Our Lady of the Visitation FR. MARK BURGER, December, 2014 PASTOR U n p a c k i n g Yo u r P a t i e n c e With this month of December, we enter into that great Season of Advent which is sometimes referred to as the season of patience. I believe that the Church puts this season of patience at the beginning of our liturgical year as a reminder that one of the key ingredients in being a good person is the ability to be patient. I’ve been thinking a lot about this and it has made me take some time to consider just how patient I am. I discovered that I’m not always as patient as I think I am. Take a few minutes right now to think. If you were to stop to consider your own level of patience, how would you rate yourself? Usually when I try to examine my own life, God sends me some sort of image or story to help me sort of “unpack” what he wants me to know or realize. As I began to think about patience, it didn’t take God long to get my attention. People often send me their favorite stories and one of the stories that someone recently sent me is about a teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots. He asked for help and she could immediately see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. They worked for a good ten minutes to get the first boot on. Then on to the second boot and that, too, was a real workout. In fact, by the time the second boot was on, the teacher had worked up a sweat. She was almost in tears when the little guy said, “Mrs. Smith, I think they’re on the wrong feet.” Mrs. Smith looked down and sure enough, they were. She discovered that it wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. To her own amazement, Mrs. Smith managed to keep her composure as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time they were on the right feet. The little boy then announced, “These aren’t my boots.” The teacher bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, “Why didn’t you tell me that?” like she wanted to. And, once again, she struggled to help him pull the stupid boots off his little feet. No sooner had they got the boots off and he said, “They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear ’em.” Poor Mrs. Smith didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens?” He said, “I stuffed ’em in the toes of my boots so they would fit better.” According to the story, the teacher’s trial starts next month! I love that story. The interesting thing is that as I showed it to someone at lunch the other day their reaction to it was not smiles or laughter, but tears. I was surprised by my friend’s reaction. She explained that the image of that teacher pushing and pulling on those little boots reminded her of all of the “pushing and pulling” it sometimes takes when you become a care-giver to a family member who is ill or recovering from some injury. She said, “I recently moved my dad in with us so he didn’t have to go to a nursing home. You start out with the best of intentions and loads of energy and before long your good intentions, your loads of energy and all of your stored up patience has run out!” She paused and began to smile and then added, “I always thought I was a patient person, but I found out that my patience level needs some work!” I asked her how she is coping with it. She said, “Well it has really been about six or seven weeks since dad moved in. What my family found out is that not one of us has all of the skills and not one of us has all of the patience it takes to take good care of my dad. We discovered that if we put all of our efforts together, we do, in fact, as a family, have what we need to take care of him. We discovered that my patience alone is not enough, but my patience with my other family member’s patience put together is more than enough.” “So your tears after reading that story were not sad tears, I take it?” I asked. “No, I guess the story just reminded me that it really is important to me that I can take care of my dad and not have to rely solely on my own strength.” She replied. As I was driving home from that luncheon conversation, I began to “unpack” what I think God wanted me to know about patience. No single one of us has all of the patience a particular situation needs, but when we put our patience to work with other folk’s patience, well, then there is more than enough to go around! As the Season of Advent continues, why not take some time to look at your own ability to be patient and remember, you don’t have to do it alone! PASTORAL THOUGHTS… by Ken Meymann Pastoral Associate of Adult Faith Formation, Pastoral Care & Liturgy [email protected] In the course of the work I do here at Visitation, I get into a lot of different resources (i.e. – books, websites, etc.). In the course of that work I found the following which I thought was fantastic. Fantastic enough that I wanted to share it with you. I’m not sure who the author was, but, it wasn’t me. With that being said, enjoy. WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WAS NOT LOOKING Children are watching you and will do as you do, but not always, as you say. Children are the greatest of imitators as they learn about life from what they see in the world. Let them learn the positive things of life from your actions. The following is as seen through the eyes of a child – perhaps yours or your grandchild. When you thought I was not looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator - and I immediately wanted to paint another one. When you thought I was not looking I saw you feed a stray cat - and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals. When you thought I was not looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me - and I learned that the little things could be the special things in life. When you thought I was not looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God who I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God. When you thought I was not looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick - and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other. When you thought I was not looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing - and I learned that those who have something should give to those who do not. When you thought I was not looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it - and I learned we have to take care of what we are given. When you thought I was not looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you did not feel good - and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up. When you thought I was not looking, I saw tears come from your eyes - and learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry. When you thought I was not looking, I saw that you cared - and I wanted to be everything that I could be. When you thought I was not looking - I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up. When you thought I was not looking - I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw you do when you thought I was not looking." Each of us - parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher or friend - may influence the life of a child. How will you touch the life of someone today? I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure. -Unknown- † MEMORIAL FUND The following persons have been enrolled in the Memorial Fund. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered monthly for those loved ones enrolled in this fund, along with all the faithful who have gone before us. Steven Baum Stanley Magness The remaining Memorial Mass for 2014: December 28 9:00 a.m. - The Holy Family In 2015 the Memorial Mass will be offered on the following days: January 1 9:00 a.m. February 18 6:30 a.m. March 25 6:30 a.m. April 29 6:30 a.m. May 24 10:30 a.m. June 29 6:30 a.m. July 22 6:30 a.m. August 6 6:30 a.m. September 15 6:30 a.m. October 7 6:30 a.m. November 2 6:30 a.m. December 8 6:30 a.m. - Solemnity of Mary Ash Wednesday The Annunciation St. Catharine of Siena Pentecost Sts. Peter and Paul St. Mary Magdalene Transfiguration of the Lord Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of the Rosary All Souls Day Immaculate Conception Each month in the newsletter, we will publish any new names of those persons remembered in the Memorial Fund. Steve Baum - Husband of Beverly Baum and Father of Steve and Adam Baum Jan Fohl - Mother of Mike Fohl Albert Spickard - Father of Katie Spickard B APTISMS Reagan Marie Van Vranken, daughter of Todd & Kristi Simon Conrad Pohlmeyer, son of Brian & Katherine Clayton Douglas Newkirk, son of Ryan & Kaitlin Kate Elizabeth Miller, daughter of Brian & Megan Bennett Thomas Wendling, son of Justin & Nicole Elena Rose Sayers, daughter of Carrie Piper Johanna Savu, daughter of Lisa Lillian Kathleen Kneflin, daughter of Andrew & Kelly Jayce Michael Laake, son of David & Jayne Kaan William Laake, son of David & Jayne Dominic Daniel Melillo, son of Dominic & Jennifer Isabella Ann Holbrock, daughter of Gregory & Deanna Carter James Holbrock, son of Kevin & Alesha Dominic William Loch, son of Mike & Annie W EDDINGS Angela Kersting & Bradley Seymour Alyssa Kotte & Christopher Clark Sarah Durso & Daniel Stagge D EATHS Betty McKinney Albert Spickard Stanley B. Magness Paul Gorman N EW P ARISHIONERS Austin & Megan Meyerrenke 3114 Fiddlers Ridge Dr. Madelyn, William Ken & Stephanie Meibers 543 Laurelwood Dr. Jackson, Makenna Mike & Sharon Conners 3612 Aston Woods Dr. Dennis & Karen O’Leary 5060 Tanglewood Pk. Dr. Carrie Sayers 3132 Ramona Ave. Apt 2 Elena Lisa Savu 937 Woodbriar Lane Piper James & Heather Richmond 6169 Charity Dr. Joshua, Jacob, Jameson, Jett Paul & Kristin Feichtner 3376 Markdale Ct. Gavin, Beckham, Liam Kevin & Jennifer Waldeck 6804 Southknoll Dr. Skylar, Blake Mark & Carol Hester 4163 Rybolt Rd. Greg & Megan Torbeck 4014 Legendary Ridge Ln. Leo, Henry Ann Kathleen Dodd - Sister of Bill Anneken Vera Elbe - Mother of Don Grace Stanley Magness - Brother of Karen Lewe and Uncle of Lesley Childress Steve Horvath - Husband of Mary Kay Horvath and Father of Steve Horvath Paul Gorman, Grandfather of Paula Lonneman and Rick Hoeting. Father-in-law of Jack Hoeting Hella Armutat - Mother of Petra Kurzhals Taking a CRHP retreat has positively impacted many lives. If you’ve never been part of a weekend, please consider joining us. To register for a CRHP weekend, contact Sharon Dreyer, [email protected] or 347-2211; or Ken Meymann, kmeymann@ olvisitation.org or 347-2219. Religious Education Department By Jeanne Hunt Pastoral Associate of Catechesis and Evangelization Religious Education grinds to a stillness that begins mid December as all of us focus on the holidays and stop creating meetings and parish events. But, the heart of the matter is that we still need to keep a holy Christmas. It is up to all of you to do that in your homes and in family life. My best