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TO BE CATHOLIC IS TO BE PRO-LIFE! Tom & Carol Bielejeski President: Steve Reding (559) 275-4977 X-3014 www.careding.com Offers 11-month Vocational Nursing Program approved by BVNPT. BPPE approved, ABHES accredited school 1340 North El Dorado (209) 941-0968 www.xavier-college.com PRAY TO END ABORTION ·*Income tax preparation *+20 Years of Experience ·*All states ·*Audit representation ·*Audit Protection Plus ·*Bookkeeping/Payroll *Notary Public by appt. 16 W Elm Street Lodi, CA 95240 209 224-5410 http://saldanacompany.com Patricia Saldaña Enrolled Agent, Parishioner of St. Michaels Remember your loved ones with an In loving memory ad Space now available! Call 209 931 3128 or email: [email protected] Family of Companies [email protected] Ron Misasi/Parishioner (209) 644-8425 Your theme, event, name(s), logo, etc. on ANYTHING! Catechism Review: B. Monasticism St. Michael’s Catholic Church Office Hours: Monday 9-2pm T-F, 8:30-12:00&1:00-4:00pm Other times by appointment only 5882 North Ashley Lane Stockton, CA 95215 (209) 931-0639 or (209) 931-6536 Fax: (209) 931-3621 Website: www.stmichaelparish.net E-mail: [email protected] 236th Edition Schedule of Masses Saturday 7:15am&5:15pm Sunday 7:30am&10:30am Sunday 2:00pm Spanish Weekdays 7:15am Holy Days English 7:15am, 6:00pm Spanish 7:30pm First Friday Holy Hour 4:00 pm Mass 7:15am, 5:00 pm December 17, 2017 ST. MICHAELS MISSION STATEMENT St. Michaels Parish is a Catholic faith community deeply root- ed in the Holy Eucharist. Through our faith and worship, we honor the Lords commandment to love Him and one another, to proclaim the Gospel and bring about a fair and just world for all people. Pastor Msgr. Agustin Gialogo In Residence Msgr. Richard J. Ryan, J.C.D. Deacon Allen Moznett 209 598-4811 [email protected] Deacon/Business Manager Edward Formosa 209 401-8378 [email protected] Parish Secretary Diane McSorley 209 931-0639 [email protected] Director of Religious Education Sr. Angelamaria De Leo, msc 209 931-2696 [email protected] Director of Adult Faith Formation Roz Rine 209 931-0639 [email protected] Director of RCIA Elena Molina 209 931-5390 [email protected] Bookkeeping/Bulletin/Website Patti Saldaña 209 931-3128 [email protected] Sacraments: Confession: Saturday-4:00-5:00pm Baptism: 1st & 3rd Saturday 11:00am English Baptism: 2nd & 4th Saturday 11:00am Spanish Marriage: 6 months advance notice & Pre- marriage preparation required Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: Perpetual Adoration Chapel (Enter from Vestibule of the Church) For Adoration hours Please Call: Roberta 931-3104, Jan 956-2861, or Jackie 931-2696 Bilingual The following hours are available for permanent coverage. Wednesdays 4am-5am Veneration of the Relic of St. Faustina: The 3rd Thursday of each month at 3pm in the church St. Faustina Chapel is open from 6:30 am-8 pm daily

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TO BE

CATHOLIC IS TO BE

PRO-LIFE!

Tom & Carol Bielejeski

President: Steve Reding (559) 275-4977 X-3014 www.careding.com

Offers 11-month Vocational Nursing Program approved

by BVNPT. BPPE approved, ABHES

accredited school

1340 North El Dorado (209) 941-0968

www.xavier-college.com

PRAY TO END ABORTION

·*Income tax preparation *+20 Years of Experience ·*All states ·*Audit representation ·*Audit Protection Plus ·*Bookkeeping/Payroll *Notary Public by appt.

16 W Elm Street Lodi, CA 95240 209 224-5410 http://saldanacompany.com

Patricia Saldaña Enrolled Agent,

Parishioner of St. Michaels

Remember your loved ones with an In loving memory ad Space now available! Call 209 931 3128 or email: [email protected]

Family of Companies [email protected]

Ron Misasi/Parishioner (209) 644-8425 Your theme, event, name(s), logo, etc. on ANYTHING!

