St. George Church Worcester MA

St. George Church
Worcester MA
J A M U A R Y
2 0 1 5
ST. GEORGE CHURCH
40 Brattle St.
Worcester MA 01606
PHONE
Homemade Holiness
508-853-0183
FAX: 508-854-0864
Office email
[email protected]
Facebook
St. George Church
Worcester MA
Website
www.saintgeo.com
Edward Hayes, Catholic priest
and author calls the faith life of
the family “homemade holiness”.
Reflecting on the everyday ways
that God is at work within and
around us is the first step toward
becoming faith generators for
our children.
Each family has its own unique
spirituality, not marked by incense and bells or organ music,
but a spirituality that is manifested in cooking meals, shopping for
clothes, playing games and making house payments. When Jesus
separated all those who would
be with him in eternity from
those who would not (Matthew
25: 31-45) one of the measures
he used for faithfulness was feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless.
You do these things every day.
You may not recognize making a
house payment or paying the
rent as “sheltering the homeless”, but most American families
would be homeless if someone
wasn’t working to make those
payments.
Your spiritual life is enfleshed
with all night stints at lowering
fevers, spreading lotion on burns,
and packing ice on sprains. Your
spirituality is sexual with embraces and intimate moments that
reconcile differences and reinforce covenant love. Your spir-
itual life is sacrificial when putting
personal desires aside for the
good of your children and the
family as a whole.
Many of us feel that we can’t
possibly generate enough energy
at the end of the day to pass a
bowl of popcorn, let alone pass
on faith. We find ourselves low
on energy and unable to practice
faith as we did before we had a
family or even when the family
was small. We simply cannot find
the time or energy to attend
daily Mass or read Scripture or
say the rosary on some regular
basis. Yet when we show love for
our children, when we forgive or
are forgiven, share faith.
Many of us sincerely feel that the
most responsible thing to do is
leave the spiritual development
of our children to others who
know more, appear holier, or
even seem more religious. After
all, we don’t even have time for
our own faith development.
Where are we going to get the
energy and time to share faith
with our children?
The deep relational life of mothers, fathers, siblings, and extended family members, however is
the fertile soil into which the
seeds of faith are planted. The
Second Vatican Council emphasized the nature of believers. In
this first and basic community,
families and individuals get their
first opportunity to break bread
together, to forgive and be forgiven, to wash one another’s feet
(and hands and face!), and love
one another as Christ did.
Understanding how all these
things work together in our
home—the domestic church—is
to realize that sharing faith is just
what we do every day and in
doing that, our own faith is deepened. It takes little physical exertion or time to reflect on this
“homemade holiness”. A simple
prayer in the morning, offering
our day to the glory of God, puts
the whole day in proper perspective. It also reminds us that the
Holy Spirit walks with us.
(from Sharing Faith With Your Child—From
Age Seven to Fourteen by Mary Jo Pederson
and Joan Burney. Liguori Publications, One
Liguori Drive, Liguori MO
63057-9999)
PAGE
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Solemnity of Mary Mother of God
In addition to being New Year’s Day
January 1 is also the Solemnity of Mary
Mother of God, a holy day of
obligation. Masses for the holy day at
St. George’s are Wednesday,
December 31 at 4 pm and Thursday,
January 1 at 8:00 am and 10:00 am.
World Day of Peace - January 1
The theme of Pope Francis’ World Day of Peace
message this year is “No Longer Slaves, But Brothers and Sisters”. The theme is intended to guide
Catholics and all peoples away from acts of violence
toward lives in harmony with the Word of God.
Violence today is not restricted to that associated
with Isis and wars on other countries. The most
present signs of a “culture of violence” are much
closer to home and include the destruction of human life in all its forms, the violence associated with
street gangs in our communities, affronts to the
dignity of others based on race, gender and social
class, violence found in some video games, television
programming and popular music, child abuse, domestic abuse, angry words that hurt, lack of forgiveness,
the destruction of natural environment and most certainly the indifference to the needs of others. “How
much damage human indifference causes” (Pope Francis)
To help us mark the World Day of Peace and be more mindful of our need to turn from violence in all
its forms in the year ahead, St. George’s Faith in Action Ministry seeks suggestions from parishioners of
all ages as we work on programs and events for the coming year. Your thoughts are welcome as to topics for future programs, panel discussions, authors, speakers, as well as quotes from Scripture and/or
recent Popes that address the subject of peace. Your suggestions may be left on the Faith in Action table
in the church hall after weekend Masses where CRS coffee and chocolate bars and Hope for Housing
grocery cards are sold on weekends. Thank you for taking a step against violence by helping with the
planning process and may we all be blessed with peace in the coming New Year.
Prayers for Peace
ST.
GEORGE
CHURCH
PAGE
Feast of the Epiphany January 4
More about Epiphany here.
January 2015 Meetings and Events
ST. GEORGE BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Monday, January 5, 2015
7:00 pm in the Conference Room (Church Hall)
Pizza followed by continued discussion of Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost,
and Making Church Matter by Michael White and Tom Corcoran with special attention to
Chapter 9. Fr. Niccolls will be able to attend and join this discussion. All are welcome. For
more information contact Eileen Charbonneau at 774-345-4032.
ADULT CHOIR REHEARSALS RESUME
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
6:45 pm in the church choir loft
Preparations begin with hymns for Holy Week/Easter! All interested parishioners are welcome. No auditions, just a love of singing for the Lord to enhance our liturgies. There is also
a need for regular cantors with training provided. For more information see either Bill
White or Alice Bucca after any weekend Masses. Or email Bill at [email protected] or Alice at [email protected].
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More January 2015 Meetings/Events
FAITH IN ACTION
Wednesday, January 7, 2015; 7:00 pm Conference Room in the Church Hall
GRANDPARENT PRAYER GROUP
Friday, January 16 at 11:00 am in the Conference Room in the Church Hall
Join us as we pray for the safety and well being of our own grandchildren and those in our parish.
Includes prayers to Saint Anne and St. Joachim, grandparents of Jesus and the Rosary. In the
event of snow/ice the group is cancelled. Copies of the prayers used are available on the Welcome Table in the church hall for anyone unable to attend the group at the church and who wish
to pray from home. For more information contact Ruth Viens, Family Ministry Coordinator at
[email protected].
NEXT BAPTISM PREPARATION SESSIONS
January 25 & February 8
Come focus on the Baptism of your child and get to know other young families in the parish. For
more information contact Carrie Rocha ([email protected]) Baptism Coordinator for information and application forms.
VISITATION HOUSE - BABY BOTTLE FUNDRAISER
Baby bottles will be distributed at the end of each of our Masses the weekend of Jan. 10/11 and
will be collected the weekend of Jan. 31/Feb.1. Wicker baskets will be found near each entrance
of the church. Please take a baby bottle and fill it with spare money that will benefit homeless
women facing a crisis pregnancy.
MARCH FOR LIFE INFORMATION JANUARY 22, 2015
January 2015 Building Faith – Strengthening Families Activity Calendar
Is available as a link on the homepage of the parish website. Hard copies can also be found on the Welcome Table in
the church hall. Feel free to share with family and friends. Each successive month will also be available in these same
locations. Compliments of St. George Family Ministry.
WORTH A CLICK…..
Growing Up Catholic
Grace Before Meals

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