As Catholics, we are called to serve others. Certainly, our Parish has demonstrated this during the Season of Advent by your generosity to the needy of our Parish and of our Community. As Catholics, we are also called to be people of prayer.

During this flu season, Archbishop Levada has strongly recommended that any parishioners who are worried about the spread of the flu virus abstain from receiving the Eucharist from the cup, not hold hands at the Our Father, forego shaking hands at the sign of peace and receive the Body of Christ in the hand rather than on the tongue. He also wrote to all Pastors asking us to remind parishioners that the obligation to attend Mass does not apply if they are seriously sick. I know that all of us will respect the decision of those who are concerned about their health and health of others.

Let us pray for one another.

Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24th
4:30 p.m., Children’s Choir
8:00 p.m., Evening Choir
12:00 a.m., Midnight Mass, Adult Choir

Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th
7:30 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
NO MASS at 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 1, 2002
9:00 a.m. Only

Awake, all people! For your sake God has become man. Awake, who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.

Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption. Let us celebrate the festive day on which he who is the great and eternal day came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time.

He has become our justice, our sanctification, our redemption, so that, as it is written: Let him who glories glory in the Lord.

Truth, then, has arisen from the earth: Christ who said, I am the truth, was born of a virgin. And justice looked down from heaven: because believing in this new born child, man is justified not by himself but by God.

Truth has arisen from the earth: because the Word was made flesh. And justice looked down from heaven; because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

Justified by faith, let us be at peace with God: for justice and peace have embraced one another. Through our Lord Jesus Christ: for Truth has arisen from the earth. Through whom we have access to that grace in which we stand, and our boast is in our hope of God's glory. He does not say: " of our glory" but of God's glory: for justice has not proceeded from us but has looked down from heaven. Therefore he who glories, let him glory, not in in himself, but in the Lord.

For this reason, when our Lord was born of the Virgin, the message of the angelic voices was: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.

Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God?

Kindergarten Applications-St. Robert School will be accepting applications for Kindergarten for the 2004-2005 school year January 7 thru January 14, 2004 at the school office. You will need to bring copies of your child's birth certificate, baptismal record, social security card recent family photo and a check for $30.00 to cover the testing fee.

Applications for other grades will not be accepted until May 2004.

Open House-St. Robert School will hold its annual Open House on Monday evening, January 12th. The evening will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Church, followed by classroom visitations. All are welcome.

Thank you for your generosity on Thanksgiving Day. We were able to give $1,660 to our St. Vincent de Paul and $1,660 to Catholic Worker House in San Bruno.

Christmas Is Almost Here!
Now is the time for panicking for some of us who haven't sent Christmas cards and still have presents to buy. Some people wouldn't mind (I hope!) receiving their cards by Epiphany since lots of folks know about the European Catholic custom of celebrating Little Christmas on that day. Christmas for Catholics really does extend to the Baptism of the Lord, January 11 this year.

May we not miss the wondrous words of this Sunday's readings! The Savior will come from a teeny town called Bethlehem and "his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace." Our God of surprises has done it again. Born into an ordinary village in an unlikely part of the world, far away from centers of civilization and commerce, comes the Holy One who will take away the dis-ease within us which causes conflict. And in the gospel, two pregnant women meet, one carrying the Messiah and the other, his forerunner. John in the womb is already moved by the presence of Jesus! How amazing these two: one beyond child-bearing age; the other, young and unmarried, overshadowed by the Spirit. Elizabeth in need and Mary willing to walk the 80 miles to Ain Karim to help her elderly cousin prepare for childbirth. [Zechariah, Elizabeth's husband, barely gets a mention since he has been silenced for his refusal to believe that God could do such a miracle as granting Elizabeth and him a child. How humbled he must have felt as he watched her growing big with God's other promised child!]

And what about us? Can we imagine God working wonders in someone we wouldn't choose? Can we be open to God's presence anywhere and everywhere in our lives?

Advent Evening Prayer
In this very busy week, you are invited to come tomorrow (Monday) at 7:30 p.m. for an Advent Evening Prayer with scripture readings, quiet and song. Fr. Tom will be leading us in this opportunity to ready our hearts for his coming.

Listed our a few of the food stuffs that we are running low on: jams and jellies, canned vegetables, cereal and oatmeal, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, juices, packaged cookies, and other condiments, and canned meats and tuna. Cereals are in high demand.

We are also collecting Gift Certificates and Scrip for MOLLYSTONE, ALBERTSON'S, LUNARDI'S, and SAFEWAY  in lieu of frozen turkeys. You may make out certificates to Saint Vincent de Paul and either mail them or drop them in the rectory mailbox.

Our St. Vincent de Paul Society (at St. Robert's) wants to thank our parishioners for all their wonderful donations. We were able to bring two full bags of food, plus scrip and gifts to 40 homes with 90 children on Saturday. With help from Rob and Cathy Aveson, George Lynch and Mike Salvato, many gifts were made available to all these families. Volunteers: Janet Aldinger, Lisa Mooney-DeLuca, Cara DeLuca, Bruce & Sophia Chester, Nancy McMahon, Bunny Moniz, Bill Root, Sandy Mangold, Carlo & Marie Noce, Gerry Huddleston, as well as the newly formed SVdP volunteers from St. Bruno's Conference: Aliza Alverez, Josephine Palfox, Isidro; Mary Pleas, Frances & Terry Cruz, and Lola & Joe Lavulo. These Santa Clause Elf Helpers that formed SIX teams completed this task in under two hours. I also want to thank again, Mary & Margaret Shypertt, who allowed us to use their "spacious garage" as "Santa's Workshop" to store and sort all our presents. Thanks to everyone!