St. Bede's Catholic Church

Newcastle upon Tyne

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ADVENT

I find this a fascinating time of the year. It’s the few weeks before Christmas and it is so confusing. The Metro Centre, Northumberland Street, the Business News at 6.15 am on Radio 4 (I listen to it every day and understand about 10% of it), TV adverts, the ‘freebies’ through our doors to buy, get into debt, sit on a sofa we don’t have to pay for until about the time of the London Olympics in 2012 – and so on – all drive me crazy. Advent is really about waiting, and I suspect we’re not too good at that. We’re waiting to celebrate the Birth of Jesus – homeless, son of an unmarried mother, about to go into exile, and born in poverty….

Waiting, in our time, seems to mean, sitting around doing nothing and rather expecting something to happen….

Advent is not like this…Advent is about waiting, but waiting is not doing nothing. Waiting is about fully engaging in the present moment.

Waiting is about sitting at the bedside of someone dying - scared, concerned, wanting to do whatever it takes to make the person comfortable, at ease, feel loved.

Waiting is what mothers do for nine months prior to the birth of their child. They don’t do nothing, they do loads of things – and all for the good of the baby about to be born.

Waiting is watching children grow up, learning new things, having arguments, wondering how best to help them.

Waiting is pretty hard work.

Advent invites us to wait for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, and at the end of time. To pinch a phrase from Bishop Kevin’s Letter last week, it is about us discovering what our vocation/calling is –it is different for each of us.

Please don’t read this too carefully or remember it, it will probably be the core of the sermon at Denton Burn Methodist Church on the evening of Sunday 4th December when Hendry Poniah has asked me to preach at our Ecumenical Advent Service in their Church. It is a risk – he’s obviously not heard me preach before...
 

Who have died:

Muriel Maher, Leo Scurr

Who are sick in our community: 

Sheila Bolam, Mgr Kevin Nichols, Fr Terry Kerr, Ronnie Rogers

Who have anniversaries around this time: :

Norah Snowdon, John McLoughlin, John Tams, Joan Milne, Margaret Burnett, George Younghusband, Gladys Hall, William Peacock, George Henry Douglas, Agnes Robertson, Rose Nolan. 

We welcome those who were baptised last Sunday:

Taylor Luke Smith—you’re very welcome to join our community.
 

 SAINTS
THIS WEEK
 

• St Cecilia...The veneration of Saint Cecilia, in whose honour a basilica was erected at Rome in the fifth century, has extended far and wide because of the Passion of Saint Cecilia, which presented her as a perfect example of Christian womanhood who preserved her virginity and suffered martyrdom for the love of Christ. The Patron Saint of Musicians…

• St Clement I...Clement was the third pope after Saint Peter to rule the Church, at about the end of the first century.  He wrote a brialliant letter to the Corinthians to help preserve peace and harmony among them.

• St Andrew Dung-Lac & Companions...In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the growth of Christianity in the Vietnamese kingdoms of Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China provoked waves of bitter persecution, and of the numerous martyrs one hundred and seventeen have been canonised.   Eight of these are bishops, with fifty priests and fifty-nine lay people; ninety-six were Vietnamese.  St. Andrew Dung-Lac is representative of many other martyr priests.  He came from a poor non-Christian family and was taught by a Christian lay catechist.  The sufferings inflicted on the Vietnamese martyrs are among the most terrible in the long history of Christian martyrdom.

• St Catherine of Alexandria...According to Legend Catherine was a maiden martyred at Alexandria under Emperor Maxentius. In art she is represented with the spiked wheel of martyrdom ( The Catherine Wheel ), or arguing with pagan philosophers. Her Cult was immensely popular in the middle ages. Her reputation for learning has led to her patronage of libraries, teachers and lawyers.

Next Sunday—27th November, Three couples from St Bede’s will be presented to our Parish Community. They have been involved in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at St Mary’s Cathedral for the last few weeks. It is a privilege for us to be able to welcome them. They are: Kevin and Lisa , Keith and Jean, and Mark and Helen. Please remember them in your prayers. Many thanks.

