Bulletin 1st Sunday of Advent

Parish Bulletin of

Sacred Heart Catholic Church,

Hillsborough, Diocese of Hallam

30th November & 1st December 2019 1st Sunday of Advent (year A)

Readings

Isaiah 2:1-5
2nd Letter of St Paul 13:11-14 Matthew 24: 37-44

Psalm Response

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
Today’s Liturgy Eucharistic Prayer II

Next Sunday 2nd Sunday of Advent (year A)

Xander Humphrey Yere will be baptised at Mass today. Jacob Edison Crossley will be baptised at 1pm today. Congratulations to their families.

Mass Times & Intentions 30th Nov - 10th December 2019

Saturday (30th) 6.30pm - Robert, Maria, Rhea & Gloria Pagarigan

Sunday (1st) 11 am –James & Violet Cooper & the deceased members of the Cardis & Piascecki families.

Monday Monday the Tuesday Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

9 am - November Dead List
10 am - Advent Wreath blessing with

school.

9 am - St Francis Xavier
11 am - Funeral Mass, Patricia Turner

7.30pm - St John of Damascas 11 am
11.30 am - St Nicholas
9 am - St Ambrose

Saturday Morning: Confessions & Adoration 10am to 11am.

Parish Groups this week
St Vincent de Paul: Mondays at 7.30pm (Chris Ashton

2962514)

Choir Rehearsals: Next rehearsal: Tuesday 5th November at 7.30pm (Barbara Hartley 2320159)

Art Class: Wednesdays at 10am in the presbytery (Barbara Beaston 2322760)

Youth Friendship: Fridays 6.30pm to 8pm in the presbytery. Years 6,7 & 8. (Fran Sheil 07870 478294)2019

Parish Census:

Please take a census form from the back of church and return your completed form either to the box in the church porch or the presbytery. The information will help us compile a new Parish Register. Thank Y ou.

Centenary Celebrations:

As part of this event, a group is looking at putting together a presentation on the history of Sacred Heart Parish and we would like to get as many photos and artefacts as possible to display. If you have anything – photos or indeed any memorabilia – that would reflect the history of the parish, we would love to use them. Please leave any contributionsclearly named and securely packaged in the sacristy. Another group is hoping to put together a Parish Prayer Book and want to include your favourite prayers.

Deeper in Faith:

Deeper in Faith: The group who completed the Journey in Faith program are continuing their faith journey beyond the programme. We would like to open the invitation to the whole Parish. Father Michael will lead our first session on the ‘Seasons of the Church’ at 6pm, 2nd Sunday of each month. We will regularly discuss subjects that the group would like to cover in future sessions, and we will do our best to find speakers to cover those topics. We hope you can

Quietly Getting Ready for Advent:

An opportunity to reflect, pray, listen to God’s word, sing, and be still, in preparation for the season of Advent. Sacred Heart Church, Sunday 1st December, 6 to 7pm. Please join us and let us know, in order that we can prepare drinks for everyone. 0114 2343580, sacredheart479@gmail.com. See the poster in church.

Live Simply Advent Supper:

Friday 13th December 7:30 pm at St Vincent's Church S10 1GY. Notre Dame students’ talk about Care for Creation. Simple Supper Quirky Quiz. £5.00 pp £2.50 under 16s (proceeds to Daughters of Charity and Medical Missionaries of Mary work in Africa) for tickets tel. 0777 223 6615

Mass Book Dedications

This weekend we start using our brand new Mass Books which replace the Redemptorist Leaflet. This book is for Cycle A and we will buy Cycles B and C over the next 2 years to complete the set. In order to personalise these books to our parish and indeed offset some of the cost, Dedications are now available for purchase. A Give Net website has been set up to enable this. Labels will be printed and our own resident and talented calligrapher, Brian Marsden, will handwrite each name so they will be truly personalised!

Just simply visit the https://www.give.net/sacredheartbooks and get your Dedication started.

A donation of £4 or £5 per label is being suggested which is roughly the price of a Costa coffee, a glass of wine or indeed a Christmas selection box. Should you not be an internet user and / or cannot get your children or grandchildren to help you, envelopes for dedications and offerings will be made available soon to assist with this. What a wonderful way to remember our loved ones at the beginning of each weekend Mass! Just one final note: MASS BOOKS, LIKE HYMN BOOKS, WILL NEED TO BE LEFT AT THE BACK OF CHURCH AFTER MASS

THE EVIDENCE OF GRACE (Fr. Michael’s Homily)
Advent: The Loving Outreach of God to The World
The message of Advent is of the loving outreach of God to the world. God is reaching out to us, the advent community of faith, inviting every one of us into friendship with Christ and each other. Advent also call us to anticipate the day on which the promised Emmanuel will return; to teach us his ways, to show us how to walk in his paths and in his light. The time has come when God’s reign will be established for all. Then we shall become a people of peace, a people of praise and rejoicing, and then the weapons of war will be transformed into tools of the community of hope. We will beat our swords into ploughshares and our spears into sickles (Isaiah 2:1-5). In Advent we lift our heads and our sights above and beyond the challenges and crises of our time and our lives to participate in the hope and promise of world that will be transformed by the Christ child. In faith and in hope we begin Advent today with its first candle. With Mary and Joseph, we wait for Christ. The candles are lighting the way for them – and for us! The coming light of Jesus lights both our waiting and our journey in life. May it shine the light of Christ into the darkness of sins, injustices, wars and divisions in our world. Advent shows us that God’s presence, by his own initiative will become more evident and compelling by the miraculous disguise as a child. In our day too Jesus will appear in our midst like a beggar, a hungry person, a homeless brother or sister, ill-clothed or as someone sick, imprisoned or lonely. The Gospel of the first Sunday of Advent always exhorts us to vigilance: Stay awake (Mt 24:42) . . . Be watchful! (Mk 13: 33,37) . . .. Be vigilant at all times (Lk 21:34). As St. Paul says today: “the time has come... and our salvation is nearer” (Rom 13:11). Let those who watch for that day be watchful in prayer. And let those who are watchful in prayer make a resolve to run forth to meet Christ. Lord Jesus, keep me ever watchful

for the coming of your kingdom today and every day of my life. Amen