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December 2, 2018
Baptized in the Holy Spirit!
We have just concluded the six-week course: “The Gift: A
Life in the Spirit”! Nearly one hundred of our parishioners
attended (about 60 on Tuesday nights and another 40 on Sat-
urday mornings) and most of them were baptized in the Spirit
at the fifth session. As a group, we could feel the presence of
the Holy Spirit. We were blessed that Fr. Conley, Pastor at St.
Mary’s Bryantown, had accepted our invitation to have his
parish assist us in the implementation of this course: close to
30 of his parishioners joined us and they brought to our 100
OLHOC parishioners the joy and the fire of the Holy Spirit.
You will recall that Fr. Conley had preached to all Sunday
Masses about his own experience of the Holy Spirit and how
the Gift course had changed his spir itual life (about 25
years after his priestly ordination).
I had great expectations for our parish when we embarked
upon the Year of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. So far, I have
not been disappointed. During the summer, we had a great
Vacation Bible School on the theme of “Surfing with the Holy
Spirit”. It was followed by a seven-week course, “The Wild
Goose: Discovering a Deeper Relationship with the Holy
Spirit”, and many of the attendants did sign up for the Gift
course in the fall. I was able to attend every session of the Gift
course and could appreciate first-hand how the group dynam-
ics helped open our hearts to the Holy Spirit: the common
meal with small groups joining at individual tables, the sing-
ing of glory and praise in the church, the common watching of
a 20-minute video, followed by discussion in small groups
(the same as for meal fellowship), and concluding with more
singing together in the church and a final prayer.
The highlight of The Gift was the fifth week when each of us
was baptized in the Holy Spirit! Has anyone ever prayed over
you? Have you ever felt a strong presence of the Holy Spirit?
If so, can you imagine 2 or 3 people praying over you in a
small group environment (seven to ten people), and being
asked which gifts of the Holy Spirit you would like to be able
to develop and use. At confirmation we already received the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, but we may have not yet been able to
access them. Before being baptized in the Holy Spirit as an
adult, we need to ask God what we desire the most in our
Christian journey on earth.
On the eve of Pentecost 1997, Pope St. John Paul II prayed:
“Open yourselves with docility to the gifts of the Spirit! Ac-
cept gratefully and obediently the charisms which the Spirit
never ceases to bestow on us!” Let the Holy Spirit come into
your heart and guide all your choices and decisions! I like the
image of the door of our hearts as needing two keys for its
opening: one outside the heart belongs to God, and the other
key inside belongs to us individually. God is always ready
to enter our hearts and He has the outside key to do so. But
unless we have the desire to let Him open our hearts to the
Holy Spirit, He will not force us. He has given us free will!
We express our desire by opening the door to the heart with
our inside key.
One significant desire to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit is
to want to have our hearts cleansed of any sins, whether venial
(minor sin) or mortal (grave sin). Once again, we can use the
image of our hearts being filled with a large number of sins,
for which we have never been to confession. The accumula-
tion of sins makes it difficult to open the door to our heart.
One of the positive effects of the Gift seminar is that many of
the participants have chosen to go to confession before being
baptized in the Holy Spirit. St John the Baptist said : “ I am
baptizing with water, for repentance, but the one who is
coming after me (Jesus) is mightier than I. I am not worthy to
carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire”. (Matthew 3:11).
Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus made this great
promise to his disciples, and all of us: “You will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus had promised that He will never leave us alone. His
promise is that He will send us the Holy Spirit. While Jesus is
now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit
is the one who is always with us on earth. As a Spirit, we do
not see Him, but we can feel his presence. Being baptized in
the Holy Spirit, as an adult, is in a way to be born again as
we are opening our hearts to the transforming power of the
Holy Spirit. St. Paul reminds us: “Do not grieve the Holy
Spirit by the way you live...be filled with the Holy Spir-
it...pray in the Spirit at all times.” (Ephesians: 4:30, 5:18,
6:18).
