Pastor’s Letter: December 10, 2023

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We enter the Second Sunday of Advent.  Last Sunday we blessed and lit the first candle of the Advent wreath.  The wreath symbolized the eternity of God’s Church.  The colors of the candles speak of preparation (purple) and joy (pink).  The first candle that we lit last week represents hope where we are invited to reflect on the Old Testament prophets who spoke of the coming of Jesus with hope and anticipation.   This week we light the second candle of the Advent wreath which represents love.  The second candle is known as the Bethlehem Candle.  As we reflect on our preparation for Jesus’ coming, we are invited to reflect on the journey Joseph and Mary took to Bethlehem and how we too can take this journey that leads to a renewal in our lives which is why we are encouraged to use this season to make a good confession.  In addition to our regular times for
reconciliation, there will be a Parish Penance Service on the 12th of December at 7pm at Mary Our Queen, on the 19th of December at 7pm at St John Vianney and on the 20th of December at 1:30pm at St John Vianney.  Please see next week’s bulletin for additional reconciliation times held the week before Christmas.

This season of Advent we invite you to two Advent Talks to help us make the most of the Advent Season by Keith Jiron.  Each session will be short – just 30 minutes and convenient as it will be offered on the Sunday mornings of December 10 and 17 at Mary Our Queen from 10:15am to 10:45am and St John Vianney from 11:45am to 12:15pm.

Sunday Dec 10 – Preparing to receive Jesus and Mary

Sunday Dec 17 – Preparing to receive Jesus through the
Miracle of the Eucharist

We invite all of you to attend this time of learning, reflection, and fellowship.  For questions, please call Jodi Meyer at 402.669.0972.

We had our Living Nativity on Friday and Saturday at St John Vianney. We would like to thank all our volunteers for making this Living Nativity possible.

As we make our way to the end of the year, if you are planning to make a charitable donation for tax purposes, we invite you to please consider a generous gift to our Parish Capital Campaigns or building funds at both Mary Our Queen and St John Vianney.  Your generous gift would not only help us with the upkeep of our Parish Facilities but will also help us look towards the future where we continue to create new opportunities for our Parish to be a place where our faith is lived and shared.

God’s Blessings,

Fr Marc