St.

Helen Church
4106 Mountain St.
Beamsville, ON L0R 1B7
Ph: 905-562-7427
Fax: 905-563-0003
Email: office@sthelenscatholic.ca
Opened - October 2, 1938 Est. as a Parish - January 1, 1986
Pastor: Rev. Krzysztof Szczepanik Sunday Masses:
Office Administration: Aggie Agnino Saturday: 5:00pm
Sunday: 9:00am, 11:00am *
*(Children’s Liturgy of the Word)
Office hours:
Tuesday to Friday 9:00am - 3:00pm Weekday Masses:
Closed on Mondays and all Statutory holidays Tuesday: 6:30pm
Wednesday to Friday: 9:00am
Website: www.sthelenscatholic.ca 2nd Friday at Albright: 10:00am
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/sthelenscatholic 3rd Friday at Mennonite: 10:00am

Kindly complete the following and place in the collection basket.

Envelopes will be on theMerry Christmas!
round table in the foyer the following weekend.
☐ New Parishioner* Joyeux Noel! Buon ☐ Change of address
Natale! ☐ Moving
Khristos Razhdayetsya!
Name________________________ Phone_________________ E-mail___________________
Feliz Natal! Feliz Navidad Wesolych Swiat! Sretan Bozic! Frohe Weihnachten!
Address______________________________________________ City_____________________
Kala Christougena! Natale Hilare!
☐ I would like to use offertory envelopes* Postal Code______________
 Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year A
December 22, 2019
Mass Intentions
 December 24 - December 29, 2019
As we gather, let us remember and pray for . . .
th
Tues. ~ …...………Christmas Eve...….….….. Dec. 24
5:00 pm + Wilhelm Timms (by Kevin Burns)
11:00 pm
+ Anna Guerriero-Armstrong
(by Maria & Aniello deStefano)
Wed. ~ ……..The Nativity of the Lord….….. Dec. 25th
9:00 am For the People of St. Helen Parish
11:00 am + Renaldo Minello & + Ivan Zuzek
(by Sue Zuzek)
Thurs. ~ …...St. Stephen, The First Martyr….. Dec. 26th
9:00 am Intn’s of Vera DeLaat
(by Helen & Andy Hendriks)
Fri. ~ …St. John, Apostle & Evangelist…… Dec. 27th
9:00 am + Rosa & Vittorio Hrvatin
(by Hrvatin Family)
Sat. ~ ……The Holy Innocents, Martrys..... Dec. 28th
5:00 pm For the People of St. Helen Parish
Sun. ~ …………The Holy Family...………… Dec. 29th
9:00 am + Guglielmo & Angela Ricci
(by Ricci Family)
11:00 am + Pasquale Burgio (by Giuseppina Burgio)
MINISTRY FOR THE SICK AND
HOMEBOUND
We are grateful to those who give of
their time and care to bring Holy
Communion to our parishioners who cannot make it to
church due to sickness or infirmity. If you know of
anyone who would like to receive communion in their
home or while hospitalized at West Lincoln Hospital,
please contact the parish office.
PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY
The Prayer Shawl Ministry continues
to create handcrafted shawls for
parishioners, their families and friends
who are coping with illness, loneliness,
pain or trouble. They are available to anyone who
needs one. Please call the office to request a shawl or
lap blanket or if you would like to join this ministry.
A PRAYER WITH SONG OF TAIZE
January 4, March 21, June 20
2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Introduction and Song Practice,
2:30 - 3:30 pm. Prayer
Monastery of Mount Carmel, 7020 Stanley Avenue,
Niagara Falls, 905-356-4113 or Contact Eunji Kim -
eunji@fountaintree.ca All are welcome!
This week, the Sanctuary Lamp burns in
memory of:
+ VITTORIO & ROSA HRVATIN
The Sanctuary Lamp burns to remind us of Christ’s
presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.
If you wish to sponsor the sanctuary lamp for one
week, the stipend is $35.00
our parish prayer
Jesus, open our hearts, enabling us to embrace
your teachings and to love one another. Holy
Spirit, lift us and lead us, deepening our desire to
serve God through serving each other. Amen.
BINGO GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR PURCHASE
Looking for that perfect gift? Stumped for gift ideas for
someone? Purchase a St. Helen Bingo Gift Certificate,
only $20.00 for Thursday Bingo (at the Legion) or
$25.00 for Friday Bingo (Angelina Prokich Great Hall).
Certificates available at the Bingos or the parish office.
CWL NEWS
Ladies, please join us for the Installation of CWL
Officers on Tuesday, January 7th after the 6:30 p.m.
Mass. It would be nice to see as many members out as
possible. After we will have a very brief meeting and a
social hour after in the church hall.
ENJOY SINGING? NEED A
NEW CHALLENGE? CONSIDER
JOINING OUR CHOIR!
Singing with others can be more
rewarding, not to mention you will
enhance your circle of friends!
Learning to sing sacred music is an
opportunity for growth as you expand your
understanding of God and the experience of worship.
Singing is also a way to relax and relieve stress from
our every day pressures in life. Our choir is looking for
people to contribute their talents to help make our
Masses and gatherings just that much more special.
Join us! (or at least talk to us… nothing is lost by
simply asking). Come out to any choir practice on
Wednesday’s at 7:00 p.m. or speak to any choir
member. Choir members needed for all three Masses.
