1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity
3. catholicism

LASER-COM COVER SHEET
CHURCH NAME:
St. Thomas the Apostle
Riverside
BULLETIN #:
513571
PHONE #:
951-689-1131
CONTACT PERSON: Arcelia (RC) Lopez
COMMENTS:
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
3774 Jackson Street • Riverside, CA 92503-4359
Phone: (951) 689-1131 • F AX : (951) 354-7402
Visit our website at: www.st-thomas-riverside.com
[email protected] (Check out our website for the staff e-mail directory.)
St. Thomas the Apostle ~ Mission Statement
OVER 100 YEARS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
We, the parishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church,
witnesses in faith to the risen Christ, commit ourselves to His Gospel
and empowered by the Holy Spirit, strive to share the Good News.
Pastor
Fr. Frank T. Dicristina
Deacon Couples
Deacon Mike and Pat Cruz
Deacon Paul and Elsie Ann Myers
Parish Staff
689-1131
Maureen Schultz
Administrator
Pat Sutay
Parish Liturgist
Brenda Diaz
Director of Catechesis
Arcelia Maldonado-López
Parish Secretary
Maria Cordeiro
Receptionist
Karen Morehead
Wedding Coordinator
Gary Owens
Music Director
Catechesis Staff (Faith Formation)
Dana Robles
Child Catechesis
Kindergarten through 6th grade,
Virginia Espinoza
Teen Catechesis
Confirmation and Middle School Catechesis
Marisol Aceves
Bobbie Kobus
Spanish Ministry &
Catechesis Coordinator
Youth Ministry &
Young Adult Ministry
St. Thomas the Apostle School
9136 Magnolia Avenue
689-1981
stasriverside.com
wwwfacebook.com/stthomastheapostleschool
Cathy Thompson
Principal
Martha Ochoa
Secretary
Schedule of Masses
Saturday:
Vigil:
Sunday:
Weekday:
Devotion:
8 am
5 pm, 6:30 pm Spanish
7, 9, 11 am, 5 pm
8 am
Novena to St. Anthony, Tuesday after Mass
Parish Office Hours
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
(Closed for lunch from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm)
Friday: 7:30 am to 3:00 pm
(Closed for lunch from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm)
Baptisms
Families and Sponsors must be registered, active and contributing
parishioners for 90 days prior to Baptism registration.
Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession)
On the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Saturday of the month
at 8:30 am until all are heard.
First Communion and Confirmation
Youth: Please contact the Religious Education Office.
Adults: Please contact the Parish Office, or R.C.I.A. Coordinator.
Weddings
At least a full six months advance notice is required.
Please call the Parish Office for an appointment.
Anointing of the Sick
Second Saturday of the month at 4 pm. Patients in hospitals and
nursing homes call the Parish Office at the time of admittance.
PAGE 2
ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Traditions!!
The Advent and Christmas seasons have many traditions. There are common ones such
as decorating our homes with Christmas trees, Nativity scenes and lights on our houses.
Yet every culture and every people have their own special ones. This can also be what a
family establishes as to their customs for celebrating the Christmas holiday.
My Mother was the one who brought some of the traditions of her Polish heritage to our celebration of
Christmas as a family. Because the house I grew up in was the one my Grandparents lived in it was the
center for the Christmas eve celebration for all of my mother’s family. The house would be full of Aunts and
Uncles and Cousins. We would have something to eat together and then it was time for Santa to make an
early stop at the house. With great anticipation all of us kids would wait to hear the stomping of the antlers
hooves and the ringing of Santa’s bells which signaled his arrival. The gifts were usually left at the door and
the Aunts and older Cousins would bring in the bags of wrapped gifts. We all sat on the floor and waited for
our names to be called. If you were one of the last you were on pins and needles until you
finally heard your name. After the gifts arrived it was usually time for everyone to depart for
their homes so the kids could get to bed before Santa would come and bring all the rest
of our gifts. Before we left we had the Polish tradition of sharing the oplatki. This was a
rectangular wafer bread like communion that was broken and shared with one another.
The sharing was special because I would take a piece of your oplatki and you would
take a piece of mine. We would eat the oplatki and give each other a kiss and wish
each other a Merry Christmas. This was very special. After everyone had shared this exchange with all
those present then it was time for the rest of the family to head for their homes. Those who were old
enough would go off to midnight Mass and the young kids would
go off to bed when they arrived home. With eager anticipation we
2013 Christmas
awaited Christmas morning.
