Feast of the Holy Family ofJesus, Mary, and Joseph

30 December 2012Christ Among the Doctors

Master of the Catholic Kings (c. 1495-97)

Saint CeciliaP A R I S H

Ministers of the Liturgy

Saturday | 5:00 p.m.Rev. Peter Grover, OMV, celebrantCatherine Horsley, lector

Sunday | 8:00 a.m.Rev. Thomas Gariepy, CSC, celebrantLouvere Walker, lector

Sunday | 9:30 a.m.Rev. John Unni, celebrant James Paradis, Mary Kane, & MoiraMacdonald, lectors

Sunday | 11:15 a.m.Rev. John Unni, celebrantCynthia Wanner, Bob Mann, & Maggie Loh, lectors

today’s readings

1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-281 John 3:1-2, 21-24Luke 2:41-52

next sunday’s Readings

Isaiah 60:1-6Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6Matthew 2:1-12

special intention

Sunday, December 30 | 11:15 a.m.Pauline Pelletier, Memorial

SAINT CECILIA PARISH

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our community news

On the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, we celebrate a feast in hon-or of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This is a modern feast, instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1893 and extend-ed to the whole Roman Church by Pope Benedict XV in 1921. Strains of family life in those post–war days were enormous. From its inception, this feast was meant to in-spire people with an im-age of family harmony even amidst hardship. At

one time this feast was celebrated on the Sunday follow-ing Epiphany (now the Baptism of the Lord), but since 1969 the feast is celebrated on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas. The Gospels chosen back in 1969 all depict stressful times in the family of Jesus: the flight into Egypt; the presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple with its warning of future sorrow; and Mary and Joseph's frantic search for their young son in Jerusalem (today's Gospel for Year C).

the Feast of the holy family

(Artwork on left: "Nativity Star" by Flor Larios)

SAINT CECILIA PARISH

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Prayers & Occasions

Our SickPlease pray for all our sick and for those who are in need of our prayer, especially Josephine Parker, John Saulenas, K. Champoux, Patricia Hoggard, Jennifer Serpico, Christine St. Pierre, Harold Williamson, Jessica Rivieccio, Earl Chilcote, Colonel Robert C. Tashjian, Kim Murray, Heather LoRe, Rudy Kikel, Herbert Simmons, Peggy Furey, Janice Mascia, Pa-mela D’Ambra, Sue Lucas, Suki Coughlin, Roberta Keenan, Bridget Spence, Annette Kulas, Sam Gowan, Rhea Richard, Pil-Yun Son, Mary Yanez, Ed Langlais, Bob McLaughlin, Steven Whitkens, Diana Slaton, Leo Garcia, Joe Ford, Danny Cotter, Natalia Chilcote, Amy Sweetland, Jim Keyes, Michael Zawikowski, Patricia Macdonald, Elvera Dowsky, Frank Ackley, Fred Haslee, Lorraine Haslee, Robert Menson, Paul Flaherty, William Louttit, Lucie Kelly, Bro. Adam Zielonka, O.C.S.O., Amy Duarte, Karen & Rick, Phyllis Porras, Jim Linderman, Mark Amerault, Sr. Nuala Cotter, R.A., Kristen DeFranco Martinez, Michele Crowley Tippens, Pete Huttlinger, Anthony Simboli, Lisa Caputo, Edward Gill, Darlene McLendon, Jeanne Tibbs, Deidre Sulli-van, Roosevelt Brown, Mary O’Donnell, Ginny L’Abbe, Steve Chamberlain, Matt Penchuk, Carrie Penchuk, Christy Cosgrove, Jacques Romberger, John Scaife, Maureen Sullivan, Alyce Haley, Joe Capizzi, David Walsh, Joe Huenke, Kaylin Marcotte, Avito Pacifici, Charlotte Egan, James Noone, Keith Plaster, David & Paula Fillion, Sarah Sweeney, Susan Shea, Bill Croke, Ettore Bergamaschi, Ryan Delaney, Manuela Almeida, Ilda Almeida, Joe Farrell, Ethan D’Amato, Sophie Gagnon, Earl Meyers, Kathleen A. Meehan, Anne Frenette Handly, Jan Igras, Cheryl Sabin, Trish Mul-len, Thomas Corrigan, Fernando Luis Riganti, Frank DeMare, Carmela Franchi, Little Tommy Sullivan, Kathy K., Julie Zaino, Ruth Frost, Benedicto Lopes, Elie Prevost, Roséa Aubrey, Patricia Dunham, & Bella Cashman.

