MASS SCHEDULE Saturday: 7:00 & 8:00 AM 6:00 PM (Vigil Mass) Sunday: 7:30 & 9:30 AM English 11:00 AM Italian 12:30 PM English (Family Mass) 7:00 PM Portuguese Holy Days: 6:30, 8:00, 10:00 AM & 7:30 PM Weekdays: 7:00 & 8:00 AM Other Services & Activities: Monday to Saturday: 7:40 AM Morning Prayer Mondays: 7:30 PM Friends of Fr. Justin Tuesdays: 9:00 AM Legion of Mary 7:30 PM Holy Rosary Society 8:00 PM Holy Rosary in Portuguese Wednesdays: 7:30 PM Holy Rosary in Italian Thursdays: 2:00 PM Bible Study in Italian 6:15 to 7:15 PM Holy Hour for Vocations (Dec 26) 8:30 PM Rosary by Brazilian Men (Jan 9) 7:30 PM V.A.U.S. (Jan 23) Fridays: 8:30 PM Brazilian Prayer Group 1st Fridays: 5:30 to 8:30 PM Bl. Sacrament Adoration (Jan 3)

Served by the Vocationist Fathers Fr. Stephen Ehiahuruike, S.D.V., Administrator Fr. Louis Caputo, S.D.V., Parochial Vicar

Church & Rectory 442 E Brinkerhoff Ave Palisades Park, NJ 07650 Tel. 201-944-1154 Fax. 201-944-9510 Email. stnicholas07650@live.com Website. www.stnicholasrcchurch.org Office Hours Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri 11:30 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesdays 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Mornings by appointment only)

ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS Baptisms: On any available Sunday during the 11:00 AM (Italian), 12:30 PM (English) & 7:00 PM (Portuguese) Masses. Please contact the rectory at least one month prior to desired date. Confessions: Saturdays 5:00 to 5:45 PM, or during the week by appointment. Marriages: Please contact the rectory at least six months prior to desired wedding date. Sacrament of the Sick: If you are hospitalized or un-able to come to Church for health reasons and would like to be visited by a priest for Confession, Commun-ion, or Anointing of the Sick, please call the rectory. Religious Education Program (CCD): For children 1st to 8th grades who are not attending Catholic School. Classes are held on Sundays from September to May at 11:30 AM, with attendance to the 12:30 PM Family Mass. Confirmation: Classes are held on Sundays, from Janu-ary to April at 11:00 AM in the church hall, with attendance to the 12:30 PM Family Mass.

ST. NICHOLAS RC CHURCH ST. NICHOLAS RC CHURCH

444ththth Sunday of Advent Sunday of Advent Sunday of Advent December 22, 2013 December 22, 2013 December 22, 2013

The son born of Mary shall be called Jesus, for he will save his people

from their sins (Matthew 1:18-24).

ST NICHOLAS RC CHURCH Parish Trustees: Walter Luers & Giovanni Simone Parish Secretary: Débora Moreira Music Ministry: Addie Luers, Giovanni & Karen Simone, Kelly Oliveira Vocationist Sisters Community Sr. Benedita Carvalho, S.D.V., Superior & Pre-K Director; Sr. Antonietta Cioce, S.D.V., Sr. Ermelita (Amy) Gella, S.D.V. and Sr. Meltiana Ding, S.D.V. 223 14th Street - Palisades Park, NJ Tel. 201-947-2413 Parish Pre-K “Fr. Justin Learning Center” Tel. 201-944-1376 Notre Dame Interparochial Academy Sponsored by St. Nicholas, St. Michael and St. Matthew Pre-K to Grade 8: 312 First Street, Palisades Park, NJ

