Rev. Fr. Tom Kunnel, Pastor Rectory: (641) 747-2569 Cell: (712) 404-2305 603 Main St. Guthrie Center IA. 50115

Email: tkunnel@hotmail.com

Parish Office

Office Hours:

Monday– Closed

Tues.-Wed: 9a.m.-12:00p.m.

Thurs.–Fri. : Afternoon

Office Phone Number:

(641)-747-384

Parish Staff:

Business Manager:

Judee Vaughan - stcstmstp@netins.net

Children’s Catechesis Dir. Fr. Tom Kunnel

Children’s Catechesis Coord.

Courtney Redford stmaryccdsetary@outlook.com

Parish Secretary:

Gale Armbrecht -stmpcsecretary@outlook.com

Please call for Sacramental Emergencies If you have a loved one hospitalized, please call Father Tom or our office to inform us as we cannot obtain patient information from the hospital directly. Sacrament Guidelines: Baptism: Make prior arrangement with the pastor Marriage: Make prior arrangements with pastor Mass Intensions: Mass intension envelopes are at the back of each church. Please fill out, deposit do-nation, and place in the weekly collection. Parish Locations:

ST MARY PARISH 603 MAIN STREET GUTHRIE CENTER, IA 50115

Parish Hall– St Mary

ST CECILIA PARISH

220 N 1ST ST.

PANORA, IA 50216

ST PATRICK PARISH 214 Prairie Street

Bayard, IA 50029

The Catholic Churches of

St. Cecilia † St. Mary † St. Patrick

December 24, 2017

4th Sunday of Advent

To authentically hand on the Catholic faith by leading people to Jesus in the

Eucharist; so that our living Savior will help us to Know Him, Love Him as he desires,

to use our gifts to Serve Him and to fulfill our purpose of living with him in heaven.

PARISH MISSION

December 24, 2017

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An Amazing Gift to Humanity, a Savior for the World

Every family has its Christmas customs and traditions. We would decorate a tree, put up color-ful lights, hang garlands, bake sugar cookies, and buy groceries in preparation for Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, we would gather in the early evening for our family celebration. We would eat dinner first. We exchanged gifts after helping mom clean up after dinner. We gath-ered around the Christmas tree, and each of us took our places around a semicircle. The oldest in the family would distribute the gifts. Each person would read the label on his or her gift, open it, and show it to the rest of us. Then, we had to say “thank you” for every gift we re-ceived. It is one of the greatest family traditions and rituals which reflects on the Christmas mes-

sage. We know that Christmas is a celebration of a great exchange—the exchange of gifts between God and His peo-ple. God gives us the gift of His only-begotten Son, and we give Him the gift of worship, and lives of service to others. People spend many weeks, and lots of money, selecting, purchasing, and wrapping gifts for loved ones, friends, co-

workers, and others. We do this as a sign of gratitude and love. But we sometimes forget that the greatest gift ex-change is not between family members, friends, or co-workers. The greatest gift exchange is between God and the human race. The Scripture readings for Christmas talk about this great gift. St. Luke tells us that the Child Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. The angel declares that “today, in the city of David, a Savior has been born, who is Christ and Lord” (Lk. 2:11). God sent the greatest gift of all time, the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who saved us from our sins. Jesus grew up in Nazareth. He preached, taught, healed, suffered, died, rose, ascended to Heaven, and sent the Spirit on His apostles. Jesus lives in our midst, teaching, healing, and loving us through the Church.

Unfortunately, we don’t always appreciate the gift He gives. There is a story told about a man who pun-ished his five-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became even more upset when the child pasted the gold paper on a box to put under the Christmas tree. Neverthe-less, the little girl brought the gift box to her father the next morning, and announced, “This is for you, daddy.” The father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared up again when he discovered that the box was empty. He yelled, “Don’t you know, young lady, when you give someone a present that there’s supposed to be something inside the package?” The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes, and said, “But daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full. It was the best gift I could give you.” The father was crushed. He fell on his knees, put his arms around his little girl, and begged her forgiveness. The little girl was killed in a car accident a few weeks later, and it is said that the father kept that gold box by his bed for the rest of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced tough problems, he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of the child who put it there.

