Roman Catholic Parish of Lincoln's Inn Fields

MONDAY – FRIDAY 6pm.
SATURDAY 6pm and SUNDAYS 10am & 6pm.
EXTRA MASS! As from SUNDAY 6th NOVEMBER, there will be an additional Mass (In Latin) on Sundays at 8:30am
ADORATION 5pm, ROSARY 5.20pm, Mass at 6pm
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION (CONFESSIONS)
Saturday 5.00-5.45pm. Half an hour before all weekday Masses
MONDAY-FRIDAY 5.30pm-5.50pm, SATURDAY 5.00pm – 5.40pm or by appointment,
(020 7405 0376).
EACH MASS WILL BE LIVE STREAMED https://www.churchservices.tv/lincolnsinnfields

CHURCH OPENING TIMES (for Silent Prayer)
7.30am DAILY (Monday – Friday), (Saturday 12 Noon) and (Sunday: 8am)
CLOSING AFTER EVENING MASS EACH DAY

FROM THE PARISH PRIEST:
My dear brothers and sisters,
Our Lord came among us to bring us back to God, both by His teaching and through His Paschal Mystery. Then, St Paul teaches that our true homeland is in heaven – where we really belong is to be with God for all eternity. It is keeping this supernatural perspective in our life that should mark our interpretation of everything in this world.
Recent events in my own life indicate that God is now calling me home, to be with Him – in the eyes of this world, death looks like a disaster, but through the eyes of faith it is the gateway to a much greater life – to be with God for all eternity.
Thank you for your great outpouring of loving support and prayers: they strengthen me, are keeping me buoyant and full of hope. The palliative care team is now caring for me.
I am greatly consoled by the presence of our dear Lord, of our Blessed Mother and of St Joseph: I know they are right with me all the way in this final part of my journey, and that they will lead me safely home.
Meanwhile, let us continue to pray for one another.
Every Blessing, Fr David

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SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT  Mass Sheet Advent 2
8th DECEMBER 2024

BIBLE SUNDAY 

THIS SUNDAY (ADVENT 2) is sometimes called BIBLE SUNDAY: We pray for a deeper love of the Sacred Scriptures.

St Jerome lived during the 4th century of the Church. A man of brilliant mind, he lived as a hermit for years, in order to deal with his many sins. However, God needed his intellect and gift of language; thus St. Jerome is credited with translating the Scriptures into Latin,  known as the Vulgate.

St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” That thought alone should send us all scurrying for our Bibles! So, why should Catholics make regular Scripture reading and study part of their daily lives?

1) It is the living Word of God. There are many ancient texts in the history of the world. Many of us, in high school and college, read The Iliad, I Ching, and the Tao de Ching. They are all worthy of study, but what sets the Bible apart? It is the living Word of God. It has no equal, and it is as relevant today as it was when Jerome labored over its translation. Further, the Word of God is Christ: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (Jn. 1:1 ) Thus, every encounter with Scripture is an encounter with Christ.

2) Sunday isn’t enough. Indeed, the Mass is full of Scripture. We hear the Word proclaimed from the Old and New Testaments, the Psalms, and the Gospel. We hear the Word sung in our hymns. The prayers at Mass are full of Scriptural quotes and references. And yet … it’s not enough. It’s easy to miss parts of the Word as it’s proclaimed as Mass: we get distracted, the Word is not proclaimed well, we don’t quite hear it. In order to prepare well for Mass, we should “read ahead:” find the readings for Mass and read them prior to Mass. How are they connected? What is God’s message for His people today?

3) God’s Word keeps us grounded. It is very easy, in the midst of our sloppy, busy, stress-filled days, to lose touch with who we are: God’s children. Taking time to read Scripture every day keeps us grounded, reminds us of who we are. Reading Scripture helps us to recall, every day, that Christ is with us – even in the sloppiness, the busy-ness, the stress.

 4) Scripture reminds us of God’s covenant. God made a promise to our forefathers in faith, the Jews. He told them, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” Even though the Jews (like us!) did many things that should have destroyed that covenant, God’s promise is eternal. A covenant is unbreakable, because it is God’s truth. Then, with the coming of Christ, we received a new covenant: “This is My Body and this is My Blood. Whoever eats and drinks of it shall have eternal life.” The Bible, from start to finish, is the story of God’s unbreakable promise to us. That’s pretty important.

