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“These are the trials by which we triumph through the power of Him who loves us”.  I am receiving help to prepare a letter from some persons from our leaven group at St George’s.  This will be sent  out to members of our parish.  This gives me a chance to say thank you to them and to all who have helped me through the years.  Also to acknowledge how reliant I am upon receiving that help.  One of the fruits from the pandemic, is a deeper awareness of the solid foundation that our faith is built upon.

Returning to our first lockdown in March, when a stringent isolation process helped me to focus clearing upon our churches liturgy.  From the end of Lent, giving the Holy Season my fullest attention; on through Holy Week, then the celebration of the Ascension and the great promise of Pentecost .  This promise  “I am with you always”, this was so well echoed by Springwatch.  The great challenge that will be ours, when we climb our way out from the grief caused by the pandemic, there will be a great challenge from global warming that will be the consequences of human greed and exploitation.  For our church this may be more drastic, as we have experienced a great loss of credibility. 

I keep returning to a privileged time when I was in the seminary in the late sixties.  The second Vatican Council had ended and one professor in particular, together with all of us in the seminary, was inspired with the spirit of the council.  It reflected a time of great hope, but the seeds for the opposite to happen were deeply ingrained.  So the fact that the seminaries have emptied is a very important consideration and sets the scene for life following on from the coronavirus.

Again, the great assurance “I am with you always”.  We are deeply and unconditionally loved by the living God.  Our sure hope, our sure foundation, and our sure point of reference as we continue our journey of faith.  Let us have love one for another.

Heaven’s Road Catholic Online Radiowww.heavensroadfm.com is an online radio broadcasting features like prayers, interviews and music to appeal to a Catholic audience – they also have many podcasts and broadcast over 40 daily live Masses from 15 churches in England and Ireland from their website www.heavensroadfm.com.

Thank you to all the members of both parishes who have been able to contribute to this year’s Love in a Box event.

Despite the difficulties and restrictions we have all faced this year, you have been able to contribute 17 boxes filled with gifts, 35 cosy blankets and over £80 towards transportation costs. It’s wonderful to know that the obstacles posed by COVID 19 have not stopped us from supporting this worthwhile cause.

Christmas Masses at St Wilfrid’s Church:  Christmas Eve – 4pm & 7pm

Please email [email protected] or Tel: 01323 841504 to put your name on the list, due to restrictions on numbers, a raffle will be drawn for you to be allocated a place and you will be duly notified if you have been allocated a seat.  The last date to book will be Wednesday 16th December.  Thank you.

Christmas Masses at St. George’s Church:

Christmas Eve Morning – 10.00am   Christmas Day 9.30 a m

We have contacted as many parishioners as possible and these Masses are fully subscribed,  but the Christmas Day Mass will be live streamed offering a wonderful opportunity for us all to share in the celebration of the Birth of our Lord.  Due to Covid 19 restrictions, entrance to the church is by ticket only. Please do not come to the church unless you have the appropriate ticket. Stewards will also have a list of attendees for each day. I’m deeply sorry, but those who have not booked in will be turned away. This is to reduce the risk of spreading Covid 19 and is in line with government requirements regarding spacing.

Christmas Masses in other churches:

Our Lady of Ransom  Christmas Eve – 6.00pm, 9.00pm and Midnight Mass at 12.00.   Christmas Day –  9.15am, 11.30am

St Agnes     Christmas Eve – 6.00pm and 8.00pm.  Christmas Day – 8.00am (Mass in Latin) and 11.15am

St Gregory’s     Christmas Eve – 6.00pm.  Christmas Day – 9.30am and 11am

Booking is essential for all Masses

The common theme of today’s readings is that vigilant service prepares us for the coming of Christ as our Saviour during Christmas and as our judge and Lord at the end of the world. Advent is the season of special preparation for and expectation of the coming of Christ. It encourages us to examine our lives, to reflect on our need for God to enter our lives, and to prepare earnestly for, and eagerly await the coming of Christ. Take heed!” (Be on your guard) and “Watch!” (Be alert, stay awake, and don’t grow careless) The new liturgical year begins by challenging us to pay attention to endings and new beginnings because the central human experience is one of transitions and progress, from past through the present to the future. Today’s liturgy reminds us of what God has done in the past to encourage us to hope and work in the present for the final coming of the Lord to finish what he has begun. Hence Advent is not simply a waiting for someone who has not yet come. Instead, it is a period for enjoyment of the gift of Jesus who has come to save us; and who will come again to reward us. We begin a new liturgical year (Year B) and, with it, we shift from the Gospel of Matthew to the Gospel of Mark, the shortest and the first written gospel.

Let us remember that Christmas is about gift giving so use the period of Advent to forget about the material gifts and remember the real gift given to us in the manger over 2000 years ago. This week spend time considering yourself as a gift to the people in your life. Do not worry about the past but think about the many people for whom you can become a gift from God. Write them a letter, make telephone calls, give everyone a smile, help someone in need, talk to people around you, show them that you care. Jesus trusts us to do this every day of our lives. Let us remember this Advent the saying of St. Thomas Aquinas: “Without God, I can’t.  Without me, He won’t.”

