impose my ideas onto the Bible. To make the Bible say what I wanted. So I could pretend that God agreed with me.
Or they were a way for me to get God’s ideas out of the Bible. For God to cut through the clutter and speak to my heart. Even if it isn’t what I wanted to hear.
Especially if it isn’t what I wanted to hear.
Do we accept the truth from the words of God? Even if it’s not what we want? So that we can gain the eternal, even if it comes at a price in this present?
Or do we try to pretend that it means something else? So we can get what we want in this passing moment? At the price of losing the eternal?
If we’re honest, we already know the answer to this one. We just don’t want to admit it.
Because it threatens our feeble and increasingly desperate efforts to pretend that we’ve got this.
It grates against our unspoken sense of entitlement. That God owes us something for being the wonderful people that we are. And it lays bare who we’re really worshipping.
“They measure God by themselves, and not themselves by God.”
– St. John of the Cross
St. Aloysius Catholic Church: A Discipleship Parish
Parish Bulletin Board
The season of Advent is over soon. The season of Christmas will begin. Please put these dates and times on your calendar. We will have three masses for Christmas. We will allow 130 people in church for each Mass. You must wear a mask and adhere to the social distancing guidelines. Please follow the instructions and directions of the ushers for seating assignments. This will help us en-sure we can appropriately and safely accommodate our maximum allowed attendance. Each of the masses will be live streamed on our website. Mass
for
Christmas
will be on Thursday, December 24 at 4:30 and 9:00pm.De-cember 25 at 9:00am. Mass for the
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
will be on Thursday, December 31, 4:30pm and Friday, January 1 at 9:00am. There will be no 8:00am mass or rosary at 3:00pm on Thursday, December 24 and Friday December 25. The week of December 28 there will be no 8:00am mass and 3:00pm rosary on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.New Missalettes are available in church. These are for you to keep, please do not leave them in the pews. You may also call the Parish Office for one.
Thank you, your generous response to the Catholic Charities Angel Tree. Many fami-lies in Springfield will have a Merry Christmas due to your generosity.
Bishop Paprocki has dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Masses and Holy Days of Obligation for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19. The Bishop does not intend to re-impose the obligation for sometime into the new year. The reality is the disease is still with us. Feeling ‘unsafe’ about being in a crowd may be suggestive enough for an individual to wisely stay home for the time being. Indeed, when one has or suspects themselves of having symptoms, it is expected that those individuals stay home! As for those attending church in-person, we continue with our COVID measures. Our pro-cedures of maintaining social distance from one another and to have face-masks available. Please remember face coverings are required at all times from entering to exiting our par-ish facilities. We should be reminded of the importance of watching out for each other. Please remember our live streamed daily Rosary at 3:00pm on Facebook and daily mass each morning at 8:00am. The Parish Office will be open December 21-22 and closed De-cember 23-28. The office will be open DeDe-cember 29 and DeDe-cember 30. Closed DeDe-cember 31 and reopen January 4.
Jesus is still calling us to Holy Communion… Although at this time it may not always be possible for you to attend Mass and to receive Jesus in Holy Communion sacramental, we are encouraged to take up the time honored, devout practice of making a “Spiritual Com-munion”. If you watch Mass on TV or the internet, it is fitting to pray the following at the time of the priest’s Holy Communion.
Act of Spiritual Communion... A Prayer by St. Alphonsus Liguori... My Jesus, I be-lieve that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramen-tal, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Year-End Giving… We are so grateful for the generosity of our parishioners throughout the entire year, especially during this trying year. During December, many people review their giving and determine that a year-end charitable gift will benefit their tax status for the calendar year. If you wish to make a donation to St. Aloysius by making a general parish contribution to the church, or a gift to the School’s Annual Fund, you may drop it into the collection basket at Mass or mail it to the school/parish office. All charitable contributions must be postmarked and/or received by December 31, 2020 to be included in the year-end statement for tax year 2020.
Thank you for your contributions that
keep us current on bills,
utilities, payroll, benefits,
and so much more.
When-ever there is a challenge or a
need, St. Aloysius Parishioners always
step up. Thank you!
St. Aloysius Prayer Chain
... If you
have a special intention or someone
whom you would like prayers offered
please call Mrs. Vikki Warren @
217-544-2299.
Stewardship
… Gracious and
lov-ing God, we understand that you call
us to be stewards of your
abundance, the caretakers
of all you have entrusted
to us. Help us to use your
gifts wisely and to share
them generously. May
our faithful stewardship be the
hall-mark of our discipleship, a visible
sign of our commitment to Christ. We
pray with grateful hearts, in Jesus’
name. Amen.
December 21 Late Advent Weekday
December 21 Late Advent Weekday
8:00am John Ciotti+
December 23 Late Advent Weekday
8:00am All Parishioners+
December 24 Late Advent Weekday 4:30pm Ted Cervellone +
9:00pm Isiah Jenkins+
December 25 Nativity of the Lord
9:00am Jim Esslinger+
December 26 St. Stephen
December 27 Holy Family
Sat 4:30pm Brian Wheatley+ Sun 8:00am Leonard Naumovich +
December 20, 2020
Fourth Sunday of Advent
2 Sm 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16 | Rom 16:25-27 | Lk 1:26-38
GROW AS A DISCIPLE |
PRAY, STUDY, ENGAGE, SERVEDuring Advent, we await the One who is perfect grace, light, and joy. The Christ Child’s arrival during a time when darkness has been increasing each day, and our anticipation of that arrival, emphasize his salvific role. For if even the smallest light is a glimmer of hope in the night, how much more is Christ’s perfect and all-consuming light a life-saving flare in the darkness of sin and death. As we hear the angel Gabriel say of Christ, in his visitation to Mary: “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High … and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Emmanuel, God with us, is the reason for our hope, and the reason for our joy.
GO EVANGELIZE |
PRAYER, INVITATION, WITNESS, ACCOMPANIMENTI don’t know about you, but despite my best intentions, I have been known to get a little swallowed up in the commercialism of Christmas. But this last week of Advent feels like a chance to reorder my mind and heart. One way to do this is by focusing on the “O Antiphons,” prayed during the Church’s evening prayer from December 17-23. Each antiphon begins with the word “O,” and is followed by a title for the Messiah, found in Scripture, and a petition for him to come and save his people. Although this may sound overly complicated, you most likely know of these with-out realizing it: they have been transposed into the verses of the hymn,
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Today’s first reading speaks of David, who thought he could build a place for God to dwell, but he can’t. Instead, for
us, whom God created and fashioned in his own image, God created a
dwelling for his Son, so that he might enter into our human history as one of us; and in doing so, dwell among us and within us forever. Come, Lord Jesus.
INVITE
When lighting the final candle on your Advent wreath, invite your family to help you make the prayer interactive. Focus on thelesser-known verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, such as the one
below – it is an ancient prayer still very relevant today.
O King of the Nations
O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of humankind; O bid our sad divisions cease, And be for us our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.
iS tock images Written by T H E FA I T H F U L D I S C I P L E