MASS INTENTIONS MASS INTENTIONS MASS INTENTIONS SATURDAY, December 21 7:00AM Katherine Geschwinder by Ihnen-Botjer family 8:00AM Maria Morin by daughter Maria 6:00PM(Vigil) Italia DeMaio by Dorothy Piryt SUNDAY, December 22 7:30AM Sam Pagano by Ann & Axel Humbert 9:30AM Isabella Berardi by Simone family 11:00AM Deceased members of Cecere family by wife 12:30PM Romeo Bobis by Margie De Leon 7:00PM People of the Parish MONDAY, December 23 7:00AM Mary Bussanich by Ron & Helen Mattessich 8:00AM Giorgio, Antonio & Antonia Busceti by daughter TUESDAY, December 24 7:00AM In honor of the Holy Spirit by M/M A. Piccinich 8:00AM Maria Mattessich by M/M Antonio Piccinich 6:00PM John Ferraioli by family 12:00AM John Pappalardo by family WEDNESDAY, December 25 7:30AM Vincent Cappadona by Linda Cappadona 9:30AM Maria Mirkovich by daughter Gaudenzia 11:00AM Natalia Picinich by M/M Gregory Mattessich 12:30PM Joseph Belvedere by wife & children 7:00PM People of the Parish THURSDAY, December 26 7:00AM Francesca & Domenico by granddaugh. Marie L. Mattessich 8:00AM Giuseppe DeMartino by M/M Frank Cundari FRIDAY, December 27 7:00AM In honor of St. Lazarus by Eduardo Lorenzo 8:00AM Antonio Mircovich by Mircovich family SATURDAY, December 28 7:00AM All souls in purgatory by M/M A. Piccinich 8:00AM Dinka Busanic by Nicolina Mirkovich 6:00PM(Vigil) Roberto Rincon by family Espinosa SUNDAY, December 29 7:30AM Anthony Marino by friends of St. Nicholas 9:30AM Antonio Tarabocchia by Mario & Maryann Hroncich 11:00AM Maria Galeazza by M/M Frank Cundari 12:30PM Maria Lechich by daughter & family 7:00PM People of the Parish

Fr. Stephen and the parish

staff wish all of parishioners and their families a

Merry & Blessed Christmas!Merry & Blessed Christmas!Merry & Blessed Christmas! CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE

Tuesday, December 24 6:00 PM - Vigil 11:30 PM - Christmas Carols 12:00 AM - Midnight Mass

Wednesday, December 25—CHRISTMAS DAY 7:30, 9:30 AM & 12:30 PM 11:00 AM (Italian Mass) 7:00 PM (Brazilian Mass)

Tuesday, December 31 7:00, 8:00 AM & 6:00 PM

Wednesday, January 1, 2014 Feast of Mary, Mother of God 7:00, 8:00, 10:00 AM & & 7:30 PM 11:00 AM (Italian Mass)

There will be NO CCD CLASSES on December 22 and 29. Classes resume on January 5. Confirmation classes will start on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 11:00 AM.

News of the Parish

Holy Hour for Vocations Every Thursday from 6:15 to 7:15 PM in church

~ Except on eve of first Fridays ~

Shoprite Cards are available after each Sunday Mass or during the week at the office. Our church will get 5% of what you spend.

In Memoriam

ALTAR CANDLES donated this week in loving memory of

John Ferraioli by family

BREAD & WINE donated this week in loving memory of

John Ferraioli by family

SANCTUARY LAMP donated this week in loving memory of

John Ferraioli by family

Ministers’ Schedule for December 29

6:00 PM: Lectors - Frances and Carmela B. E.M. - Claudia 7:30 AM: Lectors - Michael and Linda 9:30 AM: Lectors - Carol E.M. - Suzanne, Gina and Sr. Meltiana 11:00 AM: Lectors - Carmela and Lucia E.M. - Antonia, Vincent and Francesca 12:30 PM : Lector - Youth E.M. - Rita, Wendy and Roberto 7:00 PM Lectors - Viviane, Leny and Laine E.M. - Cida, Leo and Ieda

TODAY'S READINGS First Reading -- You will be given this sign: The virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Isaiah 7:10-14). Psalm -- Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory (Psalm 24). Second Reading -- God has called us to belong to Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1-7). Gospel -- The son born of Mary shall be called Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:18-24).

Page 3 December 22, 2013

4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Emmanuel

To name s o m e o n e o r something means that we have a relationship with that entity. Family names identify us with our heritage; nicknames denote familiarity or a special bond. In t h e O l d Testament, the meaning of a name ran deep. It identified one's mission, even one's very being. The amazing name "Emmanuel" was first uttered by Isaiah as he described to the frightened King Ahaz the promised one who would come to redeem the people. Emmanuel is not a frightening philosophical name, such as Omnipotent, Omniscient, Almighty. It does not connote distance and transcendence. It does not generate reverential fear. The name Emmanuel implies closeness and intimacy and compassion. Emmanuel is the name given to the one who is coming. It means "God is with us." God is entrusted to the care of a virgin, who will bear this child. Only God would be so compassionate to draw so near, to be so available and vulnerable. Only God could love this well. Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co.

