CHRIST REIGNS!!!
+ST. JOSEPH CHURCH in SIOUX CITY during this time of loss of their worship space. May God continue to bless your community and your faith. May God's peace be with you.
+ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH in QUIMBY who closed their parish July 11. We open our hearts and arms in support and welcome!
+ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH in MAPLE RIVER who closed their parish October 4.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at 419 Jones Street, Moville, IA 51039-0802 US - ANNOUNCEMENTS: IMMACULATE CONCEPTION-MOVILLE
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: IMMACULATE CONCEPTION-MOVILLE 15 November 2009 |
MISSION STATEMENT: Immaculate Conception Parish strives to make the Catholic Christian life available to the people of God within the parish by opening up the rich heritage of the teachings of Jesus Christ, thus enabling them to experience more fully the presence of God in their lives and the peace, love and the joy of following him.
PROJECT MOSES! is here! Donations for any amount are being accepted to bring a Project Moses Ten Commandments and Beatitudes monument to our parish grounds. Donations are being accepted this and next weekend and at the parish office. Donors giving $30 or more are eligible to receive a gift of a plaque of the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who supported the new grocery store by attending the Soup Supper/Drama Evening. We raised $1127 for the grocery store.
MOVILLE ECUMENICAL THANKSGIVING SERVICE, sponsored by the Moville Ministerial Association, will be held at the Moville United Methodist Church on Sunday November 22, 7:00 p.m. Come celebrate the blessings of God with the Churches of Moville. A collection for the Moville Association Assistance Fund will be taken up. Attendees are invited to bring a canned good or nonperishable food item for a local food pantry. Refreshments will be served afterwards. Confirmation students must attend this service.
USED BOOKS WANTED. Support the Iowa Right to Life Book Sale! We will collect the books at our parish and get them to volunteers who will take them to Des Moines. Iowa Right to Life has two book sales per year with proceeds going to assist expectant mothers and pro-life pregnancy centers in Iowa. They accept book donations for the sales all year long. Bring your Rare and Collectible Books, School and Home Schooling Material, Craft, Cooking and Collectible Magazines, CDs, DVDs, Books on Tape, Record Albums, game and Puzzles. All proceeds benefit pregnancy centers and adoption agencies and help with pro-life education. Look for the marked boxes in our parish hall. For more information, contact Cindy Hesse at 873-3057 or check out www.iowartl.org. This project is sponsored by the Parish Life Team.
FAITH FORMATION
CATECHISTS NEEDED—5th grade and 8th and 9th grade combined or separate.
NO CLASS on Wednesday November 25 due to Thanksgiving.
RECONCILIATION will be held on Wednesday December 9 at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. All are welcome to attend one of these services.
CATECHIST IN-SERVICE will be held on Wednesday December 2 from 5:30—6:30 in the Parish Library. All Catechists are encouraged to attend. We will be serving Pizza, etc.
HELP MAKE OUR FAITH FORMATION PROGRAM A SUCCESS—We need parishioners to be a part of the Faith Formation Team. Contact the office if you would like to be a part of this exciting team.
FUTURE GUILD MEETINGS are Thursday December 3, 7:00 p.m. and Thursday January 7, 7:00 p.m.
DATES STILL AVAILABLE FOR THE VOCATIONS CHALICE! Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus 8232, its purpose is to encourage prayer (especially for vocations) in the households of the Immaculate Conception Parish. The Vocations Chalice Prayer Program is a tool to help educate parishioners about vocations and the religious life and will hopefully become an important part of the IC Parish’s efforts to foster vocations. Sign up today on the bulletin board by the KC table.
MUSICIANS NEEDED-As with most parishes, we are in need of persons who can play musical instruments (organ, piano, guitar, flute, trumpet, etc.) to help lead song at our parish liturgical celebrations. Persons taking piano and/or organ lessons can have half of their lesson fees paid by the parish with a commitment to be a parish musician.
