Thank You from “Hour Children”

The donated food was picked up on Monday morning by Hour Children. They are most grateful to all of you for your continued support and generosity. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mass on Thanksgiving Day

In recognition of St. Charles Borromeo's 175th anniversary, the parish has invited us at the Oratory Parishes to join them on Thanksgiving Day for a 9am Mass. Fr Anthony will be there to concelebrate, and all members of Assumption and St. Boniface are invited to join on this day when our whole nation pauses to give God thanks for our many blessings. St. Charles is located at 19 Sidney Place. There will not be Mass at Assumption or St. Boniface on Thanksgiving Day. On Friday, November 29, Assumption will have the normal 8am Mass.

What is Advent?

Find out what Advent is all about and deepen your experience of this season before Christmas. Use this free guide to reintroduce yourself to the Liturgical Season of Advent and explore how to make the most of this season. https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/advent



As this weekend we will celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, Advent booklets containing daily reflections will be available in the back of both churches.

World Aids Day

For 36 years, World AIDS Day has been observed on December 1st, when people from around the world unite to show support for people living with HIV and to remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. There are an estimated 39.9 million people living with HIV in the world today. We will be commemorating World AIDS Day after the 11:15am Mass at St Boniface on December 1st.



If you lost a loved one to the AIDS epidemic and would like their name added to the list of names to be read during the service, please contact John Linder jhelpato@gmail.com. Come light a candle in honor of those living with HIV and those we have lost to the illness.

Advent Giving Tree

You can help make a Christmas brighter for a child in need by joining Assumption’s annual giving tree project. Hour Children, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph, provides care and support to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children in Brooklyn and Queens.

Pick up a tag from the Giving tree at Assumption and bring your unwrapped gift to the narthex of Assumption or St Boniface. Gifts can be dropped off during weekday and Sunday Mass times.

We will collect gifts through Sunday, December 15.

Social Justice Action/St Mary Star of the Sea (SMSS) Outerwear and Blankets

Donation Request

The Oratory Parishes Social Justice Action Committee (SJAC) and the Oratory Women's Community (OWC) are partnering with Catholic Charities on an Advent drive for newly-arrived migrants. The urgent need is for outwear (coats, hats, gloves and scarves for all ages and sizes) and blankets (no bed linens please) for the migrants at Floyd Bennett Field. We will deliver the donations to Mary Carriero, St Mary Star of the Sea's pop-up shop.

At St. Boniface, we will be separating the points of collections:

For blankets, please meet Pat Vitacco or Marybeth Zeman outside the church, before the 11:15am Mass on Dec 8 & 15. These donations can be put directly into their cars. There will be no blanket collection at the 6pm Mass.

For Outerwear, please bring items to the table in the back of church.

At Assumption, the outerwear and blankets can be collected together,

and the exact location within ABVM will be determined, please check back here next week.

If you would like to bring your donation directly to St. Mary Star of the Sea during the week, please reach out to Mary Carriero at 718 501-8510 or mcarriero19@gmail.com. The rectory at St Mary's office hours are in transition and Mary will coordinate your drop off time and place.

On Sunday, Dec. 8, the OWC is also hosting a coffee hour at St Boniface in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Please join them for some tasty treats.  Thank you for your continued generosity, SJAC/OWC

Donations will be collected on the weekends of Dec. 7 and 8 and Dec. 14 and 15.

Oratory Evening Prayer

Join the priests and brothers for a service of readings, song, and shared reflection. (6:15-7pm). Please enter using the elevator or side garden glass doors.

Monday, December 2 at 6:15, Assumption Hall

Newman on Advent: Retreat

Join us for our annual Advent retreat! We’ll explore St John Henry Newman’s reflections on Advent. Fr Richard Smith, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and pastor of St John-St Joachim in Beacon will lead us. Fr Smith holds a doctorate in theology from Fordham University and has written and lectured extensively on Newman. 

We will start with a Mass at 9am in the church, followed by hospitality before the retreat begins. We hope to see you there!

Register here: https://forms.gle/JCtypbQEwdxjx4xw6

Saturday, December 7, ABVM, Mass at 9am

The Oratory Women's Community is hosting a Coffee Hour on Dec 8, 2024 after 11:15 Mass to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There will be Mexican food, culture and music and ways to honor this Patroness of the Americas.



