LITURGY OF THE WORD

2 Samuel 7:1–5, 8b–12,14a, 16 The Lord promises to establish a house for Israel.

Psalm 89 (88) ‘ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.’

Romans 16:25–27 The truth of salvation is manifested to all.

Luke 1:26–38 The angel Gabriel visits Mary of Nazareth.

As we begin our last week of preparation for the coming of our Lord, we listen to the preparations three others took during earlier eras. King David intended to prepare a house for the ark of God, but God revealed a more important house to prepare. Saint Paul completed his letter to the Romans, a church he had helped prepare for the mystery of Christ. In the Gospel, Mary agreed to prepare a place in her womb for the Son of God. Let us prepare a place in our hearts now for the word of God.

STREAMING Watch Cathedral services online—see link at www.cathedralG1.org

OFFERINGS

We are most grateful to those who continued to support the Cathedral over the difficult time of lockdown. Your generosity has enabled us to keep going. Collections have not returned to their previous level but most bills continue and the current rules have imposed certain new costs, particularly around cleaning/sanitising and PPE.

To limit cash handling, we encourage regular worshippers to consider making your offerings by bank standing order. To do this, please contact the Cathedral Office (address on front page). There is also the possibility of using Paypal or My Giving from our parish website to make one-off electronic donations to the Cathedral.

Gift Aid: If you are a parishioner, a regular or even an occasional visitor please consider using gift aid for your donations. This adds 25% to your contribution, as we can reclaim the tax you pay to HMRC. To do this, you should fill in a Gift Aid form (available in the sacristy) and obtain some of our Blue regular GA envelopes. If you require more envelopes, please speak to Fr. Sharkey. To make a one off donation, please use a yellow Gift Aid envelope, available in the pews, and fill in the details required on the front. If you have questions please speak with Canon Sharkey or email the parish office, cathedral@rcag.org.uk.

CALENDAR

Friday, 25th December Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord

Saturday 26th December Feast of St Stephen

SA I N T AN D R E W ' S Metropolitan Cathedral

Parish founded in 1792. Church opened in 1816

R O M A N C A T H O L I C A R C H D I O C E S E O F G L A S G O W

Archbishop and Metropolitan: Most Rev. Philip Tartaglia

www.rcag.org.uk

20th December 2020

FOURTH SUNDAY

OF ADVENT

“Be it done to me

according to your word.”

Luke 1:38

Weekend Masses Saturday: 1pm; Vigil 5.15pm

Sunday: 10.00am, 12.00 noon and 5.15pm

Please make a booking for a place at our weekend Masses

Mass Mon—Fri 1.00pm and 5.15pm (both open to the public)

No booking for Mass on Monday to Friday; places are allocated

on a ‘first come—first served’ basis. Please arrive in good time.

For details of Christmas and New Year Mass times, see inside.

Confessions Please see information inside.

Cathedral Clergy Canon Gerald Sharkey, Fr Joseph Walsh, Fr Charles Randall C.SS.R.

Contact 0141 204 2409 cathedral@rcag.org.uk

Cathedral House, 90 Dunlop Street, Glasgow G1 4ER

www.cathedralG1.org www.facebook.com/cathedralG1

St Andrew’s Cathedral is a Parish of the Archdiocese of Glasgow,

a Designated Religious Body, Charity Number SC018140.

SCHEDULE FOR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR 2020/2021

Monday 21st Mass, 1pm and 5.15pm. Private prayer and Confession, 2.30—3.30pm.

Tuesday 22nd Mass, 1pm and 5.15pm.

Wednesday 23rd Same as Monday 21st.

Thursday 24th, Christmas Eve Lunchtime Mass at 1pm. Christmas Vigil Masses at 5.15pm and 6.30pm.

Christmas ‘Night’ Mass, celebrated by the Archbishop,

11pm, to end around midnight.

Friday 25th, Christmas Day Masses at 10am and 12noon. N.B. no evening Mass.

