Dear parishioners,
Welcome once again to Advent! I always find this liturgical season to be particularly beautiful, but it always goes too quickly. However, there is something fitting in that reality- the time of anticipation fading quickly into the celebration of the birth of our Savior!
Speaking of celebrating the Lord’s Nativity, confusion always ensues when Christmas occurs on a Saturday, as it does this year. Inevitably, priests always receive questions about how many times the faithful are required to attend Mass when this is the case. To answer this question, in case anyone has been wondering, we are required to attend one Mass for Christmas and a second Mass to fulfill our normal Sunday obligation. It is important to note here that we will not be having our regularly scheduled 4:00 P.M. Mass on Saturday, December 25. Being Christmas Day, I figured that we will not have many come to Mass at that time. Additionally, we will likely not be able to have any servers, musicians, cantors, etc. Our Mass schedule for Sunday, December 26 is the normal Sunday morning schedule.
So, the Mass schedule that weekend will be:
Christmas Eve
4:00 P.M. in Antwerp
6:00 P.M. in Payne
10:00 P.M. in Paulding
Christmas Day
9:00 A.M. in Antwerp
Sunday, December 26
8:30 A.M. in Antwerp
10:30 A.M. in Paulding
As we head into December this week, please be sure to consult our parish policy on how school delays and cancellations affect the weekday Mass schedule. Please also be sure to consult the diocesan policy regarding snow emergencies (Level 1, 2, or 3). We will be putting this information in the bulletin. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the parish office.
A blessed Advent season to you all!
Fr. Ammanniti