Catechism Review: B. Monasticism

St. Michael’s Catholic Church

Office Hours: Monday 9-2pm

T-F, 8:30-12:00&1:00-4:00pm Other times by appointment only

5882 North Ashley Lane

Stockton, CA 95215

(209) 931-0639 or (209) 931-6536

Fax: (209) 931-3621

Website: www.stmichaelpar ish.net

E-mail: [email protected]

236th Edition

Schedule of Masses Saturday 7:15am&5:15pm Sunday 7:30am&10:30am Sunday 2:00pm Spanish Weekdays 7:15am

Holy Days English 7:15am, 6:00pm Spanish 7:30pm

First Friday Holy Hour 4:00 pm Mass 7:15am, 5:00 pm

December 17, 2017

ST. MICHAEL’S MISSION STATEMENT

St. Michael’s Parish is a Catholic faith community deeply root-ed in the Holy Eucharist. Through our faith and worship, we honor the Lord’s commandment to love Him and one another, to proclaim the Gospel and bring about a fair and just world for all people.

Pastor Msgr. Agustin Gialogo

In Residence Msgr. Richard J. Ryan, J.C.D.

Deacon Allen Moznett 209 598-4811 [email protected]

Deacon/Business Manager Edward Formosa 209 401-8378 [email protected]

Parish Secretary Diane McSorley 209 931-0639 [email protected]

Director of Religious Education Sr. Angelamaria De Leo, msc 209 931-2696 [email protected]

Director of Adult Faith Formation Roz Rine 209 931-0639 [email protected]

Director of RCIA Elena Molina 209 931-5390 [email protected]

Bookkeeping/Bulletin/Website Patti Saldaña 209 931-3128 [email protected]

Sacraments: Confession: Saturday-4:00-5:00pm

Baptism: 1st & 3rd Saturday 11:00am English

Baptism: 2nd & 4th Saturday 11:00am Spanish

Marriage: 6 months advance notice & Pre-marriage preparation required

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: Perpetual Adoration Chapel

(Enter from Vestibule of the Church) For Adoration hours Please Call:

Roberta 931-3104, Jan 956-2861, or Jackie 931-2696 Bilingual

The following hours are available for permanent coverage.

Wednesdays 4am-5am

Veneration of the Relic of St. Faustina: The 3rd Thursday of each month

at 3pm in the church St. Faustina Chapel is open from

6:30 am-8 pm daily

Each year in Advent, our church community celebrates with events from two of our cultures. Simbang Gabi is a Filipino Christmas tradition. It is a series of nine dawn masses. The mass starts at 7:15 a.m. It begins on December 16 and ends on the mid-night of the 24th of December. Breakfast type/provided by: Dec. 16.-Filipino community, Dec. 17 Sunday (none), Dec. 18 American food, Dec. 19. Tongan & Samoan, Dec. 20. Hispanic group, Dec. 21 Italian, Dec. 22 Mexican food, Dec. 23 International pot luck.

This tradition was introduced by the Spanish friars to allow the farmers to hear mass before going to the fields ear-ly in the morning. Simbang Gabi is also known by its popular Spanish name as the Misa de Gallo, or "Mass of the Rooster.'' The tradition of the Posadas was brought to Mexico from Spain in the 1500's by Catholic Missionaries. The Posa-das commemorate Mary and Joseph's difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethle-hem in search of a place for the Christ Child to be born. In Spanish, the word means dwelling or lodging. The Posadas begin on Decem-ber 16 for nine evenings, culminating with the Posada on December 24. The gathering begins at 6:30 pm. The Posadas are not to be confused with a mere Christmas party. Instead, the Posadas should be seen as a religious event.

The Best Christmas Party ever!

