Happy Thanksgiving

St. Paul the Apostle

Parish

www.stpauljoliet.com

815-725-1527

Greetings!

Friends,

We begin this wonderful season of Advent with a Gospel of anticipation. If you remember, the last few weeks in ordinary time were filled with readings warning us to stay awake and to be alert. Even as we begin Advent we continue with this theme of watchfulness. The Gospel tells us this weekend to “Be watchful! Be alert!” We are indeed waiting for the Lord in our lives. Specifically in Advent we are awaiting his birth. As the faithful we are called to make room in our hearts for him so that at his birth we are ready to welcome him.

This waiting for his birth can be seen in the real life anticipation of a birth of a child. Think of all the preparation that goes into this. Baby’s clothing… making a space ready in the home… figuring out what sorts of food you will be getting… and all the other little decisions that go into getting ready. In our faith life too we are constantly faced with little choices as well for Jesus. How will we pray? What sorts of changes will we make in our own life that reflect Jesus’s presence? How will we learn about our faith and prepare to receive the sacraments? Many things go into making ourselves ready.

What changes will you be making in your heart this year to prepare yourself for the birth of Jesus?

God Bless and Stay Safe,

Fr Mark

Please click the link below to register for mass. Be sure to select the time that you wish to attend. You will receive a confirmation email upon registering to confirm your spot.

https://stpaultheapostlejoliet.eventbrite.com

The Guidelines for attending mass can be found

below at the end if the email blast.

What Is The Advent Season?

It is a liturgical season with the weeks leading up to Christmas. It is a season of joyful anticipation of the coming of our Lord, baby Jesus. The liturgical colors of Advent are purple and “rose” (pink). When you attend weekly mass during Advent, you should be able to notice an Advent wreath in front of the altar!

Advent Wreath Basics

You have an evergreen wreath that holds 4 candles- 3 purple and 1 pink or “rose” colored candle. The Advent wreath counts down the weeks until Christmas- one candle for each Sunday in Advent. Each week you add another candle that is being lit until finally all 4 are being lit. Sometimes there is a white candle in the middle for actual Christmas

The Symbolism Behind An Advent Wreath

The purple or blue candles stand for royalty
The pink (or rose colored) candle stands for joy
The wreath itself symbolizes how God’s love for us is never changing, like the evergreen, that stays green all year. The circle shape symbolizes how God has no beginning and no end, just like a circle. He always has been, and he always will be.

What Do The 4 Advent Candles Represent

There are 4 Sundays in Advent, and the starting day changes each year. Each Sunday you add 1 more candle that you light each night. Here are what the 4 candles during Advent stand for:

First Sunday of Advent (purple candle): Hope

Second Sunday of Advent (purple candle): Peace

Third Sunday of Advent (pink candle): Joy

Fourth Sunday of Advent (purple candle): Love

White candle in the middle for Christmas: Christ candle

Prayer:

Each day your family should gather around the Advent wreath, generally before the evening meal. The proper number of candles are then lighted and a prayer is said.

BLESSING OF THE ADVENT WREATH

It starts at the evening meal on the Saturday before the first Sunday in Advent with the blessing of the wreath. The following prayer can be used

Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

All: Who made heaven and earth.

Leader: O God, by whose Word all things are sanctified, pour forth Your blessing upon this wreath and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from You abundant graces. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

The wreath would then be sprinkled with water. Then follows the prayer which is said before the evening meal each night of the first week in Advent.

FIRST WEEK The following prayer should be repeated each day during the first week. After the prayer, the family's youngest child lights the first purple candle. (Family members can also take turns lighting and blowing out the candles on each night.)

Leader: O Lord, stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come, That by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins and saved by Thy deliverance. Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

The candle is allowed to burn during evening meals for the first week.

We are grateful! We are blessed!! We have come to one my favorite holidays of the year. A time to enjoy family time and give thanks for all of our many blessings. This year, while it’s easy to focus on the challenges we have faced the past 8 months, there is so much to be thankful for!

