Who have died:  Catherine McTaggart, Richard James Thompson

Who are sick in our community:  Mgr Kevin Nichols, Ronnie Rogers, Sheila Bolam, Stephen McNulty, Kathleen and Tommy Murphy, Amy Frizzell.

Who have anniversaries around this time: : Sara Murray, Margaret Muir, Anne Renton, John Craven, John Monnelly, Isabella Atwell, Alice Butler, William Hay, Mary Lockhart Robson, John Spence, Thomas Brennan, Henry Miller, Eddie McAdams, Lily Armstrong, Joseph Willis, Catherine Wilson, Alice Birrell, Florence Todd, John Dawson, Thomas Scott, Marion Watson, Henry Stephenson, Tom and Kathleen Lishman.  May they rest in peace.

SAINTS
THIS WEEK

• St Stephen...the first Christian martyr.  Stoned outside Jerusalem, he died praying for his executioners.  He was one of the seven deacons who was asked to feel hungry widows—but he seems to have spent his time preaching! He was "filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit", and was "full of fortitude". His name is in the Roman Canon.

• St John...Born in Bethsaida, was called from mending nets to follow Jesus. He became known as the ‘beloved disciple’ of Jesus.  The fourth Gospel, three Letters and the Apocalypse are all named after him.  His writing style is very different from others of the time, - he’s a poet and mystic. John and his brother James along with Simon Peter witnessed the Transfiguration.  At the Last Supper, he leans on the Master's breast (don’t believe a word you read in the Da Vinci Code!!).  At the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts his Mother to his care.  It may well be that in later years, under Emperor Domitian, John was exiled to the island of Patmos—not such a bad place to end your days....

• The Holy Innocents...The Church celebrates the memory of the small children in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem who were put to death while Herod’s men were looking to kill Jesus—shades of Moses and the murder of the Hebrew first born in Exodus here...  These innocent victims bear witness to Christ in a world which would not receive Him.

• St Thomas Becket...Born in London in 1118.  He was a cleric of the Church of Canterbury and became Chancellor of the kingdom, and then in 1162 was chosen to be Archbishop.   He strenuously defended the rights of the Church against King Henry II and he was exiled to France for six years.  On his return to his country he again had to bear many trials and finally in 1170 he was murdered by the king's followers. Remember the king’s famous question: ‘Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?’ - uttered by many a statesman (and woman) since then.

• St Sylvester...He was ordained Bishop of the Church of Rome in 314 and ruled the Church during the reign of Constantine the Great, at the time when various heresies brought great troubles on the Church.  He died in 335.

• Just to make the Festive Season a little more ……..

• Did you know? The spending on every person in the UK is £117.00?

• Parents (average) will spend £137 on each child?

• Each year UK homes discard 30 tonnes of rubbish

• 3 million tonnes are discarded over Christmas.

Who have died:  Fr Terry Kerr, Peter Morrill

Who are sick in our community:  Mgr Kevin Nichols, Sheila Bolam, Ronnie Rogers, Sheila Steele, Amy Frizzel, Monica Watson

Who have anniversaries around this time: : Alice Henderson, Philip Kennedy, Mary Harper, Ann McBeth, Alan Dunn, Molloy Hands, Brother Robert Manley, Sarah Howard, Audrey Hawksby, Bridget Forster, Joseph McEnestry, Irene McElroy, Doris McGuigan, Charlie Hall, Charles Gibson, Roy Paul Forster, Elizabeth Bamford, Neil Chesterton, , Mary Ann Browne, Ambrose Short, Anne Benton, John Monnelly, Christopher Smith.  May they rest in peace.

Who have been baptised in recent days: Can we welcome the following children into our community and look forward to seeing them in the future: Euan Connor Bell, Niamh Lauren Bell and Ryan Jack Bell. Welcome.

SAINTS
THIS WEEK

• St Peter Canisius...Born at Nijmegen in in 1521.  He studied at Cologne and joined the Society of Jesus, being ordained priest in 1546.  He was sent to Germany where for many years he worked to defend and strengthen the Catholic faith by his writings and preaching.  Of his many works The Catechism is outstanding.  He died at Fribourg in Switzerland in 1597.

