Christmas  Penitential Services

This weekend after 6.00 pm vigil, 10.00 am & 12.00 noon Masses.
Visiting priests will be with us for Confessions. We have an opportunity of preparing for the birthday of Jesus as we come together in faith as a community to celebrate God’s forgiveness. None of us is without sin. We are all in need of forgiveness. God knows that deep down in our hearts we want to turn back to him. God offers us a most wonderful gift, the assurance that no matter how we have failed his forgiveness is there for us all.  In the words of Pope Francis: “Mercy is the Lord’s most powerful message”

PENITENTIAL SERVICE
Most are familiar with the procedure for this Communal Reconciliation Service, all you need to say to the priest when you approach for Confession is:
“I am sorry for all my sins, especially for . . . .”
Then you tell your own sins simply, in the best way you can, asking for God’s Forgiveness. Be prepared to leave all your sins with the Lord and promise him that you will try to do better.

Examination of conscience
An examination of conscience concerns our daily lives and our maturity as human beings. It is not preparing a grocery list of sins, but looking at the things we do and at the person who does them. It asks how do we relate to God and to our brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.

A good way of preparing for confession is to divide my life into a few general areas, and take a look at each.

1.   My relationship with God:
Do I give time to God?
Do I pray each day?
Do I attend Mass regularly?
2.   My home life
Am I hard to live with?
Do I make my home happy?
Am I moody and selfish?
Do I cause serious problems at home – unfaithfulness,
drunkenness, taking drugs, violence, long cold silences?
Do I seek help?
Am I faithful to my commitments?
3.   My relationship with others:
Am I tolerant of and unselfish towards others?
Am I kind in word and deed?
Do I pray for my enemies and forgive them?
Do I respect others? Have I used others selfishly? or
irresponsibly?
 4.   My practice of justice:
Do I respect the needs, rights, and property of others?
Am I honest with my business dealings?
Do I pay my debts?
Do I cheat, or make false claims?
Do I pay my taxes?
Do I give to those in need?

Act of Contrition
O my God I thank you for loving me. I am sorry for all my sins, for not loving others and not loving you. Help me to live like Jesus and not sin again.   Amen.

Confessions: each morning this week after the 10am Mass and on Christmas Eve after the 10am & 6pm Masses.

The Jesse Tree Symbols for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
The tenth symbol.  The three Wise men look for Jesus, guided by the light of a star, shining brightly above his birthplace.  The prostrate themselves before the manger and do not turn the child and his parents over to King Herod.  The white candle on today’s ornament symbolizes Christ; the flow recalls the halo of light signifying divinity and power/
The eleventh symbol.   Christ Jesus is born and laid in a lowly manger, depicted on our ornament today.  Shepherds are instructed by angels to witness the miracle of this child’s birth, to show homage and spread the good news.
The twelfth symbol.  Happy Christmas! The apostle John bears witness to the coming of the Light of the World, the only Son of God, briefly retelling some of the history we have learned through the Jesse Tree.   The Chi-Rho monogram is a combination of the first two letters for the Greek word for Christos, Christ.

Christmas Masses: Christmas Eve: 6.00 pm & 10.00pm. Christmas Day: 9.00 am, 10.00 am  &12.00 noon (note the extra Mass at 9.00 am).
St. Stephen’s Day (Monday):  Mass at 10.00 am.

Altar Decoration for Christmas:  If you would like to give a Red Poinsettia plant to decorate the Altar for Christmas, it would be much appreciated.

Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament: after 10.00 am Mass to 11.00 am on Wednesdays of Advent.

Christmas gifts with a difference. Trocaire Gifts are available at the back of the Church from members of the Parish Assembly.

Morning Prayer on Fridays of Advent:  Morning Prayer of the Church (Lauds) after 10.00 am Mass on each Friday of Advent.

Death.  We remember in our prayers James O’Brien, Friar’s Rd who died recently and we extend our sympathy to his family.

Parish Christmas & Triduum Cards are available in the Parish Office after Masses this weekend.  The Triduum of Masses will be offered on 23rd, 24th, and 25th December.

Training for Parish Catechists: A two year training course for the Maryvale Certificate will begin in Cork in January. Information/ registration forms from the Pastoral Development Office phone 021 4537601 and forms must be returned by 10th January. Also open to those wishing to enhance their understanding of the Catholic faith.

WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES 2018
Pope Francis has chosen Ireland to host the next World Meeting of Families in August 2018.  The Pope proposes to visit Ireland to coincide with this event.  The Diocese will be offering programmes of preparation for all ages over the coming months leading up to this event.  The parish will distribute prayer cards over the Christmas period encouraging families to pray a special prayer which will also feature in Manger prayer card in the crib.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul: The Christ the King Conference of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul would like to convey our deep gratitude to the Clergy, Church Collectors and Parishioners of Christ the King Parish for the extremely generous response to this year’s Christmas appeal.  We would also like to express our sincere appreciation for the ongoing support from the community and in particular for the monthly church-door collections.  These funds will go directly to needy families in this Parish.    We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy 2017.

Our Parish Calendars are in the Sacristy. It would be great if the Area Collectors would help to distribute them. Many thanks.