Author: Chris

On the 3rd Sunday in Advent 2023, Fr Chris Oxley replaced the sermon he had originally intended to deliver at our 11:00 mass with the attached letter, which he read from the pulpit. The letter is below:

Blessed Advent from Jerusalem

By Fr. David Steffy, L.C., Charge of the Holy See

December 7th, 2023 – Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center

Greetings from the Holy Land where we unite our prayers and intentions with each of you at the beginning of the Holy Season of Advent.

Advent is the beginning of the new liturgical year lasting four Sundays and ending on Christmas. It is a time to prepare our hearts anew for the coming of the birth of Christ. Christ was born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago as a sign of his saving love for each of us. Celebrating his birthday each year gives us the chance to experience the power of his love and presence in our hearts so his love and life may be the model and inspiration for our own.

This prayer of Renee Swope, “The Manger of My Heart,” expresses this mystery:

This Advent, Lord, come to the manger of my heart.

Fill me with Your presence from the very start.

As I prepare for the holidays and gifts to be given,

Remind me of the gift You gave when You sent Your Son from Heaven.

The first Christmas gift, it was the greatest gift ever.

You came as a baby born in a manger.

Wrapped like the gifts I find under my tree,

Waiting to be opened, to reveal Your love to me.

Restore to me the wonder that came with Jesus’ birth,

When He left the riches of Heaven and wrapped Himself in rags of earth.

Immanuel, God with us, Your presence came that night.

And angels announced, “Into your darkness, God brings His Light.”

“Do not be afraid,” they said to shepherds in the field.

Speak to my heart today, Lord, and help me to yield.

 

 This is a beautiful prayer, but perhaps like me, many of you are wondering where is his light? In so many places around the world, and especially now in the Holy Land, the stories reveal more darkness than light. Faced with such tragedy and suffering, with no end in sight, it is easy to let the darkness seep into our hearts and to doubt God’s presence. Yet, this Advent season need remind us that the reality of sin, evil and suffering can wake us up to trust more strongly what we know is true in our hearts. Love conquers all.

 

So let us look to the light of his love to wake us from a sense of comfort and complacency. Let us commit ourselves to allow his light to enter into our hearts and those of our families and communities. Let us bring light to the darkness of our daily lives, and trust that his light will grow so strong that all darkness will one day be turned to light.

More than even, we need the wonder of Christ’s birth to inspire in us hope filled repentance. “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” (Isaiah 9:2) Christ is this light, and now is the time to combat the darkness of sin and evil by following his way. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12).

Because of the war, Advent and Christmas in the Holy Land will be different this year. Our Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa along with the other patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem made the following statement on November 10, 2023. “We, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, call upon our congregations to stand strong with those facing such afflictions by this year foregoing any unnecessarily festive activities. We likewise encourage our priests and the faithful to focus more on the spiritual meaning of Christmas in their pastoral activities and liturgical celebrations during this period, with all the focus directed at holding in our thoughts our brothers and sisters affected by this war and its consequences, and with fervent prayers for a just and lasting peace for our beloved Holy Land.”

 

Thank you for all of your outpouring of prayer, concern, and support. Your kind donations are providing extra help for the staff of Notre Dame in most need. We will have an Advent lunch with all our staff where we can continue to focus on His light and blessings amid the sorrowful situation we are experiencing. We are translating many of your messages of goodwill into Arabic to share them with our staff.

May your Advent preparation be deep and enduring.

Mary Queen of Peace, pray for us.

 

Sincerely in Christ,

Father David Steffy, L.C.

As we start to think about Advent, the period of preparation looking towards the celebration of the birth of Christ, we have some special services and concerts to look forward to.

On Sunday 2^nd December at 4 pm there will be an Advent Carol Service led by the De Montfort University Chamber Choir.

 

On Monday 4^th December at 2pm The SoundCafe Choir will be performing a selection of well-known songs and carols. This is a very informal concert, and the audience is welcome to join in the singing.

 

 

On Friday 8^th December at 7.30pm it will be the Leicester University Chamber Choir Christmas Concert.  The tickets are £12 (£6 for students) and includes mulled wine and mince pies.

 

 

Please also check our Upcoming Services and Events for information about our services during Advent and Christmas.