This Sunday: there is a great deal going on...and that’s apart from the Fayre:

National Youth Sunday: This is a Day to celebrate the young people and young adults in our community. We pray that they are helped to discover their own unique pathway of discipleship and are able to see God at work in their lives. There is a retiring collection to contribute to the work of the Catholic Youth Service and diocesan youth projects.

There is a Diocesan Youth Celebration on Sunday afternoon at 4.00pm at St James’ Church, Hebburn. Please feel free to join in. Unfortunately, I am not free to go on this occasion.

Our Book of Remembrance will be on show until the end of this month.

The Fayre...Very many thanks to all those who have organised the Fayre. There is a tremendous amount of work goes on in the background to ensure that we have a successful fund-raising event. There also seems to be a bit of fun about it, so if you feel you’re missing out and would like to help in the future, please let me know—there’s always room for more. I hope you enjoy the gathering after Mass on Sunday—I finally picked up the books from Bishop’s House during the week. Have a browse and see what Bishop Lindsay, Bishop Cunningham and Bishop McCormack used as light reading...If you don’t want the book, you can always pay for the signature—sorry they’re not here in person to sign them…

 Please Pray for those...         

Who have died:

Mickey Noon, Rosie Henry, Robbie Robinson

Who are sick in our community: 

Sheila Bolam, Ronnie Rogers, Mgr Kevin Nichols

Who have anniversaries around this time: :

Gladys Fleming, John Driver, Michael Smith, Mary Fitzsimmons, Mary Leighton, Jed Kelly, James Halcrow, Mary McEvoy, Harriet Pyle.

We welcome those who were baptised last Sunday:

Samuel Mark Murphy, Owen Matthew Murphy, Ellis James Murphy—all brothers—they were brilliant.  Welcome into our Church community.

Who were confirmed on Wednesday evening:

David and Calum 

 SAINTS
THIS WEEK
 

• Albert the Great: One of these amazing medieval characters. Born in Germany in 1206, became a Dominican priest, wrote about both theology and science, tried to keep the peace between cities and various waring factions and tribes. Died in 1280.
   
• Edmund of Abingdon: Yet another one! Born 1175, studied in Paris, Oxford and Salisbury. Wanted to be a monk, but was chosen to be the Archbishop of Canterbury—amazing how we don’t always end up doing what we want to do. Had frequent rows with the King of England and was on his way to seek support from the Pope that he died in France. Life was even more difficult for bishops in those days…
   
• St Hilda: Hilda lived from 614-680. Entered religious life (in Hartlepool) at the age of 33 and soon moved to Whitby where she managed the double monastery (men and women) until she died. Under her leadership the Abbey became a great centre of learning and literature. She hosted a very important meeting in 664 which helped to ‘sort out a few things’ in the Christian in these islands. A very important lady.

Visitation Preparation: Very many thanks to those who were able to come to the preparatory meeting last week. There were 16 of us altogether, and it’s fair to say that ‘discussion was lively’. This is just a bit of a taster of what was said….
 

Things we think we’re good at: a hard working group of people (including some men…) who are practical and down to earth; Readers at Mass; Servers; Sacristans; Regular Parish –In-Council meetings; Finance Committee; a respectable tradition of Church music; not bad at ecumenical cooperation; good schools; children’s liturgy...etc.
 

What do we need to develop? Lay responsibility regarding parish administration and secretarial work; recommitment to visiting the sick and bereaved; a sense of Justice and Peace; deeper awareness of the needs of young people; a sense of commitment and enthusiasm for adult formation and education; a sense of how ‘Church’ and ‘Faith’ is a priority for us; Hospitality and welcome—particularly to families with younger children….etc

The whole list is on our parish website. The next stage of the process is for me to go to a meeting on Wednesday (16th November) at St Roberts with the Dean (Fr Michael Hickey) and see what our ‘Deanery Profile’ looks like. That’s not likely to be prepared until I get our 2 profiles sent off…….Thanks to David here and Tony at St Joseph’s for preparing them for us. Watch this space…

 Please Pray for those...         

