Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, and Holy New Year

Prayer of Thanks for Christmas Traditions

Breakfast with Santa - Sunday, December 15th

Blessing of the Christmas Tree and Nativity

Advent Wreath Prayers

Blessing the Advent Wreath with Children

Dear Jesus, as we light the candle(s) on this Advent wreath, may the light of your presence bring joy to our hearts. Bless our family and our friends, and be with all those who are in need this holiday season. Amen.

Week 1, Hope

Dear Jesus, you are the hope in our messy world. This Advent, help us slow down, listen to your voice, and focus on what’s really important. We place our hope in you as we prepare our hearts to celebrate your birth on Christmas. Amen.

Week 2, Peace

Dear Jesus, you entered our world on Christmas as the Prince of Peace. This Advent, as we strive to become the-best-version-of-ourselves, fill us with a deep and abiding peace. Help us share that peace with everyone we encounter, especially those who need it most. Amen.

Week 3, Joy

Dear Jesus, help us focus on you during this busy season. May we stay aware of the joy you bring into our lives. We want to find you in the everyday moments and come with hearts of gratitude to your manger on Christmas. Amen.

Week 4, Love

Dear Jesus, may the light of your love always shine in our hearts. As Christmas draws closer, we marvel at your great love for us. Let your love transform every aspect of our lives and touch everyone we encounter. Our hearts are open to you, Jesus. Amen.

Source: Dynamic Catholic

The Epiphany of the Lord

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, 

until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Let us seek Christ with joy, 

give him thanks for his love, 

and offer our gifts to him and others to make this world a better place.

Thank You for Your Gifts

Each year the generosity of the parishioners of St. Mary's Parish in regards to the Christmas Giving Tree is absolutely tremendous and this year was no different. Because of your care and concern for our neighbors, we donated over 800 gifts and over $1,700 in gift cards to families and children in need. You helped to make their Christmas day brighter and allowed them to experience the hope, peace, love and joy of Christ. 

A special thank you to the Photo Arts Studio in Nutley, NJ and their entire staff who helped to collect toys for children, food for our pantry and made a donation that was used to help the children and adults in need this Christmas.

Here is whom your kindness and generosity helped:

Nutley Adopt-A-Family received over 30 gifts of toys, clothing and gift cards.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark, which distributes food and basic necessities to families in the area, received over 120 gifts of toys, clothing and gift cards.

St. Joseph Home in Jersey City, which is a center for homeless and economically disadvantaged women and children, received many of our gift cards to be used for personal items for the mothers and children.

Children in Foster Care - this year over 170 children, who are victims of abuse and neglect, were in need and we responded by providing over 450 gifts of toys, clothing and gift cards.

Covenant House in Newark, which provides loving care and vital services to homeless, abandoned, abused, trafficked, and exploited youth, received over 220 gifts of clothing and personal care items.

Thank you to everyone who donated to our Christmas Giving Tree. Your love of God and of His children is evident in the the way you helped those in need. Let us be reminded that the true blessings that we have are not just those material things, but the love that we share with one another.

Christmas Mass Schedule

Sunday, December 24th is both the 4th Sunday of Advent & Christmas Eve. 

There will be Masses in the morning for the 4th Sunday of Advent.

Christmas Masses

Sunday, December 24, 2017

4:30pm - Christmas Pageant featuring children from our parish and the Children's Choir

5:00pm - Christmas Eve Family Mass

9:30pm - Christmas Carols

10:00pm - Christmas Vigil Mass

Monday, December 25, 2017

7:30am  9:00am  10:30am  12 Noon

4th Sunday of Advent

3rd Week of Advent

Sunday, December 17 - Bambinelli Sunday, Blessing of the Nativity & Breakfast with Santa

This is a very exciting time of year... Tree Lightings, Christmas Specials on TV, driving around and looking at the lights on display, wonderful smells and flavors coming from the kitchen.  With so many fun things going on, it certainly can be looked at as "the most wonderful time of the year!"  

