Feast of St Stephen

December 26th the feast of St Stephen
To day we remember St Stephen who we learn about in Acts of the Apostles.  Stephen was one of seven deacons chosen by the apostles to help them spread the Good News and tell people about Jesus.  He was known for his wisdom and was the first martyr who was stoned to death for standing up and preaching about Jesus.  

St Stephen and St Thomas More

This image is on the Te Deum window in the Cathedral, you can see St Stephen holding the stones and also a palm leaf which is a symbol of martyrdom.  In this picture you can also see St Thomas More who was to die for his faith over 1,500 years later.  

O Emmanuel

On Friday 23rd December we celebrate O Emmanuel

Emmanuel means God with us

Celebrating at home Read Isaiah 7:14 spend time reflecting on the words of the Antiphon.
Click mp3 to open a separate page and link to the Latin chant.
ENGLISH: O Emmanuel, God with us, our King and lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Savior: come to save us, O Lord our God.

LATIN: O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

Celebrating with children
Find and read Isaiah 7:14 the message that we hear in Luke is about Mary who will have a son and that she will call him Emmanuel which means God is with us.  What can we do to get ready for Jesus. 

You might sing the verse from the hymn O Come Emmanuel
O come, o come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

A secret message
If you look back at the letters of the Antiphons starting with today Emmanuel and going backwards it spells in Latin ERO CRAS which means Tomorrow I will be. 

O King of the Gentiles

On Thursday 22nd December we celebrate O King

Celebrating at home Read Isaiah 28:16  spend time reflecting on the words of the Antiphon.
Click mp3 to open a separate page and link to the Latin chant.

LATIN: O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

ENGLISH: O King of the gentiles and their desired One, the cornerstone that makes both one: come, and deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.
Celebrating with children
Find and read Isaiah 28:16 the King who foundation.  Maybe make a crown. 


You might sing the verse from the hymn O Come Emmanuel

O come, Desire of nations, bind,
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of peace

O Oriens - O Dayspring

On Wednesday 21st December we celebrate the dayspring

Celebrating at home Read Luke 1: 78-79 spend time reflecting on the words of the Antiphon. These words are part of Zechariah's song of praise the Benedictus that is said in morning prayer.

Click mp3 to open a separate page and link to the Latin chant.

ENGLISH: O dawn of the east, brightness of light eternal, and sun of justice: come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

LATIN: O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.

Celebrating with children
Find and read Luke 1:78-79 which is part of a song of praise from Zechariah who was John the Baptist's father.  Talk about the light coming in the morning and how Jesus is the Light of the world who came to chase the darkness away.  If your child comes to children's liturgy you could ask them to teach you their Advent candle song, in which we sing  'chase the darkness, fill the world with light, be a little candle flame and shine out bright'.

You might sing the verse from the hymn O Come Emmanuel
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer,
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight

For a 5 minute photo story of the visit of Mary to Elizabeth and to hear Zechariah's Song of praise (canticle) click here suitable for Key Stage 2 and above including adults.

Mary and Joseph on facebook

Many young people and adults will have a facebook page.  This video clip shows what Mary and Joseph as well as their friends and family might have shared on their facebook page.

We have all heard, or in some cases experienced the challenges as well as the fun with social networking. Let's make sure if we use it we use it to share Good News.

O Key of David

On Tuesday 20th December we celebrate O Key of David

Celebrating at home Read Isaiah 22:22 spend time reflecting on the words of the Antiphon.
Click mp3 to open a separate page and link to the Latin chant.

LATIN: O clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris.

ENGLISH: O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens: come, and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Celebrating with children
Find and read Isaiah 22:22 and talk about how the key opens something. 

You might look at the Statue of St Peter in the Cathedral.  Jesus gave Peter the keys, which sacrament do they remind us about?

You might sing the verse from the hymn O Come Emmanuel
O come, thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

O Root of Jesse

On Monday 19th December we celebrate the root of Jesse, Jesus' family tree



Celebrating at home Read Isaiah 11:10 spend time reflecting on the words of the Antiphon.
Click mp3 to open a separate page and link to the Latin chant.

ENGLISH: O root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.

LATIN: O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.

Celebrating with children
Find and read Isaiah 11:10 and talk about how Jesus was born of the house of David.
or you might talk about how the roots of a plant keep us secure. 

Talk about your own family and how we learn important things from grandparents and our ancestors.   

Roots brings the plant things it needs to grow and keeps it in the right place.  What are our roots?  Say a prayer of thanksgiving for all those members of our family who have helped us,


You might sing the verse from the hymn O Come Emmanuel

O come, O Rod of Jesse free,
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.

O Lord - O Adonia

On Sunday 18th December we celebrate O Adonia 

Adonai means  Lord

Celebrating at home
Read Exodus3:2 spend time reflecting on the words of the Antiphon.
Click mp3 to open a separate page and link to the Latin chant.
LATIN: O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

ENGLISH: O Lord and Ruler the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: come, and redeem us with outstretched arms.

Celebrating with children
Find and read Exodus 3:2 and talk about how God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. Soon we will celebrate that Jesus has come to us as the light of the world. Share ways in which we can share his light with our friends and family. 


