Dear Parish Family,

Happy Advent! We enter into this new liturgical season with Jesus telling us to "Be watchful! Be alert!" Advent is a time of active waiting, staying attentive not only to the movements of God's grace at work in our midst, but also remaining watchful and on guard from the snares of the enemy. In Amazon's new series, Rings of Power, Galadriel remarks in a simple but powerful way, "Evil does not sleep. It waits." Evil bides its time, prowling and lurking in the darkness, waiting to strike at the moment our guard is down when it can do the most damage. Remember as we enter our Advent season that we are engaged in spiritual battle with an enemy who never sleeps as he plots our downfall. Advent is the time to take up the spiritual armor and arms of grace from our Lord who has already won the battle and who helps us unceasingly in our fight for truth, justice, and love!

Angel Scholarship Contribution Reminder
Thank you to all of our Angel Scholarship Fund (ASF) investors who have made a contribution this year to turn their tax dollars into tuition assistance! If you have not yet made a contribution, please do so in the weeks ahead. It's not too good to be true - by taking advantage of the tax credit, your state income tax liability is lowered, and the money you would pay to the State of Ohio gets directed to the school of your choice for us to apply to families and students for tuition assistance based on prioritized need. No amount is too small to make a big impact. Since this tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in what you owe in state income tax, there is no net cost to you as a donor, and it's a win-win for our families, students, parish, and school. Please pick up an information flyer and contribution form in the back of church today.

*Note: Please let me know if you donated to ASF and did not receive a thank you from our school within 60 days of contributing. You may have either donated anonymously to ASF or have donated anonymously to past campaigns with the Catholic Community Foundation. We want to say THANK YOU to all of our investors!

New Parishioner Welcome
You may have seen new faces in church this past year or so. Not only are parishioners returning after a pandemic absence, but we have had 18 new families register at our parish in the last year and a half! Our newly formed Welcome Committee is preparing great things for them, starting with a blessing at our 9:30 am Mass this weekend. Remember to come to our Donut Sunday social in the lower hall after Mass this Sunday to meet and welcome our new families! I know I'm looking forward to putting names to the faces I see at Mass! Members of our welcome ministry will also be available at a table with registration forms and to answer any questions if you're new to our community and would like to learn more. Praise the Lord for the good He does each day in forming us as His Church!

Holy Day of Obligation - Immaculate Conception
This Friday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a Holy Day of Obligation. We look forward to celebrating Mass with you at one of the following times: Thursday, December 7 Vigil Mass at St. Mary Chardon 4:30 pm; Friday December 8 Masses at St. Mary Chardon at 7:30 am, 9:30 am (with School), and 7 pm, and Masses at St. Patrick Thompson at 8:45 am and 7 pm. Immaculate Mary, pray for us!

I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow