Advent Week 4 - The Candle of Love

We have come to the final Sunday of Advent. A Year 10 student lights the last purple candle on the Advent Wreath which represents love. This week, Father Gary introduces the Fourth Sunday of Advent with a short reflection. The readings are read by Mr Martin and a Year 10 student. We come together as a school community with a performance of 'In a Stable Long Ago', involving our Year 7 students and older members of the School Choir. In our busy lives, let us take a moment to listen to the readings and School Choir.

In a stable long ago,
In a place so far from home,
There a baby lay whose love would change the world. And the life that started then,
On that night in Bethlehem,
Would become the greatest story ever told.

And the angels sang at His birth,
And His praises rang through the earth,
And the skies were filled with songs of worship, Singing praise and glory to God,
On the earth be peace from above,
For the time had come for us to know Him.

Many angels and a star,
Led the people from afar,
To the place where Christ the Saviour had been born. It was such an awesome sight,
To behold Him there that night,
And to know His love would last for evermore.

Thank you to Father Gary for supporting our school and to all our wonderful students for working so hard in rehearsals. Over the past four weeks, students from every year group have been involved in reading, singing, taking part in the lighting of the Advent Wreath and preparing the hampers and crib in the School Chapel. There are too many students to name individually but I would like to thank Nicole for the beautiful piano playing on all recordings, Aidan for the violin solos and Rumbi for the vocal solos. I hope you can continue to enjoy listening to our students perform the carols during the Christmas holidays.

Thank you to Mr Tibbits for creating four wonderful arrangements, recording and editing the Choir, Mrs O’ Driscoll for preparing the readers and Choir each week and Mr Basharat, Mr O’ Reilly and Mr Wood for their I.T. support.

We will miss coming together for our traditional Evening of Readings and Carols but we hope we have been able to celebrate the Season of Advent at St. Thomas Aquinas and prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ.

Wishing you all a happy and holy Christmas.

Mrs Johnson
Head of Performing Arts