Four days of Christmas? Not twelve?

Four days celebrating the Mass of Christmas Day!

A brief survey suggests that many people hope to come to Mass at St. Anthony's and at St. Paul's Chapel this Christmas. How wonderful! Happy news!

Practical problem: we still have limited seating capacity. Therefore:

We will continue to celebrate Christmas Mass during the weekend after Christmas, to give people more options and, hopefully, to spread things out a little. Here is the complete schedule:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020

• 5:00 P.M. - Mass of Christmas Eve - St. Anthony's
• 8:00 P.M. - Mass of Christmas Night - St. Paul's Chapel
• 10:00 P.M. - Mass of Christmas Night - St. Anthony's

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2020

• 9:00 A.M. - Mass of Christmas Morning - St. Paul's Chapel
• 10:00 aA.M. - Mass of Christmas Morning - St. Anthony's

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2020

• 5:00 P.M. - Mass of Christmas Day - St. Anthony's

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2020

• 7:30 A.M. - Mass of Christmas Day - St. Anthony's
• 9:00 A.M. - Mass of Christmas Day - St. Paul's Chapel
• 10:00 A.M. - Mass of Christmas Day - St. Anthony's

As you can see, that gives you nine Masses to choose from!

IN ADDITION -

On Sunday, December 27, Friar Bob will remain in the nave of St. Anthony's from Noon until 6:00 p.m. to distribute communion quietly. If you still should not attend Mass with crowds but desire communion, you may receive privately in this way. No reservations or anything, just come - although I do ask you to respect other people's privacy and to avoid creating a crowd. I believe that this is a more appropriate alternative than a drive-by communion service.

Is all this allowed? Yes. Actually, we have done this every year. In past years, we celebrated Christmas Masses at Northern Lakes and Lakeland (now Aperion) nursing homes and at Cameron Woods Senior Living Community some time between December 20 and December 29, as those home's schedule allowed. This year, sadly, the parish will not be able to celebrate Christmas Masses outside our actual church buildings - but we still have latitude to offer more Masses.

The survey suggests that the three Masses of Decemberr 24 will be the most crowded. If you are worried about crowds, please consider coming to one of the other six Christmas Masses. Thank you and God bless you. May the Lord of Life keep us all safe!

Fr. Bob


NOTES:

• Our posted capacities in keeping with covid-19 safety protocols are 215 people at St. Anthony's and 100 at St. Paul's.
• Bishop Kevin Rhoades has extended the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass for an indefinite time ("until further notice"). Christmas is truly a holy day, a holiday, a happy day - but is not a day of obligation this year.
• You are, of course, free to come to as many of these Masses as you choose! If you come to a mass on December 24/25, you are very welcome at any Mass on December 26/27. We are hoping that attendance will spread itself out naturally so we never have to turn anybody away. Hopefully.
• This decision entails that we will not celebrate the Mass of the Holy Family this year.

an article by Friar Bob & Friar Ray

In bygone days, the parish bought a paperback missalette called Breaking Bread, which we used both as a hymn book and as a missal with the Scripture readings and prayers of the day. Since March of 2020, we have set those books aside because passing paper from person to person can easily spread viruses and other microorganisms.

 
Fr. Bob wants to urge all parishioners to invest in their own personal missal. Take your missal with you to Mass and take it home with you after. Read it. Use it. Make it part of your life. Reading the daily Mass readings is one of the best ways to deepen your spiritual life.
 
Now is a wonderful time to be alive! Some centuries ago, a missal weighed 40 lbs., it took more than a year to produce one copy, and the final product cost more than a house. Now missals are available in all sorts of formats and in all price ranges, including lots of good options for free. Here are some suggestions from Frs. Ray and Bob. This list is certainly not exhaustive – they list some of the easiest to find options. The friars divide the suggestions up into three categories

• Apps for tablets and smartphones
• Paperback popular missals
• Hardbound missals and Mass books

 

 
APPS TO USE AT MASS
 
You may notice that Fr. Ray uses an electronic tablet when he celebrates Mass, because of his bad eyesight. Fr. Ray recommends the app “iBreviary”. Four of the most popular Catholic Mass apps are:

• myParish/St. Anthony of Padua in Angola – this is our parish’s own app, and we have all the Mass texts on it! Our app is limited but easy to use. If you don’t have it in your phone, get it now! More about our parish app
• iBreviary – published by the Franciscans of the Holy Land, this app is aimed at priests and religious, so all the texts are here, including all the Catholic liturgical books. It takes some practice to use. More about iBreviary
  

• Laudate – a free app, quite popular. Lots of ads, though. It does not do well offline.
  