How do you celebrate Christmas? What special things do you
do? What kinds of food and sweets do you prepare for Christmas? Share your traditions with the parish family. Write down
your traditions and we will use them here in the bulletin to share
with the community. It will be a marvelous way to learn from you
how you make Christmas special with your traditions.
I look forward to hearing from you what you do for Christmas.
Mass Schedule
Christmas Eve Masses
Tuesday, December 24
5:00 p.m. - English
7:00 p.m.- English
9:00 p.m. - English
There will be no Midnight Mass.
Christmas Day Masses
Wednesday, December 25
Fr. Frank
Pastor
7:00, 9:00 & 11:00 a.m. - English
1:00 p.m. - Spanish
FNE Raffle Winners
CONGRATULATIONS To:
Manuel Jaure and Stephanie Myers = $500
Anticevich, Pedro Martinez,
and Lucille A Woolsey
Mike Simmons and
Claire Timpson
= $100
Stater Bros
SCRIP
= Commemorative
Tile
Tuesday, December 31
8:00 a.m. - Mass
New Year’s Eve Mass
Tuesday, December 31
5:00 p.m. Mass
New Year’s Day Mass
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
9:00 a.m. Mass
DECEMBER 8, 2013
St. Thomas Filipino Ministry’s
SimBang Gabi
Friday, December 20th
7:00 p.m. Mass
reception following in the hall
St. Thomas the Apostle
Advent Reconciliation Service
Saturday, December 14 th
10:30 a.m. in the church.
A Treasured Filipino Tradition!
2013
Advent Communal Penance
and Reconciliation Services
A heartfelt thank you
(Riverside Vicariate)
from Miguel Cardoza (long time parishioner)
for all of your prayers and warm loving
thoughts during his illness.
Please continue to keep Miguel and his
wife Emily in your prayers.
Monday, December 9th - 7:00 p.m.
Thank you, God is good!
St. Anthony
St Mary Magdalene
Tuesday, December 10th - 7:00 p.m.
Corpus Christi
St. Catherine of Alexandria
Monday, December 16th - 7:00 p.m.
Join Us At
Our Christmas Tree Sale!
through
Saturday, December 21st
Lot Hours: Weekdays: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
and Weekends: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
We are located at 7907 Magnolia Ave.
(Corner of Jefferson and Magnolia, across
from Ramona High.)
Flocking and glitter will be available.
Receive 10% OFF
any Christmas Tree on our lot.
Limit one coupon per purchase.
Must present coupon at time of purchase.
FLAG RETIREMENT
The Boy Scouts will again be retiring
flags tomorrow Monday, December 9th at
the Knights of Columbus Christmas Tree
lot.
If you have a flag that needs to be retired, join us at
7:00 p.m. on the 9th or drop off any flags at the parish office. Remember, all flags should be respectfully retired and not thrown away.
St. Edwards
Friday, December 20th - 7:00 p.m.
St. Mel
Monday, December 23rd - 7:00 p.m.
St. Francis de Sales
Congratulations
and Welcome
to the recently
Baptized of the parish!
He calls us each by name.
Alexis Clare Aguirre, Blake Richard Genovese,
Emily Giana Medrano Gutierrez,
Michael Angelo Piazza, Jesse Jake Magdaleno II,
Caris Lee Richards, Ethan David Rocha,
and Benjamin David Watson.
Second Sunday of Advent
December 8, 2013
The earth shall be filled with knowledge of the
LORD, as water covers the sea.
— Isaiah 11:9
Page 4
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Advent Rosary Rally
Saturday, December 14th at 11a.m.
Join us as we pray outside for Life,
Conversion of our Country and World Peace.
Please bring your own lawn chair as we will be
outside on the grass lawn next to the parish hall.
“Public prayer is far more powerful than private
prayer to appease the anger of God and call down
His Mercy and Holy Mother Church, guided by the
Holy Spirit, has always advocated public prayer in
times of public tragedy and suffering.”
-St. Louis de Montfort
Adopt a St. Thomas Family
for Christmas!
