Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s of the Lake:

 

 ✠  This Sunday, in union with the universal Church, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King Of the Universe! Every year we celebrate this Solemnity to mark the end of the Church's Year; before we begin the new Church Year with the Advent season, which will begin next SUN (Dec 2). The Solemnity of Christ the King invites us to ask ourselves: Who truly has lordship or dominion over us, or Who truly is the King of our life? As we move on to Advent, we will also reflect on the kingship of Jesus: When the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary, he said: “You will conceive and bear a Son… And the Lord God will give him the throne of David His Father, and He will rule over the House of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end.” Jesus is truly the King of the universe & His Kingdom has no end!

Isn’t it quite meaningful that during Advent we also celebrate the Immaculate Conception --a patronal feastday for the United States & a holy day of obligation. We are reminded that “Mary, ‘full of grace’ through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception” and that “the Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love" (cf. Catechism 491-492). 

✠  This year is unique, for December 8 falls on a Saturday (the last time this occurred was in 2012). In order to observe the obligation of the Immaculate Conception and the Mass for Second Sunday of Advent, we need to plan ahead so that we can go to church twice the weekend of Dec 8 & 9 as follows:

① One Mass for the Immaculate Conception (at 8:30 am SAT December 8 at either Wabeno or Lakewood);  and
② One Mass for  2^nd Sunday of Advent (4 or 5:30 pm SAT; or 7:30 or 9 am SUN) 

    Of course, you can go to Mass at other Catholic churches at your convenience!

 
Praying and hoping that going to church twice the weekend Dec 8 & 9 will draw us closer as disciples to the essentials of our Faith during the course of our Church Year and therefore to Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother, Mary. This is indeed a special opportunity for us to spend just one more hour in prayer together at the Holy Mass during the special (and brief) Season of Advent, to quiet our hearts from the hurry of holiday preparations, and remember the true ‘spirit of the season’ which focuses on prayer, family, and the community of disciples to which we belong in Christ.

Fr. Philip

                                                   ‘Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing...’