Welcome to Our Lady of Good Counsel

Every Blessing for Christmas and New Year 

The Holy Family – Jesus Mary and Joseph (Yr A)
Saturday 27th December 2025
6pm Vigil Mass: Phil Walsh RIP

Sunday 28th December 2025 The Holy Family
9am Mass: Roger Noble RIP
11am Mass: Intentions of the Parish
5pm Holy Hour

Monday 29th December 2025 St Thomas of Canterbury
Private Prayer in the Home

Tuesday 30th December 2025 Christmas Octave
7pm Novena to St Anthony

Wednesday 31st December 2025 Closing of Year
11.30pm Mass: Christmas Parish Ints

Thursday 1st Jan 2026 Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God

10am Mass: Christmas Parish Ints

Friday 2nd Jan 2026 St Basil the Great and St Gregory Nazianzen

10am Mass: Brian Weedon RIP

Saturday 3rd Jan 2026 Most Holy Name of Jesus
10am Mass: Steve Hollick
6pm Vigil Mass: Alfred Jude Anton Joseph RIP


Sunday 4th Jan 2026 Second Sunday of Nativity
9am Mass: Nora O Boyle RIP
11am Mass: Martin and Terry 50th Wedding Annv
5pm – 6pm









My friends, my new parish flock.

As we gather to celebrate the joy of Christmas, I do so with a heart filled with gratitude. This is my first Christmas among you as your parish priest, and it is a privilege to celebrate the birth of our Savior together as one family of faith.

At the heart of Christmas is not a story we merely remember, but a mystery we are invited to enter. God chooses to come among us not in power or comfort, but in humility. The Son of God is born in a stable, laid in a manger—because there was no room in the inn. This simple detail of the Christmas story gently but firmly asks each of us a question: Is there room for Him in the manger of my heart?

The manger reminds us that God does not wait for perfect conditions. He enters our lives as they are—messy, crowded, and often weary. Christ comes not because we have everything in order, but because we need Him. The wood of the manger already points us toward the wood of the Cross, revealing a God who gives Himself completely for love of us.

Like that first manger, which was quite rough around the edges, our lives, our journeys, our struggles, may have also made our hearts a bit rough around the edges, but tonight our Blessed Mother Mary, wishes to place her Son Jesus, in the manger of our hearts, to remain there forever.

Christmas calls us to clear away what crowds our hearts: resentment, fear, distraction, indifference. It invites us to create a space where Christ can dwell—not just for one holy night, but every day. When we welcome Him, our hearts become places of peace, mercy, and hope, and through us, that light is carried into our homes, our Parish, and our world.

As your parish priest, my prayer this Christmas is that our parish may always be a living manger—a place where Christ is welcomed, adored, and shared. May we recognize Him in the Eucharist, in the Scriptures, and in one another, especially in the poor, the lonely, and the forgotten. 

I am so indebted to each of you, for who you are in this parish and for what you do. May the newborn Christ fill your hearts with His peace, your families with His love, and our parish with renewed faith and joy.

A blessed and holy Christmas to you all.
Fr. Damien