Saturday, 08 December
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - ANTHONY J. LUPPINO
by his sister, Grace, and sons

Sunday, 09 December
Second Sunday of Advent
7:45 a.m. - DANIEL SMITH
(3rd anniversary)
by his mother, Catherine
10:45 a.m. - JOSEPH A. PALKO
by his wife, Carmella, and his daughter, Joanne (+)

Monday, 10 December
Advent Weekday
12:05 p.m. - ANNA LEJKO STOCK
by her sister, Betty Lejko Gustitus

Tuesday, 11 December
St. Damasus I, pope (OptMem)
12:05 p.m. - JANIS DRIGOT MODRIJAN
by Glen and Mary Anne Sninski
7:00 p.m. - CECELIA (Shirley) RYNDOCK
by Mary, Joseph and John Krizno

Wednesday, 12 December
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Fst)
12:05 p.m. - RACHEL ANN SNINSKI
by her family
 

Thursday, 13 December
St. Lucy, virgin, martyr (OblMem)
12:05 p.m. - ALFRED CATALINI
(42nd anniversary of death; 87th anniversary of wedding)
by his daughter, Rose Marie
7:00 p.m. - CATHERINE NOLAN LUCAS
by her daughter, Catherine, and family

Friday, 14 December
St. John of the Cross, priest, doctor (OblMem)
12:05 p.m. - JOSEPH A. FABIANI
by his wife, Johanne, and family

Saturday, 15 December
Advent Weekday
8:00 a.m. - BARBARA PILKUS
by Charles and Mary Tamburelli
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - MIM and BETTY
by Phyllis C. Kevy and Roni J. Kevy (+)

Sunday, 16 December
Third Sunday of Advent
7:45 a.m. - JOHN KLEMA
by Andy and Clare Alfonsi
10:45 a.m. - AGNES OWENS (anniversary of birth)
by her daughter, Kitty Owens DiCello

Saint Joseph Parish
$3,459.00 from the envelopes and $129.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $3,588.00 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $410.08 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $160.01, the sum of which is $570.09, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $941.06 the sum total of which is $1,511.15, one sees that $2,076.85 of this collection is available for operating the parish.

Saint Francis deSales Parish
$152.00 from the envelopes and $72.35 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $224.35 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $46.15 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $60.67, the sum of which is $106.82, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $188.21, the sum total of which is $295.03, one sees that ($70.68) of this collection is available for operating the parish. This is a defecit!

PLEASE BE AWARE that the film The Golden Compass, which opened on 7 December, is a film based on a book that was written by Philip Pullman.
Mr. Pullman calls himself an "agnostic" and an "atheist". [I don't know how anyone can be simultaneously an agnostic and an atheist. I'm just telling you what I have read about him!]
The important thing to know is this: Mr. Pullman uses his considerable writing talent in order to promote atheism and he does so via stories that are directed to children.
Just recently, I purchased a copy of The Dark Materials, a trilogy of novels by Mr. Pullman, the first of which is The Golden Compass.
I am just starting to get into it. I can tell you more about it after I've had a chance to read it in its entirety.
However, for now, please be aware that The Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights is asking everyone to be extremely cautious about exposing children to this movie.
I am not big on censorship. However, I would like to say that parents would do well to direct their children away from this movie but, if their children do see this movie, I suggest that parents become acquainted with the critique of Mr. Pullman's trilogy that is available from the website of The Catholic League.

If anyone wants a copy of this critique, you can download it yourself or else ask Fr. Connolly (or one of the parish secretaries) to give you a copy.

Dear Answer Priest:
I asked my parish priest why Cardinal Ratzinger changed his name from "Joseph" to "Benedict" when he was elected Pope. I asked him why couldn't he just have kept the name that he had all his life and be known as "Pope Joseph" instead of "Pope Benedict"?
My parish priest said he didn't know, but that The Answer Priest probably knows. So, that's why I'm writing to you.
Always Wanted to Know

Dear Always Wanted to Know:
All of the Popes up to and including the year 532 kept their own personal names after being elected.
However, in 533 a man named Mercury was elected Pope. Because his name was the name of a Roman god, he thought it would be inappropriate to be known as "Pope Mercury", so he changed his name to John.
Since there had already been a Pope John by that time, Mercury became known as Pope John II.
So, Pope John II was the first Pope to change his name to what has become known as a "regnal name" (i.e. a "ruling name").
The next four Popes after him kept their own personal names.
However, in 561, a man named "Cataline" was elected. Because this was also considered a pagan name, he changed it to John when he was elected. So, Pope John III was the second Pope to change his name.
(The next eight Popes name John - John IV to John XI - were "John" before they were elected.)
In 955, a man named Octavian (also considered a pagan name) was elected. He changed his name to John. So, Pope John XII was the third Pope to change his name.
Pope John XIII was John before he was elected

In 983, a man named Peter was elected. He thought it would be inappropriate or disrespectful to be known as "Pope Peter", because he thought that name should be retired in deference to the first Pope. Therefore, he took the name John. So, Pope John XIV was the fourth Pope to change his name. This was also the start of a tradition for Popes not to name themselves "Peter".
In 996, a man name Bruno was elected Pope. He was the first German to be elected Pope. For reasons that are not 100% certain, he also changed his name. He changed it to Gregory. It is possible that he thought that having a German name would not sit well with the Romans, but that's just a guess. So, Pope Gregory V was the fifth Pope to change his name.
That seems to have started a landslide.
Every Pope since 996 has changed his name upon being elected Pope.
Why? Well, that's a good question. It's not a law. It is simply a custom or tradition.
Technically, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) could have called himself "Pope Joseph I" if he had wanted to. Nobody could have required him to change his name.
However, it is seen as a SIGN OF HUMILITY to change one's name. It signifies that the Pope's authority is not due to his personal qualities or family connections, but is due to the fact that he holds the office of Bishop of Rome. It is also a SIGN OF CONTINUITY with his predecessors. It would be very unusual for a new Pope to take a name that had never been taken before (at least not in the last thousand years or so). The closest we have come to a new name was Pope John Paul I - the one who lived for only 34 days after being elected. He was the first Pope to take a double name. However, even his double name was a combination of the names of his two immediate predecessors (John XXIII and Paul VI).

The Answer Priest

THE MARRIAGE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
It has often been observed that, after a year or two of marriage, many husbands start to take their wives for granted. They rarely, if ever, say sweet and romantic things to them, the way they used to when they were courting.
Some men just don't know the vocabulary of love and romance or, if they ever did know it, they have forgotten it.
We came across a tender ballad known as A REDNECK'S LOVE SONG. It was so pretty, it brought a tear to my eye.
As a special service to the married men of our parishes (and, indirectly, to their wives), we print the text here. The melody is not important. You can make that up as you go along. Men, sing this to your wives and see how they will get just all misty-eyed and choked up.