3rd Sunday of Advent Year B

READINGS
First reading  Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11 The prophet Isaiah rejoices at what God has done and what God promises to do

Second reading  1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 St Paul advises Christians to be happy at all times — a fruit of being in Christ Jesus

Gospel  John 1:6-8,19-28 In the course of a theological account of the incarnation of Jesus, the evangelist introduces John the Baptist as an announcer of Jesus the Messiah.

MUSIC

The music may be found here.

Especially in our prayers — Those amongst us who are sick; those who are awaiting medical test results; our children preparing for First Holy Communion. Those we have loved and lost.

Fr Ed

3rd Sunday of Advent Year B

READINGS
First reading  Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11 The prophet Isaiah rejoices at what God has done and what God promises to do

Second reading  1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 St Paul advises Christians to be happy at all times — a fruit of being in Christ Jesus

Gospel  John 1:6-8,19-28 In the course of a theological account of the incarnation of Jesus, the evangelist introduces John the Baptist as an announcer of Jesus the Messiah.

MUSIC

The music may be found here.

Especially in our prayers — Those amongst us who are sick; those who are awaiting medical test results; our children preparing for First Holy Communion. Those we have loved and lost.

Fr Ed

Homily preached at St Alphonse Sunday 7th December 2014

Apologies for the delay in publishing this week — I have had to move office, with all the disruption that entails… and thank you for comments and suggestions received — all are appreciated and are being considered!

Several requests have been made over the course of my time in Luxembourg for copies of the weekly homily; this has posed me with a challenge: I do not preach from a printed text. I am willing, however, to trial making a recording of  the weekly homily available on the parish website. If it proves worthwhile (i.e. more than, say, a dozen downloads each week) and profitable (those who download the homily actually find it useful) then I am willing to continue the experiment. Please feel free to offer feedback on the idea. Aware that I might be making a rod for my own back here, I must state at the outset that I am unable to enter into sustained dialogue/debate online about the content of what I preach.

An archive of homilies since September 2014 will be made available if there is sufficient demand.

Fr Ed

Over the past few weeks we have been welcoming a Syrian family to our Sunday Mass; they escaped the horrors of the civil war in their home country, and have been facing an uncertain future. Members of our parish have been helping them as need has arisen. We have just received some (qualified) good news in an email from Agnès Rausch, who first alerted us to their situation; Agnès is happy for us to publish her email:

“Did you all get the good news about the positive decision regarding Hanady and Basel’s asylum request ? In the coming weeks, they will have a lot of administrative steps to undertake : requests for Geneva Convention passports, request of stay permit, both needed before official registration at the municipality; then family allowance and social aid /(RMG) must be applied for. Normally the social worker from OLAI is guiding them through this paper jungle.

More important is that normally in 2-3 months the family will have a regular income (RMG and family allowance) which will allow them to rent a private apartment. You know about the difficult housing situation in Luxembourg, so they need all our support and contacts to find a suitable place ; a 3 bedroom apartment would be ideal. Having their own home would also open the door to a family reunion request; I think about Hanady’s parents… The location is also important, as it should be well connected to public transport and near to a crèche for the children.

Together, and with God’s help, we will be successful.

I wish a blessed Advent-time to you all. Agnès”

I am happy to pass on to Agnès any information that might be helpful to the Nader family.

Fr Ed