PARISH ADVENT MISSION
DEVCEMBER 12th thru 15th

Fr. Bill McCarthy has been giving parish missions for more than 10 years and has spoken at over 200 parishes. He has a special gift for showing God's love for each person. Through his teachings, love, acceptance and joyful
encouragement his missions are healing and inspiring. He is the co-founder and co-director of MyFather's House Retreat Center in Moodus, Connecticut, where he also gives weekend retreats and does a weekly TV program in
Connecticut and the diocese of Boston. Fr. Bill is a member of the Missionaries of Holy Apostles (MSA) located in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Sunday, December 12, 7:00 P.M.
Presentation: 5 Keys to a personal relationship with Jesus

Monday, December 13
Presentation: Listening to God (prayer) - Times: 9:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M.

Tuesday, December 14
Presentation: Family and Relationships  - Times: 9:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M.

Wednesday, December 15
9:00 A.M. Presentation followed by Reconciliation
7:00 P.M. Reconciliation and Healing Service

CHRISTMAS TOYS
Every time we purchase a toy, we communicate our adult values to the children who receive them.  Through
play, children imitate our values.  Do we want children to think that disputes and differences are best settled
by force, or that the world is divided into good and bad guys?  Don’t buy violent toys this Christmas – or
ever – and ask family and friends to do the same.

COMMUNION
I went into her room in the nursing home and saw her there in her bed struggling to eat her lunch.  My heart
went out to her because I know she is almost totally blind and that it  was very hard for her to feed herself.
Just leaving had been an option, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that.  If I interrupted her, she probably
would not have gone back to her meal and she needed the nourishment.  So I continued into the room and
said hello.  She immediately recognized my voice and smiled her beautiful smile.  She was glad that I was
there, and so was I.  Then by the help of the Holy Spirit, I found myself doing something I never believed I
could do.  I picked up her fork and I began feeding her.  We chatted and laughed and she thoroughly
enjoyed her meal.  Afterward, we prayed together, I gave her communion and she seemed quite relaxed and
peaceful.  As I said goodbye, she glanced in my direction with those beautiful but nearly sightless blue eyes
and I saw in her face what her faith and Jesus meant to her.  I knew in that moment why I am a Minister to
the Sick and how very special this communion had been.  Praise God and blessed be His holy name.

F.R.E..E.
The theme for adult education on December 12 will be: Devotion to Mary
This session will be held in the main assembly area Beginning at 2:45 pm.

THOUGHTS FROM A VISIT         Bob Sayre
     In mid-October, I flew to and from a five-day stay with a pair of first cousins who live in the Buffalo, N.Y.,
area.  One is older than I, the other is younger, and both are grandparents.  When we were growing up, they were my only Catholic kin (their mother, my father’s sister, was a post-marriage convert).  As a teenager, I spent three weeks of a summer at the home of my cousins and their parents.  The father, my Uncle Ed, would offer grace before dinner, and everyone (except me) would then cross themselves; that’s when my uncle glanced across the table and commented, “Ah, the little heathen is here again.”  My aunt and cousins laughed nervously.
     Too bad Uncle Ed, who died years ago, missed my recent visit!  I was in St. Clare’s first catechumen class of
seven, and since April 19, 1992 (when I made a solemn profession of faith, was confirmed, and shared in the Holy
Eucharist), I have crossed myself as a proud and practicing Roman Catholic with the rest of them.
    Here are a few  “light” memories from my Buffalo trip:
· Northern houses still have basements, of course, and a majority of dwellings have at least two stories.
· Tree leaves “up there” still change from summer green to gorgeous autumnal reds and oranges.
· Some nuns still wear habits (I saw two who did and met one who didn’t).
· More than one person shares the burial plot of Millard Fillmore, our 13th U.S. president and one-time Buffalo
resident, but the Forest Park Cemetery’s visitors’ guide doesn’t say who they were.
· I saw my breath sometimes when we went outside (lowest reading one night was 29 degrees).
· Roast beef on a kimmelweck roll is a great taste adventure.
· The lowest regular gasoline price I saw in Buffalo was $1.389 a gallon.
· Our Lady of Victory basilica in east Buffalo is utterly magnificent! Huge in every dimension and rich in
marble, granite, ivory, and everything good, it is Buffalo’s best-kept secret.  It’s not mentioned in most
encyclopedic reports on Buffalo, and even my cousins never mentioned it to me or showed it to me until several
years after I became a Catholic.  If you get the chance, see it!

EXCERPTS FROM THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF VOLUSIA RECYCLES, FALL 1999
K. J. Baker

Adopt-A-Road volunteers are needed to help keep our community clean. Volunteers can clean up at least 1 mile of roadway four times a year.  This work provides a value of approximately $325 per mile.  In our particular area, Howland Blvd. is one specific road which can be adopted. K of C Council #10367 at St. Clare has agreed to clean up a particular part of Howland between Elkam and Newmark.  This has been done on a regular basis for no less
than 5 years.  This Council also cleans up Day Road from Howland Blvd. to the entrance of the church property.
Other roads in Deltona where volunteers are needed are Enterprise Road, Doyle Road, Providence Blvd. and Saxon Blvd.  If interested in this civic responsibility, please contact the Deltona City Hall office.

How about a New Year’s resolution to make your yard waste work for you?
Consider the following:

1. Start a compost pile.  Layer grass or other green materials with brown materials such as dead plants. This is combining nitrogen with carbon materials.  Keep the pile stirred and moist.

2. Make mulch from woody materials such as tree branches.  Use a chipper/shredder if you have one; otherwise, these tools can be rented.  Mulch the gardens to insulate them from the cooler months and to prevent weed growth.

3. Free mulch is available from the landfill and transfer stations in Volusia County.  The Tomoka Landfill phone is 947-2952 and the transfer station in DeLand can be reached at 943-7889.

4. Call the Volusia County Solid Waste Services Group at (904) 943-4905 for more information about yard waste.  Recycled-content products come in all shapes and sizes from carpet to jewelry.  Some tips to help you buy recycled are:
- Commit to buying recycled at home and at  your work.
- Read product labels and look for the recycled-content symbol.
- Point out recycled-content products to friends and neighbors.
- Ask retailers to stock more recycled-content products.
- Buy items that you are sure contain or are packaged in recycled-content.  These include steel, aluminum, glass
   and molded pulp containers.
- Purchase remanufactured products, refined oil and retread tires.
- Ask manufacturers to include recycled-content in their products or packaging.