Masses for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord are: Tuesday, Christmas Eve, December 24 - 4:00 PM - St. John; 7:00 PM - Queen of Peace; 12:00 Midnight - St. John; Wednesday, Christmas Day, December 25 - 10:00 AM - St. Elizabeth.

As we light our second candle in our Advent wreath, we hear hopeful words in the Word of the Lord. “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever”;” we are filled with joy”. I pray always with joy”. In the Gospel, we hear hopeful admonition from John the Baptist: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”

Masses for the Holy Day are: 8:30 AM - St. John; 12:00 Noon - Queen of Peace; 7:00 PM - St. Elizabeth.

This year's Advent Retreat will focus on the graces that come from adoring Our Lord--full of love, peace, and hope--and how those graces can transform our lives and the world in which we live. The day begins at 8:30 A.M. and ends at 3:30 P.M. at Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church in Danville with talks by Fr. Robert Murphy, Fr. Harlow, and Br. Pio from the Franciscans of the Poor Christ, as well as parishioners. The day will offer chances to share your faith with others and experience inner healing through Jesus in the Eucharist. Come and bring a friend! Registrations are available at each of the churches and at the parish office. There is no fee for registration or lunch.

Following the closing of the La Salette Shrine in New Hampshire, Fr. Harlow, pastor of Corpus Christi Parish and past Cathedral rector, is asking Our Lady of La Salette for drug addiction healing at First Saturday Masses at his St. Johnsbury Church. Fr. Harlow invites parishioners to send him names of addicts or communities afflicted by drug use, drug overdoses, and drug sales. All names will be kept secret and not mentioned at these Masses, but Father will pray for them to Our Lady. Please email names to [email protected]. Father asks that no one send money for this cause. The Enfield, NH shrine dedicated to the 1846 appearance in France of the Blessed Mother to French children, is giving its property back to the Shakers who donated it to the missionaries in 1927.

This devotion grew popular after Our Lady of Fatima spoke of it during her appearances to the shepherd children in that small Portuguese town in 1917. The Blessed Mother asked us to perform these devotions as reparation for sins against her Immaculate Heart and for the conversion of Russia: go to Confession within eight days before the First Saturday; attend Mass and receive Holy Communion; pray five decades of the Rosary; meditate on the Mysteries of the Rosary for 15 minutes. The Mother of God promised her help at the penitent’s death if these promises were kept.

In the seventeenth century, Our Lord asked French nun, now Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, to honor His Sacred Heart on nine consecutive first Fridays, by attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion. Jesus said, “I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under my displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, my divine Heart making itself their assured refuge at the last moment."

On Dec. 3, Giving Tuesday, we ask you to prayerfully consider a donation to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal in support of our Catholic schools, faith formation programs, emergency aid, and so much more which allows the diocese to keep sharing and living the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people of Vermont. Give online at vermontcatholic.org/giveonline, call 802-658-6110 x 1102, or mail a check payable to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, 55 Joy Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403.

Today we begin the joyful and penitential journey to the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Christmas. Advent means “coming,” and marks the start of the new liturgical year. We may set up and light the first purple candle on an Advent wreath. We may start making, collecting, and hanging our first ornaments on a Jesse tree. We open the first window of our Advent calendar. We may choose our Christkindl, the person to whom we will be like the Christ Child this Advent, secretly doing or making something kind for this recipient each day or every week in Advent - a prayer, Mass intention, rosary, leaving a holy card or medal, making a treat or gift, doing a chore. Readings at this Sunday’s Mass encourage us to watch for and wait for Lord. The priest wears purple or violet vestments during this season, similar to Lent. Church decorations are simple except for the big Advent wreath with its greenery, ribbons, and four candles. Sunday readings are from Year C in the three-year cycle. We will hear Luke's Gospel. His symbol is the winged ox.

Please gather with us for Coffee Hour at St. Elizabeth Sunday, December 1after the 9:35 AM Mass.

Parking spaces along the Father Lively Center fence on Winter Street are off limits to St. John parishioners through next April 15. Local tenants pay to park in these spaces from November 15 until the middle of April. Please leave these spots for the car owners renting these spaces for the winter.

Father Harlow seeks donations to a scholarship fund he is setting up as he marks his 31st year as a priest. Father's goal is to help students afford an education at Good Shepherd Catholic School. To contribute, please send checks to Father Harlow at the rectory. Please write checks to GSCS and note "Father Harlow Scholarship."

Deacon and Mrs. Gummere invite parishioners to join them for prayer and help with their spiritual life through the Diocese's new Prayer Partners program, which Deacon Pete and his wife, MaryAnn have just finished. The Gummeres will help prayer partners use scripture with prayer, deepen their faith, grow closer to Our Lord, and weather personal crises. Private meetings take place once a month at the parish rectory, and are free. These sessions are not pastoral or mental health counseling. Please call Deacon Pete (802-274-0942) or MaryAnn Gummere (802-274-2001)to schedule a monthly meeting.

The downstairs is open again. Flooring will be installed the first week of December. The moldy walls have been removed and a drainage system has been installed along the north and east walls. Father Harlow is very grateful to Mary Anne Gummere and her crew for cleaning up after the work. Father also thanks Ed Ledo and Greg Coutu for putting the kitchen cabinets back together. Please remember to spend time in the Adoration Chapel which is quiet again after the construction noise. There are a lot of hours where Jesus is all alone down there. We are one of the few churches in the Diocese that has an Adoration Chapel and it is a beautiful gift.

Classes for Grades Pre-Kindergarten through 6 run from 9:45 to 11:15 AM every Sunday, except for the first Sunday of each month, when students will attend Family Mass at St. Elizabeth at 9:35 AM. Registration forms are on the parish website: corpuschristi.vermontcatholic.org/religiouseducation, or can be picked up at the back of each church. Please send them to the parish: [email protected], or drop them off at the parish office at the rectory. Registration is still open.

The Knights of Columbus have issued another matching challenge to the parish to support the repair of the brickwork at St. John's Church. The cost of that work is $13,000. The Knights will match - dollar per dollar - the first $5,000 in donations for that purpose by September 10th of this year. Checks should be drawn to Corpus Christi Parish and marked "Brickwork Fund.” Please drop your donation in the collection basket.

On many Saturdays, the priest celebrating the day's Mass may choose a Mass of Our Lady. This memorial is optional: the priest instead may use readings and prayers for the calendar day.

For those who want to bake cookies, please call Jean Fournier at 802-626-3385. We want to know ahead of time the number of cookies we will have and what kind. In other bazaar news, LARGE RAFFLE TICKETS are available to purchase for three different prizes. Call Diane Bailey at the Parish Office with any questions ..

This year's sale is in the parish hall from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Raffle items are needed. Please call Diane Bailey at 802-751-5756. Besides the Raffle, other features at this year's bazaar are the Cookie Walk, Attic Treasures, Puzzles, Children's Toys, and Christmas items. Please come and enjoy a great time at our sale!

Deacon Pete Gummere leads this group the third Sunday of each month at the St. John Rectory at 1:00 PM. The ministry focuses on prayer, but will include a time for sharing thoughts and experiences. This new ministry encourages praying for the deceased, and for comfort and help for their families. Please call Deacon Pete for more information: 802-274-0942.