Pastoral Bulletin (Diocese of St. Petersburg) at 6363 9th Ave N, Saint Petersburg, FL 33710 US

Vol. 26: No. 39 ~ December 12, 2011

Pastoral Bulletin

Advent Blessings!

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"Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
~ Lk 1:38

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR PARISH BULLETINS

Holiday Schedule ~ Pastoral Bulletin Publication

Please note the Holiday Schedule for the publication of the pastoral bulletin:

December 19 - last publication for 2011.

December 26 and January 2, 2012 - No publication.

January 9 - First issue for 2012.

The Pastoral Center Offices will be closed from December 23, 2011 through January 2, 2012.

Catholics Come Home® Initiative

The Diocese of St. Petersburg is launching the Catholics Come Home® initiative, a major media campaign to reach out to inactive Catholics. The initiative includes running over 3,000 commercials in English and Spanish on every major television network in the Tampa Bay area between December 16 and January 22, as well as reemphasizing the role of hospitality at local parishes.

The campaign is a follow-up to the diocesan initiative Living Eucharist - Gathered, Nourished, Sent, which aimed to foster a deeper participation in the Eucharist. "The Catholics Come Home® campaign is a way to multiply our individual efforts of our parishes and effectively get an engraved invitation to inactive Catholics to come back home," shares Very Reverend Joseph Waters, Rector of the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg. Very Rev. Waters is co-chairing the diocesan Catholics Come Home campaign committee with Reverend Len Plazewski, parochial vicar at Christ the King Parish in Tampa.

For more information about the Catholics Come Home® initiative in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, please visit this site. Inquiries can also be directed to Very Rev. Joseph Waters at 727-347-9702 and Rev. Len Plazewski at 813-876-5841.

Office of the Permanent Diaconate

Please note the following change:

Deacon Rick Wells, JCL, reassigned from St. Matthew Parish in Largo, to St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Clearwater effective January 2, 2012.

World Day of Peace, January 1, 2012

"Educating Young People in Justice and Peace" is the theme of Pope Benedict XVI's 2012 Message for the World Day of Peace, celebrated on January 1 each year. The message affirms the role of young people in working for justice, peace and the common good and urges public policymakers to create institutions, laws, and environments that allow young people to flourish. A handout/ bulletin insert is available for you to spread the word about this message to Catholics in your diocese.

For the Souls of the Faithful Departed

-- Reverend Robert Girouard

-- Rolando Tejada & Rommel Tejada,

brother & nephew of Reverend Jose Tejada

-- Mrs. Clara Blowers, former Pastoral Center employee

Click here for more information.

May their souls and the souls of all

the faithful departed through the mercy

of Christ rest in peace.

Blessings on the Feastday of Our Lady of Guadalupe,

Patroness of the Americas!

God of power and mercy,
you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac
with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
May her prayers help all men and women
to accept each other as brothers and sisters.
Through your justice present in our hearts
may Your peace reign in the world.