It is already the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Christmas is but 8/9 days away. Say a prayer for your parish clergy next weekend we have 23 Masses to celebrate in the space of 48 hours! Advent 4 and Christmas collide! Phew! Of course we don’t begrudge a moment of it. Christmas is in many ways a huge thank you for the gift of God’s Son. The Mass is our way of worship filled thanks giving; Eucharistia. But please no extra or unnecessary requests and try and allow us to put our feet up over the next couple of days!
The third Sunday of Advent is “Gaudete Sunday meaning Rejoice. The title comes from the opening Antiphon, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice; indeed the Lord is near” – shades of Fr Bede CJ of pious memory who would sing this at the drop of a hat! One might ask, having experienced the Thomas fire these last two weeks, that there might be little to rejoice about. I am convinced that if every day we examine our day and look for things that went well, that lifted our spirits, or when God used us to lighten someone’s daily burden we can find them. We should always rejoice when God uses us, it allows little moments of the Kingdom to break into our lives.
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter