CHRISTMAS 2008 & NEW YEAR 2009

Dec 24th - CHRISTMAS VIGIL: There is no Mass at 06.00 PM.

10.00 PM	Vigil Mass (basically in Thai with some explanations in English). Hot drinks after the service.
12.00 PM	Midnight Mass for the Kaya Kachin people

 

Dec 25th - CHRISTMAS DAY:

09.30  AM	Mass in English, Followed by brunch
06.00  AM	Mass in Thai

 

Dec 31st - Last Day of the Year:

06.00 PM	Masses in Thai and English as usual
09.00 - 12.00	Prayer Vigil in wooden chapel

 

Jan 1st - Mary, Mother of God, Patronal Feast of the Society of Jesus & New Year's Day:

09.30 AM	Mass in English
06.00 PM	Mass in Thai

 

Intentions of the Holy Father-Pope Benedict XVI

DECEMBER

General:

That is the face of a spreading culture of violence and death the Church through her apostolic and missionary activity may promote with courage the culture of life.

Mission:

That especially in mission countries Christians may show with acts of fraternal love that the child born in the stable at Bethlehem is the luminous Hope of the world.

(Please remember these intentions in your prayers)                             

Some Feasts in December

Other Dates in December

In Junuary

Collection 

The Sunday Offertory Collection for the month of October was 27,478 Baht. We thank you for your very generous support of the Mission & outreach of the Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre.

Two Kinds of Conversion

Too easily we see God as a sort of projection of our own images of power, a power which controls us all. We need to be converted to the true God, who is prepared through Jesus to be humiliated out of love for us.

There are two kinds of conversion. There is the conversion of the godless to God, and there is the conversion of the godly to the realisation that he has been radically wrong about God, and about what God is asking of us. As a little girl was once heard to pray. 'God, make all bad people good, and make all good people nice!'

This second kind happened to Saul, and exceedingly godly man, on the way to Damascus about his God's business. He had got God wrong. All-powerful over us, his God had become the image of our lust for power; God had what we wanted. And we have all remade God in our own image of being the power over us, reflecting a long history of violence and war. To be converted from this God is devastating.

And the image of this conversion is of a God not to over us but under us, spat upon by priests and a barrack-square joke for soldiers, finally nailed to two bits of wood. Saul the Pharisee, trained in the God of law and rigour, knew of and abominated that image which a new sect was promulgating; it was against everything he'd stood for as a religious man, and so he had got God wrong.

He was thrown, and fell helplessly in love with the humiliated one whom the real God had raised up, the God who comes to us from below, the oppressed among us and, in us, the tender self we have oppressed in order to dominate each other, the God who - his arms stretched out to all the world by being nailed to our cross - is behind us so we don't see him but sink into him and let him feed us with his flesh and blood - a horrendous idea for the then religion - and turn us slowly into himself, his body given to others in a new and all-enduring love.

From The Contagion of Jesus, Sebastian Moore, O.S.B., Orbis Books, 2008, p.10 (the author is 91 yrs old)

Meditative/Contemplative Prayer Experiences you can download

Examen the bubbles: Paul Campbell S.J. of Loyola Press just launched a new website called http://www.other6.com/ Based on St.Ignatius' Examination of Conciousness, it asks the user to respond to two questions: "Where have I found God today?" or "Where do I need to find God today?". These are graphically represented as bubbles, where one can read one's own and other's comment.

Pray - as - you - go can be found at http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/

Sacred Space may be found at http://www.sacredspace.ie/

LIVE SIMPLY: An interesting web-site: livesimply is a challenge to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with people in poverty. www.progressio.org.uk/livesimply/AsscociatesHome2/92990/livesimply/

An Online Retreat

A 34 week retreat for Everyday Life - A ministry of the Collaborative Ministry Office at Creighton University. http:// www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html

Thoughts

All the way to heaven is heaven, because he said, 'I am the way'

St.Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church (1347-1380)

I need to love you more and more, but I don't have any more love in my heart. I have given all my love to you. If you want me, fill my heart with your love, and then oblige me to love you and I will not refuse you.

St.Padre Pio, Capuchin Friar & Mystic (1887-1968)

The two had a brief encounter the first day of a meeting of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences to explore the theme: "Scientific Insights into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life".

