Saint Joseph Parish:
Receipts for parish purposes: $1,068.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $85.00 from the second collection (plate); $86.00 from the Dues envelopes; $35.00 from the Building maintenance envelopes; $170.00 from the Fuel envelopes; $10.00 from the Christmas flowers envelopes; $2,987.00 from the Christmas envelopes; $290.00 from the loose.
Total: $4,731.00
Receipts for non-parish purposes: — 0 —
Analysis: When one deducts from the total of the receipts for parish purposes ($4,731.00) our weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments ($329.54), plus our weekly premium for property and casualty insurance ($464.00), plus our weekly subsidy to Trinity Academy ($358.17), the sum total of which is $1,151.17, one sees that $3,579.83 is available from this collection for operating the parish.

Saint Vincent DePaul Parish:
Receipts for parish purposes: $759.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $117.00 from the second collection (plate); $32.00 from the Dues envelopes; $5.00 from the Building maintenance envelopes; $1,833.00 from the Christmas envelopes; $326.00 from the loose.
Total: $3,072.00
Receipts for non-parish purposes: — $2.00 from the Retired Religious envelopes —
Analysis: When one deducts from the total of the receipts for parish purposes ($3,072.00) our weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments ($229.38), plus our weekly premium for property and casualty insurance ($282.46), plus our weekly subsidy to Trinity Academy ($250.98), the sum total of which is $762.82, one sees that $2,309.18 is available from this collection for operating the parish.

I thought it might be of some interest to share this email. It is a “short course” in angelology!
Father C.
Here is my dilemma - I have always been amazed by the concept of the angels and the fact that they consist of 3 choirs (which by the way should be explained to people because I do believe when they hear 'choirs of angels" they think they are holding hymn books) but I digress.
In the first choir containing Seraphim, and Cherubim I have found contradictory information that the DEVIL was from both groups and listing LUCIFER as a Seraphim and BEELZEBUB as a Cherubim.
Now the way I understand was the Seraphim could not even be gazed upon by the lower ranking angels and they were the top dogs- but some say there were only four of them but I've found references to many names.
Now with him being a Cherubim, who knew of God's power, it also references Beelzebub.
So I'm a little confused with where this dude fits in- I thought he was originally like a right hand man until his fall.
RNB

Dear RNB:
Actually there are nine choirs of angels, not three.
You may have gotten the “three” from how the nine choirs are grouped.
The names of the nine choirs are given in the Bible, but not all in one place in the Bible.
They are divided into three groups of three choirs each.
I’ve never heard any particular word used to designate the “groups”, so for now I’ll just designate them as Group One, Group Two and Group Three.
From highest to lowest — both as groups and as individual choirs within the groups — they are as follows:

If you listen closely at Mass, you will hear the priest invoke four of these choirs by name right before the “Holy, holy, holy”: ANGELS, ARCHANGELS, DOMINIONS and POWERS.
We usually refer to all of the above (collectively) as “angels”. This is okay, except that it makes it somewhat confusing. Strictly speaking, only the members of Group Three are “angels” because the word “angel” means “messenger”.
Probably the best way to refer to all of the above (collectively) is “Created Pure Spirits” (CPS). That is the one thing they all share in common. All of them are creatures and all of them are pure spirits.
Angels differ from God insofar as God and God Alone (all three Persons) is “Uncreated Pure Spirit” (UPS).
Angels differ from human beings insofar as human beings are “Created Mixed Spirits” (CMS).
(The “mixed” refers to the fact that we are spirits who are “mixed with” matter.)
GROUP ONE of the CPS is assigned directly and immediately to waiting upon God.
(For the sake of analogy: They go in and out of the West Wing without showing any passes. The highest choir of Group One (the Seraphim) hold the keys to the Oval Office. Nobody gets into the Oval Office without getting through them first!)
The members of the three choirs of Group One don’t usually get involved with management of the created world. They are something like contemplative monks and nuns. By this I mean that their purpose is direct contemplation and adoration of the Divine Majesty. Their “job” is to look at God, to worship Him, to serve as attendants at the throne. The inner circle of Group One is the Seraphim. They are beings of pure light who stand as a kind of ultimate boundary between the creation and the Creature.

They are pictured as having six wings (three pair). With two they cover their eyes, with two they cover their feet, with two they hover aloft and chant the “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth”. (“Sabaoth means something like “heavenly armies”.) The members of Group One read the Face of God and convey the Will of God to the members of Group Two. In other words, they let the lower ranks know what God wants to be done and not done.
GROUP TWO of the CPS is assigned administrative duty over the universe. The higher members of Group Two control the constellations. The middle members control the galaxies. The lower members control the solar systems. Each choir “takes its orders” from the choir above it. The members of Group Two are the ones who control the “births” and “deaths” of stars. These will be the ones who will be very much involved in bringing about “the end of the World”. They do not know when the End of the World is scheduled. They will receive this information at the appropriate time from the members of Group One, who will read God’s Face and know His decrees.
GROUP THREE of the CPS is more directly involved in the affairs of human beings. As far as we know, all guardian spirits (of individual human beings) are CPS of the lowest rank (the ones we call “angels”). The ones we call “archangels” are more likely to serve as guardian spirits for various and sundry parishes and dioceses. The ones we call “principalities” are likely to serve as guardian spirits for nations and various groupings of human beings.