What a night! The hall was beautiful. You could see many people must have worked on the hall. Every area had lights and decorations. The stage was for the entertainment. Seven mu-sical groups! I had no idea we had that many. How wonderful was that? Santa had his own area. The children were so happy! There was a bar with several men work-ing it; no crowded line. Tables set up with room to walk around. Sister Angela was running

around like Santa’s elf seating every one quickly. The food lines went so fast, so smoothly. In the kitch-en the Knights of Co-lumbus did such a great job! I want to thank all of you for working so hard for us to have such a good time. My favorite parts were to see all the hugs and

smiles and to see all ages having fun and loving each other. We have a wonderful community at St. Michael’s. Let’s spread it all around like

Pope Francis tells us to do. P.S. Father Gus, you take such good care of us and thank you for telling us about the Filipino and Mexican celebrations for Christmas that are coming up beginning December 16th. Barbara Filas

In Celebration of the lives of

Jose Galvez Edita & Quintin Abellera

& Carlo Abellera

In Loving Memory of

Bruno & Frances

Malucchi

In Loving Memory of

Maria Luz Tirado Canchola

SPIRITUAL ADOPTION PROGRAM: Remember your spiritually adopted unborn baby whose mother is considering abortion, and pledge to pray for him or her every day that the mother will choose life for her child. The prayer is, “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph I love you very much. I beg of you to spare the life of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopt-ed who is in danger of abortion.”

BellaLise School of Dance Is Taking Registration

for the 2017-2018 dance year. Offering:

Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop And Adult Fitness

for children 2-18 years old. $50 monthly tuition

(family discount) $25 registration fee

Studio Location: 18827 East Highway 26

Linden, CA 95236 Please contact us for

registration information and class schedule (209) 845-8246 or

[email protected] See you in class!

Cheapest Rate in Town!

Ramel Cruz (209) 298-5077 Maria Celena Cruz (209) 688-8776

[email protected] Se Habla Español

Mafi Concrete Design

"ALL TYPE OF CONCRETE"

Stamp with color Patio Slap Driveway etc. Flack Stone Wall Block Wall etc. All Type of wood fence

Contractor State License #752320

Robert Cell: (209) 475-2560 Free Estimates

Plumbing, Heating & Air Service, Repair, & Maintenance Andrew Hoffman 209-559-7443 Parishioner of St. Michael

LIC# 938892 Pete Singh, Certified Technician

HVAC+R

Our parish bulletin is available for viewing at www.stmichaelparish.net/bulletin

In Loving

Memory of Samuel Mafi & Feauini Mafi-Manu

Religious give thanks. A religious sister writes, “When we see the generous response of so many thousands of persons in order to help us, religious men and women, we are left speechless.” Senior sisters, brothers, and religious order priests across the country send heartfelt thanks and prayers for your donation to last week’s Retirement Fund for Religious collection. Los religiosos les agradecen. Una hermana religiosa escribe “Cuando vemos la respuesta generosa de tantos miles de per-sonas que nos quieren ayudar, a religiosas y religiosos, nos quedamos sin palabras”. Las hermanas, hermanos y sacerdotes de órdenes religiosas, de edad avanzada, en todo el país, envían sus más sinceros agradecimientos y oraciones por sus dona-tivos a la colecta de la semana pasada para el Fondo para la Jubilación de Religiosos.

Schedules for next weekend, Dec. 23-Dec. 25 December 23

Lectors 5:15 PM Kathy Formosa, Myrna Aguilar

Eucharistic Ministers 5:15PM Deacon Ed, P. Simon, M. Hobby

Altar Servers 5:15 PM M. Rodriguez, R. Torralva, R. Migliori

December 24

Lectors 7:30 AM Robert Hermann, Esperanza Scurini

10:30 AM Patti Saldana, Yolanda Mafi

2:00 PM Juan Jesus Charre, Rosa Valencia

5:15 PM Myrna Aguilar, Maria Garcia

10:00 PM Steve Garcia, Carla Moznett

Eucharistic Ministers 7:30 AM L. Scurini, E. Rodriguez, L. Rodriguez

10:30 AM Deacon Al, G. Saldana, N. Sallady, A. Delgado, S. Misasi, C. Moznett, J. Perkins

