EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

After the 8AM Mass on Fridays in the chapel

ROSARY

7:00 PM Fatima Prayer Group on Monday

After the 6:45 AM and 8 AM Masses Monday thru Friday and after the 8 AM Mass on Saturday.

Moms and children’s Rosary group every Friday from 10AM to 11:30AM.  Call MaryAnn at 922-3461 before you come for the first time.

Designate a gift to Saint Antoninus Church in your will and give witness to your faith. 

Adult Volunteers: Mary Ann Catanzaro, Joan Gay

Dear Parishioners,

     Today, throughout the United States, the collection for the Retirement for Religious is being taken up.  Most Catholics who went to a parochial school and are over 50 remember at least one teaching sister, not to mention those religious working in hospitals, orphanages, or caring for the elderly. It is only too apparent that there are fewer women and men religious today and those who remain grow older. They need our help.   I remember in particular Sr Anna Mae Yunker, SC.  I taught with her at Lehman High School.  She had survived three bouts with cancer; she ended her teaching career, diagramming sentences from a wheel-chair, losing her fourth battle.  She retired to the Motherhouse and died there.  Rather poignantly she told me before her final illness that she felt like the lone leaf on the tree since she had been at one time principal of Holy Angels High School (in Sidney which preceded LHS) and the greater majority of faculty consisted of the Sisters of Charity.  There are perhaps countless stories of similar self-sacrificing religious who gave their lives for the good of the Church and the care of their brethren.  We now are called upon to help them have a dignified old age and peaceful death.  Please be as generous as your means allow to the Retirement Fund for Religious.

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      Last week, on the First Sunday of Advent, we prayed that Christ find an "eager welcome at his coming," and we welcomed the following candidates for full communion: Mark, Kristie and Jack Baker, Lori DiSanto and John Oaks.  "A candidate for full communion" means that someone has already been baptized in another Christian church yet desires to come to the fullness of faith.  To be in full communion with the church means to accept the "faith, sacraments and ecclesiastical governance" (see canon 205).

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I overheard a server ask about the meaning of the pink candle on the Advent wreath.  The Advent wreath was introduced, it is said, by Martin Luther to mark the four weeks of Advent.  The pink candle signifies the third Sunday of Advent, called "Gaudete" ("Rejoice" in Latin) after the first word of the entrance antiphon from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians: "Rejoice! The Lord is near!"  The purple banners also signify the four weeks of Advent. The empty chair, which expects some one to sit on it, is called the "Etemisia."  In the ancient Catholic church, in the center of the triumphal arch over the altar and usually decorated in mosaics, was a throne with a precious cross resting on top of it.  That "etemisia" symbolized that Christ will come again in glory to sit upon his throne and judge the living and the dead.

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A guide to Catholic End of Life Decisions published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center is availabe in the Greeting Room.  It includes a form for the Health Care Proxy and Advanced directives for Health Care according to Catholic Principles.  Be sure to share them with your family lawyer for your future planning.

Rev. Christopher Armstrong

ST. FRANCIS SERAPH SCHOOL GIVING TREE is in the greeting room.  Please take one or more tags and return the gifts only on Sunday morning, December 16.  Kroger cards (available in $10 denominations) can be placed in a Christmas card or an envelope.  Other items should be wrapped without ribbons or bows.  Attach tag to the outside of the gift.

Did you know that many corporations provide a Matching Gift Program for their employees in support of education?  Here is a list of companies that have recognized St. Antoninus Parish School with matching funds:  Duke Energy, Citigroup, GE, Pfizer, Hospira and Fidelity. 

     If you are an employee of one of these companies, or if you think your company may offer a similar program, see your company contact for the forms to complete.  Call the St. Antoninus business manager, Peggy James, for further assistance.

FROM OUR PRINCIPAL, MR. JACK COREY

Dear Parishioners,

     As parents and educators, we look for teachable moments in our children’s lives.  Before they leave our homes and schools, we wish to instill in them a sense of self, grounded in our Catholic faith.  In the spirit of a teachable moment for our students, I present this week’s column. 

