Parish Church of St. Christopher 

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is usually on December 8th. Be cause that date falls on a Sunday in Advent, the So lemnity moves to the following day, Monday, Decem ber 9th. Since the Blessed Mother in the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the US, the Holy See has declared that December 9th should be a Holy Day of Obligation. Because there has not been enough time to sufficiently educate the people, Archbishop Perez has declared that the obligation to attend Mass on December 9th for the Solemnity is removed this year. Even so, we are offering Mass for this Solemnity at 8:30AM and 11:00AM on Monday, December 9th.

All are welcome to our Parish Christmas Concert! Sunday, December 8th! Saint Christopher Parish Choir, Children’s Choir, Cantors, Parish Lectors and Students from our PREP Program will participate. Join us on Sunday, December 8th at 5:00PM for an evening of song and reflection as we celebrate the seasons of Advent and Christmas. The concert will be followed by a reception in Holy Family Hall.

With the coming of the Christmas season, we will continue our Se cret Santa initiative. If you would like to participate in this ven ture, you can drop off your donation at the parish office or you can place it in the regular collection in an envelope with the words “Secret Santa” on it. Last year we were able to help a number of families have a nicer meal for Christmas and to give more worth while presents to their children.

During the weekend of December 7th and 8th, there will be paper ornaments on the Christmas Tree, each with a gift suggestion on for the children in the Mis sion of St. Joan of Arc Parish (Christmas Bells), the Ladies in Dawn’s place (Gingerbread Men) and the Blessed Sacrament Sisters at Paul’s Run (Stockings). Please take one of the ornaments from the tree! The following weekend, December 14th and 15th, bring your gifts to Church and place them in the baskets on the altar at the Offertory of the Mass. We ask that you bring the gifts in a gift bag with the ornaments taped securely to the outside of the package to facilitate sorting.