The Giving Tree will be filled with Christmas gift suggestions on Saturday, November 23 at both parishes. Please consider taking a tag and purchasing a Christmas gift to help a child who may not otherwise receive a Christmas present. This drive is coordinated by the Social Concerns Committee and the gifts are donated to Catholic Social Services for distribution. All gifts are due back by DECEMBER 9. Thank you for your generosity in making someone’s Christmas brighter.

Where: St. Francis Kitchen

When: Saturday, December 14; 1 to 2:30 PM

Youth ministry groups and confirmation candidates gather to fill some 200 shoe boxes with toiletries to be distributed to guests coming to St. Francis Kitchen on Christmas Day. A great opportunity for service and for our young people to see what happens at St. Francis Kitchen. We’ve been tasked to collect 100 Liquid Body Wash bottles to bring with us. Please drop off Body Wash containers in the entrances of our parishes.

Join us at Kelley Hall at 12 Noon each Wednesday for a free community meal. The nutritious meal, prepared at St. Francis Kitchen, Scranton, is served cafeteria style. All are welcome.

NON-PERISHABLE FOOD COLLECTION

Our Social Concerns Committee is conducting our annual food drive up to and including our Thanksgiving Day Mass. All food items can be dropped off in the vestibule of both churches. All donations will go to our local food pantries. Please help us to serve families in our community.

The Giving Tree will be filled with Christmas gift suggestions on Saturday, November 23 at both parishes. Please consider taking a tag and purchasing a Christmas gift to help a child who may not otherwise receive a Christmas present. This drive is coordinated by the Social Concerns Committee and the gifts are donated to Catholic Social Services for distribution. All gifts are due back by DECEMBER 9. Thank you for your generosity in making someone’s Christmas brighter.

Have you ever thought about serving the Lord at the Altar during Mass? Would you like to help lead the people of your parish in prayer? Are you in the 3rd grade or older? If you answered yes to these questions, then you are a good candidate for the ministry of being an Altar Server. Deacon Musyt will be conducting a training session for new altar servers on Wednesday November 20th and Thursday November 21st at 6:30pm at Holy Cross Parish. Interested servers must attend both practice sessions.

CONFRATERNITY OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN

will hold their meeting on November 2, 2:00 PM at Kelley Hall. All are welcome to attend.

THE CONFRATERNITY OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN is seeking new members!

The Confraternity is one of our parish’s oldest and most dedicated ministries. Members of the Confraternity serve Holy Cross Parish by living out their call to holiness distinctively as women, who are the backbone of this spiritual and charitable organization, which is under the banner of our Blessed Mother. They share a social bond as well as a love of their parish, and the need to participate in helping it grow and prosper. While primarily a spiritual group, the Confraternity also helps organize and run a number of different events throughout the year. Members are also active in volunteering with other parish ministries. Meetings are held monthly. The Confraternity of Christian Women welcomes women of any age for prayer, community, spirituality, service and friendship.

“MAMA MIA” MOVIE NIGHT!

TOur November Movie is “Mama Mia”! Movie will be shown on Thursday, November 14 at 6:30 PM in Kelley Hall. All are invited.

SERVING IN FAITH WITH HOPE AND GRATITUDE

“We are able to help so many people in need because of your generosity.

As we reflect on our Catholic faith, may we open our hearts to be filled with God’s grace and mercy and so enable us to reflect in our lives the theme of this year’s Annual Appeal –

Serving in Faith with Hope and Gratitude.”

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.l.

Bishop of Scranton

From Youth retreats to Pre-Cana Marriage Preparation, Men’s and Women’s Convocations to Catechesis Camp and Lay Ministry certifications, the actual cost to participants for programs offered by the Office for Parish Life is offset with funds from the Annual Appeal. For a complete list of offerings visit DioceseofScranton.org/parish-life.

The goal for Holy Cross is $50,000.00. To date we have raised $32,135.38. The goal for Blessed Sacrament is $17,000.00. To date we have raised $16,105.00. Your donation truly matters. Call 570-207-2250, or give online at AnnualAppeal.org.

Be a minister of God’s hope and love…Help us reach our Parish Appeal goal.

