Photos from the Animal Blessing at the Shelter!

To see the rest of the photos, please click on our Picasaweb albums in the right sidebar! If you are interested in adopting any of the furry little fellas' below or in donating to a fantastic community resource, please contact the Prairieland Animal Welfare Center at 309-342-1275 or find them online at www.kchs.net

(L to R) Sr. Warden Michael Haptonstahl, Jr. Warden Cara Frakes, Parish Administrator Sandy Bruington and Fr. Janikowski present P.A.W.C. Director Erin Buckmaster with pet supplies and a monetary donation to help the Center.

New Year's Eve...

...and we are off to the blessing of animals at the Prairieland Animal Welfare Center here in Galesburg.  If you are in town, come by at around 5:30 for the invocation, luminaria lighting and the blessing of the "residents" at the shelter.  Stop back here at the 'blog (later on tonight) for photos of the event, God willing.

Christmas!

Just in case you were wondering...

Friday, 24 December:
8:00 PM - Vigil Mass of Christmas
11:00 PM - Sung Matins of Christmas Day
11:30 PM - The 1st Mass of Christmas: Midnight Mass
                   (Nursery available.  Reception in the parish hall following mass)

Saturday, 25 December:
10:00 AM - The 2nd Mass of Christmas: Mass at "daybreak"
1:00 PM - The 3rd Mass of Christmas: Mass in the daytime (at Zion Church, Brimfield)

See you in church!!

Looking ahead to the Weekend...Advent IV

THE COLLECT.   

O LORD, raise up (we pray thee) thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end.  Amen.

THE EPISTLE.  Philippians 4:4-7  

THE GOSPEL.  St. John 1:19-28  

from THE CROWN OF THE YEARWeekly Paragraphs for the Holy SacramentBy Austin FarrerDacre Press, Westminster

ADVENT iv 

ADVENT is a coming, not our coming to God, but his to us. We cannot come to God, he is beyond our reach; but he can come to us, for we are not beneath his mercy.  Even in another life, as St John sees it in his vision, we do not rise to God, but he descends to us, and dwells humanly among human creatures, in the glorious man, Jesus Christ.  And that will be his last coming; so we shall be his people, and he everlastingly our God, our God-with-us, our Emmanuel.  He will so come, but he is come already, he comes always: in our fellow-Christian (even in a child, says Christ), in his word, invisibly in our souls, more visibly in this sacrament.  Opening ourselves to him, we call him in: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; O come, Emmanuel.

Advent III (Belated...Sorry!!)

THE COLLECT.   

O LORD Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare the way before thee: Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.  Amen.

THE EPISTLE.  1 Cor. 4. 1-5

THE GOSPEL.  S. Matth. 11. 2-10

from THE CROWN OF THE YEARWeekly Paragraphs for the Holy SacramentBy Austin FarrerDacre Press, Westminster

ADVENT iii 

JESUS gave his body and blood to his disciples in bread and wine. Amazed at such a token, and little understanding what they did, Peter, John and the rest reached out their hands and took their master and their God.  Whatever else they knew or did not know, they knew they were committed to him, body and soul; they were consenting that he should die for them, and that they, somehow, should live it out.  The cock had not crowed twice that night before Peter thrice denied, but still he knew he was committed to Christ, for Christ had given him his body and his blood.  Christ’s body and blood lived in him, and Christ forgave him; there was no breaking of the sacramental tie.  We are not worthy of Christ, but we are bound to Christ.  With all the sincerity of our minds let us renew the bond, and pray to live for him who has died for us.

Second Sunday in Advent

THE COLLECT.  

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience, and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

THE EPISTLE.  Romans 15:4-13

THE GOSPEL.  S. Luke 21:25-33

Incidentally, I happen to think that this Sunday's bit from Father Farrer is one of the finest of the entire year...

from  THE CROWN OF THE YEAR Weekly Paragraphs for the Holy Sacrament By Fr. Austin Farrer Dacre Press, Westminster

ADVENT ii 

ADVENT brings Christmas, judgement runs out into mercy.  For the God who saves us and the God who judges us is one God.  We are not, even, condemned by his severity and redeemed by his compassion; what judges us is what redeems us, the love of God.  What is it that will break our hearts on judgement day?  Is it not the vision, suddenly unrolled, of how he has loved the friends we have neglected, of how he has loved us, and we have not loved him in return; how, when we came (as now) before his altar, he gave us himself, and we gave him half—penitences, or resolutions too weak to commit our wills?  But while love thus judges us by being what it is, the same love redeems us by effecting what it does.  Love shares flesh and blood with us in this present world, that the eyes which look us through at last may find in us a better substance than our vanity.

First Sunday in Advent (Belated...Sorry!)

THE COLLECT  

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever.  Amen.

THE EPISTLE.  Romans 13. 8-14

THE GOSPEL.  S. Matthew 21:1-13

from  THE CROWN OF THE YEAR Weekly Paragraphs for the Holy Sacrament By Fr. Austin Farrer Dacre Press, Westminster

ADVENT i 

OUR journey sets out from God in our creation, and returns to God at the final judgement.  As the bird rises from the earth to fly, and must some time return to the earth from which it rose; so God sends us forth to fly, and we must fall back into the hands of God at last.  But God does not wait for the  failure of our and the expiry of our days to drop us back into his lap.  He goes himself to meet us and everywhere confronts us.  Where is the countenance which we must finally look in the eyes, and not be able to turn away our head?  It smiles up at Mary from the cradle, it calls Peter from the nets, it looks on him with grief when he has denied his master.  Our judge meets us at every step of our way, with forgiveness on his lips and succour in his hands.  He offers us these things while there is yet time.  Every day opportunity shortens, our scope for learning our Redeemer’s love is narrowed by twenty-four hours, and we come nearer to the end of our journey, when we shall fall into the hands of the living God, and touch the heart of the devouring fire.