Second Sunday of Advent 2020
Parish Phone Nos. (021) 4871180.
Emergency No: 087 0956190
Monsignor Kevin O’Callaghan: (021) 7336053
Parish Centre/Sacristy: (021) 4289768
Ring for bookings: Baptisms & Marriages etc
Weekend Masses
Ovens:
Vigil: 7.30pm.
Sunday: 11.30am.
Farran:
Vigil: 6pm
Sunday: 9.30am.
WEEKDAY MASSES
Ovens: 7.30pm: Mon. Vigil Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Feast Day: 11.30am.
Farran:
Tuesday, Feast Day: 9.30am.
REST OF THE WEEK
Ovens: 9.30am Weds & Fri.
Farran: 9.30am Thursday.
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Tuesday next, 8th December, we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. When the Archangel Gabriel greeted Mary he said the words “Hail Mary, full of grace”, she was then told she was to be the Mother of God. Mary said to the Angel Gabriel “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me”. On the 8th of December, 1854 BLESSED POPE PIUS IX PROCLAIMED THE DOGMA OF THE FAITH REVEALED BY GOD THAT THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY WAS CONCEIVED FREE FROM ORIGINAL SIN. FOUR YEARS LATER THE SAME VIRGIN MARY APPEARED IN Lourdes to St. Bernadette and proclaimed to her “I am the Immaculate Conception”.
The 8th Of December is a Holy Day of Obligation.
ADVENT 2020
On this the Second Sunday of Advent, we continue our preparation for the coming of Jesus to us at Christmas. It will, of course, be very different this year as will Christmas itself. But the central message remains the same. It is about preparing for Jesus birth. Jesus was born into a very troubled world of His time. We ask Him to come into the troubled world of our time & to bring peace, togetherness and hope.
The hope which a newly born child brings and which crosses all boundaries and melts away obstacles. The hope which brings out the best in people and inspires us to give the best we have.
Please God we will strive to make that the centre of what Advent will be for us. Our Advent Wreath which was blessed last weekend counts down the weeks of waiting. This week we light the second purple candle which is the Candle of Faith, also called “Bethlehem’s Candle.”
AN ADVENT PRAYER
Lord, we ask you to give us peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, peace in our country and in our world, when the world all around us spins out of control.
Help us to stay focused on You this Advent Season and always.
We thank You for loving the whole world enough to send the greatest gift your son, so that we may have a Christmas His name deserves. Amen.
JESSE TREE
During the month of November we had the Tree of Remembrance & now in preparation for Christmas it has become the Jesse Tree, representing the genealogy of Christ beginning with Jesse, the father of David. The image of the tree was taken from Isaiah, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from its roots a bud shall blossom”.
Each week, the tree will be decorated with symbols that represent stories from the Old Testament. The tree is used to emphasise the true meaning of Advent and Christmas.
During the first week of Advent 6 symbols were placed on the tree, the dove, the apple, the rainbow, the field of stars, the bundle of wood and Jacobs Ladder.
This weekend 7 more symbols will be placed on the tree. The Coat, symbolises Joseph, Jacob’s favourite son. The Burning Bush, symbolises God’s appearance to Moses in the form of a burning bush. The Lamb, symbolising Easter. Stone Tablets symbolising the 10 commandments. Rams Horn Trumpet, symbolising the attack Israelites made on Jericho. Clay Water Pitcher, symbolising the attack on the Midiante camp and the Crown, symbolises the crowning of Saul, the first king of Israel.
A MESSAGE FROM THE IRISH BISHOPS:
“KEEP CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF CHRISTMAS”
We strongly encourage the faithful to keep “Christ at the centre of Christmas” this year. Clearly it will be impossible for our usual large congregations to assemble for Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We wish to remind Catholics that the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days remains suspended during the pandemic. But Christmas is about more than just one day.
Families are welcome to attend Mass at some point during the twelve days from Christmas Eve to the Feast of the Epiphany, 6th January. Christmas Masses will also be widely available over Webcam and we strongly encourage families to “tune in” from the “domestic churches” of their living rooms and join with those who are gathering in their local churches in welcoming the birth of the Christ-child.
It is possible to experience the spiritual richness of this special season in many ways.
The age old tradition of having a Christmas crib in the home and gathering there as a family to pray or to sing a carol will be especially meaningful this year. We also invite families or “household bubbles” to pay a visit to their local church at some time during the twelve days to offer a Christmas prayer at the crib and pray together for their families and for those particularly impacted by the pandemic.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
The Annual Church Door collection for the local conference of St. Vincent de Paul is unable to go ahead in the normal way this year due to the pandemic. However, due to necessity, we have a few methods put in place for you, our loyal contributors.
- SVP collection boxes will be left in the foyer of Farran and Ovens Churches at all Masses on the weekend of our Annual Collection, 12th/13th December.
- We will put freepost envelopes, with our Conference name, in both Churches and some outlets locally. This will enable you to make a donation in the knowledge that it will be returned to our Conference.
- You may also donate at svp.ie or call 0818 176176 and nominate St. Mary’s, Ovens/Kilmurry as the beneficiary.
We need your help this year more than ever before and thank you sincerely for supporting us year after year.
On behalf of SVP and all the families we support we wish you a safe and happy Christmas and better times in the New Year.
DIOCESAN ADVENT – CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE 2020
Since March 2020 Church Choirs have fallen silent and their members are missing the joy of singing and of being together. Christmas 2020 will be a very different time for Parishes and Choirs. This year, a diocesan-wide Carol Service will be streamed from the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne on Sun 13th Dec at 7.30pm. Ten choirs (with six members each) will participate from parishes throughout the Diocese via the Church Services webcam installed in their church. Some members of the Ovens Church Choir will be participating in the Carol Service. You are invited to join in the Carol Service via the Cathedral webcam https://www.corkcathedral.ie/live-stream/ on that evening. The words of the carols and full order of service can be downloaded from the Diocesan website www.corkandross.org beforehand.
TRIDUUM OF ROSARIES
A Triduum of Rosaries will be recited in Ovens Church at 2.30pm, Sunday 6th to Tuesday 8th Dec, in honour of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
From Friday next, 11th December, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in Ovens Church after the 9.30am Mass. There will be one hour, 10am to 11am, for private prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
TAX BACK SYSTEM
Due to Covid 19, Mass contributions have been radically interrupted. Members who want to verify if their subscriptions, to date, are in line to reach the minimum annual amount of €250 by the end of December, can do so by checking with Fr. Liam.
Boxes of envelopes for those in the Tax back System may be collected in the sacristy of both Churches.
Friends of Kilcrea
After 25 years of maintaining Kilcrea Friary, we find, due to old age and lack of funds, we can no longer carry on. Before we finish we would like to thank the people of the parish for all their support over the years and to give a copy of the book on Kilcrea to anyone who would like one as a thank you. Contact: Oliver O’Callaghan on 021 7331090.
We have a limited supply of the books.