January, it’s the start of a New Year, new beginnings and new opportunities.  The family is the smallest but most fundamental unit of society. It is in the family that we experience love, forgiveness, community and relationships. But we also experience loss, hurt, pain and suffering. As parents, as mothers and fathers God has blessed you with your children and with the awesome responsibility of teaching your children. There is so much to teach your children! You teach them to take care of their bodies, provide schooling so they are educated, and teach them about our loving God and the Catholic faith. While you are teaching all these things, your children are watching you and your actions, and they are learning so much by them. Do not be discouraged in this task God has given you, for God does not call the qualified but qualifies those called. As a parish we are here to help one another to grow in love and faith. If things have seemed overwhelming at times, call on the help and support of others. This is a new year, a new beginning, a chance to start a new tradition, to learn something new as a family. Here is a link to a short video from Cardinal Burke, The Family is a Little Church: https://youtu.be/y7kXinxOFKc. Happy New Year!

January 9^th is the Baptism of Jesus and ends the Christmas season.   We are then in ordinary time until Lent begins on March 2^nd – Ash Wednesday.

Last month was a busy one for the youth of our parish.  Saturday morning, December 4^th was First Reconciliation for seven students.  Thank you to Fr. Bergschneider, catechists Cara VandeVoorde & Tom Liszka, the ladies of St. Anne’s CCW for providing the brunch and all who helped make this a special day.

Thank you to all who were able to contribute hats, mitten and/or gloves to the Durand Ecumenical Council Christmas giving program. The families appreciate your kindness and generosity!

High School RE Classes will resume in person beginning this month. Please meet in the rectory for classes this Sunday, January 9th.

Confirmation Class
Confirmation Parent & Student Meeting will be held January 23^rd beginning with a potluck lunch after the 10:30Mass with the meeting concluding at 2pm. This meeting will kick off Confirmation prep! Students and parents will receive materials, dates, etc.

First Eucharist
A meeting will be held on Sunday, January 9^th, at 9 a.m., St. Mary Church Hall Serving Room.   This meeting is for parents of students preparing to receive their First Eucharist.

Rockford Walk for Life
Rockford Walk for Life, Saturday, January 15^th, 11am at the Federal Courthouse, 327 S. Church Street. It will begin with prayer, a rally and then walk several blocks past the State of Illinois building and back to the Federal Courthouse to conclude in prayer. Join others in this peaceful and prayerful walk to end abortion.

Adult Education
Who Am I to Judge? In this small group study program featuring Edward Sri, we'll explore the classical view of morality and find that it's not merely a set of guiding principles for theoretical situations—it is an entire way of life. What is "right" and "wrong"? Is what's right for you right for me? Is there a right and wrong for everyone, all the time? These are difficult questions to discuss in our culture. We live in a society that supports the opinion that each person should make up his or her own morality—that there is no moral truth that applies to everyone. Many of us have been affected by the relativistic outlook that pervades the modern world. Maybe some of us wonder whether there really is an absolute right and wrong for everyone. Or maybe we accept that there is a moral standard for all, but we don't know how to explain our moral convictions in a convincing way. Maybe some of us are afraid of saying something is immoral because we're afraid of offending others or of being labeled intolerant. How do we talk about morality in a relativistic world? Registration for small group study will begin January 8/9^th and the study begins the week of January 24^th.

Souper Bowl Sunday
Saturday and Sunday, February 5^th/6^th, before and after all Masses of non-perishable foods and monetary donations to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry.  Show your support by placing your donation in the “soup pot” for your favorite NFL team to win the Super Bowl or SVdP (All food and money collected will be donated to St. Mary/St. Patrick St. Vincent de Paul Society).

Scout Sunday
February 6^th is Boy Scout Sunday .  Boy Scouts who participate at Mass on February 5 ^th /6 ^th  should receive a Scout Sunday patch from their Pack or Troop. If your son is a Boy Scout and would like to participate in the weekend Masses, please call Terry Cravens at 248-2490.  (Girl Scout Sunday is March 6 ^th ).

Totus Tuus
Totus Tuus I am hoping it will be held this upcoming summer, and with the Totus Tuus Team. If not, I’d like to be prepared to offer it as it was presented last year with parish college students for the team. Totus Tuus is a week-long “parish mission” for Catholic youth entering grades 1^st – 12^th. It is dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, apologetics, Christian witness, the sacraments, Marian devotion, and Eucharistic worship. Totus Tuus calls upon college students and seminarians from the Rockford Diocese and across the United States to carry the mission to every young person they encounter. Please send me the best weeks this summer for your family to attend by the end of January.  The Program usually runs for six weeks and going off prior year’s schedule here is my guesstimation: June 5-10; 12-18; 20-25; June 26-July 2; 10-16; and 17-23. More information will be available in the near future. Want to learn more about this program? Check out the following YouTube video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGJTSiSmJkg

St. Andre Bessette (1845-1937)
Feast Day: January 6
André was born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal, the eighth of 12 children. Sickness and weakness were regular struggles for him since the time of his birth. Click here for more information and/or to watch a video about him:  https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=18.

St. Frances de Sales 
Feast Day: January 24
Patron of: Authors, Deafness, Journalists, Writers, the Catholic Press
Born in Savoy, in the Chateau de Sales, he studied at Annecy, in Paris and the University of Padua where he received his doctorate in law at the age of twenty-four.  Francis gave up a career in law to study for the priesthood.  Click here for more information and/or to watch a video about him:  St. Francis de Sales - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online 
*Information on saints taken from www.catholic.org and OSV’s Encyclopedia of Saints.