Jesus is born in Bethlehem. The angels announce His birth; kings and shepherds come to adore him.
The third in the series of intentions for Priests is for the third Joyful Mystery: The Nativity.
We pray that all seminarians grow in knowledge and love of God to become holy priests.
We pray especially for those who will be ordained soon, that they may remain faithful all their lives to the sublime privilege of being “other Christs” among us.
We pray that everyone will come to value the Eucharistic Feast and the Priesthood as among God’s greatest gifts to us.
We pray that every priest will consider himself a member of the Holy Family, a true son of Mary and Joseph, and a brother-priest of Jesus, the great High Priest.
The good news that the holy angels first told to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, is still the greatest story to be told.
Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
The Scout Movement spreads a message of peace across the world as it was asked to do by its Founder, Robert Baden-Powell OM,
To-day I send you out from Arrowe to all the world, bearing my symbol of Peace and Fellowship, each one of you my ambassador, bearing my message of Love and Fellowship on the wings of Sacrifice and Service, to the ends of the world. From now on the Scout Symbol of peace is the Golden Arrow. Carry it fast and far that all men may know the Brotherhood of Man”—B.-P. Scouting for Boys, Camp Fire Yarn No. 28.
Scouts all over the world are taking part in the Scout Messengers of Peace programme as part of the Movement’s aim to ‘Create a Better World’.
All over the world, Scouts are running projects that help people. They solve conflicts in school by preventing bullying, lead peer education programs, help the poor and the hungry, create solutions to environmental problems, and run countless other service projects. Messengers of Peace is the initiative that brings all of this work together.
As we continue to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace and to follow His teaching, my brother Priests in the Fraternity and I pray that all Scouts and those connected to them have a happy and blessed Christmas and that the Peace of the newborn Christ Child will descend upon all and remain with us all throughout the year.
Two thousand years ago, we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, but we did still all have the same feelings of friendship, kinship, and love.
As we rush about today, as I am sure many will be, let’s really take the time to say to those that we love, that we love them. And remember the ‘reason for the season’ is that our God became a little baby born in Bethlehem so he could grow to be the man that paid for all our sins on the Cross at Calvary. Without the Incarnation, none of this would have been possible.
So remember, tonight, for those who don’t do it as a personal devotion (or attend Extraordinary Form Mass regularly) remember at Midnight Mass
Genuflect at the words of the Incarnation in the Nicene Creed.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
And I hope that we all have a very peaceful and blessed Christmas, and I will be remembering many friends at Midnight Mass this evening.
Jesus is born in Bethlehem. The angels announce His birth; kings and shepherds come to adore him.
Mgr Alban’s Notebook 