November 29, 2020

The First Sunday of Advent
Advent is a season to prepare our hearts for the coming of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. One way to celebrate this is to keep an Advent wreath going for the four weeks of the Advent season, then lighting a candle each Sunday and keeping our focus on Christ. Another way to prepare is to look ahead. St. Nicholas’ feast day is Dec.6, Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, Our Lady of Guadalupe is Dec.12, and the feast of St. Lucy is Dec. 13, and many more. There are fun ways to celebrate these feast days. Come to daily Mass on their feast days, and look up activities and books about these feasts is one way to keep them special. Another way to get ready for Christmas is to think of someone who might need to be invited to your Christmas feast. Someone you may know may need help getting food and Christmas gifts this year. Give them a call and see how you can help. There are many ways to give a gift during this holiday season. Also, make sure you set up your Nativity set somewhere significant. Set it up together as a family and take time to pray with friends and family. Our Worship Commission will be decorating for Christmas on Mon., Dec. 21 at 6:00 PM. We need help bringing things down from the attic, hanging outdoor wreaths, and setting up trees. The more help, the lighter the load. Please let Judy Russell know if you can help. judyrussell@fuse.net
Amen. 
Father Jamie

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Pastor's Ramblings

WELCOME CHILDREN OF GOD. Welcome Elias Paul Kautz, son of Eric and Melissa Kautz. So happy you have become a parishioner of St. Cecilia! Welcome John Colin Webster, son of John and Katherine Webster. Welcome John!!

SAINT AND CHARACTER AWARD FOR NOVEMBER. Each month our school chooses a saint and character that the students will learn about and work on. This month they have been working on learning about the life of St. Martin de Porres. He is the parish saint of social and racial justice, and his example was to do everything with humility and gentleness. He was compassionate to the poor and suffering. This month the character award will go to those students who show gentleness like St. Martin. I love that the students work on something new each month.

CANDY CANE SALE. The school is having their annual candy cane sale. It starts on Monday, Nov. 30 through Thurs., Dec. 3. If you can make a dona-tion,please drop off candy canes at the school or rectory office. This sale will help support our PTO.

RCIA RETREAT AND RITE OF ACCEPTANCE. Our RCIA members had their annual retreat and then celebrated the Rite of Acceptance on Sat., Nov.14. Each inquirer has taken the time to discern if they are ready to move on in their journey to the Catholic Church. Let us keep the catechumens and candidates in our prayers as they continue going along this journey.

FATHER AUGUSTUS TOLTON. As we end the month of Black Catholic History Month I want to highlight Fr. Tolton who was the first African American priest in America. The St. Augustine Society was formed to feed the poor, visit the sick and bury the dead. I received this book to learn more about Fr. Tolten.

REST IN PEACE. Rest in Peace William Stemann. Long-Time parishioner Bill Stemann died on November 11th and will be buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Wednesday, Nov. 18th, May God rest his soul.