Dear friends in Christ, today we begin the season of Advent.  It is a time of watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord. The Advent wreath reminds us of our yearning for God.  Its circular shape tells us of God’s everlasting love and faithfulness.  Its evergreen branches tell us of eternal life and of God’s desire for us to live with him forever.  The four candles remind us of the passing of time, our human history into which God has entered through his Son, Jesus. This is a time of grace, a time for a new advent of Jesus into our lives. ​​​​​​​On this First Sunday in Advent, we focus on the Lord’s second coming.  Let us heed the Gospel words of Jesus, “Be on guard; be prepared.”  As we light the first candle on the Advent wreath, may its flame bid us to be always ready for the coming of the Lord.

Parents and youth at our parish recently had the opportunity to volunteer at the St. Andrews Food Cupboard.  They delivered and sorted 8 SUVs filled to the brim with donations received at OLQP & STM at our annual food drive for Thanksgiving. Thank you for your abundant generosity!  While the donations of food for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday were plentiful, the youth quickly understood that these needs exist every day for people experiencing food insecurity.  One of the things that they learned was that basic items, like toiletries and cleaning products, that many of us purchase regularly without a second thought are not covered by SNAP or WIC.  The director of St. Andrew's Food Cupboard shared an anecdote about a client of the cupboard who was met with a difficult choice that most of our children have not had to face.  He was instructed that he may select EITHER a bottle of dishwashing soap or a stick of deodorant.  Sadly, these items are expensive and the cupboard cannot stock them in enough quantity to allow clients to select both. This is a great reminder that we must take nothing for granted, and that one small act of generosity can have a BIG impact.  As a result, during December we are collecting dish soap and deodorant for St Andrew's Food Cupboard in response to both the needs of our community at large as well as the desire of our youth to serve this particular need.  You can drop off your donations at the collection boxes at either OLQP or STM when you come for Mass, or you may bring them to Faith Formation, Youth Group or the Christmas Party for Faith Formation families on December 17th.  Thank you for supporting our parish and community!

The Catholic Courier is holding it's annual Advent Coloring Contest for children ages 3-12 in the Diocese of Rochester.  The contest begins November 6th, and submissions will be accepted via USPS and e-mail until November 27th.  The submitted coloring pages will be posted online and the public will be able to vote for their favorite artwork in each age group starting at noon on December 2nd on the Catholic Courier's webpage.  Prizes will be awarded to the artwork with the most votes in each age group.  For more details, and to print a copy of the coloring page, please visit the Catholic Courier here!  We can't wait to see what all of our creative youth create!  Good luck!

Next weekend we will take up the Collection for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.  Established by St. John Paul II in 1985, the AMS is the only US diocese responsible for providing pastoral care to men and women serving in the US Armed Forces, enrolled at a US Military Academy, being treated as a patient at any of the 153 US Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, or working for the federal government beyond US borders- including those from our own parish and diocese.  AMS priests and deacons serve approximately 1.8 million Catholics.  To learn more about the AMS, go to www.milarch.org/nationalcollection.  As always, thank you for your generosity.

All lectors are asked to please attend one of the following gatherings for prayer, reflection and a practicum with Mary Ann Obark, D.Min.   Wednesday, November 13th: 6:30 pm @ OLQP Saturday, November 16th: 1:00pm @ STM For more information, and to RSVP please contact the parish office or Margaret Ostromecki at 244-3010 or 381-4200.  You can also RSVP via e-mail at: mostromecki@dor.org ​​​​​​​Thank you!

We thank the Most Reverend Salvatore Matano who celebrated Mass and blessed the new courtyard and Marian statue at Our Lady Queen of Peace this past weekend. Additionally, we thank Father Tomasso and Father Brickler who so often lead us in liturgical worship and have become such important members of our community. We also extend a very gracious thank you to the Our Lady Queen of Peace Ensemble and the Saint Thomas More Liturgical Choir who, together, led us in joyful song during Mass and in the courtyard giving praise to God in the words of Hail, Holy Queen. Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you we cry, the children of Eve; to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this land of exile. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us; lead us home at last and show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus: O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.