Mass Schedule: Saturday: 5:00 pm Sunday: 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 5:00 pm

Weekday Mass: Mon.— Fri. 8:00 am Tues. 8am is a communion Service Tues. & Thurs. 5:30pm Holy Day Masses: 5:30 (eve. before), 8AM, 11:00 AM and 5:30 PM

Centering Prayer Group Thursdays 9:30am Centennial Hall

Sacrament of Reconciliation/ Confessions: Sat. 4-4:45 PM Penance Services at announced times.

Sacrament of Baptism: Prep. Class required Call Parish Office

Sacrament of the Sick: Anytime Upon Request Sacrament of Marriage: Six months notification prior to the desired date.

97 Shady Lane, P.O. Box 1061, Ross, CA 94957-1061

Church Office: 415-453-2342 Fax: 415-453-8713

Clergy: Fr. Jose Shaji, Pastor ext. 15 email: Fr.Shaji@saintanselm.org

Deacon Bernard O’Halloran Deacon Edward Cunningham Deacon Robert Meave Parish Coordinator ext. 11 Ann Carroll Roggenbuck Parish Secretary ext. 10 Sissy Ratto Religious Ed.: ext. 20 Nick Case, D.R.E. St. Anselm School: 415-454-8667 Fax: 415 454-4730 Kim Orendorff, Principal Email: info@SaintAnselm.org Parish Website: www.SaintAnselm.org School website: www.StAnselmSchool.com St. Vincent de Paul Help Desk: 415 454-3303 Are you a registered parishioner? Call us today to check.

St. Anselm Catholic Church

December 13, 2015 Third Sunday of Advent

Shout for joy! Sing joyfully! Be glad and exult! The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior. (Zephaniah 3:14-18a)

St. Anselm’s Parish is a Catholic community formed by families, individuals and clergy that worship together, celebrate the sacramental life of the Church, and seek to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ

everyday. We welcome, serve, and educate.

Individual Confessions at St. Anselm Every Saturday, 4-4:45pm Thurs, Dec. 24th, 10am -11:30am Christmas Eve Masses Thurs., Dec. 24th

4:00 pm Children’s Choir 6:00 pm Religious Ed. Children’s Choir 9:00 pm Adult Choir Christmas Day Masses Friday, Dec. 25th

8:00 am Ensemble Christmas Music 10:00 am Adult Choir Music (No evening Mass) New Year’s Eve Mass Thurs, Dec. 31st, 2015 5:30pm New Year’s Day Mass Friday, Jan. 1st, ‘16 8:00 am, 11:00 am (No evening Mass)

St. Anselm Church Christmas Schedule Rejoice in the Lord always,

again I say Rejoice.

Dear Parishioners, The Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday which means Rejoice. We are invited to rejoice because the celebration of the Birth of Je-sus is near, our Salvation is near at hand. This theme is very emphatic in the second

reading. Paul asks the Philippians to rejoice because the Lord is near. All of us want to be happy. Happiness is not a shallow self-satisfaction. There can be no happiness without love. When we say ‘no’ to love a sadness falls upon us. Christmas or the birth of Christ was God’s way of saying ‘yes’ to love. It was God’s way of saying the people he created. As we prepare ourselves for the cele-bration of the birth of Christ, God invites us to continue to say ‘yes’ to love! Yours sincerely, Fr. Jose Shaji, Pastor

Festival of Readings & Carols: A English Holiday Tradition of Scriptural Readings, Homilies, and Advent/Christmas Music to prepare for the Birth of the Messiah. Tues, Dec. 15, 2015, 7:00-8:00 PM St. Sebastian Catholic Church, 373 Bon Air Rd., Greenbrae. Presented by the Parish Deacons and Choir. Five Scriptural Readings with short homilies, silent reflection and joyous song. An eve-ning of prayer and praise as we pre-pare our hearts for the celebration of Christmas! Reception to follow in Parish Hall.

