PARISH OFFICE, 838-6565 Parish Fax Number, 838-6566

Pastor Msgr. Matthew Mitas, ext 102

Deacon Rev. Mr. Joseph Kroutil

Parish Secretary Linda Brindley, ext 100

Bookkeeper Monique Zykan, ext 109

Music Director Sharon Churchill

St. Vincent De Paul...ext 504

Mary Ann Kauffman, ext 101

NEW PARISHIONERS Register in the parish office, Mon-Fri, 8:00 am- 4:00 pm.

SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Baptism Instruction is to be scheduled with a parish priest.

SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE To be arranged with the parish priest at least six months prior.

St. Angela Merici Parish

December 10, 2017 3860 N. Hwy 67 saintangelamerici.org Florissant, MO 63034

Mass Schedule Mon - Fri 8:00 am Saturday Fir st Sat. of the month, 8:00 am Saturday 5:00 pm (Vigil) Sunday 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30 am Eucharistic Adoration Tuesdays 8:30 am - 7:00 pm 7:00 pm - Perpetual Help & Benediction Reconciliation Saturdays 4:00 - 4:45 pm Or by appointment, call 314-838-6565 Perpetual Help Devotions Tuesdays After 8:00 am Mass & 7:00pm Holy Day of Obligation Masses To Be Announced. BULLETIN NOTICES: Submit to the parish office by Monday at 4:00 pm. Please email no-tices to: brindley@stangelam.org. NEW PARISHIONERS: Please register in the par-ish office, Mon-Fri, 8 am - 4 pm. For more infor-mation, call the Parish Office, 314-838-6565.

Prayer, Liturgy and Sacrifice MINISTERS

FOR NEXT WEEKEND, DEC. 16-17

WEEKEND SERVERS 5:00 pm Jahnea Gates, Christopher Hedlesky, Daena Talavera 7:30 am Thomas Anderson, Kaitlyn Smith, VOLUNTEER NEEDED 9:30 am Jason Brady, Molly Malone, Jayda Washington 11:30am Patrice Broyles, Megan Kelley, Kiara Stewart WEEKEND LECTORS 5:00 pm Claudia Bidleman , George Bidleman 7:30 am John Fallah, Thomas Trost 9:30 am Stanley Andrisse, Charles Aten 11:30 am William E. De Iuliis, Jr., Jojinam Alicia Agboko EXTRAORDINARY MIN. OF HOLY COMMUNION 5:00 pm - Jane Buchholz, Karen Dietz, Vitina Galati, Nora Kaikati, Diana & Ray Skubic, Shirley Sweney 7:30 am - Margie Heppermann, Donna Krause, Harry Maier, Carol Pauli, Kenneth Schmalbeck, Theresa & William Watson 9:30 am - Nancy Hesselbach, Debbie Keeven, John & Sue Scheiding, Jean Tucker, Laura Vietmeier, Pat Vorwald 11:30 am - Charles Danganan, Linda McManus, Denyse Sternberg

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Monday, December 11 8:00 am - Jim Buchholz Tuesday, December 12 8:00 am - Harry Ziegler Wednesday, December 13 8:00 am - Jim Buchholz Thursday, December 14 8:00 am - Joseph James Kroutil (Spe. Int.) Friday, December 15 8:00 am - Albert Rowles Saturday, December 16 5:00 pm - James McNamee Sunday, December 17 7:30 am - Shirley Keeven 9:30 am - Ted Lehmkuhl 11:30 am - People of the Parish

WEEKEND GIFT BEARERS - DEC. 16-17

Sat. 5:00 pm - Marnie Brown/Sandy Norman Sun. 7:30 am - Carol & Jude Pauli Sun. 9:30 am - Bill & Nancy Hesselbach Sun. 11:30 am - The Liceralde Family

The Ministery Schedule (Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers and Money Counters) will be collected and turned into a new Ministry Schedule for January, February, and March 2018. The new Schedule will be prepared during the week starting Dec 18-22, 2017. Please enter the dates you are unavailable before 12/17/2017 in order for the program to be able to consider your requirements. Thank you for your service to the Parish."

From The Desk of Msgr. Matthew Mitas: REMEMBER THAT DECEMBER IS THE MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION!

