Our dear St. Philip Neri Parishioners, 

Greetings and blessings from Fr. Mike and Fr Bill,

(Pope) St. Paul VI highlights the Christmas story in this way: We consider “Christmas” as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and humanity.

This perspective has been reinforced by St. Teresa of Calcutta who said: It is “Christmas” every time you let God love others through you. So … in this spirit, and in our heart-felt wishes, Fr. Mike and Fr. Bill wish you, and all your family, the many graces of Christmas – as we open our hearts to share and show God’s love to all we encounter, today and in the New Year.

Lord Jesus, you reveal to us the mystery of God’s unconditional love for us.

Lord Jesus, you reveal to us the mystery of our dignity as children of God.

Lord Jesus, you reveal to us the splendour of our eternal destiny.

My Christmas story, as experienced in the ears and heart of a beautiful little girl. As the Christmas liturgy began, the priest spoke the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel – which means, “God is with us - God is in our midst!” The little girl was busy taking off her coat and toque, and she understood the word to say, “God is in our mitts”. Excitedly, she turned to her older sister and declared, “Elise, did you hear what he said … God is in our mitts!” – and she wouldn’t take off her mitts. Sometimes, the perception of a child can help us adults deepen our understanding and appreciation of how and when and where God comes into our life.

As we move into the New Year of 2023, may we continue to see and hear and experience (God in our midst … and in our mitts). We are especially blessed to live out our spiritual journey in and through the Sacraments – especially the regular Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. God is good … all the time! Especially when we gather to pray with and for each other, when we take time to socialize and help each other in need. My prayer for all of us - may we continue to experience St. Philip Neri Parish as “home” – a place to love and be loved. The door is always open to one and all, as we live the motto of the Parish to “Joyfully building up the Church”! With Jesus as the centre of our lives, in Him is our “great joy”!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a healthy and life-giving New Year.

Peace … Fr Mike & Fr. Bill

Praise be Jesus Christ … and Mary Immaculate

St. Philp Neri … pray for us

St. Eugene de Mazenod … pray for us

St. Kateri Tekakwitha … pray for us

Something from the Parish: Mark your calendar:

Next Saturday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve) – After the 5 pm Celebration of the Eucharist, we invite you to gather for our Parish New Year’s Eve Party in our Welcome Area. If you are not planning any other evening celebration … come join us, here at the Parish.

The Parish will provide food and drinks (as it is supper time). We invite you to bring appetizers/munchies and/or your favourite dessert.

January 10, 2023 will be the first meeting of the RCIA journey, in St. Philip Neri Parish. We are privileged to journey with two young people. Please keep us in your prayers.

NOTE: If there is anyone who wishes to enrich and deepen your faith life, you are also welcome to join us. We meet in the Welcome Area of the Parish.

January 23, 2023 – St. Philip Neri Parish will host the Alpha experience for young adults. We begin with supper, complements of Fr. Bill … then watch the video … then talk about life! Please contact Fr. Mike at (306) 850-9075 for more information.

A Prayer for Ukraine

God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today. We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your precious children at risk and in fear that you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Our time of journeying and preparing and longing is now ending - we have been waiting with great anticipation and joyful hope throughout the dark and cold weeks of Advent (especially this last week!), and now, this weekend, we celebrate the Great Light - the miraculous birth of the tiny Christ Child, sent down from Heaven, to be the Lord and Savior of us all. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! What a time to rejoice and be glad!    

Below are a few final reminders and a few new items for you as we head into Christmas:

