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St. Thomas More
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29 November 2007
Dear Friends and Members of the St. Thomas More Society, The season of Advent is upon us, that time of the Church year when we turn our intentions to preparing not only for the celebration of Our Savior’s birth but also to reflecting upon our preparedness for Our Lord’s return. Be sure to take time during this busy month to seek God’s graces that you may be ready to meet Jesus when he comes again. The best way to do so is by receiving the Sacraments, in particular Holy Communion. Thus, I begin this letter by reminding you that I celebrate Mass daily at St. Anthony of Padua Church at 7AM, except Wednesdays, when the Mass is at 5:30PM. Moreover, because three Holy Days of Obligation fall within the next five weeks, we will have even more opportunities to go to Mass. Therefore, I remind you again of the Anglican Usage Mass Holy Day schedule, which is as follows: Day Date Holy Day Time Friday December 7 Vigil of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 5:30 PM Saturday December 8 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 10 AM Monday December 24 Christmas Eve 8 PM Tuesday December 25 Christmas Day 7 AM Monday December 31 Vigil of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God 5:30 PM Tuesday January 1 Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God 7 AM Use this schedule to help you make sure that you fulfill your obligation, as none of these upcoming Solemnities falls on a Sunday, when you would normally assist at Mass. And as is always the case, going to the Vigil Mass ‘counts’ as the fulfillment of your obligation. New Altar Servers For the last few weeks I have been training several men to serve at the altar, new adult altar servers who will augment the altar boys who have served dutifully each Sunday for the past two years. We have ordered cassocks and surplices for each of them, several parishioners having made donations to the Society to make this possible. When the vestments arrive my brother, David, the director of the altar servers, will make up a schedule for both the men and the boys. The plan for now is to have one man present at every daily Mass, two boys and one man serving at every Sunday Mass, and two men and two boys assisting at every Solemn High Mass. This development is important for two reasons. One, it demonstrates that many of our members have a sincere desire to sacrifice in order to further beautify our celebration of the Anglican Usage Mass. Two, this expanded corps of altar servers means that our Sacred Liturgy will more accurately reflect our traditions, recalling that we have made compromises because we simply lacked the personnel to celebrate the Mass as we ought. I am so grateful for this improvement and I think it so important that when all is ready we shall formally commission and bless these men, along with the members of the newly formed Altar Guild, within the context of our worship. Though not yet scheduled I shall give advanced notice of this event in order that all may be present who wish to be. New Members We have in the past month made progress on other fronts, as well. Several families new to the Society have become members, impressed with both the Mass we offer and the mission we are carrying out. Some have come because they are relatives of founding members, and others have been enrolled because they were Anglican before they converted to Catholicism. That is, the St. Thomas More Society is relatively young, having been established only in 2005. Still, I often run into former Anglicans who converted to Catholicism years before the Society was created and who were not reconciled to the Church at the same time many of us were, on October 31, 2005. These former Anglicans all have the right to be members of the Society, if they so choose, since our Anglican patrimony and heritage are theirs, as well. Happily, such people are also very often committed to our ministry of aiding in the reconciliation to Mother Church of our separated brethren, since they were once among the separated. As we go out into the world to make converts, do not neglect to welcome into our midst those who converted before we did, yet who desire to share in the work of this Society. Pledge Update As our rolls have swelled the amount we require to hire an administrator has fallen. Due to these new pledges and a generous donation from a distant benefactor, we now need just over $5,000 to begin the hiring process. I thank you once again for your contributions thus far, and beg your prayers that we successfully conclude this drive very soon. Christmas Caroling and Epiphany Evensong You might remember that last year before Christmas we visited some elderly homebound residents of Scranton Manor to visit with them and sing Christmas carols. We will do this again this year on Sunday, December 16th at 1:30PM. The time will allow singers to get a bite to eat after Mass and then gather at the Manor, located at 819 Jefferson Avenue. We will have booklets printed for everyone, including the residents, who sang along to all the hymns they knew when we were there last December. Let us know you’ll come. Call Becky Huffman at 207.5247 to sign up. Our Christmas party will take place on Sunday, January 6th, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, after Solemn Evensong and Benediction at 5PM. This opportunity for fellowship will be a potluck and will conclude with the crowning of the Three Kings. Bring a dish and plan to round out the Christmas season where it begins – at church with Jesus and his disciples. The Journey Home Quite a few people have expressed an interest in having a copy of my October 22nd appearance on The Journey Home to view themselves and share with others. We recently ordered four dozen copies from EWTN, and I have them here in Scranton. People can’t take advantage of the Pastoral Provision until they first know about it, and this video is a helpful resource in helping to explain how to do what we’ve done. For a small donation I’ll send a copy to you. Call or write me if you want one or know someone or some group that might benefit from having this DVD. Bella, the Movie I will conclude by encouraging you to participate in a unique way in our well-established pro-life ministry. Go to see the movie, Bella, a film made by devout Catholics that won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. In Scranton, Bella is showing at the Endless Mountain Theatre on Route 6 from November 30 to December 6th, quite obviously a limited engagement. Times are 1:15PM, 3:15PM, 5:15PM and 7:15PM, with an additional show on Friday and Saturday night at 9:15PM. For more information you may call the theater at 570.343.4953. The success of such films in terms of their bottom line will aid in more such films being made, which in turn will further spread the pro-life message. I’m going with Kristina on Saturday evening at 7:15PM. I’d love to see you there. Grateful for all you do on behalf of the Church and those yet to be reconciled to Her, I pray your Advent will offer many occasions to witness to the love of Christ that more may be prepared for his appearing. Ever yours in Christ, Fr.
Eric L. Bergman, Chaplain Reminders:
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