St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church
The Power and The Point of Place

Think of the places you have visited in your life that have made you feel somehow completely happy. My list includes a tiny guest room near New York City that boasted a bookshelf, a glowing lamp, and a big poofy comforter, turned down just for me. And, ahhhh – the front porch of a certain beach house, where the rocking chairs don’t squeak, the cold drinks are within reach, and the glorious view is unobstructed. Ooh, and of course that lonngggg outdoor table under the Roman moonlight, laden with food I myself would never voluntarily order, surrounded by most of the best friends I will ever have. You have places like that, too, don’t you? Places that mean so very much more than a disembodied voice on the GPS could ever say.

The Canticle Cafe is a place like that.

Advent Is Here - As a society, we yield more and more to the priorities and the attitudes of the secular culture. Christmas becomes for many people a secular holiday that begins at Thanksgiving and comes to an end shortly after dinner on December 25^th. It becomes more and more difficult to observe the Season of Advent with any integrity, even within the Church. With Christmas concerts and Christmas parties, we build to an almost anti-climactic series of services on December 24th and 25th.

From the Office

I was not able to do an Offertory Review for this issue due to timing…we’ll get caught up on that next week. I will be doing the financial review for the last fiscal year and also YTD this fiscal year for you in January; I know I’m late on this but I feel we’ve done a good job of keeping you informed of financial issues and their impact to St. Anastasia. I need to coordinate the timing of the reports with Father J.J. as I plan to be here that weekend for all the Masses to answer any of your questions in person…probably in the Narthex afterwards.

From the Office

You may have noticed some aluminum tape on the gutters on the Davidson Center, Pastoral Center and the Administrative Center. It’s easy to spot as it has some blue writing on it. While we were having the siding repaired earlier in year, we were told that the wood underneath the gutters and eves is slowly deteriorating due to water leakage with most of it occurring during the winter months from ice build up. Our gutters are a little long in the tooth and will probably need replacing in the next couple of years, but a good temporary fix was to affix the waterproof aluminum tape to all the joints. This is being done by an individual at no charge to St. Anastasia; we only have to pay for the tape itself. This individual has also continued to repair our aluminum siding and should be completed prior to the real bad weather hitting. He also repaired a leaking skylight on the church roof for us; again he is doing all this at no charge, we only pay for the parts or supplies.

The Fate of Jesus

As we draw to a close of another liturgical year,  I thought this homily says it all.  I read this in “Celebration”, a resource pamphlet, and thought it was worthy to share with you.

All are invited to an Advent Presentation!

Hosted by Men’s Fellowship

Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 3rd, for a special  presentation hosted by the Men’s Fellowship and presented by Deacon John Dumas, on Everything you wanted to know about Advent. It  will begin at 7:30 P.M. in the Social Hall and is open to all in the parish.

Come learn about the Season of Advent and it’s Scriptural anticipation of the three comings of Christ (Past, Present, Future). Learn the central message of the Liturgical Season,  current Church guidelines and regulations. He will speak of the meaning of Advent, it’s origin and history, and current and past traditions. The history of the Advent Wreath; the Jesse Tree; the Advent Calendar and the Great O-Antiphons and more will be explained.

This should be an exciting and informative presentation!   Come and learn more about Advent and support our seminarian, Deacon John.

May Old Acquaintance Be Forgot . . .  Happy New Year! This weekend we celebrate our final Sunday of the Liturgical year. It is the Feast Christ the King. Christ the King Sunday celebrates the all-embracing authority of Christ as King and Lord of the cosmos. Officially called the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, it is celebrated on the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Sunday before Advent.

I led a Project Linus Blanket Party on November 7. For the first time I can remember in all the years of our chapter’s existence, I specifically prayed for the success of the party when I awoke that morning. I prayed that the day would be enjoyable and productive, and even… I sheepishly admit it: as I stumbled to the sink, pining for my still-cozy pillow, I prayed that it would be easy.

And God must have snickered. (‘Bout time you prayed for this, Kid. Hmmm, let’s see what We can do….)

I tend to be a bit too irritable when it comes to The Making Of Grand Plans – especially when there’s a committee involved. Now, despite what my husband may tell you, I wasn’t born with this quick-trigger tetchiness; rather, it has developed over the years as I have been a part of committees who have made fantastic, convoluted plans that have never come to fruition. I have learned that I much prefer to stick with the one sure-fire plan that is ALWAYS simple, honorable, timely, and productive. I admit that this plan does come to us from a small Committee of Three. And it does have two distinct components. But – good news! The first component is quite easy to perceive, because it’s already been written down, and the second part – which may take a bit more effort – has both flexibility and guaranteed results.

From The Office

 I’m going to deviate a little from talking about numbers this week as the chart with the weekly, year to date, and CSA numbers say it all. You are an extremely generous parish community and your support financially and physically of St. Anastasia and its ministries is never taken for granted. Many churches around us, Catholic and Non-Catholic are not experiencing the same level of support and they look to St. Anastasia and wonder “what the heck is going on over there?”….I can tell them in one word…STEWARDSHIP!