Generation Christ - Ann Arbor at 530 Elizabeth Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 US
| 11-25-2011 | The Weekly Update is typically mailed out at noon on Fridays. Email paulcschultz at gmail dot com, if you would like to subscribe |
~ The Weekly Update ~
Optional Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr (OF) / St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr(EF)
Greetings GenChrist,
On this "Black Friday" - and throughout this weekend when we welcome the new translation of the Roman Missal - May the peace of the Lord be with you. And with your spirit.
There will be no GenChrist Holy Hour this Sunday evening, November 27th. In the afternoon, though, we will be volunteering at the Delonis Center.
Happy New (Church) Year's Eve! Advent begins at evening prayer tomorrow night. (What is Advent?) The First Sunday of Advent is the true "New Year's Day" for Christians - as we begin our year with a four week period of preparing our souls for the celebration of Our Lord's nativity.
Consider today the "New Year's resolutions" you might want to adopt - it makes much Christian sense to fast during Advent (see also: birthday present for Jesus) and to celebrate Christmas during Christmas.
In Christ,
Paul Schultz
News in Brief
Today: Friday Adoration - beginning after 7:00 a.m. Mass
Today: New (Church) Year's Eve
Tomorrow evening: Last daily Mass of the old Church year / Last Mass at St. Thomas to make use the 1970s translation of the Roman Missal
November 27: Delonis Center - fb
November 29: Bishop Boyea @ Holy Trinity, Ypsilanti - web
November 29: Great Books Course: St. Augustine's Confessions, Books I-VIII - fb
Novermber 29: Eucharist Adoration @ St. Mary Student Parish
December 3: Winter Formal @ St. John the Baptist - 21+ - fb
December 5: Soulfood at Sava's
December 8: December Mass and Dinner - fb
December 8: Rediscovering the Mass
December 19: Holy Hour / O Antiphons @ St. John the Baptist - 7+ - fb
January 6: Christmas Party
GenChrist Notes: Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions; March for Life; O Antiphon explanation; UMich class: Catholic Writers; (Friday after Thanksgiving) "Turkey-day Indult"
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News
Encounter: Praise & Worship and Adoration!
7:30-9:00 p.m.
St. Mary Student Parish invites you to join a powerful form of prayer with music, contemplation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Encounter provides a "time out" in our busy lives to the experience the Real Presence in community. The first Encounter took place on November 15th and the second will be this Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. with light refreshments followed by uplifting prayer.
If you would like to be involved with the future planning of Encounter, please contact Kelly Dunlop
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Soulfood at Sava's
St. Mary's GRAD group invites all grad students and young professionals to Soulfood at Sava's on December 5th from 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Nourishment for the mind, body and spirit.
Presenting: Bill Alt, Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice program coordinator on: "Well, I like the Christmas Jesus best: the need for a baby Jesus."
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Rediscovering the Mass
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Beth Spizarny
Date: Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: St Thomas Event: Rediscovering the Mass
I hope this finds you well! You may already be aware, but after eight years of work, the Church has approved a new translation of the Roman Missal for use throughout the English-speaking world. That means that from Sunday, November 27th on- we will be using some new words and new music in the Mass. This new translation is a more literal translation to English from the original Latin the Church used for Mass. This is a unique moment in the life of the Church! For the past several months, I have been working together with Monica Pope, Julie Mussio, and Lucia Campbell to develop a program introducing the changes to our St Thomas parish family. You are cordially invited to join us in the Parish Hall for an exciting, collaborative, parish-wide event- Rediscovering the Mass: New Words. Eternal Worship. The evening will feature a number of video clips from our US Conference of Catholic Bishops, music from our St Thomas Choir, and personal sharings from fellow parishioners on what they love about the Mass. Rediscovering the Mass will be offered twice- once this Tuesday, November 15th at 7pm (before the changes are implemented), and once Thursday, December 8th at 5:30pm (after the changes are implemented). Liturgy comes from a Greek word meaning "the work of the people," and so it is absolutely fitting that we should gather together for a night of vision and sharing! It is our prayer that this event would lead each of us to a deeper appreciation of the Mass, and ultimately to that Eternal Worship for which we were made. We truly long for the entire St Thomas family to come together for this event.
-- God Bless,
Beth
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Holy Hour / O Antiphons
Generation Christ will be helping with another Advent Holy Hour at St. John the Baptist, featuring the O Antiphons. The antiphons are more fully described below.
Ladies who would be interested in chanting are asked to contact Michelle Kuhar. Gents are asked to contact Paul Schultz
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GenChrist Notes
Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions Each month, Pope Benedict XVI announces his special prayer intentions--particular things that he wishes all Catholics to pray for that month. (When, for instance, we pray the rosary and say the prayers at the end for the intentions of the Holy Father, these are the intentions for which we're praying.) Pope Benedict offers two intentions every month, one general, and one for a particular Catholic missionary activity.
His general prayer intention for December 2011 is "that all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect."
Pope Benedict's mission intention is "that children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation."
March for Life - SFL Trip
Among the trips going to this January's 39th annual March for Life, UofM Students for Life may be willing to have GenChrist members along for the journey.
--The current cost is around $160 (including $50 for the collegiate conference).
--Those GenChrist members who are interested should email Joe - this weekend.
--Initial payments will be needed by Monday, November 28.
Tentative Schedule:
--Friday, January 20th: Leave on bus in the evening for D.C. Drive through the night and arrive early in the morning.
--Saturday, Jan. 21st: Free day in D.C.
--Sunday, Jan 22nd: Students for Life of America Conference, which begins with Mass and is open to all. The conference can be fantastic, especially in the area of pro-life apologetics. Or: another free day in D.C. (and would save the $50 registration fee).
--Monday, Jan 23rd: March for Life. As with last year, SFL'll probably try to get ahead of the bulk of the crowd so they can leave early enough to get back before people's classes start on Tuesday.
O Antiphons To those who pray the Divine Office (now called "the Liturgy of the Hours" in English-speaking lands), the week before Christmas Eve features the O Antiphons. These "Great Antiphons" praise Our Lord and address Him with titles which come from the Old Testament prophets. Please see our pastor's excellent note about the titles and prophecies in this week's bulletin.
In each evening prayer (f/k/a "vespers") of the week, the O Antiphon is the antiphon used before and after the Magnificat, the joyous prayer of Mary upon her visit to her cousin Elizabeth, which is now the joyous prayer of the Church at the beginning of each evening.
If you do not regularly pray evening prayer, perhaps consider praying the O Antiphons and the Magnificat each evening during this final octave before Christmas Eve. Sheet music and audio files (of the Latin chants) can be found at this page.
Catholic Writers Course This spring, St. Thomas parishioner and UMich PhD candidate Tim Green will be teaching a course exploring the work of novelists and short story writers whose connections to Catholicism inform their literary achievements. A moderately sized pdf of this excellent-looking course can be found here. Please recommend this course to any UMich undergrad who might be interested.
Turkey-day Indult While the current code of canon law obviously permits the Catholic faithful in the US to substitute some other form of penance for Friday abstinence from meat on this day and other non-Lenten Fridays of the year, this is a reminder to those attached to the older way of penance that in the 1950s, Pope Pius XII granted a similar indult for the thankful consumption of turkey on this day. :) h/t Rorate.
