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St. Emily and St. Thomas Becket Parishes
September 25, 2018
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Dear Families,
We are all getting settled into our classroom routines by now. There will be a fire drill tomorrow night - and then after that, each night will be uneventful!
Please remember that we will be implementing our standard 'pull through' parking in the north lot for drop off and pick up. Please follow the directions for a smooth and safe process. ('Pull through' means that you never put your vehicle into reverse; you only move forward.)
Also, in October, we will participate in the
annual Baby Bottle drive for Heather's House. Heather's House is about a mile to our west, on the Maryville campus. They provide support and short term housing for women in crisis pregnancies and after their child is born.
At the end of the month,
we'll also collect diapers and wipes for Heather's House. I find that kids are enthusiastic about this project, as they like to help other kids.
On
Thursday, October 4, the church celebrates the Feast of St. Francis. Fr. Presta will
bless any pets at 4:30 PM. Gather at the St. Emily statue in front of the church.
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 First Eucharist Program
Parent Orientation September 27 and 29
All families of children preparing to celebrate confession and communion in 2019 should have received an email about the Parent Session.
There is one session on Thursday, September 27 at 7 PM and another on Saturday, September 29 at 9:30 AM. Both sessions take place in Hajdu Hall at St. Emily.
Choose one to attend. If one of your children received communion here in 2016, 2017 or 2018, you need not attend this meeting - and you'll receive a packet with the handouts tomorrow night.
All the info about the First Penance / First Eucharist program can be found here.
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Confirmation Program News
For candidates for Confirmation in 2019:
For candidates for Confirmation in 2020:
Your preparation will begin soon. There are orientation meetings on Thursday, October 11 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, October 13 at 9:30 AM. A parent must attend with the candidate.
An RSVP form was sent home last week.
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Children's Choir Resumes
Beginning on Wednesday, October 3
Your children are invited to join the St. Emily Children's Choir.
The choir will rehearse on Wednesdays at 5:15 PM in the school, beginning on October 3. This is a convenient time, right before our RE classes begin.
The sign up form and schedule for the year are here.
They sing at Sunday masses periodically through the year and also at Christmas. It is a wonderful opportunity for your child to learn music, be part of the parish music ministry and have fun, too!
Speak with your children about this, as you will have an opportunity to sign up the first night of classes.
For more information, contact Mary Caldrone, our parish Music Director.
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Youth Ministry
Plan to be there for the fall
- Saturday, September 29 at 2:00 PM - Feed My Starving Children. Sign up here.
- Sunday, September 30 - 6th / 7th Grade Social Meeting.
7 to 8:30 PM in Hajdu Hall.
- Sunday, October 7 - 8th / 9th Grade Social Meeting.
7 to 8:30 PM in Hajdu Hall
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Join the St. Emily Women's Club
Meet friends and enjoy yourself
The St. Emily Women's Club is seeking new members. They have a full program of social, spiritual and service opportunities. It is a great chance to make new friends in the parish.
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Living the Beatitudes
Holiness Every Day
Over the next weeks, I'll include a few thoughts from Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation,
Gaudete et Exsultate.
The Pope wants to talk about every day holiness, not an exalted notion of it.
...with this Exhortation I would like to insist primarily on the call to holiness that the Lord addresses to each of us, the call that he also addresses, personally, to you: "Be holy, for I am holy" (Lev 11:44; cf. 1 Pet 1:16). The Second Vatican Council stated this clearly: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord - each in his or her own way - to that perfect holiness by which the Father himself is perfect".
"Each in his or her own way" the Council says. We should not grow discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable. There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and inspiring, but that we are not meant to copy, for that could even lead us astray from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. The important thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in their hearts (cf. 1 Cor 12:7), rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for them. We are all called to be witnesses, but there are many actual ways of bearing witness.
Indeed, when the great mystic, Saint John of the Cross, wrote his Spiritual Canticle, he preferred to avoid hard and fast rules for all. He explained that his verses were composed so that everyone could benefit from them "in his or her own way". For God's life is communicated "to some in one way and to others in another". (#10 and 11)
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- September 27 and 29 - Parent Orientation Sessions for First Eucharist. Details here.
- October 4 at 4:30 PM - Pet Blessing for the Feast of St. Francis. Fr. Presta will bless your pets. Gather at the St. Emily statue in the front of the church.
- October 11 and 13 - Confirmation Orientation Sessions for seventh graders and their parents. Details here.
- October 20 at 5:00 PM - Enrollment mass for candidates for confirmation in 2019, followed by a supper in Hajdu Hall.
- October 31 - No Class. As I said to the catechists, "We're not crazy."
- November 6 at 8:00 AM - Confirmation Pilgrimage for all students in the Confirmation 2019 group.
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St. Emily Parish
Catherine Crino, DRE
847-299-5865
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St. Thomas Becket Parish
Renata Sosin, CRE
847-296-9051
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