"‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God." - Luke 1:35
A child will save us! In this Sunday's Gospel, Gabriel says to Mary, "‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God." (Luke 1:35) Gabriel does not say that the child will grow into a holy man or that he will become the Son of God, rather from conception the child will be holy and 8 days after his birth the child will receive the name Jesus,which is Yeshua in Hebrew and which means 'God saves' in English. Next week we will see that baby John miraculously recognizes Jesus as Lord while still in his mother's womb.
Jesus was legally recognized as a child in Jewish law for over 1/3 of his life, and would be recognized as a child in U.S. law for almost 2/3 of his life. Jesus saved us even in and through his childhood. Jesus made childhood holy.
There are many saintly children whose childhood was their path to sanctification. St. Jose Sanchez del Rio, who was executed at age 15 in a stunning show of bravery. St. Dominic Savio died at 14 of lung cancer after living a holy and prayerful life. St. Maria Goretti died at age 11, murdered by her would be rapist, who felt threatened by her prayers. St. Agnes was executed at age 13 for refusing to submit to a life in a coerced marriage to a pagan.
Other saints lived holy lives as children and grew to old age including King David, Samuel the Prophet, and the Blessed Mother.
Thus we see two 'holinesses' for children. The first is a holiness that they cannot reject- being a child is a holy vocation because Jesus was a child. The second is a holiness that we must help them accept- living a life of a saint through developing the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, love and the natural virtues.
In practical terms this means that it is good and holy when an infant or child cries or yells. It is good and holy when a child runs, jumps, dances, walks, or crawls. It is good and holy when a child sleeps. It is good and holy when a child is curious or inquisitive. Especially for a baptized child, these are each acts of worship. A child crying in church is participating more fully in the worship of God than the person judging him.
A parent should seek to direct the energy and intensity of childhood toward love of God, neighbor, and self through the worship of God, the service of others, and the discovery of self and otherwise. Luke describes the follow up to the finding of young Jesus as a 12 year old in the Temple writing, "Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them... And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:51a, 52)
Even Jesus, who created all things in his divinity and knew all things in his humanity mysteriously grew in wisdom, stature, and favor. Even Jesus who behaved so well in the Temple as to attract the admiration of scholars was given instruction by Mary and Joseph.
If we see a child who is rambunctious or loud praise God, pray for the child, and pray for the parents to raise up the child in the way he or she should go. (Proverbs 22:6) If one's own child is rambunctious or loud pray for your child, for the patience, for wisdom, and for helpers.
At St. Ignatius of Antioch we want to recognize the natural goodness and holiness of childhood while also seeking to help parents form their children to become saints. We do this through our prayers, through our example, and in some small way through educational classes and children's activities.
Let us pray for our children and our families, that they may become holy and let us live lives exemplary of the love of mercy of God.
- Thank you to all who are participating in the St. Rafka Sodality falafel sandwich Coat Drive Fundraiser. Please bring new or gently used coats for donation.
-Our prayers for the eight parishioners who will make up the new pastoral council. Those eight members are Andrea AbouJaoude, Claire Daoud, Al Faris, Rita Najem, Jacob Pansing, Cindy Simon, Rosie Terzian, and Michelle Choucair. Their service will begin in January. As mentioned last week circumstances did not require an election.
-Family Dedication, renewal, and consecration- November 3 and November 10 we celebrate the Consecration of the Church and the Renewal of the Church, on December 15th Bishop Elias will be dedicating and consecrating our new home, and during Christmas we see Jesus entering the Holy Family. During this period, we should take time to renew, dedicate, and consecrate our families.
-Home Bible Q & A! Do you have questions about faith or the Bible? Host a Home Bible Q & A. 1) Schedule a date and location with Fr. Alex. 2) Invite your friends. 3) Prepare your questions. Note: this is not a Bible study or Bible meditation, which anyone can initiate
- Thursday November 7, 14, 21, and December 5 - mass and prayer hour for parish renewal and family consecration.
-Feast of St. Barbara - December 4th.
-Feast of St. Nicholas- December 6th.
-Church Organizing and cleaning November 9th at 50 Nutt Rd.
-We have had suggestions for a men’s club, for a grief support group, and for a retiree get-together club. Please let Fr. Alex know if you would have any interest in any of these groups.
-Thanksgiving Dinner Sunday, November 24th after the 11 am liturgy. - St. Anthony of Padua
Fall festival is Sunday before Thanksgiving November 24th, 2019 12pm-8pm
-Our prayers are with Mireille Salem and family. Claude Abi Saber, mother of Mireille, passed away in Lebanon last week. May she rest in peace. Liturgy will be offered for Claude Abi Saber and Nasri Chkaiban, father of Mireille, on Sunday November 24 at 11am. A 40 day liturgy will be offered on December 22nd at 11 am.
-Christmas decorations- Sunday, December 1 after both liturgies.
- Annual St. Ignatius of Antioch Banquet Saturday, December 14th with Bishop Elias at Yankee Trace at 7pm with live music planned $65 per person with discounted ticket for kids 12 and under.
-Photo directory- during the banquet and before and after the dedication December 14th and 15th, we will have the opportunity to take free family photos, you will receive a free directory. We want every family to take photos.
-Consecration and dedication: Bishop Elias will consecrate and dedicate our new home on December 15th at 11.
-We will need at least 6 adults to read, 8 adults to dress the altar, and at least 10 youth for the processions for the dedication of our new Church.
- Christmas Novena December 16th - December 24th.
- Initiatives- To what is God calling you? What are your hopes, dreams, and ideas for our parish? What do you want to do? Mission, charity, prayers, work, fundraisers, or maintenance? How can we support you?
-Religious education most Sundays noon-1.
- Our prayers for those who are recently engaged in our parish.
-We need volunteers to read during the liturgy and to bring the gifts. If you would like to do so, please see George Najem for 11 am liturgy or Jim Zaidan for the 9 am Liturgy.
- Our prayers for new births and new parents in our parish.
- Bible Study every Sunday at 10 am.
- Sunday liturgies 9 am and 11 am
- Confessions immediately before and after liturgies or by appointment.
New parish improvement needs
Replacing of water heater Tree Trimming Playground cleaning Framing for two large icons
Asphalt crack repair- should be done before the weather gets cold
Roof repair- should be done asap
-Update on 5915 N Springboro Pike: As you know we have 5.21 acres of property for sale on a major road. Currently there is a 122,000 sq ft Kroger Marketplace being built .5 miles down the road. This implies a high growth potential for the area. Recently we have settled the price of our property from $989,000 to $899,000 a price recommended by the stewardship council and the real estate agency Mark Fornes Realty. Our property could sell as a church, as commercial, as residential, or as a mix. According to the real estate agency the sale of the property could take an additional year as the average listing length is 18 months for commercial property. Every month we hold the property will cost us a few thousand dollars. However, we can calculate that it is worth waiting for the right buyer. (We can calculate using a present value calculation and calculating for risk.)
More information can be found at https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/5915-Springboro-Pike-Dayton-OH/16181289/
Eparchy Capital Campaign
Need to learn more about our campaign? Invest a few minutes to read about it in detail. This is our case statement. It includes the who, what, where, when and why—and more—about the campaign and our plans. We need your support and believe that reading our case will allow you to make an informed decision about your investment in this landmark fundraising event for our Eparchy. Visit our website www.eparchy.org or https://en.calameo.com/read/003509110fbf61f17c217 to view our virtual booklet and learn more about our campaign goals.
St. Ignatius of Antioch Announcement to Mary November 24, 2019
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