Mary Mother of God/New Years Mass

• There is only one Mass scheduled for Mary Mother of God/New Years - 1st January 2021 10:00AM at St. Adalbert Church 

Christmas Masses:

To participate in our Christmas Eve and Day Masses via Livestream - Click here

For our Christmas Mass Worship Aid - Click here

Lessons and Carols—There will be two virtual Lessons and Carols released, one for Advent and one for Christmas. 

• Advent Lessons and Carols- join us to pray and prepare for the birth of our Lord through Advent Lessons and Carols! This year's Advent Lessons and Carols was recorded, one by one, over the span of several weeks in order to protect the safety of all involved due to COVID-19. Thanks to the parish grouping, our Advent and Christmas Lessons and Carols includes parishioners from both Prince of Peace and Saint Mary of the Mount. From lectors to cantors, clergy to children, and of course Diana Saunders interpreting, our Advent Lessons and Carols is a beautiful testament to the people that make our parish so special.
  • For Advent Lessons and Carols on YouTube - Click Here
  • For Christmas Lessons and Carols on YouTube - Click Here

• COMING SOON: Stay tuned for our Christmas Lessons and Carols!

Sacrament of Reconciliation— will be offered at the normal scheduled times inside the churches in open spaces: Saturdays 3:00-3:45pm at Saint Adalbert Church; Wednesdays 6:00-6:45pm at Saint Mary of the Mount Church.

The Advent and Christmas seasons will look differently this year, there are so many meaningful ways we can live the seasons and share those celebrations with one another (from afar).

This year, we are asking each family/individual/household to commit to at least one Advent or Christmas activity.  The idea is simple:  choose an activity from the list below and share it with us as a community! In order to “share” it, we’re asking you to either snap a picture, maybe take a short video on your phone as you do it, record a short audio, even draw a picture of the activity, or write a few sentences about what you did (and maybe what it was like)! 

For a list of activities and how to "share" - Click here
To view the "shares" and see how other families and households are celebrating - Click here

The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus.  The word means “coming.”  It was first used in the early Church to designate a time before Christmas.  There was also great emphasis placed on Jesus’ second coming, the one we are still waiting for.

The custom of an Advent wreath to help us intentionally journey through the four weeks of Advent is a rather recent spiritual ritual as it was created in the 1800s by a German Lutheran Minister.  The Advent wreath is meant to be a simple act of reflection done at home and in a parish.  Three purple candles and one rose colored candle symbolize the four weeks that begin on Sunday.  They are connected by an evergreen wreath that symbolizes God’s love, which has no beginning and no end (circle) and the evergreen branch that does not die. The candles represent the light of our baptism that comes from Christ and is the light that we bring into the world.  The third week is the pink candle, that is the color of joy as we grow closer to his coming.  Each week you light the previous week(s) candle and the current one.

In our parish we have been focusing on the Community Covenant.  By Christmas, we will have explored the first three parts:  We Pray, We Invite, We Serve.  These sacred promises of relationship will be the focus of our Advent wreath prayers.  Beginning each Sunday, pray the prayer of the week.  Pray it as many days of the week as you can.  Gather the members of your household or encourage each member to pray it alone.  As a community we are inviting the Holy Spirit to renew us and bring us into deeper relationship with God and one another.

For a a link to the Advent Covenant Paryers - Click here

We have pews that are blocked off because of the need for physical distancing, but we would like to fill them with your pictures! Please send a photo via email to abruce@smomp.org, mail to: Prince of Peace/St. Mary of the Mount, attn.: Christmas Photo; 81 S. 13th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203, or by dropping it off in the mail slot anytime at the parish administrative center (same address as above). Whether you are emailing the photo, mailing it or dropping it off, please include the names of those in the photo as well as if you would like to be placed at Prince of Peace or St. Mary of the Mount churches, or if you have no preference either way. Emailed photos are preferred. All photos must be postmarked (if mailed), emailed or dropped off by Wednesday, December 9. The photos will be placed in the pews for the Christmas season (December 24, 2020-January 6, 2021).

Send a picture by clicking this email - abruce@smomp.org

We invite you stop by our outdoor spaces at Saint Adalbert or Saint Mary of the Mount to pray under a Christmas tree, or place a piece of hay in the manger. 

Preparing A Place For Christ

You will notice a manger outside/or inside of each Church.   Each week of Advent we will be reflecting on a section of our Community Covenant.  We invite you to remove a piece of straw from the bale of hay and place it in the manger as a symbol of how you have been preparing for our Lord.  By Christmas, our mangers should be filled with straw that represents our prayers, our efforts of being God’s invitation and our acts of service.

Searching for meaningful ways to connect in the season of Advent?  Consider joining one of our Advent Small Discipleship Groups!  Spend 4—6 weeks in small community (most groups meet over Zoom), praying with Scripture, getting to know others in your church community, and growing more deeply in discipleship. This is a beautiful way to find comfort in this unprecedented Advent season.

We have a few existing groups, and are also starting a couple new groups.  For information on our existing groups, please contact the following people:

• East End Group:  Eric Mohr, ejmohr8@gmail.com
• Women’s Group:  Please join us for an hour of prayer, reflection and discussion as we begin our Advent journey, and reflect on the Sunday Advent readings.  Meetings will be held on Zoom on the following dates:  Wednesdays, November 25, December 2, 9, and 16, from 7:00—8:00 p.m.  Please contact Noel Baker at nabaker8@yahoo.com for further information.
• Young Adult Group:  Will be meeting (distantly in person) on Tuesdays, November 24, thru January 5, 7:00—8:30 p.m. in the Prince of Peace/St. Mary of the Mount Administrative Center (81 S. 13th St., Pgh. 15203).  Greg Turko, gregturko5@gmail.com.

To explore a newly forming small discipleship group, please contact Holly Mohr at hmohr@smomp.org.

One of the ways we will be preparing for the celebration of Christ’s coming this Christmas, is a Zoom book discussion on the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson.  Advent is a time when we turn our attention to Christ’s second coming.  We look for ways to open our hearts to make ready the path of the Lord in our lives and in our society.  This year we have heard the voice of God in the people who have asked us to look at racism in America. We will actively wait together as we invite the Spirit of Truth to enlighten us and lead us to act from the truths that we will face and embrace.  
For more information and how to register - Click Here

For Wednesday's Virtual Visits During Advents - go to our YouTube Channel - Click Here