Fourth

Sunday
of
Advent

St. Rita of Cascia

A Faith Community Since 1908
December 21, 2014

MASS TIMES
SUNDAYS: Sat. 5:30 pm (Vigil), 7:30 am, 10 am & 12 N
WEEKDAYS: Mon., Tues., Fri, and Sat. 8 am
(Wed. & Thurs. 8 am Communion Service)
HOLY DAYS: (eve of) 5:30 pm; (day of) 8 am & 6:30 pm

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
(Confession) Saturdays 4 - 5 pm or by appointment
DEVOTIONS
Our Lady of Perpetual Help: Saturday 7:50 am
ADORATION
First Friday 8:30 am - 5 pm, Rectory Oratory

Msgr. Richard Krekelberg, V.F.Pastor

Deacon Manuel Valencia Deacon John Hull
318 North Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre
Mailing Address: 50 East Alegria Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Phone: 626/355-1292 FAX: 626/355-2290 www.st-rita.org

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENTDECEMBER 21, 2014

Parish Ministries and Organizations

How to Contact Us
Msgr. Richard Krekelberg, V. F.Pastor
626.355.1292 x. 228 revkrek@st-rita.org
Dcn. Manuel & Chela Valencia
deaconmanuelvalencia@gmail.com 355.1292
Dcn. John Hulljohnhull65@gmail.com 355.1292
Weekend Presider:
10 am MassFr. Chris Thiel, OFM Capuchin
Parish Office/Mailing Address
50 East Alegria Ave., Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9am to 6pm; Sat. 9 am to 1 pm.
Office Email: ParishAdmin@st-rita.org
Director of Administration
Mary Lou Butler: mlbutler@st-rita.org 355.1292

Pastoral Council
Parish Office: 355.1292

Finance Council Chair

Bill Sullivan: 355.3707

St. Rita SchoolOffice: 626.355.6114

Principal: Joanne Harabedian jharabedian@st-rita.org

Director of Liturgy & Music

Liturgy & Worship

Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers: David & Jill Muhs
355.9810 em@st-rita.org
Altar Servers, Youth: Kathy Ganino 626.398.9302
katganino@charter.net
Altar Servers, Adult: Bill Cosso 355.5656
Eucharistic Adoration: Kathy Ganino 626.398.9302
katganino@charter.net
Rosary Prayer Group: Susan Day 355-3835
Sacristans: Sat. Vigil: Gary Fidone/Bill & Patti Huber
Sunday Masses: 7:30-Bill Cosso/David Banis;
10:00-David Muhs; 12N-Bernie Grace
Weekdays: John Bigley, Margaret Duran
Porter: (Evening Church Lockup) Sheila Palazzolo
Environment: Denise Villalovos/Gil Lazo gil@st-rita.org 355.1292

Ministries & Organizations

Bereavement Ministry: 355.1292 bereave@st-rita.org
Christian Family: Ana Ptasinski 355.3146
Greeters & Ushers: Erny Henry 626.289.3504 626.446.6715
Mens Club: Dave Loera d.loera@verizon.net
New Members/Welcome: Contact the Parish Office
St. Rita Guild: Patty Sullivan 355.3707 psullivan514@gmail.com
Senior Ministry: Marilyn McKernan marilyn@st-rita.org
Shawl Ministry: Mary Taillac 355.3179 Marilyn Delgatto 355.8717

Paul Puccinelli: mm@st-rita.org

Other Contacts

Director of Religious Education

Cristina Cullen: 355.1292 dre@st-rita.org

Director of Youth Ministry/Confirmation

Theresa Bui Costanzo: 626.590.8828 ym@st-rita.org

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults)

Team: Deacon Manuel and Chela Valencia; and
Susan Blakeslee:
rcia@st-rita.org

Archivist: Marilyn McKernan marilyn@st-rita.org

Bulletin Submissions: bulletin@st-rita.org or drop off at Office
Public Relations: ParishAdmin@st-rita.org
Registration Information: rc@st-rita.org 355.1292
Webmaster: Ralph Seymour: seymour@seymourmedia.com

Let Saint Rita Be There For You . . .

