Advent has begun. This is not our season of frenzied celebration… this is our season for quiet and for reflection. The church is decorated in purple, we are scheduling lots of times for confessions, and our music is subdued. We have some preparation to do before we are ready to greet the Lord at Christmas. A funeral director once came into our church in mid-December and asked, “Don’t Catholics celebrate Christmas?” We do, indeed. But we need to prepare ourselves. Let us keep this holy season in watchful prayer.
On Saturday morning, Dec. 6, we will have our annual Rorate Caeli Mass. This is an Advent Mass celebrated by candlelight in a dark church, ending as the sun comes up. Our Mass will begin at 7:00 a.m. Please note that we will not have an 8:15 Mass on Saturday morning.
Please pray for our young parishioners who will celebrate their First Reconciliation on Saturday. This is an important day in their lives and an important day for our parish. As they are cleansed of sin, may they live long lives of holiness.
A charter member is a person who was part of St. Charles parish when it was founded in 1957 and has remained a member through the years. Our parish list shows only six remaining charter members. However, I learned this week of another. He was five years old when the parish has founded. His family was part of the new parish and he has belonged here ever since. My guess is that our parish list was compiled from a list of adults who were registered in 1957. If you or someone you know has been in the parish since 1957, even as a child, please let me know. This is a pretty exclusive list.
