MARRIAGE Couples planning to get married should contact the parish office at lease one year

in advance to be sure of adequate preparation for the Sacrament. BAPTISM

Parents need to participate in baptism instruction and schedule a baptism date with the parish office.

PENANCE By appointment or on Saturday afternoons, 4:00-4:30 PM.

NEW PARISHIONERS Welcome! Please introduce yourselves and register in order to become a member of this community of believers. We are happy to affirm and welcome your gifts and

presence in our midst. RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS (RCIA) Become an official member of the Catholic Church. * Unbaptized adults who wish to become Catholics

* Adults baptized in other faiths who wish to join the Catholic church * Baptized Catholics who have not yet received Eucharist and/or Confirmation Inter-

ested? Call the parish office for more information. VISIT AND/OR COMMUNION TO THE SICK

Please call the parish office if you or a member of your family is hospitalized or con-fined to home because of illness. A member of the parish staff or a Eucharistic Min-

ister will be happy to visit and bring Communion. BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENTS

Remember that bulletin announcements must be received in writing no later than

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

SAINT ROSE OF LIMA

www.saintroseoflima.com

LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS

LORD’S DAY MASSES

Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 8:00, 10:00 & 11:30 AM

DAILY MASS Monday 9:00 AM

Tuesday-Friday 8:30 AM

HOLY DAYS 8:30 AM & 7:00PM

PENANCE Saturday 4:00-4:30 PM

or by appointment

MAILING ADDRESS 244 West Main Street, Box 685

Northborough, MA 01532

PARISH OFFICE 508-393-2413

Fax: 508-393-4922 Email: saintrose1@verizon.net

Office hours: Mon-Fri. 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Rev. James A. Houston, Pastor

Ernie Rivard, Pastoral Assistant erivard1@verizon.net

Mrs. Mary S. Fausek, Administrative Assistant saintrose1@verizon.net

Richard R. Zinkus, Dir. of Music

riczin58@charter.net

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OFFICE 508-393-6444

Office Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Monday-Thursday Closed Fridays

Mrs. Susan McGoldrick, Director Of Faith Formation smcgoldrickreled@verizon.net

THRIFT SHOPPE Tuesday’s & Thursday’s • 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

September-June Handicapped Accessible

ST. ROSE OF LIMA, NORTHBORO, MA

Stewardship of Treasure $ 8,480.79 December 17, 2017 ( 195 env. ) $ 1,357.00 Make Up ( 53 env. ) $ 135.00 Pay Ahead ( 8 env. ) $ 654.00 Loose $ 719.39 Online ( 29 ) $ 11,346.18 Total

Retirement Fund For the Religious

Sunday: 4,073.00 (117) Online: 1,426.55 (25) Total 5,499.55

Thank you

Stewardship Tithe A tithe in the amount of $1,400 was sent to the Venerini Sis-ters in Worcester and Fitchburg. The Venerini Sisters believe that as women of prayer, we are called to share the Gospel message of love, peace, and justice through the charism of Saint Rose Venerini. This ideal is shared by community mem-bers and by persons who, through the Associate Membership, are deeply concerned with the values and goals of Christian living. Inspired by the charism of Saint Rose Venerini, an as-sociate lives the Gospel message through service to the People of God

Saturday December 23

Vigil: Fourth Sunday of Advent 5:00 PM Esther D. Ahearn, 5th Anniv. (Rich & Julie) Sunday December 24

Fourth Sunday of Advent 8:00 AM Anthony Fragomeni (David Family) 10:00 AM Louise Houle & Ronald Ledoux (Family) 11:30 AM NO MASS

Christmas Masses-Christmas Eve 4:00 PM For All The Families of St. Rose of Lima 6:00 PM For All The Families of St. Rose of Lima Midnight For All The Families of St. Rose of Lima

Christmas Day-December 25 10:00 AM For All The Families of St. Rose of Lima Tuesday December 26 9:00 AM NO MASS

Wednesday December 27 8:30 AM Robert Dusza (The Lavallee Family) Thursday December 28 8:30 AM Friday December 29 8:30 AM Saturday December 30

Vigil: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and

Joseph 5:00 PM Alan Priestley (Family) Sunday December 31

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 8:00 AM For All The Deceased Members of St. Rose 10:00 AM Matthew Galligan (Meghan Murray & Family) 11:30 AM Richard Pierce (Claire Swan)

Sunday, December 24

∗ NO Coffee Shop today after the 10:00 AM Mass. Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 26

∗ Office Closed.