memories of Christmas are family moments when we gathered around the crèche and tree and told the story of Jesus’ birth and sang the carols. I invite you to make those kind of sacred memories with your family. Here are some easy ways to keep Christmas a holy event: Before you open gifts, place the infant Jesus in the manger and read a story book version of His birth. This simple ritual reminds everyone why we are giving the gifts. The Sunday after Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Family. This is the perfect occasion to gather the extended family for a meal. Get out the picture albums and tell family stories. End the time with a blessing prayer for the families gathered. Visit the live nativity scenes in the community or make a field trip to the Caboni mission center, the Krone Conservatory to see their nativity displays. Celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on January 4th. Tell the legend of the Magi and bless your house with the ancient inscription above your door that asks for a year of blessing on your house. Here is the blessing and the inscription: Leader: Let us pray. Bless, O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility, goodness and mercy, the fulfillment of Thy law, the thanksgiving to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. And may this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. After the prayers of the blessing are recited, each room of the home is sprinkled with holy water. The initials of the Magi are inscribed upon the doors with the chalk. (The initials, C, M, B, can also be interpreted as the Latin phrase "Christus mansionem benedicat" which means "Christ bless this house".) Finally, don't forget to make time for Visitation this Christmas. Pray with us, attend Mass and make this a real sacred time of peace and devotion for your family. TO THE PARENTS OF OUR YOUNG CHILDREN, MAY WE SUGGEST… Relax! God put the wiggle in children; don’t feel you have to suppress it in God’s house. All are welcome! Sit toward the front where it is easier for your little ones to see and hear what’s going on at the altar. They are tired of seeing the backs of other’s heads. Quietly explain the parts of the Mass and actions of the priest, altar servers, choir, etc. Sign the hymns, pray and voice the responses. Children learn liturgical behavior by copying you. If you have to leave Mass with your child, feel free to do so, but please come back. As Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” Remember that the way we welcome children in church directly affects the way they respond to Church, to God and to one another. Let them know that they are at home in this house of worship. TO THE MEMBERS OF OUR PARISH The presence of children is a gift to the Church and they are a reminder that our parish is growing. PLEASE WELCOME OUR CHILDREN AND GIVE A SMILE OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO THEIR PARENTS FROM THE DESK OF DIANE WILLIAMS BUSINESS MANAGER Cancer Support Our December meeting will be our annual Christmas party to be held on Sunday, December 7th. For details please call Diane Williams. We are always looking for speakers. If you have a story or are a medical professional, we would love to have you share with us. Please contact Diane Williams, 3472201 or [email protected]. ESAP Funding Catholic Education for West Side Elementary Schools Our Lady of the Visitation has an opportunity to receive additional ESAP Matching Funds by participating in the Matching Fund Program. When ESAP receives donations for the benefit of your school before December 31, 2014, ESAP will "match those gifts at a rate of 150% to a maximum of $15,000. For example, a gift of $3,000 to ESAP by December 31, 2014 will be matched with a donation of $4500 of which the parish would receive a check for in January, 2015, for $7500. Since 2005, The Hubert Family and ESAP have donated over $1,700,000 to West Side Catholic Grade Schools for Tuition Assistance. ESAP GIFT - Our Lady of the Visitation School will receive a gift from ESAP in January, 2015, to be used for financial aid for the 2015-2016 school year. ESAP FACTS: 29 schools participated in the 2013 program 14 schools raised between $5,000 and $10,000 - Of those 14, 9 raised at least $10,000 - In January of 2014, ESAP, the George Hubert Jr Foundation and the Butch and Karen Hubert Scholarship Programs donated over $350,000. We are asking that you please consider making a donation to the foundation for tuition assistance and the money will come back to us in January. Your check is 100% tax deductible. Checks must be made payable to: ESAP c/o The George Hubert Jr. Family Foundation P.O. Box 1116 Cincinnati, OH 45201 www.esap.org Finance Our staff has been making changes over the past year to be able to be more effective to the needs of our parishioners. We will continue to strive to do what is necessary to reach those that want to be involved. We are also taking a hard look at our facilities. Our church holds 650 people where neighboring parishes hold over 1,000. The shortage of priests has caused neighboring parishes to reduce their weekend Masses. We presently have 5 weekend Masses. We are looking at Mass times as advised by the Archdiocese. We would like to have time between the Masses to offer ministry. Finance cont’d…….. We are unable to do that because of the present times of our Masses. We have no large gathering