Presider’s Page

This feast had its origin in the East as the “Conception of Mary by St Anne.” It spread through the West during the Middle Ages as the “Immaculate Conception” and was extended to the entire Western Church in the eighteenth century. The feast celebrates Mary, preserved from sin from the moment of conception; she is the first-fruits of her Son’s redemption and a prophetic model of what the Church is called to be.

John the Baptist is the focus of the liturgy on the Second Sunday of Advent each year. His challenge to us to ‘prepare a way for the Lord’ is at the heart of the Advent message. We worship the one who will surely come to us.

Advent begins today, and with it a new year in the Church’s life. We look forward with hope to the end of time, when Christ will come in glory — and with joy, even in the midst of pandemic, we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. At the end of time, this king will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. He will ask how we treated the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the naked, those sick or in prison. But in the meantime, he will bind our wounds and revive our sometimes-drooping spirits, like a Good Shepherd.

The end of this year and the beginning of the Advent season is coming closer, and the Liturgy invites us to look further into the future, towards the end of time, to be ready when the Day of the Lord comes.
• Today has been designated by Pope Francis as the “WORLD DAY OF THE POOR”

At this time of year, our deceased relatives and friends are often in our minds. Our faith tells us that we needn’t grieve over them like people with no hope. We remember them with love, and entrust them to God’s care.

On All Saints Day and today, we remember all the dead, those in heaven and those still be on the way there: God alone knows where each soul is. Today we pray for all souls, for the faithful departed still on the journey to their heavenly home.

Today and tomorrow we remember all the dead, those in heaven and those still be on the way there: God alone knows where each one is. Today’s feast celebrates the saints in heaven, holy men and women of every time and place: we hope some of our people are among them.

There’s a reminder of the two great commandments in today’s celebration: we are called to love God and our neighbour: friend, visitor and stranger alike.

We gather as fellow-pilgrims at this Sunday’s Eucharist, all journeying to the great banquet of heaven. In our Communion today, we get a taste of what is to come, which will sustain us when we walk in the valley of darkness.

There are reassuring sentiments for us in God’s Word, with Paul reminding us that there is no need for us to worry. If there is anything we need, we can pray for it and God’s peace will be ours.
• Today is ‘Day for Life’ in Ireland, with the theme: “Choose Life”.

We gather as God’s family, concerned for each other, supporting one another in sadness and joy. The challenge of living as part of the Christian family is laid out for us in today’s readings.

We gather to praise God and to ask for help and grace. We know the difficulties that can come when we try to live the right way. Often the road of life is like the way of the cross.

This hour of worship brings us into the presence of the God whose mystery we can never comprehend. All we have comes from the Lord, and we can only bow down in awe, and bring forward the praise that is due to the Almighty.