Welcome
Welcome to St Bede Catholic Church
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the love of God
And the communion of The Holy Spirit
Be with you all
"God is with us..."
As we move through the final days of Advent, today’s readings present us with two people going through difficult time. King Ahaz and St. Joseph. King Ahaz, the king of Judah, was frightened because he found himself in a desperate political and military situation. The northern kingdoms formed a powerful alliance and planned to attack Judah and to force the king out of his throne.
On the other hand, St. Joseph’s struggle was more interior. He was profoundly disturbed because Mary, to whom he was betrothed, was with child. Being a just and devout man, he could have sensed the profound virtue and goodness of Mary. But how could he explain Mary’s pregnancy. He knew that he was not the father of this child. And so, he was torn between what the law required in such situations and what his heart sensed of Mary’s goodness. He resolved to do the most mercy thing he could think of to withdraw quietly.
In both cases God intervened. He invited Ahaz to ask for a sign. Ahaz was afraid to put God to the test, so God himself gave him a sign: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call him Emmanuel.” When St. Joseph had already decided to quietly withdraw from Mary, an angel spoke to him in a dream: “Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” Matthew then writes: “All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.
Advent and Christmas remind us once again that God is truly with us in the nitty gritty routine of our daily life. There is a story of a little boy frightened by thunder. During a storm, he ran to his parents’ room. His mother said: “Do not be afraid. God is with you.” He replied, “I know, but I want someone with skin on!” That is exactly what we celebrate in this grace filled season. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. In Jesus, God has “skin on.”
God bless you all. Fr. Henry
IN THE NEWS...
Pope: Even as Jubilee ends we remain pilgrims of hope
Addressing the faithful during the last Saturday Jubilee Audience of this Holy Year, Pope Leo XIV reminded Christians that the pilgrimage it inspired does not end.
“The Jubilee is drawing to a close,” the Pope said, “but the hope that this Year has given us does not end: we will remain pilgrims of hope.”
Beginning his catechesis with words regarding the approaching celebration of Christmas, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the meaning of Christian hope, rooted not in fear but in the closeness of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Without Christ, he noted, the proclamation that “the Lord is near” could sound threatening; in Jesus, however, it becomes a promise of mercy.
U.S. strikes more than 70 Islamic State targets in Syria
U.S. forces launched missiles after midnight from bases in the countryside of Deir al‑Zour toward Islamic State positions in desert areas of eastern and northern Syria, Syrian state media reported Saturday.
U.S. Central Command said fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria, using more than 100 precision munitions against what it described as known Islamic State infrastructure and weapons sites.
President Donald Trump said the United States was “striking very strongly” at Islamic State strongholds following a Dec. 13 ambush near Palmyra that killed two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter.
Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency said the Royal Jordanian Air Force took part in the operation to prevent extremist groups from threatening the security of Syria’s neighbors and the wider region.
Pope Leo XIV convenes his first Consistory of Cardinals
Pope Leo XIV convenes his first Consistory of Cardinals
The Holy See Press Office released details of Pope Leo XIV's first Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals, which will be held in the Vatican on January 7-8, 2026.
“The meeting will unfold over two days and will be marked by moments of communion and fraternity, as well as times dedicated to reflection, sharing, and prayer,” read the statement released on Saturday.
As the Cardinals pray and reflect together with Pope Leo XIV, the encounter will seek to foster discernment and offer “support and counsel to the Holy Father in the exercise of his lofty and weighty responsibility in the governance of the universal Church.”
“The Consistory is set within the context of the life and mission of the Church,” read the statement, “and it intends to strengthen communion between the Bishop of Rome and the Cardinals, who are called to collaborate in a particular way in solicitude for the good of the universal Church.”
ABOUT SAINT BEDE...
St Bede 673-735AD
Bede was born in 673 AD in the northeast of England. From the age of seven, he received a Benedictine education at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Wearmouth, today part of Sunderland. Bede spent his whole life within the twin monasteries of St Peter at Wearmouth and St Paul in Jarrow, where he became a Benedictine monk and continued his studies using the fine libraries established by the monastery's founder, St Benedict Biscop, Bede's first teacher, and under the guidance of Abbot Ceolfrith (Ceolwulf).
Bede wrote on many topics. His most famous work, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (the Ecclesiastical History of the English People), earned Bede the title "The Father of English History". His works revealed not only Bede's qualities as a scholar and historian but also the qualities of modesty and humility which make his works so memorable. However, Bede's work shows that he had at his command all the learning of his time. Bede's writings included papers and articles on scientific, historical, theological, and mathematical matters, as well as poetry and literature. St Bede is widely regarded as the greatest of all the Anglo-Saxon scholars. His sainthood was generally recognized around fifty years after his death on 25th May 735 AD. His bones were later elevated from St Paul's in Jarrow to Durham, where they lie in the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral. Bede's scholarship and importance to Catholicism were recognized on 13th November 1899 when Pope Leo XIII decreed the title of Doctor Ecclesiae to St Bede the Venerable, making him the only English Doctor of the Church.
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