In a real sense, each of us has been given a special gift from God our Father, not a box of kisses, but a Lord and Savior. God the Father has given us a precious gift. The Father’s gift was not wrapped in gold paper, but wrapped in swaddling clothes; the Father’s gift was not given in an empty box, but was born in a manger; the Fa-ther’s gift was not an invisible token of love, but instead a Person whom we could see, hear, and touch. God has giv-en us His Word in the Flesh.

The question is: “What are we going to give Him in return? How will we repay Him for this great gift?” A true gift exchange takes place between both parties. Of course, we can never fully repay the gift of Jesus. But we can do something in gratitude for the gift of the Savior. We can give the gift of praise at Mass, our time, talent, and treasure to the Church, obedience to God’s commandments, and ser-vice to our brothers and sisters. These are precious gifts. As you open and examine your Christmas presents, think about the Father’s gift to you. Think about all He has done for you this year, and reflect on ways you can express your appreciation. Offer Him a sacrifice of praise from your heart, and recommit yourself to doing His will. May we ex-press by our lives the gratitude in our hearts for the gift of Jesus, the Lord. Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. Merry Christmas. Amen.

God bless you all, Fr. Tom

A message from Father Tom and the Parish Staff

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. Thank you for your con-tinued support and generosity. We are excited and confident about our future as we work together for Christ and his Mission within our parishes. Let us not forget we have all been and are being led by God’s Holy Spirit to build up the Kingdom within our Parishes we

call home.

During the Holiday Season more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible and in this spirit we sincere say Thank You and

God Bless You during this Holiday Season!

Father Tom, Judee, Courtney and Gale

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WEEKLY CALENDAR

Saturday, December 23

4:00 PM Confession, Bayard

4:15 PM Divine Mercy Chaplet, Bayard

4:30 PM Mass in Bayard

Sunday, December 24

8:00 AM Confession, Panora

8:15 AM Divine Mercy Chaplet, Panora

8:30 AM Mass, Panora

9:00 AM-10:00 AM Adoration, Bayard

10:15 AM Divine Mercy Chaplet, Guthrie Cntr.

10:30 AM Mass, Guthrie Center

Christmas Eve Mass

4:00 PM St. Cecilia - Panora

5:30 PM St. Mary – Guthrie Center

7:00 PM St. Patrick - Bayard

Monday, December 25

Christmas Mass

9:00 AM St Cecilia – Panora

Office closed

Tuesday, December 26

3:45-4:45 PM Adoration, Panora

5:15 PM Confession & Divine Mercy Chaplet, Guthrie Cntr.

5:30 PM Mass, Guthrie Cntr.

Wednesday, December 27

7:45 AM Confession & Divine Mercy Chaplet, Panora

8:00 AM Mass, Panora

9:00 AM Prayer group, Panora

4:00-5:00 PM Adoration, Guthrie Cntr.

Thursday, December 28

7:45 AM Confession & Divine Mercy, Panora

8:00 AM Mass, Panora

Friday, December 29

7:45 AM Confession & Divine Mercy Chaplet, Guthrie Cntr.

8:00 AM Mass in Guthrie Cntr.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK

Monday: Vigil: Is 62:1-5; Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27-29;

Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25 [18-25]

During the Night: Is 9:1-6; Ps 96:1-3, 11-13; Ti 2:11-

14; Lk 2:1-14 Dawn: Is 62:11-12; Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12; Ti

3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20 Day: Is 52:7-10; Ps 98:1-6; Heb 1:1-6; Jn

1:1-18 [1-5, 9-14]

Tuesday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 31:3cd-4, 6, 8ab,

16bc, 17; Mt 10:17-22

Wednesday: 1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; Jn 20:1a, 2-8

Thursday: 1 Jn 1:5 — 2:2; Ps 124:2-5, 7cd-8; Mt 2 13- 18

Friday: 1 Jn 2:3-11; Ps 96:1-3, 5b-6; Lk 2:22-35

Saturday: 1 Jn 2:12-17; Ps 96:7-10; Lk 2:36-40

Ministries for the Liturgy

St. Patrick — Sat., 4:30 PM, Dec. 30

EMHC: Carlene Murrane, Richard Fiedler

Gifts: Michael & Deb Carter

Greeter: Kay Vaux Lector: Brad McAlister

Servers: Samuel Shirbroun, Preston McAlister

Usher: Alfred Wessling, Jerry Hagan

St. Patrick — Sunday 5:00 PM Dec. 31

New Years Eve - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

EMHC: Richard Fiedler, Amy McAlister

Gifts: Brent & Robyn Corkins

Greeter: Kay Vaux

Lector: Brain McAlister, Brad McAlister

Ushers: Pat McAlister, Michael Carter

St Cecilia — Sunday, 8:30 AM, Dec. 31 EMHC: Page Arganbright, Tom Arganbright, Jean Higgins,

