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	Advent demands preparation. As we come closer to the events of Christmas we are challenged to smooth out the wrinkles of our daily life, to actively look for the ways in which God comes to us in the ordinariness of our existence, and to do all we can to come closer to him. Tell Jerusalem… that her time of service is ended, that her sin is atoned for. (Isaiah 40: 1-4)


	If you say, "That's enough. I have reached perfection", then all is lost. Because the function of perfection is to make you know your imperfections. (St Augustine)

SANTA CLAUS OR ST NICHOLAS?

December 6th is the feast of St Nicholas. Among the many legends surrounding him is the one that he gave bags of gold to three poor sisters for their dowries, throwing them down the chimney where they landed in some stockings which had been hung up by the fire to dry. This gave rise to the custom of giving gifts on his feast day, a practice which is still followed in the Netherlands and Germany where children leave their shoes and stockings out on St Nicholas’ Eve and hope that they will be filled with sweets and gifts the next morning. Elsewhere this has been incorporated into the celebration of Christmas where the character of “Santa Claus” is now almost universally known – a corruption of Nicholas’ Dutch name: “Sinter Klaas”.

Novena to the Holy Spirit

As featured in the Tablet, Fr. Tom's Novena to the Holy Spirit for Pentecost.

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Havant Pastoral Area

Visit the Havant Pastoral Area Stewardship website & get information about the various ministries in our pastoral area