IS IT ALREADY LATER THAN WE THINK?

The whole purpose of the Advent season is to get us thinking about the two comings of Christ; the First One, when he came some 2,000 or so years ago, and the Second One, which hasn’t happened yet (but we know that it will). The First One we already know a lot about. It’s that Second One that is the kicker. We have no idea when it’s going to happen, but it’s already been 2,000 years, so how much longer can Jesus hold off before His great Return?

As fate would have it, Newsmax, a completely secular journal, had an article in its latest issue about all the billionaires in the world, who, anticipating a cataclysmic apocalypse, are “stockpiling” land in anticipation of its occurrence. Apparently, these mega-rich movers-and-shakers are snarfing up as much land as they can, in places as remote as they can find (mostly the American West), and building toney shelters and fortified safe houses for themselves and their families. (Among these people one finds many of the most prominent business leaders in America, including Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who just bought 225,000 acres in Montana.) Is this an exercise in super-long-range planning? No, they expect some kind of societal collapse to happen fairly soon. And they’re not alone. According to a survey that the article cited, 61% of their fellow countrymen feel the same way, antici-pating a cataclysm to occur some time in the next 19 years.

Obviously, these people expect that the apocalypse will be something terrible. Well, for some people it most certainly will be. But for us faithful Catholics, we look forward to Jesus’s Second Coming. In fact, we can hardly wait for it. We pray for it daily, and especially every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer (“Thy Kingdom come…”), and, frankly, it can’t happen soon enough to satisfy us. Do these billionaires know something we don’t? No. But we know something they don’t, namely, that Jesus is indeed coming, and no matter how much property you have in reserve, or how deep is the cave in which your shelter resides, He is coming to establish His Kingdom for all time, and there’s no getting away from it. And so as Jesus told us in last Sunday’s Gospel, “What I say to you, I say to all: WATCH!”

ADVENT VESPERS

We had the first of the four last Sunday, and it was tremendous! The turnout was magnificent, our choirs (adult and children) were in excellent voice, and God was truly praised. the second will be this Sunday evening at 7:00 in church. Come and bring the whole family! I can’t think of a better way to observe the Advent Season. (The third and fourth will be on Sunday, Dec. 17 and on Thursday, Dec. 21.)

ON TUESDAY: MEXICAN FOOD NIGHT, TO HONOR OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

Senor Don Krause has come up the perfect bill of fare to celebrate that moment when the Mother of God graced our continent with her presence! So come to Mass in the morning (8:00AM) and dinner in the evening. It will be on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Tuesday, Dec. 12), from 4:30-7:00PM in our gym. All are wel-come! (Mariachi music included!)

UPCOMING EVENTS

- December 10, 17 & 21: Vespers for the Sundays of Advent in preparation for Christmas (note that the first two are on Sunday, but since the fourth Sunday is Christ- mas Eve, the last one will be on Thursday, Dec. 21). Starts at 7:00PM (lasts about half an hour).

- December 19: Next Catechism Class (in the parish meeting room; all are welcome!)

- December 12 (Tuesday): Mexican food night to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe! Ole!

- CHRISTMAS: Masses on Sunday, Dec. 24 at 5:00 & 10:00PM, and on Monday, Dec. 25 at 8:00 & 10:00AM (Please note: Monday, Jan. 1 is NOT a holy day of obligation this year, so there will be only one Mass for New Year’s Day, on Monday, Jan. 1, at 9:00AM)

Features:

This Week In Our Parish: Monday, December 11 6:30 pm - Girl Scout Troop #1310, Meeting Rm Tuesday, December 12 8:30 am - Eucharistic Adoration 3:00 pm - Legion of Mary, Rectory Basement 4:30pm - Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast, Gym 7:00 pm - Benediction 7:00 pm—SVDP Meeting, Meeting Room Wednesday, December 13 9:00 am - Quilters Meet, Rectory Basement Friday, December 15 6:00 pm - Ladies Club, Rectory Basement Saturday, December 16 5:00 pm - SVDP Food Drive Sunday, December 17 All Masses SVDP Food Drive 7:00 pm - Boy Scouts Troop 940, Lunchroom