Also, OWC will be joining SJC in collecting blankets for the MSS Thrift Shop. A car with a Guadalupe flag will be parked in front of church before Mass for you to directly deposit your blankets. Thank you!

If you'd like to help; quisiera ayudar, oratorywomen@gmail.com.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

A Holy Day of Obligation.

Masses will be celebrated at the following times:

Monday, December 9

8:00am at Assumption

12:10pm at St Boniface (with music)

AFF Scripture Study with Father Kishore

As part of our Adult Faith Formation, we invite you to join us for a monthly scripture study series focusing on the Gospel of Luke, which will be the main Gospel for the upcoming liturgical year (Year C). All sessions meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, 7-8pm.

Wednesday, December 18, 7-8pm, Assumption Hall

Sister Parish Christmas Cards and Crafts

Please support activities at our Sister Parish while doing some of your Christmas shopping this Advent. Find unusual items at our annual sale of handmade Christmas Cards and crafts. Tables will be set up at the back of the church on Dec 8 after 9:30am Mass at Assumption and Dec 15 after 11:15 Mass at St Boniface.



Proceeds will be sent to St Mark’s Parish in early 2025.

Advent Vespers: "Rejoice Always"

Enter more deeply into the Advent season! Participating in Vespers is a perfect way to slow down and celebrate Advent through prayer, scripture, song, and reflection.

Assumption Parishioner Carol Amon will reflect on the fourth chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians.



Come to St. Boniface on Sunday, December 15, 4pm.

Homeless Shelter 2025

Thanks to a grant that CAMBA has received, the Respite Bed Program (Shelter) is resuming this year and Assumption will be participating in the program from January 6th – 30th. As in the past, our guests will be 10-12 men who we will welcome four nights a week (Monday – Thursday). For the shelter to be successful, volunteers are needed to open, cook, and stay overnight.



If you have questions or wish to schedule a date to volunteer, contact Kathy Reynolds, kbridgeview@aol.com (subject: Shelter 2025). Please consider volunteering for this important and rewarding ministry.

Be an Ambassador to our Sister Parish in the Summer of 2025

You are invited to make an in-person visit to St Mark’s Parish in Lokitaung, Turkana, Kenya with a small group from the Oratory parishes. Learn what is happening, gather information, develop an understanding of how we can support them more effectively and build a stronger, more vibrant relationship for both of our communities. Explore parish activities, community outreach, growth, challenges, successes. Experience a joy-filled Mass, visit parish outstations and schools, take part in parish activities, visit projects supported by Friends of Turkana. When you return, share what you learned with our parish communities here.

For information, contact Joan Schieber at jerryjoan@nyc.rr.com

Ministry Morning: Save the Date

All liturgical ministers from both Oratory Parishes (lectors, EM's, MC's, and hospitality) are invited to this gathering that will include a light breakfast, a presentation on the spirituality of liturgical ministry, and then practicum for each ministry using breakout sessions.



Saturday, January, 11, 2025, from 9am-noon in Assumption Hall

Oratory Parishes Family Faith Formation (F3) Information

https://tinyurl.com/F3-Page

Upcoming Diocesan Collection

Retirement Fund for Religious-December 8

Please help support elderly Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests. Donations can be made on Pushpay by selecting the Religious Retirement fund.

Cecilia Chorus Singing Bach Christmas Cantata and Bernstein in Carnegie Hall

Come hear Bach's festive first Christmas Cantata and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Mass with the Cecilia Chorus in Carnegie Hall. We are a handful of Oratory parishioners (including members of the St Boniface and Assumption choirs) who are singing in the 150+ strong Cecilia Chorus with orchestra and stellar soloists. One night only! We would love to see you there. At the Carnegie Hall Box Office Hall Box Office online or in person at Carnegie Hall you can use our chorus discount code: CNY51106.

