Weekly Bulletin 5th December 2021

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent: Today’s Gospel (Luke 3:1-6) has a majestic opening.  It is like a prelude to a great symphony.  You can hear its words just rolling along…..”the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was  governor of Judea…..the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness” (Luke 3:1-3) God enters into human history at a particular time and in a particular place through Jesus Christ.  God speaks to us today, in Sacred Scripture. “Jesus is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in Church” (Sacrosanctum Concilium. No.7) God has become personally woven into our humanity. We hear today how God spoke with John in the desert wilderness. The desert is a place of stagnation, where there is no life, where everything is arid and nothing can grow.  Indeed the wilderness only comes to life in the spring rains. All the rest of the year, the desert is barren, stony, it is subject to extremes of heat and cold, the only living thing being thorns and thistles – while poisonous insects, stinging insects and other noxious things usually abound. It was in the desert that the people of God were formed.  For forty years they wandered around trying to find their way to the land of promise.  Israel received their identity in the howling wastes of the wilderness.  However the desert is not only some geographical place.  We can face the desert today in our own lives. This time of pandemic is a “desert” time. And it is those desert places that God can speak to us, if we take time to listen. It was T.S.Eliott who said in “Choruses from the Rock: (1934) “You neglect and belittle the desert. The desert is not remote in southern tropics The desert is not only around the corner, The desert is squeezed in the tube-train next to you, The desert is in the heart of your brother & (sister).” The desert for us can be those moments when we feel that God is very far away from us.  We wonder then if God is really listening to our pleas.  There are those moments when we feel lost, confused, lonely, afraid, and unsure of our way.  It is those moments when we feel we need someone else bigger than ourselves to ease our burdens. In the desert there are no distractions. No Facebook. No Instagram. No mobiles. In the desert everything becomes intensely focused on the bare facts of our existence. Advent is that season of learning to do with less so that we can become more. It is desert time where we are called to trust and get ready to hear. Then we will hear those marvellous words from the first reading today “God will guide us in joy by the light of his glory with his mercy and integrity for escort” (Baruch 5:9)

Feasts of the Week: Tuesday: St. Ambrose (340-397). Elected by the people as Bishop of Milan. Influenced the young St. Augustine by his preaching. A defender of orthodoxy.

Wednesday: The Immaculate Conception of the BVM.  Masses in the Graan will be Vigil at 7:00 pm. 10:30 am. 12 noon and 7:00 pm.

Thanks to our Ushers and Ministers of the Eucharist for their help during our religious services. We appreciate the fact that they gave of their precious time to the task of keeping us all safe from the coronavirus. A word of thanks also to the December Church cleaning group and thank you for the generous collection which came to £1960.     

Carols with Caritas choir will perform Christmas carols in the Graan church on Saturday 11th December at 8:00 pm. A collection will be taken up on the evening for Action Mental Health – Fermanagh New Horizons. Covid restrictions are in operation; so please come early. 

St. Charles of Mount Argus was born two hundred years ago on the 11 December 1821. In honour of this special occasion a year of Jubilee has been announced and a plenary indulgence is accessible in two places. (1) Mount Argus, Dublin where he spent most of his priestly life.  (2) Munstergleen his place of birth in the Netherlands. The Jubilee begins this Saturday and will end on 5 January 2023 (the feast day of St. Charles). The theme of the Jubilee is taken from Matthew 11:28. “Come to me, all you who labour and overburdened and I will give you rest” .To mark the beginning of the Jubilee we will celebrate Mass of St. Charles of Mount Argus here in the Graan on this Saturday 11th December at 11:00 am.  A general blessing of with the relic of Fr. Charles will be given at the end of this Eucharist. 

Graan Draw: With less than two weeks to go to our Draw we have tickets available at the doors of the Church. Please take a few books home with you for your family and friends. If you have tickets at home return them soon.  The draw will take place on the 17 December 2021 and can be viewed on our webcam. It is the only fund-raising activity in the year.

Masses – Mon to Fri @ 7pm.  Mon (6^th Dec) – Mass @ 7pm –  Arthur. (Confessions Tues to Fri 2pm – 5pm)    Tues: Brian.  Wed – Victor. Thurs – Arthur. Fri & Sat – Anthony.

The Shop: There are a great selection of cribs on display as well as candles & suitable gifts for Christmas as well as Christmas Mass Bouquets.  Cost £2 / €2.50. Mon to Sat:  9.30am – 7pm. Sun 9.30 – 4.30pm.