Advent

Advent, which begins the Church’s liturgical year, began last Sunday. Advent encompasses the four Sundays and weekdays leading up to the celebration of Christmas.

The Advent season is a time of preparation for our hearts and minds for the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas.

The use of the wreath and candles during Advent are a longstanding Catholic tradition.

The wreath and candles are full of symbolism tied to the Christmas season. The wreath itself, which is made of various evergreens, signifies continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God and the everlasting life we find in Christ.

The candles also have their own special significance. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent, and one candle is lit each Sunday. Three of the candles are purple because the colour violet is a liturgical colour that signifies a time of prayer, penance, and sacrifice.

The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes hope. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

The second candle, also purple, represents faith. It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

The third candle is pink and symbolizes joy. It is called the “Shepard’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical colour for joy. The third Sunday of Advent reminds us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus.

On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Saviour. This final candle, the “Angel’s Candle,” symbolizes peace. It reminds us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”

The white candle is placed in the middle of the wreath and lit on Christmas Eve. This candle is called the “Christ Candle” and represents the life of Christ. The colour white is for purity—because Christ is our sinless, pure Saviour.

Celebrating Advent is an excellent way to prepare your mind and heart for Christmas.

Staff Development Day

This Friday our St Patrick’s Staff will be undertaking a day of learning. We will be working with Staff from the Catholic Education Office to unpack the new Brisbane Religion Curriculum. This will be implemented into our RE Programs next year. We are looking forward this professional learning experience.

End of Year Mass

The Year Six Graduation and Thanksgiving Mass will be held on Friday 11^th December at 12 noon. Due to COVID restrictions our numbers of attendees is limited to the Year Six Parents only.

This Mass is traditionally our chance to support and give items of food to the St Vincent de Paul Society. The Society will compile hampers from the items and distribute these to those in our community who need assistance during the festive season.

The children will bring their items of food as part of the Offertory Procession. Please remember to bring your donation to Mass.

Whatever you can give will be appreciated.

 St Patrick’s Parish Mass times for Christmas

This year due to COVID restriction on numbers the Christmas Eve Mass will be celebrated as an open-air Mass at the Gundagai Race Course at 6pm.

Christmas Day Mass will be in St Patrick’s Church at 8 am.

Kate Howe

REC