Today the Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King which concludes the current Liturgical Church year cycle. Next Sunday the Advent Seasons starts and in between we celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving. This Sunday, November 21st is also the feast of the Presentation and Congregational feast for Presentations Sisters. During the nine days preceding November 21st Presentation Sisters worldwide unite in a special Novena of prayer. All of our friends, co-workers, associates, graduates and benefactors are remembered in prayer.

Many parishioners who are Presentation graduates are familier with the story of our foundress Nano Nagle. She started the Congregation on Christmas Eve 1775 in Cork City, Ireland. This was the result of more than twenty years of loving service to the poor in that city. From those small beginnings the congregation spread to many parts of the world. Just last week the Presentation Sisters of Turk street, San Francisco, celebrated the 150th Anniversary of their arrival in the city November 13, 1854. The pioneering spirit which inspired Nano's sisters long ago is still alive and active as we see new foundations in Latin America, in Eastern Europe, Israel, Thailand and in countries where the Sisters are already established.

To read more about our Congregation please visit our web site at wwwpresentationsistersunion.org

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, the Savior of the world who reigns from the cross. Hopefully, his compassionate forgiveness of “the Good Thief” in the midst of his own suffering is a reminder that we have a merciful God, overflowing with love for us, no matter what we do. It is not a coincidence that the Church wants us to remember this on the last Sunday of the liturgical year.

Next Sunday, we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the Church’s liturgical year and one of the most challenging seasons for us to enter into. The stores are already festooned with Christmas décor and the first Christmas tree was lit last night! None of us would dream of celebrating Easter the day after Ash Wednesday, yet we so easily rush past Advent to get to Christmas. Didn’t many of us grow up being reminded that “Anything worth having is worth waiting for?” How will our children ever understand the importance of waiting if we don’t give them the experience of it? They are used to counting down the days to their birthdays; can’t we help them do the same with Christmas? But could you at least have a few weeks of Advent beforehand? Having an Advent wreath is helpful because each week you light one candle and pray a simple prayer as you gather around the wreath before dinner or some other time. Just make a ring of evergreens on a plate, add three purple and one pink candle, with ribbons if you’d like. The three purple candles remind us that it’s a time of preparation, a time of “back to basics,” such as bringing food for the poor and asking around to be sure that no one we know will be alone on Christmas Day. The one pink candle is for the third Sunday, Gaudete which means “be joyful” because the long-awaited day is almost here. You might also wear purple to church during Advent, saving your Christmas garb for a special concert, the office party and Christmas Eve and Day. If you put your nativity set out with your tree, why not have the figures “travel” from a back room each day so that they arrive on Christmas Eve?

I know that keeping Advent is difficult because most of us didn’t grow up with it and may not really understand it. And if you’re going away for the Christmas holidays, you want to enjoy your tree before you go. In my community, some of us also visit family during Christmas, so we put up the tree on a day when we all can participate in the decorating, with Christmas music and hot cider, usually around the 17^th. We open our gifts after Christmas when everyone has returned and we can do it without squeezing it in among reconciliation services, parish gatherings, etc. The “12 Days of Christmas” are actually from the 24^th til the Feast of the Epiphany! Though every decoration is gone from the stores on Dec. 26^th, we Catholics have only just begun to celebrate this great feast, second only to Easter.

Before lighting the first candle on November 27 or 28, gather your household and bless your wreath with the following prayer:

By day and by night and through every season, you watch over us, Faithful God. We praise you for this wreath. It is the evergreen crown of your royal people, and it shines with promise of eternal victory. By the light of this wreath we shall wait in patience for your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will comfort our fears and bring hope to our waiting world. All glory be yours, now and forever. Amen.

Then say this prayer as you light the first purple candle on your wreath:

Dear Father, as we begin this holy season of Advent, help us to remember that your love for us is endless like a circle. Teach us to wait these weeks and to make time for you, so that we may hear your voice. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You may light the candle(s) once a week on Saturday evening or Sunday or each evening during the week.

