Gaudete Sunday in Margate

A beautiful Missa Cantata for Gaudete Sunday 11 December 2016 celebrated by Father Timothy Finigan at St Austin and St Gregory, Margate. We were treated to sublime sacred music by the schola Cantabo Domine who sang Lotti's Missa Brevis in D minor  as well as O Bone Jesu by Palestrina; O Magnum Mysterium  by Victoria, and Palestrina's Alma Redemptoris Mater. It was a splendid way to prepare for the second half of Advent.


(Apologies for the photos being out of order!)

10 Ideas for Advent

A little late from the starting blocks with this, but still worth sharing: Father Tim Finigan has some excellent suggestions on his parish website of  ways to observe the season of Advent in order to prepare for the birth of Our Lord. I was particularly taken by the simple suggestion of praying a Hail Mary before opening a window on the Advent calendar: a tiny pause for thought and reflection.

Image from The Pod Company

Hay in my mantilla

Our family had the great pleasure and privilege of assembling the parish nativity scene this afternoon, in the few hours between the Solomn High Mass for Gaudate Sunday (with two of my favourite seasonal hymns: the sung Rorate Caeli and Veni, Veni Emmanuel) and the annual Christmas carol concert later in the afternoon. Amed with tiny scissors intended for cutting wiggly lines in paper (all we could find!) my four children gathered any greenery they could reach in the church grounds and along with some wonderful variegated holly brought in by another family brought the nativity setting to life. We carefully added each beautiful figure, arranged them, rearranged them, and then rearranged them again before stepping back to admire the scene. All it needs now is our Saviour and Lord...

As we left I realised that I was taking more than a few pious thoughts with me... I had ivy twined into my sweater and a good deal of hay woven into my mantilla: a sort of rustic traddy look probably best avoided.

Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel,
Nascetur pro te, Israel!