Creation and evolution need not be seen as in contrast, Pope Benedict XVI told the international audience of scientists at the five-day gathering. He quoted Galileo Galilei, adopting his image of "nature as a book whose author is God in the same way that Scripture has God as its author". "It is a book", the Pope added, "whose history, whose evolution, whose 'writing' and meaning, we 'read' according to the different approaches of the sciences, while all the time presupposing the fundational presence of the author who has wished to reveal himself therein."

Stephen Hawking describes himself as "not religious in the normal sense", but is one of the members of the academy.

Scripture Series

Fr.David is continuing the series of New Testament talks 'Living Christ's Life in the World'.

 These will continue on 16th December & every Tuesday evening Fr.David is at Seven Fountains.

To help deepen your grasp of your Christian faith

THE HEYTHROP INSTITUE FOR RELIGION ETHICS AND PUBLIC LIFE http://www.heythrop.ac.uk/HIREPL

Thinking Faith http://www.thinkingfaith.org/index.htm

Thinking Faith is a free on-line publication of the British Jesuits.

There is no regular "issue date" - instead, articles are  added at any time. 'Subscribing' to Thinking Faith is simply a matter of giving us your email address, then we will send you a message whenever a new article is added.

Subscribed to these Thinking Faith alerts using This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Coffee after the 09.30 Mass

You will see that coffee has very kindly been provided for us by certain generous members of the Seven Fountains Community after the 09.30 Mass on Sunday. This is a great time to chat and get to know members of the Seven Fountains community. The coffee is also delicious! Do join us - we look forward to meeting you.

PRAYER GROUP

EACH WEDNESDAY EVENINGS AT 07.30 P.M. IN THE WOODEN CHAPEL

PURPOSE: QUIET MEDITATION. THE PRAYER GROUP WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO QUIET MEDITATION FOLLOWING ANY ONE OF MANY TRADITIONS: JESUS PRAYER OF THE EASTERN CHURCH, JOHN OF THE CROSS, THE METHOD OF JOHN MAIN, OSB, CENTERING PRAYER, ETC.

THERE IS NO ONE WAY, THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY. JUST PRAY.

"PRAY AS YOU CAN, NOT AS YOU CANNOT"

"BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD"

"LISTEN, I AM AT THE DOOR KNOCKING"

A date for your diary

SEVEN FOUNTAINS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP ANNUAL CHRISTMAS DINNER AND FUNDRAISER.

Date: 13th December 2008.

Venue: Seven Fountains Garden        Time : 06.30 pm.

We warmly invite you to a fabulous Christmas dinner party under the stars in the gardens of Seven Fountains Centre. This annual dinner raises funds for an educational Sporsorship Programme for up to 450 needy girls and boys and promises to be and evening of entertainment, activities and dilicious cuisines.

Entertainment will be provided by members of the Chiang Mai Flute Club and a choir composed of students who have benefited from the Sporsorship Programme. Activities include the ever popular Silent Auction, a Bucket Auction and Door Prizes. All of these have been planned to help us into the spirit of giving as well as having fun.

The tickets will be distributed after Mass on Sundays leading up to the event, but you can reserve them now.

If you can't attend the dinner but would like to make a donation or if you would like to contribute an item to the Silent or Bucket Auctions, please speak to either Tuyet or Victoria after Mass.

Tuyet Cahill  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Victoria Nimmanhaeminda This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dont's miss out on a truly family community evening, everyone is welcome.

The Seven Fountains Christmas Cards

On sale after the 09.30 Mass are the beautiful Christmas cards designed and painted by Louise Truslow. All profit from the sale of these cards will go to the Seven Fountains Scholarship Programme.

40 Baht for each card or 350 Baht for a pack of 10.

Spread the word to your friends and send them a card that is not only lovely, but will help to educate needy children.

The Seven Fountains Scholarship Sponsorship Programme

Throughout Advent after the 09.30 Mass, Kevin and Apirum O'Carroll will have special forms for people who would like to sponsor a scholarship.

The only criterion these young children need to qualify for a scholarship is extreme poverty. Many live in villages that are far from schools and they need funds to pay rent for a hostel, or else they need money to pay for their books or school uniform.

If you would like to help these really needy children to have an education that would otherwise not be available to them, please sponsor a Scholarship. They make the most wonderful presents for friends and family too.

May the Spirit of Christmas bring you peace,

The gladness of Christmas give you hope,

The warmth of Christmas grant you love.

Author Unknown

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, become a child again at Christmas-time.

Laura Ingalls Wilder             

The next bulletin

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Laus Deo Semper