SHARE:  
Daily Mass Schedule (during the School-Year):
Monday:   6:30am and 8:00am 
Tuesday:   6:30am and 9:00am 
Wednesday:   8:00am and 9:00am (9:00am Mass is at St. Patrick's) 
Thursday:   6:30am and 8:00am 
Friday:   6:30am and 8:00am 
Saturday: 8:00am  

Weekend Mass Schedule:
Saturday:  5:00pm
Sunday:  8:00am, 10:00am, NOON & 6:00pm

Sacrament of Reconciliation:
Saturday:  8:30am or by appointment with a parish priest

 
From the Desk of Fr. Mike Nacius, Pastor

Blessed Advent to you! For the next four Sundays we will be preparing prayerfully and faithfully for the birth of our Savior. It is a holy time. It is a joyous time. It is a special time.
 
 As we begin a new liturgical year, the first Sunday of Advent, we recall that God became flesh in Jesus Christ, who promised to return. The world may be busy shopping and decorating. We intentionally take time to remember that God is with us. We intentionally take time to ready ourselves for Christmas by watching for the Lord's presence in our midst, discerning what is truly of value in our lives, and when necessary, repenting or reorienting our lives to follow Jesus as John the Baptist preached. May our prayers and our efforts these Advent days ready ourselves for Christ to come into our hearts this Christmas.
 
When we come together to share in the Eucharist this Advent, we are being nourished in Word and Sacrament. The first readings that we will listen to with our ears and our hearts look forward to the fulfillment of God's promises. The second readings look back to the promise fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. John the Baptist is prominent in the Gospels during the Advent season, reminding us to prepare. These scriptures will enrich and deepen our preparation this Advent as we pray in community with parishioners, guests, and visitors to the Church of St. Mary.
 
The preface for Advent proclaims; "For He assumed at His first coming the lowliness of human flesh...that when He comes again in glory and majesty....we who watch for that day may inherit the great promise in which we now dare to hope."
 
We remember Christ's first coming, now, watching for His return, we live our faith in hope. Advent is a time of anticipation and joy. During the Advent season the Gloria is not sung, with the exception of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12.
 
The Advent wreath hangs in our sanctuary reminding us to prepare in hope. The lighting of each candle guides us in our Advent prayer, as we count down the days to Christmas.
 
Special thanks to those who took the tags from the Christmas Sharing Tree last month. All gifts are to be returned to St. Mary's next weekend so they can be delivered to our sharing parish, Most Blessed Trinity in Waukegan. Thanks to the Guild and the parishioners for supporting this beautiful and generous effort of our parish.
 
Next Sunday we are also welcoming parishioners' generosity in helping support the Food Pantry at Most Blessed Trinity. Food donations can be brought to the Church Community Room or Parish Center before  S   unday, December 9. On Sunday, the donations will be collected at the UGC Oakwood lot entrance. Thanks for helping those in need to have food on their tables this Advent season.
 
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote, "Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving others with God's own love and concern."
 
As you leave church today there are a few Advent gifts for you to use in prayers these days. There are Advent key chain prayers and Purple Books that contain prayers and reflections for the Advent season. May these simple efforts deepen your prayer this Advent season. Also available are parish calendars for 2019.
 
God bless you with a generous and receptive heart this Advent!

   
Advent and Christmas at the Church of St. Mary
Pack the Pantry 
Parish Events


Religious Education
PARISHIONERS - THANK YOU VERY MUCH! C:\Users\pschwarz\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\03AOGU7T\newspaper_stack-300x247[1].jpg
THE RESPONSE TO OUR CALL FOR NEWSPAPERS HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING AND WE NOW HAVE COLLECTED MORE THAN WE NEED FOR THE EIGHTH GRADE CONFIRMATION RETREAT!
WE WILL NO LONGER BE COLLECTING ANY NEWSPAPERS!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much.
COR Youth Ministry



Amazon Smile
AmazonSmile  is a website operated by  Amazon  with the same products, prices, and shopping features as  Amazon .com. The difference is that when you shop on 
AmazonSmile , the  AmazonSmile  Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the School of St. Mary. 

To use amazon smile go to smile.amazon.com and then select School of St. Mary Lake Forest, IL as your organization of choice. Then just use amazon as you normally would you will be supporting the school without even thinking about it. 


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Church of St. Mary Website
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Information on our Mass Schedule, Sacraments, School, Religious Education, Youth Ministry, Guild of St. Mary, Liturgical Ministries, Bible Study, RCIA, Bulletins, Gospel Reading Podcasts, Homily Podcasts and more can all be found on our webpage. 
   
 
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Listen to past Gospel Readings and homilies anytime, anywhere!  Click on the podcast image or goto our website.  Click on Multimedia/Podcasts.
 
Enjoy!