In these quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s, here is the materialfor this coming weekend. Enjoy. FKB
January 1-2, 2011
You will be pleased to know that Corpus Christi adopted 71 families via our Hands Across the Family effort! Stupendous! Also, in your name, Corpus Christi supported the St. Joseph Hospital Motel Kids Christmas party at which we helped to fund dozens and dozens of new shoes for the kids…along with some other necessary school supplies. Thank you for your generous support of our parish as we dedicate 1/40th of each week’s collection (The First Hour…we try to practice what we encourage others to do!) toward our Hands Across the County outreach efforts, as well as other charitable circumstances that emerge throughout the year.
If you are a Registered Parishioner and have been using envelopes during 2010, our Parish Office will be happy to provide you, beginning mid-January, with a written statement of your financial donations to our weekly Financial Stewardship/Offertory, the Building Fund and second collections. Pastoral Services Appeal pledges will be acknowledged via the Diocese of Orange. Unless you are Registered and have been using envelopes we do not keep track of individual/loose checks or cash. We do send out letters of gratitude and acknowledgement for any financial gifts over $250, but we do not keep records of donors who are not registered/using envelopes. For a statement, please call Susie at 389-9008. We always get a flurry of these requests as April 15 draws near….so, to avoid any delays…please make your requests as early as possible beginning in mid-January. Thanks!
In this time of holiday exuberance, a troubled or lost pregnancy can be devastating and overwhelming. Just a reminder that our Elizabeth Ministry volunteers are always prepared to lend a compassionate heart in your time of pregnancy uncertainty or loss. For more information please contact Janice Neeson at 448-9029.
We may not live on the gulf coast but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate Mardi Gras!!!
The weeks between the end of Christmas and the beginning of Lent (March 9th) are when our Southern friends start to celebrate Mardi Gras, with the revelry ceasing with the arrival of Ash Wednesday at Midnight. Following each of the Masses on the weekend of March 5-6 we will again be featuring our own version of a Mardi Gras’esque event with our Parish Food Fair. Similar to what we have done in the past, groups and individuals have an opportunity to showcase an ethnic or personal food for purchase and enjoyment after ALL the Masses (Saturday and Sunday). This is not competitive but rather a festive and fun way to enjoy each other’s favorite foods and tastily generate revenue for our Building Fund.. The parish will provide plates, napkins eating utensils, awnings, and tables. Each participant/group is responsible for donating a minimum of 50% of all proceeds from their food sales to the Building Fund. if you want further information or would like to commit to a booth, please make contact with our Food Fair Coordinator, Tim Moran, at 215-2676.
The first Sacramental Prep Session of 2011 approaches…
1. A reminder, our parish policy is that any family seeking the Sacrament of Baptism, First Reconciliation or First Eucharist, needs to have been a REGISTERED PARISHIONER for a minimum of THREE MONTHS prior to the setting of any Sacramental dates. (Thus, someone Registering today, may call in three months to begin the process of scheduling a date….not register and schedule at the same time, nor attend this upcoming Sacramental Prep Session.)
2. Our next Sacramental Preparation Session for families of children desiring First Reconciliation and First Eucharist here at Corpus Christi is scheduled for Saturday, January 29th at 2:30 p.m., concluding with the 5:00 p.m. Mass. Please note that participation at one of our quarterly Sacramental Prep Sessions prior to scheduling a First Reconciliation and First Eucharist is a parish requirement. You will receive your Sacramental Registration Form at the conclusion of the session. This policy is binding for ALL families, both those who have multiple children (who may have already received one or more First Eucharists, fresh attendance at the Sacramental Prep for each child is necessary) and for those approaching the Sacraments for the first time. To ensure proper Registration and paperwork requirements, please contact Susie Hays at 389-9008. Please note…NO DROP-INS without prior Registration! For more info please call Ali Gaby at (949) 389-9209.
It is important to note that these Sacramental Preparation Sessions augment but DO NOT replace our parish policy of parents teaching their own children the essentials of our faith and introducing their own children to the person of Jesus Christ. These Prep Sessions are final steps to ensure that parental education has indeed been happening.
Faith Initiative Starts at Home
The next session of Christi Kids and Christi Kids Clubhouse begins February 9 on Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30. Registration forms are available on the Concierge Shelves or by contacting Ali Gaby at aligaby@corpuschristialisoviejo.org. Ali is also looking for volunteers to donate their TALENT and TIME to help out with the assorted Christi Kids/Clubhouse tasks…again, please make contact with Ali. Be advised that Standard Safe Environment and Fingerprinting (at parish cost) will be required of all Corpus Christi volunteers prior to any involvement with our kids or parish programs. NEXT WEEEKEND please look for the FISH Booth at all the Masses where you can sign up to volunteer and receive information on Safe Environment and Fingerprinting.
Book Club welcomes you to join us in the New Year! Our first meeting is Monday, January 10, 7:00 PM, meeting room 4. Our selection for the January meeting is The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein. The selection for February 1 is Fall of Giants by Ken Follett.
