Of Many things…
As previously reported, because the 2nd Sunday of Advent has priority in the liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is moved to Monday, Dec. 9th, but the obligation is NOT transferred. So we will celebrate the Feast day with ONE mass, at our usual 8 A.M. time in the morning.
Secondly, the Advent Liturgy for our grade school children will be on Wednesday, Dec. 18th at 6:30pm. Thus, there will be NO all school mass that morning. Rather mass will be at 8 a.m.
As you likely are aware, Pope Francis recently issued an assessment in preparation for the 2014 Synod of Bishops Extraordinary General Assembly on the Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization. Archbishop Carlson is seeking input from specific groups of people throughout the archdiocese in response to the Holy Father’s request. You may read the details recently reported in the St. Louis Re-view. In an effort to not turn anyone away, if you are interested in offering input, responses can be shared directly online at archstl.org/questions. Responses are due back no later than December 13, 2013.
I received the following information from Lighthouse Media in an email which was both enlightening and disturbing. “50% of Christian men (and 20% women) say they are addicted to pornography. 50% boys (~30% girls) see pornography before they turn 13. 93% of boys (62% girls) said they were exposed to pornography before they turned 18. The often silent struggle with pornography is going on around you more than you think. And it can be an awkward topic to bring up. Sharing a great talk (CD or MP3) is a perfect way to help somebody even if you don’t know that they need it.”
They then went on to describe a resource – a talk called “Detox” by Jason Evert. You can listen to a 5 minute sample from the talk online, and then for $3.50, you can order a copy of the talk. “Detox doesn’t only do a great job characterizing the problem of pornography, but, more importantly, of expressing the beauty and goodness we experience in a life freed from it. Which, I think, is a key to overcoming most sin – especially this one.”
To hear the clip or find out more information about this talk go to http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/detox