First Week of Advent

Bulletin

06-Dec-25

Consult the parish calendar for a complete list of upcoming activities and events.

Advent & Christmas

General Announcements

Fundraising & Events

Join us for our After-Mass Social the last Sunday of each month. It's a great opportunity to reconnect with fellow parishioners and meet new ones. All are welcome... bring a friend!

Our next social will take place after Mass on January 25.

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If you have a fundraising idea you would like to explore, contact Audrey Baker.

Around the Archdiocese

Advent Confessions

Preparing ourselves to receive Jesus requires an attitude of intense and trusting prayer. The Sacrament of Penance is a powerful prayer which drives out sin. Fr. Paul will be available to hear your confession:

Date: Wednesday, December 10
Time: 6:00 pm

Location: St. Laurence O'Toole | 50 Centre Street, Spencerville ON

Date: Tuesday, December 16
Time: 6:00 pm

Location: St. Ann | 242 Main Street West, Merrickville ON

Begin your preparation with an examination of conscience.

Prayers Around the Advent Wreath

Lighting the Advent wreath isn’t just a time-honoured tradition, it’s an amazing opportunity to create meaningful connections and discussions with your loved ones! To help deepen your experience, Mission Youth Merrickville has prepared a pamphlet with Advent wreath prayers that will assist you in reflecting on the season in a profound way.

Please pick up a copy of the prayers at the back of the Church.

Christmas Flower Drive

Dressing up St. Ann’s for Christmas

Contribute to the floral decoration of St. Ann’s this Christmas with a poinsettia. At this special time of year, you may wish to leave a small floral card in the arrangement in honour of a loved one. Plants will be arranged on the altar for our Christmas celebrations.

Flowers will be accepted throughout December until the morning of Christmas Eve. Cash donations for flowers would also be gratefully received. Please put donations in an envelope with your envelope number on it and deposit it in the collection basket before December 21.

St. Ann Glass Ornament

An Advent Gift to Parishioners

Deck out your Christmas tree with a St. Ann glass ornament. Gift is made possible by anonymous donation. Free will offerings to the Mission Youth Merrickville are gratefully accepted.

Journey through Advent Video Series

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Journey through Advent video series returns to help the faithful prepare for the memorial of the birth of Our Lord celebrated at Christmas. The videos will guide viewers through Advent by offering reflections, enriched by spiritual and pastoral insights, on the Gospel readings of the four Sundays of Advent. Each new video of the four-part series will be available each Monday in advance of the upcoming Sunday Eucharistic Celebration.

Visit the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for the latest video.

Year End & Christmas Giving

Our Parish undertook renovations to transform the Chapel to an office and installed an accessible washroom. Work is underway for a new ramp. While your contributions have been instrumental to support these enhancements, our operational expenses continue to outpace the weekly collection.

For your donations to be credited towards your 2025 tax receipt, they need to be received by December 31, 2025.

Donations made at the Mass on December 31 will be considered 2025 donations; however, cheques dated 2026 will be recorded for the 2026 Tax Year.
Donations made at the New Year’s Day Mass on January 1 will be considered 2026 donations.
Donations may be made by e-transfer at any time. Make your donation prior to midnight December 31 for it to be counted for the 2025 Tax Year.

Lions Christmas Hamper Program

In 2024, the Lions Christmas Hamper Program helped 73 Merrickville-Wolford families enjoy a Happy Christmas Season. The need will be greater this year, and you can be part of the fundraising campaign.

Cash or cheque donations are accepted at: Merrickville Drug Mart, Food Town, Larkspur Lane, Post Office, Mainstreet Restaurant, LCBO, and Violets on Main.

The Lions Club Angel Tree will be set up in Larkspur Lane. It is the only Angel Tree collecting toys for Merrickville-Wolford children.

If you or anyone you know would benefit from receiving a food hamper, please call Rhonda (613.269.4918).

Mass Times for Christmas and New Year’s

Christmas (The Nativity of the Lord) and New Year’s Day (Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God) are Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics. Several Masses have been planned to accommodate your schedule.

The Nativity of the Lord

December 24 (Christmas Eve)

4:30 pm | St. Laurence O’Toole | 50 Centre Street, Spencerville ON
7:30 pm | St. Ann | 242 Main Street West, Merrickville ON (Rosary at 6:30 pm | Carols at 7:00 pm)

December 25 (Christmas Day)

9:00 am | St. Laurence O’Toole | 50 Centre Street, Spencerville ON
11:00 am | St. Ann | 242 Main Street West, Merrickville ON

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

December 31 (New Year's Eve)

7:00 pm | St. Ann | 242 Main Street West, Merrickville ON

January 1 (New Year's Day)

9:00 am | St. Laurence O’Toole | 50 Centre Street, Spencerville ON
11:00 am | St. Ann | 242 Main Street West, Merrickville ON

For Christians in Areas of Conflict

Papal Intention for December

Let us pray that Christians living in areas of war or conflict, especially in the Middle East, might be seeds of peace, reconciliation, and hope.

2026 Offertory Envelopes

Thank you for your continued financial support of our parish. Your annual box of collection envelopes will be ready for pick up December 14.

If you are new to our Parish, be sure to complete a parishioner registration form. Registered parishioners are assigned a donor number for tax receipt purposes.

Sunday Missal 2025-2026

Stay connected to the parish's most important celebrations and enrich your participation in the Mass. This essential resource will help you prepare for the Eucharistic celebration for Holy Days of Obligation for Year A. Includes Order of Mass, prayers, blessings, and more!

Now available at the back of the Church for a free-will offering (suggested contribution: $7.50).

House For Sale

The former Rectory at 230 Main Street West is now listed for sale. Share the listing, complete with video tour and still photos, with your networks!

Journey - Fall 2025 Edition

Now Available

The Fall 2025 edition of Journey, Communicator for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston, is now available. This edition introduces the 200th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Kingston and features:

Letter from the Archbishop to the faithful on the 200th anniversary celebrations
Historical Timeline - Key Diocesan events
200th Anniversary Program Outline
Lenten Collection Update
and more!

Download you copy of Journey today.

Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Archdiocese of Kingston will begin its 200th anniversary celebrations on the Patronal Feast, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, invoking Our Blessed Mother to lead us to her Son and transform us in His image. An Icon has been written to inspire our prayer and commemorate this special anniversary within the archdiocese.

All parishioners are invited to join in celebrating the Solemnity of the patron of the Archdiocese of Kingston to kick off our 200th anniversary celebrations.

Date: Monday, December 8

Time: 10:30 am (Confessions at 9:30 am)

Location: St. Mary's Cathedral | 279 Johnson Street, Kingston ON

Jubilee 2025 - Pilgrims of Hope

The Catholic Church worldwide is celebrating a special Jubilee Year in 2025. This has been a tradition dating back to the year 1300 when Pope Boniface VIII announced the first Jubilee, which is also referred to as a “Holy Year”. The frequency has changed over time, with a Jubilee year originally celebrated every 100 years, later every 50 years and, more recently, every 25 years or at the request of the Holy Father.

The Jubilee Year includes many celebrations in dioceses around the world. The theme of the 2025 Jubilee will be “Pilgrims of Hope”. In the words of Pope Francis: "We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision."

The Holy Father opened the Jubilee Year on Christmas Eve 2024, with the official opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Year will conclude January 6, 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, with the closing of the Holy Door.

May this Holy Year provide a grace-filled opportunity to nurture the seeds of faith for you and your loved ones, immersing ourselves as Pilgrims of Hope into a year-long journey of prayer, witness and service drawing on the example of Jesus, our Lord.

Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen.