2747 Pali Highway Honolulu, Hawaii 96817

(808) 595-3105 ssccpali@rcchawaii.org

facebook.com/st.stephenpali

OFFICE HOURS: Tues—Thurs: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm* Mon, Fri & Sat: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

*Closed for lunch from 12:30-1:30 p.m.

PASTOR

Fr. Mario Raquepo

STAFF Deacon Ronald Choo Sister Marykutty Kottuppallil, MSMHC Rosemary Hashimoto, Secretary

FAITH FORMATION

CCD-Children Velma Guieb-Mamuad

Youth & Confirmation Rosemary Hashimoto (interim)

R. C. I. A. Debbie Fujiyama

Parish Scripture Groups Francis Jordan

PARISH MINISTRIES

Homebound & Bereavement Virginia Jordan & Helen Luke

Hospitality David Tom

Altar Server Zachary Choo

Liturgical Music Leka Leaeno (Saturday Vigil) Stanley Wong (Sunday)

Lector Beverly Perry

Holy Communion at Mass Jennifer Tamayo

Sacristy Celine Asato & David Tom

Justice & Peace TBA ——— (Respect Life) TBA ——— (Aloysius Food Pantry) TBA ——— (Family Promise Hawaii)

PARISH ORGANIZATIONS

Pastoral Council Patricia Silva

Stewardship/Discipleship Council

Bernard Ho (interim)

Finance Council James Solidum (interim)

Liturgy Commission TBA

Building/Planning Committee Loretta Chee & Richard Leong

Social Fellowship Sui Kozuma & Kitchen Crew

CATHOLIC PARISH

VISITATION OF THE SICK: Priest and Homebound Ministers are available to visit the infirm or hospitalized. Please contact the Parish. For sacramental emergency, call 595-3105 and press #2 BAPTISM: Sacramental preparation is required. If you are expecting or have a child to be baptized, please call the Parish office for more information MARRIAGE: The Diocese of Honolulu requires couples to marry in the Church to participate in the preparation for the Sacrament of Matrimony. Couples should contact the office for Marriage Preparation at least 6 months before the wedding FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS: Kokua! Please contact your Church prior to making arrangements with a funeral home

PARISHIONERS: When changing address/telephone, or moving out of the Parish, please kindly notify the office NEW PARISHIONERS: If you would like to become a parishioner of St. Stephen, please use forms available at the entrance of the Church or contact the office

E KOMO MAI

weekend MASS CONFESSION

SATURDAY (Main Church ) ………... 4:00 pm SATURDAY …..…… 3:00 — 3:30 pm SUNDAY (Chapel) ………...………… 7:15 am or by appointment (Main Church) .……...….… 9:30 am

WEEKDAY mass Devotion & ADORATION Chapel of St. Catherine Eucharistic Adoration ...… WED Mass

MONDAY— SATURDAY ............ 8:00 am Holy Rosary ……………….. before Mass

S t. S Tephen

Donations/Collections

Votive Offering 42.00

All Souls Day 145.00

Second Collections 875.00

First Sunday of Advent

Mass Intentions

PLEASE PRAY

For the sick & homebound:

ROLAND ALBARADO, MARGARET ROBELLO, JOE CHANG, DON YEE, CARRIE TALWAR

GOOD NEWS

STEWARDSHIP OF OUR LORD

“..Be watchful! Be alert! ..” Mark 13:33

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

ALOYSIUS TOM FOOD PANTRY

Weekly Offerings (November 22 & 23, 2014)

Saturday 4:00 pm Mass 569.00

7:15 am Mass 470.16

9:30 am Mass 1,145.00

Total Offering 2,184.16

Isaiah 63:16b–17, 19b; 64:2–7 / 1 Corinthians 1:3–9 / Mark 13:33–37

When my mother became pregnant with my youngest sister, I was old enough to be involved with the preparations for her birth. We added a crib to the room she would share, and we gathered clothes and toys suitable for an infant. I wasn’t sure we’d get everything ready in time, and it seemed like forever before she arrived. We didn’t know exactly when she’d go into labor, but when she did, we each had a job to do at home while my father took her to the hospital. I was overjoyed when my mother brought her home just before Christmas.

