FOURTH
SUNDAY OF ADVENT
MASS (OLHoC): 6.00pm (Sat.) (Mary Heath RIP)
MASS (St Joseph’s): 9.00am (Pro Populo)
X Unfortunately, there are NO Refreshments after
Mass
MASS (OLHoC): 11.00am (Guida Rodrigues RIP)
X Unfortunately, there are NO Refreshments after
Mass
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• MONDAY, December 20th – Feria
MASS (OLHoC): 9.00am
(well-being of Daisy Mathew)
X Confessions (OLHoC) 1.00pm – 2.00pm
• TUESDAY, December 21st – Feria
NO MASS TODAY
• WEDNESDAY, December
22nd - Feria
MASS (OLHoC):
10.00am (deceased members of the Wilkes family)
X Unfortunately, there are NO Refreshments after
Mass
X Confessions (OLHoC) 1.00pm – 2.00pm
• THURSDAY, December 23rd - Feria
MASS (OLHoC)
10.00am (Alan & Jannette Wainwright RIP)
X Confessions (OLHoC) 1.00pm – 2.00pm
• FRIDAY, December 24th - Feria
NO MORNING MASS
X Confessions (OLHoC) 1.00pm – 2.00pm
_ X RECEPTION OF COMMUNION AT MASS - those not in Full Communion with the Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholics not able to receive Holy Communion are welcome to come forward to receive a blessing. Those wishing to receive a blessing are asked to approach the Priest with their arms crossed over their chest.
_ X FACE COVERINGS - HM Government has made the wearing of face covering mandatory in
Places of Worship since Friday 10th December 2021. Please
follow the rules to avoid church closure.
CONFESSIONS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
At Our Lady, Help of Christians:
Monday, December 20th: 1.00pm-2.00pm
Wednesday, December 22nd: 1.00pm-2.00pm
Thursday, December 24th: 1.00pm-2.00pm
Friday (Christmas Eve): 1.00pm-2.00pm
CHRISTMAS
MASSES
CHRISTMAS
EVE
(Friday, December 24th)
CHRISTMAS VIGIL MASS:
4.30pm (St Joseph’s)
The
Angelus will be said 2 minutes beforehand
CHRISTMAS VIGIL MASS
(OLHoC): 6.30pm
The
Angelus will be said 2 minutes beforehand
CHRISTMAS MIDNIGHT MASS
(OLHoC):
11.00pm
The
Angelus will be sung 2 minutes beforehand
CHRISTMAS DAY
(Saturday,
December 25th)
CHRISTMAS
DAWN MASS
(OLHoC): 9.00am
The
Angelus will be said 2 minutes beforehand
and
(St Joseph’s): 9.00am
The
Angelus will be said 2 minutes beforehand
CHRISTMAS DAY MASS
(OLHoC):
11.00am
The
Angelus will be sung 2 minutes beforehand
There will be no Saturday night evening Mass
THE HOLY
FAMILY
of JESUS, MARY
and JOSEPH
(Sunday 26th
December)
SUNDAY MASS (OLHoC): 9.00am (Deceased parents of Monica & Phil Aherne)
The
Angelus will be said 2 minutes beforehand
SUNDAY MASS (OLHoC): 11.00am (Pro Populo)
The
Angelus will be sung 2 minutes beforehand
FOURTH
SUNDAY OF ADVENT (C)
A Reflection by Fr Alex Saba
This
Sunday changes our focus from the preparations of Advent to the
celebrations of Christmas joy - the Messiah is no longer far away, he is here
already in our midst. Elizabeth recognised the presence of the Messiah, the
fulfilment of God’s plan of salvation through her young cousin Mary’s child.
Thus, she sang praises to Mary for saying ‘Yes’ to God and His plan.
Truly
God has intervened in our human history, precisely through His Holy Spirit; but
this time the role of the Holy Spirit is not to inspire the Prophets to preach
to the people who await, but to cause God’s Son to come. God can now freely
give His love away to anyone, yet the choice to welcome it remains entirely
ours to make.
In
the encounter of the two cousins - Elizabeth and Mary - we learn how receptive
we can be; and whether our shame has been taken away or we have been given the
honour to become the mother of the Son of God, it is important to recognise
that this is not due to any merit of our own. Hence our joy will be caused by
the fact that the Lord has looked upon us, His lowly ones.
This
story of God becoming a human teaches us a lot about humility, lowliness and
littleness; from the choice of the people involved to the place where this
became a reality - the humility and lowliness of Mary, the silent presence of
Joseph, and Bethlehem, which was among the last places - our God has come to
make us great again.
The
Spirit of God which worked in the event of the incarnation is still present in
our world and is still working. How you enable the Spirit to use you to bring
God’s message of joy and hope to all, is a challenge. Are you willing to take
up such a challenge?