Communion for Sick and Homebound Parishioners

St. Rita Eucharistic Ministers provide Communion home visits. Contact the Parish Office 355.1292 or Jill Muhs 355.9810 em@st-rita.org

Anointing of the Sick

Please notify us (355.1292) for the Anointing of the Sick, the sacrament intended for the seriously ill or dying and Our Lords special presence
and companionship in serious time of need. Anointing may take place in the home, at the hospital or elsewhere and as often as once a month.
If someone should die without anointing, remember that the desire to receive is sufficient.

If You Should Experience the Loss of a Loved One Please call us at 355.1292

If you feel you will be in need, or your loved one has passed, we will assist in making arrangements with your chosen funeral director; refer you
to our Bereavement Ministry and Music Ministry; and offer you helpful guidelines that will aid in the selection of readings for a Mass or
Memorial Service. We know this can be a tough time and we want you to know that your parish is there for you. PLEASE UNDERSTAND we
only have one resident priest; sometimes arrangements for another priest may be needed.

For Information about the Sacraments

BaptismPlease contact the Parish Office for further information on the Baptism process and requirements.
Reconciliation and First EucharistPreparation for children who have attained the age of reason (usually during 2nd grade) is
arranged either through the Office of Religious Education or St. Rita Elementary School.

MatrimonyContact the Parish Office upon engagement; at least six months is needed for preparation of this joyous sacrament!
ConfirmationA two-year program for freshman/sophomore age teens. Apply through the Office of Youth Ministry.

SAINT RITA

OF

CASCIA CHURCH

REV. MSGR. RICHARD KREKELBERG

Dear Parishioners,

The Promised One

TWO SAMUEL SEVEN
This was the answer to one of my
canonical examination questions
before ordination to the priesthood
in 1973. The question was: What is
the earliest appearance in the Old
Testament of the notion or idea of a
once-and-for-all savior? (I got it
right, by the way.) The Second Book
of Samuel, Chapter Seven, is given as
our first reading on this Fourth
Sunday of Advent and echoed in the
Gospel of Luke as the child to be
born of Mary is described as the one
who

will be great and will be called

Son of the Most High
and the Lord God will give him
the throne of David his Father,
and of his kingdom
there will be no end.

The history of humankind seeking

knowledge of God is nowhere better
articulated than in the Messianic
prophesies, and, in this case, in the
historical literature of the Old and
New Testaments.
As Christmas approaches, do we not
sense a brotherhood and sisterhood
with all of those ancients who sought
a personal connection with God?
Who wanted answers to the great
questions, Who are we? Where do
we come from? and Where are we
going? From the time of the first
prediction of the Messiah (c1200 BC)
and the declaration of His birth in
writing (Gospel of Mark, c70 AD),
Messianic faith germinated and
budded forth. Jesus of Nazareth,
born in Bethlehem of Judea, became
the proposed answer to ALL of the
great questions. I suppose we must
credit Mary and then Joseph for first

placing their faith in him as The

Promised One. More than 2000
years removed from the time The
Holy Family walked this Earth, how
strong is your faith and mine in Jesus
the Christ? If truly He is the answer
to all of our greatest and most
profound questions, how do we
adequately celebrate the 2014
anniversary of his birththis coming
Thursday?

Msgr. Richard

PASTORS NEWS NOTES

The Candle Light Walk takes place this Sunday evening. This has become one of my favorite Christmas
observances since coming to Sierra Madre and St. Rita. There have been a library full of books written on the differences
between Christian denominations and how they came to be since the splintering of Christianity in the 16th century.
However, all of that seems to fade at the Candle Light Walk when citizens of Sierra Madre and members of her Christian
churches light up the darkness with their little candles and literally find common ground in front of St. Rita Church. As
we walk down past our sister churches of Ascension and Bethany toward Kersting Court and the Manger Scene (and the
Grand Menorah), let us carry a common prayer for the unity of Christians, for Judeo Christian respect and dignity, and
for Islamic Judeo Christian sanity.