     Much has been said and written about the recently released movie, The Golden Compass, an adaptation of the book written by Phillip Pullman, an atheist.  As an educator, I believe there are so many good books that do not send out messages contrary to our church teaching that we have no need for his writings in our school.  As a parent, instead of adopting a “no, because I said so” approach, I recommend sitting down, especially with older students and explain that by going to see the movie we are paying people to help spread an anti-Catholic message. 

     For those who do not know much about the trilogy by Phillip Pullman there are a number of Catholic websites that explain why this movie is offensive to Catholics.  I encourage you to inform yourself.

     One positive feature I see with the release of this movie is that it gives us a chance to share our beliefs with our children and offers us a “teachable moment”.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE ROSARY will be prayed at Fountain Square on December 12^th, at Noon.

OUR ST. VINCENT DE PAUL THANKS YOU for the Thanksgiving collection which netted 531 items of non-perishable food and a record-stetting $1,240 in cash contributions.  The generosity of our parishioners is greatly appreciated by the Conference and their clients.

PTO NURSING HOME VISIT will be on Wednesday, December 12^th, at noon.  Meet at the rectory garage.  Small children are welcome to attend.

ROGER BACON CHRISTMAS CONCERT on Sunday, December 16, at 1 p.m. in the Roger Bacon Auditorium. Admission is a canned good/non-perishable food item.  Monetary donations will be accepted and all the donations will go to the FreestoreFoodbank.

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

The evening is cold; stars hang in the folds of the sky.  Stillness.  Anticipation.  While the darkness hovers, impossibility seems to breathe all around.  Yet there is the sound that shatters the night!  The cherished Child, so long awaited, is born!  His Light fractures the world and history is forever divided—the Before His birth, the After into eternity.  The God-Man, like each of us, has been sheltered in His mother’s womb for nine months.  Now the angels sing His triumphant birth!  We kneel in awe.  The Child, His Mother, the Virgin Mary, His foster father, Joseph…the Holy Family remains today as a model for all our families.

This Advent let us recommit our families to follow the example of the Holy Family.  Let us light the candles of our home Advent wreath, praying for all families blessed with a child, for those families expecting a child, those who know the love of adoption, those who have lost a child and those who are hoping for a child.  Let us also pray for the healing and reconciliation of those whose child has died in abortion.

Consider taking the family to see the movie Bella (PG 13):  it is full of this gift of the child, the family.  (Unlike the new The Golden Compass, “whose author openly proselytizes for atheism, corrupting the imagery of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien to undermine children's faith in God and the Church.” Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy, published by Ignatius Press.)  The family will always need to be the vigilant gatekeepers of children’s impressionable minds; the nurturer of virtue and the safe haven; a loving place of joy, prayer and forgiveness, even in the humblest and grandest of homes.  Make a difference for your family: visit www.saintantoninus.org or www.abstinenceassociation.org/voiceyourchoiceohio

God is good!

Jane Hoffman, St. Antoninus

Pro Life, Pro Family Committee

Abstinence Education for Ohio’s schools:  Your family’s help is needed.  Sadly, our Ohio governor this year has abolished the abstinence education office for Ohio, has refused federal funds for abstinence education in favor of his approval of programs supported by the abortion industry, such programs which do not provide instruction to help students make the choice to develop healthy relationships; such programs that deprive students of being exposed to the truth that it is in their best interest — physically

emotionally, socially and spiritually—to save their gift of sex until after marriage; such programs that undermine the family.

