Parish Mission: We are a Roman Catholic Par ish located in nor theastern Redding, California,

made up of multi-cultural, multi-generational, faith-seeking peoples. We are nourished by God’s grace and Sacraments,

forming the Body of Christ. To the best of our ability, we seek the will of God by worshiping Him, loving each other

and serving the greater community through ministries of love, worship, prayer and service.

Second Sunday of Advent

Dec. 06, 2015 “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:

all flesh shall see the salvation of God..”

Lk 3:4, 6

Rev. Mario Valmorida Parochial Administrator

Rev. Guillermo Ramirez

Parochial Vicar

Parish Office Hours - Parish Hall Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm

Sunday Masses

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Saturday, 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Anointing of the Sick

Baptism

that is offered on the first Tuesday of the month at

7:00pm in the Parish Hall.

Marriage

Our Lady of Mercy – 2600 Shasta View Drive, Redding, CA 96002

Mary Queen of Peace – Shingletown Ridge Road, Shingletown, CA 96088

Phone - (530) 222-3424 Fax - (530) 221-5717

WEBSITE: WWW.OLMREDDING.NET & FACEBOOK: OUR LADY OF MERCY REDDING

God of all ages... Prepare!

New things usually excite us as we prepare for Christmas, however, our joy and anticipation come from old and familiar things: Yuletide colors and decors, Christmas tunes and carols, and the figure of the first nativity scene-the Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the magi and the shepherds. Added to this is John the Baptist who is the prophet of the preparatory time called Advent.

The hustle and bustle that accompany our unique way of celebrating Christmas often deprive us of a sober Advent. We tend to clip this liturgical season into a much anticipated and prolonged Christmas. If we take the time to reflect and pray, however, we realize how the liturgy of the Word invites us to consider God coming to us in the here and now. For instance, our Gospel on the preaching of John the Baptist makes us realize that:

God is not frozen in history. The Gospel quotes Isaiah who lived in Israel around the second half of the eighth century before Christ. The preaching of John the Baptist is presented as a con-tinuation of the mission of Isaiah who rallied the people of his time to turn away from sin to receive him whom the prophet called "Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace (Is 9:5). This connection of John the Baptist to Isaiah underlines for us what the prophets were for: they were not just the mouthpieces of God; their mission was to prepare the people for the way of the Lord. And God is not the God of an era. In every age-in Isaiah's world, in John's milieu, and in our own time-God prepares the hearts of people for his saving work.

Jesus' coming must ignite our hopes in hard times. By mentioning personalities like Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanias, the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the evan-gelist Luke portrays the world of John the Baptist as one filled with suffering, resentment, and despair. Israel was then occupied by the Romans. Greek language and culture were being im-posed. Even Israel's revered religious tradition was being corrupted by ambitious leaders, against all these, John, "a voice of one crying out in the desert" proclaims: "All flesh shall see the salvation of God." Mightier than the sword and chains is the hope that Jesus' coming brings. Even the prophet Isaiah, in his time, comforted the people with these words of hope-"Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you, to restore the land and allot the desolate heritage" (Is 49:8). Oppression will give way to salvation.

Jesus' coming must bring us to turning points. If God, in Jesus, is about to do new and unex-pected things for men and women of every age, a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be preached. Life cannot continue as in the past: Uniquely, Luke writes: those who sit on mighty thrones (like Herod) and those who occupy seats of honor in the temple and in the syna-gogues (like Annas and Caiaphas) must do one thing...REPENT! Old routines must be set aside.

Mon Isaiah 35:1-10, Luke 5:17-26 Fri Isaiah 48:17-19; Matt 11:16-19

Tue Gen. 3:9-15, 20; Luke 1:26-38 Sat Zech 2:14-17; Luke 1:26-38

Wed Isaiah 40:25-31; Matt. 11:28-30 Sun Zep 3:14-18A; Phil 4:4-7;

Thr Isaiah 41: 13-20; Matt 11:11-15 Luke 3:10-18

Page 2

Are you looking for a life changing experience? Come to our Adoration Room and consider taking one of the available hours. Contact Lee (244-1905) for more information.

RCIA @ OLM meets and has discussions all year long. People who participate come to either: get information over a period of time with no commitment, or because they are interested in becoming a Catholic and receiving the Sacraments, or because they have re-ceived most or all of the Sacraments and want to reacquaint them-selves with the Church teachings. Participants may enter the pro-cess at any time. All are welcome! Contact Charlene at 530-347-2260 or cymru@att.net .

PICTURES of our loved ones from the church are now ready to be

picked-up in the parish hall. Thank You.

Christmas-Around-The-World Pot-Luck is scheduled for Sunday

Dec 27th from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. Please call 222-8152 to sign-up

for a main dish or a desert. Thank You.

High School Youth Ministry meets tonight the 2nd Sunday in Ad-vent from 6:00-7:30 pm in the Parish Hall. Invite a friend to share dinner, Advent preparation and social time. Please bring a canned food item to fill Christmas baskets for those with less.

Youth and Adults are invited to--Share your joy of singing as we sing Christmas carols followed by dinner at the Fairway Oaks Mobile Home Park, 20350 Hole In One Drive, Redding (south of Kent's Meat off of Airport Road) on Dec.12 at 3:30-7:30 pm. For details contact Janan at 222-3424 ext 150 or text 941-4072.