Msgr. Richard

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENTDECEMBER 21, 2014

MASS INTENTIONS
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20

8:00 AM Mary Conlon RIP

5:30 PM Catherine Montreuil RIP

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21

7:30 AM Verdan Fernandes RIP

10:00 AM For All Parishioners
12 NOON Josefa Torres RIP

PLEASE PRAY FOR

THOSE WHO
HAVE REQUESTED
OUR PRAYERS

TuesdaySt. John of Kanty

FridaySt. Stephen
SaturdaySt. John

Ernest Kopka, Vera Delgatto, JF

Mahoney, Kelly Solomon, Linda Theriault,
Antoinette Serafin, Janeen Wetzel, Heather
Hagan, Mike Wolf, Jean Wood, Jos
Colayco, Mario de la Torre, Barbara
Vanni, Freya Sheasby Bailey, Anna
Schube, Aubrey Randolph, Joseph Malvin,
Madeleine Loera, Randy Graff, Toni
Navarro, Susan Watson, Molly Lynch,
Juanito & Marilou Pe, Willard Bochte,
Joann Ruggles, Margaret Duran, Lori Ann
Little, Guia Canizales, Anne Frealy, Eva
Shammon, Margie Schubert, Mary
Zuckerburg, Emily Young, JoAnn
Douglass, Mary McColl, Evelyn Tres,
Barbara Hester, Phil Huddleston, Gerald
Drean, Charlotte Bollman Fuchs,
Raymond Payne, Peter Delgatto, Jr.,
Montserrat Marti, Jordan Alabart, Linda
Milligan, Susan Skousen, Brooke Manning,
Arthur Contreras, Jr., Robert Quinonez,
Richard Krier, Patsy Starkey, Jean
Mansour, Jacob Bigley, Maria Carmen
Marti, Clare Marquardt, Kathleen Ramsey,
Tonyja Blakeslee, Addie Marshall, Jackie
Bagnuolo, Mary Ellen Isoard, Rose Mary
Taquino, Paul Viger, Hal Finney, Ailey
Gardner-Ybarra, Eva Bernejo, Edith Olah,
Lancelot Loera, Fred Mycroft, Alex
Arranaga, Joseph Moore.

TODAYS READINGS

Your Prayers Are Needed

MONDAY, DECEMBER 22
8:00 AM

Vivian DeVoe RIP

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23

8:00 AM Charles Tanis RIP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24
CHRISTMAS EVE
4:00 PM Louis Babisa RIP
10:30 PM Jan Garrigan RIP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25
CHRISTMAS DAY

8:30 AM Jennifer Sims RIP

12 NOON Dr. Vincent A. Bonfiglio RIP

FRIDAY, D ECEMBER 26
8:00

AM

Clarita Gustafson INT

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27

8:00 AM Gerald L. Gallagher RIP

5:30 PM Marie Pecoraro RIP

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28

7:30 AM Frank Pietrantonio RIP

10:00 AM Thomas P. Johnson RIP
12 NOON For All Parishioners

FEAST DAYS THIS WEEK

First ReadingI will fix a place for

my people. (2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16).
PsalmFor ever I will sing the
goodness of the Lord (Psalm 89).
Second ReadingTo the only wise
God, through Jesus Christ, be glory
forever and ever (Romans 16:25-27).
GospelBehold, I am the handmaid of
the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word (Luke 1:26-38).

Please continue to pray daily for all

Catholics and Christians who are
suffering for their faith in Iraq, Syria,
and Africa.

Reflection for the

Fourth Sunday of Advent
ECHOING MARYS DECISION
The angel Gabriel
today confronts
Mary
with
a
mystery.
The
mystery of salvation
in Christ is not a
mystery that is
solved, but a reality beyond our
comprehension that we must
choose to enter into. In the liturgy
of the Eastern Church, everyone
waits to see if Mary will enter into
the mystery: God waits, Adam and
Eve and all the souls of the dead
who long for paradise wait, angels
wait for new heavenly companions.
And there is much rejoicing when
her decision is yes.
We have less dramatic choices
offered to us, but the mystery of our
salvation in Christ is by no means
solved. We may understand it a
bit better due to Marys yes. We
may be a bit closer to it through the
passion, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. But it still remains a
mystery to which we all must give
our own yes.
Soon we will be singing O come,
let us adore him. May our Advent
prayer, our echo of Marys yes,
continue then, so we may enter into
the mystery of our salvation in Jesus
Christ, God among us.
Copyright J. S. Paluch Co.

Come, Jesus.

Thank You
One of the most generous gifts is the
gift of self! We thank all those who
have worked so hard during this
Advent Season to help create an
environment of hopeful waiting.

Fill me with awe and wonder at the

wisdom and power of the Father,
Help me to follow your light with
every action of my life.

Come, Jesus.

Enlighten me with love and peace,

Help me to bring a renewed heart
and soul to Your manger.

