PLEASE NOTE—THERE WILL BE COMMUNION SERVICE ONLY ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AND NO MORNING MASS ON FRIDAY OR SATURDAY. SEE BELOW

Monday December 20^th

7:00 PM Grace Milionis r/o Edwards Family

Tuesday December 21^st Peter Canisius, priest

8:00 AM Mimi Repetz r/o Mary Ann & Wayne

Wednesday December 22^nd

8:00 AM COMMUNION SERVICE ONLY

Thursday December 23^rd John of Kanty, priest

8:00 AM Mimi Repetz Family r/o Mary Ann & Wayne

Friday December 24^th Vigil of Christmas

4:30 PM VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS

12:00 AM MIDNIGHT-VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS

Saturday December 25^th The Nativity of the Lord

10:00 AM CHRISTMAS DAY

12:00 NOON CHRISTMAS DAY

SUNDAY MASSES

Sunday December 26th The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph

8:00 AM Departed members of the Santini & Bozzay Families r/o Family

10:00 AM Esther Algozini r/o Simoncelli Family

12 NOON Ida Mignella r/o The Mignella Family

December 19, 2004 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Pss IV Seasonal prop

Prop Cr Adv Pf II Sol Bl I

10: Is 7:10-14 Ps 24:1-6 Rom 1:1-7

Mt 1:18-24

Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us”, risen from the dead. He is the king of glory.

Let Us Pray…For all women facing an unexpected pregnancy that there may be people willing to offer them the support they need to bring a new child into the world.

PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL OF OUR PARISHIONERS who are sick at home, in the hospital or in nursing homes, especially for Bill Fioravant, John Pongratz, Mary Pokotello, Rose Campanero, John & Eileen Foxwell, Sr. Elinor Foxwell, F.M.M., Haley Weber, Cole Nesmith, James Murray (uncle of Karen Mathews), Warren King (father of Karen Mathews), Vincent Anatele, Rose Stevenson, Blanche Ferarro, Ralph Ley, Teresa Kunz, Carol Talnagi, Gladys Quinlin, Adam Platukis, Elizabeth Connelly, Marian Mraz, Vi Konz, Jill Miner and Josephine Sarnoski.

SUNDAY COLLECTION

December 5, 2004 $4,233.85

December 12^th Not available

Flower Collection $190.00

Sunday December 19, 2004

Counters Team # 2 Giacomini/Getlik

Bingo Team #1

Anyone wishing to obtain a statement of contributions for the past year – 2004- should either drop a note in the collection basket with name, address & phone no. or call the rectory during business hours.

The Savior whose birth we anticipate was never anything less than true God and true man – from the moment of conception through birth to crucifixion and finally resurrection. Christ’s passage through each stage of human life that we all pass through sanctifies each stage and requires us to respect life in all stages.

“Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten of God and has knowledge of God. The man without love has known nothing of God, for God is love.”

1 John 4; Verses 7-8.

Bishop's Annual Appeal Report

The parishioners of Our Lady of Mercy Church have come through again. Our goal in this years Bishop's Annual Appeal is $23,100. As of December 1, 150 donors have pledged a total of $23,654. We have reached 102.4% of our goal. The total for the diocese as a whole has reached 77.36% of the total goal, so we have done more than our share. If you have not yet made your pledge and wish to do so, please complete your form and send it in.

Bishop Bootkoski thanks you. Father Dan thanks you. And those who are helped by the services funded by the Annual Appeal can't thank you enough!

Thoughts for the Fourth Week of Advent:

Sunday-Lord, do I give and receive the gift of love daily in my life?

Monday- Do I, first of all, genuinely love myself and express my love in the way I care for my health, my loved ones, and my material possessions?

Tuesday- Do I make an effort each day to reach out to loved ones and experience the five and take of human caring and concern for one another?

Wednesday-Do I try to understand those who are different from me and let them be themselves without judging their thoughts, words and actions?

Thursday-Do I reach out occasionally to express love even if I know my effort may not be appreciated or reciprocated?

Friday-Do I make an effort to learn about other cultures, peoples, and religions in the world so that I can better love all of God’s children?

Saturday-O Lord, help me to use the gift of love daily in my life. Help me to grow in my ability to give and receive this great gift.

Someone is Waiting for You!

How very fortunate we are to have the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Thursday from 8:30 AM until 12 noon. Won’t you come and visit Him? It could be for 15 minutes, ½ hour or 1 hour. His Blessings are there for you. Let’s not miss this beautiful Spiritual Opportunity.

YOUTH GROUP-

The Giving Tree:

The Youth Group is sponsoring its annual Giving Tree.

Tags for military persons and local families may be taken from the Christmas tree at the entrance of the church.

All tagged gifts must be returned by Sunday, December 12th to allow proper time for distribution.

You are cordially invited to come and share your time with the senior citizen residents at the McCarrick Care Center in Somerset. It is our Catholic Nursing Home and also serves the needs of other denominations. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please call 732-545-4200 x 120 (Fr. Tome Ganley) or extension 137 (Angie Tirso)

A zebra is white with black stripes.

All the planets in our solar system rotate anticlockwise, except Venus. It is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Hummingbirds are the only animal that can also fly backwards.

Insects do not make noises with their voices. The noise of bees, mosquitoes and other buzzing insects is caused by rapidly moving their wings.

The cockroach is the fastest animal on 6 legs covering a meter a second.

The word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent".

The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

The whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.

A hippopotamus can run faster than a man.

India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.

'Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia' is the fear of long words.

Didaskaleinophobia is the fear of going to school.

Phobatrivaphobia is a fear of trivia about phobias!!

It is impossible to lick your elbow. (We know you gonna try this!!!)

A snail can sleep for 3 years. (Wow, lucky chap eh?)

The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start

In 1883 the explosion of the volcano Krakatoa put so much dust into the earth's atmosphere that sunsets appeared green and the moon appeared blue around the world for almost two years.

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

Twenty-Four-Karat Gold is not pure gold since there is a small amount of copper in it. Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.

Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.

Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Say no evil).