• Please pick up your 2023 Parish Collection Envelopes in the Welcome Area if you haven't already.   
• The Christmas and New Year's Mass Schedule remains directly below, for your reference.   
• The Parish Office will be closed directly before and after Christmas.  Please see the exact dates below. 
• Bishop Mark sends special Christmas greetings, in written or video form, for all of us!  Check out how to access his wonderful message below, in green. 
• This sounds like a yummy way to raise money!  Check out the details below regarding the St. Philip Neri Refugee Committee's Chili Fundraiser coming up in the New Year! Save the date!
• This year's Christmas Food Hamper Program for St. Mary's Parish was another resounding success!  What an amazing team effort to bring Christmas joy to so many families!  See a special note of thanks down below. 
• For the rest of the month of December, we will be collecting peanut butter, coffee and tea for the Friendship Inn. More details are below. 
• The next Bereavement Support gathering will be held on Tuesday, Tuesday, Jan. 10.  Anyone can join at any time - we would love to have you.  Please see more details below.  
•  Check out this week's pre-Christmas Church Chuckle!  Lots of practical baby gifts for Mary, the new Mom!
• For a little extra Christmas joy, tune into the video version of this year's Knights of Columbus Carol Festival!  The details for how to do this are below.
• The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is coming up in mid-January.  All the details are below, in blue.
• Here is a chance to learn more and feel more about the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  "The Eucharist:  Christ Our Sustainer" will be held on the five Tuesdays in January.  See all the details below.
• Want another way to experience Adoration?  Check out "A Holy Hour for the Feminine Heart", which is held on the first Thursday of every month at Holy Spirit Parish.  See all the details below.  

That's it for this week! It looks like it could be a VERY white Christmas if we get the big snow dump (10 cm?) they are forecasting for this Saturday, Christmas Eve!  Yikes!  BUT, at least after that, we will be able to pull ourselves out of this deep-freeze we've been enduring - to enjoy single digit temperatures starting early next week!  YAY!  Now that's something to look forward to!  Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone, and may you all experience the great gifts of peace, joy and love that the birth of the Christ Child brings into our homes, communities, and throughout the whole world. Joy to the World, indeed!  See you next week!

Joyous CHRISTMAS Blessings, 

Marlene

Merry Christmas from a dear friend!

Greetings Fr. Mike, Fr. Bill, Staff and Parishioners of St. Philip Neri Parish

Special blessings on St. Philip Neri Parish during this season of grace. May your liturgical celebrations draw you all closer to the Lord who has come to us in Bethlehem to be closer to us. I pray that the event of His incarnation may invite each one to desire to give flesh to God’s love through words and actions of love toward one another.

I ask you prayers for me as well that my ministry with MAMI, the Oblate partnership with the poor of the world through our missions, be fruitful. I will be visiting three parishes in the Victoria Diocese in January to invite new members to join the Missionary Association in our commitment to pray for our missionaries especially in Kenya and Peru but elsewhere such as Ukraine at the present time of Crisis. I thank those of you who heeded that invitation in our partnership with the poor of the world.

Stay well and as you move into this new year 2023 may you be joy-filled. With thanks for your sharing in my life, my faith journey, these past few years.

Fr. Ken Forster OMI

Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate

1311 The Crescent Vancouver B.C. V6H 1T6

604 895 4082

KForster@omilacombe.ca

2023 Parish Collection Envelopes

Please pick up your 2023 Parish Donation Envelopes from the Welcome Area as soon as possible.  We will not be mailing them out due to the high postage expense.   

Please note two other things:  

1) There is a Special Collection Envelope in your current box for a Christmas Offering, that can be made at any of the three Christmas Masses.  

2) We are accepting donations for the 2022 tax year up until Sat. Dec 31. All donations must be in to the Parish Office by that date in order to be included in your 2022 tax receipt. Any donations coming in after Dec 31 will be posted to January 2023. 

Thank you so much for your continuous generosity throughout the year!

Thank You for the Lovely Poinsettias!

The Art & Environment Committee would like to thank all those parishioners who donated the lovely poinsettias to help make our church so beautiful, festive and Christmas-y for this weekend's Christmas Masses and beyond!  It takes a team effort to make our Parish the warm and inviting place that we all enjoy, so thanks again for your help with this!  

Christmas & New Year's Mass Schedule

Christmas Eve - Sat. Dec. 24 ~ 5 pm and 8 pm

Christmas Day - Sun. Dec. 25 ~ 10 am

Boxing Day - Mon. Dec. 26 ~ NO MASS

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God:

New Year's Eve - Sat. Dec. 31 ~ 5 pm

New Year's Day - Sun. Jan. 1 ~ 10 am

Mon. Jan. 2 ~ NO MASS

Parish Office Closed

Dec. 23, Dec. 26 & Jan. 2

The Parish Office will be closed on Friday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 26 for Christmas, and Mon. Jan. 2, for New Years.  