∗ NO Thrift Shop today or Thursday..

Christmas Masses

Christmas Masses are as follows:

Christmas Eve Masses, December 24: 4:00, (very crowded) 6:00 & Midnight Christmas Day Mass: 10:00 AM

New Years Mass Schedule

New Year’s Day, January 1, 2018, The Solemnity of Mary falls on a Monday so is not a Holy Day of Obligation. Although it is such an important day, we will have

Mass at 10:00 AM

The Staff at St. Rose of Lima wishes you all a very Blessed and Holy Christmas Season!

Parish Office Schedule The Parish office will be closed on Monday, December 25 and Tuesday, December 26. It will reopen on Wednesday, Decem-ber 27 and again be closed on Monday, January 1, 2018 . Of-fice hours will be back to normal on Tuesday, January 2, 2018. Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy (and safe) New Year!

Farewell for Mr. Ernie Rivard I hope you can join in a reception to wish him best wishes on

Sunday, January 14, 2018. (snow date, January 21, 2018). He

will conclude his formal ministry on January 14 but will be

assisting part time till Easter, ‘18.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

SAINT ROSE OF LIMA RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OFFICE

P. O. Box 387 Northboro, MA 01532 Phone: 508-393-6444 Fax: 508-393-4922

Hours: 10 AM-5 PM Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs. Closed Fridays

December 24 ~ This Gospel reading tells how Mary found out she was going to be the Mother of Jesus. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary when she was

home. Mary was going to be married to Joseph, who belonged to the family of

King David. Mary did not understand what Gabriel explained to her, but be-cause of her love and faith she said yes, “May it be done to me…”

~ Family Faith on the Go

Merry Christmas

Children’s Liturgy of the Word

Kindergarten and Grade 1 students Sunday, December 24 during the 10 AM Mass Sunday, December 31 during the 10 AM Mass

Please note: This does not take the place of first grade religious education.

ELEMENTARY CLASSES:

Grade 1 Sunday Classes resume Jan 7

Grade 5 Monday See Below

Grade 2 Tuesday Classes resume Jan 9

Grade 3 Wednesday Classes resume Jan 10

Grade 4 Thursday Classes resume Jan 11

Grade 5 Retreat

Monday, January 8, 2018 4:00 – 7:00 PM

“Let Your Light Shine”

Elementary Teacher Meetings

Grade 2 Tuesday Jan. 2 4:00 – 5:00 PM

Grade 3 Wednesday Jan. 3 4:00 – 5:00 PM

Grade 4 Thursday Jan. 4 4:00 – 5:00 PM

MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSES:

Grades 6-7-8: Monday - Classes resume January 8

Grades 6-7-8: Tuesday – Classes resume January 9

Middle School Teacher Meeting

Tuesday, January 16 @ 6:30 PM

HIGH SCHOOL - 9th and 10th GRADE CLASSES:

Sunday - Classes resume January 7

High School Teacher Meeting

Wednesday, January 17 @ 7:00 PM

CONFIRMATION CLASSES:

Sunday - Classes resume January 7

Confirmation Teacher Meeting

Tuesday, January 9 @ 7:00 PM

Confirmation Retreat

February 24 - 25, 2018 – Sharon, MA

Words of Gratitude…. There is a time to every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Now, it is “time to say goodbye” at least for me from full-time ministry. After a long period of prayerful discernment with my family, I have decided to retire. While we will remain parishioners, I will be leaving my role as Pastoral Assistant: Director of Ministries at St. Rose of Lima church effective Jan-uary 15, 2018. I am so very grateful to Fr. Jim, the staff here, and you – good and holy people of God – for giving me the opportunity to serve here and for welcoming me to share our lives together. It has been an honor and blessing to accompany you on the jour-ney of faith! Whether it was watching a young altar server ma-ture and go off to college, visiting elder or infirmed parishioners in hospitals, nursing homes or your homes, walking with fami-lies through the sacred process of funerals, or celebrating life in Christ together at one of our great parish liturgies or events, my time at St. Rose of Lima has been a joy, a grace and very hum-bling. You have revealed the face of Christ to me time and again. Thank you! I look forward to making my first year of retirement a sab-batical while not taking on any new work commitments. We’ll see what God has in store after that. For now, I have lots of reading and study to catch up on, some hobbies and exercise to explore, hopes for some travel, but most important of all more time to spend with family … especially those new grandchil-dren four and a half hours away near Belfast, Maine. Thanks again! May our parish continue to be that city on a hill revealing and celebrating the Light of the World, Jesus. Let us continue to pray for one another. Peace …. Ernie Rivard

Thank You Decorators…

A thousand “thank yous!” to the twenty parish-ioners who helped to decorate our church so beautifully for Christmas. Individuals, families and teens worked together so well for 3 hours preparing the environment to celebrate the birth of Jesus. A special thank you to Patricia Freitas for her diligence in coor-dinating all the preparations.

