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Bulletin of the Roman Catholic Church

Onze-Lieve-

Vrouwekerk

Mass Times Monday - Friday 12.15 and 19.30 Chapel Saturday 19.00 Church Sunday 11.15 Church Sunday 18.00 Church

Confession Daily half an hour before Mass

Message from the Pastor

We celebrated the solemn feast of Christ of the King and the coming of Jesus as the end of time to judge the world. His coming will be in all power and majesty and no one will fail to notice He has come. Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord in all humility when He was born in Bethlehem. Almost no one knew about His birth. The angels told the shepherds and the Three Wise Men from the East were guided by a star. The Liturgical colour of Advent is purple. It is time of for more attention to prayer, recollection and sacrifice. The Lord is coming. He wants us to do our best to prepare to well. For example, by growing in humility; paying more attention to the needs of those we live with, listening with real interest to one another, praying for the sick and trying to visit them. If you know someone who is sick and would like to receive a visit, please let us know as quickly as possible so that that can be arranged. We have a number of new volunteers for church and sacristan duties. But we are still looking for people who can help with flowers, cleaning, carious odd jobs, setting up the Christmas manger, decorating the Meeting Center, etc. We have to free up time to be able to respond differently than the inn keeper in Bethlehem and say: Jesus, Joseph and Mary, there is room for you with me, please come in. Father Rafael Ojeda

Keizersgracht 220 1016 DZ Amsterdam

December 2019

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Family Announcements

Liturgical Calendar

Su 1 Dec 1th Sunday of Advent Gregorian Mass XVIIa Credo IV Rorate Holy Mass in English

11:15 18:00

Tu 3 Dec St. Francis Xavier, priest memorial

Mass in the Chapel Mass in the Chapel

12:15 19:30

Fr 6 Dec 1st Friday of the month Mass in the Chapel Mass in the Chapel and Adoration

12:15 19:30

Sa 7 Dec 2nd Sunday of Advent

Gregorian Mass XVIIa Credo I Rorate

19:00

Su 8 Dec 2nd Sunday of Advent Scapular Enrollment

Gregorian Mass XVIIa Credo I Holy Mass in English

11:15 18:00

Mo 9 Dec Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary solemnity

Mass in the Chapel Mass in the Chapel

12:15 19:30

Fr 13 Dec St. Lucy, virgin and martyr memorial

Mass in the Chapel Mass in the Chapel

12:15 19:30

We do not publish personal data on-line.

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Sa 14 Dec 3rd Sunday of Advent Gaudete Sunday

Gregorian Mass XVIIb Credo II Rorate

19:00

Su 15 Dec 3rd Sunday of Advent St. Alphonsus choir

Blessing of mangers

Missa op. 9 Tregler Credo II Rorate Holy Mass in English

11:15 18:00

Sa 21 Dec 4th Sunday of Advent Gregorian Mass XVIIb Credo IV Rorate

19:00

Su 22 Dec 4th Sunday of Advent

Gregorian Mass XVIIb Credo IV Rorate

11:15

Holy Mass in English 18:00 Tu 24 Dec CHRISTMAS - SOLEMNITY

* Childrens’ Mass * Christmas vigil Mass Church opens at 21.30

Holy Mass with living Nativity scene Spatzenmesse W.A. Mozart Credo III

19:00 22:00

We 25 Dec * Christmas Day Mass St. Alphonsus choir

Spatzenmesse W.A. Mozart Credo III Holy Mass in English

11:30

18:00 Th 26 Dec St. Stephen, 1st martyr

feast Gregorian Mass VIII 11:15

Fr 27 Dec St. John Apostle and Evangelist feast

Mass in the Chapel Mass in the Chapel

12:15 19:30

Sa 28 Dec Holy Family Jesus, Mary, and Joseph feast

Gregorian Mass VIII Credo I, organ

19:00

Su 29 Dec Holy Family Jesus, Mary, and Joseph feast

Gregorian Mass VIII Credo I, organ Holy Mass in English

11:15 18:00

Tu 31 Dec St. Sylvester, pope Solemn Adoration and Te Deum Mass in the Chapel The only Mass on this day!