Christmas A young mother, her eyes

shining with fatigue, who is arranging her hair; a father who finds himself alone with his pretty wife and baby, straightening the stable to make himself useful in some way; shepherds who bring cheese and perhaps also some curdled milk; sheep who look at their shepherds while bleating; a donkey

who is eyeing his manger changed into a cradle; an adorable swaddled baby whom one calls Savior, Christ and Lord: This is the manifestation of the goodness and the tenderness of God. This is the

most fantastic birth in the history of humanity, the one which changed the face of the world! This is how far God humbled and compromised himself

with us! This is Emmanuel! --From God's Word Is Our Joy, Vol. 1 by Lucien Deiss, CSSp, copyright (c) 1998,

World Library Publications. p. 73

Pastoral CarePastoral Care

Events of the WeekEvents of the Week

Holy Communion was brought last week to: Valen-tine Miele, Alexander Mauro, Augustine Morin, Mary Ostuni, and Sheila Hutchinson.

Pray for our sick: Mateus Ribeiro, Domenica Dinaro, Maria Hughes, Pete Giannantonio, Carmen Vernillo, Carmela Cundari and Anne Ring.

STEWARDSHIP OF TIME & TALENT

We are grateful …

to the teenager students of Notre Dame Interparochial Academy and their parents

who helped to decorate our church for Christmas;

to the parishioners who prepared and stuffed our Christmas Cards envelopes;

and to the families who attended our Christmas Party Potluck Dinner on Saturday, December 14 and CCD Christmas on Sunday, December 15;

and those who so kindly helped to organize it.

Thank you!

Vocationist Corner

“JUSTINIAN YEAR” September 20, 2013

to September 20, 2014 Grant that I may share your

Christmas, O divine Lord Jesus, and my sweet life; grant me

your birth of pure love! Grant it to all souls, to every parish, school and mission, to every association and to every soul. New life in the supernatural order; new life with your Holy Spirit to the Glory of the Father! Glory of pure love to you in the highest

heavens, O divine Lord and sweet Life of my soul! Peace of pure love on earth to all men. Amen.

Fr. Justin Russolillo, SDV, Devotional, page 222 Learn more about Blessed Fr. Justin visiting the Vocationist Fathers website at

www.vocationistfathers.org

PILGRIMAGE TO ROME / ASSISIPILGRIMAGE TO ROME / ASSISIPILGRIMAGE TO ROME / ASSISI AND THE HOLY LANDAND THE HOLY LANDAND THE HOLY LAND

Fr. Stephen is gathering a group of parishioners, family and friends to travel in pil-grimage to Rome - Italy, to attend the canonization of Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII, leaving on April 24,

2014. The trip will extend to the city of Assisi and the Holy Land. If you would like to be part of this group in this incredible journey, please talk to Fr. Stephen after

mass, come to the office or call us at 201-944-1154 or send us an email to stnicholas07650@live.com.

BIBLE STUDY IN ENGLISH — We have plans of starting a group of BIBLE STUDIES IN ENGLISH in January, 2014. The groups will meet on Friday evenings at 7:30 PM. If you are interested in at-tending this group, please fill out the form bellow and mail it the rectory office. You can also drop this form in the collection baskets or email us at

stnicholas07650@live.com

NAME: _________________________________

ADDRESS: _____________________________

_______________________________________

TEL: ____________EMAIL: ________________ For more information please call the rectory office at 201-944-1154

NEW WEBSITE Our parish has a new website! Now it is easier for you to check our mass schedule, weekly bulletins, calendar of meetings and parish groups activities. You can also see pictures of our many events, send your comments and suggestions, request a prayer or ask questions about

religion or personal matters. Visit us at

ST NICHOLAS R C CHURCH.ORG

CHRISTMAS SEASON Poinsettias for the Altar

Donated by:

______________________________

In memory of: _____________________________ __________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please return this slip with your donation to our Church

New Year’s Party! Tuesday, December 31st

from 9pm to 2am Sponsored by the Brazilian Community

Tickets: $ 40.00 adults & $15.00 child 7 to 12 y/o Children up to 6 years old—free

Delicious homemade dinner (Brazilian style) Great music to dance and lots of fun!

