Weekly Digest

Welcome everyone!
This week at the parish:

• Tuesday - Saint Agnes Playgroup (10:30 am), Baptism Briefing, Choir Practice, and Fatima Apostolate (7 pm)
• Wednesday - Bereavement Meeting (7 pm)
• Thursday - First Friday Confessions (4 pm), ACHS Centerpiece Making (7 pm)
• Friday - First Friday Adoration (all day, Benediction at 5:00, Mass at 5:30)
• Saturday - Saint Nicholas Party (9:30 am), NFP Class (10:30 am)
• Sunday - Advent Collection for Gloves and Mittens
• Monday - Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Noon Mass (not an obligation this year)

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We are now moving into "Winter Playgroup" mode, when Fidelity House hosts our playgroup within their building.  We owe them our thanks!  We also are grateful to Father Flatley for helping us to get a small curriculum going this year.  Bring your thinking caps and get ready to pay attention to some short activities about Advent.

Thus, Tuesday playgroup will take place at Fidelity House, right near church: 25 Medford Street, from 10:30 am-12:30 pm.

• Please remember some behavior guidelines: No running out of the playroom, no kids in the toy closet, respect physical limits, use a time-out chair, please discipline your own children promptly, and be considerate of others!
• Fidelity House is being very generous by letting us use this space. Please consider a donation to help with their costs. Minimum suggested donation is $1 per person in attendance.
• Please no food.... drinks in spill proof containers are OK. 

Parking is on the street around Fidelity House. Check the street signs for the rules. Once you walk in the front door, go up the stairs, past the front desk, and to the back of the building. There is a door from the room to an outdoor courtyard, so bring your kids' coats too. We will also teach a brief lesson for the kids.

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Baptism Briefing
Don't forget that baptisms for babies at Saint Agnes are held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 2:00 pm. You must attend Baptismal Briefings prior to having your child baptized.

Baptism briefings happen once a month, and you can go to one on Tuesday night! The briefing session begins at 7:00 pm in the Saint Agnes Parish Center at 51 Medford St., Arlington. The meeting usually lasts under an hour.

If you would like to learn a little more about Christian baptism and why the Catholic Church encourages infants to be baptized, you can read about it here.

Baptism is the sacrament of faith. But faith needs the community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the faithful can believe. The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. The catechumen or the Godparent is asked: “What do you ask of God’s Church?” The response is: “Faith!” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1253)

Parenting is certainly not an easy task: it is filled with difficult decisions, personal setbacks and growth, expanding relationships, disagreements, love, AND forgiveness. We offer you our support and encouragement along this journey, and we invite you warmly into our parish and Christian life!

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This Friday, December 6th, is the first Friday of the month.  On Thursday, December 5th from 4:00-5:00 pm, there will be the opportunity for confession in the lower church.  On Friday, Saint Agnes will be offering all-day Adoration, concluding with Benediction and Mass at 5:00/5:30pm, in the lower church. Also at noon there will be a Holy Hour to pray for priests and victims of clergy sexual abuse. Adoration is a wonderful opportunity to spend some quiet time with the Lord and gain some focus in our lives - especially with all the busy distractions of family life. For more background on the long tradition of keeping a First Friday devotion, look here or here.

Due to conflicts, First Friday playgroup is cancelled this month. We hope you can join us in January!

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Finally, don't forget that this Friday (Dec. 6) is the Feast of Saint Nick!  Taking time to learn about Saint Nicholas can be a wonderful way to help your children make the connection between Jesus' birthday, opening our hearts to Christ, giving gifts, and sharing
sacrificially with those around us.  You can read Saint Nick's bio here.

You can also TAKE your kids to a Saint Nicholas day party at the Lexington parishes of Sacred Heart / Saint Brigid on Saturday morning.  See details below, and be sure to RSVP by December 5th!

Holy Families of Faith of the Lexington Catholic Community invites all families with children ages 6 and under to a celebration in honor of St. Nicholas!

The celebration is Saturday, December 7th, from 9:30-11:30 am at Sacred Heart Parish Center (21 Follen Rd., Lexington). We will have games, activities, stories and songs, treats, and perhaps a visit from the good bishop himself!

RSVP to stnicklexington@gmail.com by December 5th.  Siblings and Grandparents welcome! A suggested donation of $5/child ($15 family cap) is appreciated.  Let’s be glad and full of cheer, good St. Nicholas will soon be here!

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Family Mass Advent Projects:

• Advent Families begin the 9:00 am Family Mass by reading a brief passage and lighting the Advent wreath in church.  This is a wonderful opportunity for the whole family to be able to participate in the liturgy together. If your family would be interested, please contact Tricia Sheehan at pmksheehan [at] gmail.com or 781-648-7709.
  In addition, the Family Liturgy Group would like to welcome new members who would be willing to work with the children of the Parish once a month, preparing them to read at the 9:00 am Family Mass. For more information, please contact Tricia Sheehan.

• The Family Liturgy Advent Collection occurs each Sunday through Christmas, in order to help children in Arlington. Please consider bringing the following items to donate at Mass each Sunday:
• December 1 - Socks
• December 8 - Mittens, Gloves
• December 15 - Hats
• December 22 - Scarves

• The Giving Tree is up and at the front of the church again this year. If your family is able to take an ornament off the tree and donate the assigned gift to those who are less fortunate, it would be greatly appreciated. Please return your gifts to the base of the Giving Tree before the Noon Mass on December 15th. Thank you!

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Fidelity House Volunteers Needed

Volunteer needed for part time 2:30-5:30 afternoons answering the phone and light office work at Fidelity House, Site 2. Various other volunteer opportunities are also available. Call Fidelity House at 781-648-2005 for details.

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Making Music Praying Twice 
Christmas Music Day: Saturday, December 21 at 10:00 am
This one day/one hour class combines a retelling of the Christmas story with elements from MMP2 and is appropriate for children birth through age 7 with a caregiver. More information and online registration is available on the Saint Joseph Parish website . Class is limited to 20 children.

Winter Classes: Thursdays at 10:30 am, beginning January 9th
MMP2 session II begins on January 9 and runs through April. Registration is open for the Thursday morning class. Additional classes depend on enrollment but please contact me if you are interested in a different day and/or time. No payment necessary until the first class. Class size limited to 12 children.

Registration for both sessions is ongoing and available online at http://www.stjoseph.belmont.ma.us/faithformation/mmpt.htm or by calling the parish office at 617-484-0279. Pre-registration helps to determine which classes will run and allows us to pre-order CDs and songbooks. No payment is necessary until the first class. Classes appropriate for children birth – age 5 with a caregiver. All classes will be held at St. Joseph Parish, 130 Common Street, Belmont, MA.