CELEBRATE This Sunday, God rejoices and sings because of us. We read in Zephaniah today that God “will sing joyfully because of you, / as one sings at festi-vals” (Zephaniah 3:18). We know plenty about sing-ing at festivals. Already our ears are ringing with the songs and carols that anticipate the Christmas sea-son. Paul reminds us of the source of our own double rejoicing: God is the mighty savior who is in our midst (in Zephaniah’s words). Because this is so, says Paul, we can rejoice and be at ease. We don’t have to worry, for God’s peace will stand guard over our hearts and minds. A medieval carol depicts Christmas as “my dancing day” and urges us to enter into the dance. Why all the merrymaking? Because “the Lord is near,” as Paul reminds us (Philippians 4:5). He then points to another reason for the dancing: the dawn of the promise of peace, the peace beyond all under-standing, that is now within our grasp.

When was my last confession? There will be a Penance Service at 7:00 pm on Wed., Dec. 16th, at St. Anselm Church. The Service will include a brief reading and reflection, followed by an oppor-tunity for individual confessions. As Pope Francis has stated, if a lot of time has passed since your last confession, “Don’t lose even one more day. Go. When your confession is over, you’ll leave free, great, beautiful, forgiven, clean, happy -- this is what’s beautiful about confession.” Encourage others to attend!

We the members of St. Anselm's SVdP Confer-ence; Bill Langley, Elizabeth Melone, Pat Cahill, Joan Madden, Libby Carra, Mariel Claxton, Marlene De Voto, Roberto Rivera, Eileen Seifert, Sally Held, Doreen Malin, and Matthew McGrath, thank parishioners for the donations they provided to the parish SVdP conference in fiscal year 2015, Oct. 2014 to Sept. 2015. During the year the con-ference received 76 requests for help. On-call members contacted requesters and distributed $20,104.00 to help 150 men, women and chil-dren. The monetary assistance provided was used for food, rent, water, gas and/or electric utilities, vehicle repair, medical or dental care or basic furni-ture. In addition, $2,397.00 was provided to other neighboring parishes which requested assis-tance. Your donations to help the poor demonstrate your love, willingness and generosity in giv-ing. Thank you for your continuing support, especially the second collection on 5th Sundays.

Extending Christmas Cheer We will be providing the REST dinner the day after Christmas and need additional volunteers. If you can help out, please email: StAnselm.RestDinners@yahoo.com. Thank you for your support of this ministry.

Prayer infuses the weak with strength and the fainthearted with courage.

As a community we ask God’s blessing for the ill: Mark Gardner, Garth Stanton, Peter Johansing, Nancy Johansing-Hall, Eithne Kilty, Megan Pavelka, Quonnella Lee, Steve Leland, Luke Mennino, Michael Mason, Chanel Pommier, Jennifer Fitzsimmons, Marjorie Manko, Flora Thompson, Tina Hunerberg, Kevin Irvine, Jeanne Borden, Dylan Jewell, Kevin Lubinger, Caroline Eliot, Frankie Caza, Christopher Goward, Vincent Boyle, Margaret Formichi & Connie Sume. For the repose of the souls: Erin Thompson For those serving in the military: Adam Dear, Robert Ernest Gebhardt, Tyler Lopez, Alex Boatwright, Sean Courtz & Eliza-beth Baumsteiger

St. Anselm Church Stewardship Registered Parishioner Families 2015= 1555

Last Sunday Collection (Envelope & Loose): $5,353 Average Envelope & Loose for Nov. 2014 $4,972/wk Average Envelope & Loose for Nov. 2015 $5,186/wk Credit Card Giving Parish Pay Nov. 2014: $7,738.94 / mo. Credit Card Giving Parish Pay Nov. 2015: $7,589/mo

Parish Pay Credit Card Fees Oct. 2015 = ~5% *Please log on to Parish pay and update your CC expiration date! Second Collections: 1st Sunday of the month: School $1,228 Retired Religious this weekend 5th Sunday St. Vincent de Paul next 1/31/16 Centennial Building and Maintenance next 12/19/15

Tithing, according to the Old Testament a guideline for giving was a “tithe” or tenth of total property or income. Tithing is a voluntary systematic contribution of sup-port. Best way to be systematic is electronic monthly giving!

