St. Ignatius Martyr Parish

LOOKING FOR A DEEPER MEANING IN YOUR LIFE? The season of Advent is a time of hopeful expectation. We are preparing ourselves for a deeper meaning. On behalf of Fr. Joe, the Community Building Team invites you to come join some of your fellow parishioners for prayer, conversation, and the sharing of some of our dreams and hopes for this Advent season, and beyond. These conversations will take no more than an hour of your time, but could be quite powerful in building relationships with our fellow parishioners. After all the Masses on December 8th and 9th, we will meet in small groups in the Family Center. (Note: the meetings after the Sunday evening Mass on December 9th will be in the Church.)

Mass for our Lady of Guadalupe: The bilingual Mass for our Lady of Guadalupe will be celebrated on Wednesday, December 12th. St. Ignatius will have its own Matachines, a traditional dance group that will perform during the Mass. In addition, children from our faith community will present brief skits of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The music for the Mass will be interpreted by the St. Ignatius mariachi group. The celebration will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a musical prelude. Mass will begin at 7 p.m.

After Mass the celebration will continue with a food and music at the Family Center. Tickets for the meal will be sold. Everyone is invited to attend. If you are interested in participating as a Sponsor (Padrino) please call Juan Mata at 280-2610.

The Knights of Columbus will be sponsoring a Blood Drive on December 15th, for the Parish account. This is a very important time to donate with the Holidays approaching. You may schedule an appointment or if you have questions by calling Roger Ibarra, Jr. at 301-4979. This is to be from 8 a.m. till 12 noon in the Family Center. The Blood Drive is done through the Central Texas Blood and Tissue Center. Please give consideration to this cause.

FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT: Need a good movie for family film night? Try some of these newly released DVDs with a faith flavor.

• The Last Sin Eater directed by Michael Landon, Jr. A little girl's quest for redemption uncovers a dark secret...and the truth shall set her free. Rated PG-13 (Fox Faith, 2007).
• The Nativity Scene directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Last year's cinematic telling of the Christmas story. Rated PG. New Line Home Video, 2007).
• One Night With the King, directed by Michael O Sajbel. A new film based on the biblical story of Esther. Rated PG. (20th Century Fox, 2007).
• The Story of Ruth directed by Henry Koster. The 1960 film based on the biblical story newly released on DVD. Not rated. (20th Century Fox, 2006).
• The Ultimate Gift, directed by Michael Sajbel. "Life is how you live it...not how you spend it." Rated PG. (Fox Faith, 2007)

FLOWER MEMORIAL envelopes are available at the display racks by the doors of the Church. If you want to remember a loved one this Christmas, PRINT the name of the person to be remembered on the envelope, enclose a donation and drop the envelope in the collection basket or drop it off at the Church Office. To be included, all memorials must be received by, Monday, December 17th.