The Fourth Sunday of Advent, 18th December, 2022, Cycle A
St John the Evangelist
128 Bebington Road, New Ferry, CH62 5BJ
Diocese of Shrewsbury (reg. charity 234025)
Parish Priest: Fr Mario Ashuikeka and Fr Emmanuel Chukwujekwu
Deacon: Revd Michael Daly Phone: 0151 645 3314
Email stjohntheevangelist@gmail.comWebsites http://www.stjohntheevangelistnewferry.com www.lpa24.org
The Fourth Sunday of Advent, 18th December, 2022. Cycle A
FAITH IN FOCUS: A PERFECT CHRISTMAS?
By now you’re probably fed up with all the adverts to get you to spend your money in order to have “the Christmas you and your family deserve”. But is there such a thing as a perfect Christmas?
It might not have seemed so for Mary. She had every reason to dread that first Christmas. A young teenage girl, she now finds herself having a baby and is unmarried. What will her family say? How’s she going to explain things to Joseph? And what about the neighbours? There’ll be tongues wagging all over the place and she’ll probably being living under a cloud for years to come. Only she and God would ever really understand. And she didn’t understand much. Joseph’s probably wasn’t looking forward to that first Christmas either. For him it didn’t look too promising. People would point him out as the husband who’d been the last to know. They’d wonder why he didn’t simply ditch Mary. And he probably had a nagging feeling that all these strange dreams were storing up trouble for the future.
Joseph and Mary are good examples of the untidiness of human existence, of how things rarely go according to plan. It’s strange, isn’t it, that God couldn’t find some perfect parents for his only Son? He ends up with these two. Maybe that’s what Christmas is about. Perhaps one of its jobs is to remind us that into our “screwed up” planet, into the bleak complexity of our private lives, into a world where achievements never seem to match up to yearnings, into the higgledy-piggledy days of our existence…the infant God is born. God could have chosen some ideal scenario into which to be born. But he chose one that was profoundly human instead. It was all so fragile: Mary had to trust the angel; Joseph had to trust Mary; God had to trust them both.
Christmas is almost upon us and we’re surely not on top of things; in fact, we’re probably dreading some. But if this week we were able to realise that the child Jesus offers to keep being born into the jumble of our human lives, no matter how untidy they are, then we would have experienced a great truth. And despite all the stress and strain we would have had a perfect Christmas into the bargain.
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ENTRANCE ANTIPHON: Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Saviour.
RESPONSE TO THE PSALM: Let the Lord enter. He is the King of Glory.
GOSPEL ACCLAIMATION: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us”.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON: Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and his name will be called Emmanuel.
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Devotions/Adoration: From now on, unless advised otherwise, Saturday Morning Devotions will be prayed in Church (the Rosary, Divine Mercy and Divine Praises) from 10:30am to 11:30am each Saturday morning.
Fr Mario will be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Saturday Morning Devotions at 10.30-11.00am. All most welcome.
ADVENT SERVICES: There will be Holy Hour each Sunday during Advent at 3pm in the Main Church.
JUNIOR SCHOOL ADVENT MASS will be held on Monday,
19th December at 10.00am in the main church.
Christmas Mass Times at
ST ANNES:
Christmas Eve -5.00pm - Children’s Mass
9.00pm – Vigil – All Parishioners
Christmas Day - 11.15am
ST. JOHN’S/ST. LUKES
Christmas Eve - 3.00pm – Crib Service
7.00pm - Vigil
Christmas Day - 9.30am. & 11.00am.
If you have any queries or ideas, please continue to contact Deacon Mike Daly on 07542463319 or Carol Dalziel on 07808975011 on any Parish matters, or if you wish to arrange a Baptism, Wedding or Funeral.
Mike Daly’s Homilies are now available on the Parish Website. Log in details to the Website are www.stjohntheevangelistnewferry.com
Mass Intentions If you would like to have a Mass said for your own or someone else’s intentions please fill in one of the Mass offering envelopes at the back of Church, place a donation in it & put it through the presbytery letterbox. Thank you.
Please continue to keep all of our sick parishioners in your thoughts and prayers.
Children's Liturgy is now taking place during the 9.30am Mass, all are welcome.
CRIB SERVICE will be held at St John’s at 3pm on Christmas Eve. This is an opportunity for our children to play their important part in the Christmas Story. It would be lovely to see all our young children and their parents and families joining in with the service and the singing.