If you are looking for a way to make
the Christmas season more meaningful, please consider “adopting” a needy
St. Thomas family or individual that does not have
the resources to celebrate the season.
If you are unable to adopt an entire family you can
still help by donating gift cards from: Target, Big
Lots, Walmart, Stater Bros., The Galleria, AMC
Movie Theater, Fast Food, Amusement Parks, etc.
Last year we were able to make the holidays very
special for 41 families from our parish with your
generous response. Every child deserves to
open a gift on Christmas morning.
If you are interested in participating, please contact RC or Maria at the parish office. Call 689-1131
for more information.
Gift card donations may be brought into the parish
office or put in the collection basket. Clearly mark
your envelope “Adopt a Family”. If you
write a check, please make it out to St.
Thomas and in the memo section please
write “Adopt a Family”. Thank you!
Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry is in need
of ministers!
Training starts in January 2014.
If interested please call the parish office.
wwwstephenminister.org
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Saturday, December 14th
Who can be anointed? Anyone who
is seriously ill; the elderly, even if no
illness is present; those waiting for
surgery when a serious condition is
the reason for the operation; sick
children who have sufficient use of
reason to be helped by the celebration; and those who are unconscious or who have
lost the use of reason, provided that they probably would have asked for the sacrament had they
maintained the use of their faculties.
Here at St. Thomas, we celebrate the
Sacrament of the Sick on the second
Saturday of each month at 4:00 p.m.
in the church.
Wednesday Night Bible Study
St. Peter
Wednesday, December 11th our adult
faith study group will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Our focus this fall is on Fr. Robert Barron’s series “Catholicism”, a great chance to reflect on
our faith tradition if you missed it last spring. We
will also spend time reviewing the Scripture from
the weekday liturgies. All are welcome!
Call Bob Davis for meeting location, 359-8436.
JUSTICE AND OBEDIENCE
JusƟce is the insurance we have on our lives, and
obedience is the premium we pay for it.
—William Penn, English Quaker
Thursday Morning
Liturgy Based Bible Study
Join us every Thursday, immediately following
the 8:00 a.m. Communion Service.
Join us for great fellowship and treats. We will
begin our regular study at 9:00 a.m. and end at
around 10:00 a.m.
We meet at the KDC. Call Kathy Varga at (951) 7898743, or the parish office for more information.
Heart of the Nation
Sunday Catholic TV Mass for the Homebound
Sundays at 9:00 a.m. KDOC Ch. 56
or Charter 9:00 a.m. Ch.10
DECEMBER 8, 2013
READINGS FOR THE WEEK
LECTURAS DE LA SEMANA
Monday:
Lunes:
Tuesday:
Martes:
Gn 3:9-15, 20; Ps/Sal 98:1-4;
Eph/Ef 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk/Lc1:26-38
Is 40:1-11; Ps/Sal 96:1-3, 10ac, 11-13;
Mt 18:12-14
Wednesday: Is 40:25-31; Ps/Sal 103:1-4, 8, 10;
Miercoles: Mt 11:28-30
Thursday: Zec/Zac 2:14-17 or Rv/Apo 11:19a; 12:16a, 10ab; Jdt 13:18bcde, 19; Lk/Lc 1:26-38
Jueves:
or/o Lk/Lc 1:39-47, or any readings from
the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
nos. 707-712
Friday:
Is 48:17-19; Ps/Sal 1:1-4, 6; Mt 11:16-19
Viernes:
Saturday:
Sabado:
Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Ps/Sal 80:2ac, 3b, 15-16,
18-19; Mt 17:9a, 10-13
Sunday:
Domingo:
Is 35:1-6a, 10; Ps/Sal 146:6-10;
Jas/Stgo 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11
Seniors’
Christmas
Pot-Luck Luncheon
Next Wednesday, December 18th
11:30 a.m. in the hall.
All Seniors 55+ are invited.
!
Please bring a dish to share with 8 people.
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Stay for all the fun. Remember to bring
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an unwrapped gift for the raffle.
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Have questions?
M
Call Lorraine Cardin at: 687-3619.
Our Lady of Sorrows
Rosary Making Group
Meets Tuesday, December 10th
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the KDC
Rest In Peace
† Blanch Camino
† Richard Strebel
† Betty Barnard
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 t h .