You might sing the verse from the hymn O Come Emmanuel
O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty, and awe.

For a 5 minute video cartoon of Moses and the burning bush

O Wisdom - O Sapientia

On Saturday 17th December we start the O Antiphons. 

O Wisdom - O Sapientia

Celebrating at home

Read Isaiah 11:2-3 spend time reflecting on the words of the Antiphon.
Click mp3 to open a separate page and link to the Latin chant. 
LATIN: O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodidisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviter disponensque omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae. 
ENGLISH: O Wisdom, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: come, and teach us the way of prudence.

Celebrating with children: 
Share a favourite Bible story or find and read Isaiah 11:2-3 and talk about how when we are baptised we received the gift of the wisdom which is one of the gifts of the  Holy Spirit and think about ways we can use this gift to help us do the right thing. 

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who orders all things mightily,
to us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.

Curious about Advent

If you missed the recent Curious about Advent series of talks about the Advent season then why not take a look at the following video which captures some important facts about Advent.  Although it lacks the richness of the talks prepared by Canon Stephen and Fr Stewart it reminds us of some important messages about Advent.  In 2 minutes we find out about:

• the difference between Advent and Lent, 
• the meaning of our purple and pink (rose) candles on our Advent Wreath
• preparing for Jesus' birth at Christmas and his 2nd coming (parousia)
• Advent as a time of expecting, waiting, hope and prayer

and we find out what Advent is not about...

O Antiphons - Songs of praise as we prepare for Christmas

From the 17th December the Church sings a song (antiphon) in evening prayer (vespers) of the church to help prepare for Jesus' birth.  Each of the O Antiphons reminds us of one of the titles of Jesus who is our Messiah (Saviour) and one of Isaiah's prophesies (messages from God). 

Celebrating at the Cathedral

To join the celebration on Weekdays and Saturdays there is Exposition at 5pm followed by Sung Vespers and Benediction at 5:30pm; on Sundays Exposition and the Rosary begin at 4pm and Vespers and Benediction begins at 4:40pm. Everyone welcome.

Celebrating at home

On each day we will post an O Antiphon for those who are not able to get to the Cathedral and offer ideas for family prayer. 

St Stephen's Medals for our servers

Over the weekend some of our servers received their St Stephen medal for their commitment to being a server.  We thank all servers and their families who support them in fulfilling this important service to our parish.  Below is a photograph of those receiving their medal at the 6.30pm Sunday evening mass.

 See our Server page for a close up of the medal and for details about how to become a server.

After Mass, Kirsten continued with some training for our new servers.  Like so many acts of service there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.  see our earlier entry about why some young people are attracted to serving.

Who is that knocking at the door

It's Mary and Joseph, the travelling crib come to visit.  Families at St Thomas More's have been passing the travelling crib during Advent.  Here we see the crib in the Ursuline Convent, where will it go next?  

Advent is a time when we can think about how Mary and Joseph must have felt as they travelled to Bethlehem.

Some families have shared with us what they did when Mary, Joseph and their donkey came to visit.  Marie Worden explained how she created a home in Nazareth out of baking tins and then created a long road for Mary and Joseph to travel along.  This was to help the children understand that it will be some time before they get to Bethlehem when we will celebrate the birth of Jesus.

John the Baptist - a messenger preparing the way for the Lord

On the 2nd and 3rd Sunday of Advent we heard about John the Baptist and how he prepared a way for the Lord.  We try to follow his message today and think about what we can do to prepare a way for the Lord.

Here is St John the Baptist with his mother Mary, it is a small section of the 'Te Deum' window at the back of church.  Why not have a look at see if you can see it next time you are in church.

John reminds us that he is preparing for the Lord by being "a voice crying in the wilderness" How can we prepare a way for the Lord? 

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady

Icon of Our Lady and Jesus

On Thursday the 8th December parishioners gathered for Mass and a candlelit procession to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. 

The Ursuline sisters at St Thomas More had prepared a focal area with an icon of Our Lady and Jesus.  In past years when the weather has been less windy we have processed to the grotto outside, but given the wind and cold it was much nicer inside! After mass we processed to this area and sang Immaculate Mary. This is a popular hymn, and will remind people of pilgrimmage to Lourdes.  

Younger readers may like to find out what people do with their candles when singing the chorus of this hymn.  

Getting ready to serve

On Sunday two new servers came and began their training to take up this ministry. Kirsten showed them how to genuflect which is something we should all do when we pass in front of the Blessed Sacrament and altar.  Watch how well the servers do this next time at Mass.

When asked why they would like to be a server they said:

"I want to be a server so I have something to do
during Mass"

"It looked fun and I wanted to a part of Mass, I wanted to be able to join in"

We had a lovely photo of them trying to genuflect together, sadly this has been deleted! Sorry girls.   

Prepare a way for the Lord

On this 2nd Sunday of Advent we talked about ways in which we could prepare a way for the Lord and follow St John the Baptist.  We lit 2 purple candles on our Advent wreath, a candle of hope and another for peace.  We said a pray to help us remember how we are part of God's family and can help each other.  

Some children shared ways they will help to prepare a way for the Lord and others talked about what they have been doing for Advent.