As I have repeated many times, we receive the Holy Spirit
whenever we participate in a sacrament, including those that
can be repeated frequently: the sacrament of Reconciliation
and the Eucharist, as in every Sacrament, the Holy Spirit
together with the Church are at work. As we enter the First
Week of Advent this weekend, let us prepare ourselves by
attending our Advent Penance Service at 7 pm this coming
Tuesday, December 4, and then let us walk together with
the Holy Spirit during the whole Advent Season preparing our
hearts for receiving the joy and peace of the First Coming of
Jesus at Christmas!
One in Christ,
Fr. Alain
OUR LADY’S LITTLE CHRISTIANS
Preschool openings (3 and 4 year olds) at OLHOC! Full and half-day programs. We include children’s chapel ser-vices and many opportunities for family involvement!
For more information send an email to pre-
[email protected] or call the office and ask for Nieda, Preschool Director.
***********************************************
OLHOC Community Outreach
The next Outreach Committee meeting is Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 pm in Fr. Alain‘s
office. New members and ideas are always welcome! Our next Dec. 20 at Good Shepherd Church on Smallwood Drive.
The Outreach Committee wishes to thank the many donors and volunteers who contributed so much to our activities the weekend of Nov. 15-18. On Nov. 15, at Shepherd’s Table some 60 people were treated to a wonderful meal provided by the Cheesecake Factory and coor-dinated by Jeannie Jacobs. On Nov. 17, we pre-pared and served dinner at Good Samaritan Church for the homeless at Safe Nights. Thank you to Golden Corral for donating mac and cheese! On Sunday, Nov. 18, we thank all who helped with the delivery of Thanksgiving tur-keys to those in need and thank you to Giant
Foods for once again donating pies!
We are in need of volunteers to help deliver Christmas packages following the 10 am Mass on Dec. 23. Thank you in advance!!
************************************************
The parish office will be closed December 24– 26 for the Christmas holidays.
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Friday Faith & Fellowship Group
Join the group every 2nd Friday of the month for
Movie Night (watch for update)
and for bible study and music each 3rd, 4th, and occasional 5th Friday. 7:00 PM
***********************************
First Sunday of Advent
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Religious Education
Important Dates:
Dec. 2/3– CCD Classes resume
Dec. 9/10– CCD Classes
Dec. 16/17-CCD Classes
Dec. 23/24– No classes– Christmas Break
Dec. 30/31-No classes– Christmas Break
************************************************************************
*Attention Sacramental Preparation Families (CCD and Catho-
lic School Families): Workshop dates for First Reconciliation/
Communion (10 am) and Confirmation Year 1 and 2 (2:30pm): Jan 27,
Feb 24, Mar 24, & Apr 28.
Questions? Please contact Therese Thiedeman, DRE
FIAT: Children in Elementary
EDGE: Middle School Youth
Life Teen: High School Youth
+++++++++++++
For most current Youth and Evangelization events,
please see our website: www.olhoc.org
****************************************************************
Mary’s Helping Hands Bake Sale
On December 2, Mary’s Helping Hands will hold their annual Holiday Bake Sale & Raffle. A variety of delicious seasonal treats will be available! The raffle this year will be for a “Surprising Snow-man” (hint: he’s worth more than you think!)
After The Gift
We invite everyone who participated in “The Gift” course to join us in a discussion and to share your experience of being baptized in the Spirit. We will gather in the narthex at 7 pm on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Continue your journey! All are welcome!
Your Church; The Lord’s House
Continue to please respect your church, the Lord’s house, and re-frain from taking any food or beverage into the Church. If your children need food or beverages, please use the cry room. Please care for your building investment by not walking on kneelers or using them as footrests.
Prayer Requests
We are asked to pray for: Sheryl Carter, Alex Leon, Sharketer Butler, Chloe, Harris Fami-
ly, Dennis Wick, Richard Dunham, Edward Krevey, Scott Anderson, Rebecca “Tess”
Franch, Connie Miller, Russell Dickens, Fr. Pittman, Christopher Berger, Christine Proc-
tor, Margaret Reeves, Bonnie Croston, Melody Hudson, Thomas Kennane, Joseph Albrit-
tain, Lam Family, Urrutia Family, Darren Williams, Mary Delores Proctor, Pat Fisher,
Antonio Torres, Chris Goldhammer, Trinidad Mercedes Santos, Shirley & Jerry Bar-
rett,June Swann, Elsy Canare, Martone Family, Maria Mora, Nadia Toledo, Cielo
Quintero, Oscar Marin, Maribel Colindres, Zynae Green Family, Anthony Rodriguez,
James Thompson, Doris Chesley, Laura Flaim, and all our military and civilians serving in
harm’s way.