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK OF OUR PARISH: MaryAnn Hoven, Elisabeth Cisco, Rachael Lawson, Dorothy Martinelli, Joanne Cipolla, Jeff Gauthier, Barb Lehman, Lila Jones, Jennifer Berkbigler, Sue Pitti, Mary Dietz, Rosemary Licato, Evelyn Finno, Claudette Kazakian, Shirley Bertin, Jackie Carrol, Lisa Williford, Roy Wong, Guy Henriksen, Gary & Debbie Corcoran, Augustine & Ray Porter, Margaret Nolte, Billie Lawson, Jim & Eileen McMullen, Bud Kushins, Kristine Lawson, Katie Horn, Debbie Gervich, Melodie & Jim Leonard, Neil MacKenzie, Nancy Brennan, Carolyn Stokes, Jim Walsh, Allison Molner, William Timken, Eugene & Margaret Kluge, Laurie Kauffman, Juluis Lawson, Carl Kling, Sr., Vincent Scognamiglio, Sara Hopf and Art Batson.

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF WE NEED TO ADD OR REMOVE ANYONE FROM THEABOVE SO AS TO KEEP OUR SICK LIST CURRENT. THANK YOU!

CONTINUED December 26: You saw us on the cover of this week’s bulletin, now come and see a presentation of the pictures from our Lourdes/Fatima/Assisi/Rome pilgrimage. We’re going to have a public showing of these photos for any who might want to see them. I know a lot of people wish they could have gone; in this way, all can take part. They will be shown in the lunchroom after the 7:00PM Devotions. (Refreshments provided.)

-(TBD): Pilgrimage to the EWTN Network complex in Alabama. We’re working out the details now, but it should wind up being a 3 or 4-day sojourn (with an overnight stop in between) by bus for our parishioners who would like to see and experience this vibrant and vital exercise of American Catholi-cism. As I’ve indicated, we have nothing planned, not even the dates for the pilgrimage, but most likely, it will be next spring. I expect it will cost around $350.

QUIZ-A-CATHOLIC

This one will be about Our Lady of Guada-lupe, whose feast is this Tuesday. See how much you know:

1. Who was the saint to whom the Blessed Mother revealed herself? 2. In what year did the events at Guadalupe take place? 3. What was the name of the hill where the Blessed Mother appeared? 4. The skeptical bishop asked for a specific sign from Mary; what was it? 5. Why did the fourth apparition not occur when it was supposed to have? 6. How did the Blessed Mother handle the fourth apparition? 7. What is the Blessed Mother’s most famous statement at Guadalupe? 8. What was distinctive about the flowers that were picked? 9. The saint carried the flowers in his cloak; what is the native word for that cloak? 10. When the flowers cascaded from the cloak to floor, what was it that surprised both the bishop and the saint?

ANSWERS: 1. St. Juan Diego 2. 1531 3. Tepeyac 4. Roses in December 5. St. Juan Diego had to attend to his dying uncle 6. Since Juan Diego intentionally avoided running into her, being ashamed at having missed the meeting, so she sought

him out and told him that his uncle would be miraculously healed 7. “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” 8. a) it was December, b) the land was barren, c) they were Castillian roses, not indigenous to Mexico 9. Tilma 10. First was the roses, but more so was the miraculous image of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the tilma, which neither of them knew of nor expected to be there

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” – The Blessed Virgin Mary (spoken to St. Juan Diego at Guadalupe, December, 1531)

Features: PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SERVICE MEN & WOMEN Joshua Stremlau, Bradley Stremlau, Corey Rudroff, Steven Bennett, Jerrod Klug, Michael Olwig, Pat Edwards-Parrish, Guthrie Stotser, Jonathan Buss, Brad Sanders, Matthew Meske, Jackie Cotter, J. Timothy Sullivan, Matthew Hawkins, John Reddan, Brandon Gruelle, Dustin Kyle, Jacob Doerle, Max Rose, Craig Richard-son, Jacob and Joshua Graham

CALL THE PARISH OFFICE IF YOU WISH TO ADD A FAMILY MEMBER WHO IS IN THE ARMED FORCES.

S.A.M. Seniors Meeting December 11th at 11:30 am Krause will cater a delicious

lunch!