• Universalis – an expensive app, but all the texts are here, and many other resources. A desktop version is available. It does not do well offline. More about Universalis
  

 
All of these apps are available from Google Play, the App Store, or wherever you get your apps for tablet or smartphone. If you would like help with these or other apps, contact the parish staff at webmaster@stanthonyangola.com, and we’ll get one of our “Holy Tony Geeks” to help you!
  

 
MISSALS IN MAGAZINE FORM
 
Many people prefer having a booklet made of paper in their hand, so they can read the Biblical readings and follow the texts of the liturgy both before and during Mass. These are called “liturgical periodicals” and usually appear monthly. Here, in alphabetical order, are the three most popular one in the United States:

• Living Faith. Daily Catholic Devotions. – published four times a year by Bayard, the same publisher as the next magazine below. This little magazine (in stapled pamphlet format) concentrates on personal prayer more than public Mass. For each day, there is a meditation. The chapters and verses for the Mass readings are listed, but you must use your own Bible for the text. $15.00 per year. Also available in Spanish and in large print, and for the Amazon Kindle, the Nook and on the iBookstore. www.livingfaith.com
• Living with Christ. Your daily companion for praying and living the Eucharist. – published monthly by Bayard, a well-established Catholic publishing house. The paperback magazines are bound with glue. For each day, there is a brief morning and evening prayer, the Mass readings and a brief reflection. Each issue has the complete Order of the Mass. There is a special issue for Holy Week. $25.95 per year. www.livingwithchrist.us
• Magnificat – Has morning, evening and night prayer for each day, the Mass readings and prayers, a Gospel reflection by a recognized Catholic theologian, and a saint’s life. There is a monthly artwork with reflection, a hymn of the month and a Marian antiphon with a theological commentary, and various blessings, essays and prayers. This magazine seeks to be a complete spiritual companion but is perhaps a little harder to use than Living With Christ. $47.00 per year (which includes both the paper and the electronic edition). Also available in multiple languages, as a children’s version (Magnifikid), etc. www.us.magnificat.net

 

 
HARDBOUND MISSALS AND MASS BOOKS
 
Some people prefer the weight and feel of a real, old fashioned hardbound book instead of a magazine or an electronic device. In the 1880’s, the Benedictine monks introduced the “popular missal”, a book for lay people with all the readings, prayers and other texts of the Mass, in Latin and the vernacular, so everyone could better follow along. (See Fr. Bob’s blog on this, "Listen to the Music of the Angels"). You have to learn how to use an old fashioned book, of course, but it’s worth the effort! Here are a few readily available modern missals.
 
NOTA BENE: Be sure to buy an edition published 2010 or later, so you have the current translations of the prayers.
 

• New St. Joseph Sunday Missal. Catholic Book Publishing Company, app. 1600 pages. $20 - $40, depending on the binding. The complete 3-year Sunday cycle in one volume. Many of the prayers are repeated to minimize page turning. The sewn cloth edition includes beautiful full color illustrations. A large print version is available. A two-volume weekday edition is also available.
  
• St. Paul Sunday Missal. Daughters of St. Paul. About 2700 pages. $25 to $50, depending on the binding. Like the missal above, it has all the readings, prayers and responses for every Sunday and Holy Day of the three-year cycle, but this edition also has a meditation/commentary for each Sunday and a “treasury of prayers”, so that it is also a personal prayer book for everyday use.
  
• Daily Roman Missal. Our Sunday Visitor. About 2500 pages. $45 to $90, depending on the binding. This missal has both the three-year Sunday cycle and the two-year weekday cycle in one volume, plus many Masses for special occasions, including all the saints’ feasts, funerals, weddings, etc. Includes English and Latin side by side. 200 pages of devotions and prayers. A big, heavy book that can be used every day of the year for a lifetime.