Merry Christmas from Bishop Mark!

Merry Christmas from Bishop Mark Hagemoen and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon! 

Please visit the Diocesan website for a Christmas message and video from Bishop Mark Hagemoen: https://rcdos.ca, or click on the links below:

PDF: https://rcdos.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-12-20-MHagemoen-2022-Christmas-Message.pdf 

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Hk5h7H8ca18 

Note:  Livestream of Masses from a number of parishes in our Diocese can be found at: https://saskatoonmass.com

Join us for a Chili Fundraiser! Friday, Jan. 13

St. Philip Neri Refugee Committee

The St Philip Neri Parish Refugee Committee is hosting a chili fundraiser to celebrate the arrival of Yvonne Byendimbwa and her grandchildren to the safe embrace of their family and friends in St Mary’s Parish. We have been partnering with St Mary’s to make this dream a reality and now it is time to celebrate it!

Date: Friday January 13, 2023

Time: 5 pm

Location: St. Philip Neri Parish Welcome Area

Tickets: $10 per person

To purchase tickets, please contact our Parish Office.  See you there!

St. Mary's Christmas Hampers - A HUGE Thank you!

The kindness and generosity of the parishioners of St. Philip Neri Parish has totally overwhelmed us once again this year!  THANK YOU all so much for the time, effort, financial support and Christmas Spirit you put into the Christmas hamper program for the St. Mary's Parish community. We pray for special Christmas blessings on all those giving and receiving!  Way to go, St. Philip Neri!  

Parish Liturgical Ministries

Liturgical Ministries:  There are continuous updates happening with Ministry Lists! Please know that some progress is being made every week. Shirley, who facilitates the coordination, creation and other details concerning the lists, including scheduling, is working hard to keep on top of this.  Changes are being made as necessary, making this an ongoing process. 

Sacrament of Baptism: .The next date for the celebration of Baptism is Sunday, January 29, 2023. Pre-registration is necessary.

December Food Collection

For the Friendship Inn

For the rest of the month of December, we are collecting peanut butter, coffee and tea for the Friendship Inn. In addition, there is always a need for other non-perishables. Please be sure to check "best before" dates.  There is a large bin in the Welcome Area to accommodate your donations. Thank you for your incredible generosity!

Bishop’s Annual Appeal 2022

Thanks & A Final Reminder

Thanks so much to all who have made a gift or pledge to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal! 

A final reminder for those who have not yet made a gift - please prayerfully consider supporting a range of much-needed ministry and outreach in our Diocese through the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Learn more or give online at dscf.ca/baa, by electronic transfer to: e-transferBAA@dscf.ca, or make cheques payable to “DSCF – Bishop’s Annual Appeal” and send to Diocese of Saskatoon Catholic Foundation, Catholic Pastoral Centre, 123 Nelson Road, Saskatoon, SK S7S 1H1, or drop your donation at your parish. It is also possible to make a gift of shares. Call (306) 659-5851 for more information. (Note: Donations must be received by Dec. 31 for a 2022 charitable receipt.) Every gift is needed and will make a difference!

St. Philip Neri Refugee Committee

Furniture & Household Items Needed

Are you downsizing or just doing some fall house-cleaning and de-cluttering?  We have just the place for the items you no longer want or need.  The Refugee Committee is once again asking for furniture, kitchen and other household items to replenish their stock as they prepare for the future arrival of more refugee families.  Please call Denise Debrau, at (306) 291-1675 if you have any questions or would like to schedule a pick-up of your donated items. Thank you so much for your ongoing support of our refugee familiies!  

St. Philip Neri Parish Bereavement Support

Tuesday, January 10, 1-3 pm

Please know that there is support offered here at the Parish. If you would like a place to gather and talk with others who have lost a loved one, please come out to our next gathering on Tuesday, January 10, from 1 to 3 pm, here in the church's Sunroom. We look forward to walking with you in faith! No registration fee or sign up are required. Please just feel comfortable in coming to join us. For more information, please call Deb, our Parish Nurse, at the Parish.

