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Posted on 30 November 2018 by blessedsacramentsodality

Newsletter – 1st Advent 2018

Newsletter – 1st Advent 2018

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1-5 Maiden Lane
Covent Garden
London
WC2E 7NB

020 7836 4700

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Today is the feast Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. . The venerated image of the Black Madonna of Tepeyac, with her sweet and peaceful countenance, imprinted on the tilma of the indio St Juan Diego, shows her as “the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God from whom she lives”. She reminds us of the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child”. She signals the presence of the Saviour to the indigenous and mestizo population. She always leads us to her divine Son, who is revealed as the foundation of the dignity of every human being, as a love that is stronger than the powers of evil and death, and the fountain of joy, filial trust, consolation and hope. . The Magnificat that we proclaimed in the Gospel “is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song of the Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God; the song of thanksgiving for the fullness of graces poured out in the economy of salvation and the song of the ‘poor’ whose hope is met by the fulfillment of the promises made to our ancestors”. In an act of gratitude to her Lord and of the humility of his handmaid the Virgin Mary praises God for all that he is doing on behalf of his people Israel. God is the One who deserves all honour and glory, the Mighty One who does marvels for his faithful servant and today continues to show his love to all men and women, especially those who are facing difficult trials. . . . . . #corpuschristi #londoncatholic #catholiclondon #catholic #romancatholic #catholicism #coventgarden #maidenlane #eucharist #blessedsacrament #jesus #jesuschrist #christ #ourladyofguadalupe #guadalupe #ourlady #mary #motherofgod #tilma #juandiego #stjuandiego #blessedvirginmary #extraordinaryform #tlm #traditionallatinmass

Election day today. Here are some thoughts from Pope Benedict XVI on democracy.... . Yet, precisely because of the influence of cultural and ideological factors, today's civil and secular society is found to be in a state of bewilderment and confusion: it has lost the original evidence of the roots of the human being and his ethical behaviour. Furthermore, the doctrine of natural moral law conflicts with other concepts that are a direct denial of it. All this has far-reaching, serious consequences on the civil and social order. Today, a positivist conception of law seems to dominate many thinkers. They claim that humanity or society or indeed the majority of citizens is becoming the ultimate source of civil law. The problem that arises is not, therefore, the search for good but the search for power, or rather, how to balance powers. At the root of this trend is ethical relativism, which some even see as one of the principal conditions for democracy, since relativism is supposed to guarantee tolerance of and reciprocal respect for people. But if this were so, the majority of a moment would become the ultimate source of law. History very clearly shows that most people can err. True rationality is not guaranteed by the consensus of a large number but solely by the transparency of human reason to creative Reason and by listening together to this Source of our rationality. . When the fundamental requirements of human dignity, of human life, of the family institution, of a fair social order, in other words, basic human rights, are at stake, no law devised by human beings can subvert the law that the Creator has engraved on the human heart without the indispensable foundations of society itself being dramatically affected. . . . . . . #corpuschristi #londoncatholic #catholiclondon #catholic #romancatholic #catholicism #coventgarden #maidenlane #eucharist #blessedsacrament #jesus #jesuschrist #nunsatpollingstations #generalelection2019 #vote #election #election2019 #democracy #ge2019 #nunsvoting #votingnuns #britainvotes #ukgeneralelection #ukgeneralelection2019

Another fundamental element of Advent is expectation, an expectation which is at the same time hope. Advent impels us to understand the meaning of time and of history as a kairós, as a favourable opportunity for our salvation. Jesus illustrated this mysterious reality in many parables: in the story of the servants sent to await the return of their master; in the parable of the virgins who await the bridegroom; and in those of the sower and of the harvest. In their lives human beings are constantly waiting: when they are children they want to grow up, as adults they are striving for fulfilment and success and, as they advance in age, they look forward to the rest they deserve. However, the time comes when they find they have hoped too little if, over and above their profession or social position, there is nothing left to hope for. Hope marks humanity's journey but for Christians it is enlivened by a certainty: the Lord is present in the passage of our lives, he accompanies us and will one day also dry our tears. One day, not far off, everything will find its fulfilment in the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of justice and peace. . . . . . #corpuschristi #londoncatholic #catholiclondon #catholic #romancatholic #catholicism #coventgarden #maidenlane #eucharist #blessedsacrament #jesus #jesuschrist #christ #advent #adoration #christmas #christmas #babyjesus #missaleromanum #mass #catholicmass #ordinaryform #extraordinaryform #tlm #traditionallatinmass

