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SCRIPTURE
READINGS
|
Baruch |
5:1-9 |
| Psalm |
125 |
| Philippians |
1:3-6, 8-11 |
| Luke |
3:1-6 |
Waiting
is such a common human activity that we may rarely
think of it as a phenomenon in itself. Yet Advent
is all about waiting and our Advent reflections
should bear this in mind. What then is waiting?
I would say it is that condition we find ourselves
in when our mind is focused on a future event which
concerns us to the extent that our mind will not
be "back to normal" until the event is
past. There is "negative" waiting: the
waiting that gives rise to irritability (the check-out
queue) or anger (the traffic jam). There is the
waiting that produces anxiety and stress: waiting
for a school exam result or the results of medical
tests. There is "positive" waiting: counting
the weeks till the holidays or a birthday, or the
eager anticipation of a child in mid-journey, "Are
we there yet?"
There
is a very special kind of waiting during pregnancy.
As we accompany Mary on her journey to Bethlehem
, we are invited to reflect on what it means to
have a life within one's own body and to carry that
life in all its fragility. Mary had the assurance
of an angel that her child would be born, but for
most mothers throughout history the chances of a
safe and successful delivery have not been good.
Pregnancy itself has often been treated as a variety
of being "unwell", and the "delicate
condition" has been adorned with many euphemisms.
Mary's journey was rough; our Saviour's birth was
less than antiseptic. Only a woman
can
know what this kind of waiting involves.
Waiting
for Christmas surely falls under the heading of
"positive" waiting. At least one hopes
so. We approach the celebration of Christ's birth
with a preparatory season of serious (but not penitential)
reflection and prayer. Advent reminds us that Time
itself has been redeemed. Human time is no longer
a futile succession of endlessly recurring events
but a purpose-filled history - "salvation history"
- whose centre is the Incarnation. We are in God's
time. The Lord of all human history enters into
our personal history too and our lives are filled
with purpose. The Lord of history is the Lord of
our hearts.
He
came to us two thousand years ago; He will come
again in glory; He comes to us throughout our lives
in a thousand ways. The voice of John the Baptist
continues to cry out in the desert places of our
hearts: “Prepare away for the Lord”. The Church
invites us to be "ready to greet Him when He
comes again." At every Mass we pray to God,
"protect us from all anxiety as we wait in
joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour Jesus
Christ." Let this be our Advent theme always:
joy and hope!
Fr
William Pearsall SJ
CHRISTMAS
MASS TIMES
Christmas
Eve (Thursday):
6pm
Children's Mass
(
11pm
Doors open)
11.30pm
Carols
12
Midnight : First Mass
of Christmas
Christmas
Day (Friday):
8am
, 9.30am
(Family Mass),
11am
Sung Latin
12.30pm
(with Carols)
No
afternoon or evening Masses
Boxing
Day (Saturday):
11am
, 6pm
FEAST
OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
On
December 8 th Archbishop Vincent Nichols will celebrate
the Sung Mass at 6pm
with the Farm Street Choir performing Schubert's
Mass in G . This is our Patronal Feast
and there will be a parish party in the Hall and
parish rooms following the Mass.
We hope that as many of the
Farm Street
community as possible will be able to come and enjoy
this event.
FAIR
TRADE
Fair
Trade items will be available in the Hall next Sunday
(13 th December).
FARM
STREET CHILDREN'S CHOIR
There
will be choir rehearsal this Sunday in the upstairs
Chapel and next Sunday in the meeting room.
CHRISTMAS
NATIVITY
Children
who wish to take part in the Christmas Nativity
on Christmas Eve at the 6.00pm
Mass should see Patsy Cummings
or contact her by email pcummings@rcdow.org.uk
. There will be images from last year's Nativity
on the plasma screen in the Hall today.
NEW
DEACON
Many
of you will remember Neil Brett, our MC at the 11am
Mass some years ago. Neil
is being ordained Deacon in Rome
on December 18 th . His address:
English College
, Via di Monserrato 45, Roma
00186
, Italy
.
ADVENT
TALKS
Fr
Anthony Meredith starts today his series of three
talks in Advent in honour of the Year of the Priest.
His themes will be: The Priesthood of Christ, the
Priesthood of all believers and the Ordained Priesthood.
5pm
in the Hall. All welcome.
CHRISTMAS
FAIR
Today
we have our annual Christmas Fair with a sale of
selected goods in the Hall, from 10am
till
3pm
. There
will be Jesuit Jams, cakes and other comestibles,
fine wines, a children's playroom with games, activities
and a special visitor for the children, as well
as books, CD's and fine wines .
We hope that by having it on Sunday we will have
plenty of participants. Do drop by!
FAITH
MATTERS
"FUNDAMENTAL
OF FAITH"
A
lecture series at Vaughan
House, behind Westminster Cathedral
7pm
– 8:30pm
December
9 th : Presented by Mgr
John Armitage. Theme: Catholic Social Teaching:
a guide in troubles times.
Registration
necessary. Please e-mail faithmatters@rcdow.org.uk
or call 0207 931 6078. £2 donations suggested.
CHRISTMAS
CARDS
There
is a great variety of the Christmas cards on sale
in the Hall and at the back of the church including
images of our regular Christmas crib as well as
the Farm Street Madonna. There are also cards on
sale on behalf
of the Catholic Children's Society.
HOW
TO LIVE MORE SIMPLY
The
recession and our Life Styles
3
alternate Thursdays: 21 st January, 4 th & 18
th February
7-8.30pm
, 114 Mount Street
Lead
by Barbara Kentish, Director of J&P Westminster
Diocese. Exploring changing lifestyles - Whether
you have lost your job, downsized voluntarily, or
you have ideas for improving the economy that don't
mean we need to spend more, you have something to
contribute to this mini-course on personal economics.
These
sessions will not aim to give all the answers, but
by a shared approach we will discover better ways
to handle life in the recession, to save on stress,
and to support one
another in discovering that life can be fun even
when the money is short. We will look
at heroes and heroines who have coped with poverty,
and also share stories of our own hardship but how
we have overcome problems, their effect on our faith,
and share our joy and hope.
MOUNT
STREET FLYERS FOR 2010
Flyers
are ready at the doors with information regarding
events, programmes and talks starting in 2010. We
are very fortunate to have these opportunities for
Faith formation right on our doorstep. Take some
flyers home with you!
LIVING
STONES PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND
15th
to 26th JUNE 2010
A
pilgrimage for Farm Street Parish and friends led
by Fr Tony Nye SJ and Deacon Duncan Macpherson of
Living Stones. A unique opport-unity to meet and
worship with our Christian brothers and sisters
in the Holy
Land
and to experience spiritual renewal in the land
where Jesus walked. For further information contact
Fr Tony Nye SJ tel 0207 493 7811or by e-mail: tonynyesj@jesuits.net.
Please
use Gift-Aid envelopes for your donations if you
are a UK
Tax-payer .
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