Sunday Jan 7th
Just been reading the Holy Father's Christmas message to the Roman Curia. DO READ IT....you can find it here :http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/december/documents/hf_ben_xvi_spe_20061222_curia-romana_en.html

and it is full of very good things, although it has a sad and wistful note about the future of Europe.....

Our parish has had a wonderful Christmas crib, which today was altered to include the three Wise Men...it is lovely to see families going up to enjoy the crib-scene and to pray, and it reminds me so much of being taken to do just that as a child.

I feel very fortunate to belong to St Joseph's, New Malden: it's a friendly parish and there are lots and lots of young families, plus many young people in the teens-30s bracket, for whom a new group, Forum Christi is about to be launched, with talks on aspects of the Faith. At the 11.30 am Mass we have plenty of sung Latin, and people join in. Our beautiful new parish centre which adjoins the church smells of clean new wood and bustles with people going to and fro, visiting the bookshop, having coffee-after-Mass, chatting to Father Peter our parish priest.