place after Mass or the celebration of the sacraments unless we use the Library. Church Hall is currently used for babysitting. We will continue to study our needs. As always, thank you to those who support our parish by sharing the gifts, talents and treasure that God has given you. Your continued involvement and finances is vital to our ministry. We have a wonderful community of parishioners and want to continue to pass on our faith to our children and grandchildren, keeping them involved at Our Lady of the Visitation. With your help and support we will accomplish our goal. November 30th was our last fifth Sunday of the year. This is our only means of income to help the poor. If you were unable to donate, it is not too late for Christmas. This is a hard time of year for many people but it is even harder for those unable to feed their family, keep a roof over their head, keep the heat and utilities on and buy winter clothes for their children. We need any help that you are able to give. Our recent clients included: Trying to help a single dad of three rewire his house so he can have heat this winter. Helped a single mom of one in our neighborhood to pay her rent. She is a hard worker, but lost her job. We were able to help get her resume out to different agencies we are aware of to help her find employment. We paid the Duke bill for a single mom of two in Addyston. We gave a voucher for bedding and household items for a single woman who had to move because of bed bugs. We gave a clothing/household voucher, to a single mom of two and grandmother to one all living with her. We also gave her a large food box. We are in need of a van that will hold seven people for a married couple with five children. The transmission went out in their car and they have no means for the entire family to travel anywhere together. Presently the husband takes a bus to work downtown. "We are in front of a global scandal of around one billion - one billion people who still suffer from hunger today. We cannot look the other way and pretend this does not exist. The food available in the world is enough to feed everyone." (Pope Francis) Merry Christmas! School News By Terry P. Chapman, Principal High School and Jr. High Youth Ministry By Laura Hampel Pastoral Associate of Youth Ministry [email protected] Recently our 4th through 6th graders were able to experience “Astounding Astronomy” presented by COSI (Center of Science and Industry) of Columbus. The program is designed to enhance students’ knowledge of the different areas of science. Students took a journey to the Sun and the other planets of our amazing Solar System. They explored the incredible variety of planetary environments and discovered Earth is the only planet that can support life – or is it? In November the ACTS (Association of Catholic Teenage Services) after school service trips started for the 80 8th grade members. The ACTS members are scheduled about once a month to visit nursing homes, serve drinks at a soup kitchen and tutor younger students in Price Hill. Our PTO Read-a-Thon was a huge success! Students collected over $10,000 and 4,774 books for the Literacy Network. Thank you to everyone for supporting such a great event. The entire 7th grade class made their annual trip to Camp Joy right before Thanksgiving break. This is a three day trip in which students learn about living things up close, experience the Underground Railroad, learn to set goals for themselves, build self esteem, work to build class spirit and much more. Thank you to the teachers and parent chaperones for making this trip possible. Our first grade students have been busy with their Mission project. In November, they collected canned goods for the Holy Family/St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. Second grade receives the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday, December 6th at 10:00 a.m. What a great way to begin the Advent Season. Our ACTS Giving Tree is again supporting Roberts Academy (where we tutor students). This “most wonderful time of year” can be hard on others. The cold weather, the pressure of buying gifts when money is tight and trying to make things nice can add up. So our ACTS members collect cold weather items and presents for students at Roberts. It’s so much fun to see the pictures of their faces when the items are passed out during school. It truly warms my heart! Soccer State Champs The 25th Annual Visitation High School Retreat invites have been mailed out to all 560+ students registered with the parish and those who’ve attended the retreat before. The retreat will be held on President's Day weekend, February 13th-15th, 2015. This weekend features small groups led by college leaders, the most amazing Mass on Saturday night (seriously, just ask anybody who's been there), witnesses, time for personal reflection and more. The 80 spots for retreatants fill up quickly! Please do not hesitate to get your registration in or to contact me with any questions. Congratula ons to Sidney Huschart, Lilly McSwigan, Maggie Huschart, Kenzie Brogan, Ka e Schu e, Grace Bellissemo, Maggie Simonson, Ella Bollinger, Cameron Bi ermann, Grace Belle , Kamryn Lambers, Emma Boeing, Lourdes Leurck, and coaches Molly Huschart and Dan McSwigan. These girls won the 2014 5th‐ 6th grade Soccer State Championship. Don’t forget! All events are open to all of our 7th-12th grade parishioners (and