16:30 17:00

We 1 Jan Feast of Mary, Mother of God solemnity

Gregorian Mass IX Credo IV, organ

11:15

Holy Mass in English 18:00 The rosary is prayed half an hour before the Mass at 12.15 in the Chapel.

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Calendar of Activities Meeting Center

Date Activity Time Info Every Th- Fri Eucharistic Adoration in the

Chapel From 11:00 G. Hoogland

06-27286632 Mo 9 Dec Movie Night 20.15-22.00 Fred Barens

06-46593831 Fr 13 Dec Morning of recollection for

women 10.00-13.00 Helga Ohmes

06-34146680 Mo 16 Dec Evening of recollection for men 19.00-21.30 Anton Schins

06-45276930 Tu 31 Dec Solemn Adoration and Te Deum,

before the Mass at 17.00 19.00-17.00 020-2400803

In Stichting Leesgoed’s (foundation for reading material) bookstore in the hallway of the meeting center a great number of good and helpful books can be purchased for young and old alike. Stichting Leesgoed, Keizersgracht 218 B, Amsterdam. E-mail: leesgoed9@gmail.com

Open: On Sundays after the High Mass at 12:25 in the hall; Tuesday - Thursday from 10:30-12:15 also in the hall. CHRISTMAS CARDS Beginning mid-November you can purchase Christmas cards from Stichting Leesgoed with both traditional and modern Christmas images. Prices start at € 1.25 per card.

Family Get Together & Snack on 1 December

The Family & Friends get-together is the only moment we meet outside Mass and Catechesis. All families and friends of our community are more than welcome for that particular moment on the first Sunday of the month! This time on Sunday 6 October. Save the date! Kindly contact Rita Pennisi at ritapennisi81@gmail.com or Maria Cecilia Martina at martina.catechesisolv@gmail.com if you think you can help organising.

Scapular Enrollment on 8 December

The brown scapular of the Virgin of Mt. Carmel has been one of the traditional signs of the Church for seven centuries. It is a sign of child-like trust in Her and the imitation of her life as our task.

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The scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is made up of two rectangular or square pieced of brown wool connected at the

corners by two brown cords so that one piece falls on the breast and one on the back of the person wearing it. The next enrollment will take place after the high Mass on Sunday 8 December. The blessing and placing of the scapular will take place before the St. Joseph altar, on the

left side in the front of the church. You can sign up for enrollment by speaking with one of the ladies at the book counter Leesgoed in the hall of the meeting center. They can also provide you with a new scapular if your old one is worn out. The new scapular can then be blessed and there is no need to be enrolled again.

Movie Night 9 December

Every second Monday of the month, after the Mass at 19.30, we have a movie night. On 10 December, the movie night will take place in the small room in the Meeting Center from 20.15-

22.00. Movie: Modern Times with Charles Chaplin from 1936. Man versus the machine, a conveyor belt and time clock, the tramp returns to the streets and with a street urchin, searches for a better future and a pay check. Contact person F. Barens, fred.barens@hotmail.com The next movie night will be 13 January.

Blessing of the Christmas manger on 15 December

Pope Paul VI introduced the custom of blessing the statues of the infant Jesus for use in nativity scenes. In Rome, parents and their children from all the parishes in the city are invited to the Basilica of Saint Peter for this blessing. We would also like to celebrate this beautiful tradition in our church. You, your children and grandchildren are warmly invited to bring your own infant Jesus to be blessed during the Sunday High Mass on 15 December.

Grand Christmas concert ‘Midwinter’ on 16 December

You are cordially invited to the annual Christmas concert! The collection and the sale of coffee during the concert will be used for restoring our Rettlar-Maarschalkerweerd organ. We kindly encourage you to contribute to the project. The choir this year is very big! We are pleased to welcome the choirs Cantate Domino from Zoeterwoude and Canticum Novum from Alkmaar. In addition, this year the General Christian Choir Cantamus from Hoofddorp will also be joining and the choir, La Brénadienne all the way from Brunoy, France will be singing as well!

