BULLETIN                    18 DECEMBER 2005                    

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT IN YEAR 2


CHURCH SERVICES

Saturday 17 December
Confession on request from 4.45 to 5.15 pm
Vigil Mass at 5.30 pm
Sunday 18 December
Sunday Mass at 10.00 am
Sunday Mass at 12.00 noon
Monday 19 December
Mass at 10.00 am for Tommy and Margaret Newall
Advent Penitential Service at 7.00 pm
Tuesday 20 December
Mass at 10.00 am for Chelsea Greenwood
Wednesday 21 December
Mass at 10.00 am for the Mealey family
Thursday 22 December
Mass at 10.00 am for Iain Loy
Friday 23 December
Advent Service at 11.00 am for Saint Peter's Primary School
Saturday 24 December
Vigil Mass at 5.30 pm
Mass at 8.00 pm


PARISH CENTRE EVENTS

Sunday 18 December
10.00 am
11.00 am
Sacramental Preparation
Tea and Coffee after Mass
Monday 19 December
8.00 to 5.30 pm
9.00 to 11.30 am
1.30 to 3.30 pm
5.30 to 6.30 pm
6.30 to 8.00 pm
7.00 pm
7.00 to 8.00 pm
Wrap-around Care for 3 to 5 year olds
Nursery
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Rainbows
Brownies
Saint Vincent de Paul Society
Weight Watchers
Tuesday 20 December

8.00 to 5.30 pm
9.00 to 11.30 am
7.30 pm

Wrap-around Care for 3 to 5 year olds
Nursery
Keep Fit
Wednesday 21 December

8.00 to 5.30 pm
9.00 to 11.30 am
1.00 to 2.30 pm
5.00 to 6.00 pm

Wrap-around Care for 3 to 5 year olds
Nursery
Kindergarten Party
Street Dance for 13 to 18 year olds
Thursday 22 December
8.00 to 5.30 pm
9.00 to 11.30 am
1.30 to 3.30 pm
Wrap-around Care for 3 to 5 year olds
Nursery
Cardiac Rehabilitation

PRAYERS
Please remember in your prayers:
   Cathie McMahon who died recently;
   John Campbell 1997, Margaret Bennie, Annie Farmer 1984, Annie Boyle,
   George Poole 1991, William Martin 1974, Father Peter Sweeney 2001,
   Alice Grogan 2003, Sister Hilda CP 2000, Josephine McGeachy 2003,
   Jenny McAtee 2003, Tom Braniff 2003, Ellen Barrett 1984,
   Patrick McLaughlin 1998, Peggy Hamilton and Mereno Berti 2003
   whose anniversaries occur at this time;
   Helena Mary Hansell-Maher who was baptised recently;
   John Kelly and Philomena McGoldrick who were married recently
   and those who are sick.

SUNDAY COLLECTION
Last weekend's collection amounted to £722.29 - many thanks.
Banker's Orders amount to an average of £4000 per month. Each month £4000 is repaid to the Diocese for the building loan and levy.

PARISH CENTRE COLLECTION
Last weekend's collection for the Parish Centre amounted to £311.17 - many thanks.

BANKER'S ORDERS
Paying your collection by monthly or quarterly banker's order makes money handling much safer. Banker's Order forms are available in the porch.

PORCELAIN NATIVITY SET
Raffle tickets costing 50p each are on sale at the Pious Object Stall for a Porcelain Nativity Set. The draw will take place during the tea and coffee after 10 00 am Mass on Sunday 18 December.

ADVENT PENITENTIAL SERVICES
There will be Penitential Services as indicated below.
Monday 19 December
Church of Saint Peter in Chains, Ardrossan
Tuesday 20 December
Saint Mary's Church, Largs
Wednesday 21 December

Saint Brendan's Church, Saltcoats

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
Will any Eucharistic Minister who has a Pyx at home, please return it?

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME
A grid is on the notice board in the Parish Centre to allow parents to add their child's name for the Sunday of their choice on which they wish to celebrate the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation.

SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL FOOD DONATIONS
The Saint Vincent de Paul Conference has many calls for help at this time of year and would welcome any gifts of non-perishable, in-date foodstuffs to supplement its stock for food parcels and so on. A box will be placed in the porch for any such donations and the Conference members thank you most sincerely for all your assistance.

CHRISTMAS MASSES
Christmas Masses in our Church are on Christmas Eve at 5.30 pm and 8.00 pm then on Christmas Day at 11.00 am. There are Christmas Eve Masses at 9.00 pm in Saint Brendan's Church, Saltcoats and at midnight in Saint John's Church, Stevenston.

ANNUAL DIOCESAN CAROL SERVICE
The annual Diocesan Carol Service will be held In the Good Shepherd Cathedral, Ayr on Wednesday, 21 December at 7.30 pm.

CHRISTMAS DAY AND NEW YEAR'S DAY
There will be no children's Liturgy or Sunday teas and coffees on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

50-50 CLUB
Congratulations to the following 50-50 Club prizewinners:
November: 78 Margaret McIntyre £25, 219 Philip McAuliffe £25, 102 Margaret Friel £25, 193 Cecilia Morman £25
December: 79 Patricia Barry £25, 13 David Atkins £25, 179 Margaret McAuliffe £25, 142 Joe McVey £25
Bonus: 149 Alex Johnston £100
There will be a further bonus draw on Sunday 18 December with four prizes of £50 each. We will also give a cheque for £500 to Saint Peter in Chains Parish. New members are welcome. Please telephone Myriame Sammons, promoter.


What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past,
courage for the present, hope for the future.
It is a fervent wish that every cup may
overflow with blessings rich and eternal
and that every path may lead to peace.


Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind.
Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.




READINGS
The readings for this weekend's Masses are shown below in English. They are available in eleven other languages
including French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish by clicking on this link.


First
Reading           Samuel 7:1-5.8-11.16
Once David had settled into his house and the Lord had given him rest from all the enemies surrounding him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, Look, I am living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent. Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you. But that very night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David, Thus the Lord speaks: Are you the man to build me a house to dwell in? I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel; I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will plant them there and they shall dwell in that place and never be disturbed again; nor shall the wicked continue to oppress them as they did, in the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel; I will give them rest from all their enemies. The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. And when your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.

Second Reading           Romans 16:25-27
Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith. This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the eternal God wants things to be. He alone is wisdom; give glory therefore to him through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel           Luke 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, "Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you." She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, "Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?" "The Holy Spirit will come upon you" the angel answered "and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God." "I am the handmaid of the Lord," said Mary "let what you have said be done to me." And the angel left her.