First Sunday of Advent
The tradition for the first Sunday of Advent includes lighting the candle of hope (one of the purple candles). This candle of hope symbolizes promises delivered through the prophets from God as well as the hope we have in Christ. God of hope, we light this candle as we prepare for the coming of your Son. Awaken our hearts to you this Advent season, so that when Christ arrives, we are ready to receive him with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. Amen.
Christmas Gift Shopping Made Easy
Support your Columbiettes who will be selling poinsettias (6-inch pot $15) and hand-crafted lighted Christmas Angels ($10) after all Masses the weekend of December 6th and 7th.
Breakfast with Santa
Sunday, December 7th, after the 8:00am and 9:30am Masses our Knights of Columbus is partnering with the Sacred Heart School parents to host the annual Breakfast with Santa. There will be shops, crafts and at 10:00am Santa arrives. All kids (both school and Faith Formation) eat for free. We regret that we cannot extend this gift to the parents, but the $3 per person charge will, we hope, not be a burden. The Faith Formation students will go to their classes after the breakfast.
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a Holy Day of Obligation and will be celebrated on Monday, December 8th. The schedule is: 8:15am School Mass 12:15pm Low Mass 6:15 pm High Mass
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 13th
The Hispanic Community of Sacred Heart will once again honor the patroness of the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe, with a rosary procession, Mass, and festive celebration. 5:15pm – Rosary Procession, Church Parking Lot 6:00pm – Mass, Church 7:00pm – Reception, Parish Center
Bambellini Sunday
We will celebrate this the entire weekend, December 13th and 14th, at all the Masses. Families are invited to bring the image of Baby Jesus from their home nativity sets to Mass. We will have a special time when you will hold up the image so the priests can bless the Bambinelli (the baby Jesus).
Advent Penance Service
As we approach the celebration of our Lord’s Nativity, we hope you will want to take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In addition to our usual weekly times of confession (Wed. 5-6pm and Sat. 2:45-3:45pm) we will be offering an evening penance service on Monday, December 15th at 6:15pm. We will begin with a time of community prayer which will include a short meditation and an examination of conscience. You can choose from several priests who will gladly hear your confession.
It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!
Select tag for a Senior Living facility resident and a Toy Drive tag from the Giving Trees in the narthex.
Senior Facility – Make a Wish Come True!
Sacred Heart Church has a long and beautiful tradition of reaching out to residents in local senior living facilities to make their Christmas wishes come true. Select a tag from the Giving Tree. The tag will have the senior’s name and a list of wishes. Please choose one wish you can make come true. Purchase the gift, wrap the gift and affix the tag to the gift with the tree image facing up. Bring the wrapped gift to Mass no later than the weekend of December 6 to 7. The Salterra Senior Living facility will hold their Christmas party on December 11th. If you would like to volunteer, please call Patricia Slaymaker at 727-374-4597 (no text). If you are unable to reach Patricia, you can call the parish office 727-541-4447. If you select a tag from the tree PLEASE return the gift no later than the weekend of December 6 or 7 so everyone has a gift to open at the Christmas party.
Toys for Christmas
This year we are working in conjunction with the Pinellas Park Fire Department for distribution of toys to families in need. Take a tag from the Christmas Tree and purchase a toy. Unwrapped toys can be brought back to the church during the weekends of November 29-30 AND December 6-7. Toys are collected for all ages, from infants up to 17 years old. The greatest need each year tends to be for teenagers. Gift cards are a great option for this age group, and they typically recommend Target, Walmart or Amazon. If you have any questions, please contact the parish office.
Christmas Schedule
- December 24th, Christmas Eve: 4pm, 6pm, and Midnight
- December 25th, Christmas Day: 8am, 9:30am, and 11:30am