It is only Abstinence education which teaches the beauty of sexuality and marriage as well as the counter-culture truths of the potential physical, psychological, emotional, legal and social side effects/hazards of participating in sexual activity outside of marriage.  Please consider sending Governor Strickland a message today to encourage him to restore funding for abstinence education for Ohio’s teens.  Visit www.abstinenceassociation.org/voiceyourchoiceohio

Governor's Office, Riffe Center, 30th Floor,
77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-6108
 Info: (614) 466-3555     Fax: (614) 466-9354
 http://apps.das.ohio.gov/govpublic/contact.aspx

1^ST QUARTER HONOR ROLL

Elder High School- First Honors: Douglas D., David H., Drew E., Joshua W., Scott W., Mitchell C., Matthew J., David I., Brett N., Gregory K., Brent Z., Robert T., Patrick J., John M.,  Richard V., Bradley D., Andrew M., Benjamin W., and Jarred P.

Second Honors: Johnny G., Nicholas M., Keith H., Scott L., James H., Matthew B., David D., Thomas P., Craig S., Joseph H., Matthew G., Benjamin W., Thomas M., Zachary D., Jonathan T., Christopher J., Ross L., Daniel M., Tyler S., Kyle U., Adam S., Ian M., Kevin H., Patrick F.n and Joseph V.

St. Xavier High School- First Honors:  Patrick A., Patrick P., Ambrose P., Jr., Nicholas R., Jovanie S., Christopher V.

Second Honors: Steven C., Michael G., Patrick G., Joseph H., Michael H., Kevin H., Jay J., Bradley K., Jacob K., Zachary M., Christopher M., Andrew R., Patrick R., Peter S., Thomas S., Anthony S., Steven S., Michael T. and Jacob W.

Fr. Don McCarthy, a former pastor of St. Antoninus, requested the following: In this season of Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks for a unique gift I have received.  Since 1990 I have been a complimentary member of the Western Tennis and Fitness Club at 5940 Muddy Creek Road., 451-4233.  Most Wednesday afternoons I enjoy a doubles tennis game at one of the nine air-conditioned indoor courts and I sometimes visit the large, well-equipped Fitness Center.  In appreciation of my long-term membership gift, I wish to offer a warm recommendation of membership at this facility. – Fr. Don McCarthy

Charitable IRA Rollover Law Reminder:

Last year Congress enacted a law permitting contributions from an IRA directly to charitable organizations, without the donation amount being subject to income tax.  Here is some critical information about the new law:

• Donors must be at least 70 ½ years old, and own a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA.  Other types of retirement accounts such as 401(K) plans and pension plans are not eligible.

• Only the IRA Trustee can transfer the gift amount to a qualified charitable organization.  The gift amount is not considered part of the owner’s gross income for income tax purposes.  However, if the owner of the IRA takes a distribution and makes a donation to the charity separately, the distribution amount will be included in the donor’s gross income for income tax purposes!

• The amount of the gift under this plan may not exceed $100,000 per year, and may only be made in 2006 and/or 2007.

• Since the gift amounts are not included in the owner’s income, no charitable deductions are permitted for the donation.

• These gifts are not subject to the ceiling amounts on contribution deductions (i.e. 50% of adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash, 30% of AGI for long-term capital gain assets).

To illustrate the impact of this law, consider the following example.  If a taxpayer, age 71, normally donates $1,000 to St. Antoninus in December, from proceeds of a distribution from her traditional IRA, and she is in the 25% tax bracket, she could instruct the trustee of her IRA to donate $1,333 to St. Antoninus directly with no change in her current tax position.  The $1,333 would not be included in her income, thus no income tax liability is incurred.

The calculation is fairly simple.  To calculate different IRA gift amounts, simply divide your normal gift amount by 1.0 minus your tax bracket. In the example above, this would be $1,000 / (1.0 - 0.25) = $1,333.33.  See the table below for tax brackets for different income levels.

You may avoid the Alternative Minimum Tax by using this opportunity.

Please consult your tax advisor to determine the impact on your situation.  If you wish to take advantage of this short-term opportunity, be certain that you instruct your IRA Trustee to make the donation to the charitable organization.  Do not make the donation yourself!