A traditional children’s hymn begins “Advent tells us Christ is near …”, and that is the clear message of the season we begin this weekend. Four weeks of preparation lead us into the annual observance of our Saviour’s birth, but also, as the daily Scriptural readings hammer home, we are given an annual reminder that we must keep the bigger picture in mind. The Christ who came first to us in human form at Bethlehem, and who continues that incarnation in the daily Bread of the Eucharist, will come again as the consummation of creation’s history. Of necessity, our lives are taken up by the day-to-day considerations, and it does us well in Advent (and Lent) to try to gain a little more perspective and to remind ourselves of our true context which has an eternal dimension. One suggestion put to the adults receiving instruction through the RICA is that they might get up ten minutes earlier than usual each Advent weekday so a bit more space for God is created. It is a suggestion that the rest of us might adopt with some benefit!
Please continue to pray for Bishop Longley as he prepares to leave this diocese for Birmingham. We have been richly blessed in having Bishop Bernard as our area bishop for the past seven years and we shall miss his warmth and joie de vivre. He commented recently that whereas none of the parishes for which he has had responsibility were further than ten miles from his house in Bow, now he finds that he has everything stretching between Leek and Oxford, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. The new Archbishop of Birmingham will be enthroned on Tuesday week – 8th December. We ought also to pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our own Archbishop as he deliberates about a successor to care for the parishes of central and eastern London. One piece of very welcome news is that Archbishop Nichols will be coming here to celebrate the First Mass of St James’s Day next year – at 6pm on Saturday 24th July. Because the Feast falls on a Sunday, 2010 has been declared a Holy Year at Compostela. Ought we to be thinking of a parish pilgrimage to visit our patron’s shrine?
Can I ask your advice? Catechesis is fundamental to Christian life. Not only do young people need formation at particular stages in their growth into Christ (First Confession, First Holy Communion, Confirmation) but every Christian has a duty to develop their understanding of the Faith so that it is commensurate with their age and experience. Catechesis is a lifetime’s exercise, and we shall still be learning on our deathbeds. Lent seems an appropriate season to attempt some organised teaching – perhaps a weekly evening session with a speaker, time for discussion and refreshments. It would help me to know what areas you think we might usefully address and then I can plan accordingly. With Father Irwin and Monsignor Jamieson joining us I had thought that we might look at the mission of the Catholic Church in different parts of the world - but there may well be others aspects of living the faith … dogmatic considerations, ethical issues …that you think more prescient (?).
One of the major ethical issues is, of course, the right to life of the unborn. Monsignor Philip Reilly, the founder of “The Helpers of the God’s Precious Infants” (which seeks by prayer and counselling to offer an alternative to abortion) is visiting London from the USA and will be addressing a meeting here at St James’s this Friday 4th December (beginning at 7.30pm). The event is being organised by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and has the title “Reasons for Hope in the Epic Struggle for Life”. This is an open meeting to which everyone is welcome.
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