Rejoice Always!

St. Paul the Apostle

Parish

www.stpauljoliet.com

815-725-1527

Greetings!

Friends,

This weekend we celebrate the 3rd Sunday in Advent and as we get closer to Christmas our waiting and anticipation for the birth of a savior is marked with joy. For many families this may be the time you are used to decorating more around the house, perhaps putting a tree up and finalizing any plans for Christmas. I know Christmas with our family this year will also look completely different due to the pandemic but it will still mark that great Solemnity of Jesus once again born into our hearts.

Speaking about plans for Christmas it is not too late to reserve your seats for a Christmas Eve or Christmas day mass. Some masses are already full but not all of them. Very important that you reserve a spot as our capacity at each mass is limited based on the social distance rules in our diocese.

God Bless and stay safe,

Fr Mark

**** IMPORTANT****

PLEASE READ

The 3:00 and 5:00

Christmas Eve Masses are filled to capacity. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please sign up for a reservation at another time. You must be able to show proof of your reservation if asked. We cannot stress enough the importance of having a reservation.

We will not allow walk-ins at the 3:00 or 5:00 mass.

For those with reservations at the 3:00 or 5:00 Christmas Eve mass please contact us ASAP if you will not be attending so we can open those seats for others. If you need special accommodations please contact the

Parish Office as soon as possible.

3:00 and 5:00

Christmas Eve Mass Procedures

There will be 2 points of entry for Christmas Eve mass at the 3:00 and 5:00 masses. We will use the Canopy door and the door north of the Parish Ministry Center located by the gratto, please use either parking lot. Upon entry you will be met by a greeter and be given your seat assignment and asked to sanitize your hands. The usher will then show you to your seat, once you are seated we do ask that you remain in place until mass is over. Because of the amount of people that will be in attendance we will be dismissing 1 section at a time. You will be able to use any door throughout the church to exit from, just please remember to keep your social distance from anyone outside your household. We ask that you exit immediately once dismissed and do not congregate in the church, we need to sanitize and be ready for the next mass.

And last but not least, we ask for your patience with us and the volunteers giving their time to be sure that everything is done correctly and according to our plan submitted to the Diocese. There have been many people putting much thought and time into making sure things run as smoothly as possible. We will do all we can to be sure you and your family are safe while worshipping together for the beautiful birth of our Saviour. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to

Some special Christmas spirit wear days starting this Friday, December 11th!!!

Thanks to our committee of 8th grade students –

Abby M., Marissa G., Lauren W., Sully E., and Max A., for planning fun dress up days to put us in the Christmas spirit!!

Here is the plan:

FRIDAY, December 11th – Wear an ugly sweater or a festive holiday t-shirt to spread the Christmas cheer!! *Or Regular Uniform day

Also - students in grade 1-4 - don't forget to bring your gift for the Christmas gift exchange by Friday. We want to make sure our gifts safely quarantine before we share the gifts with others.

Monday, December 14th – Christmas Character Day ~ Dress up as your favorite character from a book or movie *OR Regular Uniform day

Tuesday, December 15th – Red and Green Day ~ Show the colors of Christmas!

Students & staff in PreSchool – 4 th grade wear green.

Students & staff in 5 th – 8 th grade wear red.

Students may also bring holiday hats or head wear to wear while we videotape our virtual Christmas Program. Students do not need to dress up for the program and appropriate bottoms. Here reminders from the Parent/Student Handbook:

All jeans/pants that are worn on out of uniform days must be fitting at the waist and may not fall beneath the waist. Sweatpants will writing across the behind may not be worn. Jeans/pants worn on out of uniform days must not have any rips or holes in them. Wednesday, December 16th - Holiday Hat and Sock Day - *Dress in Uniform and wear your favorite Christmas hat or head wear and socks. We will take off our hats and head wear before we go to Mass.

Thursday, December 17th – Christmas Apparel Day ~ Wear a fun Christmas outfit while you have fun in the classrooms!

We are looking forward to a fun and festive week!

Religious Education Video

Advent Week 3

Grades 5th through 8th

Grades 1st through 4th

Catholic Kids Media - Advent Grace! Advent 3C

After the final blessing we will have a different type of "Pageant", all of the students in attendance will be part of the presentation. No practice or

preparation needed!

Don't forget your baby items to donate to Birthrite

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

I want to be close to all doctors and nurses during this time in which the pandemic call us to be near all men and women who suffer. Thank you for drawing near to them, thanks for your tenderness, thanks for your professionalism in taking care of the sick.

Song of the Week

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

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

to confirm your spot.

https://stpaultheapostlejoliet.eventbrite.comm

Click here to go to

the Parish's new

YouTube channel for Mass, Announcements and More...

iwillserve@stpauljoliet.com