For the Feast of Christ's Ascension, our parish - together with the entire diocese - will resume public Masses. There will be restrictions. I will update this blog post regularly as things change and develop.

NEW MASS SCHEDULE:

Saturday at 5:00 p.m., Sunday at 7:00, 9:00 & 11:00 a.m.
Weekday Masses resume on Monday, June 1, in the main church.
Spanish Mass resumes on Sunday, June 21.
Mass at Manapogo Campground still to be determined.

The new Sunday schedule allows proper time for cleaning and disinfecting between Masses. The schedule will be reevaluted after August 16.

Here is a short summary of the mandatory safety measures.

• There will be a maximum of 200 people per Mass.
• EVERYONE must wear a mask.
• Every other pew will be blocked off.
• In the pews that are open, maintain 6 feet between families.
• Handshaking and hand holding are suspended.
• Communion will be the host only, and only in the hand.
• There will be no choir.
• There will be no offertory.
• The collection will be taken up by different means.
• The church will be disinfected after every Mass, and fumigated weekly.

That sounds like a lot! This will definitely be a different experience of Mass. Who knows? Maybe we will learn something and grow from this!

Those who are particularly vulnerable - the elderly, those with underlying conditions, infants and small children - should consider not attending Sunday Mass just yet. Remember - the bishop continues to dispense you from any obligation to attend Mass. You might even consider attending a weekday Mass as your weekly Mass.

May the Lord continue to guide us.
friar Bob, pastor

Each year at Advent, the church offers us the opportunity to listen to the prophets of the Old Testament whose promise of a Messiah filled the people with hope at times of hopelessness. The Old Testament promise was fulfilled at the first coming of Christ into our world whose birth we are preparing to celebrate at Christmas.
 
Advent also invites us to make ready for His second coming, and to make room in our hearts for His arrival here and now--the Third Coming of Christ. It is with deep trust in God’s unconditional love for us that we acknowledge our failings in the presence of each other and seek his forgiveness.
 
John the Baptist is the great prophet of the New Testament who calls us to ready our hearts. John is the Prophet of Joy and the Forerunner of the Messiah.
 
God of mercy and compassion, as we come together to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, may the truth of His word bring love and hope to the darkness in our lives. Help us to bring down the hills and fill up the valleys, to straighten the crooked and to smooth out the rough until a highway runs right to our hearts, where Christ will make His home, for He lives and reigns, forever and ever. Amen.
 

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke, chapter three, verses one and following.
 
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
 
 The Word of God comes to us in the concrete realities of life — even as we go about our daily work, as we raise our families and build our societies, and sometimes when we find ourselves in the wilderness. Hearing the Word of God requires that we listen. So I ask myself:

• Do I pray every day?
•  Do I go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation?
•  Are there things in my life that get in the way of God’s word for me?

 
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
 
God has given us the holy sacraments as vehicles of His grace — we hear the Word of God in the celebration of the sacraments.

• How long has it been since my last confession?
• Do I prepare myself to receive communion?
• Do I ever think about or let myself be inspired by the promises of my baptism and confirmation?
• Do I keep the vows of my marriage or ordination?
• Do I visit the sick?

 
John said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”

• God has given me the gift of faith. Do I take it for granted?
• Do I look down on people of other religions, or on those who have no religion?
• Do I think I’m better than anyone else?

 
And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”
 
Sometimes I need God’s guidance. Do I ask for it? Do I listen?

John said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
 

• Do I have a tendency to hoard and possess what is not necessary and still yearn to have more?
• What brings me contentment and security?
• Am I generous with my money and contribute whenever I can to charities which help to alleviate poverty?
• Do I make time in my schedule for other people?
• Do I reach out to the lonely?

 
Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.

We long for the salvation of God. We long to understand the meaning of our existence, to see an end to our problems, to receive God’s help in our suffering. We long to know that we are loved.
 

• Do I dare to hope in God?
  
• Do I trust God in my weakness? And come to God in my strength?
• Do I show love?
  

John answered them all, saying: “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.”
 
Sometimes we have other gods besides the one true God. Sometimes we take it into our heads that salvation comes from our own will power and discipline, from some political party or program or some political messiah, from some philosophy or from wealth, comfort, food or entertainment.

• Who or what is my god?
• Am I humble before the Lord?
• Do I long to receive the baptism of God’s fire?