Welcome Home!
Following the example of Jesus who was always welcoming to everyone, our parish staff would like to invite all of us to extend an invitation to those Catholics we know who, for one reason or another, have quit coming to church. Sometimes, people move and never quite get settled enough to locate the nearest church; sometimes, one has to work weekends and gets out of the habit; sometimes, a person goes through a divorce and thinks (mistakenly) that he/she is no longer welcome at Mass. Others have had a negative experience with someone connected with the Church. Often, once a person has missed Mass for weeks or months (or years), he/she feels so guilty that they think they can never come back. Those of us who know Jesus as the Good Shepherd or can identify with the Prodigal Son know that, regardless of the reason, anyone and everyone is always welcome in God's house.

As has been the tradition of St. Robert’s for many years, during the month of November we show our thanks to our God for all He has given us by sharing what we have with our hungry sisters and brothers. Please bring non-perishable food items to the baskets placed on our altar steps...Our St. Vincent de Paul Society will distribute your gifts.

We will prepare dinner for the homeless on Tuesday, November 23rd from 7-8:30 p.m. in the hall. Please call Juan at 255-0791 by Monday, November 22nd if you can help. Also, please be advised that the e-mail account juansantos@saintroberts.org, is no longer valid. If you need to e-mail Juan, please use SRYOUTHMINISTER@aol.com.

Once again this Christmas Season, we as a parish family will have an ADOPT-A-FAMILY GIVING TREE.

There are many people in San Mateo County who don’t have the means to celebrate Christmas as they might like. At the same time, many in our parish can celebrate with their families and share with those in need. An ADOPT-A-FAMILY program is a way to do this.

On the weekends of November 27th and 28th and December 4th and 5th we will have a “Giving Tree” set up in front of church after all of the masses. This tree will be “decorated” with paper ornaments containing a profile of a family you might be able to help.

If you have the means to share your Christmas spirit, stop by after any of the Masses on either of these weekends and pick an ornament. Gifts will be collected after Masses the weekend of December 11th and 12th, and 18th and 19th.

Thanksgiving Prayer

Gracious and generous God,
We come before you today
With grateful hearts.

In the beauty and bounty of creation
We see the work of your hand;
In the loving faces around us
We know your own love for us.

May this meal nourish us and strengthen us,
So others may know your plenty
In our kindness,
And see your care and concern
In our witness.

Many of you have probably asked that same question in the last couple of months. First, I would like to thank you for your patience in learning some new mass parts. It isn’t easy to learn that much new music in a short time. I wish there were an easier way to do it, but unless we can get a mass rehearsal with everyone in the church, teaching the music before mass is our best solution.

Having said all that, I’d like to say why we have been teaching new Mass parts. As we go through the liturgical year of the church, the different seasons have a different tone. Lent does not have the same feeling as Christmas. So, not only do the hymns change, based on the season (and scripture readings), but so should the Mass parts. Now that we have a repertoire of different mass parts that we know, we can interchange them through out the year. We should not need to learn any new pass parts for awhile.

With that in mind, we are about to enter the season of Advent. This is a short four weeks of preparation and expectation for the coming of Jesus. The look of the church will change, and the hymns will also speak of our need to prepare us for the coming events. For this year, we will not change the mass parts at this time, but there will be other changes that will help set the mood. First of all, the Gloria is omitted, and there will be an Advent Litany led by the cantor. We also will not sing, but say the Lord's Prayer.

Now its time for a short commercial. We need singers! Due to illness and other commitments, our choir has dwindled. As in the past, I am offering many different types of commitment. I would love to have all of you come to all rehearsals and 9:30 am. Liturgies, but if that is too much to ask, we really need singers for Christmas Eve and Holy Week. We do have some singers not coming to rehearsals, but simply coming to help sing on Sunday morning. Whatever level of commitment you can give, I would appreciate it. Please see me after Mass or give me a call to find out more details or to let me know you want to sing. Remember, in this season of Thanksgiving, giving of our time and talents is as important as our financial resources.

I hope for the happiest and healthiest Thanksgiving for you and your families!