SAINT RITA OF CASCIA CHURCH

Youth Ministry
EDGE Middle School Ministry
No Classes on December 22 or 29
Theresa Costanzo ym@st-rita.org

Religious Education
Classes for 1st-5th Graders
No classes on December 22 or 29

Preschool Sunday School

Holiday Party

During the 10 am Mass

Attention families-no Sunday School
on December 21st or December 28th.
All 3-5 year old children are invited to
join us on January 4th as we continue
our year!
Cristina Cullen dre@st-rita.org

Christmas Decorating

Our Christmas Giving Tree

Thank you to all who donated so
generously to provide a little bit of
Christmas for so many. St. Anthony
Parish and St. Francis Center are very
grateful for our help each year. They
truly rely on us to be there for the
many who ask for help from them.

Poinsettias Needed
If you can donate a poinsettia
plantany colorto be used in
our Church Christmas dcor,
please bring your offering to the
St. Rita Shrine area this Sunday.

Helpers Needed
We need help to prepare our
Church for Christmas. We
especially need menor strong
women!to climb ladders and/
or help set up our crche.
December 22 & 23
from 11am until 3 pm

5
St. Rita Guild
gathered
for their
Annual
Christmas
Party at the
Athenum
at Caltech
on
Friday,
December 5

Knit for Kids

Attention all helpers!

If you have any finished sweaters,

please bring them on December 28
after any of the Masses. Look for me
at an outside table. If you would like
to participate in the procession, on
Sunday, January 4, bringing the
sweaters to the altar to be blessed by
Msgr. Richard, please contact me.
Ana Ptasinksi 355-3146

Christmas Mass on TV

Hospitality after
Sunday Masses

Do you know someone who is unable

to attend Mass this Christmas? Please
tell them about

Thank you to the Music Ministry and

the Senior Ministry for hosting last
Sundays hospitality and fellowship.

Heart of the Nation

Christmas Day Mass 9 am
TV Channel KDOC

Denise Villalovos 626/222-0936

This Sunday, Andrea Bertollini is

taking care of preparing our food and
drinks. We encourage you, while
enjoying a snack, to introduce
yourself to someone you often see in
Church but have never met.

Thank You to our

Hymnal Helpers

Thank you helpers!

In response to our appeal in the

Bulletin, we had a very successful
turnout on Saturday, November 22
to help us change the pew hymnals
for our new Liturgical Year 2015.
We were able to accomplish the
job in just one hour!

CHRISTMAS2014

Dear Parishioners,
On Behalf of
Your Saint Rita Parish and School
Ministers, Staff and Clergy,

Blessed Christmas 2014

We Pray for You In the Most Holy Eucharist
To Have Faith in the Incarnation of Gods Love.
May this Christmas and the New Year Bring You
A Deeper Faith in Him Who Was Born for Us Wonder Counselor
Renewed Hope in Him Who Was Born for Us God Hero
And The Power to Love as The One Born for Us - Prince of Peace.
~
May The Christ Born Anew in Each of Us
Guide and Inspire Our Beloved St. Rita Parish
To a Powerful Holy Communion,
Strengthened in its Resolve to Live the Gospel
And to Proclaim His Good News of Redemption
Throughout 2015.
Msgr. Richard

ST. RITA OF CASCIA CHURCH

This Week at St. Rita

This Sunday, December 21Candlelight Walk
Read Msgr. Richards News Notes on Page 3.

Christmas Liturgies
Wednesday, December 24Christmas Eve
4 pm Family Mass
10 pm Songs and Carols
10:30 pm Mass During the Night
(Midnight Mass)
Thursday, December 25Christmas Day
Holy Day of Obligation
8:30 am Mass
Noon Mass

Meet in front of the Church at 6:15 for a pre-walk concert

and hot cider and cookies, provided by Christian Family.
Actual procession to Kersting Court begins at 7 pm.

Parish Office Holiday Schedule

Closed at NoonTuesday, December 23
ClosedDecember 24 through December 26
OpenSaturday, December 27, 9am Noon
OpenMonday, December 29, 9 am - 5:30 pm
OpenTuesday, December 30, 9 am - 5:30 pm
ClosedWednesday, December 31 thru Sunday, January 4
ReopenMonday, January 5, 9 am

Merry Christmas!
From the St. Rita Parish Office Staff