Let us reflect briefly on the meaning of the word Advent, which can be rendered with "presence", "arrival" or "coming". In the language of the ancient world it was a technical term used to indicate the arrival of an official or the visit of the king or emperor to a province. However, it could also mean the coming of the divinity that emerges from concealment to manifest himself forcefully or that was celebrated as being present in worship. Christians used the word "advent" to express their relationship with Jesus Christ: Jesus is the King who entered this poor "province" called "earth" to pay everyone a visit; he makes all those who believe in him participate in his Coming, all who believe in his presence in the liturgical assembly. The essential meaning of the word adventus was: God is here, he has not withdrawn from the world, he has not deserted us. Even if we cannot see and touch him as we can tangible realities, he is here and comes to visit us in many ways. . The meaning of the expression "advent" therefore includes that of visitatio, which simply and specifically means "visit"; in this case it is a question of a visit from God: he enters my life and wishes to speak to me. In our daily lives we all experience having little time for the Lord and also little time for ourselves. We end by being absorbed in "doing". Is it not true that activities often absorb us and that society with its multiple interests monopolizes our attention? Is it not true that we devote a lot of time to entertainment and to various kinds of amusement? At times we get carried away. Advent, this powerful liturgical season that we are beginning, invites us to pause in silence to understand a presence. It is an invitation to understand that the individual events of the day are hints that God is giving us, signs of the attention he has for each one of us. How often does God give us a glimpse of his love! To keep, as it were, an "interior journal" of this love would be a beautiful task for our life! . . . . #corpuschristi #londoncatholic #catholiclondon #catholic #romancatholic #catholicism #coventgarden #maidenlane #eucharist #blessedsacrament #jesus #jesuschrist #christ #advent #christmas

Mary is Immaculate through a freely given gift of God’s grace, which, however, found perfect willingness and cooperation in her. It is in this sense that she is “blessed” because “she believed” and because she had steadfast faith in God. Mary represents that “remnant of Israel”, that holy root which the Prophets proclaimed. The promises of the Old Covenant find a ready welcome in her. In Mary the Word of God is met with listening, acceptance and a response; he encounters that “yes” which enables him to take flesh and to come and dwell among us. . In Mary humanity and history are truly opened to God, they welcome his grace and are prepared to do his will. Mary is a genuine expression of Grace. She represents the new Israel, which the Scriptures of the Old Testament describe with the symbol of the bride. And St Paul takes up this language in his Letter to the Ephesians where he speaks of marriage and says “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the Church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish”. The Fathers of the Church developed this image and thus the Doctrine of the Immaculate Virgin first came into being with reference to the Church virgin-mother and, subsequently, to Mary. Thus Ephraim the Syrian writes poetically: “Just as [it was] because these bodies themselves have sinned and are themselves dying, that the earth, their mother was also accursed, because of this body which is the incorruptible Church, her land was blessed from the outset. This land is the body of Mary, a temple in which a seed was sown”. . . . #corpuschristi #londoncatholic #catholiclondon #catholic #romancatholic #catholicism #coventgarden #maidenlane #eucharist #blessedsacrament #jesus #jesuschrist #christ #immaculateconception #ourlady #blessedvirginmary #mary #romanrite #missaleromanum #mass #catholicmass #ordinaryform #extraordinaryform #tlm #traditionallatinmass

In this Advent Season we shall be granted once again to experience the closeness of the One who created the world, who guides history and who cared for us to the point of deigning to become a man. . This great and fascinating mystery of the God-with-us, indeed, of the God who becomes one of us, is what we shall celebrate in the coming weeks journeying towards holy Christmas. During the Season of Advent we shall feel the Church which takes us by the hand and — in the image of Mary Most Holy, expresses her motherhood, enabling us to experience the joyful expectation of the coming of the Lord, who embraces us all in his love that saves and consoles. . While our hearts look forward to the annual celebration of Christ’s Birth, the Church’s Liturgy directs our gaze to the final goal: our encounter with the Lord who will come in the splendour of glory. For this reason in every Eucharist we “announce his death, proclaim his Resurrection until he comes again”, we watch in prayer. . The Liturgy does not cease to encourage and support us, putting on our lips, in the days of Advent, the cry with which the whole of Sacred Scripture ends, on the last page of the Revelation to St John: “Come, Lord Jesus”. . . . . . . . #corpuschristi #londoncatholic #catholiclondon #catholic #romancatholic #catholicism #coventgarden #maidenlane #eucharist #blessedsacrament #jesus #jesuschrist #christ #advent #adoration #christmas #nativity #romanrite #missaleromanum #mass #catholicmass #ordinaryform #extraordinaryform #tlm #traditionallatinmass

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