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of GodOn January 1 we celebrate the most ancient Marian feast of the Roman Church. It honors Mary as Theotokos, or "Mother of God," the title accorded her at the Council of Ephesus in 431. This day is observed as a holy day of obligation and Mass will be celebrated at ten o'clock in the morning.

World Day of Prayer for PeaceTuesday, January 1 is designated as the World Day of Prayer for Peace. Pray for peace in all the troubled parts of our world.

For Those Without the Love of FamilyPray for all who have no families, for those who are alienated from or rejected by their families—that they may experience love and acceptance through this Christian community.

For Those Who Are GrievingPray for all who are grieving, particularly children who have lost parents and parents who have lost children to violence—that they may know that God is with them and draw strength and hope from the Holy Family who experienced great loss and pain.

Pope Paul VI Declared VenerableOn December 20, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the "heroic virtues" of Pope Paul VI by declaring him Venerable. This is the first step toward possible canonization. Pope Paul VI led the Church from 1963 to 1978 and took on the name Paul to indicate a renewed worldwide mission to spread the message of the Gospel. Pope Paul VI continued the Second Vatican Council which his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, convened in 1962. A hallmark of his pontificate was the fostering of improved ecumenical relations with Orthodox and Prot-estant churches, which resulted in many historic meet-ings and agreements.

Evening Prayer TonightWe will celebrate Vespers this evening at 6:30 for the Feast of the Holy Family. All are welcome to attend.

Six O'Clock Mass NoteThere will be no six o'clock Sunday Mass tonight. The six o'clock Mass will resume next Sunday, the Epiphany of the Lord.

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SAINT CECILIA PARISH

By THE EDITORS OF "AMERICA" MAGAZINE

It seems to many that the true spirit of Christmas disap-peared from Amer-ican life some time ago. The traditional manger, with shep-herds and angels adoring the infant Savior, is no longer seen in department store windows, and when one appears in a public space, it quickly becomes an occasion for litiga-tion. Offering the traditional greet-ing “Merry Christ-mas” has become an affirmative act of Christian self-identification. In advertising and casual conversation it has been replaced by “Happy Holidays,” because, though the vast majority of Americans profess to be Christians, in this age of interfaith sensibilities Christmas shares bill-ing with Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

All the religious feasts of the season, however, are swal-lowed up in a consumerist frenzy of spending. Economists and broadcast journalists take the fiscal pulse of the na-tion by counting off the length of the shopping line at Best Buy on Black Friday. The biblical Christmas stories have been replaced by How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Frosty the Snowman. Even Frank Capra’s It’s a Won-derful Life, which attempted to redeem the spirit of generosity, in tune with the Gospel message, from the grasp of unregulated capitalism, has been replaced as a Christmas ritual by the nonstop broadcast of Jean Shep-herd’s satirical film A Christmas Story. Culturally there is no doubt the Christian Christmas has been displaced, subverted and buried under a mountain of commercial trivialities and cultural kitsch.

It would be com-forting, of course, if the wider cul-ture re-enforced our faith and if pi-ous Christian cus-toms, like manger scenes and carol-ing, had broader appeal. The crass secularization of the season, how-ever, could well spur us to reflec-tion on a kind of spiritual asceticism that renounces unchallenging sen-timentalism about Christmases past. For appropriating the Gospel spirit

of identifying with the poor, as presented throughout Luke’s narrative, or with the persecuted and refugees, as in Matthew’s account of the flight into Egypt, is far more important for Christians than preserving reassuring public images of the Nativity.

