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BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST—المعمدان أحد مولد يوحنا
Year 112 - Issue No. 49 ||Dec 4 – 10, 2022
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Schedule for the Christmas celebrations:
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Novena: Daily starting December 15 to the 23, after liturgy
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Recital: Saturday the 17th: 5:30 pm, (Refreshments after)
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Christmas: Eve 4:00 pm, MIDNIGHT & Day 10:30 am
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New Year: Eve 4:00 pm & Day 10:30 am
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Glorious Epiphany: Friday, January 6th: 6:00 pm
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Scriptural Contemplation for the week
Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of the promise. Galatians 4:28
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His name is John! The glorious day has come, when the eyes of Zechariah and Elizabeth have seen, God’s mercy. The time of expectation and hope has been fulfilled, in the new born. There will come a day, the last of human history, when God will right this tilting ship. There will come a time when the wolf will be the guest of the lamb, and the child will play by the cobra’s den—when children will play next to buildings that were once abortion clinics. There will come a day when “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the water covers the sea.” That day will surely come, for God has promised it, and his promises are sure. But it will come only after the judgment, because divine mercy comes to us only through divine justice. Is Jesus a meek and mild baby in the lap of his maiden mother Mary, or is Jesus a terrifying Judge coming on the clouds with fearsome power? He is both: for the faithful, Christ’s judgment is mercy; for the unfaithful, his judgment is swift and terrible justice.
Eventually, John will become the mighty prophet to whom “All Judea and the whole region” were rushing by the River as they “acknowledged their sins.” God’s judgment is a threshing, a separation: he will separate wheat from chaff. The chaff he will burn and the wheat he will gather to himself, into his barn (heaven). John asserts that “His winnowing fan is in his hand….” A winnowing fan was a pitchfork that a farmer used to toss the mixture of wheat and chaff into the air, so that the wind could blow away the chaff while the heavier grain would fall to earth. It is said that a friend is one who separates wheat from chaff in the one he loves. And yet this separation, while a necessary dynamic of friendship painfully shakes us up. God threshes every human, shaking out our sins like a man shakes out a dirty rug. He is doing that already, for purgatory begins now, in this life. Let God thresh and winnow you. “Take what he gives, and give what he takes, with a big smile,” in the words of Mother Teresa. A saint is simply one who submits herself to the threshing judgment of God, who does not resist when she is tossed about by divine providence, who allows herself to be purified of her chaff. Trust the Lord’s threshing of your life, for He knows what he is about.
Thursday is the patronal feast of our Nation, the Immaculate Conception. Our Lady is the only daughter of men that did not need to be threshed, because she had no sin. And yet God did thresh her: he led her through trial, sorrow, confusion, and darkness. Like Jesus, she experienced the full weight of sin’s consequences, even though herself without sin. If even she patiently underwent this threshing, cannot we also patiently accept God’s disciplines in our lives? With her, we gladly offer difficulties, aches and pains, perplexities, weaknesses, and darkness. We allow God to winnow us, so that we may gathered into his heaven with the Immaculata and all the saints, for he is, the just judge, living and reigning forever, and ever Amen!
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I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. JOHN 6:51
YEAR OF DIOCESAN REVIVAL
June 19, 2022 – June 11, 2023
Why Now?
BECAUSE THE CHURCH NEEDS HEALING. AND THE WORLD NEEDS THE CHURCH
33. Our gratitude is also expressed in our worship of the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass. These forms of worship are all intrinsically related to the Eucharistic celebration. In the Eucharist, the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the eucharistic celebration. Receiving the Eucharist means adoring him whom we receive. Only in this way do we become one with him, and are given, as it were, a foretaste of the beauty of the heavenly liturgy. Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 66. We rejoice in the growing numbers of the faithful who pray in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, a testament of faith in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. We encourage this devotion, which helps all of us to be formed by the self-giving love we behold in the Lord’s gift of himself in the Eucharist. St. (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta reportedly once said: “When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now.”
