Sun. December 5 Second Sunday in Advent
8:00 All the Children in the World
11:00 Lorraine McLauglin
by the Parish

Mon. December 6
8:00 Living & Deceased Members of the
Grimm & Tragnitz Families
Tues. December 7
8:00 Janet Matis
by Joe Matis
Wed December 8 Immaculate Conception
of Blessed Virgin Mary
8:00 People of St. Gerard Majella
Thur. December 9
8:00 William Parsch
by Terry & Kathy Fagan
Fri. December 10
8:00 William Parsch
by Art & Bobbie Rankin

Sat. December 11
8:00 Purgatorial Society
5:30 Rick Rabka
by Norm & Rita Cole

Sun. December 12 Third Sunday in Advent
8:00 Eileen Juchcinski
by the Geist Family
11:00 William Parsch
by Kevin & Melanie Fagan

THANK YOU
Thank you to all whom contributed to the collection on the weekend of November 27th and November 28th. The amount collected was $1,234.00.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK
Linda Jones
Charlotte Ryan
Rita Schreiber
Lou Grimm
Corine Murphy
Ann Dytrych
Julie Laur
Adeline Deneen
Betty Nemecek
Helen Blaha
Betty Paschal
Ann Mysliwiec
Lottie Fik
Gloria Dompier
Eileen Desidero
Bernadine Smith
Lorraine Jarvis
Joseph Scofield
Eugene Orris
Margaret Lee
Roselee Gacke
Brittany Dubs
Lillian Coughlin
Dorothy Loeffler
Cameron
Campbell
Shaun Deneen
Eleanore
Thielmann
Marge Straub
Ann Knight

Anyone who is ill in our parish and would like to receive Holy Communion; call (708) 331-8400. If you can be removed from the sick list at this time, please call the parish office.

DATES TO REMEMBER
December 1 Choir Rehearsal (7 PM)
December 6 Parish Council Meeting (7 PM) at Linda's
December 8 Immaculate Conception (Holy Day of Obligation)
December 19 Pancake Breakfast
December 19 Guild Bake Sale
December 20 Women's Guild Christmas Party (6 PM)

THE GIVING TREE
Our parish is sponsoring a "Giving Tree". We want to thank everyone who took a tag. We ask that all presents be returned (placed under the tree) no later than December 13th.

HOLY NAME PANCAKE BREAKFAST
St. Gerard's Holy Name Society is hosting the annual Pancake Breakfast. Plan to be there Sunday, December 19th. Further information is available by calling either Norm Cole (708) 331-5188 or Bill O'Connor (708) 388-0210.

GUILD CHRISTMAS PARTY
The Women's Guild Christmas Party will be hosted at "Carlos", Monday December 20th at 6:00 PM. Please contact Joan Sitniewski (708) 333-0755 or Rita Cole (708) 331-5188 for tickets or further information.

CHRISTMAS CHOIR
Rehearsals for St. Gerard Majella's annual Christmas choir will be held each Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM in church. We encourage and invite everyone to join us. We carol before the "midnight Mass" on Christmas Eve and sing during the Mass.
Here is an opportunity for you to participate and be an active part of the Mass. Music is an important form of prayer.

ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS
Hear yea! Hear yea! We are starting our 18th year selling the Entertainment coupon books for St. Gerard Majella. The books sell for $20.00 each with the church getting $4.00 for each book sold. We need your support! Buy a book and save big when you visit participating restaurants. See Norm Cole (333-5188), Lee Palys (331-7254) or DoDo Dove (331-6603) for more information or to purchase a book.

MASS AT HOLY NAME CATHEDRAL
We have two tickets available for the 150th anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception Mass at Holy Name Cathedral on December 8, 2004 at 5:15 PM. If you would like to attend this Mass, please call Linda in the parish office. The tickets are available on a first come, first served basis. Cardinal George will be celebrating this Mass.

