Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Parish of Pittsfield, IL

12/18/2025

12/18/2025

Christmas Mass times for St. Mary's and St. Mark's

Dec. 24th - 5pm St. Mark's and 8pm St. Mary's
Dec. 25th - 8:30am St. Mary's and 10:30am St. Mark's

12/18/2025

The rose vestments which the priest wears and the rose Advent candle are expressions of the joy which sparks in the heart of the Church. The color is “rose” not “pink,” because of the symbolic meaning behind the color “rose.” The color pink is produced by blending red and white; however, to produce rose you need to add violet to the mixture. This mixture tells you something about the Church’s prayer at this moment in time, because the colors have a symbolic meaning.

Red is often meant to signify the blood of martyrs, the fire of the Holy Spirit, or the Passion of Our Lord. White signals the Glory of God which is shared with the Saints, and is proclaimed in Christmas and Easter and throughout the life of the Church. But violet is a sign of repentance or mourning, of those activities we engage in to renew and focus our prayer.

Rose is a blending of three things. Our own repentance and renewal (VIOLET), the Glory of God (WHITE), and Christ’s Incarnation, which happened so that He could redeem us through His Passion
(RED). The joy of the Church this week is not compelled simply because Advent is halfway done, and the priests don’t wear rose simply for the sake of diversity. Rather we rejoice that the activity of our lives (VIOLET) is so near to the glory of Heaven (WHITE), and because our redemption is at hand (RED).

12/18/2025

The O Antiphons: O LORD / O ADONAI 🔥 The traditional symbol of this O Antiphon is the Ten Commandments, to symbolize the law of God. "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us." Isaiah 33:22

🎶 O come, O come thou Lord of might, Who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height, In ancient time did give the law, In cloud, and majesty, and awe. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel. 🎶

It’s the third day of the Christmas Novena and the second day of the O Antiphons. The O Antiphons trace titles of God through salvation history and are traditionally recited or sung at vespers (evening prayers) or as part of the Novena prayers for the last seven days of Advent (before Christmas Eve).

12/18/2025

👑✨ Day 2: O Leader! ✨👑
O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!
As we step into the second day of the O Antiphons, let's reflect on the radiant theme of O Leader. Today, we celebrate the guiding light that leads us with love.
This comes from our O Antiphons ornaments.

12/16/2025

Here's a unique novena to help prepare for the birth of Jesus.