Newsletter- 2nd Week of Christmastide
Dear Parishioners
A very warm welcome back to our parish community to all who have been away during the Christmas holidays. Thank you for the many lovely Christmas cards, gifts, and generous Christmas Offerings which you have given to me this year. May I also take this opportunity of wishing every member of our parish community a very Happy New Year!
This weekend we celebrate The Epiphany of the Lord, and we are reminded that Jesus, who was born in a humble stable at Bethlehem is revealed to us all. He is revealed to rich and poor alike. He is revealed to kings, shepherds and wise people. He is revealed to saints and sinners. This Feast is God’s desire to reveal himself to each of us in a personal way rooted in the love of God that has come into the world.
The word Epiphany means “manifestation” or “showing forth.” This Sunday, the Church celebrates the manifestation of our Lord to the whole world. Jesus was first made known to the shepherds of Bethlehem. He is now revealed to the Magi who have come from the East to adore Him. Christian tradition tells us that the Magi or three kings are symbolic of the Gentiles who began to follow Jesus. These kings represent all the peoples of the earth, and they also represent our own search for Jesus.
Epiphany is not given just to believers but also to those who continually seek the Lord’s presence in their lives. Each of us is on a journey and we continually search for the many ways in which God reveals himself to us personally and through others. We are all in the process of coming to know Jesus better for ourselves. Each of us is at a different stage in our faith journey. The many experiences of our daily lives help to shape how we see God and one another. In the midst of our journey, God comes to “show us Jesus.” He reminds us that we are bigger than our circumstances. We are bigger than our experiences. Jesus comes into our lives to show us what it really means to be fully human and alive to God. He comes to show us what it really means to love and be loved by God and by one another. All of us together must see the saving power of God at work in our lives.
The Magi followed the star and found Christ. May we too, find the Lord who continues to search for us. His love for us remains a constant even at times in our lives when we journey far from him or from the Church and He waits to welcome us back into the community of faith with a love for us that is unconditional and will never come to an end.
Epiphany Family Blessing for your home: The Church has a long custom of blessing homes on the Solemnity of the Epiphany and the weeks following. Practically now it is not possible for the priest to visit every parishioner’s home during this period and so I encourage you to gather as a family to ask God’s blessing on your home and all who live or visit there. You will find copies of the simple family Blessing for your home in the entrance to church which you can take away this weekend and use with your family.
Epiphany Blessing of Chalk: At the Vigil Mass for the Epiphany, Saturday 4th January at 6 pm I shall Bless Epiphany Chalk for you to take back to your homes and use to mark the lintel of your front door with the special Epiphany Blessing.
At the Epiphany It is the tradition to write above our homes’ entryway, 20 + C + M + B + 25. The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three magi: Casper, Melchior and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words ‘Christus mansionem benedicat’ May Christ bless this house. The + signs represent the Cross of Christ and 25, is the year in which we are living now, 2025.
Reminder – Changes to the Liturgy Times for this coming week
Monday 6th January and Tuesday 7th January – The church will be closed and there will be no Public Worship. I shall be taking Monday as my day off and Tuesday as one of my days off from Christmas.
Wednesday 8th January – Mass will be celebrated in church at 10 am – Today we welcome St Marys School to Mass at the start of the New Term. The children will help to animate the liturgy at Mass today. Parishioners are warmly welcomed to attend.
From Thursday 9th January onwards normal Mass times resume.
First Holy Communion Candidates 2025 – On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – next weekend, at the Parish Mass on Sunday 12th January at 9.30 am we will welcome our new group of First Holy Communion candidates and their families. Catechesis will begin for them on Sunday 19th January. Please keep our young people in your prayers as they begin this important period of preparation and catechesis with a view to making their First Holy Communion together in church later in the summer.
With my prayers for you and for your families as we celebrate together the great Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord,
Your parish priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
2025 5th January – Newsletter – Download