Fr Bernard writes…
Sunday 16th December 3rd Sunday of Advent 2018
Three years ago Pope Francis on the 3rd Sunday of Advent opened the Holy Door in the basilica of St John Lateran, the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome. This symbolic action drew people physically into the Jubilee Year of Mercy - The Holy Door, wrote the Pope will become a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons and instills hope Pope Francis also wrote In life we all make many mistakes. Don’t be afraid to ask God for forgiveness. God is pure mercy. To receive the mercy, consolation and pardon of God is a cause for great joy, a theme of this Gaudete Sunday as the prophet Zephaniah proclaimed in the first reading. The reason for our joy, the Lord has repealed our sentence, the Lord is in our midst, the Lord will dance with shouts of joy for you. St Paul in the 2nd reading repeats this call for joy, though he uses the word happy, wanting us to be always happy in the Lord. In these last days of Advent, a season of waiting, expectation and preparation, perhaps a question for each one of us, for what in my life do I seek the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy?
This Saturday 16th Faith and Fun and the Vigil Mas at 4.00pm. On Sunday 16th an Advent Service at 4.00pm and next Thursday, 20th, A Service of Reconciliation at 7.30pm. All Welcome.
Please see this week's newsletter for details of other news and events.