To the St. Paul School Staff, Fr. Mark, and Parish Staff – Thank you just doesn’t seem to be the right way to express how much you are appreciated! Every day you come to school and provide a loving, safe environment for our students and share your gifts and talents with each other. You have offered your prayers, spiritual guidance and support. You have worked tirelessly to make sure desks are socially distant, that children have their own materials to use for class and even make sure they have breakfast and lunch every day. It is true – superheroes don’t always wear capes!

To all of our amazing parents – We appreciate all of your endless support! We are so grateful for all you do for our school! From volunteering in the lunchroom and at recess, for membership on our Boards and committees, and especially for entrusting us with your children every day since August 19^th!! We cannot do this without you!

To our awesome students – You bring us such joy and hope every day!! We know this hasn’t been easy, or even how school should be! From wearing masks all day, every day, to sitting socially distant from your friends in the classroom and at lunch – you have exceeded our expectations for how to be safe and healthy in school. We are blessed to have you as our Giants!!

I truly hope this next week provides moments to relax and reflect on all of the goodness in our lives. We pray that you will stay safe so that we can continue to have students in our classrooms in the weeks and months to come. May God bless you and your families!

We thank you for your support as we continue to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for all of our students!

Pledge envelopes were mailed to all St. Paul parishioners and school families. Please consider making a contribution to our fund to help us with our cleaning and sanitization procedures, provide financial assistance to our families, make facility improvements and continue faith formation at all grade levels.

Religious Education Video

All About Advent

Life Teen Advent Week 1

5th grade through 8th grade

The Beatitales

The Janitor

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Every night the janitor kept the bathroom of an office building spotlessly clean. It was so clean that the men who used it during the day thought it strange. They started to leave the bathroom messier and messier to see what would happen. They left toilet paper on the ground. They drew on the bathroom wall stalls. Each new day came, though, and the bathroom was spotless again and again. The men began to write mean notes to the janitor. These notes were cruel. Yet the bathroom and notes were wiped clean day after day. Then one day the boss came in to see his employees writing on the walls of the bathroom. He punished the men by firing them from their jobs. Before the men left, though, they laughed about their notes and how the janitor always cleaned up the mess. The boss decided to stay late and thank the janitor. He came to the bathroom to find an old man scrubbing the cruel notes off of the wall. "Excuse me," said the boss startlingly the janitor out of his intense scrubbing. "Yes, sir?" said the janitor. "I came to apologize on behalf of my employees. What they did was wrong and I am sorry that you had to experience it. They have been released from their jobs." "Thank you, sir, but that was unnecessary." "Unnecessary? They were cruel to you and mocking you for cleaning this place each day so well. Why didn't you report them?" "It is my job to keep the bathroom clean, not to change the way others act," he said. "But they never changed," said the boss. "No, they didn't, at least not yet. I would have gone on cleaning and scrubbing their cruel words for a long time maybe the rest of my life. Maybe, though, just maybe they would realize their error and clean this place as well." "Why do you do it?" asked the boss. "It is the right thing to do. That is all that is asked of me," replied the janitor. The boss thought a long time about this conversation. "It is the right thing to do," he had said. The next night the boss returned again to find the janitor cleaning the bathroom once more. "I'm giving you a raise and appointing you as the overseer of the upkeep of the entire building. It is yours to care for with many others to train and teach." The janitor said only one thing: "Thank you." He inspired many people who came to know and talk to him from that day forward. He was always teaching the people who worked there to seek to do the right thing no matter what others do or say to you. Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)

Please continue to pray for our parishioners that are in need of prayers at this time

If there is someone you would like to add to the prayer list please

contact the Parish Office at 815-725-1527 or email parishsec@stpauljoliet.com

Pope Francis Tweet

of the Week

We were not created to dream about vacations or the weekend, but to make God's dreams come true in this world. God made us capable of dreaming, so that we could embrace the beauty of life. The works of mercy are the most beautiful works in life.

Advent Week 1

A Prayer for

Hope

Mass Sign Up

Please click the link below to register for mass. Be sure to select the time that you wish to attend. You will receive a confirmation email upon registering

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