Prospective Students and their Parents of Jserra Catholic High School… Please Join the JSerra Lions for an Open House and Campus Tour – Thursday, January 13th from 6:30-8:00pm in the JSerra Pavilion, on the Athletic Side of Campus Find out why JSerra is ranked as one of the top 50 Catholic High Schools in the United States for the last three years. Have your questions answered about JSerra’s: College Preparatory Curriculum, Pre-Medical Professional Magnet Program, World-Class Academic and Athletic Campuses, Focus on Technology in Education, Outstanding Extracurricular Programs, Trinity League Athletics Exceptional Music Program
The 2011 Corpus Christi Catholic-Christian Community College Scholarship is a merit based financial aid grant awarded to an individual student for the purpose of furthering his/her education. The Scholarship is awarded annually based on a range of criteria that reflect the values of our Corpus Christi Catholic-Christian Community as well as the abilities and potential of the student applicant.
Who is eligible to apply? Graduating students whose families are registered, financially participating members of Corpus Christi Catholic-Christian Community (verifiable registration, weekly Offertory/Stewardship and yearly Pastoral Services Appeal since February 2009) may apply for this award.
Specific eligibility criterion requires that the successful applicant: *Be a high school graduating senior *Be fully initiated into the Roman Catholic Faith through the reception of Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation *Be a member of Corpus Christi and an active participant in HAVEN Youth Ministry for a minimum of 2 years *Enroll full time (minimum 12 credit hours or otherwise be classified as a full time student) at an accredited four year college or university in the United States with the intention of completing the requirements of a baccalaureate (BA or BS) degree *Have a GPA of at least 3.25 for the last 2 years of high school *Consistently demonstrate good citizenship and Christian character *Demonstrate a determination to graduate from college *Demonstrate a record of community concern/spirit, service/involvement and leadership *Be a United States citizen *Have a combined SAT score of at least 1600 or a combined ACT score of at least 20 *Obtain a letter of recommendation from an administrator, teacher or guidance counselor of the high school from which she/he is graduating Obtain 2 letters of recommendation from non-relative professionals (community leaders) *Submit a Curriculum Vitae (CV) *Write a personal essay (not to exceed 1000 words)
What can the scholarship be used for? The financial aid award can only be used for direct educational expenses limited to: tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses.
What is the amount of the award? The recipient of the award will receive $5,000. Scholarship checks will be made co-payable to the student and the institution and will be sent to the financial aid office of the school prior to the fall semester. This award is intended to provide partial support. The recipient is encouraged to explore other financial aid resources in order to develop a complete financial aid package.
2011 Scholarship applications are now available on the Concierge Shelves. All paperwork MUST be submitted no later than April 15, 2011.
The beginning of the Pastoral Services Appeal 2011: Ordinary people living extraordinary lives, we seek neither public acclaim nor the distraction of ceremonies as we go about living our daily lives: feeding our families, educating our children, strengthening our marriages, building our relationships, mending each other’s wounds. Celebrating bright moments of passage with family and friends, we break out food and smiles, beverage, laughter and memories. With deep concern our hearts absorb dismal news, disappointments and hurts. We posses no graduate degrees of authority nor certificates of specialized training. We have been tutored and seasoned through the lessons of life. We savor the hard-learned wisdom that has come with each tender tear, sleepless night, dark despair and accomplishment. We are ordinary people doing what we have always done…living our lives to the best of our individual abilities. Ordinary people living extraordinary lives: we are the rocks on which our future and the future of our children’s, children’s, children will be built.
Neither clay nor sand, our lives posses the values, beliefs, determinations, commitments, promises, loves, hopes and deeply embraced dreams from which we reach for the seemingly unattainable. These are the rock-bottom supports upon which we crumble in our failures and the foundational qualities from which we continually stand to start afresh.
With little fanfare we pass from generation to generation the sustaining wisdom that is wrapped within the remembered images, smells and sounds of our experiences: grandmother’s lips whispering endless prayer; dad hoisting us over his head when he tiredly came home each day; waving good-bye to cherished neighbors as they drove away; mother tenderly unpacking heirloom Christmas ornaments; OUR Report Card proudly stuck upon the refrigerator door; a way-cool prom dance-step learned; an intricate science project completed; a home-run sailing over the outfield fence; a job interview nailed; the feel and sound of dirt thrown upon a casket; looking into the eyes of a new friend as you carry his crumpled body to the evac chopper; finally falling asleep following a first kiss; watching in awe as a boisterous boy becomes a virtuous man – as a giggly girl becomes a thoughtful woman.
Clothed within these remembrances of everyday life are when we discovered hope in the midst of loss, when we failed and vowed to do better, when we asked for help and learned together we are strong – alone we are weak, when we learned the richness of diversity, the fragility of love, the treasure of friendship. These values, beliefs, determinations, commitments, promises, loves, hopes and deeply embraced dreams have strengthened us to build our lives, take risks, dream big dreams, mend every wound, rise from every crisis, face every fear and are the rock-hard wisdom with which we enfold our sons and daughters so they pass them on to their own children.
With seasoned wisdom WE are walking together through the financial turmoil of 2008-2011. WE are each other’s strength in divorce, death, disillusionment and despair. WE choose to laugh when others weep, to stand and build when others cower, to seek the face of God when others insist on being lost. WE have been each other’s rocks of support in the past, WE are the rocks on which our future will be built …
WE are the rocks on which we will build OUR Church!
