Christmas Readings!

Here are the readings for the Christmas Day Mass (I imagine that most of us will be going to this one unless some of you are courageous enough to take your kiddos to Midnight Mass).

And the questions for the week:

1. In the first reading, we hear these words, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, ‘Your God is King.’” Each of us is called to bring to others this good news of God’s love that is revealed in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Who in your family, or friends and neighbors, need to hear this good news? What steps can you take to bring it to them especially when you may see them during Christmas?

2. The second reading tells us that “In these last days God has spoken to us through his Son.” How does Jesus “speak” to you and what difference has it made in your life?

3. In the Gospel reading, we hear these words, “But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.” What do these words mean to you? How do you see that God has chosen you to be His child?

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Who is coming this week? I have a feeling that everyone may be very busy getting everything (and everyone) ready for Christmas, but we think we'll be there.

Bum Genius sale

For anyone who uses Bum Genius and may be interested:

Cotton Babies is having a sale on seconds.  Prices look like around $10 for a new diaper. 

Happy Fourth week of Advent, everyone!

Meeting this Wednesday

Reading 1 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
"Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!"
Nathan answered the king,
"Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you."
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?'

"'It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29

R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations."
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
"He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm."
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2 Rom 16:25-27

Brothers and sisters:
To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen

Gospel Lk 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.

"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

1.      In the first reading, God gives David an extraordinary promise through the prophet Nathan: he will establish his house and his family forever!  Who of us wouldn’t want that promise for ourselves?  And yet each of us has an opportunity to affect our families for eternity.  What might you do this Advent and Christmas season to bring members of your family to a deeper faith in Christ?

2.      The responsorial psalm also speaks of the Lord’s goodness, promises, faithfulness, and kindness.  What steps can you take in your times of prayer to focus more on praising God for these attributes, rather than just asking for things?

3.      The Gospel reading is so familiar to us we may be inclined to pass over it too quickly.  But when we look closely we see that the angel actually did not give Mary very many details about what her life would be like.  And yet she accepted without insisting on knowing its impact on her.  When God asks something of you, do you focus on how it will impact you or on God’s will and call for your life?  Can you give an example?  

(Questions stolen from the Men's Group Questions.) 

Hello ladies. This blog is a great idea.

We will be a no show today. Mark is completely stuffed up. I am keeping him at home today and hydrate him. Maybe we will see you next week.

Questions for this week

Erin sent these questions with readings for this week, so I'm posting them here. 

We plan to be at mom's group this week.

First Reading:
Question 1: The Lord sent Isaiah to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, give liberty to captives and release to prisoners. Do you participate in the sorrows of the world in any way? Are these lines glad tidings for you? On the other hand, do you help give healing to the poor and brokenhearted, and liberation to prisoners?

Second Reading:
Question 2: How can you actively ensure that the Spirit has opportunities to work in you? How would "test everything and pray without ceasing" work toward that end?

Gospel:
Question 3: In the first reading Isaiah was sent with a message from God. In the Gospel God sends John to testify to the light of Christ. Does God send you? How could you testify to the light in some way?



Third Sunday of Advent




Reading 1 Is 61:1-2a, 10-11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
 he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
 As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.


Reading 2 1 Thes 5:16-24

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
 Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.


Gospel Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

A man named John was sent from God.
 He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
 and Levites to him
to ask him, "Who are you?"
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, "I am not the Christ."
So they asked him,
"What are you then? Are you Elijah?"
And he said, "I am not."
 "Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
So they said to him,
"Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?"
He said:
"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
 'make straight the way of the Lord,'"
as Isaiah the prophet said."
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
"Why then do you baptize
 if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?"
 John answered them,
"I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
 where John was baptizing.

Welcome to our new blog!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to our new blog!  I invite you all to use the function on the blog that sends posts directly to your email, which will make posts on here similar to receiving an email the way we had been doing.

Feel free to add posts to this blog whenever you like: this can be who's coming to mom's group this week, questions for the week's readings, pictures to share, announcements, etc.  We can make a joint decision if we want to make it a truly public blog that can be accessed by anyone in the parish, or if you'd rather have it semi-private, by invitation only to other moms interested in or members of the group. 

I have added most of our regular members as authors of the blog, so you'll be free to post at will.  We can have up to 100 authors, so if I missed someone, please feel free to add them.

I'm curious to see how this works out for our group.  Here goes!!

-Rachel