friends!) We’d love to have more of our home school and public school students join us for our events! Check out our page on the parish website or Google site for more information: https://sites.google.com/a/ olvisitation.org/youthministry. Our Lady of the Visitation School registration for the 2015-2016 academic year will begin the end of January/ beginning of February. Look for more information on our website after the holidays. The faculty, staff, and students at Our Lady of the Visitation School wish everyone a joyous and blessed Holiday Season. Congratula ons to Kaitlyn Huschart, Vic oria Zappasodi, Ka e Brass, Anna Ve er, Samantha Wi erstae er, Paige Klocke, Rachel Ginn, Lucy Mazza, Lauren Emerson, Olivia Carter, Emily Jansen, Elizabeth Wullenweber, Maddie Withers and coaches Molly Huschart and Joe Zappasodi. The girls won the 2014 3rd‐4th grade Soccer State Championship. Upcoming Events Junior High: “Jr. High Nights” will be Wednesday, December 10th, and Thursday, January 15th, both from 7 -8 p.m. in the Pavilion. High School: “Sundays @ 7” will be December 7th, 21st and January 4th at 7 p.m. in the Library. OUTREACH By Bill Tonnis Pastoral Associate for Outreach [email protected] 513-347-2218 “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” Jesus We have a lot to be thankful for in regard to our “Covenant Partnership” with St. Leo’s parish. We are seeing such energy and new life through our relationship. We had quite the party at “Culture-Fest” back in October. Several of our parishioners volunteered to drive over to St. Leo’s in N. Fairmount to help bring many of their parishioners here for the celebration of our various cultures. We all enjoyed performances by an Irish dance group, clogging by the group “The Can’t Stop Cloggers” as well as exhilarating performances by the Burundi women and Guatemalan band from St. Leo’s! Our next opportunity to celebrate together will be St. Leo’s annual Epiphany Prayer Service on Sunday, January 4th starting at 4:00 p.m. at St. Leo’s. It will be followed by a potluck dinner. Won’t you consider coming out to be a part of our growing relationship together as brothers and sisters in Christ? We are excited to see that many of you are getting involved in helping St. Leo’s Food Pantry by bringing non-perishable food items and toiletries/hygiene products to church each week. We have two plastic storage bins at the entrance to church that are marked “St Leo’s Food Pantry.” There is such a need! Did you know that over 1300 people were served by the pantry in October? Each Monday parishioner Jerry Riesz takes the bins to the pantry. He and many others like Steve Deiters and Lea Brinker are volunteering regularly at the Food Pantry. Others like Cathy Grote, Gina Hautz and Luke Striebich volunteer in the “English As a Second Language” (ESL) classes each Saturday morning while Kerry Finley continues the tutoring classes she and her son Cole started on Tuesday evenings at St. Leo’s. I would love to name all the volunteers but I know I’d miss someone! A big “thank you” goes out to VAC for donating a freezer-full-of-food left over from the football season…as well as the freezer! Thanks for all that you are doing! If you are interested in getting involved, contact St. Leo’s at 921-1044 or [email protected] or contact me here at the parish. Thanks to all the families who came out to our annual "Operation Christmas Child" shoe box packing party on Sunday, November 16th. 145 shoe boxes were packed with Christmas gifts. 100 will be sent overseas to children in need and 45 will be taken to St. Leo. “Giving Tree” gifts to benefit St. Leo, St. Joe in the West End and St. Vincent de Paul will be collected at the Masses on December 13th and 14th. Looking ahead…our next “Outreach Ministries” collection on January 17th and 18th will be going entirely to help support St. Leo. If you’d like to take advantage of the year-end tax benefit, please consider making your donation early. You can make your check out to “Our Lady of the Visitation” and then on the memo line indicate that you would like your donation to go to the Outreach collection in January for St. Leo. We are excited about our group of over 30 parishioners who have come out to one or both of our “Joy of the Gospel” workshops. The first in October was presented by Dr. Gillian Ahlgren of Xavier University and Fr. Dan Hartnett, the Pastor of Bellarmine Chapel. The follow-up workshop with Dr. Ahlgren happened last month. Our group is vowing to stay together to work on “fleshing-out” Pope Francis’ “Joy of the Gospel” message in the parish! If you would like to get involved or if you have any ideas, please contact me! Our Lady of the Visitation is a member of a collaborative of parishes in the Archdiocese that is calling attention to 3 top issues: Immigration Reform (which the U-S Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging our lawmakers in congress to pass); Helping “returning citizens” (those who have served time in prison); and Care for Creation and the Poor. Part of our care for Creation is doing our part to offset climate change. All across our country, Catholics are taking the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor and joining the Catholic Climate Covenant. The St. Francis Pledge is a promise and a commitment by Catholic individuals, families, parishes, organizations and institutions to live our faith by protecting God’s Creation