17 January 2023 · 2023-01 newsletter
Our Christmas Celebration this year began in glorious weather about 1pm on Sunday 4th December. About 50 participated and close to 20 of these dressed up, ready to take part in our Nativity play.
Fr. Pat, the Pallottine Father who has been very helpful at our functions during the year, was once again very accommodating and for the first time we had the nativity play within the Mass – after the Gospel reading. Children as well as adults participated in the play. We even had a real baby, a little boy, the grandchild of one of our coordinators.
The play was accompanied by music – Christmas carols eg. Hark the Herald, While Shepherds watched their flocks, We Three Kings and the Drummer Boy – and the narration was in Spanish and English.
Our final hymn at the end of the Mass was Joy to the World and Fr. Pat enjoyed the celebration so much that he began singing “Feliz Navidad”, even though we were at the beginning of Advent.
To the joy of very excited children Santa arrived and handed out bags of chocolate.
We then enjoyed a shared afternoon tea and each family, or individuals made their private visits to the Shrine to bring their petitions and thanksgiving to our Mother Thrice Admirable. We were also happy to be able to present to Fr. Pat a Christmas Hamper in gratitude for all he has done for our Schoenstatt Family in Melbourne throughout the year.
We are very grateful to our Blessed Mother for all the blessings she has interceded for us throughout the year and especially for being able to have our Christmas Celebration still at the Shrine. As many of you will know, the property on which the Shrine stands is up for sale and we are not sure of the future of the Shrine at this stage. So, a very special thank you to all who are praying for a God-willed solution to the future of the Shrine and please keep up the prayers for this very important intention.
Many thanks,
The Victorian Schoenstatt Family.
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