Praising God in Devon

Dearest friends, As we enter the Christmas Octave, we turn to the baby in the manger and delight in all that we see around us. We reflect the shared love of the Holy Family in all that we do. I don’t know about you, but this year has felt very special indeed. I’ve lost count of the number of carol services and nativity services I’ve attended and prayed at. Each time I’ve been invited into a school or a group,…

Dearest friends, The third Sunday in Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete simply means ‘rejoice’. It’s taken from the latin introit for the day’s Mass: ‘Gaudete in Domino semper’ Or in English: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ And so today we look at what  we have to rejoice about. Over the last two weeks we have been encouraged to ‘wake up’, then to ‘stay awake’, this week we take joy in our faith and one another.  We have woken in…

Dearest friends, In the second week of Advent we light our second candle… the Bethlehem Candle. In lighting it we pray that we may join Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem.  Our journey this week is about preparation.  Mary and Joseph were preparing for the birth of their son. I imagine they were like any parents… planning and dreaming about their future as a family. Worrying if they’ve got everything ready.  I can picture them sat with family…