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Mon.: Nm24:2-7,15-17a;Ps25:4-5ab,6,7bc-9;Mt 21:23-27 Tues.: Zep3:1-2,9-13;Ps34:2-3,6-7,17-19,23;Mt 21:28-32 Wed.: Is 45:6b-8, 18, 21b-25; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 7:18b-23 Thursday: Gn 49:2, 8-10; Ps 72:1-4ab,7-8,17;Mt 1:1-17 Friday: Jer 23:5-8; Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19; Mt 1:18-25 Sat.:Jgs13:2-7,24-25a;Ps71:3-4a,5-6ab,16-17; Lk 1:5-25 Sunday: Mi 5:1-4a; Ps 80:2-3, 15-16,18-19; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-45

Mon. Dec. 14 8:00 am Jim Helzer (D)

Tues. Dec. 15 8:00 am 5:30 pm

Int. Maggie Maguire Joe McGarry (D)

Wed. Dec. 16 8:00 am Regina Stenson (D)

Thurs. Dec. 17 8:00 am 5:30 pm

James Stenson (D) Ben Moreno (D)

Fri. Dec. 18 8:00am Leland Eckert (D)

Sat. Dec. 19 5:00 pm Joseph Catinella (D)

Sun. Dec. 20 8:00 am 10:00 am 5:00 pm

Parish People Randa Stenson (D) Joseph & Catherine Gill (D)

MASS INTENTIONS Save the Date for 2016 Walk for Life

Saturday, January 23, 9:30 am Mass, 12:30 pm Rally Various Locations WalkForLifeWC.com Reserve the date now for the 12th Annual Walk for Life West Coast taking place on Saturday, January 23. The day will start with Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco at 9:30 am. Archbishop Cor-dileone will be the principal celebrant. Following Mass the event continues with a Rally at Civic Center Plaza at 12:30 pm and the subsequent 1.3 mile Walk along Mar-ket Street to the waterfront near Justin Herman Plaza. Be one of the over 55,000 participants expected to converge on San Francisco this year to proclaim that "Abortion Hurts Women" and "Women Deserve Better the Abor-tion." For information, schedule of events, speakers, bus registration and more, visit the Walk for Life website

above..

ADOPT-A-FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE

Please drop off all Adopt-A-Family wrapped Christmas gifts this weekend. Help spread Christmas Cheer to others in need.

Banner for the Year of Mercy: The new banner on the altar, with the motto “Merciful Like the Father” (taken from the Gospel of Luke, 6:36) serves as an invitation during this extraordinary Year of Mercy to follow the merciful example of the Father who asks us not to judge or condemn but to forgive and to give love and forgiveness without measure. The logo - the work of Jesuit Father Marko I. Rupnik - represents an image of the Son having taken upon his shoulders the lost soul to demon-strate that it is the love of Christ that brings to completion the mystery of his incarnation culminating in redemption.

St. Anselm Church Calendar of Events

2015 San Francisco Engaged Encounter

Marriage Preparation Programs for the Engaged Register at 415 269-8620 www.sffamilylife.com or www.marriageforlifesf.com or www.SFCatholic.com email: sfcath@gmail.com 1 day classes are held at the S.F. Archdiocese $200 lunch incl. 12/19, 1/30, 3/19, 4/30 & 6/4.