Tea and Coffee after 9.30am Mass each Sunday. To be held in the Meeting Room through the Music Store Room, but the exit will now be via the front door of the house. All are welcome. THERE WILL BE NO TEA/COFFEE ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND NEW YEAR’S DAY.
Last Weeks’ Offertory Collection amounted to £465.50p. Thank you. Please try to be as generous as you can to our parish in these difficult times.
Missio Red Boxes: amounted to £263.99p. Kath Markey sends her thanks to all those who contributed. The next box collection will be next March/April.
The Loop System in the church is now fully operational. To benefit, please set your hearing aid to the "T" setting and adjust your volume as appropriate.
Mother’s Prayers - Please see the poster about this group of mothers from our parish who meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm, to pray for their children and grandchildren and offer each other support. The next meeting is Tuesday 20th December. All most welcome.
Advent Day by Day booklets containing daily readings throughout Advent are on the table at the back of church. They are £1 but free to take a copy and if you are able to, please leave a donation in the Books and Cards Box by the card table.
If you know of any St John's parishioners, who would welcome a home visit by members of the S.V.P, please email St John's with details and we will pass on the information, which is treated confidentially, to Steve Bell, President of St John's SVP. Please ask the person or persons involved if they would like a visit before passing on their details. stjohntheevangelist@gmail.com
SING ALONG CAROL SERVICE will be held here at St John’s on Friday, 23rd December at 7.00pm. Come along and join in the singing. Stay behind for refreshments and the opportunity to have a chat with your fellow parishioners. See Poster on the notice board at the back of church.
Partnering Nigeria: Fr. Mario and Fr. Emmanuel are going to connect our church with a catholic church in Nigeria. The idea is to share, care and show God’s love to one another. We are starting at Christmas. If you would like to write a card or letter and enclose a donation, they will be collected by Maria Fryer and forwarded to Nigeria by Fr. Mario. See Poster on the notice board at the back of church.
Wirral Foodbank Christmas Appeal: Please help support your Foodbank with food and funds this Christmas. In the 3 weeks leading up to Christmas the Foodbank will provide over 800 food parcels for local individuals and families in crisis. All donations need to be non-perishable, please refer to the list on the notice board of items urgently needed. Please continue to support this as much as you can in these difficult times and thank you for your continued generosity.
THE BIG CARD will be at the back of church from Saturday 10th December. Please write your Christmas message at a suggested minimum donation of £1. All proceeds will go towards the work of The Ark. Please support this very good cause and thank you for your generosity over the years.
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The Fourth Sunday in Advent, Cycle A
Sunday 18th
5.00pm Ted Corrigan RIP
9.30am Patricia Blondin RIP (USA)
11.00am Tim Davies RIP
3.00pm Holy Hour
7.00pm Prayer Meeting
Monday 19th
10.00am Junior School Advent Mass
Tuesday 20th
9.15am Gerry Topping RIP
Wednesday 21st
9.15am Ralph & Elizabeth Fryer RIP
Thursday 22nd
7.00pm St John’s & St Luke’s Parishes
Friday 23rd
9.15am Decd Friends/Relatives Duff Family
7.00pm Sing Along Carol Service
Saturday 24th
Christmas Eve Vigil Mass of Christmas
10.30am Devotions - Rosary, Divine Mercy & Divine Praises
3.00pm Crib Service
7.00pm For The Homeless
Sunday 25th
The Nativity of the Lord
9.30am For the Poor and Needy
11.00am Teresa Fitzmaurice L.D
NO PRAYER MEETING
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Advent Prayer:
In this Season of Advent, inspire us to be a people of HOPE.
Encourage us not to be greedy for material possessions, but for justice
and truth,
Enflame us with a love for others, which crosses boundaries of race, religion and nationality.
Stir within us an appreciation of the immense beauty of the earth.
Be with us, Lord, at this time, that we may be a people of HOPE.
Amen.
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Please take a copy of the Parish Newsletter for anyone else who would appreciate receiving a copy. Also, there is a selection of cards in the Card Rack; please put money in the box provided.
If you have a notice for the bulletin, please email it to the parish email address or put it through the presbytery letter box by 12 noon on Wednesdays. Many thanks.
THERE WILL BE NO PRAYER MEETING ON CHRISTMAS DAY BUT THE MEETINGS WILL RESUME ON NEW YEAR’S DAY AT 7.00PM
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