MASS SCHEDULE
December 8th is a Holy Day of Obligation, the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Mass will be celebrated at 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM.
We will have a parish reconciliation service on December 21 at 7:00 PM.
The Christmas Eve service will be at 8:00 AM and 10:00 PM with caroling beginning at 9:00 PM. Christmas Day services will be at 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM. There will be no Mass at 5:30 on December 25th. On December 26th there will be an 8:00 AM and an 11:00 AM Mass.
There will be an 8:00 AM Mass on December 31st. January 1st we celebrate Mass at 8:00 AM and 5:30 PM. This is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year. On January 2nd there will be an 8:00 AM and an 11:00 AM Mass.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CALENDAR
The Religious education students will be taking an active part in the 11:00 AM Mass on December 5th. Please come and support our parish children. They have been working very hard for weeks preparing their parts in the Mass.
The children in the program will have class on December 5th and December 12th. They will then have a Christmas break from classes until January 9th. This allows our students to spend time with their families during this busy time of year. The children are expected to attend Mass each week and are encouraged to participate in the reconciliation service if they have made their First Communion.
All children in the parish not attending a Catholic school should be registered for Religious education classes. To register a child, please call Linda in the parish office.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
Are you looking for a fun volunteer opportunity? Consider joining the volunteers at Neat Repeats Resale. All proceeds from our stores in Orland Park and Worth benefit the Crisis Center for South Suburbia. There are a variety of volunteer positions available. We are looking for donation transporters and sorters, as well as volunteers to work evening hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To learn more about volunteer opportunities call (708) 361-6860 or (708) 364-7605.

CELEBRATION OF GIVING
Catholic Charities is sponsoring a month-long effort to collect Christmas gifts for thousands of children and families they serve called Celebration of Giving (Unwrap the Spirit).
Sponsor-a-family reaches out to families who are most in need, responding to their basic wishes for items such as clothing, household items, books, or school supplies. To sponsor a family, contact Shannon McClowry at (312) 948-7174.
This is a wonderful way for your entire family to understand the true meaning of Christmas and help a family struggling to make ends meet.

THE BEST GIFTS ARE FREE
The best gift a mother and father can give their children is to love each other. Consider a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend as a gift for your spouse this Christmas. The next weekend dates are February 18-20, April 8-10 or June 10-12. For reservations or information, please call Jim and Kris at (800) 442-3554 or contact our website at www.wwmechicago-gary.org.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Mary Immaculate is our patroness. She speaks to us of God's initiative in her life and ours; she witnesses to the primacy of grace in her life and ours. She tells us, proud of our own initiatives, to do it God's way.
Mary's Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the faith, a belief that every Catholic must hold as integral to the faith that comes to us from the apostles. The Blessed Virgin Mary was free of sin from the first moment of her conception.

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE CHRISTMAS STORY
(adapted from the Archdiocese of St. Louis)

The classic Christmas story - the story of Jesus being born in a manager, shepherds coming to visit and kings following a star to find Emmanuel - is a story filled with stewardship messages. As we begin Advent and recall the Christmas story, consider these lessons.
We learn from the Infant Jesus that there is no shame in being poor. It is interesting to note that while throughout His adult life Jesus always taught us to give and to serve; He first came into this world as one who needed assistance. It was no accident that He was born without a place to lay His head. In coming to our world this way Jesus shows us there is no shame in being poor.
The shepherds show us that we all have gifts to give. The shepherds came from the fields bringing only themselves and their sheep. Yet their interest in Jesus was enough to win them a place in the Christmas story for all times. Even if all we have to give is our interest, our caring, and our time; these are important gifts to share.
The Wise Men show us that worshipping Jesus isn't enough. The Wise Men present an entirely different message than the shepherds. Like most of us, these were men with many blessings. They are praised in the Christmas story not just for coming to worship Jesus but also for bringing Him gifts. When we spend time with Jesus at Church, we too are asked to bring our gifts.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
"Therefore, every tree does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Matthew 3:10
Do you bear good fruit for Christ? Or do you spend your time, talent, and treasure constantly acquiring more toys, clutter, and junk? As we are immersed in the Holiday shopping season now might be a good time to evaluate what gifts do we give to God?