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The composers this year are almost all con-temporary: Bob Chilcott, Rihards Dubra, Will Todd, Morten Lauridsen, Ola Gjeilo. Hendrik Andriessen and Francis Poulenc will also be performed. There will also be a sing along portion: you can join in using the song sheet. Organist, Erik Jan Eradus and saxophonist Bas Apswoude will accompany; the concert will be directed by Una Cintiņa and Jean-

Sebastien Beauvais. Invite your friends and family! Monday 16 December. Reception at 20:15 in the church at Keizersgracht 220: the doors of the church will open at 19:45. After the concert coffee, tea and Glühwein will be served in the Meeting Center. All proceeds will be used for the required restoration of our organ.

Thursday 19 December: 1,000 Hail Marys

We have entered our first 5-year anniversary of 1k Ave! On 19 December we will pray 1000 Hail Marys starting at 17.00 in the Chapel. You can place your intentions in the intention box in the hall outside of the Chapel.

Advent Collection on 22 December

With the holidays upcoming, we should remember our neighbours who do not have as much as we do. Advent provides a wonderful opportunity to do so, in preparation for Christmas. The collection held on the 4th Sunday of Advent (22 Dec.) will go to the local food bank so that something extra can be distributed to those who are in such need.

The last and the first day of the calendar year

Have you taken note that on the last day of the calendar year, 31 December, the only Mass will be at 17:00? Before the Mass there will be an opportunity to take part in solemn adoration and to sing the Te Deum with us. On January 1st, we celebrate the Feast of Mary Mother of God, which is a holy day of obligation. You are very welcome at the Masses at 11.15 and 18:00.

Children's Christmas 8 december

We celebrate Advent & Christmas the Mass on 8 December at 18.00 in the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk at Keizersgracht 220. During the Mass, an Advent & Christmas play will be performed. We are looking for children (stars!) between the ages of 6 and 12 years to participate.

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We hope you can join us!

Quick introduction…

Ignacio Jimenez introduces himself; he is placed at our parish for an internship. My name is Juan Ignacio Jiménez Walker, I am 28 years old and I come from Chili. I am training to be a priest at the seminary of St. Willibrord, and I am in my fifth year. This year, I get to participate in an internship at your parish under the guidance of rector Ojeda and student chaplain Veth; a combination of parish and student-oriented work.

This is really a challenge for me! Maybe we will meet one another and I can you more about myself. For now, I will keep it short. Thanks to my experience with the community of The Neocatechumenal Way I have been able to realize that life is more than just building a career and earning money, that there is a God and He has a plan for me. I feel called to share this good news with everyone. That is why I have ended in the Netherlands, where I am studying, God willing, to become a priest. I hope we can meet each other this year and share our experience of the faith.

Ignacio Jiménez Walker

Smells

When I went to the garden center to pick out a Christmas tree I found myself amazed at everything there was to buy in the “animals” section of the store. We used to keep rabbits. The floor of their enclosure was covered with hay that we got from the farmer and we used to pick grass and other "fresh vegetables” from the fields. Their enclosure smelled like rabbit fur, hay and droppings. Here, there was pre-packaged hay with added perfume, like: ‘lemon-fresh’. Rabbits are happy with rabbit holes, carrots and rabbit babies... But hay with lemon perfume? Where are all the original smells? I also saw synthetic mice for cats and bones wrapped in buffalo leather for dogs. It is no surprise that cats nowadays sometimes do not know what to do with a real mouse. Will the roles be reversed and the cat run away when he's faced with a real-life mouse with sharp teeth? And, what's wrong with a juicy bone straight from the butcher with here and there some red raw meat still on it? Of course, from our perspective it isn't very appetizing and doesn't smell very nice either. But, dogs like other smells than people do. A bit further on there was a parakeet, like a mini Narcissus, sitting on a little swing admiring itself in a small mirror. On the floor of its cage: sand with liquorice perfume. There were also blocks of wood for the hearth for sale. Beautifully packaged, well cut. And then, an entire section with artificial Christmas trees in various colours.