Golden Age Card Players

The Golden Age Group at St. Philip Neri meets regularly to play cards, every second Wedesday, from 1:30-4:00 pm in the Welcome Area. 

Their next card-playing session will be on Wednesday, December 28. The cost is $2 per day.  The group happily welcomes any new players to join them for some fun, friendly competition! The new dates for 2023 will be coming out soon.  For more information, please call the president, Sylvia Godbout, at (306) 374-9085. 

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Every Monday evening (except for long weekends), from 6 pm to 10 pm, and also every second Thursday of the month, from 9 am to 6 pm, people are invited to pray with the Blessed Sacrament in the main area of the church. 

The upcoming Adoration schedule: 

• Monday evenings:  January 9, 16, 23, 30 from 6 pm-10 pm) 
• The next full day Adoration will be on Thursday, Jan. 12, from 9 am - 6 pm.

Diocesan Prayer Intention

We pray as a Diocesan family that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who came into our world on the first Christmas, will come into the hardest and messiest parts of our lives and hearts to give us new life. We pray especially for healing and peace in all of our families.

K of C Carol Festival 2022!

Watch the video!

Thanks to the support of the Saskatoon Knights of Columbus, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools is thrilled to present the annual Knights of Columbus Carol Festival on video, available on the Division’s website at https://www.gscs.ca/_ci/p/14029 or click on the button below:  

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023

January 18-25

The theme of this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is "Do good; seek justice" (Isaiah 1:17) and is scheduled to run from Jan. 18 to 25, 2023.   

Learning to do right requires the decision to engage in self-reflection. The Week of Prayer is a time set aside for Christians to recognize that the divisions between our churches cannot be separated from divisions within the wider human family. Praying together for Christian unity allows us to reflect on what unites us and to commit ourselves to confront oppression and division amongst humanity. The 2023 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) resources were developed by the Minnesota Council of Churches. They reflect the ecumenical work on racial justice in the U.S. following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. Resources are now available at https://weekofprayer.ca, including an order of worship, hymn suggestions, 8 days of scripture reflections on the theme, and materials for children and youth.

“The Eucharist: Christ Our Sustainer”

Five Tuesdays in January

The Adult Faith Diocesan Awaken series – “The Eucharist: Christ Our Sustainer” will be held on the five Tuesday evenings in January - on Jan. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31, from 7-8:30 pm, with Fr. Stefano Penna presenting at Holy Spirit Parish. There is also an online Zoom option. Register now at: https://form.jotform.com/222236197984264 or for more information, please call Astrid Alas at (306) 659-5858 or email amalas@rcdos.ca. The cost is $40 for all five sessions.

DESCRIPTION: St. John Paul II once said: "This is the wonderful truth my dear friends: The Word, which became flesh 2,000 years ago, is present today in the Eucharist." But what happens when we don't feel the presence of Christ in the Eucharist? When we struggle with understanding the Sacrament of the Eucharist? When we ask ourselves why Catholics should return to Mass after the pandemic? Participants will come to a deeper understanding of why the Eucharist is, as Vatican II states: "The Source and Summit of the Christian Life." Through dynamic presentations and prayerful reflection, participants will learn the importance of the Eucharist for the life of the Church, and for our own lives.

Another Adoration Opportunity

A Holy Hour for the Feminine Heart

Take time away to refresh your soul and spend time with new friends. All women are invited to a monthly Holy Hour followed by refreshments and fellowship, held at 7 pm on the first Thursday of every month at Holy Spirit Parish. The evening includes adoration, a short Gospel reflection led by Fr. Joseph Salihu, quiet prayer, benediction, and rosary.  It's not too late to join in on this inspirational opportunity! 

Prison Storytime Outreach

The Diocesan Office of Restorative Ministry is seeking donations of new children’s pyjamas for ages newborn to six years, as well as crayons, colouring books, and/or gently-used children’s books and small backpacks, as part of a project to help fathers in prison improve parenting skills and stay connected to their families. Men approved for the program are video-taped reading bedtime stories to send to their children with the donated items. Monetary donations to purchase the supplies for the project are also welcome. Please drop off any donations at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, 2nd floor of the Cathedral of the Holy Family, during regular hours of 9 am to noon or 1 - 4:30 pm weekdays (closed over noon hour), or contact Dianne Anderson (306) 659-5845 for more information.