NO ONE KNOWS...BUT THE FATHER
Jesus made several statements that appear to refer to the Last Judgment. Some scholars believe that they may be about the destruction of Jerusalem instead. It would happen in 72 AD. This could explain why he states that "this generation will not pass away..." The sun and moon may represent symbols of the authorities in Jerusalem. Of course, Jesus may be talking about both the fall of the City and of the end of the world.
An intriguing point is that Christ says that he does not know when this will happen, only the Father does. When Jesus became a human being he "stripped himself" of divine glory and knowledge. Apparently he feels that he might somehow let the information slip out accidentally and does not want to know.
PRAYER FOR OUR HOLY FAMILY
Heavenly Father,
You have given us the model of life
in the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Help us, O Loving Father,
To make our family another Nazareth
Where love, peace, and joy reign.
May we love one another
As God loves each one of us,
More and more each day,
And forgive each other's faults
As you forgive our sins.
Help us, O Loving Father,
To take whatever you give
And give whatever you take with a big smile.
-- Adopted from a prayer by Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
HEAR, O ISRAEL!
In Judaism, one of the closest things to a creed is the "Shema". Its name comes from the Hebrew word for "Hear". The statement "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone" means that Israel will serve only one God. It probably was not originally meant to say that there were no other Gods, but that the people would not follow another. Monotheism, or the belief that there is only one divinity, would come later. Orthodox Jews wear the Shema in boxes or phylacteries on their arms and foreheads. They are also placed in containers, called "Mezuzahs" at front doors of their homes.
Jesus places an emphasis on the second part of the Shema, "You shall love the Lord..." He teaches the value of a personal bond with his Father and the Holy Spirit. To this injunction Jesus adds a verse from Leviticus 19:18 "You shall love your neighbor..."
I recently came across a three-year-old column by then-Oakland, Calif., Bishop Allen H. Vigneron, who is now the archbishop of Detroit, titled "10 rules for handling disagreement like a Christian." He said he wrote it while rector of Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit to help students "deal with the often sharp difference of opinion we find within the Church."
What follows are his 10 rules (excerpted).
The Rule of Charity: "Charity is primary." Whatever is said ought always to be offered respectfully and for the genuine service of others.
The Rule of Publicity: "Think with the mind of the Church." The criterion for deciding our disagreements is not one's own private opinions, but what the Church thinks.
The Rule of Legitimate Freedom: "What the Church allows is not to be disallowed." This rule means that in situations where the Church says that a variety of views or opinions is legitimate, I should not impose my option as a mandate on others.
The Rule of Catholic Freedom: "There's something for everybody, but not everything is for everybody." God has given gifts of grace in an almost dizzying variety. Nobody has to live the Christian life exactly the way I do.
The Rule of Modesty: "Not all of my causes are God's causes." It's right to embark on projects with a zealous desire to give God glory, but I have to remember that there are cases when it's not God's will for everyone else to join me.
The Rule of Integrity: "To do evil in order to accomplish good is really to do evil." If, in the service of Christ, I act in an un-Christian way, I become a highly effective ally of the very forces I set out to combat.
The Rule of Realism: "Remember that Satan is eager to corrupt my efforts to build up the Kingdom, and he's smart enough to figure out a way to do it." My cause may be right or my view may be true, but I have to watch that their goodness is not corrupted by my infidelity.
The Rule of Mystery: "Not all the habits and attitudes which belong to a society governed by a representative democracy are appropriate in the Church." The Church is neither a democracy nor a monarchy. She is the Church, the Lord's own creation, constituted according to his will.
The Petrine Rule: "Nobody ever built up the Church by tearing down the pope." The pastoral care we receive from the pontiff is a great grace, St. Peter's own service of his fellow disciples continuing to this very day.
The Eschatological Rule: "The victory is assured; my job is to run out the clock with style." There is one Savior, and it's not you or me. Our mission is to serve the Lord in fidelity and hope.