Our condolences to the family and friends of Dennis Forgash.
*Names will remain on our list for 3 months. Please call the parish office to re-request a name after 3 months or to remove a name when
the person has regained health.
Mass Intentions this Week
Saturday, December 1, 9:00 AM: Alia, Darryl, Duane Blackford
Saturday, December 1, 5:00 PM: Chris Storey (+)
Sunday, December 2, 8:30 AM: OLHOC Parishioners
Sunday, December 2, 10:00 AM: Esmeralda Ortube (+)
Sunday, December 2, 11:30 AM: Patricia Viets
Sunday, December 2, 7:00 PM: Glenda Nova
Monday, December 3, 9:00 AM: Rupert & Evonne Thomas
Tuesday, December 4, 9:00 AM: Deborah Storey
Wednesday, December 5 9:00 AM: Oscar Marin
Wednesday, December 5, 7:00 PM: Thelma Cabatbat (+)
Thursday, December 6, 9:00 AM: Thelma Cabatbat(+)
Friday, December 7, 9:00 AM: Keiry Urrutia
Mass Readings for December 9 , 2018
Second Sunday of Advent
*First Reading
Baruch 5: 1-9
*Second Reading
Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11
*Gospel
Luke 3: vs. 1-6
www.usccb.org
The Immaculate Conception of
The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a Holy
Day of Obligation, and is the Patronal Feast Day of the United States of America. Masses at OLHOC for the Holy Day will be held on Friday, December 7 at
7:00 pm (Vigil Mass), and Saturday, December 8 at
9:00 am. (Note: the 5:00 pm Saturday Mass does not apply to this Holy Day; it is the Mass of the Second Sunday of Advent.)
OLHOC Advent Penance Service—December 4, 2018
Prepare your heart to welcome Christ at Christmas by participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation
at our annual Advent Penance Service. It will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 PM and there will
be twelve priests (five who speak Spanish also) available for confessions. Join us!
2018 Advent at Our Lady Help of Christians
December 15 - 23— Christmas Novena Masses
The Novena will begin with the 9:00 AM Mass on Saturday, December 15th! December 16 through
December 21—Masses at 7:00 PM. Saturday, December 22, Mass at 9:00 AM.
The Novena will conclude on Sunday, December 23, with the Mass at 7:00 PM.
Dec. 16-23-Christmas Posadas (Reenactment of Mary & Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem)
Join group caroling and praising starting at 6:30 PM, Sunday , Dec. 16th. The first night of praise and
reenactment (Dec. 16) will take place in our church. The following nights (Dec. 17-22) will take place in
volunteer homes. The last night of the Posadas (Dec. 23) will take place at OLHOC at 6:30 PM. Groups
are forming now to reenact the nights of journeys. Don’t miss out!
Please contact Maria Lam, Office Assistant, at 301-645-7112 or email the office at [email protected] , to
join a group or host in your home!
More information to follow!
Poinsettia sales coming soon!
www.FaithDirect.net
Faith Direct provides our
parishioners with the ability to give
electronically. To simplify your
Sunday mornings, visit Faith Direct
and consider enrolling using our
parish code: MD614. Applications can also be found
in the narthex. Thank you for your kind donations and
to all those already enrolled in this cost effective
measure for our church.
Social Hall Under Renovation
The Social Hall is closed while under construction. The
kitchen remains available. We strive to be finished as
soon as safely possible. Dick Potter, OLHOC Pro-
ject Manager’s update: All structural steel installed.
Sprinkler heads have been relocated. Column pits are
receiving gravel backfill and concrete.
If you have any questions regarding this
important Capital Campaign step, please contact the
office at 301-645-7112. Concerns will be forwarded to
the Project Manager.