Many parishes and communities will be celebrating Harvest, either a Harvest Festival itself, or a simple ‘Harvest Mass’.  If you are preparing a liturgy for your parish or school and are looking for some relevant scripture passages, some of the following might prove useful:

• The Feast of Tabernacles (Exodus 23:16 and Deuteronomy 16:9, 13) gives the Old Testament background to celebrating the in-gathering of the threshing floor and wine press

Also

•  Genesis 1:1-5, 24-end; 2:1-4
• Genesis 41:46-49, 53-57
• Deuteronomy 8
• Deuteronomy 26:1-11
• Deuteronomy 28:1-13
• Joel 2:21-28
• Psalm 104
• Isaiah 35:1-10
• Matthew 13:1-9
• Matthew 13:18-30
• Luke 12:16-31
• John 6:5-12
• John 6:27-35
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-11

No doubt there will be many children out with their parents celebrating Hallowe’en by playing  ‘trick or treat’ and/or games involving witches’ hats and ghostly images. The Night of Light is an international Christian initiative to reclaim ‘All Hallows Eve’ (31 October) for the Church – transforming it from a night of darkness into a night of light.  It is running in many countries in the world, from England to India, from Africa to New Zealand and Hungary to the United States, with uncountable numbers of people involved. Celebrations have taken place in small chapels and cathedrals, in parish churches and monasteries, in schools, homes and on the streets. The inspiration for it was received by Damian Stayne the founder of the Catholic community, Cor et Lumen Christi, and has the endorsement of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales.  For more information see here. Alternatively, and especially if your church is in the middle of town, you might consider having an ‘open evening’, filling the church with lighted candles and inviting passers by to come in, to sit and pray or simply to light a candle.

On 1 November we will, as we do every year, celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints – a Holy Day of Obligation. During the year the Church celebrates one by one the feasts of the saints but on 1 November she joins them all in one festival – all the saints: canonised or beatified, and the multitude of those who are in heaven and known only to God. There are a number of ways in which to enhance this celebration – perhaps by singing a Litany of Saints instead of an entrance hymn;  there are a number of beautiful litanies available.

The Feast of All Souls’, officially known as ‘the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed’, follows that of All Saints and we remember and pray for all of those who are in Purgatory. There are many different ways that this day can be marked. For example, if there is a cemetery in your parish, perhaps your parish might consider a liturgy with the blessing of graves, walking in procession to the cemetery if it is not too far.  Some parishes have a Book of the Remembrance of Book of the Dead displayed in the parish, where people can write the names of deceased loved ones, who are then remembered at Mass and other liturgies throughout November, while others might hold a novena of prayer for the Holy Souls – from 2 November until 10 November.

Remembrance Sunday is a special day of prayer for all victims of war and this year it falls on 10 November. Wearing a red poppy is the most immediately recognisable mark of Remembrance Day but there are, too, other ways in which we might mark the day in our parishes. There could be an Act of Remembrance during Mass, though the timing of Mass might make deciding ‘when’ difficult; it may be appropriate to have a visual display using an arrangement of poppies or, if there is a War Memorial nearby, an Act of Remembrance might take place there (see here for some ideas). On this day one Mass for the Dead may be celebrated.

In Advent this year we will move into our Diocesan Year of Communion.  There will be a day held at St Brendan’s Sixth Form College, with Bishop Declan, on 19 October to launch this Year (9.15am until 2.30pm) so do be sure to get the date in your diary. Lunch will be provided.  There will also be a celebration of Evening Prayer at the Cathedral on Friday 22 October at 7pm when copies of  Communion, 2019-2020, Diocesan Year of Communion will be presented to representatives of our diocesan parishes and schools.

A music day entitled ‘Waiting in Silence’ – for singers, instrumentalists and anyone involved in parish liturgy – will take place at St John the Evangelist Church, Bath, BA2 4AF, on Saturday 9 November from 10am until 3pm. Please bring a packed lunch. The day aims to help us prepare liturgically to celebrate Advent and will finish with Sung Evening Prayer.  All are welcome but it would be helpful, for catering purposes, if you would email Richard Williams on richard.williams@cliftondiocese.com to let him know that you are coming.

As we mentioned last year, now is not too soon to start thinking about Advent.  For Readers, the Diocese of Salford produces readers’ notes for each Sunday of the year which are available on their website (see https://www.salfordliturgy.org.uk/).  The Liturgy Office has collated the Advent Readers’ guides into little booklets available for download here under ‘further resources’.  The booklet for Year A will be available shortly. Advent might be a good time to encourage readers to make a prayerful reading of the scriptures part of their own, prayerful, rhythm of the day.

In the same section, under ‘rites and blessings’ you will find ideas for an Advent Carol Liturgy and an Advent ‘O’ Antiphon Liturgy – those 7 days from 17-23 December when the Church expresses her profound longing for the Saviour who is to come. When it comes to Carol Services, has your parish considered singing outside of church – either immediately outside or perhaps in the town/village centre – to give witness to our beliefs about Christmas?

There is also a suggestion for celebrating Bambinelli Sunday (3^rd Sunday in Advent), a Christingle Liturgy for children and Las Posadas – nine days (remembering Mary’s nine months of pregnancy) commemorating the journey that Joseph and Mary made from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a safe refuge where Mary could give birth to the baby Jesus. You will also find an order for the blessing of an Advent Wreath and some suggested hymns and readings for the half hour before Midnight Mass.  There are lots of ideas for reclaiming Advent as a season in its own right, rather than just the warm-up for Christmas!

On 30 September Pope Francis’ issued a Motu Proprio Aperuit illis instituting a Sunday of the Word of God to be held on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time each year.  Vatican News gives us more information and the full document can be found here.

Our Liturgical Diary is now ready to go print and should be arriving in parishes at the end of October or early November.  Do consider getting one of these diaries. They contain all the information about the Liturgical texts for each day, a short piece about each of the saints whose lives are celebrated during the year and a host of other catechetical material, along with blessings and prayers for various occasions. This year we begin to look at our Liturgical Ministries, focussing on a different ministry each year and beginning this year with the Ministry of Hospitality. As always, the Liturgy Office is glad to be advised of corrections needed – in time for next year

These can be ordered from: www.cliftondiocese.com/diocese/publications

They cost £6.50 each.