This week in St. Ninian's

Sunday 1st December: FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

“O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!”

Today is the first Sunday of the Church’s year, the first of Advent. It is a time of ‘waiting’, but also of repentance and penance in readiness for the coming of Jesus into the world.
The season calls us to be ‘ready’ always, for the day will come for each one of us as individuals, when the Lord will come to call us home and we will have to give an account of ourselves to him. Today’s readings show us the way to do this; namely, to ‘walk in the light of the Lord’ every day.
In every parish the first candle of the Advent wreath will be lit. To read about the significance of the wreath, CLICK HERE.

First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
The Prophet Isaiah sets forth his vision of the time when all the nations of the earth will acknowledge the God of Israel as the one true God; will say,
“Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Temple of the God of Jacob
that he may teach us his ways
so that we may walk in his paths;
since the Law will go out from Zion,
and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
He looks to that distant day when the Lord will “wield authority over the nations, and adjudicate between many peoples”; a time of peace on the earth, when “Nation will not lift sword against nation” and “there will be no more training for war.”
The reading ends with a stirring call to us all, which seems to encapsulate perfectly how we should to embark upon this wonderful season Advent:
“O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

Second Reading: Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 13:11-14
St. Paul echoes Isaiah’s call, urging us to ‘walk in the light of the Lord’.
"You know ‘the time’ has now come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon. Let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. …Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ."

Gospel Reading: Matthew 24: 37-44
Today’s gospel reading is also a call to walk in the Light. Jesus tells his disciples that they need to be ‘awake’ at all times. They cannot presume they have all the time in the world and can, therefore, indulge their appetites and passions, and postpone living a good and holy life until later.
He sets before them the example of “Noah’s day”, when people were all “eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands”, completely unsuspecting of the disastrous Flood that was about to overtake them. “So stay awake,” says Our Lord, “because you do not know the day when your master is coming.”
And he gives them a second example, that of a ‘householder’ who, if he’d known what time a burglar was going to break in, would have “stayed awake” and not allowed him to break in and steal his property.
The reading ends with a stern warning from Our Lord: “You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Parish Notices

MASS TIMES AT SAINT NINIAN'S

Saturday Vigil: 6.00 pm (Vigil Mass fulfils the Sunday obligation)
Sunday Mass: 9.30am
Weekday Masses: Mon, Wed & Fri:10.00am

CONFESSIONS: Saturday: 5.15 to 5.40 pm

Click here, for latest Bulletin from St.Ninian's

SICK & HOUSEBOUND: If you know of any parishioner who is sick or housebound and may want a visit from Father Raphael, or would like to have Holy Communion brought to them at home, please let Father know.

HOSPITAL chaplaincy Please note the change in contacts for requesting a priest to visit a person in hospital. Fr Ninian Doohan has advised of new telephone numbers to contact the Hospital Chaplain: 07821 624124, or 01382 660111 to page him. Please alert him when someone requires Pastoral Care while in any of the hospitals.

WANTED! READERS & EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS - Please consider taking a more active part in the Liturgy as a reader. Readers are currently in short supply, especially for our Saturday Vigil Mass. If you would like to participate as a reader please add your name to the sheets at the back of the church or speak to Canon, Theresa or May. Thank you. New rotas are now available in the porch.

SERRA MASSES FOR VOCATIONS
Serra Masses will be held at 7pm in Lawside Convent on the last Tuesday of each month – See poster in porch. Our need for vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life has never been so critical and we should all pray fervently that the Lord will send us the Priests and Religious who are so necessary to preserve our Church in these difficult times.

Are you interested in the Priesthood? - If you would like more information about the priesthood, please contact the Director of Vocations, Father Jim Walls at St. Stephen's, 8 Bank Street Blairgowrie: tel:01250 872171, or email: jimwalls@btinternet.com

THE PERMANENT DIACONATE
The Church is in great need of vocations to the permanent diaconate. If you are a man over 30yrs old - married or single, please consider whether you may be being called to offer yourself in service to the Church as a Deacon. To read more about the permanent Diaconate, click on the link DEACONS

DUNDEE LATIN MASS
"The Extraordinary Form of the Mass, the Traditional Latin Mass, began to be offered once more in St Joseph’s Lawside Convent Dundee on the fourth Sunday of Lent, March 15th 2015. The Lord Bishop of Dunkeld invited Father John Emerson (of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter) to re-establish this liturgical apostolate at the request of the lay faithful of the diocese." For further information about Mass times please visit the website, at https://dundeelatinmass.com/

CHILDREN'S LITURGY
There is a 'Little Church' for children every Sunday Morning. Children rejoin the people at the Offertory procession, having been out for a while learning about the readings of the day in their own way.
We are still looking for at least one volunteer to help with supervising, assisting the liturgists in the activities. This would mean taking a turn about once a month. Please see Mgr. if you can help. Thanks a lot!

ST. NINIAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL
St. Ninian's Primary School Parent Council
If you would like to get in touch with the School's Parent Council for any reason, their email address is stninians@dundeeparentcouncil.org

CAKE & CANDY:
The Cake & Candy table at our Sunday Mass is in great need of helpers to sell our cakes. If you feel you are able to give a few minutes once a month, please contact Helen Scroggie. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

DUNDEE FOOD BANK:
Many thanks for your donations. This is an ongoing project in the parish and there are boxes at the back of the Church, and lists of foods this charity needs posted on the notice board. Your donations also would be most gratefully received.

EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network)
Have you discovered EWTN yet?! - the TV network for Catholics. Traditional Catholic programmes for all ages. Fascinating interviews, wonderful children's programmes, live Mass, Rosary, Papal audiences, etc. etc. Visit the EWTN website by clicking HERE.
You can get EWTN If you have Sky t.v., or a Freesat box for either Sky or BBC on the 'Religion' tab, number 589; and you can watch it live on your computer as it goes out on the TV channel.