 
Exhorting them in many other ways, John preached good news to the people.

• What is my attitude towards the most vulnerable in the community?
• How compassionate am I towards those who have personal struggles?
• As an employer, do I treat my employees with respect and equality? As a parent? As a teacher? As a person of influence?
• As an employee, am I trustworthy and honest? As a son or daugher? As a student? As a citizen?
• In my relationships, am I self-centred?
• Am I more concerned with satisfying my personal needs than putting the needs of others first?

 
Now Herod the tetrarch, who had been censured by John because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil deeds Herod had committed, added still another crime to his list by putting John in prison.

John the Baptist was a messenger of God, a prophet preparing the way for the coming of the Saviour by encouraging the people to repent. Prophets are often ridiculed, persecuted or simply ignored. As we strive to witness to the values of the Gospel in today’s society, we too, are likely to meet ridicule and ignorance.
 
We will be challenged by the prophets of our times, and tempted, in our turn, to ignore them, ridicule them or cheer their persecution.

• How do I react to such experiences?
• Do I easily ‘give in’ and compromise my values by finding ways to avoid the challenges?
• Do I resent it when some members of the Church call upon me to change my attitudes or preconceptions?
• Who and what helps me during the difficult moments of my life?

 

John the Baptist was the herald of the Messiah and made him known when at last he came. In his love Christ has filled us with joy as we prepare to celebrate his birth, so that when he comes he may find us watching in prayer, our hearts filled with wonder and praise.
 
Amen.

Come to me, you with broken, mended hearts
who know the pain and joy and confusion of love and life.

Come with your wounds and scars and failures
for from these shall flow patience, courage and strength.

Come with your experiences no less than your education
for wisdom springs more from how you live than from who you are or what you know.

Come with the rock-hard stubborness of Peter
and the missionary zeal of Paul.

Come with the loyal love of Mary Magdalene
and the undying friendship of Lazarus.

Come with the natural poetry of Francis
and the visionary leadership of Joan.

Come with the childlike simplicity of Bernadette
and the doubt-plagued faith of Mother Teresa.

Come. And go.

Go out to the farthest corners of the world.
Go to the least, the lowest, and the loneliest.
Go reveal the riches hidden among the poor.
Go give health to the sick, and comfort to those who mourn.

Go with the fire of the Magnificat burning within your heart
and the Body of Christ alive within the soul's tabernacle.

Go break down the barriers dividing my people.
Go tear down the walls of ignorance and fear.
Go lift up the fallen and raise up the weak.
Go with the Spirit to sustain you.

Come and go! I am with you always!
The reign of God is at hand!
See! I give you  my word.

Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M.

Fr. Joe Veneroso is a member of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, commonly called the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers. Fr. Joe is a retired editor and publisher of Maryknoll Magazine. He is the author of several books of poetry and of spirituality.

On the 5th Sunday of Lent - March 18, 2018 - the Parish of St. Anthony of Padua held a "Whole Parish / Whole Family Workshop & Retreat Day in Preparation for Easter". The inspiration was taken from the challenge given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for the parishes to celebrate multi-generational catechism days "that make Easter and Christmas come alive".

Professor Kate Mahon from the University of Notre Dame's Liturgical Theology Department came and helped us along the way. Prof. Mahon provided theological guidance as well as holding a talk for the whole parish and workshops for small groups.

The theme of the day was the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. The different groups of liturgical ministers - from extraordinary communion ministers to ushers and greeters - held different workshops to prepare themselves to help at the many liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. Other workshops dealt with different aspects of Catholic life in the contemporary world.

A special part of the day was the children's program, organized by Cathy Bryan and our catechists. There were also workshops in Spanish, and different workshops for youth and young adults.

After the workshops, we watched the animated movie "Prince of Egypt." The day ended with a celebration of the Solemn Vespers of the Fifth Sunday of Advent.

Fr. Bob and the parish staff thank everyone who made the day a wonderful experience, "making Easter come alive for the whole family".

Lent has begun - the time of enlightenment and purification for those preparing to enter the Church.