There is a story told by Mgr Arthur Tonne about a newly ordained priest who was to deliver his first sermon and nervously started with the text, “Behold I come!” Then his mind went blank. He repeated, “Behold I come!” Still his brain wouldn’t function, so he leaned over the pulpit and repeated, “Behold I come!” At that moment the pulpit collapsed. He fell over into the lap of a lady. He got up and, red-faced, stammered, “Oh, I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!” The lady was not upset in the least and replied, “That’s all right. I should have been expecting you. After all you warned me three times!”

Tell that story to as many people as you can and count how many do not laugh or smile at the final line – like I hope you did! I don’t think you will have many to count.

With the help of God we will see the beginning of the end for this pandemic with the coming of the new year.  Christmas will be very much part of the experience for this year.  So it is a very important time.  Sin in its truest, deepest  nature is recognised in the doctrine of original sin, otherwise expressed as the sin of Adam, when an evil fallen nature became part of our inheritance.  Jesus gave us its focus, and a measuring point for our human behaviour “by their fruits you shall know them, good trees bear good fruit”.

Recently, those in authority in the Catholic Church are trying to make renewed attempts to make atonement for the grave sins that were endemic in the church on account of the paedophiles, who were part of the establishment.  Some Bishops have made public penance as an acknowledgement of the injury and damage done to the lives of the faithful.  The slowness of the response adds to our grave difficulties.

Now we are presented with a great challenge, and with the help of God’s grace a new window of opportunity.  We need to identify with Christ, when after the crucifixion he called upon His disciples as He tried to impower them for His mission to bring God’s salvation.  Forgiveness is a key component of His mission.  When St Peter returned to his day job, after the shock of the crucifixion, they had fished all night and caught nothing.  They were so confused and at odds with life; they did not recognise Him.  After the miraculous catch of fish,  Peter recovers and Jesus anoints him:  “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church”.

Today we return to Peter in the person of Pope Francis; his successor, and pray for him.  Some have been very disappointed with him, especially with his visit to the church in Ireland, we must look forward to a new era in the life of the church.  From morning prayer in the divine office today the scripture reading from Romans 8.35, 37 “Nothing can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking clothes or being attacked.  These are the trials through which we triumph , by the power of Him who loves us”.   As we begin the first week of Advent, let us sow the seed of hope and trust in our hearts.  Let us be prepared for a new era with life in it, and it is only all of us together that can bring that life.  Please God, bring us the grace to begin again.

 “The Faith Companion parishioner magazine is now online only. Digital copies and subscriptions are available at http://www.thefaithcompanion.co.uk or call 01403 754808. We have now launched Catholic Gifts online selling The Faith Companion candle, rosaries and a gift card for gifts or subscriptions. Please support and pray for our mission to support the Church.”

Advent Workshop for Children:  On Sunday November 29^th we are going to hold an Advent Workshop for the children of the parish. This will be held online from 2.30pm for approximately an hour.

There will be games, singing, prayers, crafts and friendship.  Come and join us to celebrate the start of advent.

We will need you to sign up for the session so we can give you the log in details.  Please register your interest by contacting Sandra on 07791627368, email [email protected] or Teresa on 07951082592 , email [email protected]  

This week I thought that I would discover more about Thanksgiving Day as it is held on Thursday November 26th in United States and Canada and share it with you. It is a national holiday and celebrates the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modelled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. This holiday is particularly rich in legend and symbolism, and the traditional fare of the Thanksgiving meal typically includes turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. 

                A writer called Bradford wrote about how the colonists had hunted wild turkeys during the autumn of 1621 and since turkey is a uniquely American bird, it gained place as the Thanksgiving meal of choice for Americans after Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.

                 Cranberries are important on Thanksgiving Day because according to University of Maine Cooperative Extension, American Indians used cranberries as a food source, to dye fabric and as medicine. … Due to the importance of cranberries in the 1500s and their abundance, it is believed that the pilgrims and the American Indians would have eaten them at the first Thanksgiving.

                The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is generally eaten during the fall and early winter. In the United States and Canada, it is usually prepared for Thanksgiving, and other occasions when pumpkin is in season.

                Thanksgiving is important because it’s a positive and secular holiday where we celebrate gratitude, something of which we don’t do enough of these days.

                In the letter of St.Paul to the Philippians[4:6-7] we read: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

                One of the best things about thankfulness is that the more you choose it, the easier it gets. The more you profess gratitude, the more you notice things to be grateful for, the thankfulness muscles respond to exercise!

                There are many references to thankfulness in the Old Testament. Listed below are some of the references and I invite you to look them up for yourselves.

Ezra 3:11.   Psalm 7:17.   Psalm 9:1.   Psalm 35:18.   Psalm 69:30.  Psalm 95:1-3.   Psalm 100:4-5.   Psalm 106:1

                Please include this Prayer of Gratitude written by John F.Kennedy in your prayers this week: “Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings—let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals—and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world. On that (this) day let us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God; and let us earnestly and humbly pray that He will continue to guide and sustain us in the great unfinished tasks of achieving peace, justice, and understanding among all men and nations and of ending misery and suffering wherever they exist.”

                I conclude with two bits of humour: When I think of “Thanksgiving Day,” I am reminded of the story of the little boy who saw his mother putting a thermometer in the turkey. He said, “If it is that sick, I don’t want any!”

                The small resident population in a nursing home had been gathered around their humble Thanksgiving table, and the director asked each in turn to express one thing for which he or she was thankful. Thanks were expressed for a home in which to stay, families, etc. One little old lady, when her turn came, said, “I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth left in my mouth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw. They match so well that I can chew my food.”