BULLETIN 23
DECEMBER 2007
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT IN YEAR 1
FATHER
MATT AND FATHER
JOHN WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY CHRISTMAS.
CHURCH SERVICES
Saturday
22 December | Confession
on request from 4.30 to 5.15 pm |
Sunday
23 December | Sunday
Mass at 10.00 am Sunday Mass at 12.00 noon |
Monday
24 December | Mass
at 10.00 am for Peggy McLaughlan Christmas Vigil Masses at 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm preceeded by Carols at 5.15 pm and 8.15 pm |
Tuesday
25 December | Christmas
Day Mass at 10.00 am |
Wednesday
26 December | Feast
of Saint Stephen Mass at 10.00 am for Jessie Brown |
Thursday
27 December | Feast
of Saint John Mass at 10.00 am for Maureen Regan |
Friday
28 December | Feast
of The Holy Innocents Mass at 10.00 am for Cosimo and Arturo Farro |
Saturday
29 December | Mass at 10.00 am for Vincent O'Connell |
PARISH
CENTRE EVENTS
Sunday
23 December | 10.00
am 10.00 am 11.00 am |
Children's
Liturgy |
PRAYERS
Please
remember in your prayers:
John
Dolan, Kitty Boyle (Stevenston) and John Asken (Carntyre)
who died recently and
Patrick McLaughlin 1998, Peggy Hamilton,
Mereno Berti 2003,
Peggy
McLaughlan 2006, Bessie O'Rourke 2005, Bessie Delahunt 2006,
Margaret
Shanks 1966, Tom Finn 1993, Isobel O'Hare Rae 2004,
Patrick
Quinn 1969, Anne-Marie Jenkins 2005, Jessie Brown 1975,
Molly
Cosgrove 1994, Arthur Robertson, Arturo Farro 1994 and
Mary
Dorian Stirling 1999 whose anniversaries occur at this time.
SUNDAY COLLECTION
Last weekend's collection amounted to £679.58 - many thanks. Banker's Orders
amount to an average of £4300 per month. Each month £4000 is repaid
to the Diocese for the building loan and levy.
BANKER'S
ORDERS
Paying your collection by monthly or quarterly banker's order makes
money handling much safer. Banker's Order forms are available in the porch.
PARISH
CENTRE COLLECTION
Last weekend's collection for the Parish Centre amounted
to £328.70 - many thanks.
NATIVITY
SET RAFFLE
Raffle tickets for a Nativity Set with Shed costing 50p a strip
are on sale at the stall. The draw will take place at the Sunday Teas today.
SAINT
PETER'S PRIMARY 7
Primary 7 pupils of Saint Peter's School would like to say
a big thank you to everyone who supported their Christmas Sale on 25 November
and all parents who bought at the infant performance. We raised £271.35.
Thanks again and a Merry Christmas to you all!
2008 DIARIES
2008 Diaries
are available at the stall at a cost of 50 pence.
SAINT
VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY
The Saint
Vincent de Paul Society would welcome any gifts of non perishable, in-date
foodstuffs to supplement its stock for food parcels and so on. A box has been
placed in the porch for such donations.
ARDROSSAN CHURCHES CAROL SERVICE
The collection at the Ardrossan Churches
Carol Service raised £533.92 which will be passed on to MacMillan Nurses.
A
SCOTTISH FAREWELL TO FATHER JOHN
Father John returns to Africa at the
beginning of February. We plan to 'roll-up' our usual Saint Andrew's Night Social
and Burns Supper into A
Scottish Farewell to Father John on two dates. On Friday 25 January, there
will be a meal and Scottish entertainment at 7.20 pm for 7.30 pm to 11.00 pm in
the Parish Centre. Tickets cost £10 and will be on sale from the Parish
Office from Monday 7 January. Call in and collect or book by phone on 464063.
They will be issued on a first come, first served basis. Please wear something
tartan, if only a ribbon. On Sunday 27 January form 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm, there
will be an 'open house' event in the Parish Centre with Scottish snacks - roll
and sausage, hot pies, lentil soup and so on. Come anytime and spend an hour or
so chatting. Envelopes for anything you wish Father
John to use in Tanzania will be available in January.
There
is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections and traditions. |
READINGS
The readings for this weekend's Masses are shown below in English. They are available
in eleven other languages including French,
German, Italian, Polish and Spanish by clicking on this
link.
First
Reading Isaiah 7:10-14
The
Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming
either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above. No, Ahaz answered I
will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: Listen now, House of David:
are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience
of God, too? The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the
maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means God-is-with-us.
Second
Reading Romans 1:1-7
From
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially
chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets
in the scriptures. This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human
nature he took, was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who,
in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed
Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him
we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to
all pagan nations in honour of his name. You are one of these nations, and by
his call belong to Jesus Christ. To you all, then, who are God's beloved in Rome,
called to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and
peace.
Gospel
Matthew 1:18-24
This
is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph;
but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the
Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare her
publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this
when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son
of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived
what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name
him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins."
Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means 'God-is-with-us'. When Joseph woke up he did what the angel
of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.