Such attitudes are also more in keeping with the Evan-gelists’ intentions than the representation of their narratives. Neither Mark’s Gospel nor John’s contains an infancy narrative, and John’ s majestic prologue—“The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”—focuses on the mystery of the Incarnation and our share in its bless-ings. If we feel deprived by the vapid secularity of “the holidays,” we would do well to consider instead how we who belong to the body of Christ can extend the grace of the Incarnation to our contemporary world.

Knowing that every person shares in the grace of the Incarnation, how should we celebrate? First, let us

Christmas Present Christians need to retell the Christmas story in ways that awaken the hearts of today’s Scrooges to the meaning of Christmas present

(Article continues in the left column of page 8)

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SAINT CECILIA PARISH

Christmas flowers Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the dead;

to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 1:5–6)

Guerino and Olga AbruzziElsie BangiolaWayne BeauchampCharles and Helen BennettChristine BennettJanet BlevinsRichard BlevinsRobert BlevinsRobert P. Boland Sr.Mr. Mario BonsonRichard H. BourdeauDonald K. BoydJohn BraitRichard J. BrennanVirginia BrostowskiSergio BruUrsula BruerMalcolm BryantMary BryantEric BurgoyneThomas ByronRalph CairoDeb CareyPaolo CarnevaliFernando CarpinoRalph CarrozzaVincent CatalozziRita and Tom CinnamondClaire Theresa (Gauthier) CoffeyJohn CoghlanJames ColliganLori CollegianMichael and Delia ConlonMickey and Joe ContilliDeceased Members of the Cooney, Quigley, and Perelomov FamiliesRichard CorcoranJohn Corriveau

Denis CôtéRev. Msgr. John F. CoxAnne CoyneThomas CoyneLeo CrokeNona CrokeTommy CrokeAttilio CundariDammann FamilyMrs. Rosa De BonsonRobert Emmett DeignanMrs. Gilda De SamaniegoKathy DevinDeceased Members of the Diggins and Duggan FamiliesEvelyn DiggsEdmond DonlanRosella DonlanMr. and Mrs. Donald DotyBarbara DoyleArthur DraperEd DuffyEdward Duffy (Ed)Arthur DunnettAmitya DwihapsariJames and Snookie ElliottStephen EllisNoe EscobedoReyes EscobedoRudy EscobedoAnthony FarinelliJohn FarinelliMichael FischerFenwick and Alma FitzpatrickMichael and Delia FlynnJudy FlynnFranchi and Mancini FamiliesHenry L. Gabriel

Margaret GabrielMark E. GabrielRudy GarzaRoger and Florence GentilhommeFrank GibbonsLillian GibbonsCharles Goodman Sr.Honor GoodmanGrandfather AndrewJames GriffinJames J. GriffinLucy GriffinLucy Ann GriffinLucy B. GriffinMary GriffinMichele GriffinGuadalupe GusmanMary GutierrezMr. and Mrs. HagedishMaria Olivieri HakanssonThe Harig FamilyJoan HayesLuis HernandezMartin HernandezVicente HerreraGeorge HolmanBryce HoltonLeah and Thomas HoltonFred D. IannazziDorothy IgrasAnn JohnsonJoanne Bowen KalerLisa Marie KalerDeceased Members of the Family of M. Joseph KaneMarianne KanePaul KaneRita and George Kane

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SAINT CECILIA PARISH

Andrew KennedyKatherine KennedyRobert KiernanJ. Paul KileyJohn KileyLeo KileyNadezda KileyM. Caroline KinneViola A. KinneThe Kline FamilySergeie KoronenkoJerry and Peggy KuehlerDottie L'AbbeRene L'AbbeGeorge and Margaret LakschewitzEmilia Marie LandryPeter LanzettiLaPiana FamilyThomas Largey Sr.Thomas Largey Jr.Mark LegereKenneth LieblingAndris LiepaLillianSamuel LindraJoseph A. LippoltAnne LoveDelbert LoveBarbara and John MacDonaldMary MacEvoyJohn S. MachadoIlda S. MaguirePaul MaguirePeter MaguireBernard MahanMartin ManadayNatasha MarsonoDianne MattesonChristopher McCarthyMaisie and Gus McKennaJohn McLaughlinAnn Mendelsohn