As
we have now embarked on the journey to Bethlehem, I wish us all to go with
renewed spirit and readiness to be open to let God use us, show us his marvels.
This
is the time I wish to thank each one of you for the journey we made together
from last Christmas to the new one.
We
thank the Lord for all He has enabled us to achieve spiritually, physically and
materially. Though invisible, He uses us to show His might.
Here
I wish to thank each one of you for your daily and weekly visit to the Parish
for Mass and other activities; your role as a reader, a welcome to the church,
an altar server, a musician, a singer, an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister, a
Safeguarding Officer, a member of the choir, a cleaner; your availability
for the Coffee morning, your important role in the parish as a member of the
SVP, UCM, St Joseph Social Club, the Churches cleaning teams.
Thank
you for your financial contribution to the weekly collection and your financial
contributions to our unfinished project of renovation. So far, our
efforts have been concentrated on Our Lady’s Church, now the greatest expenses
will be at St Joseph’s Church. We need to upgrade the heating system and opt
for a cleaner energy; the whole roof needs replacing because the patching
solution used last year didn’t work; the inside of the Church needs to be made
safe for children and families; the windows and ventilation, the Confessional,
relocating the tabernacle to help with our prayer and the liturgy, the
presidential bench to become a chair; the presbytery needs to be worked on to
enable it to be rented, and so forth.
During
the new year - apart from the Finance Committee - we aim to establish the
following committees to help with the day to day running of the parish and its
mission: there will be a Liturgy Committee, Social and Pastoral Committee,
Evangelisation Committee. Two members of each one of these committees will
become members of the Parish Representatives Committee. Further explanation and
details of all these will be given in due course.
Some
people have lost their jobs, and other’s jobs and livelihood are under threat.
Please remember that you are not alone, and you will not be walking alone.
Many
families in our parish experienced bereavement during the period 2020-2021, and
I invite us to keep them all in our prayers- both the departed and the living.
As
we look forward to a new year with hope, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a
happy new year 2022- health, success in your enterprises, and above all, that
you may grow in your love for Jesus and his Church. Your parish needs you,
please do not hesitate to answer to the call when it is made.
X CATECHETICAL CLASS in the Parish Hall at Our Lady Help of Christians starts again after the Christmas break on Monday, 10th January, at 7.30pm. New members are always welcome to come along for discussion and to explore the Catholic faith in more detail.
X COME HOME TO CHURCH, STAY SAFE AND GET VACCINATED AND GET THE BOOSTER - the churches remain open for all advertised masses and all are welcome. We have been informed that there is now very strong evidence to support that the main mode of transmission is through breath and nasal aerosols, and that the risk from surface and touch transmission is very small indeed. Therefore, in line with the Government’s latest regulations, and on the instruction of the Bishops Conference, you are required, unless medically exempt, to wear a face covering in church which covers both the nose and mouth, including during congregational singing.
It is also really important that people displaying any symptoms of covid-19 should stay at home and not travel to church or participate in person. We will make sure there is hand sanitiser available to all those attending the Church, and will keep sanitising the church and ensure there is good ventilation and air throughput in the building; in this case, because of climatic conditions, it would be important that you wrap up well in church if it does get a bit chilly.
It is also really important that you get vaccinated and have the booster jab, when able, at the earliest possible opportunity. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference, has echoed the call of his favourite football manager, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, in encouraging people to take up Covid vaccinations and boosters when offered by the NHS.
“The call ‘Get vaccinated! Get boosted!’ is more and more pressing.
“I add my voice to many others… To the voice of Pope Francis who says to be vaccinated is ‘an act of love’. To the voice of my favourite football manager, Jurgen Klopp, in London this weekend: ‘The whole vaccination process is a question of solidarity, loyalty and togetherness’. He adds: ‘There is only one answer: “You do it”’.
“Yes, please act quickly. Here is real protection, for yourself and for others.”
X THE CATHOLIC POST NEWSPAPER: many of you will have picked up a copy of the new monthly offering, The Catholic Post, which is free for the first edition. Do take a copy and let us know what you think.
X CHRISTMAS FLOWERS: If you missed the collection towards flowers and you’d like to contribute, please put your donation in an envelope marked “Christmas Flowers” and put it through the letter box of the Presbytery in Guildhall Street. We have so far managed to raise £169.30 towards the cost of providing flowers in the churches at St Joseph’s and OLHoC.
X THE FOLKESTONE FOODBANK – PLEASE KEEP CONTRIBUTING! Both before and after Christmas there is a significant rise in requests for food parcels as many face additional hardship over the Christmas period. Urgently needed items are toilet rolls, vegetarian tinned meals, washing-up liquid, shaving foam and children’s toothpaste.