• St John of Kanty...Born in Kanty in the diocese of Cracow in 1390.  He became a priest and for many years taught in the University of Cracow—the same Diocese as Pope John Paul 11— and then was parish priest of Olkusz.  Besides being an outstanding professor of the Catholic faith, he excelled in personal holiness and in charity to his neighbour, so that he was a true example to his colleagues and to his students.  He died in 1473.

How far that little candle throws its beam

So shines that good deed in a naughty world

(The Merchant of Venice:  Act V.i—just in case you don’t believe me and want to look it up…)

Who have died:  Peter Morrill

Who are sick in our community:  Mgr Nichols, Sheila Bolam, Ursula Purvis, Ronnie Rogers, Amy Frizzell, Anne Steele.

Who have anniversaries around this time: : Edward Brady, Mary Convery, James Dunn, James Kelly, Tom Woodley, Gladys May Brown, Joan Waters, James Donoghue, Joseph McKenna, John Gilroy, Joseph Wilson, Mary McConnachie, Dorothy Muir, John Gray, Hugh Quinn, Wilhelmina Duffy, Joe Kyne, Mary Brennan, William Clifford, John Trattles, Ann Clark, Doreen Hayles, Lyn Compton, Edward O’Brien, Matthew Brayson. May they rest in peace.
 

SAINTS
THIS WEEK

• St Lucy... suffered martyrdom at Syracuse probably during the persecution of Diocletian.  Devotion to her spread throughout the whole Church and dates back to the earliest times.  Her name is in the Roman Canon.

• St John of the Cross...Born at Fontiveros in Old Castile in Spain about 1542.  He was a Carmelite friar and around 1568 he was persuaded by St Teresa of Avila to be the first to undertake the reform of his Order, which cost him much hard work and many trials—believe me, he was not a popular brother among his colleagues—like they did imprison him in a cell and only fed him on bread and water a couple of times a week. You do wonder about some of these monks from time to time. He died in Andalusia in 1591.  He was outstanding in holiness and knowledge as his many spiritual writings testify.

When I light a candle at Midnight


I say to the Darkness


I beg to differ
 

Who have died: Sue Broadbent. Peter Morrill

Who are sick in our community:  Sheila Bolam, Mgr Kevin Nichols, Ronnie Rogers, Amy Frizzell, Anne Steele.

Who have anniversaries around this time: : Margaret Gough, Thomas Binnington, James McGuckin, John Oliver, Emily Burbridge, Margaret Gilroy, William Murray, George Kelly, Margaret Sullivan, John Brown, Evelyn Coyne, Maureen Corrigan, John Armstrong, Patrick Mullen, Thomas Ormston, Joan McEnroe, Doreen Quinn, Andrew Convery, John Rigney, Joseph Rea, James McGuckin, Edward Labyk, Ernest Sultmann, Arthur Stanley, Pamela Stewart, Edward Boyd. May they rest in peace.

Who have been accepted as Catechumens: Kevin and Lisa, Jean and Keith, Mark and Helen—you are all very welcome.
 

SAINTS
THIS WEEK

• St Nicholas...He was Bishop of Myra in Lycia (now in Turkey), where he died about the middle of the fourth century.  He is honoured throughout the Church, especially from the tenth century. I guess every child knows he is the forerunner of ‘Santa Claus’.

• St Ambrose...Born at Trier of a Roman family around 340.  He studied law at Rome, entered the public service and then, while living in Milan, he was unexpectedly chosen to be bishop and ordained on 7 December 374.  He carried out the work of his office assiduously, being a true shepherd and teacher of the faithful. He was particularly known for his charity towards others. He strenuously guarded the rights of the Church, and in his writings and his work defended the true faith against some pretty well known heretics known as the Arians.   He died on 4 April, Holy Saturday, 397.

• St John Diego Cuahtlatoatzin...Born near Mexico City, he was an impoverished free man in a strongly class conscious society. He was married and worked as a farm labourer and mat maker. A mystical and religious man, even as a pagan. He was converted to Christianity at the age of 50 and was widowed in 1529. He was a visionary to whom Our Lady appeared at Guadalupe in 1531. He was canonised by Pope John Paul in 2002. ( The name Cuahtlatoatzin means “eagle that talks”. )

                                St John the Baptist
 
                                                                          Help us to find our way out of the wilderness