Advent is the Church’s time to prepare for new birth. My family had nine months to get ready for my sister. The Church calendar gives us only four short weeks to make our hearts ready to receive Christ.

How do we do that? The Scriptures help us by recalling both the promise of his coming and the exhortation to stay awake because we don’t know when it will happen.

How odd, we might think. Christmas is always December 25—of course we know when Jesus is born. What we have to remember is that while Christmas celebrates Jesus’ birth at a particular time and place over 2,000 years ago, it also reminds us that Christ is alive today, waiting for us to open our hearts to him. It reminds us that Christ is coming again and that we don’t want to be caught napping when he does.

We also prepare by taking extra time to pray, to practice kindness and service, and to remember those in need. Where will Christ be born in you this Christmas? Will you be ready?

Mary Katharine Deeley sundaybulletin@liguori.org

Mahalo for your generous donations. We will be taking your gifts and offerings to St. John the Baptist soon. Please continue to remember them in your prayers.

Mahalo for your faithful service and continued generosity!

For the recently deceased: MARTIN LUKE, DAVID LIU, BOBBY LOWE, ETHEL LEE, ELLEN SHAM, PATSY TAM, GWENDOLYN JOSEPH, HAZEL ANDRADE, MARIA GUIEB , MERRY CRIS HO, YVONNE PACARRO, LESTER MABERY, FLORENCE HO, ETHEL AU, GINNY STAHL, PAUL WONG, TONY BARON, MABEL LUKE, ELLEN KALAHELE, JOHN COSTA, MARTHA OYADAMORI, CAROLYN AKI, HARRY BENDER

Saturday, November 29:

4:00 p.m. Mass: † Merry Cris Ho

Sunday, November 30:

7:15 a.m. Mass:† All who have died 9:30 am Mass: All families

Monday, December 1:

8 am Mass: † Patricia Trask

Tuesday, December 2:

8 am Mass: † Francis Chia

Wednesday, December 3:

8 am Mass: † Havana McLafferty

Thursday, December 4:

9 am Mass: † Charles Hutchison

Friday, December 5:

8 am Mass: † Sonny Quon

Saturday, December 6:

8 am Mass: All the sick

11/30 Clement Lee Anna Mahoe

12/2 William Denis, Sr.

12/3 Lydia Waters Joseph Ornellas George Browne

12/4 Carrie Chock

12/5 August Bettencourt, Jr. Yvonne Young

12/6 Lidwid Bertelman

Our parish community began celebrating the Feast of St. Stephen in 2008 on the First Sunday of Advent. It is important to remember and to honor our Patron Saint, the First Martyr of the church. His actual Feast Day is the day after Christmas and after trying to have a big celebration on the 26th of December we asked the Bishop permission to celebrate the Parish Feast on the First Sunday of Advent. Mahalo to all who have joined us today, especially our celebrant Father Gary Secor, Vicar General of our Diocese, Father Joe Carroll and Father Francis Nakagawa.

Liturgical Ministries

November 30, 2014

Faith Formation

Next Week: December 6 & 7

Altar server: [Sat] — Marian, JP, George Houle

[Sun] — All Servers

Lector: [Sat] - Maris Ho/David Houle [Sun] -Youth/Wesley Fong

EMHC: [Sat] — Valerie Low, Olive Houle [Sun] — Toni Farm,

Frank Jordan, Arlette Aki

This week

CCD

December 7 Class

YOUTH

Class

Parish Scripture Groups

Wed. December 3 None this week

R.C.I.A.

December 7 Immaculate Conception

Tuesday, December 2: 4:00 p.m. (Sat.) Choir Practice (Please call the office if you are interested in attending)

Wednesday, December 3: 8:30 a.m.—6:45 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration

Saturday, December 6: 11:00 Choir Practice - Family Mass

Collection Counting: Team 2

Church Cleaners: Carmen Rojas, Bea

Tom, Randy Tom, Martha Chock, Marcy Heafner, Mike Low, Tom Camacho

We only have two Holy Days of Obligation that we observe in our Diocese. Christmas and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of our nation. Masses will be at 8:00 a.m. in the chapel and 6:00 p.m. in the church. Following our 6:00 p.m. Mass we will bless the Marian Grotto. Her quiet presence along the Pali Highway is a comfort to many. Let us give thanks and honor her for her constant help and intercession.

