November 20, 2021 | Weekly Update

 


November 20, 2021 | Weekly Update

Praise forever to the King of Kings! 


After honoring our dead and hearing this month of the apocalypse (“unveiling”) and end times, this November Sunday closes the Church’s liturgical year with the great feast of “Christ the King.”  


Pontius Pilate, and all the political rulers throughout history, have limited power.  But we profess faith and loyalty to a King who is truly just, merciful, fatherly, and loving to the point of death.  The ancestor of King David, Jesus, fulfilled every prophecy of the Old Testament and desires for us to spread this Good News until His Kingdom might finally be established here on earth.

Jesus declares in our Gospel reading:
“For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
 (John 18)

To prepare our hearts before we go to Holy Mass this weekend, hear Bishop Barron’s thoughts on the divine kingship of Jesus in the video in the Flocknote email.

We look forward to seeing you at any of the Holy Mass times this weekend where Father Don will be preaching.
  Don’t forget to stop by to visit Jesus at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel or at daily Mass during the week.


“He who prays for the coming of God’s kingdom prays rightly to have it first within himself.” -Origen, priest and Church Father

 


LOOKING AHEAD


Children’s Liturgy of the Word CLOW Volunteers
  • Every Sunday at the 10am Mass is the beautiful ministry of the Children’s Liturgy of the Word.  Do you love children and caring for them while they listen to the Gospel?  Please connect with Mary Jo Trapani maryjot@olmercy.com or Jean Palasz jeanp@olmercy.com to volunteer.

St. Vincent de Paul Society Volunteers
  • Thank you for your support of our clothing drive. Your clothing donation, as well as your financial donations throughout the year, allows us to help our parishioners and neighbors in need. In 2020 over 120 people/families were provided assistance.
  • The ministry is always looking for volunteers to join our St. Vincent de Paul Society in assisting our neighbors in need. If you would like to volunteer or learn more, send an email at olmsvdp@gmail.com with your name and contact information.

Supporting OLM through the CMAA

Have you downloaded our myParish App yet?
  • If you haven’t done so, we encourage you to download the Our Lady of Mercy app available to download for iPhone and Android smartphones.  Or text APP to 88202 to download.
    • Stay connected with our parish throughout the week with instant notifications, an easy-to-access event calendar, and the ability to quickly reply to or share messages via Facebook or Twitter. Also enjoy a bunch of additional features like prayers, daily readings, helpful reminders to silence your phone before Mass or Confession, and much more.

GROW GROUPS | WE CONTINUE TO LAUNCH GROW GROUPS, ONE GROUP AT A TIME
Connect with zara@olmercy.com for any questions.

CONSUMING FIRE YOUNG ADULT GROW GROUP

Mission. This group exists to grow a community that inspires and forms the young adult generation to be saints.
WebsiteProceed here for details.
Meets. Tuesdays @ 7pm and twice a month for social gatherings.
Connect.  Reach out to Matt Kubanda and Mary Rysavy rysavyme@gmail.com
See what they have been up to at this video.

VINE & BRANCHES GROW GROUP

Mission.  Vine & Branches is a group at Our Lady of Mercy that offers support and belonging to individuals of any age or faith who are divorced or separated on the way to divorce.
Website.  Proceed here for details
Meets
. Wednesdays @ 7pm with social gatherings.
Connect. The group leaders are looking forward to hearing from you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to them.
Kim Harris kimharris73@yahoo.com
Mary LoGalbo logalbo.marycarol@gmail.com
John Frederick jdfredericj@icloud.com
Jim Marks jimm6351@yahoo.com
Check out the video to find out more about Vine and Branches


GROW YOUR FAITH
FREE ONLINE RESOURCES In this section, you will find free conferences, webinars, and studies that you can freely take part in that can grow your faith.

FORMED.ORG

Diving into the beauty of the Faith has never been easier: at home, on the go, or from any internet-connected device. Discover thousands of books, audio talks, movies, documentaries, and studies… there is something for every member of the family to help them grow closer to Christ and His Church.

  1. Visit http://signup.formed.org/
  2. Enter our parish zip or name
  3. Enter your name and email

EUCHARIST RESOURCES

Check out our “Eucharist Resources” page to help us understand deeply the centrality of the Eucharist in our lives and the great Feast of Corpus Christi.

AMEN – CATHOLIC MEDITATION APP

From Augustine Institute comes this NEW & FREE Catholic prayer app that inspires your daily conversation with God through faithful meditations and nourishing Scripture. There is also Family Content: Enjoy and share family-favorite audio from the series Brother Francis and the Jesus Stories.  Please enjoy this latest offering from the Augustine Institute.

WORD ON FIRE

Did you know that you have complete access to Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire ENGAGE video library!   Check out this linkto watch any of the videos whenever you want without ever having to login.

HEROIC MEN

Looking for authentically Catholic content for men? Look no further than HeroicMen.com—the all-new, 100% FREE Catholic streaming platform for men.

Learn about your faith from today’s best Catholic speakers—and do it all from the convenience of home. Stream-on-demand from your phone or tablet, too, for quality Catholic content on the go.

Get it all—for FREE – at HeroicMen.com

AQUINAS 101 FREE COURSES

Have you wanted to get to know St. Thomas Aquinas and his writings more so as to grow closer to Jesus?
Sign up for any of the short and free courses at Aquinas 101 a project of the Thomistic Institute seeks to promote understanding of the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the eminent 13th-century philosopher, and theologian.
Aquinas is a masterful interpreter of reality. His writings assist us in answering perennial questions on topics like God, man, the natural world, law, and morality, and questions of special relevance to our time like the relationship between modern science and faith or pursuing happiness in the digital era.

CATHOLIC APOLOGETICS CONFERENCE 

BE EQUIPPED TO DEFEND THE FAITH!
There are no shortages of assaults on the Church today. In a world of increasing challengers to the Faith, we need to know, now more than ever, why we believe what we believe.
This conference is about answering your tough questions on the Catholic Faith and equipping you with the knowledge to withstand the challenges that are sure to come.
Details and registration for this FREE virtual conference are found here.


PASTORAL CARE
If you have physical, mental, emotional or spiritual health concerns or questions about end-of-life issues, funeral planning, journeying through grief, caregiving for a loved one or are homebound, please contact Jolene LeRoy RN Parish Nurse and Director of Pastoral Care for support and resources at jolenel@olmercy.com or 331-707-5380.

OPEN HEARTS MINISTRY 

The next scheduled in-person gathering for Open HEARTS Ministry is Monday, November 8 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm in Room 218 in the Parish Life Center. The ministry is for anyone who is interested in emotional and mental health and wellness. The ministry has an interest in decreasing the stigma of mental illness and increasing the awareness of support and resources. The topic of discussion will be on MERCY – God’s mercy and how we are called to live a life of mercy in relationship to our faith and mental health and wellness. If you would like to learn more about the ministry, please send an email to Janice Hurtado Aeppli at olmopenhearts@yahoo.com

RESTORE

Do you find yourself struggling in overcoming your battle with pornography?   Restore is a weekly (anonymous) meeting where men lean on each other for support and accountability and share ideas as to how to strengthen our resolve to stay on God’s path of chastity.  All men are welcome, whether you have been free of pornography addiction for many years or struggle with it every single day.

If you are ready to start breaking free from the grips of pornography and want to Restore your life email us at Restore.olm@gmail.com to find out more information on when and where we meet.

Be encouraged; check out this Testimony.