Thank you for joining our con-

gregation for the celebration of

Jesus’ birth. We are delighted

that you celebrate your faith

here at St. Rose of Lima and welcome you to visit the Nativity

scene right here before the altar. Our prayer is that you will

open your life and heart to allow His birth to take place within

your own heart so that you can carry our God out into a world

in need of His Presence. It is truly humbling to see how much

our loving God depends upon us to be his messenger!

I am grateful for all the people who will or have been as-

sisting us to celebrate Christmas and the entire Christmas

Season here at St. Rose of Lima. Thank you to all who assist-

ed with the beautiful church decoration, the awesome music

and Choir, Youth Band, along with all who minister at the

holy altar. A Blessed Christmas to all God’s people!

Liturgical Ministry Schedule Dec. 30 & 31, 2017

DECEMBER 24, 2017

Date

Lector Eucharistic

Ministers

Altar Servers

Saturday

5:00 PM

McCaffrey

B Savage, T Foster

P & L Garber

T Flint, N Byron

R & G McCabe

Sunday

8:00 AM

O’Doherty

M Femia, P Link

R Curran, A Mauro

S Prendergast,

L Anderson

B Rice

Sunday

10:00 AM

Quillen/Foster

N Rivard, R Pfannenstiel

A Thompson, H Carlson

A Sullivan

V & N Riccardi

Sunday

11:30 AM

Oroszko

D Tobin, J Castle

B Kelly, S McGoldrick

J & E Kress

B & I Bukow

Cup Ministers

J Rhinehart, S Healy

M Ransden, M Mayo

Stewardship of Treasure: We are most grateful to all who, even though you may be away a good portion of the summer, continue to remember the needs and obligations of your parish family. Although we may go on vacation, as all know the bills continue. Thank you all for your continued financial commitment to your parish.

Thrift Shoppe The Thrift Shoppe will be closed the week of December 24 and

will re-open on Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Baptism Preparation Attending a Baptismal Preparation class is required before your child can be baptized. The next scheduled class will be held on January 18 @7:00 PM in the Family Life Center. You need only attend one class. Expectant parents are encouraged to participate in the program while awaiting the birth of their child. Please call the parish office to register for the class. Classes are held every other month. Please plan ahead.

ONLINE GIVING... Many of you are aware that you can give online through your checking, debit or credit card accounts. With Christmas vaca-tions ahead of us it is a very easy and efficient way to fulfill your stewardship commitment. It also benefits St. Rose by knowing what regular income will be coming in each weekend. It is regular income that helps us pay our bills on time. To sign up go to our website (www.saintroseoflima.com) click on the WeShare emblem and fill in the required information.

St. Rose of Lima Ornaments

For Sale We have a limited number of St. Rose of Lima ornaments available for sale. We

have approximately 25 available on a first come first serve basis. If you wish to pur-chase one please call the parish office at

508-393-2413 or email saintrose1@verizon.net. They will not be available after Masses. The cost is $10. They would make a

great stocking stuffer.

Scholarship Mass On Sunday, January 7, 2018, at the 10:00 Mass we will be awarding the recipients of the 2017 St. Rose of Lima Scholar-ships. Please join us in congratulating our awesome gradu-ates.

Lector Workbooks

Lector workbooks are now available in the gathering space for the new liturgical year. Each lector has their name on a book.

End of Year Giving Please remember St. Rose of Lima Parish in your end of year giving. This is a great time of the year to share abundant bless-ings for the benefit of our church community. Donations made before December 31, 2017 will be applied toward your 2017 tax return.

Dinner for College Students College Students Welcome Home for Christmas

St. Rose of Lima Annual College Student Dinner will be held on Thursday, January 11 at 6:00 PM in the rectory. Bring a friend

and come back and connect with old friends.

Winter Reminders As we are fast approaching the winter months here are a few reminders:

• When school is cancelled or delayed start due to bad weath-er, morning Mass will be cancelled. If there is an early dis-missal or school cancellation due to bad weather all evening meetings will be cancelled.

• Please do not leave exterior doors of the church open

during the winter months.