Catholic Charities Volunteer opportunities: Visit chatholic-charitiessf.org/all-opportunities to see the full list or call 415 972-1297 or email volunteer@catholiccharitieiessf.org

You are invited to join us for an evening with Father Stephen Bevans – The Thirsts of the Human Spirit. This will be a special Advent season presentation by a member of the Society of the Divine Word, an interna-tional missionary congregation. Father Stephen served as a missionary in the Philippines for nine years and has been on the faculty of the Catholic Theological Union for 26 years. In 2014 he was one of four Catholics ap-pointed by the Vatican to the Commission on World Mission and Evangelization at the World Council of Churches. He will share his reflections on the Holy Spirit’s stirring of the thirsts of the world and the call to join the Spirit’s Mission to slake those thirsts. RSVP to communityrelations@sanrafaelop.org or 415 453-8303. 1520 Grand Ave. San Rafael, Ca. The Gathering Space.

DISCERNMENT DAY: Have you ever wondered what life is like as a nun? Are you drawn to a life of prayer for the world, for our Mother Church and for souls? The Dominican Nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery located at 215 Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park, CA will host a Discernment Day for single Catholic women ages 18-40 on January 16th. RSVP by January 11th or for more information contact Sister Joseph Marie O.P. at vocations@nunsmenlo.org or visit our website at: http://nunsmenlo.org/discernment-days/. The day begins with Mass at 8:00 a.m. followed by Divine Office, Adoration, Rosary, Conferences, Vocation stories, and more given by our Dominican nuns and friars.

Please Pray for Vocations.

SAVE THE DATE Dec. 13 San Domenico Choir Concert 1pm Church Dec. 14 Adult Faith Class 6:30pm –8pm Centennial Hall Dec. 16 Penance Service 7-8pm Church Dec. 17 RCIA 6:30 pm—8:30pm Centennial Hall Dec. 19-20 Warm Coat/“Interview Wear” Clothing Drive Dec. 20 Christmas Pageant 10am Mass Church Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Masses: 4pm, 6pm & 9pm Dec. 25 Christmas Morning Masses 8am & 10am

Events Near St. Anselm Parish

Suicide Prevention and Community Counseling: Hotline volunteers are available. You matter. We love you! In Crisis? Call 415 499-1100, Grieving? Call 499-1195.

News of St. Anselm Parish

Advent Penance and Reconciliation Service: St. Anselm Church, Dec. 16th, 7:00-8:00pm

Each Advent, the Church's liturgies invite us to experience the mercy of God who never tires of forgiving. Advent is the be-ginning of the end of all, in us, that is not yet Christ. Above all, Advent represents the presence of Christ within us. It is Christ within us who stirs up our longing for for-giveness.

Longing for forgiveness is at the center of adult conversion. It is the beginning of our conversion to Christ and our liberation from our pre-occupation with our own fail-ings. It is Christ who calls us to conversion and comes to us in mercy.

You are invited to the Advent Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation Service at St. Anselm Church, Wed, Dec. 16th, 7:00-8:00pm. There will be four priests to hear confessions.

What is God doing for us in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation? ο Only God forgives sins. By virtue of his divine authority, Jesus gives this power to priests to exercise in his name. ο Jesus calls people to conversion of heart, interior conversion (not sackcloth and ashes, etc.). ο The Spirit of God draws and moves people's hearts by grace to respond to God's love and repentance and conversion. ο God, the Father of mercies, effects the reconciliation of all sinners through his Son and gift of the Spirit. ο The priest (confessor) is the sign and instrument of God's merciful love for the sinner. The whole power of the sacrament of pen-ance is to restore us to God's grace and inti-mate friendship. ~Deacon Bernie O’Halloran

Bulletin Number: 513520 Church Name and Address: St. Anselm 97 Shady Lane PO Box 1061 Ross, CA 94957-1061 Telephone: 415-453-2342 Contact Person: Ann Roggenbuck Email: info@saintanselm.org Software MS Publisher 2007 Windows 7 Printer HP Laser Jet Professional CM 1410 Series PL6 Transmission Time: 9:30am Tuesday Number of Pages sent: 6 (including information page)