HYMN SHEET ADVENT III with ordo

The Catholic Church and Personal Parish of Our Lady of Walsingham with Saint Cuthbert Mayne

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT ‘Gaudate’ DWSM Readings and Propers p.41 THE LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH Drop down ye heavens from above and let the sky pour down righteousness. (v3) Blessed are you, sovereign Lord, just and true: to you be praise and glory for ever. Your prophet John the Baptist was witness to the truth as a burning and shining light. May we your servants rejoice in his light, and so be led to witness to him who is the Lord of our coming kingdom, Jesus our Saviour and King of the ages.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Come, Lord, and save us.

OFFERTORY HYMN

On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry announces that the Lord is nigh; awake and hearken, for he brings glad tidings of the King of kings.

Then cleansed be every breast from sin; make straight the way for God within, prepare we in our hearts a home where such a mighty Guest may come.

To heal the sick stretch out thine hand, For thou art our salvation, Lord, and bid the fallen sinner stand; our refuge and our great reward; shine forth and let thy light restore without thy grace we waste away earth's own true loveliness once more. like flowers that wither and decay.

To heal the sick stretch out thine hand, and bid the fallen sinner stand; shine forth and let thy light restore earth's own true loveliness once more.

All praise, eternal Son, to thee, whose advent doth thy people free; whom with the Father we adore and Holy Ghost for evermore. Amen.

COMMUNION HYMN MY God, and is thy Table spread, And does thy Cup with Love o'erflow?

Thither be all thy children led, And let them all thy sweetness know.

Hail, sacred Feast, which Jesus makes!

Rich Banquet of his Flesh and Blood!

Thrice happy he, who here partakes That sacred Stream, that heavenly Food.

O let thy Table honoured be, And furnished well with joyful guests; And may each soul salvation see, That here its sacred Pledges tastes 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

12th Feria 13th St Lucy (V&M) 14th St John of the Cross (Pr & Dr) Bible Study after Mass Our Lady’s Story Th 15th Feria F 16th Feria S 17th Feria Su 18th FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT M T W

12.00 18.30 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00

SERVICES DURING THE WEEK 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 III Pope Benedict XVI (2010)

On this Third Sunday of Advent, the Liturgy presents to us a passage from the Letter of St James, which opens with this exhortation: “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord” (Jas 5:7). It seems to me especially important, in our day, to underline the value of constancy and persistence, virtues which belonged to the normal baggage of our ancestors but today are less popular, in a world which exalts, rather, the change and capacity to adapt oneself to ever new and diverse situations.

Taking nothing from these features, which are also human qualities, Advent calls us to develop inner tenacity, resistance of the spirit, which enables us not to despair while waiting for a good that is slow in coming, but on the contrary to prepare for its coming with active trust.

“Behold,” James writes, “the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain.

You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (Jas 5:7-8).

The comparison drawn with the farmer is very expressive, he has sown the field and has before him several months of patient and constant waiting, but he knows that in the meantime the seed completes its cycle, thanks to the autumn and spring rains. The farmer is not a fatalist but the model of a mentality which unites faith and reason in a balanced way. For on the one hand he knows the laws of nature and does his work well, and on the other, he trusts in Providence, because certain fundamental things are not in his hands but in the hands of God.

Patience and constancy are truly a synthesis between human commitment and confidence in God. “Establish your hearts”, Scripture says. How can we do this? How can we strengthen our hearts, already somewhat frail in themselves and rendered even more unstable by the culture in which we are immersed.

Help is not lacking; it is the Word of God. In fact, while everything else passes and changes, the Word of the Lord is not transient. If the events of life make us feel bewildered and every certainty seems to crumble, we have a compass to guide us, we have an anchor to prevent us from drifting away.

Here the model offered to us is that of the prophets, namely those people whom God called so that they might speak in his name. The prophet finds his joy and strength in the word of God and while humans often search for happiness in ways that prove erroneous, he announces true hope, which does not disappoint because it is founded on the fidelity of God. Every Christian, by virtue of Baptism, has received prophetic dignity. May each one rediscover and nourish it, by listening assiduously to the divine Word. May the Virgin Mary, whom the Gospel calls blessed because she believed in the fulfilment of the words of the Lord, obtain this for us (Lk 1:45).