The 4 weeks of Advent always seem to pass too quickly as we prepare our homes and families for Christmas.  One thing that we should not overlook preparing is our hearts.  On the Faith Formation website, we will be posting some simple ways for you and your family to grow closer to Christ as he looks to come ever closer to each of us. We have prayers for your Advent Wreath, Blessings for your Christmas Tree and Nativity, as well as daily things to do with your family. We hope that each day of Advent can be another opportunity for you and your family to receive Christ's hope, peace, joy, and love.

Sunday, December 17- Bambinelli Sunday/ Blessing of the Manger/ Breakfast with Santa

On Sunday, December 17 following the 10:30am Mass, we invite all of our families to take part in our Bambinelli Sunday.
Each year, on the Third Sunday of Advent, children gather with their families in
St. Peter's Square for "Bambinelli Sunday."  The children bring with them figures of the Baby Jesus - the Bambinelli - from their family's Nativity scene. During the noontime prayer, the pope blesses the children and the figurines they have brought.  

While, we might not have the pope here to bless our Bambinelli, we will have Fr. Tom, who will bless the figurines of the Baby Jesus and all who gather with us at our outdoor Nativity scene.  So don't forget to bring your Bambinello with you!

After the blessing, we invite all of our Religious Ed. Families downstairs for Breakfast with Santa! 

Week 2 of Advent - Family Activities

Happy New Year!!!

Today in the gospel, Luke tells us about the shepherds who received a heavenly message about the birth of a child who would be there savior.  They quickly went off to see if the message that they received was true. When they found the child just as the angels had said, they gave glory to God and sang his praises.  We hear about Mary, who was probably exhausted and overwhelmed, taking time to reflect and treasure all that was happening.  Mary, Joseph, the shepherds all took time to be grateful for this truly blessed occasion. Their hearts were full of joy and gratitude for the ways that they were able to encounter God's love at this 1st Christmas.

We hope that your Christmas was a time of peace and joy!  As we celebrate the New Year, we hope that you can take a moment to reflect, treasure, and give praise and thanks for all the ways that you and your family have encountered the love of Jesus this past year.  We pray that your new year is blessed with the hope, peace, joy and love of the new born King.  

We have so much to look forward to in 2017, but before we look ahead, we took some time to look back at the past few months of the Religious Education year. Here are some of the highlights:

- We have welcomed 60 new families into our Religious Education Program and our program has grown to over 450 students

- Our Peer Leadership Team has grown to 23 high school students. The team meets each week to prepare to work with our Confirmation candidates and Religious Ed students, share their faith and to pray together

- Our Family Gathering Event at the TurtleBack Zoo, where Fr. Rich celebrated Mass, and then we had the chance to spend the day learning about animals

- Our 7th Graders came together to learn about how the saints are our truest superheroes

- We have 14 new youth altar servers (and more coming) to serve at our Liturgies 

- Our families came together to make Advent wreaths to remind us of God's hope, peace, joy and love and to help us prepare for Christmas

- 81 young people received the Sacrament of Penance for the first time on December 10th, and many of their parents were able to receive God's mercy and forgiveness through this wonderful sacrament too

- Santa visited our parish as our children and families enjoyed breakfast together 

Take a Picture with Santa and Help Our Giving Tree!!!

We Hope You Had A Happy & Holy Christmas and We Wish You A Happy New Year!

Religious Education Classes Resume on Sunday, January 3 & Tuesday, January 5 

Merry Christmas

On behalf of the Priests, Staff, Catechists and Volunteers of St. Mary's Parish

We hope you will join us for Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

December 24th

Christmas Pageant at 4:30pm with our Children's Choir

Christmas Eve Family Mass at 5pm

Christmas Carols begin at 9:30pm

Christmas Eve Mass 10pm

December 25th 

7:30am

9:00am

10:30am

12:00 Noon