Relax! God put the wiggle in children; don’t feel you have to suppress it in God’s house.
Consider sitting toward the front where it is easier for your little one to see and hear what is going on at the altar. They tire of seeing the backs of other people’s heads. Quietly explain the parts of Mass and actions of the priest, altar servers, etc. Sing the hymns, pray, and voice the responses. Children learn liturgical behavior by copying you.
If you have to leave Mass with your child, feel free to do so, but please come back. As Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” If necessary, please consider using the cry room, but remember that you are still participating at the Mass. The cry room is not a play room.
Remember that the way we welcome children in the church directly affects the way they respond to the Church, to God and to one another. Let them know that they are at home in this house of worship.
TO THE MEMBERS OF OUR PARISH: The presence of children is a gift to the church and they are a reminder that our parish is growing. Please welcome our children and give a smile of encouragement to their parents.
Confessions
Masses
Vigil Masses
Christmas Day Masses
December 14th — Grade 2, Parent Meeting at 7:00 PM for children receiving First Penance and Holy Communion.
Next weekend, December 17/18, you are invited to bring your infant Jesus figure from your manger scenes to be blessed at Mass.
Our next food collection will be taken up the weekend of December 17/18. No perishables, please. In November we collected 110 bags and 1 case of food. Thank you to all who gave so generously.
Date: Monday, December 19
Time: 7:00PM – 8:30PM
Location: Church Hall (Basement of the Church)
Presenters: OLMV Parishioner Enzo Ragucci & Fr. Lou
Light Refreshments will be served!
Knights of Columbus Council 12700 will once again be conducting their “Keep Christ in Christmas” fundraiser in the narthex of the church after all weekend Masses during Advent.
Oplatki Christmas wafers will also be available for sale.
The Knights of Columbus would like to thank those who made generous donations to the November 12-13 blanket drive. Almost 200 blankets were given to the St. Vincent DePaul Pantry in Perth Amboy and the Life Choices Pregnancy Center in Phillipsburg to provide the “Gift of Warmth” to those in need. Thanks for making the Blanket Drive a great success.
A person seeking a “sponsor eligibility letter” from OLMV to serve as a godparent for the Sacrament of Baptism or a sponsor for the Sacrament of Confirmation must be an active registered parishioner of OLMV for at least 6 months and must have received all three Sacraments of Initiation, be active in the parish and, if married, be in a valid, Catholic marriage. An “active” Catholic is understood to be a person who attends Mass regularly and whose lifestyle is in keeping with the Catholic faith. He or she should ensure that his or her own school age children are attending Mass, are enrolled in religious education, and have received their sacraments.
In order to be considered a registered parishioner, an adult (persons 21 years of age or older) must submit a completed registration form. These forms can be picked up at the parish office. Completed forms must be brought to the parish in person. Please remind young adults (21 and older) who live with their parents that they must be registered separately with the parish.
Ordinarily, for Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation or Matrimony, or to receive a sponsorship eligibility certificate from this parish, a person must be registered and an active member of OLMV.
The Rosary is prayed every Tuesday and Thursday after the 12:00 noon Mass. All parishioners are invited to join in this most devout form of prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary for peace and the preservation of freedom in the United States.
Please make use of our Meditation Garden. What a beautiful spot to spend a few minutes with our Lord! Our Meditation Garden and Remembrance Walkway project is ongoing, and bricks can be ordered at any time. The next placement of bricks will be during the summer. Remembrance bricks are a beautiful way to remember loved ones or special moments in our lives.
All volunteers are reminded that if their volunteer work at the parish involves working with children, unless each child’s parent or guardian accompanies their child for the entire time, the volunteer needs to have been fingerprinted and have gone through the Protecting God’s Children program, and their credentials must be up to date and on file with our Safe Environment Coordinator at OLMV (Ms. Zmigrodski). Also, no photos that include children may be included on any social media website or platform or in any publication without the prior written consent of the parent or guardian. Many thanks for your understanding and cooperation
While online giving is the best and easiest way to make offertory and special contributions to the parish, many thanks also to all who use the offertory envelopes for making their weekly and special contributions to the parish.
Collection envelopes are currently sent out every other month to about 1300 families in the parish. This is far more than the number of families that actually use them. In order to cut costs and waste, we are in the process of discontinuing envelopes being sent to any family that has not used its envelopes since January, 2019. You should still retain your envelope number and use it whenever you add or make changes to online giving or make a note of the envelope number on the memo line of your check if you make a contribution by check. If for some reason you would still like to receive envelopes, please call Patty in the parish office.
The best way to support the parish is to enroll in our online giving program. Through this program you can determine your donation amount, select the funds or funds of your choice to which to donate, determine the method of payment, and set the frequency of payments (one-time or recurring). Many thanks for your prayerful support and generosity.