Mon 1AM Fri 7AM, 10AM

Tue 10AM Sat 5AM, 6AM, 7AM

Wed 12Noon, 11PM Sun 12AM

Thr 11AM

DONATIONS & TAXES: If you want to make a year-end gift to our

parish and/or wish to have a summary of your 2015 contributions,

please call the office at 222-3424. The computer program will

“roll over” automatically on Dec 31 at midnight.

Pilgrim Church: Our Lady of Mercy has been chosen as one of eight parishes in the Diocese to be a “Pilgrim Church” for the Year of Mercy. As such, there will be ‘sprucing-up” of the church prop-erty over the next several weeks. We are asking the ministries and all parishioners to participate in the required activities.

Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Sunday Nov 29th—Monday Dec 7th

(see “Week at a Glance” for times & locations)

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Tuesday, December 8th: Holy Day of Obligation

Masses—7am, 6pm (OLM) , 4pm (MQP)

Sat 12/5 5:00 p.m. Efrain Arana +

Sun 12/6 8:30 a.m. Arthur Cortez +

10:30 a.m. Louis DeHerrera +

11:00 a.m. Nick Calabrese +

1:00 p.m. For the People

Mon 12/7 7:30 a.m. Nicolasa Flores, SI

Tues 12/8 7:30 a.m. Richard Heile+ / For the People

Wed. 12/9 7:30 a.m. Cynthia Quan+

Thurs. 12/10 7:30 a.m. Dick Bidwell +

Fri. 12/11 7:30 a.m. Thomas Rall +

Sat. 12/12 5:00 p.m. For the People

Sun. 12/13 8:30 a.m. Alan Cheetham +

10:30 a.m. For the People

11:00 a.m. Nick Masellis +

1:00 p.m. Jesus Garcia +

The Marian Consecration will be on Dec 8th after the 7:00 am

mass and again at 12 noon.

Offertory OLM MQP Total

11/29/15 7,109 494 7,603

YTD 164,139 12,934 177,073

Budget 174,347 13,129 187,476

Difference (10,207) (195) (10,402)

Baker, Bill E. Hays, Dave Nielson, Crystal

Beans, Joseph Holden, Brian Nielson, James

Beaudoin, Bruce Holden, Shannon Pepper, Evelyn

Brown, Sally Mantoani, Tim Rathbun, Joseph

Brussin, Dolores Marks Family Sampson, Edward

Chambers, Russ Messer-Dametz , Nicole Schuner, Roxanne

Coughlin, Tom Morris, John Smith, Jean

Ferreri, Sharon Nielson, Cliff & Millie Snider, Bob & Vi

Ferris, Dorothy Nielson, Clifford Paul

OLM Children’s Faith Formation Program is in need of an adult to coordinate the Christmas Gospel for the 5pm Christmas Vigil Mass. Please call the office if you can offer this valuable service.

Anderson Sacred Heart Mon 21-Dec 7:00 PM

Burney St. Francis Fri 18-Dec 4:00 PM

Red Bluff Sacred Heart Mon 14-Dec 7:00 PM

Redding OLM Thr 17-Dec 6:30 PM

Redding St Joseph Tue 15-Dec 7:00 PM

Weaverville St. Patricks Thr 7-Dec 4:00 PM

Mon 10.00 - 11.00 am Novena I-Heart of Mary Rm 4

12/7 6.00 - 10.00 pm Novena-Lady of Guadalupe Hall

Tues 7.00 - 8.00 am Mass, Immac Conc Church

12/8 8.00 - 10.00 am Pantry Volunteers Hall

10.30 - 12.00 pm Church History Rm. 6

6.00 - 7.30 pm Mass, Immac Conc-BiLingual Church

6.00 - 10.00 pm Novena-Lady of Guadalupe Hall

6.30 - 8.30 pm Church History Rm 6

12.00 - 2.00 pm RCIA - Spanish Rm 2

Wed 11.00 - 1.00 pm RCIA - Spanish Conf Rm

12/9 1.00 - 2.00 pm Legion of Mary Rm 4

5.00 - 7.30 pm CFF Multiple

6.00 - 10.00 pm Novena-Lady of Guadalupe Church

6.00 - 7.30 pm RCIA Rm 4

Thur 9.00 - 3.00 pm Martha's Luncheon Hall

12/10 9.00 - 11.00 am RCIA Rm 4

10.30 - 12.00 pm Bible Salvation Rm. 6

6.00 - 10.00 pm Novena-Lady of Guadalupe Hall

6.30 - 8.00 pm Bible Salvation Rm. 6

Fri 1.00 - 3.00 pm CDA Rm. 2

12/11 6.00 - 10.00 pm Novena-Lady of Guadalupe Hall

7.00 - 8.30 pm Bible Study - Spanish Rm. 2

Sat 8.00 - 10.00 pm Novena-Lady of Guadalupe Hall

12/12 9.00 - 4.00 pm Deacon Training Rm. 4

9.30 12.00 pm Baptisms Church

Sun 9.30 - 10.45 am CFF Multiple

12/13 5.00 - 8.00 pm Spanish Pastorela Practice Hall