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Where are all the strong men armed with axes and saws who used to go into the woods and come back with fir trees in their “lumberjack” shirts smelling of sweat and resin? Men nowadays smell like whatever it is they spray under their arms. No wonder that people and animals are becoming alienated from nature. A little later while I was choosing my “Nordmanns fir” I heard a child say: “Papa it smells like shampoo here!” During the Christmas season throughout the entire world the song “Silent Night”, translated into three hundred languages and dialects, i sung.

Tender child, holy child, Who so faithfully loves sinners. For me, too, you gave up your kingdom, Laid to rest in straw, wrapped in linen.

That straw certainly did not smell like lemons and the shepherds who were then the first to see the child hadn't showered that morning. Jesus came in to the world in wretched conditions in a poor place. But the Son of David, long-awaited, was royal as no other king before him. When I was taking the Christmas tree out of the car the neighbour's dog came running by. He usually has a stick taken from the park but I think he was carrying a can opener in his mouth. It must have been dinner time. I wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a happy new year. Adriana Madderom

Mini St. Matthew's Passion 28 March 2020

You are no doubt familiar with the St. Matthew's Passion by Johanna Bach. It is a long work, that lasts nearly 3.5 hours. In recent years an abbreviated version has also been performed. The abbreviated version will be performed on Sunday, 28 March 2020 in the evening at our church. The entrance fee is € 15. More information will follow.

Believing in God

The mystery of life cannot be fully comprehended. But, this conversation does help to show just how extraordinary this mystery is. Read on. In a mother's womb there are two babies. The first says to the second. “Do you believe in life after this?” The other replies: “Yes, there has to be something after we are born.” “Non-sense,” says the first, “what kind of a life could there be?” The other: “I don't know, but there will perhaps be more light than here, maybe we will be able to walk with our legs, eat with our mouths and use our senses to discover things we don't know now?”

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The first: “That is non-sense Walk with our legs? And eat with our mouths? We have an umbilical cord, that is very short and provides us with everything we need. So, life after birth is impossible.” The other: “Well, I think it will be very different than here. And, maybe we won't need the umbilical cord any more at all.” “That is also non-sense. Then why don't we know about that then? No one has ever come back. No, after this life there certainly isn't any other life anymore; this is all there is and the end.” The other again: “No really, I don't know exactly what it is, but in any case we are going to meet our mother.” “Mother, do you believe in a Mother?” Where is she then, why can't we see her?” “She is everywhere around us, we live in her. Without her there would be no life. The first then says again: “Well, I don't see her, and I don't notice her presence at all.” The other then says: “Sometimes, if you are very quiet and listen very carefully, you can feel her presence and hear her voice that calls to us from above.”

The Miracle of Amsterdam

On 15 March 1345, a sick man received the Host during Anointing of the sick in the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam. Once the parish priest had left, the man needed to vomit due to his age and illness after which his wife threw his vomit into the fire. The Host, however, remained intact floating in the fire. His wife took it out of the fire with her bare hands without being burned, placed the Host in a small box, and told the parish priest what had happened. The priest brought the Host to the Church. The next morning the woman notices full of surprise that the Host is once again in the small box, she again informs

the parish priest, who once again brings the Host to the church. The Next day the Host is in the small box in the woman's house again. At that point they all realized that God wanted this miracle to be made public. The parish priest then carried the Host back to the church in a solemn procession. The following year, the bishop declared that a miracle had occurred. Two years later, a chapel was constructed at the site of the miracle (the Heilige Stede, that was torn down in 1908). After this, the tradition arose of holding a Sacramental procession through the streets of Amsterdam on or around the 15th of March. Many pilgrims would come to the chapel to celebrate the Miracle including the Archduke Maximilian of Austria. He donated a chalice and vestments to the chapel, among other things. A stop was put to this procession in 1578, when the state shifted toward reformed faith and Catholics were prohibited from confessing their faith in public.

