th Mass & Office Times First Sunday of Advent Year A, 27 November 2016 Everyone is welcome The First Sunday of Advent is the start of a new liturgical year (A). We prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of St Benedict’s Church Saturday Vigil Mass 5pm Jesus Christ, God made a real human being, in Bethlehem Sunday Masses 9am, 11am & 6pm so many years ago. Yet we also prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time, as also for his Confessions Sundays at St Benedict’s 10.15-10.45 coming here and now in our everyday lives. It is easy to Rosary Thursdays at 7pm think of our faith as something that affects our life for an hour on Sunday, but perhaps this Advent we could make a conscious effort to live it out on the other six days of the The Abbey Church Weekdays Vigils at 6am week. This might be by practising one of the corporal or Lauds at 7.10am spiritual works of mercy, as we discussed last Saturday Mass at 8.35am when we closed the Holy Door, by making an effort to pray, read the Bible or… Midday Office at 12.30pm Last Saturday’s events to close the Holy Door were a huge success, with people coming from Vespers at 6pm places as far as Cardiff, Newport, Gloucester and Taunton. About 80 people came for the morning events and the church was filled with a congregation of about 300 for the Mass as we celebrated Christ Sundays Lauds at 7.30am the King with some enthusiastic singing. See the pictures on the Downside website Mass at 10am www.downside.co.uk/monks-welcome-record-number-visitors-mark-end-year-mercy Midday Office at 12.30pm This week also sees the beginning of the new Parish Pastoral Council. We are grateful to all, both Vespers and Benediction at 5pm elected and appointed, who volunteered their services in this important role of helping to unite the parish, organise events and prepare a vision for the future. The members of the newly formed Parish Latin Mass in Abbey Crypt on the 1st Sunday of the Month at 11.15am Pastoral Council are Louise Avis, David Byrne, Janet Curwen, Julie Justin, Eve Nuttall, Lee Rodgers, Sue Rye, Rosemary Tatar and Cathy Wolf. We are still waiting to hear from a few people regarding their Lectio Divina Group Mondays 10am in the Abbey Visitor Centre availability. Dom Anselm Brumwell Holy Ghost Masses Tuesday, Friday & Saturday at 9.45am Subprior Holy Ghost Confessions Saturdays at Holy Ghost – 10.15-11.00am

Holy Ghost Prayer Group Mondays at 8pm NOVEMBER NEEDS CONTACTS Instant Mash Dom Michael Clothier Tel: 01761 235111

Powdered Milk EVENTS Tea bags (40’s & 80’s) Dom Boniface Hill Tel: 01761 235115 Tenebrae Concert 27th November 7pm-8.30pm. See school website for more information. Once again, the Somer Valley Foodbank will Soup, Cheese and provide Christmas food parcels for local individuals Pudding Supper and families in crisis. Mass in the Extraordinary Form (1962 Latin) Friday 9th December in We would be very grateful for any of the In the crypt of the Abbey Church next Sunday, 4th December at 11:15am. the Parish Room, Christmas items listed here during November and the first two weeks of December: St Benedict’s Church, Stratton-on-the-Fosse at 7pm Parish Carol Service

3pm on 18th December in St Benedict’s, followed by tea. Tinned ham, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, Music provided by The Folk Group

box of biscuits, children’s selection box, large bar Entrance £5 The Advent Penance Service with individual confessions chocolate (150/200g), snacks and nibbles (e.g. St Benedict’s on 19th December at 7:30pm peanuts), Christmas crackers. It is essential to book in. Please do so on the list in Many thanks for your continued support the Church porch.