On the First Sunday in Lent, February 18, 2018, our three RCIA candidates travelled to the Cathedral of Fort Wayne to be received by the bishop, Kevin Rhoades. Our candidates for the sacraments of confirmation and Eucharist are Brenda Lehman, John Lehman and Christopher Harrington. They are seen here with their sponsors Frank Swenson, Rose Nelson and Laura Harrington, as well as our RCIA coordinator Jan Swenson.

The ritual is called the Rite of Election, because through this ceremony the bishop expresses his approval of the sacraments we will celebrate in the local parish. It is also called the Rite of Enrollment, because the candidates' names are entered into a record book. The ritual is part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) by which adults are received into the Roman Catholic Church.

Over 125 candidates for reception from more than 20 parishes gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the ceremony, which was also attended by many sponsors, catechists, clergy and other faithful. The same ceremony is repeated in South Bend, because the cathedral cannot accomodate all at once the many hundreds of adults who become Catholic each year in our diocese. (Here is the article in Today's Catholic)

Chris, John and Brenda will be received into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil on the night between March 31 and April 1, 2018. The Easter Vigil is the most important Mass of the year. The candidates (who are already baptized) are received through the reception of the holy sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist. Please keep them in your prayers.

Photographer: Ani Romero

This year, as he does every year, Pope Francis presided at a Solemn Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Thousands of Latin American faithful participated.

In his homily, the Pontiff asked Latin America to defend "our peoples from an ideological colonization that cancels out their richness, be they indigenous peoples, African-Americans, mestizos, peasants, or slum dwellers."

The Pope said:

Today's Gospel is the preface to two great Biblical canticles: the Canticle of Mary, called the "Magnificat", and the Canticle of Zechariah, the "Benedictus", which I like to call "the Canticle of Elizabeth" or "the Song of Fertility".

Elizabeth is the sterile woman, with all that this implied for the religious mentality of her time, which considered sterility as a divine punishment due to one's own sin or that of the husband - a sign of shame in her own flesh, making her feel guilty of a sin she did not commit, making her feel worthless because he did not live up to what was expected of her. And in this context the song of Elizabeth breaks forth in the form of a question: "Who am I, that the mother of my Lord comes to visit me?."

Here we can glimpse the parallel with the poor Indian Juan Diego when he tells Mary: "I really am not worth anything, I'm just a Mecapal, I'm a Cacaxtle, beaten and broken, who must bow down before the foreign conquerors. It is not my place nor my right to go to the high places you would send me."

Here, too, we see the parallels in our own society:

• In the indigenous peoples and the African-Americans who very often are not treated with dignity or granted equality.
  
• In many women, who are excluded because of their gender, race or socio-economic position.
• In those youth who receive an education of inferior quality and are denied the opportunity to progress in their studies or to enter the workplace so they can develop and start a family.
• In the many poor, the unemployed, the migrants, immigrants, refugees, peasants without land, struggling to survive in an "alternate economy".
  
• In boys and girls, beaten and broken, forced into child prostitution or exploited by sex tourism.

And yet, alongside this "Elizabeth the sterile one", we contemplate "Elizabeth overshadowed by fertility". She was the first to recognize and bless Mary. It is she who in her old age experienced in her own life, in her very flesh, the fulfillment of the promise made by God.

In Elizabeth, we realize that the dream of God is not - and never will be - to sterilize or stigmatize or fill with shame His children, but rather to nurture in them and let break forth from them a song of blessing.

In the same way we realize it in Juan Diego. It was precisely he, and no other, who carries in his tilma the image of the Virgin: the Virgin with brown skin and mestizo face, supported by an angel with the wings of the eagle, the pelican and the macaw - the sacred birds of the Aztec; the mother able to take upon herself the traits of her children to make them feel part of her blessing.

Dear sisters brothers, in the midst of this dialectic of fertility and sterility, let us behold the richness and cultural diversity of our peoples in Latin America. This cultural diversity is a great treasure that we are called upon not only to cultivate but courageously to defend against any and every attempt at homogenization that ends up imposing - under catchy slogans - one single way of thinking, one single of being, of feeling, of living - a globalization that ends up crippling and sterilizing everything we inherited from our elders; that ends up making us - especially our young people - feel small and worhless because we belong to this or that minority culture.

In short, our fertility requires us to defend our peoples from an ideological colonization that cancels out their richness, be they indigenous peoples, African-Americans, mestizos, peasants, or slum dwellers.