VOL Parish Weekly Bulletin January 10, 2016 | Page 2

January 10, 2016

The Baptism of the Lord

Views From The Pews
We have the most comments ever about
our Christmas decorations in church,
and all of them are compliments.
Ellen’s comment is typical. She writes,
“I am blown away. The decorations on
the altar are fabulous. They are beautiful and classy.
Every time I look at them I love them more. Thank you
so much, Father Mike. You helped make my Christmas
bright.”
“With one exception, I agree with everything
you say. The one exception? I don’t deserve thanks.
Thanks belong to the hard working and talented people
who drew-up the design, purchased the plants and spent
hours arranging them on the altar. When you see them,
please personally thank Carmelitte Venturella for the
design and some of the hard work and her husband,
Deacon Jim, and Bubba Bishop for muscle.”
Many of you have nice things to say about my New
Year’s homily about resolving to stop procrastinating
about becoming a Good Steward. Francine is one of
them. She says, “I know you are right, Father Mike, but I
just can’t seem to do it. You say it plenty and when I
leave church I really intend to do it. That’s all well and
good but I need help. Pray for me.”
“I will, and I have a recommendation.
Whenever you’re tempted to blow-off your resolution,
pause. Then ask yourself, ‘How would I feel at the
Pearly Gates if I had to tell Jesus that I put (fill-in the
excuse) before him?’ If, as I expect, you’d feel rotten,
don’t blow-off both your resolution and Jesus. Put them
FIRST in your life. It sure will make your time at the
Pearly Gates much more pleasant.”
A few of you have complaints about our new combination
missalette/hymnal. Edgar writes, “I like to follow along
during the mass and this new book won’t let me. The
prayers after the consecration aren’t in it. I know you say
we are saving money but we should save it somewhere
else. I prefer the old books.”
“Please be patient. We’ll solve the problems.
We’ll add the Eucharistic Prayers (the prayers after the
Consecration) and, as we had before, we’ll place ‘Our
Family Prayer’ in the inside back cover.”
Father Mike

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life. J ohn 3:16

2
Did You Know?

According to a national poll published in a recent
edition of “Our Sunday Visitor” Newspaper, Catholic
voters currently favor the Democrats. Here are the results
of those who say they lean or strongly favor a political
party.
Democrats
Republicans
Independents/Third Party

48%
29%
24%
Father Mike

Days of Mercy Every Wednesday
at Visitation of Our Lady Church

December 9, 2015 - November 20, 2016
5:15 pm - 6:15 pm
Confessions & Divine Mercy
Chaplet
6:30 pm
Evening Prayer or Mass*
7:15 pm

*Mass will be celebrated on
the following evenings:
February 10
June 29
September 14
November 2
November 16

Confirmation Class
Session II Confirmation
classes will be held on February 20th & 27th, 2016
Registrations for Session II are now being accepted.
The deadline to register for Session II is January 29,
2016.
Please note: Registr ations WILL NOT be taken at class.
If you do not live in the Visitation of Our Lady Church
boundaries and are not a “registered