X SAFEGUARDING MATTERS - The Diocese
is committed to making all Parishes "Safe Parishes", where each
person is respected and loved, supported and protected. It asks that all
parishioners are involved in the care and protection of vulnerable children and
adults. To this end, two new Parish Safeguarding Representatives (PSR’s) have
been appointed:
Sara Adams - folkestonesg1@safeguardrcaos.org.uk
and
Earl Morris - folkestonesg2@safeguardrcaos.org.uk
If you
have any safeguarding concerns, please contact them on their respective emails
or ring the Parish office (01303 252823) and your contact details will be
passed on. Concerns around a child or adult that you believe may need some
protection. Any concerns will be dealt with in a timely and compassionate
manner and information shared with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team who carry out
any necessary investigations.
The
PSR's are the link between the Parish and the Diocesan Safeguarding team and
more information about how you can play your part will be shared in the New
Year.
X NO COFFEE IN THE HALL AFTER MASS - with the rise in infection rates for Covid and the Delta
and Omicron variants, a decision has been taken to temporarily suspend tea and
coffee after Mass until the weekend of 9th January 2022, when the decision will
be reviewed. Whilst the church remains safe, with limited moving around and
masks being worn, we are unable to offer that level of health and safety in the
hall for tea and coffee after Mass. We apologise for any inconvenience but your
safety is our paramount concern.
X DIOCESAN DIRECTORIES FOR 2021 will be available from Wednesday 22nd December from the Parish’s Catholic Bookshop. If you would like a copy, please reserve yours now from Eileen.
X OUR LADY & ST JOSEPH’S 100 CLUB – the Christmas Draw for £100 will take place after the
11.00am Mass on Sunday 18th December. Good luck everybody!
X POPE’S PRAYER INTENTION FOR DECEMBER 2021 – Catechists. Let us pray for the catechists, summoned to announce the Word of God: may they be its witnesses, with courage & creativity & in the power of the Holy Spirit.
X BIG CHURCH DAY OUT 2022 – postponed from 2021, BCDO is a Christian Music Festival held in West Sussex on 3rd-4th June 2022 with camping/caravanning available onsite from 2nd to the 5th June. Join with over 30,000 people from across the UK and beyond to worship together in the jaw-dropping surrounding of the Wiston Estate in the company of some of the best Christian artists in the world including Matt Reddman, Rend Collective, Casting Crowns, Jonathan and Melissa Helser, Travis Greene, Guvna B, Lacrae and many others. On the Sunday morning, there will also be a Catholic Mass held outdoors.
The early bird sale ends on 31st December and weekend tickets are £59 for adults (normally £72) and £51 for the first child and £45 for additional children (normally £62 and £58). Under 5s are a fiver and under 1s are free. There are also over 65s tickets and family tickets available. Day tickets are also available at a slightly cheaper price.
You can book tickets, camping and caravanning facilities and pitches including renting tents, tipis, yurts and more by going to www.bigchurchdayout.com
X REMEMBERING JOHN TILLING (8th Dec 1972 - 20th Dec 1991). It’s the 30th anniversary of the death of John Tilling, who died just aged 19 and was first born son of Cecilia Wells-Tilling. John died after colliding with a tree in Shorncliffe Road on his moped. John was very well-known locally and there was a packed church and a packed Ashley Avenue of people who attended his funeral on 27th December, 1991.
His friends held a concert to remember him and raise funds for a bench on East Cliff. John helped run the East Cliff Pavilion for Jan Anton Studio 6 for many years and his favourite view was over the sea from the East Cliff. This bench has since been removed as in 30 years it was in bad condition and his friends want to replace it.
John did the Tech side of dozens of plays and shows at FHODS in the Little Theatre in Sandgate and was loved and respected. John lived his life to the full and was very able. He helped the needy via CB radio too. There is still an award at St. Anselm’s Catholic secondary school in his name where he refitted the theatre lights in his final year there and did the tech for their plays and shows throughout his secondary years at St. Anselm’s. The Folkestone and Hythe Operatic and Dramatic Society still present the award in his name 30 years on as he did the tech side for FHODS at the Little Theatre. If you can help out with a pound or two, please donate at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/abenchforjohn
PARISH INFORMATION
Presbytery and Parish
Office:
41
Guildhall Street, Folkestone, Kent CT20 1EF
Tel:
01303 252823 e-mail:
folkestone@rcaos.org.uk
Parish Secretary: Mr Dylan Jeffrey BA,
PGCE, MSc
Clergy
Parish Priest: Fr Alex Saba MA,
MSLR, MCL, JCL
Priest: Fr Francis Capener MA
Deacon: Rev. Dr Gehad Homsey
MB, BCh
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