DECEMBER 21, 2014
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday, December 20
St Domingo of Silos, bishop
8:00am – BRIAN REGAN by family
3:30pm – ALL PARISHIONERS
Fr Silvio
5:00pm – LAURENTINA FERNANDES by family Fr Peter
Sunday, December 21 FOURTH SUNDAY ADVENT
8:00am – ARTHUR HOLDEN, JR. by family
Fr Peter
9:00am – LAURETTE & ADELARD PELOQUIN
by daughter & family
11:00am – MANUEL AXILE by Madeline
Fr Silvio
Fr Silvio
7:00pm – WINIFRED KIERNAN (10th Ann.)
by John & Debbie McLaughlin
Monday, December 22
Fr Peter
St Adam of Saxony, monk
7:00 am – MARVIN BARNES by family
9:00am – CHRISTMAS SCHOOL MASS
for SKYLAR BOOTH (healing) by Sheila Waring
Tuesday, December 23
St John of Kanty, priest
A THOUGHT FROM POPE FRANCIS
ON ADVENT and CHRISTMAS
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent our eyes are
drawn to the Mother of Christ, who is also our
mother. With great joy the Church contemplates
her “full of grace”, and starting with these words
we salute her together: “Full of grace!” This is how
God saw her from the first moment of his loving
design. God saw her beautiful and full of grace.
Our mother is beautiful!
Mary sustains our journey to Christmas, for she
teaches us how to live this Advent season in
expectation of the Lord. Advent is a time of
waiting for Jesus who will visit us on Christmas
Day, but also each day in our own heart.
May the Virgin Mary help us to hasten to
Bethlehem to meet the Child who is born for us,
for the salvation and joy of all people. May Mary
obtain for us the grace to live the joy of Christmas
in our families, at work, in the parish and in our
neighborhood. The newborn Baby Jesus is a gift
from God, a miracle for which we can only give
thanks! Merry Christmas.
7:00am – SOULS IN PURGATORY
Wednesday, December 24
Sts Adam and Eve
7:00am – JOSEPH & ANGELA DE NARD by children
5:00pm – JEAN BOISSE by Norma & Raymond Fuller FrSilvio
12:00 Midnight – JOSE’ DUARTE by family
FrPeter
Thursday, December 25 NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
9:00am – LaROCCO & BAUSCH FAMILIES
FrSilvio
10:00am – ALL PARISHIONERS (City View)
FrPeter
11:00am – JOAO & IDALINA QUADROS and ZULMIRA
BETTENCOURT
FrSilvio
Friday, December 26
St Stephen, first martyr
7:00am – DONALD & LILLIAN WELSHMAN by D. Bass
Saturday, December 27
St John, apostle
8:00am – ERNESTINA NASCIMENTO by family
3:30pm – JAIME NASCIMENTO by sister
Fr Peter
5:00pm – NICOLAU COSTA by Rosa
Fr Silvio
Sunday, December 28
THE HOLY FAMILY
8:00am – ALL PARISHIONERS
FrSilvio
9:00am – FREDERICK SOLOMON & MARIA PONTES
by family
Fr Silvio
11:00am – Health of Jaime Nascimento by Aunt FrPeter
*** LATIN MASS ***
7:00pm – ALL PARISHIONERS
Fr Peter
They went with haste
and found Mary and Joseph
and the Baby Jesus
lying in a manger.
May the radiant glory
of that first Christmas Day
fill your heart with joy and peace.
Merry Christmas to all!
Fr. Silvio and Fr. Peter
Dear Padre
From the Pastor’s Desk
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Question: I was scandalized when the
priest on the pulpit said that the Blessed
Mother got married when fourteen. I
think that girls at that age are not
mature enough to be mothers and wives.
Answer: When we deal with events that had
happened two thousand years ago our first
reaction is to compare their way of life, laws
and traditions with ours today. And this is a
big mistake because we cannot judge
something two thousand years old according
to our contemporary standards.
It was common a few decades ago to
get married very young even in our Western
world. Our industrialized world supplanted the
agricultural world in which young people were
getting married in a younger age than ours
today. See the Amish people, for instance.
Our young men and women today
married later because they go to school for
longer years, and for longer years they have
to work to pay off their loans and build their
life and their business. The right moment to
marry never arrives because there is so much
to do, to see, to travel, to have fun, to work
and to postpone a final and stable
commitment.
Another factor could be the common
belief that a marriage or an ordination to the
priesthood or being a Sister is a commitment
so vast and demanding that it is better to wait
until things are sorted out perfectly and a final
decision has to be made at the right moment.
People say that these commitments are for
adults rather than for young people. When
asking to give an age to that “adult” word,
people usually give the age of over thirty.
When arriving at that age, it is more
difficult to welcome children, for instance,
simply because people don’t have the
patience and the energy to take care of the
little ones who are extremely demanding and
requesting a lot of attention, energy and time.
Parents know that right away. Of course, I am
generalizing.
For centuries girls were given to
marriage very early in life, usually around
fourteen or fifteen. An example among the
Saints is Saint Elizabeth of Hungary who
married King Luis of Turingia (Germany) at
14. She gave birth to three children and died
already a widow at 24 in 1231. Another
example is St. Theresa of Lisieux (France)
who became a cloistered Carmelite Sister at
age 15 and died at 24. Both did a lot of good
things at their young age and even became
Saints. When the angel Gabriel appeared to
Mary at Nazareth, Mary was betrothed to a
man named Joseph (see Luke and Matthew).
