God, our Father, thank you for showing us your unconditional love in the Incarnation of your Son. Thank you for promising us eternal life as we believe in him. This fills our hearts with great joy, comfort and peace.

Bless all the members of our Catholic faith community here at St. Francis Xavier Parish and School. You are THE beacon of light for us in our troubled world. In your Spirit, may we be Christ-centered beacons of light as a "parish for others".

Abundant Christmas blessings for you.
Fr. Dan Sullivan, S.J., Pastor

The reflections in this section of the bulletin build upon what was presented in last week's bulletin. I have compiled these reflections from Creighton University's Online Ministries. Their material will be in quotation marks.

"The whole purpose of these Advent reflections has been to help us find intimacy with God in the midst of our everyday lives. So we have focused on using the background times of our days to create an interior atmosphere that allows us to wait, to hope, to come into contact with our longing and our desire.

The reflections in this section of the bulletin build upon what was presented in last week's bulletin. I have compiled these reflections from Creighton University's Online Ministries. Their material will be in quotation marks.

"Our week begins with 'Gaudete Sunday.' Gaudete means "rejoice" in Latin.  It comes from the first word of the Entrance antiphon on Sunday.  The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of Paul, 'The Lord is near.'  This joyful spirit is marked by the third candle of our Advent wreath, which is rose colored.

The reflections in this section of the bulletin build upon what was presented in last week's bulletin. I have compiled these reflections from Creighton University's Online Ministries. Their material will be in quotation marks.

Please consider making an Advent wreath. Really all you need are four candles. Three candles violet in color and one candle that is rose colored. By lighting the appropriate candle each week of Advent, it will focus your attention on the meaning of each week as Christmas approaches.

"The 36th General Congregation has elected Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, of the Jesuit Province of Venezuela as Superior General.

Father Sosa was born in Caracas, Venezuela on 12 November 1948. Until his election, Father Sosa has been Delegate for Interprovincial Houses of the Society in Rome, as well as serving on the General Council as a Counsellor. He obtained a licentiate in philosophy from l'Università Cattolica Andrés Bello in 1972. He later obtained a doctorate in Political Science from l'Università Centrale del Venezuela, in 1990. He speaks Spanish, Italian, English, and understands French.

I would like to take the opportunity to remind the congregation as to how we are to receive Holy Communion. The directives I offer are based on the guidelines contained in the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM). Though you may see people doing things differently, or practices that are different in other parishes, these directives are how we are to receive Holy Communion in this Diocese.

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

September always brings a feeling of new beginnings, Never has it seemed more so than now as we enter fall with all parish and school construction completed at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Faith Community.

St. Francis Xavier School is bustling with the energy and enthusiasm of 635 students, who are receiving an unparalleled elementary education in the Jesuit tradition. I am proud of the school's outstanding educators, who now have a state-of-the,art facility to enhance their impact on our students.

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

As we celebrate our new Parish Center, I am asking every parishioner and every school family to make one final gift to help us finish our Capital Campaign. Thanks to the generosity of the Anderson Family Foundation, your pledge will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

With just $3.75 million remaining to complete our Capital Campaign, every dollar counts, and I pray I can count on you to help me now!

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

In this issue of our weekly parish bulletin I would like to share with you the homily I gave at the 11:00 AM Mass last Sunday. The gospel for September 4th, Luke 14:25-33, can come across as unsettling, so here is my attempt to "break open the Word".

"Perhaps as I read the Gospel you felt a real resistance to what I was reading. What do you mean to "hate" my family? What do you mean to take up my cross and follow Jesus? What would cause me want to make such sacrifices to be a disciple of Jesus?

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

As we celebrate our new Parish Center, I am asking every parishioner and every school family to make one final gift to help us finish our Capital Campaign. Thanks to the generosity of the Anderson Family Foundation, your pledge will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

With just $3.75 million remaining to complete our Capital Campaign, every dollar counts, and I pray I can count on you to help me now!

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

The gospel today gives us an image we can ponder as we consider our response to God's loving call in our lives. I don't think that God wants us people of faith to fret about if we are to be saved or not. The answer is "yes" because that is what Jesus' paschal mystery is all about. Jesus has saved us. Yet, we must respond to that love and that saving action for our lives.

As the gospel of Luke for today states: Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough." Luke 13

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

We are in the liturgical season of "Ordinary Time". We are not preparing for Christmas or Easter at this time. The scripture readings that we hear at Mass during Ordinary Time often do not have a clear theme to them so that leaves us a bit confused. So we have to go with the flow.

We often think of Jesus as being the Prince of Peace. In his ministry he fostered mercy, forgiveness, compassion service to our neighbor and faith in the promises of God. Today's gospel reading from Luke 12:49-53 tells us of Jesus saying to his followers and to all those watching him, "I have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing…"