We are now into the season of Advent, the four weeks of waiting and of preparation for the momentous event that we celebrate on the 25th December, the birth of Our Saviour..
During Advent the church encourages us to take a long hard look at ourselves to see whether we are in a fit state to welcome the Christ Child into our hearts.
We mark the passing of the four weeks in church with an Advent Wreath; its five candles lit one by one as each week passes with the last one in the centre being lit on Christmas Day.
As I write this the national lockdown is due to end on 2nd December; let us pray that this is allowed to happen so that we can come together in person for Holy Mass on the remaining three Advent Sundays and on Christmas Day.
We will hold our Christmas Mass at 10.00am (an hour earlier than usual) on Christmas Day itself. This year there will be no service on Christmas Eve. How we will miss the Carols and being able to wish friends a Happy Christmas with a hug, but the priority must be to keep safe!
I wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas and a healthy and joyous New Year.
As the year winds down through autumn into winter this is a month of fog, dark nights and bonfires. It is also however the month in which we commemorate the Saints and the Faithful Departed. Many people have been declared Saints by the church and have their own particular feast-day but on 1st November we remember all those other ordinary folk who have no particular claim to fame yet who have been safely welcomed into the bliss of heaven.
We usually celebrate All Souls Day on the 2nd but as it is not possible to open the church on two consecutive days, we will be reading a list of the names of all our dear departed immediately after the Mass on Sunday 1st.
On Sunday 8th, Remembrance Day, we shall come together to commemorate all those who have given their lives in so many conflicts; “sacrificing their today for our tomorrow”. We should also remember on this day all those in the NHS and Care Communities who have lost their lives in the fight against Covid 19. We will be holding a Requiem Mass at 10.55.
We are celebrating the feast-day of our Patroness, Saint Hilda at the Sunday Mass on 15th.
The church’s year is drawing to a close with the New Year starting on the 29th with the First Sunday of Advent
Keep safe and keep well.
God Bless.