Newsletter- 1st Week of Advent
Dear Parishioners
From this weekend onwards in the Catholic Church in England, Wales, and Scotland, all our Readings are taken from the Catholic version of the ESV (English Standard Version) Bible, or the Abbey Psalter (CTS, 2024), thus replacing the Jerusalem Bible and the Grail Psalter used in the Lectionary since 1969. This weekend at the Vigil Mass for 1st Sunday of Advent the new copies of the Lectionaries and the Book of the Gospels for use on Sundays and Feast Days will be blessed for use within the parish. Thank you to all from our parish community who have contributed so generously to their purchase.
Today we begin the season of Advent, a word which means ‘the coming.’ There are three comings: of Jesus’s Nativity at Bethlehem, of the Lord in glory at the end of time, and of Christ’s Spirit into our hearts and lives at each present moment. The readings at Mass this weekend invite us all to perceive our place in the present world as something that opens us up to God’s love more fully so that we can turn outwards towards one another. They call us to live according to the perspective of the new world to come.
The great prophet Jeremiah, in the First Reading, offers hope in the promise of that first coming. Through the springing up of the ‘righteous branch of David’ the people will dwell securely. In response, we may like to meditate upon the response to the Psalm: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” St Paul, writing to the Christians at Thessalonica (Second Reading), reminds them to be ready for that second coming of the Lord in glory. They believed this to be imminent, and being ready for it meant abounding in loving service. In the Gospel, Jesus consoles his disciples – and us. When the signs of his coming in glory are to be seen, we can stand tall and eager for the gift of redemption, for what we are awaiting is the fulness of Christ’s Spirit, already alive and active in our hearts. Let’s pray, this week, that we may find every opportunity to live as though Christ died yesterday, rose from the dead today, and is coming in glory tomorrow.
The Jubilee Year 2025 Companion Booklet – 2025 marks another Jubilee Year and to accompany our journey through this special Holy Year Alive Publishing have produced some simple but helpful booklets to help us to reflect and to pray more fully during this special year ahead. Copies are now available in church. Please do take as many as you would like, there is no charge for them but if you would like to make a small donation to offset the costs to the parish, please feel free to leave a donation but this is not necessary, the important thing is to take a copies home with you and share them with your friends and family members! The Holy Year of 2025 has as its theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ A Jubilee Year is a time for resetting our relationship with God, with one another and with the world around us. Let us pray that during the Jubilee Year of 2025 God will continue to guide us and enable each of us to contribute to the harmony of the world around us all its people and that through Gods mercy we too as individuals may find peace and harmony in our own lives too.
Aid for Chad and Peru: at both our Weekend Masses next weekend on Saturday/Sunday 7th/8th December we will welcome again two parishioners from St Joseph’s Oakham who will set up stalls in the Link Room where you will be able to buy a selection of beautiful hand-crafted items made in the shantytowns of Lima to help support the work of the charity: ‘Aid for Chad and Peru.’ Do pop into the Link Room next weekend after Mass on your way out to have a look through the beautiful hand-crafted items for sale, as I feel sure you will find some lovely Christmas presents and stocking fillers. All the funds raised from your purchases will go directly to support the work of this small but important charity.
Christmas Liturgies: Please note the times of the Christmas Liturgies and the Mass schedule during Christmas and into the New Year. They are published in the Bulletin and are on the parish website. As Christmas Day falls this year on a Wednesday your will see several changes to our normal weekly Masses.
Christmas Crib Offerings: Christmas time recalls the needs of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. Friends of the HolyLand will be the beneficiary of our crib collection again this year. FHL remains the only registered UK Charity with its ownoffice, staff, and volunteers in the City of Christ’s birth. From Christmas Day and until the end of the Christmas season there will be a basket to collect your offerings placed before the Crib in church. All donations given will be sent directly to FHL to help support their important aid work.
Admission to the Guild of St Stephen: Boxing Day Mass – Feast of St Stephen – Thursday 26th December – Mass at 11 am. I anticipate admitting our new servers into the Guild of St Stephen during Mass that morning. In addition, it is hoped that this year those who are eligible will receive their silver medals. We shall do this in a simple ceremony towards the end of Mass. We are greatly blessed in our parish with many servers who come each weekend to serve at the altar and in the weekdays too and I am very grateful to them for offering their time and talents for this important ministry in our parish. Please do come to this special Mass if your time will allow over the Christmas holidays as together, we give thanks to God and pray for our servers on the Feast of St Stephen.
With my prayers for you and for your families as we begin Advent again together this year,
Your parish priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
2024 1st December – Newsletter – Download