Gaudete - 'Gaudete in Domino Semper . . . '

'Rejoice in the Lord always . . . '

Well, we certainly did that at St Ann's on Sunday.

Our flower arrangers came up with a beautiful arrangement for the sanctuary . . .

We lit the rose candle on our Advent wreath . . . 

There was much joyful singing, and many smiles all round . . . 

Let us use the remaining days of Advent to prepare well for the coming of Our Lord.    'The Lord is near!' as the antiphon says.

The Advent Wreath . . .

The Advent Wreath may be of any size and is made of evergreens. There are four candles, one for each week of Advent; it is traditional that three of the candles are purple and one is rose.

The rose candle is lit on the Third Sunday of Advent since this colour symbolises and anticipates the joy of Christmas which is announced in the first word of the Entrance Antiphon: 'Rejoice' from the Latin 'Gaudete'. The third Sunday is also known as Gaudete Sunday and rose-coloured vestments may be worn.

The Advent Wreath originated in Europe, in what we now call Germany; there was a tradition there among the pagans to light candles on a wreath as the December darkness fell and the days became shorter and colder.

Eventually the Christians evangelised these people and converted them, but the people still held onto the tradition and so the Church 'Christianised' the practice.

Every year in Advent we wait once again in darkness for the Lord's coming; His historical coming in the mystery of Bethlehem; His final coming at the end of time, and in between, His special coming in each and every moment of grace.

The most important part of the wreath is the flame which symbolises Christ, the light of the world and our yearning for the light and warmth of his love which is everlasting, as is symbolised by the evergreen wreath which never loses its 'green-ness'.

It would be great to have a wreath at home and gather as a family each day and light the candle together (not forgetting to extinguish it!!) and pray for a few moments. This will help us to pray as a family which is the most important thing that you can do as a family.

It will also help you to prepare for Christmas in a real Christian way and focus on Christ rather than wrapping paper and long shopping queues. It will help us prepare spiritually for Christmas so that Christmas may be that Holy day it's supposed to be and God wants it to be for us.

Ultimately God wants each of us to be that candle reflecting His light to our world that so much needs to see Him.

The photo at the top of this post shows our new Advent Wreath already for its 'début' on Sunday. If I can obtain a better photo I'll come back and replace this one!

Update: I hope you approve of the 'improved' photo!

Why was Fr wearing white at Mass today . . .?

I gather from one of our parishioners that her eagle-eyed young son had commented on the white vestments I was wearing at Mass on Sunday.

First of all, I'm always delighted to hear that our children are taking such an interest in what is happening at Mass and secondly, I'm also always very happy to do my best to answer any queries so do please let me know if your children have posed any similar questions during or after Mass.

So, to the answer . . .

At different times in the Church's year, the priest will wear different coloured vestments to indicate which season it is; for example for most of the year, in what we call 'Ordinary Time', the priest will wear green vestments.

It is not only the priest's vestments that will be green, the tabernacle 'veil' (cover) will also be green and if there is a Deacon present his vestments will also be green.

Here is a simple list which gives the 'liturgical colours' and when they are used:

Green: Ordinary Time

White/Gold: Feasts; Christmas, Easter, Weddings, Baptisms etc.

Red: Feasts of the Lord’s Passion, Blood and Cross; Martyrs;
Holy Spirit (Pentecost, Confirmation)

Purple: Advent, Lent, Penitence, Funerals

White with blue: Feasts of Our Lady

Rose: Gaudete Sunday (3^rd Sunday of Advent) &
Laetare Sunday (4^th Sunday of Lent)

Sunday was the Solemnity of Christ the Universal King. A 'Solemnity' is a very special feast and so white vestments are worn, or sometimes even gold.

Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent which is also the beginning of the Church's year and the colour of the vestments will change again. I hope all our young people will be watching carefully to see which colour it will be!

In the pink . . . !

Well, we're definitely feeling 'in the pink' here in Banstead.

"Gaudete in Domino' So says the Introit for Gaudete Sunday. "Rejoice in the Lord always'.

Advent, like Lent is a penitential season, so normally I would be wearing purple vestments, but tomorrow, if you happen to be in the area, you will see me wearing a very tasteful pink chasuble, or, as we prefer to say at St Ann's, 'rose' vestments.

We've passed the midpoint of Advent and so we have a slightly lighter mood. This change gives us encouragement to continue with our spiritual preparation for Christmas.

As with the vestments, so with our Advent wreath; we shall be lighting the pink/rose candle.

Rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord, always . . .

'Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near!'

The liturgy of today's Mass repeats St Paul's words to the first Christians at Philippi, 'Rejoice in the Lord, always; again I say, rejoice!' Then he give us the real reason for this great happiness: 'The Lord is near.'

This is the joy of Advent and of each and every day and St Paul gives us the key to understanding the origin of any unhappiness we may experience; unhappiness comes from putting a barrier between ourselves and God, through our sins, through our lukewarmness or indifference.

Of course every day the Lord is nearer to us. However if there are barriers, he will not force an entry.

There is still time to celebrate the sacrament of Confession. If not in your own parish, then any priest would be delighted to make time to hear your Confession. Here are details of times for Confession at St Ann's:

Saturdays: 10.30am to 11.30am

5.00pm to 6.00pm

After each Mass on the first Sunday of the month

And at call

Advent Penitential Service - Tuesday 15th December at 7.30pm

St John Vianney, pray for us

Our Lady, Queen of Confessors, pray for us

The Advent Wreath

Today we lit the first candle in our Advent wreath. There are many traditions associated with the Advent wreath.

In Catholic churches, three of the candles are purple and one is rose. The purple candles symbolise faith expectation, and the rose candle symbolises joy and hope. These colours mirror the colour of the priest's vestments used during the Sundays of Advent.

In earlier times, the season of Advent had stronger penitential and ascetic aspects, and a relaxation of disciplines was offered on the third Sunday of Advent called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin for 'rejoice', the first words of the Introit.

Many people have an Advent wreath at home and it is a lovely thing to do, to light a candle on each Sunday of Advent and say a prayer together as a family.

Christian Duty ...

I was very moved when reading the following from the Office of Readings this morning which comes from a homily of a second-century author:

Let us repent then with all our heart so that none of us may be lost. It is our duty as Christians to rescue people from idolatry and to instruct them in the faith but it is even more important that those who already know God should not perish. Let us collaborate in helping those whose faith is weak so that by our mutual advice and example we may all be saved.

A reminder that as part of our preparation during Advent we should all continue to encourage and support one another in our faith and, most importantly, take the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession.

Our own parish Reconciliation Service will be at 7.30 pm on Friday 12th December. Most parishes in our Deanery will also have a similar service to which all are welcome. Details will be in the newsletter very soon.

It is the responsibility of each one of us to witness to our faith whenever we can; to those in our homes, places of work, schools or wherever. Remember we receive a great grace when we enable others to return to the practice of their faith.

Another new book for your Christmas list ...

This morning's post brought with it a review copy of another delightful book from Family Publications.

Entitled, 'Nativity, A visual meditation', the book is very well presented with beautiful illustrations accompanying the meditations and prayers. The book is based on the fifteenth-century painting The Nativity by Robert Campin.

An ideal book for Advent and Christmas for anyone looking for a focus for their spiritual preparation for Christmas, and very reasonably priced at £8.95. You can order the book from Family Publications