Martine MessaraJoe MichalskiHuguette L. MichaudBill MitchellMichael and Elsie MontemurroBarbara MorganBob and Martha MormanFrancis X. and Margaret MorseWilliam, Tom, and Jack MoynihanBill MullinDorothy and Frank MullinDeceased Members of the Murphy and Westover FamiliesEd MurphyElizabeth MurphyFrank MurphyMartha MyerJuan NazarioMy Beloved NeldaMarian and Irma NicoliniGrace NisbetGinia OborostovaKatie O’BrienSarah OlanderC. Anthony OlivieriErnesto PalermoBob Patterson "Boo Boo"Gloria PhillipsRoy and Virginia PilleLiz PinoPhyllis and John PiraniAurora PlataVirginia D. PuigDeceased Members of the Quarles FamilyLouis RamosJames J. RichardEunice T. RoddyJose RodriguezBen RosenSergeie SalikovPatrick Sanders

Lewis SawinRobert SchaeferRegis ShanahanElizabeth ShatswellJohn ShatswellPeter ShatswellAnna and Bill SheehanVladimir ShklyarovNicolas SolovieffDorothy StarzykWilliam Starzyk Jr.Earl StricklerAnastasya SubiantoroMary SullivanLewis SwainDoris SouzaLynda TalbotLorraine TeganDeceased Members of the Thomas FamilyJames A. TibbsSuzanne Côté TrombleyValerie TrombleyJohn and Nadine TroppyEliseo UmipegFrank J. UnniFred UsseryBrian Van NostrandGregg Van NostrandAndrew Veneto Sr.Norman and Katherine WelchJudy WilliamsGregg J. WilsonMay Soon Gee YeeWalter YeeRobert Yobaccio

And all the children and staff who lost their lives in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012

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SAINT CECILIA PARISH

srejoice that God is with us, not just at Christmas but at all times, and that there is no corner of the world in which Christ is not present. The rest of the answer will be found in the morning headlines and evening televi-sion news from Afghanistan, Haiti and the Sudan. We will find it in a walk through the soup kitchens, home-less shelters and crime-ridden neighborhoods of our hometowns. There we will find, as Gerard Manley Hop-kins, S.J., wrote, “Christ plays in ten thousand faces/ lovely in limb and lovely in eyes not his.” Our hearts will tell us what to do next. It is in our service of the world, in our defense of human rights, in our welcom-ing of migrants, in the promotion of forgiveness and the fostering of unity among peoples that the power of the Incarnation courses through today’s world.

At the same time, we should not neglect works of imagination that attempt to infuse the popular mind with the Christmas spirit. When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, he intended to redeem the bleak work ethic of Victorian England with a renewal of Christian charity, just as in the wake of the Great Depression Frank Capra sought with It’s a Wonderful Life to revive a sense of community and the common good. Transforming imaginations is integral to incarna-tion. We who are the church—especially artists, writers, filmmakers, advertisers and broadcasters—need to do today what Dickens and Capra did for their times.

New campaigns of evangelization should enlist artists of every sort and utilize every new medium to spread the good news. Christian artists and communicators must find one another and imagine ways to communicate God’s love in an urban, digital culture, as St. Francis did with his crèche in the pastoral Italy of his day. Those with other talents should offer financial support and patronage to the promotion of new Christian art.

Even as we live out the Incarnation in charity and social commitment, through our creativity and inventiveness, Christians need to retell the Christmas story in ways that awaken the hearts of today’s Scrooges to the mean-ing of Christmas present.

This article is reprinted from the December 20, 2010 edition of "America" Magazine.

(Continued from page 5)

FIRE

What makes a fire burnis space between the logs,

a breathing space.Too much of a good thing,

too many logspacked in too tight

can douse the flamesalmost as surely

as a pail of water would.

So building firesrequires attention

to the spaces in between,as much as to the wood.

When we are able to buildopen spaces

in the same waywe have learned

to pile on the logs,then we can come to see how

it is fuel, and absence of the fueltogether, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a loglightly from time to time.

A fire grows

simply because the space is there,with openings

in which the flamethat knows just how it wants to burn

can find its way.