Think on it! Pray on it! ACT on it!
OFFICE HOURS CHRISTMAS WEEK
The office will be closed for the holidays from Monday,
December 23, 2019 – Wednesday, January 1, 2020. The
office will re-open on Thursday, January 2, 2020.
 Fourth Sunday of Advent
Look, the virgin is with child. (Isaiah 7)
Jesus Christ, descended from David, was declared to be
the Son of God. (Romans 1)
Jesus was born of Mary, who was engaged to Joseph,
son of David. (Matthew 1)
In Christ, the Spirit of God who
inspired the prophets to preach, who
enabled the nation of Israel to enter into
the covenant with Yahweh, intervenes
and sanctifies all of human history.
The “mystery” of the Incarnation is
not that God could become one of us –
the inexplicable part is how and why
God could love humankind enough to
humble himself to take on the human condition and
walk with us, talk with us, die for us.
We have reason to rejoice and to hope, for in our
midst dawns Emmanuel – “God with us.”
Joseph, the “just” and “upright” man, is a model of
compassion, forgiveness and faith for all of us who are
moms and dads, children, brothers and sisters.
God’s coming depends on “Josephs” – men and
women of humility, selflessness and openness of heart
and spirit – to welcome him and embrace his presence
in our midst.
4th WEEK OF ADVENT
The whole purpose of these Advent reflections pages has been to help us
find intimacy with God in the midst of our everyday lives. So we have
focused on using the background times of our days to create an interior
atmosphere that allows us to wait, to hope, to come into contact with our
longing and our desire.
The length of the Fourth Week of Advent depends on
when Christmas Eve and Christmas fall in the week.
Perhaps we can use these days to try to heighten our
awareness of whatever is going on in our lives these
days, and how that can bring us to Christmas. Some
examples might help.
So many of us experience the ironic reality that
Christmas can be the most lonely time of our
lives. Some of these “mixed feelings” or “sad feelings”
are difficult to recognize or name.
For some of us, the Christmas we will celebrate this
year pales in comparison to wonderful Christmases of
our past - perhaps because we were younger or more
“innocent” then, perhaps because some of our loved
ones who were central to our Christmas are no longer
living or not where I am, perhaps because the burdens
and struggles of my life or the changes in our world and
the conflicts around us have robbed this Christmas of
something that was there before.
For some of us, Christmas will be just another
day. Unable to get out to go to church to be with a faith
community, and without family or friends to be with,
Christmas will be a day we are tempted to ignore.
For some of us, Christmas inevitably means family
conflicts. Facing the days ahead, whether it be the last
few remaining parties, or conflicting demands of family
and friends, or the friend or relative who drinks too
much, or the experience I'm having that I drink too
much and this season is an easy excuse.
For some of us, Christmas challenges us with terrible
financial burdens. Children today become victims of
the gross commercial exploitation of the day. For those
of us struggling to make ends meet on a day to day
basis, feeling the cultural pressure of buying for our
children things which we can't afford, can lead us to put
more debt on the credit card in ways that simply push
us further and further behind.
Some of us, might be really looking forward to
Christmas, and not be aware of these struggles with
Christmas, yet feel that, in spite of our best efforts to
make Advent different this year, there is still something
missing, and we still feel unready for Christmas.
For all of us, the story behind these days can draw us
in, and invite us to bring our lives to the mystery of how
Jesus came into this world and why. Our best
preparation for the Holy Night ahead and the Joyful
Morning to follow is for us to reflect upon how he
came. He came in the midst of scandal and
conflict. He came in poverty. He was rejected before
he was born. He was born in a feed trough. He was
hunted down. And he grew up in obscurity.
He did not shun our world and its poverty and
conflict. He embraced it. And he desires to embrace us
today, in this day. Right where we are. Right where we
are feeling most distant. Right were we are feeling least
“religious” or “ready.” If we let him come into our
hearts to be our Savior these challenging days, we will
find ourselves entering the sacred night and morning of
Christmas “joyful and triumphant” as never before.
Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people.
We await your coming. Come, O Lord.
(Creighton Online Ministries)
CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE
Mass times:
Christmas Eve Dec. 24: 5:00 p.m. (Children’s Mass)
11:00 p.m.
Christmas Day Dec. 25: 9:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
New Year’s Day Jan. 1: 10:00 a.m.