And a reminder that Fr. Rodney and Fr. Robin’s service “online” can be viewed tomorrow via the Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/rodney.middleton.940

Click the link to view Fr. Marcus –

Good Morning My Friends,

I hope you are not being blown away by these huge winds that woke me at ridiculous O’clock this morning. Everything seemed to be rattling, but that was probably just the thoughts in my head tumbling around.

Lots to talk about today. The big feats here in Spain of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or as rather less excitingly described in the C of E Lectionary The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Lesser Festival) 
Either way it is a great day. 
It is not for us to know if Mary was sinless in her conception although of course we are free to believe it. But what we do know is that of all the women in History, Mary was the one chosen by God to bear his son. An honour and a choice greater than any other.

Mary is such a powerhouse of inspiration for us, and it is no surprise that countless folk throughout history have asked her to pray for them.

The wonderful Hail Mary puts our devotion very simply but beautifully

Hail Mary full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
And Blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, 
pray for us sinners now, 
and at the hour of death. 

This lovely prayer gives honour to Mary, acknowledges the Grace given to her by God, affirms her role as Mother of Jesus and importantly asks for her prayers.

We all long to be prayed for by Holy People, and this particular prayer makes the strong point of asking the Saints who have gone before to pray for us. It helps us realise we are in communionwith them all and registers our belief in the resurrection.

The story of Mary also inspires so deeply as she says Yes to God when confronted with such a huge undertaking. Wondering how Joseph, her family, her friends and the community would react, being unable to fathom the depth of the responsibility of bearing and nurturing the Son of God, and giving no thought for herself she said ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ 

This is an indicator of the  grace-filled response each of us is called to make to God, both personally and communally, as the Church, the body of Christ. 
It prompts an image of the Church, her arms uplifted in prayer and praise, her hands open in receptivity and availability to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that we are one with Mary as she magnifies the Lord. “Surely,” Mary declares in her song we know as The Magnificat recorded in the Gospel of Luke, “from this day all generations will call me blessed.”

There is that beautiful song from Graham Kendrick that we know so well
Let it be to me according to your word

Let it be to me according to your word

I am your servant,

No rights shall I demand,

Let it be to me, Let it be to me

Let it be to me according to your word

But today is also another big day. Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week was the first person not in clinical trials who received the Pfizer Covid 19 vaccine, and heralded the beginning of a process of change which will have a huge impact in restoring the freedoms we are so missing.
Up to 4 Million doses are hoped to be rolled out by the end of this month.

As you know Advent is a time of hope and the psalm we said at Morning Prayer this morning was so fitting, as was the refrain and adjoining Christian prayer.

Psalm 56

Refrain:In God I trust, and will not fear.

1Have mercy on me, O God, for they trample over me; ♦
all day long they assault and oppress me.

2My adversaries trample over me all the day long; ♦
many are they that make proud war against me.

3In the day of my fear I put my trust in you, ♦
in God whose word I praise.

4In God I trust, and will not fear, ♦
for what can flesh do to me? R

5All day long they wound me with words; ♦
their every thought is to do me evil.

6They stir up trouble; they lie in wait; ♦
marking my steps, they seek my life.

7Shall they escape for all their wickedness? ♦
In anger, O God, cast the peoples down.

8You have counted up my groaning;
put my tears into your bottle; ♦
are they not written in your book? R

9Then shall my enemies turn back
on the day when I call upon you; ♦
this I know, for God is on my side.

10In God whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise, ♦
in God I trust and will not fear:
what can flesh do to me?

11To you, O God, will I fulfil my vows; ♦
to you will I present my offerings of thanks,

12For you will deliver my soul from death
and my feet from falling, ♦
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Refrain:In God I trust, and will not fear.

Faithful God,
your deliverance is nearer than we know;
free us from fear
and help us to find courage in your Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

I think it is so amazing that the old scriptures remain so completely relevant to us every day.

