2nd Sunday Advent
- St Paul's Catholic Parish
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Collect Prayer
Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son, but may our learning of heavenly wisdom gain us admittance to his company. Who lives…
Readings
Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 72 Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” ’
Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,
‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit
in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, “We
have Abraham as our father”, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
‘I baptise you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
Readings Next Sunday (3rd Sunday of Advent)
Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10 Psalm 146 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11
Saints of the week
Mon 8 | The Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary
Tue 9 | St. Juan Diego
Fri 12 | Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Sat 13. | St. Lucy, virgin and martyr
The Need of Conversion
Cf. St John Paul ll, Reconciliato Et Paenitantia
[…] The church, since she is the disciple of the one teacher Jesus Christ, in her own turn as mother and teacher untiringly exhorts people to reconciliation. And she does not hesitate to condemn the evil of sin, to proclaim the need for conversion, to invite and ask people to "let themselves be reconciled." In fact, this is her prophetic mission in today's world, just as it was in the world of yesterday. It is the same mission as that of her teacher and head, Jesus.
[…] To become reconciled with God presupposes and includes detaching oneself consciously and with determination from the sin into which one has fallen. It presupposes and includes, therefore, doing penance in the fullest sense of the term: repenting, showing this repentance, adopting a real attitude of repentance- which is the attitude of the person who starts out on the road of return to the Father.
This is a general law and one which each individual must follow in his or her particular situation. For it is not possible to deal with sin and conversion only in abstract terms.
In the concrete circumstances of sinful humanity, in which there can be no conversion without the acknowledgment of one's own sin, the church's ministry of reconciliation intervenes in each individual case with a precise penitential purpose. That is, the church's ministry intervenes in order to bring the person to the "knowledge of self” to the rejection of evil, to the re-establishment of friendship with God, to a new interior ordering, to a fresh ecclesial conversion.
Saint Lucy, Virgin And Martyr
(♱304)
St. Lucy's mother suffered for 4 years from an incurable issue of blood. St. Lucy reminded her that a woman in the Gospel had been healed of a similar illness.
"St. Agatha," she said, "stands ever in the sight of Him for whom she died. Only touch her sepulchre with faith and you will be healed."
They spent the night praying at the tomb; Cll overcome by weariness, both fell asleep. St. Agatha appeared in a vision to St. Lucy, called her "sister," and foretold her martyrdom and her mother's recovery. That instant, her mother was cured. St. Lucy took vows, donated her wealth and consecrated her virginity to Christ.
St. Lucy's fiancé accused her of being ChrisCan. Hence, she was arrested. On the day of her martyrdom, the fire kindled around her did her no harm. A sword was then plunged into her heart, and the prophecy at St. Agatha's Tomb was fulfilled. St. Lucy saw God immediately after her martyrdom. She offers Him our prayers with a spirit that is perfectly conformed to Jesus Christ.
(source: dailygospel.org)
Weekly News
Nativity Play 2025
Will take place on Friday 19th December at 6PM in Agia Kyriaki. We need actors!
If you want your children to participate, please, contact fr. Alessandro.
Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception | 8th December
Mass at 9am in Agia Kyriaki
New Parish Website
Cemetery Retiring Collection
Next Weekend
Pray For Vocations
The Latin Vicariate of Cyprus is dedicating a Year of Prayer for Vocations to the
priesthood, religious, married or consecrated lives. Join us! For more information
contact Sister Elizabeth (95983631 / pastoralcareofvocationscyprus@gmail.com)
Parish Community Shop
Refreshments, coffee and tea. Check our religious section for rosaries, Christmas
Cards, scapulars, devotionals, etc. Check also our books sections. Don’t miss the
opportunity to meet other parishioners and grow as community. All funds will go
to the building of the new Church. If you’d like to volunteer, please talk to Fr.
Ismael.
Christmas Schedule
Is published on the board and our website
Caritas St. Paul's
Thank you for your prayers, contributions, food and clothes donations … we can
also reuse your shopping bags. If you wish to volunteer, please, contact fr.
Alessandro.
Mass schedule
8-14 December
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: Masses at 9:00am in Agia Kyriaki
Wed Mass at 12:00 pm (AK)
Saturday: Masses at 4:30pm (AK); 6pm (town of Polis)
Sunday: Masses at 10am, 11am & 12pm (AK)
Eucharistic Adoration: Wed 10:50am and Thu 6pm (AK)
Filipino Mass on last Sunday of the month at 12pm.
Sri-Lankan Mass on 3rd Sunday of the month, 12pm (Presbytery chapel)
Prayer for Vocations
God our Father, author of life and giver of all gifts, we thank you for the gift of the families to our Church communities. Let them be the foundation of faith, seminary of vocations and model of obedience to your will. Enlighten and guide parents to have a generous spirit to support their children’s decision and choices in life. Help them to encourage their sons and daughters to pursue your call without fear and resistance. Touch the hearts of the children with the desire and longing to know, love and serve you more with great joy wherever you may call them to follow Jesus Your Son our Lord. Teach us to love one another with patience, kindness and forgiveness so that our home may reflect the light of Christ to the world. O Holy Family of Nazareth, model of every Christian family, we entrust all the families to your loving care. Amen.
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