8:00 a.m.
Ints. Friends, Families and
Benefactors of the Parish
Confessions
†Al Fernandes
†Victor & †Dora Sandoval
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 t h .
7:00 a.m.
†Manuel Ballesteros
9:00 a.m.
†Bernie Soria
11:00 a.m.
Ints. Rebecca & Darwin Caraan
5:00 p.m.
Ints. Families, Friends and
Benefactors of the Parish
MONDAY, DECEMBER 9 n d .
8:00 a.m.
†Consuelo Sanchez Alcala
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10 t h .
9:00 a.m.
School Mass
Ints. Bob and Elain Schulte
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11 th.
8:00 a.m.
†Maria D. Noronha
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 t h .
8:00 a.m.
†Lupe Sanchez Alcala
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 t h .
8:00 a.m.
†Ann Hinton
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 t h .
8:00 a.m.
†Johnny and †Linda Huerta
8:30 a.m.
No Confessions
4:00 p.m.
Anointing of the Sick
5:00 p.m.
†Deceased of Korson Eisenbart Family
6:30 p.m.
†Eliseo and †Margarita Blanco
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 t h .
7:00 a.m.
Ints. Families, Friends and
Benefactors of the Parish
9:00 a.m.
† Ed Moran
8:30 a.m.
5:00 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
11:00 a.m.
5:00 p.m.
Ints. Sergio & Rosa Ochoa
40th Wedding Anniversary
Ints. Doreen McDade
Sanctuary Candle
† Steve Esquivel
Page 6
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
St. Thomas Spanish Ministry’s
¡El Rosario
Guadalupano!
Our Lady of
Guadalupe Celebration
Thursday, December 12th
5:30 a.m.
Mañanitas in the church.
6:30 p.m.
Novenario sera hasta el
11 de diciembre,
a las 7:00 p.m.
en las casas de nuestros feligreses.
El calendario con los domicilios de los hogares
anfitriones esta desponible .
Spanish Liturgy
Solicite uno en la oficina de la parroquia.
Reception immediately
following in the hall.
Acompañenos.
All are invited!
Come to a Christmas Party! ¡Ven a la Posada!
Saturday, December 21st at 7:30 p.m. in the hall.
Come to a fun event with Christmas caroling, piñatas, raffles,
delicious tamale dinner and treats for all the children.
Venga con toda la familia a celebrar las posada navidena de la iglesia de Sto. Tomas.
Tendremos piñatas. Villancicos, aguinaldos para los ninos, deliciosos tamales y mucha divircion.
¡Los esperamos! We hope to see you!
MARAVILLAS
La reacción normal frente a una sorpresa es asombro, graƟtud y deleite. Por definición, las sorpresas no suelen anƟciparse. Cuando ocurren, nos damos cuenta que no siempre podemos adivinar o moldear el futuro. Por supuesto,
hacemos cuanto podemos; llevamos a cabo nuestras tareas diarias como es nuestro deber. La gracia está ciertamente aquí en la esfera de lo mundano y Dios está en los detalles. Dios está también presente en las gratas sorpresas.
Las lecturas de hoy están repletas de asombrosas novedades. Es el clamor de la trompeta de uno de esos
extraordinarios y únicos profetas anunciando la llegada del Señor. Isaías revela asombrosas y sorprendentes imagines de la casi imposible reconciliación de los contrarios: el lobo y el cordero, el puma y el cabrito, el niño y la serpiente. La visión de Isaías muestra todas esas criaturas viviendo en armonía. Esto es de nuevo el Edén; esto es el paraíso. Esto es la sorpresa y la promesa de Dios. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.
St. Thomas Church will host FREE Citizenship Classes for Catholic Charities
If you want to become a U.S. Citizen, these classes will help to improve your language skills and to prepare
you for the USCIS test and interview. Classes will fill up fast so register NOW!
Si quiere convertirse en ciudadano estadounidense, estas clases le ayudaran a mejorar sus abilidades de
lenguaje y prepararle para su Examen de entrevista. Las clases se llenan pronto favor de registrarse
AHORA!
To register please call
Para registrarse favor de llamar al (909) 388-1239
Classes will be 5 consecutive Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the KDC.
January 15, 22 and 29, February 5 and 12, 2014.