We have much to be hopeful for, much to be thankful for, and we do well to give thanks for thos Holy Souls who hold us in their prayers.

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you.

As ever,

Fr Marcus

My Dear Friends,

We are approaching the second Sunday of Advent, and preparations for our great Celebration are Under way.

The Good news is that I have been able to eat three of the chocolates from my Advent calendar – the bad is that I only have 21 left to go!

As for my other preparations, they are all in a bit of disarray this year. I won’t be seeing my family, which means I can not give them presents in person. If I send things, I am wondering when they will get there, and my plan is for Christmas Hampers for some, but will they already have the things they need – so should I send it early. I can’t do decisions like this!

But as you well know – the preparations the scriptures talk about are not to do with chocolate and hampers, but preparing the way of the Lord.

If the King was going on a journey, it was a big deal. No methods of mass communication, but still the need to convey hugely important details to so many people in plenty of time. So plans would be made. In itinerary arranged, the purpose of the visit / journey agreed, and the dates fixed. Then the forerunners would set of and visit the towns on route saying, The King is coming here on December 25^th (for example), so please get everything ready. Make sure he has the best welcome ever, and so that he is comfortable, sort out the roads! No lumps and bumps, no puddles and ruts, no crumbling of  paths close to the edge on the mountain pass. We don’t want the King to go tumbling down! So crack on with it.

The excitement would be palpable, as it was such a rare thing for the King to pass through, and everyone would lend a hand to make it the best experience ever.

So what about us. How can we blend or practical preparations with our spiritual ones.
of course we want our festive celebrations to be as great as they possibly can. We certainly could do with some things to cheer us up this year, so let’s make whatever we do as safe and enjoyable as possible. 
But how do we welcome the King of Kings into our hearts deeply and meaningfully.

Well one way is to spend some time imagining the story. We know it so well, there is a danger of taking it for granted. But if we think it through, we realise it is the greatest story ever told, and it includes us.

Here is a poem written by Lisa Debney in which she imagines the thoughts of Mary.
How about thinking the story through with you taking part, and then reflecting what it all means. Hopefully it will come alive afresh and renewed.

Mary

Your eyes are open now.
Those eyes which will open
the eyes of others.
You study my face
and, just for a moment,
though you came for the world,
you are mine and mine alone.
I made you and you made me
and we gaze at each other
in equal wonderment.

Your eyes are open now, and so dark-bright-
sent from a night
full of light and stars-
that I could watch you  for ever
watch your chest rise and fall
as you breathe the cattle soaked air.
I would like this moment to last for ever,
you are so wonderful to me,
so truly wonderful as you are.

But not my will, Lord,
but yours be done.
I must hand you over
for the world cries out for you,
though I cry out to let you go.
Just for tonight
let the future
leave us in peace.
Close your eyes, baby.
Close your bright eyes
on the dusty darkness
of the world.
There is majesty in you
but for now let it hide,
let it hide like a gem
while you sleep.                     

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you.

As ever, Fr Marcus                                          

Good Afternoon Folks,

Hope you enjoyed your lunch, here is the link to today’s video for you to do with as you please.

As ever, Fr. Marcus

Anyone looking for an easy way to donate, whether it’s to support Fr. Marcus’ radio marathon, or just to help our funds can follow the following link

https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=wunKF1tdIwUGat3K3tKIa9MNZ5hOVcOxKEQK9J52pK01ibvK2XTXm4enCz9LFNQHtOGiMVPDezH1huCc

Sunday worship continues in our churches as in recent weeks. The service in Albir is being held at 3pm for a while. And this week our congregation in El Campello returns to the chapel in the grounds of Los Salesianos at 12.00 noon every Sunday. 

And for those not able, or not yet ready to attend one of our churches, Fr. Rodney and Fr. Robin will be conducting the weekly Eucharist service live on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/rodney.middleton.940) at 10am on Sunday. It will then be available as a recording at the same link to watch at any time after 11am on Sunday

https://www.facebook.com/rodney.middleton.940