Lauri Webner

Gifts Ken Kuta, Tami Kuta

Greeters: Barbara Ryan, David Ryan

Lectors: Mary Jones, Maureen Lubeck

Ushers: Jeff Arganbright, Dave Breitbach, Michael Carey

Video: Sean Crees

Servers: Lindsey Meyer, Keira Simmons, Sawyer Simmons

St Cecilia — Monday, 9:00 AM, January 1, 2018

News Year’s Day - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

EMHC: Donna Kennebeck, Leon Kennebeck

Gifts: Kathy & Kirby Klinge

Greeters: Deb Seeman, John Seeman

Lectors: Moe Russell

Ushers: Dan Donahey, Leonard Hemann, Bill McDermott

Servers: Morgan Crees, Payton Douglass, Jordan Douglass

St Mary — Sunday, 10:30 AM, Dec. 31

EMHC: Judy Bauler, Jim Bradford, Mike Downing

Greeter: Leona Troshynski

Lectors: Faith Laboy, Bonny Snyder

Server: Klare Sheley, Taylor Carlson, Kelsey Carlson

Ushers: Travis Clark, Frank Holle

Dec. 23rd Saturday 4:30 PM- Richard & Lenore Fiedler Dec. 24th Sunday 8:30 AM- Faith Steinkamp Dec. 24th Sunday 10:30 AM- Art& Shirley Willenberg Dec. 24th Sunday 4:00 PM-Orville & Kathleen Leinen Dec. 24th Sunday 5:30 PM-Megan Sloss Dec. 24th Sunday 7:00 PM - Matt Murrane Dec. 25th Monday 9:00 Am -Ryan Family Dec. 26th Tuesday 5:30 PM -Sloss family Dec. 27th Wednesday 8:00 AM- Craig Carey Dec. 28th Thursday 8:00 AM- Ryan Family

Dec. 29th Friday 8:00 AM - Bob Flanery

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MASS INTENTIONS: Mass intension envelopes are at the back of each church. Please fill out, deposit donation, and place in the collection.

Keller Breitbach

December 27th 4:00 PM

St Cecilia

Margaret Jeanne Lopez

December 30th 5:45 PM

St. Patrick.

Reminder from the Parish Office:

If you need to purchase any items for our parishes or your

ministry, please contact the office to get a pre-purchasing

order form. Complete the form and send it to Father Tom

to get his approval prior to purchase.

Christmas Mass Schedule

Holy Day of Obligation Sunday, December 24– Christmas Eve

4:00 PM St. Cecilia 5:30 PM St. Mary 7:00PM St. Patrick

Monday, December 25– Christmas Day 9:00 AM - St. Cecilia

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Usual Weekend Schedule

Saturday December 30th & Sunday, December 31st

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Sunday, December 31st - New Year’s Eve 5:00 PM St. Patrick

Monday, January1st - News Year’s Day 9:00 AM St. Cecilia

The Epiphany of the Lord

Usual Weekend Schedule Saturday, January 6th & Sunday, January 7th

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Usual weekday and weekend schedule In the sacrament of penance we face our own

darkness. We do so not alone, but with Christ who brings light to our soul. May he help us to experience healing

grace and preparation for our celebration of the birth of

our Savior.

Knights of Columbus Meeting

St Cecilia K of C welcomes all men of the parish. Please consider becoming a member of the K of C . The St. Cecilia Council will be holding a 1st degree membership meeting during the 4th week of January 2018. If you are interested in becoming a member or have questions, please contact Wayne Hennessey, Grand Knight, Jerry Suther, Recruiting Chairman or the Knights of the Council.