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In 1881, there were two men who wished to restore the old processional route so they walked the route in silence during the night in order to avoid any offence, since there was a prohibition against processions contained in the Dutch constitution. More and more Catholic pilgrims joined in and from that time onwards Catholics walk the route in silent prayer during the night in order not to give offence and this procession is called, the “Stille Omgang”. When the number of pilgrims continued to increase the Gezelschap van de Stille Omgang was established which obtained a permit to walk the old processional route. We follow that same route 138 years later; on the night of the Stille Omgang, there is a lantern marking the place where the miracle occurred. Next year, the Stille Omgang will be held once again during the night of 21 and 22 March 2020. The route can be viewed at the website www.stille-omgang.nl, where more information can also be found.

The Furrow in December

In the monthly column based on the book Furrow, we read this time about the birth of Jesus, which is appropriate for the month of December. The author is the same author as The Way, St. Josemaria Escriva. Not everyone still knows what a furrow is; a furrow is the trench made in the soil by a plough. The foreword to the book, Furrow reads as follows: My reader and friend, let me help your soul contemplate the virtues of man for grace works upon nature. But do not forget that these considerations of mine, though they may seem very human to you, must be priestly as well, since I have written them for you and for myself — and I have put them

into practice too — before God. I ask Our Lord that these pages may be of use for us. May we profit by them and be moved by them so that in our lives our deeds may leave behind a deep and fertile furrow. After this introduction we have the counsel for this month: 62. Christmas time. You write: “Together with the holy expectation of Mary and Joseph, I also impatiently await the Child. How happy I shall feel at Bethlehem! I have a feeling that I won’t be able to contain this joy without bounds. Yes! but, with Him, I also want to be born anew.” —I hope you really mean what you say!

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Christmas Masses:

24 December 19:00 Holy Mass for families with living Nativity scene, mainly in Dutch

24 December 22.00 Christmas Eve Mass (church opens at 21.30) 25 December 11:30 Christmas Day High Mass

18.00 Christmas Day Mass in English 26 December 11.15 Second Day of Christmas St. Stephen, the first martyr 31 December 17.00 St. Sylvester, pope This will be the only Mass celebrated on this day of the year. 1 January 11.15 Solemnity of Mary Mother of God 18.00 Solemnity of Mary Mother of God

We wish you a blessed Advent and Merry Christmas! -From the volunteers, co-operators, parish council and priests

Anointment of the Sick and H. Communion

If you would like to receive Anointing of the Sick or Holy Communion at home, please contact the Visit Group (Louis Firet, teleph. 020-6139003) or one of the priests.

Baptism of Children

All information for the preparatory course Baptism for parents and godparents is provided by father Rafael Ojeda, rector@olvkerk.nl or 020 2400 803.

Collections and Contributions

The collections last month amounted to € 6,042.14. Thank you very much for your contributions. You can make a contribution by transferring it to our bank account number (see right column).

Mass Intentions

You can use the corresponding form that is located in the back of the church and in the Meeting Center in order request a particular Mass intention. The form indicates how you can make a contribution.

Address information

You can register as a parishioner or notify us of a change in address by sending an e-mail to info@olvkerk.nl or by submitting the Registration Form that can be found at the back of the Church.

Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel

Weekly Adoration takes place in the chapel continuously from Thursday 11.00 -Friday 19.15. For information please contact Ms G. Hoogland, e-mail gerda.hoogland@live.nl of tel. 06 272 866 32

1,000 Hail Marys

On each 3rd Thursday of the month (19 Dec) beginning at 17:00 h 1,000 Hail Marys are prayed in the chapel. Intentions can be placed in the intention box.

Bank

Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk NL16 INGB 0000 0838 31 Thank you for your contribution.

Contact Priests Rector R. Ojeda 020-2400 803 rector@olvkerk.nl Fr. W.J.G.A. Veth 020-2400 802 wveth@olvkerk.nl Pastoral care of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk is entrusted to priests of the Prelature of Opus Dei.

Confidant Mrs Iris Maas-Bremer vertrouwenspersoon@olvkerk.nl

Catechism for Children kindercatechese@olvkerk.nl

Social Consult Call or send an email for an appointment in the Meeting Center 06 -15 09 38 68 spreekuur@olvkerk.nl