2:00 PM J. Esqueda, Ch. Charre, R. Mendoza, Sr., F. Mendoza, J. Amezcua, Ch. Amezcua, S. Valencia

5:15PM Deacon Ed, R. Aguada, J. Yturri

10:00 PM J. Lopez, C. Lombardi, D. Galvan

Altar Servers 7:30 AM S. Ponce de Leon, F. Solano-Rosas, Z. McCormack

10:30 AM J. Garcia, M. Picinich, P. Mafi

2:00 PM TBA

5:15 PM R. Migliori, R. Torralva, M. Kaehler, M. Rodriguez

10:00 PM R. Garcia, X. Garcia, I. Garcia, AJ Amen, J. Amen

December 25

Lectors 7:30 AM Andrew Dasso, Gloria Silveira

10:30 AM Adam Torres, Rosemary Cana

Eucharistic Ministers 7:30 AM K. Boore, J. Green, M. Weisner

10:30 AM Deacon Al, G. Saldana, M. Lemos, B. Filas, C. Hofheinz, E. Mafi, S. Garcia

Altar Servers 7:30 AM E. Renteria, A. Bennett, A. Hughes 10:30 AM J. Silim, J. Smith, Z. McCormack

Weekly Collection Offertory $ 9,926.14 Religious Retirement $ 2,559.33 Candles $ 326.76

Please use your church envelopes!

Jokes for today!

It occurred to the Sunday School teacher, that with all the emphasis on the Nativity over Christmas that some children may get the impression that the birth of Jesus Christ was a recent event. He wanted to be sure they un-derstood that he grew up and did many things. So he de-cided that the topic of the lesson would be Where Is Je-sus Now?

He put this question to the class and immediately many hands shot into the air as many of the children were keen to state their opinion.

"What do you think Johnny?"

"He's in the church, sir." Johnny replied.

"Okay. What about you Rosie?"

"I believe he's in Heaven, sir"

"That's good. What about you Billy?"

Billy was a little hesitant, then blurted out "I think he's in our bathroom sir."

The classroom erupted with uproarious laughter; but eventually the teacher managed to quell the noise.

"Oh really." said the teacher. "What makes you think that Billy?"

"Well sir, some mornings my dad knocks on the bath-room door and says 'Jesus Christ, are you still in there?'

It was the doctor's last patient consultation of Christmas Eve. A mother came in with her young daughter and asked if he would examine her because she had been showing some strange symptoms, including a significant increase in weight, sickness most mornings and a num-ber of strange cravings. He checked her out very carefully and eventually told the mother that her daughter was unquestionably preg-nant. At which news she protested very strongly. 'Don't be ridiculous, my daughter has never been with a man' The girl confirmed that this was true and added that she had never so much as kissed a man. The doctor studied the girl very carefully, then quietly stood up, walked to the window and stared out of it. Suspecting the worst the mother asked if there was something wrong. "No, not really" replied the doctor. 'It might just be a coincidence, but the last time this happened a bright star appeared the East.'

Thank you to all of our parishioners who supported the Caring Tree. Gifts are due today, we will be delivering them this Tuesday.

Thank You!

I would like to once again thank all the ladies’ guild members who gave so much of their time and effort to make this year’s Christmas Boutique such a success, and to all our St. Michaels parishioners for their gener-ous support of our fundraising activities.

Norma Goonan – Guild President

Readings for the Week Monday Jer 23:5-8 Ps 72:1-2,12-13,18-19 Mt 1:18-25

Tuesday Jgs 13:2-7,24-25a Ps 71:3-6,16-17 Lk 1:5-25

Wednesday Is 7:10-14 Ps 24:1-6 Lk 1:26-38

Thursday St. Peter Canisius Sg 2:8-14 Ps 33:2-3,11-12,20-21 Lk 1:39-45

Friday 1Sm 1:24-28 (Ps)1Sm 2:1,4-7,8abcd Lk1:46-56

Saturday St. John of Kanty Mal 3:1-4,23-24 Ps 25:4bc-5ab,8-10,14 Lk 1:57-66

Sunday Fourth Sunday of Advent 2Sm 7:1-5,8b-12,14a,16 Ps 89:2-5,27,29 Rom 16:25-27 Lk 1:26-38