It is not clear which choir Lucifer belonged to.
The prevailing opinion is that he was (still is) a cherub.
(By the way, as a point of grammar: Cherub is singular. Cherubim is plural. Seraph is singular. Seraphim is plural.)
Nor do we know which choir Beelzebub belonged to.
That one is anyone’s guess!
By the way: “Beelzebub” is a joking name for “Beelzebul”.
“Beelzebul” means “lord of lords”.
The Jews mocked him by punning on his name.
They called him “Beelzebub”.
Changing the last letter makes a big difference.
“Beelzebub” means “lord of the flies”.

In regard to the Seraphim: It is generally believed that there are seven Seraphim.
Either that or else there are seven Seraphim who are “inner, inner, inner circle”.
We don’t know the names of any of them.
There have been many conjectures about their names, but there have been some edicts issued by the Church forbidding people to “give names” to angels, lest we fall into idolatry and/ or get involved with fallen angels.
There are three exceptions to “giving names to angels”. The Bible gives names to three of them, so we are free to use these names. They are, as you know: MICHAEL, GABRIEL and RAPHAEL.

End of my email about Created Pure Spirits.
I have to go eat my supper.
If I were a pure spirit, I wouldn’t have to eat my supper but, since I have a body attached to my spirit, I have to.
As you know, CPS don’t eat and don’t go to the bathroom.
We could all save a lot of money on groceries and plumbing supplies if we were CPS instead of CMS.
EBC

The following is excerpted from an article by Thomas Leskin (staff writer) that appeared in the Pottsville Republican on 23 December 2011. It is in reference to the newly formed (in Cressona) congregation of the denomination known as Unitarian Universalists. The underlining does not appear in the original article.
After forming the congregation in July, the Schuylkill Unitarian Universalists will be holding their first Christmas Eve celebration at the Stone Church on Saturday (24 December).
Deborah Miller, co-chair of the steering committee and secretary, said since the idea for the congregation was seeded in early summer and they were authorized by the Unitarian Universalist Association as a startup congregation in October, the congregation has grown to more than 80 people in its mailing list.
The congregation, currently occupying 45 S. Second St., a former Methodist Church for 150 years, is the first Unitarian church in the county.
Although there have been previous attempts to establish one over the past five years, none succeeded, and the closest neighboring congregations are Bethlehem, Reading and Harrisburg.
The Unitarian church is open to all religions and accepting of all religious doctrines and sacred writings.
"In Unitarian Universalism, we learn about other religions so that people can find the path that's right for them," Miller said.
There are about 1,000 congregations in the United States.
Since Unitarian Universalism respects all religious beliefs, the event being held at 7 p.m. Saturday will incorporate all of the winter holidays and beliefs.
"Our winter holiday celebration is a multi-holiday celebration focusing on Christmas, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and Hanukkah," Miller said. "The centerpiece of the celebration is the readings of those four holidays in four voices."
Differing from Christian services, Miller said there will be a Yule Log presentation and the carols sung will be open to all religions, not favoring one over another.
There will also be various other readings, which Miller said are not necessarily religious-based readings but inspirational readings.
"Unitarian Universalism is a mix of everything and this is just part of it," Rhoades said. "What Unitarian Universalists means is tolerance, in other words, acceptance with not all of us believing in one way. I'm part pagan, part Lutheran, part Unitarian, so I believe in a lot of different things, not just one specific (thing)."
Dr. Charlie Law, Schuylkill Haven, said he will be telling about the Winter Solstice, which is about how the shortest day of the year is a celebration of the days getting longer and winter, and will also tell about the tradition of the Yule Log.
He said that if it burns for 12 hours, you will have good luck in the coming year.

My comments on the above
First of all, I want to affirm my belief in religious freedom. I am happy to live in a country in which the right of every human being to practice any religion or no religion is enshrined in the Constitution. With that in mind, I affirm — absolutely and without reservation — that the newly established (in Schuylkill County) Unitarian Universalist congregation has every right to be here and to practice their religion as they see fit and to proselytize if they care to do so.
Secondly, I want to say this: THERE IS NO SALVATION TO BE FOUND IN THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST RELIGION. It is a religion that is based on mere human wisdom. It is not a part of the Christian Church.
As a Catholic, I believe, of course, that OUTSIDE THE CHURCH THERE IS NO SALVATION and that THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE ONE TRUE CHURCH ESTABLISHED BY JESUS CHRIST. At the same time, I acknowledge that there are persons who are not Catholic who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ nonetheless. Orthodox Christians and Protestant Christians are our fellow Christians inasmuch as they (and we) acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, true God and true Man and inasmuch as they (and we) are baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The union of Orthodox and Protestant Christians with the Church of Jesus Christ is real, albeit (more so with Protestants than with Orthodox) imperfect.
Such is not the case with Unitarian Universalists. They are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ in any sense.
Jesus demands our exclusive loyalty. Either He is everything to us or He is nothing to us. We cannot have it both ways. He said about Himself that He is “new wine” that must be put into new wine sacks and that He is a new garment that must not be cut up in order to patch an old garment. We cannot serve Jesus and Zeus or Jesus and Muhammad or Jesus and Buddha or Jesus and Krishna or Jesus and the forces of nature or Jesus and anyone or anything else.
I wish the Unitarian Universalists in our county “all the best”. Quite frankly, the best that I can wish for them is that they be converted to Jesus Christ and that they enter the Catholic Church.