Saturday 26th, Boxing Day Lunchtime Mass at 1pm. Vigil Mass of Sunday, 5.15pm.

Sunday 27th, Holy Family Masses at 10am, 12noon and 5.15pm.

Monday 28th—Friday 1st January Lunchtime Mass at 1pm each day.

Saturday 2nd January Lunchtime Mass at 1pm. Vigil Mass of Sunday, 5.15pm.

Sunday 3rd January, Epiphany Masses at 10am, 12noon and 5.15pm.

Also World Day of Prayer for Peace.

Monday 4th to Friday 8th January Lunchtime Mass at 1pm each day.

Saturday 9th January Lunchtime Mass at 1pm. Vigil Mass of Sunday, 5.15pm.

Sunday 10th January, Baptism of the Lord Masses at 10am, 12noon and 5.15pm.

Monday 11th January Return to ordinary time.

Exact schedule of Masses from this point will depend on current government guidance.

NOTICES

SCIAF is asking people in Scotland to buy a water filter as a Christmas gift to help families in Ethiopia to protect their children from preventable diseases caused by dirty, unsafe water. To give the gift of clean water this Christmas visit www.sciaf.org.uk/water. You can also support the world’s poorest by texting SCIAF 3 to 70085 to donate £3 to SCIAF’s Christmas Water appeal.

St Aloysius’ College is now accepting applications for admission in 2021 and will be holding their Primary 2—S2 entrance assessment on Saturday 23rd January 2021 for pupils enrolling next August. Any family looking to make an application and attend the Entrance Assessment can register via www.staloysius.org or contact their admissions department at admissions@staloysius.org.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Mass You will be aware by now of the need to book for weekend Masses. Our 1pm and 5.15pm Masses from Monday to Friday have reverted to ‘first come—first served’ (no need to book). Please arrive in good time for all Masses —at least ten minutes before Mass—so there is time to check your name, ensure you have a face-covering, sanitise your hands and be guided to a seat safely before Mass begins.

You should also remember that the obligation to attend Mass is still lifted (by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland) until further notice due to the pandemic. The bishops will make clear when this changes. Until then, you may choose to attend Mass another day, rather than Sunday. If you are unwell, particularly if you have any Coronavirus symptoms, or are in self-isolation, you must not attend Mass to protect others and prevent the spread of the virus.

Volunteers: Sincere thanks to those who have given generously of their time to allow the Cathedral to be open every day for Mass. Please consider helping us as a steward (training is provided and it is not a huge time commitment, particularly if you are coming to Mass anyway).

Votive Candles: We ask you not to light candles yourself. Place your donation in the slot and ask the steward to light the appropriate number of candles for you.

The Legion of Mary Wayside Club, 32 Midland Street, Glasgow are helping the homeless of Glasgow by providing take-away food and support and advice about accessing other agencies. If you are interested in becoming a legionary to provide practical and spiritual support or if you are an Auxiliary member who would be prepared to offer support in prayer, contact Rev. John Fletcher, Spiritual Director: John.Fletcher@rcag.org.uk, 07767122295 or 01360 771116.

Catholic Adoption Agency, St Margaret's Children and Family Care Society, which supports some of Scotland's most vulnerable children, is hosting a 'Virtual Crib Appeal' this Advent. Due to congregation sizes being limited because of Covid19 restrictions, the charity could lose out on up to £100k in donations made each year by the Catholic community to its Crib Appeal collection boxes. St Margaret’s Virtual Crib is a peaceful, animated crib scene accompanied by a full Christmas Carol Concert from the St Andrew's Cathedral Choir. St Margaret's Virtual Crib will be live until the Feast of the Epiphany on their website, stmargaretsadoption.org.uk. Donations can be made via the St Margaret’s website or by cheque posted to the charity’s office at 26 Newton Place, Glasgow, G3 7PY.

Bookstall: Western Catholic Calendar 2021. Available in the shop. £3.20. Christmas stock, December edition of Flourish and other newspapers and magazines available.