and advocating on behalf of people in poverty who face the harshest impacts of global climate change. To find out more information about joining the Covenant as an individual or family, check out catholicclimatecovenant.org. In case you hadn’t heard, we are starting, (with Father Mark Burger’s blessing) a Support Group for Parents, Relatives and Friends of LGBT People. The first meeting is set for Monday, December 1st. If you would like more information about this, please call or email me (contact info above) or Mary Keilholz at 941-8676 or [email protected]. Watch the bulletin for information on upcoming meetings. Some Things to Think and Pray About By Deacon Michael Erb Check it out…. To view our Masses, go to our web site and click the StreamSpot logo: This month, view our Masses on your TV with StreamSpot using your Roku Player. What is a Roku Player? Roku is a revolutionary device that allows viewers to experience streaming video on their television. Think of it as a cable box for the Internet. Roku players are now used by over 6 million users worldwide accessing over 8 billion streaming videos. Roku players are very affordable starting at around $49. To purchase your Roku player please go to our web site and find StreamSpot, look for Roku and just click. I B In preparation for parents to ready themselves for the baptism of their children, classes are held in the odd months of January, March, May, July, September & November of the year on the second THURSDAY. We encourage all parents to attend before their baby is born. Our next class will be held: Thursday January 8th in the Reception Room. We start at 7:30 PM. We always start on time and end on time. If the next class is too far out or not convenient for you to attend, please email me at [email protected] A P TheAnnulmentprocessoffershealingandclosure. For Catholics whose dreams for a good marriage turn into the pain of divorce, the church's annulment process offers healing and a second chance at marriage in the Catholic Church. When a divorced person seeks an annulment from the church, the Marriage Tribunal Office researches the case to determine whether a valid sacramental bond existed at the time of marriage. In ministering to those who are divorced, Our Lady of the Visitation has the opportunity to witness to God’s love and faithfulness to those experiencing the trauma of marriage breakdown, and also experience God’s healing as it takes place in their lives. You may desire to learn more about what the Catholic Church teaches about annulments, or you may be interested in beginning the process. To seek answers and healing, call Mike Erb direct at 347-2235 ext. 2238 or email at [email protected] S E C – ! Volunteers will no longer need to be fingerprinted. Instead, there will be background checks. If you have been fingerprinted in the past 5 years, there is no need to have a background check. If your fingerprints are 5 years and older, go to the VIRTUS.org web site and request a background check. OLV will pay for all background checks. Before logging on, email me to get a pre-paid token. If you want to pay for the check yourself, please do so. If you pay for the background check before requesting a token, OLV will not reimburse our members. VAC requires all coaches to take the training before coaching a sports team. The cost to our registered members (if you decided to pay on your own) and the parish is $25.00/each. All the steps are listed on the VIRTUS web site: www.virtus.org W J B S C Recently, a classmate from my diaconate formation asked if I thought it would be a good idea I told the kids (in a homily at Christmas) the real story behind Santa. I told him that if I did, I would never see another day. Then he emailed me this story: Santa lives at the North Pole... JESUS is everywhere. Santa comes but once a year... JESUS is an ever-present help. Santa fills your stockings with goodies... JESUS supplies all your needs. Santa comes down your chimney uninvited... JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited. You have to wait in line to see Santa... JESUS is as close as the mention of His name. Santa doesn’t know your name, all he can say is “Hi little boy or girl, what’s your name?”... JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads. Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly... JESUS has a heart full of love. Santa says “You’d better not cry”... JESUS says, “Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.” Santa may make you chuckle but... JESUS gives you joy that is your strength. While Santa puts gifts under your tree... JESUS became our gift and died on a tree. It’s obvious there is really no comparison. We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about. We need to put Christ back in CHRISTmas, Jesus is still the reason for the season. Yes, JESUS is better, He is even better than Santa Claus. Merry CHRISTmas! This got me thinking that to have a relationship with someone, we must get to know them. In his homily the Pope reflected on the best way for us to get to know Jesus, describing it as the most important work in our lives. At the same time he warned that studying or having ideas was not enough on its own to acquire that knowledge of Jesus. Pope Francis went on to explain that we need to open three doors in order to know Jesus. The first door is praying to Jesus. You must realize that studying without prayers