Welcome Message from the Chaplain — Fr Mark Withoos

My dear friends,

A warm welcome to Adventus30. I am Fr Mark Withoos, Chaplain to the Iria Foundation, and it is a joy to greet you as together we begin this sacred journey toward the Birth of Our Lord.

Advent is the season that teaches us how to wait—how to watch, how to hope, and how to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. In a world overflowing with noise, distraction, and excess, the Church gently invites us to step back, to breathe, and to enter once more into the quiet expectation that belongs to this holy time.

As we begin, I especially encourage you to take up the St Andrew’s Novena, traditionally prayed fifteen times each day from the First Sunday of Advent. Although the feast of St Andrew is transferred this year to the Monday, the novena itself—so beloved for securing particular graces—still begins tomorrow with the start of Advent. It is a beautiful way to anchor your prayer each day and to unite your longing with the Church’s.

Throughout this programme, I invite you to embrace the spirit of penance that Advent asks of us. Not a gloomy or burdensome penance, but a deliberate, loving turning away from the excesses that so easily surround us in the modern world: the noise, the indulgence, the constant pull toward distraction. These things can dull the soul and weaken our desire for Christ.

But remember that true penance is always joined to charity and cheerfulness. Whatever practices you adopt, let them flow from a heart full of hope. Be kind, be patient, be generous. Let each day’s small sacrifices make room for a greater love of God and neighbour.

During these thirty days, we walk together as a community of faith—encouraging one another, praying for one another, and preparing our hearts for that blessed night when Heaven touched earth and the Word was made flesh.

May this Advent be for you a season of renewal, deeper prayer, and joyful expectation. And may the Child of Bethlehem find in each of us a heart made ready.

For behind the scenes enquiries please reach out to me or particularly to Adam through the telegram channel.

Be assured of my prayers for you all.

Fr Mark Withoos

Chaplain, Iria Foundation

Rorate Coeli desuper et nubes pluant iustum…