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This weekend we gather with family and friends to give thanks for our many blessings and begin the season of Advent. Our annual Thanksgiving Eve Mass will be celebrated at 6 p.m. today followed by a treat.*
Our pastor shares reflections on two recent milestones for Paulist foundations, both reasons for thanksgiving - our Slab Signing and the blessing and dedication of Hecker House in Washington, DC. Father also offers wise counsel for Advent – Don’t get lost in the holiday rush! Read From Fr. Chuck.
*Meet Paulist Fr. Dave Dwyer, author of Mass Class – Your Questions Answered. He'll be at St. Austin’s for Thanksgiving Eve Mass, and preside at the 5:30 Mass on November 27. We'll have some books available at a discount or bring your copy for him to sign after both Masses. Read more at Events.
As Fr. Chuck noted, Advent is a beautiful season. We’ve gathered offerings to keep our focus on what awaits us at the end of this time of hopeful longing. Get your calendar ready to plan a meaningful Advent.
Retail shopping ads are incessant - we offer an alternative that avoids crowds and does a world of good! Support the Prayer Blanket Ministry, Journey, the KCs and, NEW this week, our parish Charity and Justice portal to Serrv. Find unique gifts – including Divine chocolates. Best of all, 20% of our Serrv sales
benefit Catholic Relief Services. Explore the wonders
of our Christmas eBazaar.
We're grateful for your response to our food gathering appeal.
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The Micah 6 Food Pantry needs staples you’ll find listed at JUSTNews and posted at the back of Church and at the St. Joseph altar. This effort ends November 30.
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Our Christmas Basket project also relies on your generosity! Please bring $25 HEB gift cards to Mass or drop them at the parish office through December 15.
All you need to know about our food drives is at JUSTNews.
We often think about giving back around the holidays. In the new year, we’ll offer the opportunity to consider global poverty and how our faith calls us to action. On January 23, we’ll begin an 8-week course, Faith & Poverty: A Global Response. Details are at JustMatters.
As we hear news of another tragic shooting, we share a statement from Fr. René in response to the shooting at Club Q in Colorado. In it, he asks that we "prayerfully remember that those with whom we disagree are not our enemies but rather fellow children of God." Let us renew our commitment to build bridges of peace and tolerance and to act for justice.
Did you leave photos of loved ones at the Sacred Heart altar in remembrance? They’re waiting for you at the parish office – please pick them up soon.
Our building progress notes are at Construction Updates.
Many experience loneliness at this time of year – be the antidote to isolation. Extend an invitation to participate in one of the many invitations we post at Advent and Events ~
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The parish office will be closed on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. We won't offer post-Mass hospitality after the 8:45 and 11:30 Masses but our free, simple Sunday Supper will follow the 5:30 Mass.
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November 29 at 7 p.m. the Knights of Columbus host a Fraternal Benefit Night. They also invite you to buy pecans – chocolate varieties are almost gone. Read the Knightly News.
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Honor Our Lady by celebrating two Marian feasts, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation, and Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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Note these dates! Wednesday, December 21 is the last day to make your gift to remember or honor loved ones with Christmas plants and flowers. Friday, December 23 at 10:30 - join us to array the Church with festive joy.
A poem from a 1985 issue of the Spirit offers a gateway into gratitude. We invite you to linger with the meditation you’ll find at Adventures in the Archives.
Your generous stewardship allows our parish mission to flourish – and that makes a difference - we're bringing God’s Love to life here and now because of your gifts!
We thank God for you!
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