is no use. We must pray to Jesus to get to know him better. The second door is celebrating Jesus. Prayer on its own is not enough, we need the joy of celebration. We must celebrate Jesus through his Sacraments, because these give us life, they give us strength, they nourish us, they comfort us, they forge an alliance with us, they give us a mission. The third door is imitating Jesus. Take the Gospel, what did he do, how was his life, what did he tell us, what did he teach us and try to imitate him. This Christmas season, let us think about how these three doors are positioned in our life and this will be of benefit to everybody. HEALTH AND WELLNESS MINISTRY By Deacon Marc Alexander On November 3rd, we held a meeting, “Beginning of the Next Life.” Several presentations were made and I would like to thank all speakers for their time and insight. I presented a case which illustrated many of the problems that come up at the end of one’s life, including code status (whether or not to resuscitate), feeding tubes, and alternatives for continuing care, including home care, nursing home care and hospice care. We then went over the current teaching from the United Sates Conference of Catholic Bishops on end of life issues: A person has a moral obligation to use ordinary or proportionate means that in the judgment of person offers reasonable hope of benefit and do not impose excessive burden or expense to the person or community A person may forgo if they do not meet the above criteria (disproportionate means) There is an obligation to provide food and nutrition to all who cannot take food orally. It may be morally optional when this would not prolong life or comfort (thus excessively burdensome) The free and informed judgment made by a competent adult concerning the withdrawal of life sustaining measures should always be respected and adhered to unless it is counter to Catholic moral teaching Patients should be kept free of pain so that they may die with dignity at the place they wish to die. Medicines can be given as long as the intent is to hasten death (See www.uscbpublishing.org) Jill Mcgrail next spoke about legal issues: Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care - appoint an agent on your behalf in cases when unable to make health care decisions on your own. You specify what this agent can and cannot do for you. Living Will - define wishes regarding life sustaining support – nothing to artificially postpone death. Both documents should be distributed to all parties involved Kelly Bohan talked about the different levels of care at nursing homes: Respite care – to give care givers and the patient a time away from the home situation Long term care (custodial/residential) Short term rehabilitation Assisted living Independent living Marie Cunningham spoke about the concept of hospice and where this can happen (home, nursing home, or inpatient hospice units, and also respite care) (hospice focusing on comfort) We also introduced the program “Conversations of a Lifetime,” a program to initiate the conversation with loved ones about their opinions and wishes about all of the topics above . (see www.conversationsofalifetime.com) Many questions were answered. If you have any questions, please contact me at the Parish Office, 922-2056. God Bless, Deacon Doctor Marc Electronic Giving Upgrade Our Lady of the Visitation is in the process of upgrading our current online giving system (Pledge Connect) to WeShare. Current users of online giving will be receiving an email from WeShare explaining this upgrade. No action is required by you at this time. All recurring contributions will be securely moved. We are just giving you notice that when you receive an email from WeShare it is in fact legitimate. It is not spam. Thank you for your continued support of Our Lady of the Visitation. Questions - contact Leslee, 922-2056. Elizabeth Ministry Thank you to the several people who helped with the Memorial Mass and the reception following it that took place in October. If we were to try to name each person who assisted, we are afraid we may inadvertently miss someone. It is our hope that the Mass gave those who attended some comfort. The next Blessing for expectant parents will be after the 10:30 Mass on Sunday, February 22nd, 2015. May the season of Advent, Christmas and the New Year be rich with God’s love, peace and joy for you and your family. Sincerely, Carolyn Menner and Linda Mayhaus Free Rosary Repair Do You Need a Rosary Repaired? Please call Petra, 382-5439, and leave a message with your name and number. Drop off your rosary and all the parts in a baggie with your name and phone number in the rosary basket located in the Parish Office. I will repair your Gift Card Program The Kroger Community Rewards program donates money to Our Lady of the Visitation when a registered Kroger Plus Card is used at any Kroger store. If your Kroger Plus Card is registered to Visitation, you will see this at the bottom of your Kroger receipt: If your receipt does not have this message, then your Kroger Plus Card is NOT registered to Visitation. To register, go to www.kroger.com and sign in. Click on My Account (upper right corner). At the bottom of the Account Summary page, update your Community Rewards info. Visitation’s organization number is 80204. For more information, contact Pam Holtmeier at [email protected] or 347-9038. Our Lady of Visitation Boy