USCCB; THE MYSTERY OF THE EUCHARIST IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
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Maronite Christian formation &
First communion classes
ages 5 five to 12 twelve.
Sundays Noon to 1:00 pm
Contact: Mrs. Maryl Smith,
stacatechism@gmail.com || 513-961-0120
Free & snacks provided.
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The M.Y.O. Christmas party December 9, at 7:30 pm.
All youth, ages 12 to 17 are welcomed to join our
MYO group. We meet on the second Friday of the month! It’s fun!
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MYA Christmas party, Tuesday Dec. 20, more details next week!
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2022 NAM
Christmas Dinner:
NAM members and guests are invited to a Christmas dinner get together on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 7:00 PM at Dead Low Brewing
5959 Kellogg Ave., Cinti., OH 45230.
Each attendee is responsible for his/her meal and beverage purchase. Reservations must be made no later than Friday, December 2, 2022. To Barb Ganim at 513/321-9405
or Rose Abiradi at 513/321-0033
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St. Jospeh Sodality
Christmas party
The St. Joseph sodality, invites you to become a member. Regular Meetings take place on the first Thursday of the month at 11:00AM.
The Christmas party is Thursday, December 15, Noon. At St. Anthony.
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Thanks be to God. Here is the status of the Parish and Eparchy dual capital campaign results as of August 16, 2022. (3 years since its launching, on August 16, 2019). Last day for donors to be recognized on a yet-to-be-determined plaque is December 31, 2022, although increased donations from current donors and first-time donations from new donors will be appreciated and needed anytime after that date.
The goal of the 3 years capital campaign is:
The update, safety and usefulness of our campus
Completed projects:
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Restrooms in small hall. 2020 ($40,830)
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Roof & wall leakage, Roof insulation, 2020 ($26,549)
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The Church renovation: 2021 ($243,971)
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Formation ctr. & Rectory. 2022/2021 ($59,127)
Projects in progress:
o Large Hall (floor, restrooms, kitchen, A.C.)
o Retaining walls, Parking Lot & Courtyard
Donations reported on 9/14/22:……………540,994.20
Expenses 1/1/19 to 9/14/22:………………..420,213.89
Account Balance as of 9/14/22:………...….186,199.02
Capital Campaign Committee, Mike Misleh (Chairperson), Linda Sawma (Vice Chairperson), Gaby Batshoun, Adel Chemaly, Linda Conour, John George, and Eric Thiemann.
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The ordained are sent forth every week to bring the Eucharist to the sick and homebound of the Parish Family. Visitation can be weekly or bi-weekly depending on the health of the homebound individual. Out of respect to every individual's privacy, we simply ask that the family of the individual contacts the church. Please call Church directly at 513-961-0120 or complete the form VISIT TO THE SICK at: www.staparish.org
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St. Anthony’s prayer chain. We pray for each other.
Our prayer chain is so far 28+5 prayer warriors strong, from its launching on Pentecost!
Please register to be a prayer warrior and share your prayer intentions.
Praying for others strengthens relationships, both with each other and with God the Father.
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Word of the week
sluicing: (gerund or present participle; of verb sluice) wash or rinse freely with a stream or shower of water. (of water) pour, flow, or shower freely.
To flush or cleanse with a rush of water: to sluice the decks of a boat. · to send (logs) down a sluiceway.
Example: She sluiced her face in cold water .
السيلان بالعربي
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When planning your estate
Please consider supporting your spiritual home of St. Anthony of Padua through Legacy Giving, (a tax-deductible way of giving through your will, insurance policy, retirement assets, or charitable trust). With God you will always receive more than what you give.
Consider your Church as one of your children…
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"Never allow a person to tell you no, who doesn't have the power to say yes."
–Eleanor Roosevelt
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December 2022, prayer intention
Remember O Lord all those suffering personal and financial hardships. Please illuminate their hearts and minds that they may seek refuge in your mercy and love. With you, nothing is impossible. We pray to you O Lord.
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