Our Annual Appeal begins in September. New in 2019:

• More direct support to parishes for Social Justice Grants and New Faith Formation Grants

• Increased support for Catholic Social Services

• Opportunity to designate your Appeal gift to the ministry of your choice

• Unique videos featuring parishioners and clergy showing the Appeal at work in your region Gifts to the 2018 Appeal touched thousands of lives:

• 4,143 Families served in Catholic Social Services Food and Clothing Pantries

• 104 Retired & Ill Priests Received Care

• 12 Seminarians receiving tuition and living expenses

• 44 Parishes using Social Justice Grants to serve countless families

• 118 Parishes receiving support in all aspects of Parish Life

• 16,555 Nights of shelter and Support

• 15,000 Children in Religious Education and 4,500 in Catholic Schools.

Share your blessings. Give to the Appeal. Gifts to the Appeal support Diocesan ministries and will not be used to defray legal fees or fund the Survivors Compensation Program.

Catholic Social Services of The Diocese of Scranton offers compassionate counseling in a safe, comfortable environment where your privacy is always respected. Counseling is about self-discovery and can be used for personal growth or when distressing conditions exist and you need a bit of extra support… help is available. Anyone who struggles with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, life transitions or a variety of emotional or psychological conditions is welcome. For more information or to make an appointment, call 570-207-2283.

Unexpected Pregnancy

An unexpected pregnancy may cause one to panic and feel their entire world is falling apart. Pregnancy counseling is available to every pregnant woman regardless of age, race, religion, or marital status. Supportive counseling is also offered to anyone affected by the pregnancy. For assistance or more information call Catholic Social Services at 800-982-4310.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL COUNSELING

Are you or someone you know struggling with problems related to Drugs or Alcohol? For over 80 years Catholic Social Services has helped individuals and families deal with substance abuse. For more information please call Catholic Social Services at 570-829-3489.

In order to hear the voice of God, one has to have silence in one’s soul and to keep silence; not a gloomy silence, but an interior silence, that is to say, recollection in God. One can speak a great deal without breaking silence and, on the contrary, one can speak little and be constantly breaking silence.

……..St. Faustina Kowalska

Meditation is the mother of the love of God, and contemplation is the daughter of the love of God. Contemplation is nothing other than taking delight in the goodness of him whom we have learned to know in meditation, and whom we have learned to love by means of this knowledge.

………..St. Francis De Sales

Let us put our hope in Jesus, the name of salvation given to men and women of every language and race. Confessing his name, let us walk trustfully toward the future, certain that we will not be disappointed if we trust in the most holy name of Jesus. - St. John Paul II

Every moment of prayer, especially before our Lord in the tabernacle, is a positive gain. The time we spend in having our daily audience with God is the most precious part of the whole day.

……….Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Prayer is nothing else than union with God. In this intimate union God and the soul are like two pieces of wax molded into one; they cannot anymore be separated. It is a very wonderful thing, this union of God with his insignificant creature, a happiness passing all understanding.

……..St. John Vianney

Our Lady of the Rosary

Mary, Mother of Christ, tech us to pray your rosary as it should be prayed. For these ordinary beads strung on threads hold within themselves all the mysteries of our holy faith and all the main ways of prayer. Mary, Queen of the Rosary, open to us its holy secrets. Let it be our door to the heart of your son, his Father, and the Holy Spirit. ………….Catherine Doherty

"May is a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. This is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month is which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne."

……..Pope Paul VI

Meditation is the mother of the love of God, and contemplation is the daughter of the love of God. Contemplation is nothing other than taking delight in the goodness of him whom we have learned to know in meditation, and whom we have learned to love by means of this knowledge. ……..St. Francis De Sales

The More you pray, the more you want to pray. It’s like a fish that starts by swimming near the surface of the water then plunges and goes on swimming deeper and deeper. The soul plunges, is swallowed up, loses itself in the delights of conversation with God. ….St John Vianney

Parents who are sitting in the choir loft with their children, are asked NOT to sit in the first row due to safety issues. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

Know a Marriage That Needs Help?  Throw them a lifeline and tell them about Retrouvaille, an international program that helps couples who are experiencing marital difficulties. This program is for all couples, at any stage of marriage that needs help to communicate with each other in a more attentive and loving manner. The next program in the Scranton Diocese begins Feb. 26-Feb. 28, 2016, at The Ramada Inn, Clarks Summit, PA. Please call 800-470-2230 for more information or to register or visit the website at www.helpourmarriage.org.