www.downside.co.uk [email protected] 01761 235100

Registered Charity Number 1158507 Martyrology WHY? Course: Wednesday, 30th November at 7:30pm St Cuthbert Mayne (29th November) was born in 1544 and was the first People often ask “Why do you believe in God?” and similar questions, and we sometimes struggle to of the English “seminary priests” to be martyred under the laws of Elizabeth answer. On Wednesday, 30th November we will have the opportunity to consider why we believe in I in 1577. He was baptised an Anglican and became a clergyman at the age of God. We will use the Why? course, which involves a 25-minute video presented by Fr Marcus Holden 17, after which he studied at Oxford, where he met a number of Catholics, and Fr Andrew Pinsent (formerly a high energy physicist at CERN) and discussion. Depending on including St Edmund Campion. At some point he became a Catholic and demand there will be two further sessions. We will start at 7:30pm in the parish hall and finish by 9pm studied theology at the English College in , where he was ordained. at the latest. He returned to England and ministered in Cornwall, where he was arrested and held in prison in Launceston. He was found guilty of five charges: (1) United Service in the Church of the Holy Ghost that he had obtained from the Roman See a "faculty" (or bulla), containing There will be a service of united prayer offered by Anglicans, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists and the absolution of the Queen's subjects; (2) that he had published the same at Salvation Army in the Holy Ghost Church, , at 4 p.m. on Sunday, 27th November. Golden; (3) that he had taught the ecclesiastical authority of the Pope and Dom Michael will be preaching and everyone is warmly invited. Christ prayed at the Last Supper for denied the queen's ecclesiastical supremacy while in prison; (4) that he had brought into the kingdom an unity ‘so that the world may believe that it was you who sent me’ (John 17, 21). Agnus Dei (a Lamb of God sealed upon a piece of wax from the Paschal candle blessed by the Pope); (5) that he had celebrated Mass. He was hanged, drawn and quartered on 29th November 1577. Confirmation, Friday 19th May 2017 Bishop Declan will be confirming candidates in the Abbey Church next year at 6.30 pm on Friday 19th St Alexander Bryant (1st December) was born in on 17th May. If you would like to be confirmed, please see Fr Michael or Fr Boniface, so that your preparation August 1556 and went to Oxford at a young age, where he became a pupil of can begin. Fr Robert Parsons, which led to his conversion to Catholicism. After leaving Oxford he went to the English College in Douai where he was ordained a The funeral of Gratia Bond will be on Wednesday, 7th December at SS. Peter and Paul, priest in 1578. He returned to Somerset in 1579 and in 1581 he was Combe Down, followed by burial in St Benedict’s cemetery at 1:30pm. arrested, taken to the Tower of London and tortured before being found The funeral of Bridey Ashman will be on Friday, 9th December at 11:30am in St Benedict’s, guilty of high treason and condemned to death. In his letter to the Jesuit followed by burial in the cemetery. Fathers he says that he felt no pain during the various tortures he

underwent, and adds: "Whether this that I say be miraculous or no, God knoweth." He was 25 years old when he was executed by being hanged, Olive Wood Christmas Gifts from the School of Joy, Bethlehem A large delivery of olive wood products has arrived from the School of Joy in Bethlehem. A selection, to drawn and quartered on 1st December 1581. purchase by donation, can be found at the back of the Abbey, and just inside the Holy Door. All donations are very gratefully received, and will be sent directly to Fr Mamdouh at the School. To date Downside Abbey Podcast Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 21st to 30th July we have raised £3030. You can now download the Gospel reading and homily 2017, for those aged 18 to 30 Offertory Collections CAFOD/Live Simply Advent Talk by Liz every week to your mobile, tablet or computer. It’s free Fr Anselm will be leading this special pilgrimage for Parish Collection last week raised : Baldwin, and available to everyone. iTunes or Apple users should young people. This is a one-off opportunity to £315.67 Wednesday, 7 December, 11: 15 am to 2:00 pm go to bit.ly/AbbeyPodcast and Android users should go travel at a very competitive price (£900 for 10 days, St Mary’s Parish Centre, Burlington Street, Clifton. to bit.ly/AbbeyPodcastStitcher fully inclusive). Further details can be found on the Please bring a packed lunch, refreshments served. Housebound and Unable to Come to Parish Safeguarding Representative Abbey website. We hope to book flights soon. Church? Items for the Newsletter Our Parish Safeguarding Representative is David www.churchservices.tv is an excellent way to If you would like to contribute items for consideration Stone. His contact details are: ONLINE NEWSLETTER A reminder that the parish newsletter is also available experience Mass live and to take part as fully as you for inclusion in the Parish Newsletter, please send them Tel: 01761 415 952; Mob: 07506 263 202 on the Downside website should you wish to view it can. to: [email protected] and we will do our best E-mail: [email protected] online www.downside.co.uk, parishes then newsletter. to get them in the next week’s newsletter.