The Catholic Church and Personal Parish of Our Lady of Walsingham with Saint Cuthbert Mayne
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT DWSM Readings and Propers p.36
THE LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH Drop down ye heavens from above and let the sky pour down righteousness. (v2) Blessed are you, sovereign Lord, just and true: to you be praise and glory for ever. Of old you spoke by the mouth of your prophets, but in our days you speak through your Son, whom you have appointed the heir of all things. Grant us, your people, to walk in his light, that we may be found ready and watching when he comes again in glory and judgment; for you are our light and our salvation. RESPONSORIAL PSALM In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails OFFERTORY HYMN WAKE, O wake! with tidings thrilling The watchmen all the air are filling, Arise, Jerusalem, arise! Midnight strikes! no more delaying, 'The hour has come !' we hear them saying. Where are ye all, ye virgins wise! The Bridegroom comes in sight, Raise high your torches bright! Alleluya! The wedding song Swells loud and strong: Go forth and join the festal throng.
Sion hears the watchmen shouting, Her heart leaps up with joy undoubting, She stands and waits with eager eyes; See her Friend from heaven descending, Adorned with truth and grace unending! Her light burns clear, her star doth rise. Now come, thou precious Crown, Lord Jesu, God's own Son! Hosanna! Let us prepare To follow there, Where in thy supper we may share.
Every soul in thee rejoices; From men and from angelic voices Be glory given to thee alone! Now the gates of pearl receive us, Thy presence never more shall leave us, We stand with Angels round thy throne. Earth cannot give below
The bliss thou dost bestow. Alleluya! Grant us to raise, To length of days, The triumph-chorus of thy praise.
COMMUNION HYMN HARK! a herald voice is calling: ‘Christ is nigh,' it seems to say ; ‘Cast away the dreams of darkness, O ye children of the day! ' Startled at the solemn warning, Let the earth-bound soul arise; Christ, her Sun, all sloth dispelling, Shines upon the morning skies. Lo! the Lamb, so long expected, Comes with pardon down from heaven; Let us haste, with tears of sorrow, One and all to be forgiven;
So when next he comes with glory, Wrapping all the earth in fear, May he then as our defender On the clouds of heaven appear. Honour, glory, virtue, merit, To the Father and the Son, With the co-eternal Spirit, While unending ages run. Amen.
After the Dismissal PRAYER OF ST MICHAEL Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be thou our defence against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust down to hell Satan, and all wicked spirits, who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen. THE ANGELUS The angel of the Lord brought tidings to Mary And she conceived by the Holy Ghost. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. be it unto me according to thy word. The Word was made flesh. And dwelt amongst us.
Hail Mary... Hail Mary...
Hail Mary...
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. We beseech thee O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts: that, as we have known the Incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an Angel, so by his Cross and Passion we may be brought to the glory of his resurrection, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
NOTICES
Sundays: Year A Weekday: Year I
5th Feria 6th Feria 7th St Ambrose (Bp, Dr) Bible Study after Mass Th 8th IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BVM F 9th Feria S 10th Feria Su 11th THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT M T W
12.00 18.30 10.00 19.00 10.00 10.00 10.00
SERVICES DURING THE WEEK (EXCEPT THURSDAY MASS) WILL BE IN THE LADY CHAPEL Mattins will be said publicly on Tuesday - Friday and at 7.50 Saturday and Sunday at 9.00. For up to date information: ourladyofwalsingham.online
Reflection on Advent II Pope Benedict XVI
The Gospel of this Second Sunday of Advent (Mt 3:1-12), presents to us the figure of St John the Baptist, who, a famous prophecy of Isaiah says (cf. 40:3), withdrew to the desert of Judaea and, with his preaching, called the people to convert so as to be ready for the coming of the Messiah, now at hand. St Gregory the Great commented that John the Baptist “preaches upright faith and good works… so that the force of grace may penetrate, the light of the truth shine out, the paths to God be straightened and honest thoughts be born in the mind after hearing the word that guides us to goodness” (Hom. in Evangelia, XX, 3, CCL 141, 155). The Precursor of Jesus, situated between the Old Covenant and the New, is like a star that heralds the rising of the Sun, of Christ, the One, that is, upon whom — according to another of Isaiah’s prophecies — “the Spirit of the Lord shall rest... the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Is 11:2). In the Season of Advent we too are called to listen to God’s voice, that cries out in the desert of the world through the Sacred Scriptures, especially when they are preached with the power of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, faith grows all the stronger the more it allows itself to be illumined by the divine word, by “whatever”, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, “was written in former days [and] written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom 15:4).
The model of listening is the Virgin Mary: “As we contemplate in the Mother of God a life totally shaped by the word, we realise that we too are called to enter into the mystery of faith, whereby Christ comes to dwell in our lives. Every Christian believer, St Ambrose reminds us, in some way interiorly conceives and gives birth to the word of God” (PostSynodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, n. 28).
Dear friends, “Our salvation rests on a coming”, as Romano Guardini wrote (La santa notte. Dall’Avvento all’Epifania, Brescia 1994, p. 13). “The Saviour came from God’s freedom…. Thus the decision of faith consists. .. in welcoming the One who draws near” (ibid., p. 14). “The Redeemer”, he added, “comes to every human being: in his joy and his anguish, in his clear knowledge, in his perplexities and temptations, in all that constitutes his nature and his life” (ibid., p. 15). Let us ask the Virgin Mary, in whose womb the Son of the Most High dwelled and whom we shall be celebrating next Thursday, 8 December, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, to sustain us on this spiritual journey to welcome with faith and with love the coming of the Saviour.