CWL Clothing Depot

Ongoing Needs

The CWL Clothing Depot is requesting donations of warm coats and jackets, sweaters, gloves, mitts, toques, socks, underwear, sheets, towels, personal hygiene items, and household and kitchen items. 

Donations help our sisters and brothers in our community who are struggling to make ends meet. Donations can be dropped off between 10 am and 2 pm Monday to Friday, at 619-20th Street West (rear entrance of Friendship Inn). Please ring the back doorbell when delivering items. Volunteers are always welcome at the CWL Clothing Depot! Please call Bea for more information, at (306) 242-5042.

Delicious Monthly Pancake Breakfasts!

St. Joseph's Hall on Broadway

Everyone is welcome to join the K of C Chapter #11429 - San Lorenzo Ruiz - for their delicious monthly Sunday morning pancake breakfasts, held in St. Joseph's Parish Hall, on Broadway Ave. & 8th Street. These yummy breakfasts will be served on Sundays, from 10 am to 1 pm, on the following dates:

Jan. 22, Feb. 19, Mar. 19, April 23, and May 28.  

The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 5-15 years.  Breakfasts consists of pancakes (with syrup or whipped cream & berries!), sausages, scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and juice. Come on over and join us!  Everyone is welcome!

Donate your recycling refund to Catholic TRC Healing Response

Please consider donating your recycling refund to Catholic TRC Healing Response. There are four "drop-and-go" recycling locations in Saskatoon where you are able to donate your returnable deposit proceeds to the Diocesan TRC fund:

1.  350B-103^rd St. East in Sutherland
2.  2327 Faithful Ave.
3.  2900 Jasper Ave.
4.  2305-22^nd St. West

Note:  These locations will have a separate entrance for Drop and Go.  Everything is a touch screen, and when it asks for your account, you can type in TRC or trc.  You will enter the number of tags you need for your bags and stick them on before droping them off.  Thank you for your kind contributions to the Catholic TRC Healing Response!

Filipino Catholic Community of Saskatoon

Next Monthly Mass - Sun. Jan. 15

The Filipino Catholic Community of Saskatoon gathers on the third Sunday of every month to celebrate Mass at St. Paul Co-Cathedral, 720 Spadina Cr. E., with the next celebration to be held on Sunday January 15, at 5:00 pm. The Filipino Catholic community also holds a weekly Novena in English every Friday at 5:30 pm at. St. Paul Co-Cathedral. Everyone is welcome. 

Catholic Saskatoon NEWS

Our Diocese has an online news portal featuring local, national and international Catholic news. Go to “Catholic Saskatoon News” at https://news.rcdos.ca to check out the latest coverage, or to sign up to receive headline updates via e-mail. The Diocese also has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/saskatoonrcdiocese and can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SaskatoonCath.

Weekly Diocesan Bulletin

Get the latest fall news from around the Saskatoon Diocese!

Find out what's going on around the Diocese, including upcoming events, new learning opportunities to help you grow in your faith,  and other interesting information and announcements.

St. Philip Neri Masses are live-streamed, every Saturday at 5 pm

 If you aren’t able to attend Mass in person, you may watch it LIVE on YouTube.

To find us on YouTube, click on St Philip Neri YouTube Channel or go to our website, stphilipneriparish.ca and get to our channel from there.

NOTE:  If you are hard of hearing or would like to have the Live-Streamed Services "with text", please click the “cc”/ “Closed Caption” icon/button at the bottom right on your computer screen, below the live-streamed service.  You will be able to see the words of the speaker!

We have left past Masses up on our channel for you to watch, or you can tune in to our next upcoming LIVE Masses on the dates and times below:

Upcoming Live-Streams: 

Saturday, December 24 - 5:00 pm (Fr. Mike)

Saturday, December 31 - 5:00 pm (Fr. Mike)