Prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of Yvonne Johnstone+, whose funeral will be held Saturday, December 13 at 11:00 am. Yvonne and her husband, Chuck, were active parishioners and volunteers at St. Paul for many years. There will be a small reception in the parish hall after the funeral Mass.

Monday, December 8, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of
the Blessed Virgin Mary. Please join us as we celebrate a bilingual Mass at 6:30 PM on this holy day of obligation.

Thursday, December 11, Vigil of Our Lady of Guadalupe
8:00PM Rosary Exposition of Blessed Sacrament / 10:30PM Mass in Spanish
Friday, December 12—Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
7:00PM Bilingual Mass
12:15PM Daily Mass
Thursday, December 18
Penance Service 7:00PM
Wednesday, December 24—Vigil of The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Eve)
5:00PM Mass in English / 7:00PM Mass in Spanish
NO 12:15PM Daily Mass
Thursday, December 25—The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Day)
10:00AM Mass in English / 12:30PM Mass in Spanish
*NO 12:15PM Daily Mass *
Wednesday, December 31— Vigil of Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (New Year’s Eve)
7:00PM Mass
12:15PM Daily Mass
Thursday, January 1, 2024—Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
(New Year’s Day)
10AM Mass in English / 12:30PM Mass in Spanish
*NO 12:15PM Daily Mass *
Holiday Office Hours—Closed December 24, 25, and 26 2025.
Closed January 1 and 2, 2026. Office reopens on normal business hours on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at 9:00AM. We wish you and your loved ones Happy and Blessed Holidays!

What is a Solemnity? They are the highest-ranking liturgical celebrations in the Church, reserved for the central mysteries of the faith and some saints. Usually, they begin the evening before with First Vespers and are characterized by including the Gloria and the Creed in the Mass. Some solemnities are obligatory, which means that the faithful must attend Mass, unless the local Episcopal Conference does not require it. Solemnities that we have: Christmas, Easter, Epiphany, Ascension of the Lord, Corpus Christi, Holy Mary Mother of God, Immaculate Conception of Mary, Assumption of Mary, and Christ the King. Guadalupe is considered Solemnity in Mexico and some countries in the Americas, but in the rest of the world, it is considered a Feast.
This week in the Church we will have two major celebrations:

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
Every December 8th, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This celebration dates back to 1854, when Pope Pius IX, after receiving numerous requests from bishops and faithful from around the world, in full communion with the entire Church, proclaimed the bull Ineffabilis Deus [Ineffable God], which established this Marian dogma. In this celebration we are reminded that through divine design, the Mother of Jesus was preserved from original sin from the very moment of her conception, that is, she was born without sin. We will have the celebration on the 8th at 6:30 PM. We look forward to seeing you.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
A decade after the conquest of Mexico began, around 1529, the Spanish missionaries found themselves in a difficult situation. The evangelizing effort, for different and complex reasons, had not yielded the expected results. Among other things, the countless sins committed against the indigenous people weighed heavily on the conscience of the conquistadors, as did the contradictions inherent to excessive ambition and the thirst for power. In that context, the missionaries experienced great bewilderment due to the few – or weak – conversions. Against anything that could have been expected, everything began to change on December 9, 1531. It would be the Mother of God who personally would alter the course of evangelization and do so definitively. In the place called Tepeyac, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a Chichimeca peasant named Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, who had recently converted to Christianity. For Juan Diego that woman was ‘the Lady’, whom he looked at with respect, but perhaps also with some distrust. She, meanwhile, wanted to touch his heart; she presented herself as ‘the perfect ever-Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the true God’. Celebration: Thursday, December 11th at 8:00 PM – exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, and Mass (10:30 PM). Friday, December 12th at 7:00 PM – Holy Mass (bilingual), dinner and nocturnal adoration. We look forward to seeing you.

The K/C will be serving their delicious hot breakfast on Sunday, December 14th in the parish hall after the 8:00 am and 10:00 am Masses. Come out and have some breakfast served with pancakes, French toast, potatoes, meats, fruit, omelets & eggs, and beverages for the simple price of a onation. Why go out to eat when you can have a homemade breakfast, visit with friends, and support our Knights?

The Welcome Ministry will be serving coffee, juice, and donuts/conchas after
ALL Masses on Sunday December 21. Join us after the 8am, 10am and 12:30pm Masses for a little treat and fellowship. We look forward to seeing everyone!

Mark Fitzgerald from Diocesan (our bulletin publishing partner) is working to renew the advertisements currently running in the bulletin and to secure NEW bulletin advertisers. The bulletin is available in print and digitally online. We are grateful that this important communication piece is provided to our parish at no cost THANKS to the generous support of our bulletin sponsors.
Mark is calling the current sponsors so please let him know if we can count on your continued support by renewing your ad, and please call him if you’re interested in placing an advertisement in the bulletin on behalf of your business, family, favorite charity OR to memorialize a loved one. Bulletin sponsors recognize the tremendous value of connecting with our church family, and we ask our parishioners and guests to patronize our supporters when using a local service. Mark will actually be at our parish Tuesday December 9th through Thursday December 11th, he can be reached at 614-205-4841 or mfitzgerald@diocesan.com. Thank you!

Turning Point – The Gospel of John
A New Adult Faith Formation Class (9 Sessions)
Presented by Dynamic Catholic – Dr. Allen Hunt

Begins – Sunday, January 18, 11:00 – 12:30 in the School Building
Facilitated by Jane Brown

Cost is $20 for materials
Contact: Jane Brown – janesmart271@gmail.com
or
Lisa Wade – lwade@stpaulcleveland.com