We already have $100.00 for seed money toward the new piano. Sign up for bread is at the front door. There will be pick after all Masses.

FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN, Proto-Martyr

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION—Monday, DECEMBER 8TH

Bread Sale for PIANO FUND—December 13-14

Wednesday, December 3rd will be our Eucharistic Adoration from 8:30 a.m. until Benediction at 6:30 p.m. (there is no Scripture Study this week) Thursday, December 4th—9:30 a.m. Mass at Nuuanu Hale

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION & NUUANU HALE MASS

MAHALO

SEASON OF ADVENT

Thank you to all who helped to prepare for our celebration today. We thank our Imu team and the Social Fellowship committee for their delicious creations. We also take this year’s Feast Day to thank all our Liturgical Ministers for their faithful service to the Eucharistic celebrations each week and their ministry to the homebound and the sick. Thank you to all those who helped to change out the Missals to 2015.

It is customary in many countries to celebrate the days just before Christmas to prepare to commemorate Christ’s birth with a Mass at Dawn for 9 days. Beginning December 16 through 24 (excepting Sunday) Father Mario would like to offer Mass at 5:30 a.m. if enough parishioners are interested. Please see the sign-up if you are interested.

DAWN MASS

The holy season of Advent begins today. There are two books available to help make your season spiritually productive: the Advent Blue book from the Diocese of Saginaw and The Word Among Us. Advent is a time to make room for Jesus as we prepare to celebrate his coming among us and look forward to the time we will meet him face to face.

d e a r P A D R E

Q

A

When did Advent start?

WEEKLY SCRIPTURAL READINGS

Monday, December 1

Isaiah 2:1—5

Matthew 8:5—11

Tuesday, December 2

Isaiah 11:1—10

Luke 10:21—24

Wednesday, December 3

St. Francis Xavier, Priest

Isaiah 25:6—10a

Matthew 15:29—37

Thursday, December 4

St. John Damascene

Isaiah 26:1—6

Matthew 7:21, 24—27

Friday, December 5

Isaiah 29:17—24

Matthew 9:27—31

Saturday, December 6

St. Nicholas, Bishop

Revelation 22:1—7

Luke 21:34—36

SUNDAY, December 7 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Isaiah 40:1—5, 9—11

2 Peter 3:8—14

Mark 1:1—8

When did the Church start celebrating Advent?

It’s a little complicated, because our Western Church’s

celebration of Advent grew up over time in different areas of

Europe rather than beginning all at once in one particular

spot.

Some of the earliest references to special pre-Christmas

practices for Christians come from Spain and Gaul (modern

France) in the fourth and fifth centuries, but we also have

evidence of a pre-Christmas fast in Rome at the end of the

fourth century.

The shape and flavor of these local Advent celebrations were

different, with some running as long as six weeks and some

being much shorter. In Gaul they emphasized penance and

the final coming of Christ in judgment at the end of time,

while in Rome there was more emphasis on the coming

celebration of Jesus’ birth.

The Roman four-week Advent eventually carried the day and

shaped the rhythm of our Church’s calendar. But if you pay

attention to the readings and prayers offered in our Advent

Masses, you’ll see elements of both the Roman and Gallican

Advents in our modern-day celebrations.

In general, during the earlier days of Advent we emphasize

the final coming of Christ in judgment. Then we focus more

closely on the commemoration of his birth at Bethlehem.

FR. PATRICK KEYES, CSsR sundaybulletin@liguori.org

Saints of December

3 St. Francis Xavier

4 St. John Damascene

6 St. Nicholas

7 St. Ambrose

8 Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary

11 St. Damasus

12 Our Lady of Guadalupe

12 St. Jane Frances de Chantal

13 St. Lucy

14 St. John of the Cross

21 St. Peter Canisius

23 St. John of Kanty

25 Feast of Christmas

26 St. Stephen

27 St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

28 Holy Innocents

29 St. Thomas Becket

31 St. Sylvester