Calendar for the Week Mon., Dec. 18 10 am Light Weigh LMC 7 4 pm Practice for Christmas Play

Tues., Dec. 19 10 am Adult Bible study LMC 7,8,9,10 4 pm CM classes 4 pm Practice for Christmas Play 6:30 pm Tongan Choir practice FMC/PS

Wed., Dec. 20 4 pm CM Classes 4 pm Parent Bible Study FMC 4 pm Practice for Christmas Play 6:30 pm Charismatic prayer Spanish FMC 7pm Our Lady Queen of Peace in Chapel 7pm Knights of Columbus RLH 7 pm Penance Service

Thu., Dec. 21 3 pm Holy Hour & Veneration 4 pm Practice for Christmas Play 6:00 pm Tongan Choir practice FMC/PS 7 pm Charismatic Prayer English LMC 8

Fri., Dec. 22 4 pm Practice for Christmas Play

Sat., Dec. 23 No activities

Sun., Dec. 24 Christmas Eve

Prayers for the Sick – Angelita Mamaril, John Podesta, Duke T., John Corry, Elisabeth Nicolini, Kathleen Brady, Debbie Ka-pina, Piedro Galagn, Ruth Hawley. Kenneth Morris, Martin Olivas, Gia Sam, Dottie Burdue, Marian Bond, Avery Piacentini, Lolo Murry, Rosa Maria Santos, Louis Filas, Larry Silvieria, Merle Bowmen, Marie Parra, Cali Vanni, Harold “Gi” Raggio, Mark Fer-nandez, Corey Bowerman, Estela Flores, Vanessa Sanchez, Cathy Westphal, Pedro Alvarez, Valeti Fakava, Linda Bosche, Cathe-rine Maghirang, Jaime Villarreal, Deacon Al Moznett, Enrique Parada, Lourdes Parada, Matt Lemos, Richard Hinojos, Jose Fuentes, Raymond Fuentes, Kasandra Nicole Valenzuela, Stella Mia Baez, Kelly Roddy, Pat Harris, Tom & Noelle Seesing, Lynda Ripley, Shawn Arnell, Diane Daugherty, & Sal Castellon. Please call the office to add your loved ones name for prayers.

Mass Intentions for the Week Saturday - Dec. 16

7:15AM John O’Shei+

5:15PM Dean Mills+ Tom Bielejeski+ James Hagan+ Art Bregante+ Marian R. Gonzales-Intention Virginia G. Espeleta-Intention

Julia Rine-Intention Julieta Heldenbrand-Intention Msgr. Richard Ryan-Intention

Sunday Dec. 17

7:30AM Cheri Aschenbrener Middlekauff+ Gino Tombellini+

10:30AM Mass for the People (Missa Pro Populi)

2:00PM Pedro Diaz+ Matilde Torres+ John Luis Diaz+

Monday Dec. 18

7:15AM Lorraine Rugani+ Elmo Biglieri+

Tuesday Dec. 19

7:15AM Joseph Michael Jaeger+

Wednesday Dec. 20

7:15AM Tom Bielejeski+ Willy Solari+

Thursday Dec. 21

7:15 AM Sam Mafi+

Friday Dec. 22

7:15AM Lino Bozzano+

Saturday Dec. 23

7:15AM Joe Solari, Jr.+

5:15PM Frances Adams+

Third Sunday of Advent All of the people in today’s readings—the prophet Isaiah, the Virgin Mary, St, Paul, St. John the Baptist—seemed to understand clearly and rejoice in what God was calling them to be and to do. Do I?

Todas las personas en las lecturas de hoy—el profeta Isaías, La Virgen María, San Pablo, San Juan Bautista—parecían entender claramente y regocijarse en lo que Dios les decía que deberían ser y hacer. ¿Lo hago yo?

Weekly Schedule for Simbang Gabi and the Posadas are on opposite page.