We will be entertaining each other with a $5.00 gift wrapped for either a man/

woman

Please contact your contact person

CARDINAL RIGALI CENTER

20 ARCHBISHOP MAY DRIVE

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63119 P) 314.792.7841 F) 314.792.7842 ARCHSTL.ORG

ARCHDIOCESE OF ST. LOUIS OFFICE OF THE ARCHBISHOP Christmas 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Rejoice! The weeks of Advent waiting are over, and Christ is born!

We rejoice in our Savior’s birth—remembering the great gift of faith He has given us through the mystery of His incarnation and the saving power of His death and resurrection.

Each year, the people of our archdiocese have been asked to make a special gift on Christmas Day to support our seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. The men of our seminary, who have responded to Christ's call to fol-low Him, are truly a gift to the Church and to the Archdiocese of St. Louis. It is these men who will bring the faith given to us by Christ 2000 years ago to future generations here in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

I ask you, once again, to pray for vocations and for all our priests and seminarians. I also ask you to be generous in your donation to the Christmas Day collection, which helps pay the day-to-day expenses and maintenance of our seminary.

Please be assured of my prayers for you during the season of Christmas. May the Lord of life come into your hearts and homes in a special way during this holy time of year.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson Archbishop of St. Louis

Features:

Sunday Collection - December 3, 2017

Sunday Offering $ 14,127 Weekly Budget $ 12,857 Weekly Over/Under + $ 1,270 Fiscal Year To Date - $ 42,243

QUILT RAFFLE Quilt Raffle Tickets will be sold this weekend in the Lunchroom after all Masses on Sunday. The pro-ceeds will be given to St. Vincent de Paul. Stop by the Lunchroom and support our wonderful Quilters! Drawing will be December 12th.

ST. VINCENT de PAUL SOCIETY

Keep up the good work! It’s been fun to watch the pile of gifts grow under the Giving Tree. Just take an ornament from the tree & bring your unwrapped gift back by Dec. 17th. It’s a blessing to be able to bring joy to others during this holy season.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12TH IS HER FEAST DAY. WE WILL BE CELEBRATING THAT DAY WITH SOME MEXICAN FOOD PREPARED BY KRAUSE KATERING

Place: St. Angela Merici Gym Time: 4:30pm—7:00pm Cost: $15.00 per person

MARCH FOR LIFE 2018 This January, our parish will have 14 representatives participating in the 45th Annual National March for Life in Washington, DC. It is

a very somber and yet hopeful event because hundreds of thousands participate every year. This year, because there will be no vigil Mass on New Year’s Eve, we will not be hosting the usual dinner/party. We will, however, have a breakfast after the Masses on January 14 to sup-port our pilgrims. We truly appreciate all you continue to do for us!

WITNESSING AT OUR LOCAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD Please join some fellow parishioners in sharing our message of Life in front of the Planned Parenthood on Lindbergh in Surrey Plaza II. We will be present there from 3:00-4:00 pm, Thurs-day, December 14. Please help us to share the truth with our North County brothers and sisters. For more information, please call Julie Rater-mann (401-0047).

St. Angela Merici Catholic Church has regis-tered with the Amazon Smile Program. The church will receive a .5% rebate on any eligible items when registered members chose St. Ange-la Merici Catholic Church as their charity and purchase through the Amazon Smile Program website. There is no additional cost to the pur-chaser, just like the ‘Together We’re Better” gift cards. All Amazon benefits received today are still included, for example, all Prime Member benefits will still apply, Please register yourself as members of St. Angela Merici Catholic Church on the http://smile.amazon.com website and for anything you plan to purchase from Am-azon, please go through that website. Thank you for your support of OUR PARISH.

SPAGHETTI CASSEROLES are due by De-cember 12. Casseroles must be at Church by 10:00am. If at any time you cannot make your cas-serole, please call Paddy Vytlacil, 314-355-5897.

ST. ANGELA MERICI 2018 PICTORIAL DIRECTORY!

There is still time to get your pic-ture in the Parish directory. We are trying to get them to come

back for one more day, but we must guarantee 18 families sign up for that to happen. The date will be Wednesday, Jan. 10th. You can bring a pic-ture to the parish Office that we will get put into the book and this picture will not be returned.

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