Mary Immaculate, Pray for Us
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I’m sending the Pastor’s Notes a day early because tomorrow, December 8, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and I want to make sure you know the Mass schedule.
This dogma was defined by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1854. “The first reading at Mass for this day, recalls the figure of Eve, the mother of all the living. The Fathers of the Church saw in Mary, the new Eve who unties the knot bound by the first woman. The knot of disobedience tied by Eve, was untied by the obedience of Mary. As Eve was created in purity and integrity, also the new Eve was miraculously preserved from the contamination of original sin because she had to give humanity the Word, who was incarnated for our ransom. Saint Irenaeus compares the virginity of the pure earth from which Adam was drawn to the virginity of the immaculate humanity of Mary from which the Second Adam was drawn. ‘And as the protoplast himself, Adam, had his substance from untilled and as yet virgin soil (for God had not yet sent rain, and man had not tilled the ground (Genesis 2:5)) so did He who is the Word, recapitulating Adam in Himself, rightly receive a birth, enabling Him to gather up Adam [into Himself], from Mary, who was as yet a virgin” (Adversus hereses III, 21:10). Read more about the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception here.
—Fr. Epperson
Announcements
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: Because we are currently living in the strange and ever-worsening world of Covid, I remind you that there is still no obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation; therefore, if you do not feel well or if you belong to a category of people that is more susceptible to this virus, or if you simply feel nervous about being around others, you need not worry about attending Mass, although in that cSe, you should watch our live-stream 8:00 a.m. Mass on our YouTube channel, “Cathedral of St. Eugene.” In addition to the 8:00 a.m. Mass, we will have a traditional, Latin Mass at 5:30 p.m. and Mass in English in the Ordinary Form at 7:00 p.m. Our Spanish Mass will be a vigil, taking place tonight at 6:30 p.m.
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE: On Saturday, December 12, we celebrate another Marian Feast, The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For those of you who would like to attend Mass in honor of this Feast, you can attend the 8:00 a.m. Mass or the 6:30 p.m. Spanish Mass. Our 4:30 p.m. Mass will be our regular Sunday Vigil Mass of the Third Sunday of Advent.
FLOWER MEMORIAL ENVELOPES: For those of you who receive our mailings, you should have received our Christmas packet by now. In this packet was an envelope to donate toward our cost of Christmas flowers in memory of a deceased loved one. You may put your envelope in the collection basket this Sunday (December 12/13). For those who do not receive mailings, there will be a basket placed on the stonework ledge near the east steps, containing envelopes. These may be returned to the collection basket the following Sunday (December 19/20). You can also drop them off at the Parish Office or mail them to us. Please return them no later than 12:00 noon on Tuesday, December 22. We will then have all of the names listed in our special Christmas edition of the Pastor’s Notes that will be sent out on December 23rd.
CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE: At this point in time, we we are expecting the worst from our state officials in regard to a renewed stay-at-home/lockdown order. Officials are anticipating a sharp rise in COVID hospitalizations. If this happens, and hospital capacity falls to below 15%, we will be moved to the most restrictive level of lockdown. This means that we will definitely be worshiping outside. If the 10:00 pm curfew has not yet been lifted, in-person attendance at the 9:00 pm Latin Mass and the Midnight Mass will not be possible. The Midnight Mass will be live-streamed so that you will be able to view from home. We will give you more information about the 9:00 pm Latin Mass in next week’s Pastor’s Notes.
NEW OUTDOOR MASS MARQUEES: I’m sure you all noticed the amazing marquees (canopies) that now cover the entire area of the east side lawn. No more sitting under the blazing sun or the rain! We are extremely fortunate to have three very generous parishioners who donated them. To these three, I offer my sincere thanks and gratitude for what you have done during this time of great need. May our Lord reward you abundantly for your selfless generosity to your parish and fellow parishioners!
KRINGLE’S CORNER CHRISTMAS TREE FARM: If you are planning on buying your Christmas tree at Kringle’s off of the River Road Exit, next to the Luther Burbank Center, please mention that you are a parishioner of St Eugene’s. They will then donate 15% of the proceeds of the sale to our parish.
Parish Finances in the Age of Covid
As you all know, these are hard times for all parishes in terms of finances. Even though we are “shut down,” the bills keep coming in and salaries have to be paid. For those of you who have been giving a little extra each week/month, I really appreciate your generosity. For those of you who are unable to come to Mass, please consider giving on-line or the good old-fashioned way, by mail. Thank you and God bless you. Learn more »
Year to Date:
Income $592,661
Short fall $-28,360
THANK YOU to all of those parishioners who gave a bit extra to help us decrease our shortfall.
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