Who have died:

Zeta French

Who are sick in our community: 

Sheila Bolam, Ronnie Rogers

We remember during November the Holy Souls, and particularly those who have anniversaries around this time: :

Matthew Annan, Monica Abbott, Lillian Ward, Peter Scott, Mary Langan, Michael O’Donnell, Samuel Reay, Martha Symington, Freddie Howe, Margaret Storey, John Anderson, Bernard Healey, Billy Sisterson

We welcome Vithus Jusuthas who was baptised recently.

Feasts and Celebrations this week 

• Dedication of the Lateran Basilica...This feast commemorates the dedication of the basilica built by the Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, on the Lateran Hill which, by a tradition dating from the twelfth century, is said to have taken place on this day.  At first the feast was kept only in the City of Rome but then, in honour of the basilica which is called the Mother and Head of all Churches of the City and the World, it was extended to the whole of the Roman Rite as a sign of unity and respect towards the Holy See.

• St Leo the Great...Born in Tuscany, he became Pope in 440.  He was a true father and shepherd of his people.  He constantly strove to preserve the integrity of the faith, defended the unity of the Church, repelled or alleviated the incursions of the barbarians, and in very truth he is called the Great.  He died in 461.

• St Martin de Tours...Born in Pannonia of pagan parents around 316.  He was baptised, gave up his career as a soldier and founded a monastery in Liguge in France where he lived the religious life under the guidance of Saint Hilary.  Then he was ordained priest and was chosen bishop of Tours.  He always gave the example of a good shepherd, founding new monasteries, instructing the clergy and preaching the gospel to the poor.  He died in 397.

• St Josaphat...Born in the Ukraine of Orthodox parents around 1580.  He became a Catholic and joined the monks of Saint Basil.  He became a priest and was elected Bishop of Polock, and worked strenuously for the unity of the Church.  He suffered martyrdom at the hands of his enemies in 1623.

News and Events

St Bede’s Book of Remembrance: You will see our Book of Remembrance on display for the whole of November. If you would like the names of any friends or family included in it, just let me know and I’m sure our regular Caligrapher (definitely not me) will see to it. A couple of people have asked for a copy of the Reflection I read on Wednesday during Mass for the Commemoration of All The Faithful Departed. It was included as a Preface to the Order of Service for the Queen Mother’s Funeral, and is, apparently, Anonymous:

You can shed tears that she is gone,
or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love she shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You ran remember her and only that she’s gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty
and turn your back

or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes,
love and go on.

Alternatively visit the CAFOD World's gift Catalogue and  order online.

How do we prepare our worship together?
How can we develop our sense of the sacred in our worship?
How ‘inclusive’ is our liturgy?
Can more people begin to contribute to our liturgy?
What are our strengths and weaknesses?

Witness: -

Do we have a sense that we are to be disciples of Jesus in the world?
Do we have a commitment to Social Justice
How can we grow in love and knowledge of our faith — our scriptures, history, Church as a whole?
What are our strengths and weaknesses?

Service: -

How do we care for the sick, the poor, the socially disadvantaged?
What are our strengths and weaknesses?

The idea is that we look at how our parishes/deaneries and eventually the diocese, is committed to ‘being in communion’ with the Lord and each other, and how we translate our commitment into mission—the outward looking bit of our faith.

Well, at least that’s how I see what we’ll be looking at, whether any of this happens does rather remain to be seen. It is this process that will take me away from St Bede’s and St Joseph’s so much between January and Easter, and I know that these are the subjects we will be looking at in all other parishes in the diocese.

Some final less profound thoughts:

I try to take one day at a time—but sometimes several days attack me at once.

If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them

If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.

Enough for today JOK