Saturday
10am: In honour of Mary
6.30pm: Frances McEvoy Rec Dec
Sunday
8.30am: Parish
10am: Madge Oliver
11.30am:
Monday No Mass
Tuesday 10am: Michael Maher RIP
Wednesday The Epiphany
10am: Paddy Kinsella
Thursday 10am: Julia May Jarvis RIP
Friday 10am: Josephine Collins RIP
Saturday 6.30pm TBA
Sunday
8.30am: Margaret and Richard
10am: Parish
11.30am: Priest Int
Christmas Offerings Many thanks for your generosity Christmas offerings. It’s my pay day and whatever you give until 5th January is for your Parish Priest. The extension is to make up for loss of earnings during the year. Envelopes are to be found at the back of the Church.
Today’s gospel reminds us that, although the Christmas lights have begun to fade and we are facing January darkness and the pandemic even more acutely, the mystery of Christ’s presence amongst us remains. The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us. Let us draw closer to Christ so that he can enrich us from his abundance. His light has come into the world and no darkness can overcome it. If we accept Jesus we will truly become his sons and daughters.. Jesus came down to earth to raise us up and so share his glory in the Kingdom of heaven.
First Reading Divine wisdom has made her dwelling amongst God’s people. It is practical. It prepares us to greet Christ.
Second Reading God’s plan for salvation, a plan centred on Christ. Salvation is pure gift from God. The second part of the reading is about thanksgiving
The Gospel Most moving summation of Christian faith. The second person of the Blessed Trinity exited before time and now is in nappies to dwell amongst us and bring light to the world
Reflection We are coming to the end of Christmas. Soon all the externals will have been removed. But these are merely wrappings on the gift. Even though the wrappings will be disposed of, Jesus, the gift of God will remain with us. Stay with us Lord and let your presence inflame our hearts and raise our spirits, so that we my journey towards your kingdom with undimmed hope.
Maximilian Kolbe died in Auschwitz, having given his life to save the life of another of the inmates. A prisoner had escaped and Nazi policy meant ten should die as retribution. Kolbe’s offer was accepted by the commander and he went into the death cell with nine others. The Nazis watched them die, one by one, the last being Father Kolbe. The man he saved said later on that at first he did not understand why but it then dawned on hid that Kolbe wanted to be with the nine prisoners as they faced their final agony. Kolbe’s nearness to them was better than a life tome of preaching.
True love goes beyond the giving of gifts. It requires the giving of oneself. Kolbe might hve given them advice and encouragement and spiritual strength as they awaited their end. But he went so much further. His presence with them meant more than anything else. His was and astonishing act of love. The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us. In the Incarnation Jesus became one of us and shared our life to the full. He even shared our death. Now we have become part of God’s family. We have received truth and grace. If only we could really accept the gifts that God longs to present to us
Many thanks to the stewards who do so much to keep the church open
The St Gertrude’s Carol for Christmas is amazing, so many, many thanks to Charlie and Jeannie and all the choir.
Christmas and New Year and all year round Gifts Please visit the repository, stocking fillers, cards. Help the Sisters’ orphanage in Minsk, Belarus’
Blessing for the New Year May you treat each other in the same friendly way Christ has treated you. My you clothe yourselves in clear compassion, kindness and patience. May your love for one another not be real words but something real and active.
Inspiring Words from LET US DREAM a path to a better future by Pope Francis.
To come out of this crisis better, we have to see clearly, choose well and act right. Let’s talk about how. Let us dare to dream. We must redesign the economy so that it can offer every person access to a dignified existence while protecting and regenerating the natural world. What is the greatest fruit of the crisis ? I’d say patience, sprinkled with a healthy sense of humour, which allows us to endure and make space for change to happen. We don’t possess the truth so much as the truth possesses us, constantly attracting us by means of goodness and beauty. Sin is a rejection of the limits that love requires. Our greatest power is not in the respect that others have for us, but the service we can offer others. Pope Francis
Wednesday is the Feast of the Epiphany. There will, I hope, be a Mass put up on the Parish website. Happy New Year. Love you all MM