Church of the
Annunciation

The following prayer for Spiritual Communion may be helpful when watching a televised Mass:

My Jesus, 

I believe that You

are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. 

I love You above all things, 

and I desire to receive You into my soul. 

Since I cannot at this moment

receive You sacramentally, 

come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.

CLICK HERE FOR DIOCESAN LETTER ON MASK MANDATE NOVEMBER 23, 2021

Erie County has reinstituted a mask mandate (11/23/21) in indoor public locations.

Please wear a mask coming to, during and leaving Mass. Masks can be taken off for reception of Holy Communion.  Please also wear a mask if you are attending the Mike Randall performance on Sunday November 28th.

November 23, 2021

Dear Friends in Christ: 

Today is the 1^st Sunday of Advent. Advent means “coming.” When we light candles in our Advent wreaths at home and in church, we commemorate in faith the coming of Jesus long ago in Bethlehem; we anticipate in hope the coming of Jesus in glory at the end time; and we celebrate in love the presence and coming of Jesus in our lives today. There is an Advent-Christmas book and gift sale in Selbert Hall before and after Saturday and Sunday morning Masses. At 2:00 PM, in church, Mike Randal presents/performs, “A Christmas Carol 2021.” On Advent Monday mornings and evenings (11/29, 12/6, and 12/13) parishioners and friends are reflecting on the book, “The Redemption of Scrooge.” Our Advent Penance Service is scheduled on Thursday December 9^th at 6:30 PM with confessions until 8:30 PM. May Advent be a season of light as we welcome Christ.    

Fr. Gabriel Scarfia, OFM got sick at the very beginning of 8:00 AM Sunday Mass on November 14^th.  Parishioners helped Fr. Gabe into the sacristy and called Emergency Medical Responders. He was taken to the hospital to make sure everything is OK and for testing. You can send a get well card to the Friary at SS. Columba and Brigid Rectory, 75 Hickory Street, Buffalo, New York 14204-1920. Keep Fr. Gabe in your prayers for healing and for return to Annunciation in good health. We wish him the traditional Franciscan greeting: “pax et bonum” – “peace and goodness.” 

The Thanksgiving-Advent-Christmas Seasons give us the opportunity to express our gratitude to God in our kindness to others. Ladies in Shawl Ministry have crochet/knitted prayer shawls and lap blankets for the sick and shut-ins that are available on a table in Selbert Hall. Our Family Faith Formation program has coordinated a blanket appeal to keep folks warm at St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. You will see the Stars of Bethlehem on our glass doors and partitions. Once again Mary Kay Schaub and her team of helpers are making this traditional parish appeal. Check the back of the Stars and the bulletin for more details. Two missions are requesting $20 gift cards. Other Stars will have particular names with gift suggestions. These gifts should be wrapped and labeled. 

Janet Hegedus and Ladies of Annunciation contacted Catholic Charities to offer help for Afghan refugees being resettled in WNY. Shoes and boots for snow are needed. Kindly consider donating GENTLY used boots in all sizes for children, women and men. Please mark the boot size for sorting and distribution. Place your boots in the designated containers in Selbert Hall. Donations can be made this weekend November 27-28 and next weekend December 4-5. The contribution of these shoes and boots will express the warmth of our hearts in support of people displaced from their homes. 

Florian Markowski stopped by the office with an obituary in the BN about Sister Beatrice M. Venditti, OSF. She was 91, a classmate of Florian and she attended Annunciation Catholic Grade School. Her name then was Margaret. Later she became a Sister of St. Francis with a long career caring for children, teaching, and in pastoral and associate ministries. We are grateful for all the girls and boys who received their education and faith formation in our elementary school and in our religious education programs and who have gone on to live their Catholic faith with fidelity and integrity in the Church and the world.   

Fr. Gene Ulrich