Advent Reflections
Over the weeks of Advent, the parish is offering a number of opportunities for prayer and reflection as part of our preparation for Christmas.
REFLECTION EVENINGS
The Parish is offering both to everyone here and to the parishes of the South Deanery three Thursday evenings to reflect on aspects of the Advent and Christmas seasons. Each event involves a speaker, with some discussion and interaction, and takes place in our Parish Hall from 7.00pm (tea and coffee available from 6.30pm) ending at 8.30pm.
Thursday 4th December – Hope in The Modern World (presenter: Fr Stephen Reilly)
Thursday 11th December – Justice in The Modern World (presenters: Jamie McGowan, lawyer, and Fr Gerard Maguinness, Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland)
Thursday 18th December – Bethlehem Today (live link-up with faculty and students of Bethlehem University)
SMALL GROUPS
In Lent of this year, several people met in small groups around the parish for weekly reflections on the Sunday Gospels, using materials provided by the Archdiocese for the Jubilee Year. These were very successful and are being repeated again for Advent 2025. If you would like to be part of this, please pick up one of the “sign-up” sheets in the Church porch and either drop it in the box at the back or hand it in to Fr Tom.
Forty Hours 2025
This year’s “Forty Hours’ Adoration” will take place as usual over the weekend coinciding with the parish feast day, the Solemnity of Christ the King (Sunday 23rd November).
The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for prayer all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday according to the following timetable:
Friday – Exposition will begin at the end of the 10.00am Mass with the community of St Fillan’s Primary joining us until Closing Prayer and Benediction at 6.30pm.
Saturday – Exposition from the end of 10.00am Mass until 5.50pm, concluding with the Vigil Mass at 6.00pm
Sunday – Exposition after 12 noon Mass until Solemm Evening Prayer and Benediction at 7.00pm
Monday – Exposition after 10am Mass until Holy Hour with Benediction at 7.00pm
If you are able to commit to a particular time for watching with the Blessed Sacrament, please think about signing up on the sheets at the back of the Church. We don’t want to leave the Blessed Sacrament exposed with no-one in the Church, so it is good to have some “watchers” opting to be in for particular times of prayer in order to ensure a presence of people in the Church throughout the day.