Fourth Sunday of Advent 2009
Wednesdays: No services this Wednesday 23 December. Wednesday services resume next week December 30th.
Please note that our Choral Mass for the Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord will begin at 6pm on Thursday 24 December. There will be a Low Mass for the Nativity of Our Lord at 10am on Christmas Day.
Next Sunday December 27th, Feast of St. John Apostle, Morning Prayer at 9:30am; Choral Mass at 11am.
If you are planning to bring a Poinsettia to adorn the chapel, please bring them by Sunday 20th Dec, and latest by Wednesday 23rd.
2010 Pledge Drive begins. You should all have received your Pledge letters and forms by now by snail or email. Please read, pray, and let us know on the enclosed form what God has led you to provide for St. Ann Chapel in 2010. Please return them soonest. Extra letters and forms are available if desired.
Our Advent IV Collect is an echo of the angels’ message, turned into a prayer for its fulfillment: “O Lord, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succor us.” The angels came to declare the promise of a merciful God. We do not need to fear, at least not in the old dreadful way. That is the message of the angels. It is the message of Isaiah. It is the message of St. John the Baptist. He baptized with water, in the Name of the One who would baptize with the fire of the Holy Ghost, a fire that warms, enlightens, and cleanses but never consumes what is of eternal value to God, what God has chosen for eternal life with Himself. And God chooses us; you, me, the Church. The Creation already knows how to groan for God. We, because we have His gift of free will, must use that free will to choose Him. It is reciprocal. It’s a relationship. St. Paul tells us: Rejoice in the life giving presence of God, Jesus Christ, and rejoice again and again! Keep your balance in this life … but know that the Lord is here … Now! … so don’t hold anything back in your love affair with Him. Let Him know what you need and His peace beyond any understanding through the Holy Ghost will preserve your hearts and minds through all of this life and on into eternal life . He has come not only to be among us. He has come to provide all that we might need now to have His complete assurance of eternal safety in His Love and Power. Praise be to Jesus Christ!
God bless you all.