Scouts HOLIDAY FRUIT BASKETS It’s that time of year again and the boys of Troop 238 are offering you the opportunity to purchase quality hand packaged fruit baskets. The baskets make great gifts for your family, friends, coworkers and business associates & help support the OLV Boy Scouts. Each professionally pack aged, woven reed basket contains delicious fresh apples, oranges, pears and grapefruit, tastefully accented with peppermints and walnuts, then wrapped in cellophane and topped with a bow. Decorative boxes contain red and golden apples, oranges & pears accented with peppermints and walnuts. Please order by Sunday, December 14 Medium Basket - $17.00 Large Basket - $22.00 Decorative Box - $20.00 to Troop 238 Cash or Checks payable How to Order: in Troop 238 Contact any Boy Scout OR (513-451-0901) Telephone: K. Buchert Email: [email protected] (Please Include Order Information Below) FREE DELIVERY: Available to the following zip codes on Saturday, December 20 : 45211, 45233, 45238, 45248, 45052 and 45002. th Visitation’s New Year’s Eve Dance Wednesday, December 31, 2014 8:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. Featuring Saffire Express Band www.saffireexpress.com Receptions West 3302 Westbourne Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45248 $50.00 per person includes: Dinner buffet Beer Wine Pop Champagne Toast Snacks 1 Mixed Drink Ticket RESERVATIONS: www.receptionsinc.com/locations/western-hills 513-922-6777 OUR LADY OF THE VISITATION GIFT CARD PROGRAM ORDER FORM 2014 Name ____________________________ Phone Number ____________________ Email Address _____________________________ Send through school Cash – Amount $__________ Student ___________________________ Check (made payable to OLV GCP) – Amount $__________ Teacher ___________________________ Charge my Credit Card #_______________________________________ Pick up at Parish Office______ Exp Date __________ Security Code _________ Amount $__________ GCP will call to arrange delivery_____ Address ___________________________________________________ RETAILER RESTAURANTS % Applebee’s Arby’s Aroma’s Java & Gelato Bob Evans Brio Tuscan Grill Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings * Busken Bakery Cheesecake Factory Chipotle Mexican Grill City BBQ Cracker Barrel Darden‐Longhorn/Olive Garden/Red Lobster Dewey’s Pizza Dewey’s Pizza Domino’s Pizza Dunkin’ Donuts Friday’s Frisch’s Big Boy Frisch’s Big Boy * Holy Grail Honeybaked Ham Izzy’s Jeff Ruby Restaurants KFC *LaRosa’s Montgomery Inn O’Charley’s Outback/Bonefish/Carrabba’s P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Panera Bread Panera Bread Papa John’s GROCERY/GASOLINE $ QTY 8% 8% $25 $10 $ $ 5% 10% 6% 8% 8% 10% 5% 10% 8% 9% 9% 10% 10% 8% 3% 9% 4% 4% 10% 12% 12% $10 $10 $20 $10 $25 $10 $25 $10 $10 $10 $25 $10 $25 $10 $10 $25 $5 $10 $20 $10 $10 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 20% 8% 8% 7% 13% 8% $50 $5 $20 $25 $25 $25 $ $ $ $ $ $ 8% 9% $25 TOTAL RETAILER * Bridgetown Finer Meats/Produce % $ QTY 5% $10 $ * Bridgetown Finer Meats/Produce 5% $25 $ GFS Marketplace * Humbert’s Marathon Meijer Meijer 4% 5% 3% 3% 3% $25 $10 $25 $25 $50 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $100 Meijer 3% Remke 4% $50 $100 Remke 4% Speedway 4% $25 * Sullivan’s Family Foods 5% $10 DEPARTMENT STORES/SPECIALTY STORES % $ RETAILER Bath & Body Works 13% $10 Bed Bath & Beyond 7% $25 Best Buy 3% $25 CVS 6% $25 Dick’s Spor ng Goods 8% $25 Dillard’s 9% $25 Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic 14% $25 Home Depot 4% $25 Kohl’s NOTE ‐ Kohl’s gi cards 5% $10 Kohl’s purchased from GCP Kohl’s can be used to pay your Kohl’s Kohl’s credit card bill Lands’ End Lowe’s Macy’s Staples Target T.J. Maxx/Marshalls/HomeGoods Toys R Us/Babies R Us Walgreens Walmart/Sam’s Club Walmart/Sam’s Club OTHER 5% 5% 5% 16% 4% 10% 5% 2.5% 7% 1.5% 6% 2.5% 2.5% $25 $50 $100 $25 $20 $25 $25 $25 $25 $20 $25 $10 $25 QTY TOTAL TOTAL $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $5 9% $10 $ 8% $10 $ *Price Hill Chili 10% $10 $ *Ron’s Roost 15% $25 $ * Skyline Chili 5% $10 $ * Skyline Chili 5% $15 $ RETAILER % $ QTY AMC Theatres 8% $25 * Skyline Chili 5% $20 $ Great Clips 8% $25 * Skyline Chili 5% $25 $ *Holscher Hackman Garden Center 15% $25 Starbucks 7% $10 $ iTunes 5% $15 Starbucks 7% $25 $ Scallywag Tag 10% $10 Steak ‘n Shake 8% $10 $ Visita on Spirit Wear Shop Any Subway 3% $10 $ Wendy’s 4% $10 $ Send completed order form to Pam Holtmeier (347‐9038) through School or the Parish Office or order online at Visispiritwear.weebly.com/gi cards OR e‐mail your order to OLVgi [email protected]. Remember to register your Kroger Plus Card at www.krogercommunityrewards.com for Visita on to earn rewards. *Locally Owned Merchants TOTAL $ $ $ $ $ $ Our Lady of the Visitation Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Cincinnati, Ohio Permit No. 3474 3172 South Road Cincinnati, Oh 45248-2998 513/922-2056 www.olvisitation.org e-mail - [email protected] Schedule of Masses Christmas Season 2014 The Feast of Christmas Christmas Eve Wednesday, December 24 3:30, 5:30 & 10:30 p.m. (carols at 10:00) Christmas Day Thursday, December 25 7:30 & 10:30 a.m. The Feast of Mary the Mother of God New Year’s Eve Wednesday, December 31 4:00 p.m. New Year's Day Thursday, January 1 9 a.m. NEWSLETTER PRINTED COURTESY OF DIOCESAN PUBLICATIONS®, DUBLIN, OHIO
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