Among the Jewish people, legal marriage
took place in two successive ceremonies, the
betrothal and the wedding itself. The betrothal
was not, as it is today, simply a promise to
marry, but a perfectly legal marriage contract.
A betrothed woman was already a wife; her
betrothed husband could send her a bill of
divorce, and if he died, she was considered
his widow. The couple, however, continued to
live with their respective family for a period of
time, usually a year if the bride was a virgin as
Mary was. It was spent in preparing the new
home and its furnishings.
Generally, a girl was betrothed when
she was twelve or thirteen years of age, and
sometimes a little earlier. That was probably
Mary’s age when the angel appeared to her.
A man was betrothed between the age of
eighteen and twenty-four, and this was
probably Joseph’s age. Scholars use the word
“probably” because we don’t have any record
of their age and time of marriage. We know it
from the written Jewish law of the time
mentioning that age. I don’t think that Mary
and Joseph postponed their marriage later in
life in order to accommodate our modern
sensitivities and customs! Merry Christmas.
“O Divine Child, what a prodigy of
blessings you are by coming on
earth. Let me go to Bethlehem and
adore You.” Saint Louis Guanella
DECEMBER 21, 2014
WE ARE A TITHING PARISH
GOD’S PLAN FOR GIVING
A WEEK AGO $ 3,325.00 CHILDREN $ 24.00
A YEAR AGO $ 2,786.00 CHILDREN $ 9.05
“The true purpose of tithing is to secure not the tithe, but the tither;
not the gift, but the giver; not your money, but you...for God.
SACRED HEART SCHOOL FUND
In Memory of Hopkins-Buccoliero Families
In Memory of Joan Peck
In Memory of Anthony J. Amerantes
In Memory of John & Priscilla O’Connor
In Memory of Francis Steadman
Previous Anonymous
Anonymous/Weekend 12-14-2014
3,000.00
920.00
150.00
4,000.00
100.00
150.00
5.00
____________________________________________
TOTAL to DATE
# 114
# 173
# 311
8,325.00
SACRED HEART 365 CLUB
LEE PAGLIARO
$ 25.00
SANDY DUARTE
$ 25.00
LUCIA LUSIGNAN
$ 25.00
CHRISTMAS ALTAR DECORATION
Monetary contributions are being accepted for the
Christmas church decoration, made in memory of
deceased loved ones. The parish will purchase
the flowers and plants needed for the occasion. A
Mass of Remembrance will be offered on Sunday,
January 11, 2015 at 9:00 am. A memorial list will
be published in the Parish Bulletin. Thank you in
advance.
CATHOLIC TRIVIA
* Answer to the last week’s quiz:
C, the most read prophet during Advent is Isaiah
* This week’s quiz:
The name Bethlehem means house of
A. Bread
B. David
C. Bethle
D. Wine
A GRAIN OF WISDOM
God can heal a broken heart,
but He has to have all the pieces
PLEASE, PRAY FOR THE SICK: Fernando Carvalho,
Zulmira & Eugene Cunha, Rose Crowshaw, Hardwell
August, Hope Laiter, Matthew Boudreau, Concetta
Hopkins, Larry Bass, Frank and Madelene Frausto,
Danile Lewis, Allison Roberto, Alex Wilson, Charles
Pringle, Zachary Leiszler, Amy Federivicz, Carol
Ladeira, Monica Rainville Baton, Joseph Cabral,
Gregory LaRocco, Fred Rioles, Robert Di Pippo and all
the suffering parishioners.
BIBLE STUDY CLASS at Sacred Heart
Church Hall, 118 Taunton Avenue in East
Providence, on every 1st and 3rd Monday of
every month, at 7:00 pm. For any questions feel
free to call Mr. David O’Connell at 632-2516.
Next Bible Study Class will be held on Monday
January 5, 2015
THE ADVENT CORNER
The Christmas Tree ...
The custom of the Christmas tree developed in
modern Germany (called "Tannenbaum") with
predecessors that can be traced to the 16th and
possibly 15th century, in which devout Christians
brought decorated trees into their homes. It
acquired popularity beyond Germany during the
second half of the 19th century, at first among the
upper classes. The tree was traditionally
decorated with edibles such as apples, nuts, or
other foods. In the 18th century, it began to be
illuminated by candles which were ultimately
replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of
electrification. An angel or star might be placed at
the top of the tree to represent the angel Gabriel
or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity.
 Atheist Holiday
An atheist complained to a Christian friend, "You
Christians have your special holidays, such as
Christmas and Easter. Jews celebrate their
national holidays, such as Passover and Yom
Kippur. But we atheists have no recognized
national holidays. It's unfair discrimination."
His friend replied, "Why don't you celebrate April
first?"
 The Gift
“Thanks for the electric guitar you gave me for
Christmas," little Chris said to his uncle. "It's the
best present I ever got." "That's great," said his
uncle. "Do you know how to play it?"
"Oh, I don't play it at all," the little fellow said. "My
mom gives me a dollar a day not to play it during
the day and my dad gives me five dollars a week
not to play it at night.”