More information at the rectory office 201-944-1154

ATTENTION: Please be aware that in case of heavy snow and ice on the ground,

the 7:00 AM weekday Mass will be canceled. You may attend the 8:00 AM Mass.

If in doubt, call the rectory before leaving your house or check our website www.stnicholasrcchurch.org

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Jesus Christ will be Lord of all, or he will not be Lord at all.

-- St. Augustine

– sacred or profane – no other event begins at midnight. For no other reason do we head out in the middle of the night. In the heart of the night, in the heart of the darkest season, in the heart of the winter bleakness, Catholics gather because they have seen a great light. It is the Christmas tradition par excellence.

Why toss it away for greater convenience? Just as the introduction of Saturday evening Masses have made Sunday less central as the Lord's Day, so too the multiplication of Masses on Christmas Eve have stripped Christmas Day of its significance. Christmas Day begins at midnight, and Mass at that hour indicates that the Catholic people are so eager for Christmas that they want to wait not one minute longer than necessary. What a pity to take the midnight Mass, readings and all, and slot it in before dinner.

How to remedy this? The first step, as in many things, is a measure of pastoral courage and leadership. When I first became a pastor, one wise priest I greatly admired told me that I should never, ever change the Christmas Mass schedule – too much trouble. That risk-averse devotion to the status quo is not helpful in renewing the liturgy. In fact, it was not any trouble at all, as the Catholic faithful respond well to sensible, well-explained initiatives to improve our liturgical practice. Indeed, here and there one sees efforts to restore the centrality of Mass at midnight. The Catholic faithful intuitively know that midnight Mass is important. Catholics frequently complain about the secularization of Christmas. There is little we can do about that, but to the extent that we have an alternative to offer, it means becoming more Catholic not less. Midnight Mass is a uniquely Catholic tradition. What time is midnight Mass? The answer should be obvious.

The Christmas Mass schedule has become something rather different than what the Church intends, and what our tradition refined over centuries.

Over more than a generation, we Catholics have fumbled away one of our most distinctive customs. Indeed, the Christmas Mass schedule has become something rather different than what the Church intends, and what our tradition refined over centuries.

The Church has four Masses for Christmas – the vigil, Mass at midnight, Mass at dawn and Mass during the day. The readings begin with the human origins of Jesus in Matthew's genealogy (vigil), the account of the birth and the angels (midnight), the visit of the shepherds (dawn) and finally the divine origins of the newborn baby, taken from the magnificent prologue of John's Gospel (day).

The typical parish gets little of this. Some years ago at the 5 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve (about which more later), I did use Matthew's genealogy – to universal complaint. The people wanted the nativity story. So the usual thing found in most parishes today is several vigil Masses on Christmas Eve, none of which use the vigil readings, and all of which are absolutely jam-packed. There is often no Mass at midnight, and a solitary Mass on Christmas morning, usually poorly attended. How we arrived at this position is curious. Many priests consider the vigil Masses – especially the early ones before 7 p.m., sometimes as early as 4 p.m.! – to be pastoral failures, with large congregations but a certain chaotic, distracted quality. Pastors know when the Church's liturgy clearly points to the midnight Mass as the high point of the Christmas liturgy, there is something awry with singing "Adeste Fidelis" at 5 p.m. Some years ago I asked the parish council about why our Christmas Eve Mass was so early. The response from everyone around the table was that it was a convenient time – early Mass, home for dinner and a party, perhaps some Christmas presents, the children in bed at a good hour and a leisurely Christmas morning to follow. Upon hearing that, I announced that we absolutely had to change the time so that it was more inconvenient. The idea is not to fit Christmas Mass into our schedule, but to adjust our schedule to fit Christmas Mass! The parish council agreed, and we moved the vigil Mass back almost three hours. Midnight Mass is the ultimate sign that we are adjusting our lives to fit Christmas. In the whole year

WHAT TIME IS MIDNIGHT MASS? WHAT TIME IS MIDNIGHT MASS? WHAT TIME IS MIDNIGHT MASS? By Fr. Raymond J. De Souza

O Come O Come O Come Let Us Adore Him! Let Us Adore Him! Let Us Adore Him!

Join us this Tuesday, December 24th, singing Christmas Carols in church

starting at 11:30PM, followed by the

Midnight Mass ~ Bring your family ~