Marriage Encounter MARRIED COUPLES: Having trou-ble finding a perfect Christmas gift for your spouse? Con-sider giving the gift of a weekend away from everyday stress and distractions. Enrich the communication in your marriage and re-discover the love that both of you deserve. Consider attending a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend The next Marriage Encounter Weekend is Febru-ary 16-18, 2018 in Lodi. For more information visit our website at: https://www.stocktonwwme.org or contact John & Angelica at [email protected] or 209-691-0603.

Catechism Review: Are you Smarter than an 8th grade Catechism student?: (answer in ads section)

Which spiritual movement flourished during the Dark Ages?

A. Democracy

B. Monasticism

C. Monotheism

Attention all ministries: Please check the master calendar in the parish office prior to scheduling a meeting or use of the church. All meetings and masses are scheduled on the master cal-endar on a first come, first serve basis. Thank you. Atención a todos los ministerios: Por favor, consulte el calendario en la oficina parroqui-al antes de programa una reunion o el uso de la iglesia. Todas las reuniones y las misas están programadas en el calendario maestro en orden de llegada. Gracias.

Save the Dates:

December 16, 2017– 12/24/17Misa de Gallo (Dawn masses) begin December 16, 2017-12/24/17Posadas begin December 20, 2017 Penance Service 7 pm December 24, 2017-Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord December 25, 2017-Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) January 1, 2018-Somenity of Mary the Mother of God

St. Michael’s has a need for Altar Servers at all the English masses. Altar servers form a very important part of the Church and the parish is enriched by their dedication and service. Being an altar server is a very im-portant responsibility and requires a sincere commit-ment by both the server and his or her family. Requirements: Must be a baptized Catholic and have received

First Holy Communion Be a parishioner of St. Michael Willing and able to attend training sessions Have a desire to serve the Lord and His people For those of you who have children entering the Al-tar Server Ministry: Welcome! We look forward to your child learning and growing deeper in their faith as they serve the Lord in this very special way. For those of you who are continuing on this jour-ney: Thank you for your continued commitment to this ministry. St. Michaels has a great need for altar servers. You may have noticed that at some masses, it has been necessary for adults to serve on the altar for lack of children getting involved in this ministry. Parents, please consider allowing and encourag-ing your children to participate in this ministry. To sign up to be an altar server, please contact the office 209 931-0639.

‘Tis the Season-Best Advent ever!!

We prepare for everything we consider important in life. And that includes Christmas. Join our parish for Best Ad-vent Ever, a free email program that will help you prepare for Christmas in a unique way. Each day you’ll receive an email with . . .

Short inspirational videos from Matthew Kelly and Dr. Allen Hunt

Practical tips for your everyday life

Real-life stories of hope

To sign up, visit: BestAdventEver.com/BeautifulHope

Catechism classes are currently collecting non perish-able foods to feed the hungry this holiday season. Please place your donations in the barrel located in the vestibule (front of church).

We would like to show our gratitude for the many Christ-mas trees donated by:

Segale Bros. Wayne Segale– Stockton Lot, 6445 Pacific Ave

& Randy Hamilton-Lodi Lot, at Grape Festival

Nativity Scene Blessing, Sacramento, December 17 at 3 p.m. Please join the Sacramento Nativity Scene Committee, St. Michael’s Knights of Columbus, and Knights from many other local councils as Auxiliary Bishop Cotta, of the Dio-cese of Sacramento, blesses the Nativity scene which will be on Display in the days leading up to Christmas on the steps of the state Capitol building for the second year in a row. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. The ceremony will conclude around 3:30 with hot chocolate, coffee, and cook-ies. For more information visit https://tinyurl.com/SacNativity2017 or email [email protected]

Gospel Reflection:

John the Baptist testifies to the light.

Each of the four gospels proclaims who Jesus is in its own way. Each gospel makes John the Baptist sig-nificant to how Jesus’ story begins.

Last Sunday, Mark’s gospel pro-claimed Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus is the messiah that Israel’s prophets promised God would send. John the Baptist be-comes the last in this line of proph-ets, a voice calling people to turn toward God.