On Sunday 29^th October, Leicester Cathedral held the High Sheriff of Leicestershire’s Justice Service at St Mary De Castro. As an introduction to the service, Virginia Wright wrote a short history of St Mary de Castro and referred to several historical legal connections.

 

 

St Mary de Castro is a church with over 900 years of history and is one of the oldest in Leicester. The suffix “de Castro” or “of the Castle” was to distinguish it from the Abbey Church of St Mary. It has been at the centre of Leicestershire’s history, lying adjacent to the Castle which has played an important historic role in upholding the law within the County.

It is possible St Mary de Castro’s roots go back to Saxon times, owing its origins to Aethelflaed (Ethelfloeda), Lady of the Mercians, but there is no written evidence of this. In 1107, Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, founded the present church for use by himself and his family living in Leicester Castle.

A courtroom was based in Leicester Castle’s Great Hall from 1273 until 1888. It was then used as the County Courts until 1990. Its use for over 800 years is one of the longest in England.

It is believed Chaucer married his second wife, here in 1366. Leicester Castle hosted the Parliament of Bats in 1426 – so-called because those attending were not allowed to carry swords, so armed themselves with clubs, or bats. The King at the time, Henry VI (below), was knighted in St Mary de Castro.

Richard III was the last monarch to stay in Leicester Castle and it is said his body briefly rested in the church after his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. During his reign he enacted several laws that still have a significant influence on the legal system today, such as the concept of bail and legal aid.

In May 1882 there was trouble between the judge sitting at the Castle Court and the bellringers of St Mary de Castro. The bells of St Mary’s rang out in honour of Queen Victoria’s birthday and the judge struggled to hear the testimony of the witnesses, so he sent the Police Constable (PC) on duty over to the church to tell the ringers to stop, they refused. Twice the judge sent the PC over to stop them ringing, each time there was a brief pause before they started up again. The judge then threatened to make ringers pay for any expenses arising from adjournment. The bells only stopped after being ordered to by the vicar.

St Mary de Castro Church is a Grade I listed, scheduled monument dating from the twelfth century. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) would like to utilise the space under the church tower to share with visitors the long history of St Mary de Castro from 1107 to today.

Whether you live in Leicester, have visited the church or surrounding attractions, we would like to hear from you. Your feedback will help us enhance the experience of visiting this unique place.

Please fill in the questionnaire via this link to have your say about how the history of St Mary de Castro is told in the future.

Or you can access the questionnaire on your mobile phone by using the QR code below.

For anyone interested in local history, Leicester Cathedral have organised a series of 1 hour walking tours including the exterior of Leicester Cathedral, Greyfriars, Castle Gardens and a short tour of St Mary de Castro.

The dates are:

• 30^th September
• 14^th October
• 28^th  October

Further information about the very informative tours and how to book can be found on the Leicester Cathedral Website. Booking is essential.

As the start of the new academic year approaches, our two local university choirs have announced their 2023/24 services at St Mary de Castro. These services are open to everyone and we look forward to welcoming these two wonderful choirs to the church. 

De Montfort University Chamber Choir

Music Director -Willard Welsford

Organ – Thomas Keogh

• Wednesday 4th October 2023 – Choral Evensong 5:30pm
• Wednesday 1st November 2023 – Choral Evensong for All Saints Day 5:30pm
• Sunday 3rd December 2023 – Advent Carol Service 4pm
• Saturday 6th January 2024 – Epiphany Carol Service 7:30pm
• Wednesday 14th February 2024 – Mass for Ash Wednesday 7:30pm
• Thursday 9th May 2024 – Mass for Ascension 7:30pm
• Wednesday 26th June 2024 – Choral Evensong end of term 5:30pm

Leicester University Chamber Choir

• Sunday 3rd December 2023 – Sung Mass for Advent Sunday at 11am
• Sunday 10 March 2024 – Sung Mass at 11am
• Sunday 19^th May 2024 – Sung Mass for Pentecost at 11am

 

On Monday 12 December the SoundCafe choir performed their Christmas Concert at St Mary de Castro church in Leicester. As well as being a festive celebration the event was a special opportunity to thanks Roz Burch for all of her amazing work with SoundCafe over the years as she steps back from her role.