St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church
Jottings from Fr. J.J.

To prepare for this article, I looked up what I wrote last year at Christmas. Only a few weeks before the holiday, I received the difficult news that my beloved Black Lab “Andy” was filled with cancer and there was no way to treat it. The cancer was too aggressive. They only gave him two to four weeks to live. I remember the painful feelings that weighed on me as I wrote that piece. The article continued with a message of hope.

From the Office

            This is a hard article to write as its being composed on December 17^th due to holiday bulletin deadlines.  There will not be an updated financial summary nor will there be one in the New Years bulletin (that article is due on 12/21).  The next financial summary will be in the 1/10/10 bulletin.  In that bulletin there will be a full accounting, separately and in total of the Christmas collection and the weekend collections; of course I am prayerfully anticipating a record Christmas collection.  While I’m sure you are all excited about Christmas, I am equally sure that you look forward to getting the Christmas collection behind us so the doggone Business Manager can stop talking about it. 

St. Anastasia has a rich history of Christian Service. We currently support over thirty active service ministries to suit all kinds of personalities, abilities, and time constraints. Opportunities abound for YOU no matter how you want to serve…

From the Office

   We are all very humbled by the donation amounts from last week of $36,929.11. Your support of the ministry at St. Anastasia is encouraging. We welcome all your comments, good or bad as we take them very seriously and we do act on them.  After all, these are your ministries paid for with your money. Without your support there is no St. Anastasia. At the risk of reminding you ad-nauseam….the Christmas collection is coming up and it is completely free and clear of the AOD 6% tax. In effect, whatever you donate for the Christmas collection is worth 6% more to us. As I indicated in past articles, a successful Christmas collection can make the difference between finishing up the FY (ends on June 30^th) in the black or red. 

MADD – Last week St. Anastasia hosted the Southeast Michigan Mothers Against Drunk Driving Candlelight Vigil. I was very moved as the hundreds of names were called out and the victim’s families shared poems, prayers, and their grief over their loved ones. I was shocked as to the number of folks impacted from our own parish. In sharing conversations with them, it is clear that the pain does not go away. I share this with you to encourage you to be very, very careful. One simple foolish choice will not only impact you, but hundreds of others. Have a fun season, but be smart in what you do. Pray for those who are affected by drunk driving.

“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” - Matthew 11:30

“My husband’s relatives are arriving two days early, and he’s going out of town. I feel like throwing up …. Maybe in his stocking.”  - A friend, cf. Lamentations 5:5

On this 4^th Sunday of Advent (Only 6 Shopping Days Left!), let’s take a quiet moment to consider what a yoke is: a farmer’s tool, designed to conjoin two creatures so that ONLY side-by-side can they work to produce beneficial goods. The yoke would be a useless folly with only one creature in it.

All are welcome to pitch in to help with sorting and packaging the generously donated Giving Tree items.  Please enter through the church doors at 6:30 PM on Monday, Dec. 21.  We will be working in the social hall.  Bring your smile and your muscles!  Any spare boxes you have at home would also be useful.

It’s become a trend in our society to treat Advent like a four-week, pressure-filled, gift-acquisition contest –  A veritable minefield of love. “Take heed, Christians,” Madison Avenue taunts us. “Only the buyer who can give the Mostest-Pleasingest-Bestest Gift of All will prevail!” One such ad I saw recently even claimed that ’Tis the Season to Get It Right: as if we humans can somehow shop well enough to fulfill our beloved ones’ every need and thus finally, finally provide them with the ultimate and lasting satisfaction they crave.

From the Office

            We received an additional $300 donation for the security system; that brings the total collected for the system up to just over $1,500…thank you!  I need to let you know that we are having an issue with our envelope company and out of the nearly 3,000 that get mailed out, right around 1,600 are running late.  We’ve been in touch with them and anticipate that the problem will be resolved next week but we’ll keep you informed. We are not the only church having this issue with them right now. If you still don’t have your envelopes for the weekend Masses and Christmas, please use a plain white envelope with your name, address, amount, and envelope # on it (if you know it). It this goes on until Christmas, do the same but be sure and mark it “Christmas donation” on the envelope in large letters. Of course, I’m also going to take this time to put a plug in once again for automated donations. They work, they work well, and you are in complete control…and you’re not waiting for envelopes.  

GOOD JOB EVERYBODY!! – I write this even before the 2009 St. Anastasia Christmas Ball takes place, but I feel a real need to point something out. As you may already know, all the proceeds raised will go straight down to St. Aloysius to fund the Canticle Café (which feeds and cares for the homeless). These are lean times, but already so many people have pitched in to make the Ball a success. As I write this, there are a buzz of volunteers moving donated auction items, the staff has truly stepped up to the plate to not only do their regular work, but pitch in to help make things happen, parishioners have stepped up to not only give cash, but purchase tickets even if they cannot attend the event, and many of you have spoken up asking, “What can I do to help?” I gotta tell you, I may not have any kids, but I think I know what a parent may feel like when their child does something which exceeds their expectations. St. A’s, you ought to be proud. No matter how much money is raised this weekend, you have allowed Christ’s light to shine in this Advent darkness. Thank you.