—Judy Brown

From Leading from Within, Ed. by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner

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SAINT CECILIA PARISH

Parish RESOURCESParish Office & Mailing Address18 Belvidere Street, Boston, MA 02115Hours | Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.Phone | 617 536 4548Fax | 617 536 1781E-mail | info@stceciliaboston.orgWebsite | www.stceciliaboston.org

Parish StaffRev. John J. Unni, Pastor, junni@stceciliaboston.orgMark Donohoe, Pastoral Associate for Administration, mdonohoe@stceciliaboston.orgScott J. MacDonald, Director of Faith Formation and Leadership Development, smacdonald@stceciliaboston.orgRichard J. Clark, Director of Music andOrganist, rclark@stceciliaboston.orgMaureen Sullivan, Administrative Assistant to the Pastor, msullivan@stceciliaboston.orgGenevieve Fiorente, Office Administrative Assistant

Assisting ClergyRev. Thomas Gariepy, CSCRev. Peter Grover, OMVRev. James Shaughnessy, SJRev. George Winchester, SJ

Schedule for LiturgyWednesdays During Lent | 6:00 p.m.Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday | 8:00 a.m.Lord’s Day | Sat 5:00 p.m.; Sun 8:00, 9:30, 11:15, & 6:00 p.m.Holy Days | 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

ReconciliationBy appointment at any time and Wednesday evenings from 6:30—8:00 during Lent.

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the communal process through which non-baptized men and women become members of the Catholic Church. It is also suitable for those baptized in different faith traditions who are interested in becoming Catholic, or, for those who were baptized Catholic, but have yet to receive the sacraments of eucharist and confirmation. For more information, please contact Mark Donohoe.

Baptism for InfantsInfant baptism is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month. For more information, please contact Mark Donohoe.

Faith Formation for ChildrenTo register your child for our Faith Formation Program, please contact Scott MacDonald in the parish office.

MarriageCouples who wish to prepare for marriage should contact Mark Donohoe in the parish office at least six months in advance.

Care of the SickTo arrange for the Sacrament of the Sick, for Holy Communion to be brought to those unable to attend the Sunday celebration, or for Viaticum for the Dying (Holy Communion for those in danger of death), please contact the parish office. It is always possible to anoint the sick during regularly scheduled liturgies.

Order of Christian FuneralsThe parish is prepared to celebrate the Vigil (wake) in the church. Please contact the parish office for more information.

Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) TeamThe CAP Team is responsible for training all parish staff and volunteers in mandated reporting laws and the Protecting God’s Children program (VIRTUS). They also provide consultation and support to anyone in the parish who has concerns about reporting child abuse and neglect. Please contact Lois Flaherty (loisflaherty@gmail.com), Maria Roche (maria.roche15@gmail.com) or Letitia Howland (l_howland@hotmail.com) if you have any questions or concerns.The Archdiocese of Boston has in place a vigorous program to protect children from harm and to educate its ministers and faithful about the nature of abuse, with a goal of increasing knowledge, creating a safe environment for children, and recognizing and reporting potentially dangerous situations. The full text of the policy is also available in the narthex and parish office, as well as on our website.

For Those with Celiac DiseaseIf you have celiac disease, please let us know. We have a supply of low-gluten altar bread available for those who cannot tolerate gluten.

Hearing Assistance in ChurchThe church is equipped with an FM listening device. Small receivers are available for anyone who may have trouble hearing the sound system. Simply request a receiver from any one of our greeters before Mass.

Access for the DisabledThe church is accessible by elevator.

ParkingReduced-rate parking (maximum of three hours) is available Sundays at the Prudential Center parking garage, LAZ Parking (53 Belvidere Street), and at the Hilton Boston Back Bay. Please bring your parking ticket to church for validation before returning to the garage.

Joining Our CommunityWe’re happy that you’re with us! Our community offers a warm, spiritual home for a diverse group of Catholics. We come from many neighborhoods in and around Boston but also have parishioners from as far afield as Marlborough, Newburyport, and Stow. Please introduce yourself to a staff member, drop in for coffee on Sunday, or fill out a new parishioner form in the gathering space. No matter what your background, please know that you are always welcome at Saint Cecilia.