Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Community Herne Bay, Kent
Clarence Road, Herne Bay, Kent - 01227 375095 - Parish Priest: Fr Mark White CP (mwhite8684@aol.com); Assistant Priest: Fr Patrick CP (743727); Deacons James Foley (366841) & Barry Walker (368685) - website: www.ourladyhernebay.co.uk
seCond sunday oF adVent (Year C) 5/6 DECEMBER 2015
Entrance Antiphon O people of Sion, behold, the Lord will come to save the nations, and the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard in the joy of your heart. Embracing the Gospel of Mercy Tuesday 8 December is Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the opening of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. There will be an additional Mass in the evening at 7.00pm. To help us understand the Year of Mercy and to enter more fully into it, there is a booklet available from the back of church entitled: A Pilgrimage Companion for the Year of Mercy. Cardinal Nichols, in his introduction, notes how special the theme of “Mercy” is to Pope Francis. He writes that the Holy Father ”knows that every person, whether they think of themselves as religious or not, longs for the embrace of mercy, the love that accepts us as we are and, at the same time, calls us to what we are made to be.” Mercy, especially the mercy of God, says: “It is never too late... This Year of Mercy is an invitation to start again. It is an open door we are invited to enter and discover the wonder of the love and mercy of God that calls out to the deepest recesses of our hearts and our world.” Also, on 6 December, we celebrate Catholic Bible Sunday, which provides an opportunity to give thanks for the gift of the Bible, and an invitation to deepen our understanding of its message. During the Jubilee Year, everyone is invited to read again Luke’s Gospel, also known as the “Gospel of Mercy”. Once you’ve read the Gospel, please consider passing on a copy to someone who may never have read it.