Carnegie Hall on Saturday, December 7 at 8pm

Weekly Mass Intention Schedule

First Sunday of Advent

Weekly Readings:

.https://bible.usccb.org/readings

Assumption

11-30 ..5:00pm ...John Vekassy

12-1 ... 9:30am ...For the People of the Parish 

12-2 ... 8:00am ...Edward Acerra

12-3 ... 8:00am ...Moisas Abad

12-4 ... 8:00am ...Elaine Vekassy

12-5 ... 8:00am ...Healing - James McGrath

12-6 ... 8:00am ...Edward Acerra

12-7 ... 9:00am ...Healing - Kathy Slater

St. Boniface

12-1 ... 11:15am ...For the People of the Parish 

12-1 ... 6:00pm ...Jane Hurley O'Connor

12-2 ... 12:10pm ...Hong Jin

12-3 ... 12:10pm ...William J. Ablondi

12-4 ... 12:10pm ...Connie DeFalco

12-5 ... 12:10pm ...Priest's Intention

12-6 ... 12:10pm ...Giuseppa Ablondi

Please keep the sick of the community in your prayers:

Jeanette Bertolo Sforza, Richard Vekassy, Virginia Albert, Maureen O’Neil, Janice Clarke, William Gould, Maria Fusco, James McGrath, Maria Lopez, Alice Mulholland, Kathy Slater, Mary Simon Charles, George Slater, Mary Cella, Kim Manzi, Marie Turley.

Rest In Peace: Joann Cassar, Jack Knower, Connie DeFalco, Edward Acerra, Dean Smith, Joan Kelleher, Jimmy Lina, George Slover, Sr. M. Rose Golden, RDC, Mary Ann Cassidy.

Prayer List

If you would like to add someone to the prayer list, email the parish office at info@oratorychurch.org or go to the website: https://oratorychurch.org/contact-us and complete the information there.

Mass Intentions

If you would like to request a Mass for someone living or deceased, Mass Intentions are available. Email info@oratorychurch.org. The offering is $20. Please pay by using Pushpay or by mailing a check to 64 Middagh St. Brooklyn, NY 11201.

Upcoming Calendar

November

11/28....Thanksgiving Day

December

12/1....1st Sunday of Advent

12/1....World Aids Memorial

12/2....Oratory Evening Prayer, 6:15pm, ABVM Hall

12/6....First Friday, Sacred Heart Novena

12/7....First Saturday Mass, 9am, ABVM

12/7....Advent Newman Retreat

12/8....Baptisms

12/8....Turkana Craft Fair, ABVM Hall

12/8....Coffee Hour, St B

12/14....Christmas Pageant, ABVM Hall

12/15....Turkana Craft Fair, St B

12/15....Advent Vespers, St B, 4m

12/16....Reconciliation Monday

12/18....AFF Scripture Study, 7pm, ABVM Hall

Candle Dedications at Assumption

Sanctuary candle offered by Connie Leone

St Joseph candle offered by Connie Leone

Blessed Mother candle offered by Kathy Reynolds

St. Jude candle offered by Notre Thomas

The Brooklyn Oratory Parishes

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

55 Cranberry St. between Henry and Hicks

Brooklyn Heights

Church of St. Boniface

190 Duffield St.

Downtown Brooklyn

Daily Masses

Monday - Friday, 8:00am at Assumption

Monday - Friday, 12:10pm at St. Boniface

Weekend Masses

Saturdays, 5:00pm at Assumption

Sundays, 9:30am at Assumption

Sundays, 11:15am and 6:00pm at St. Boniface

†

The Sacrament of Penance

Saturdays, 4:15 - 4:45pm at Assumption

Wednesdays, 12:30pm at St. Boniface

Sundays, 5:15 - 5:45pm at St. Boniface

†



Weekday Church Hours

Monday through Friday, 11:30am - 1:00pm at St. Boniface

Monday through Friday, 7:30am - 9:00am at Assumption

†

Prayers and Devotions

Rosary, Tuesdays & Thursdays after the 12:10pm Mass at St. Boniface,

Thursdays after 8:00am Mass at Assumption

St. Anthony Novena, Tuesdays after 8:00am Mass at Assumption

First Fridays, Sacred Heart Novena after 8:00am Mass at Assumption

First Saturdays, 9:00am Mass with Rosary, Meditation and Benediction at Assumption

Stewardship

Your faithful stewardship has helped sustain our communities and maintain vital ministries and services. Thank you for keeping faith with us and supporting our common work of the gospel. You can make your donation online through Pushpay by clicking on one of the links.

For Assumption: https://pushpay.com/g/oratorychurch?src=hpp

For St. Boniface: https://pushpay.com/g/oratorychurchbrooklyn?src=hpp

Or mail checks or envelopes payable to “Assumption RC Church” or “St. Boniface RC Church” to:

64 Middagh St

Brooklyn NY 11201

Attn: Assumption or St. Boniface