John’s gospel begins before history, before anything exists, in God’s realm. These verses, John 1:1-5, de-scribe the Word who was with God from the beginning. The image of the Word grows out of the Old Tes-tament wisdom books, written in the last centuries before Jesus. These writings emphasize God as Creator and personify Wisdom as a partner with God in making the world.

The wisdom and knowledge we hu-mans acquire as conscious beings can reveal God to us. Wisdom is “a reflection of eternal life, a spotless mirror of the working of God”.

John’s gospel begins with 18 verses about the pre-existent Word who be-come flesh in Jesus. These verses include the three about John the Bap-tist that begin Sunday’s gospel.

The Baptist is a man sent from God as a witness to testify to the light. His witness has the same purpose as the whole gospel-that all might be-

lieve in Jesus through him.

The Baptist is a witness to the exist-ence we may take for granted, the light that rises with the sun each morning, the air we breathe. To testi-fy to the light is to raise people’s consciousness that the life and light in which we live reveals God and is God’s gift.

Like the people of Israel during their sojourn in the wilderness, the Baptist must have learned God’s nearness in the silence and solitude of the wil-derness where he lives. His preach-ing opens people to God’s presence in Jesus, in whom Wisdom, the Word, has come into the world and become one of us.

Why is John the Baptist and his wit-ness so essential to Jesus’ story? First, the Baptist gathers a company of followers eager to recognize God’s presence with them. Jesus be-gins his ministry among these open-hearted folks.

Second, the Baptist speaks as a prophet in continuity with the proph-ets in Israel’s history. In fact, Chris-tian tradition hears in the preaching of John the Baptist an echo of the voice that called captive Israel home from exile.

Third, the Baptist functions in John’s gospel as a legal witness. Priest and Levites interrogate him in Sunday’s gospel. His preaching has stirred in-terest. People from all over Judea are coming to hear his message. His questioners want to know if he is the one who fulfills God’s promises to Israel.

This dialogue suggests the richly varied ways in which people imag-ined the messiah and events they thought would precede the messiah’s coming. The prophet Malachi ex-pected Elijah, who was carried to heaven in a fiery chariot, would re-turn as the herald of the messiah. In Deuteronomy 18, God promises to raise up other prophets like Moses and put words in their mouths.

John the Baptist insists he is neither Elijah nor Moses but a voice crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Holy One.” His role, like Second Isaiah’s, is to testify God will come to revive and forgive us.

John anticipates one greater than he is coming. He insists that “Among you stands one you do not recog-nize.” The words come down the centuries to haunt and taunt us into recognizing where we see Jesus among us.

Our current political scene has awak-ened voices that divide us. What if this Christmas season we attempt to listen and learn from voices that dif-fer from us? Can we recognize Christ speaking in their voices and values? Can we listen and learn from those we only know by stereotype?

Ours is the task of recognizing God at work in that hardest of all places to see-in ourselves, in our passion for justice, in the events of our histo-ry, in our own unrelenting efforts to hold our families and communities together. We live in an unfinished drama and unfolding mystery that is God’s life-giving presence with us.

PERPETUAL ADORATION NEEDS YOUR HELP

We are in the process of registering volunteers for Per-petual Adoration and we ask all members of our Parish to consider. We have registration forms under the podi-um sign at the vestibule of the church. There is infor-mation attached to help you understand what Adoration is.

We offer shared hours for those who might consider a long term commitment. We also are in great need of substitute volunteers - those who would be available to take the place of a permanent adorer who is ill or on va-cation. Time periods convenient to you are offered. We urge you to check the bulletin board for substitute needs as well.

All of our current Permanent Adorers are required to re-register to update our data. All information submitted by current and new volunteers is strictly confidential. Our deadline is January 1, 2018.

Please consider this beautiful ministry. Your blessings from Our Lord are bountiful. Call Roberta, Jackie (Spanish) or Jan for questions and thank you.

There will be no baptism classes in December due to other events.

Save the Date for San Francisco Walk for Life Satur-day, January 27, 2017. We will not have a bus this year, however the Diocesan website Stocktondio-cese.org/diocesan-departments/Respect-life/walk-for-life/ will have a schedule of parishes offering buses.