 5) Reading Scripture helps us to pray better. Every one of us needs to pray better. Prayer is our lifeline to God. Scripture can help us to pray better. We see ourselves reflected in the sorrow, pain and faithfulness of Job. We understand Jonah’s reluctance to do the job God has set before him. We rejoice, laugh, cry and challenge God with the psalmist. We understand the shame of the woman about to be stoned. We tremble with fear, abandoning Christ, just as most of the Apostles did when He most needed them. To enter into God’s word helps us to see, hear, feel and understand basic human responses … and then do better. We rise above our fears, our sorrows, our shame, because we know God is with us. Always. He never abandons us. Scripture is the story of God’s eternal love and faithfulness.

 St. Jerome knew all this. He spent his life carefully and faithfully translating God’s word. He did it not because it was yet another text that smart people wanted to read in their own language. No, he understood that Scripture is the living word of God, as relevant to us as it was to the Jews in their many triumphs and struggles, as it was to the earliest Christians during St. Jerome’s life, and now, in a world where we have so much information at our fingertips it would make St. Jerome’s head spin. But there is no website, no book, no podcast, no Facebook post that equals God’s word. Do not be ignorant of this word, lest you be ignorant of Christ.

 THE ADVENT WREATH: The Advent wreath helps us reflect on how God has come to us. The circle of the wreath is a symbol of both the eternity of God and our being called to eternal life. The evergreen foliage symbolises on-going life, while the holly and the red berries symbolise that the child in the manger is also the one who will suffer and die for us on the Cross. The five candles too have meanings. The outer candles are purple and one pink – the four weeks of Advent: purple is a sign that Advent is “little Lent”, a time for prayer, fasting, repentance and conversion. The pink candle is for “Gaudete Sunday”, the third Sunday in Advent, reminding us to rejoice in the coming of the Saviour. The white candle symbolises Christ, the Light of the World. The coming of the Light (Christ) into the darkness of the world is a constant theme in Advent, and the gradual lighting of the Advent candles reminds us of this. Various meanings are given to each specific candle -here is one set of meaning:

1st CANDLE- (purple) THE PROPHECY CANDLE or CANDLE OF HOPE-We can have hope because God is faithful and will keep the promises made to us. Our hope comes from God. (Romans 15:12-13)
2nd CANDLE- (purple) THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF PREPARATION– God kept his promise of a Saviour who would be born in Bethlehem. Preparation means to “get ready”. Help us to be ready to welcome YOU, O GOD! (Luke 3:4-6)
3rd CANDLE- (pink) THE SHEPHERD CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF JOY – The angles sang a message of JOY! (Luke 2:7-15)
4th CANDLE- (purple) THE ANGEL CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF LOVE – The angels announced the good news of a Saviour. God sent his only Son to earth to save us, because he loves us! (John 3:16-17)
5th CANDLE- (white) “CHRIST CANDLE” -The white candle reminds us that Jesus is the spotless lamb of God, sent to wash away our sins! His birth was for his death, his death was for our birth! (John 1:29)

Fr David Barnes, Rector

FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: Monday 9^th December: Mass at 6:00pm.

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MASS INTENTIONS  7th – 15th 2024

Saturday 7^th December:
6:00pm Vigil Mass
Catherine Bray (Anniv)

Sunday 8^th December:
2^nd Sunday of Advent
8:30am Mass
(In Latin) Pro Populo
10:00am Mass
Macky Branz S. Johnson,
Mary Jaille S Johnson, Birthday
6:00pm Mass                             
Lila McCusker RIP

Monday 9th December
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
6.00pm Mass
For the brothers & families of the Catenian Association

Tuesday 10th December
Our Lady of Loreto
6.00pm Mass
John Bergin RIP

Wednesday 11th December
St Damascus 1, Pope
6.00pm Mass
Larry Regan RIP

Thursday 12th December
Our Lady of Guadalupe
6.00pm Mass
Carmel & Philip Borg RIP

Friday 13th December
St Lucy. Virgin. Martyr
6.00pm Mass
Honorato Gambon RIP

Saturday 14th December
6.00pm Mass
Alfredo Villarosa RIP (Anniv)

Sunday 15th December
2nd Sunday of Advent
8.30pm Mass (in Latin)
Alain Danzin RIP (Anniv)
10.00am Mass
Thomas O’Sullivan RIP
6.00pm Mass
Pro Populo

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