7th Week of Easter

May 28th, 2022 by Dave Heywood

Friday 3 June 2022

Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Bishops’ Conference, has recalled his memories of the Queen’s 1953 Coronation and offers his prayers for Her Majesty for her Platinum Jubilee year:

“Jubilees are for memories and thanksgiving. This Platinum Jubilee overflows with both.

How well I remember the Coronation mug and the bar of chocolate in its decorated tin box that I received, along with every child, on the day of Her Majesty’s Coronation. It was also the first time that I watched a television!

Today we thank God for all the years of astonishing service that have been given by Her Majesty from that day of her solemn anointing, through times of peace and great sadness, suffering and joy.

The calmness that she carries always with her arises from a soul at peace, rooted in a trust in God and inspired by her Christian faith, of which she speaks so eloquently and demonstrates so faithfully.

God bless Her Majesty. May we pray for her always.”

 

Thursday 2 June 2022

The Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

 

Wednesday 1 June 2022

Caring for Creation

 

Tuesday 31 May 2022

Today we keep the feast of the Visitation.  We remember the time Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, and how John the Baptist leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s greeting.  The feast is all about the presence of God – in Mary, in Elizabeth, but also in us too.

Here is a fabulous painting of the Visitation entitled, ‘Jump For Joy’, by Corby Eisbacher:

 

Monday 30 May 2022

 

 

7th Sunday of Easter (C) – 29 May 2022

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Easter 7C)

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Easter 7C)

Reflection on the Readings:   prego-easter-7-year-c-2022

 

World Communications Day

Today is World Communications Day.  This annual day reminds us of the importance of not just keeping the faith but sharing it.  Vital to this is good communication – through websites, publications, and social media channels.

Message from Pope Francis:    World Communications Day 2022

 

Some Funnies

 

 

 

God bless,
Fr Dave

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6th Week of Easter

May 21st, 2022 by Dave Heywood

Friday 27 May 2022

The Scriptures tell us that after the ascension of Jesus, the disciples returned to the Upper Room in Jerusalem and joined in continuous prayer, together with Mary, the mother of Jesus, as they waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

During these days between the Ascension and Pentecost, we are invited to join Christians all over the world in praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in the Church, and in the world.

Here is a short Pentecost Novena you could use:    Ascension to Pentecost Novena

There are lots of other suggestions here:    Thy Kingdom Come | Thy Kingdom Come

 

Thursday 26 May 2022 – Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Ascension Cycle C)

Pentecost Novena:    Ascension to Pentecost Novena

 

Wednesday 25 May 2022

Dear America,

Get rid of the guns!

It is the only way to stop these massacres.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

the leading cause of death among children in the United States is guns.

You can change this!

 

Tuesday 24 May 2022

Risen Lord,
thank you for this new day.
Grant me a clear head,
an open heart and steady hands
for the work to be done
in the building up of your kingdom
of love peace and justice.
Amen.

Raymond Friel

 

Monday 23 May 2022

 

6th Sunday of Easter (C) – 22 May 2022

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Easter 6C)

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Easter 6C)

Reflection on the Readings:   prego-easter-6-year-c-2022-1

 

Day of Prayer for Eastern Christians

Today, Christians from all over Europe, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and India join together in praying for Eastern Christians.

Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald writes: “The Day of Prayer…offers Eastern and Western Christians an opportunity to be united in prayer during Easter. It also offers us in the West an opportunity to think of the Eastern Churches and to give thanks to God for all that we owe them: the first preaching of the Gospel, the origins of the monastic tradition, the early Church Fathers, and above all the witness of the Eastern Christians down the centuries, which has been, and still is, an inspiration to our faith.”

As you know, our parish is paired with two parishes in Jordan – Fr Fares Syriani and the parishioners of Our Lady of the Rosary in Kerak, and Fr Athos Righi and the parishioners of St James the Less in Ma’in.  Let’s remember them especially today.

Heavenly Father,
we pray today for peace in the world,
especially in the Middle East.
By your heavenly grace, strengthen the faith
and hope of Eastern Christians.
May they be blessed with peace
and prosperity in their lands.
And may we be inspired
by their devotion and witness to the Gospel,
by their love and compassion for all in their communities,
and by their courage, endurance
and self-sacrifice against oppression.
Through their charity, tolerance and friendship,
bring peace and reconciliation
to those troubled lands,
where Christianity was born and first spread.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

 

 

Some Funnies

 

 

 

God bless,
Fr Dave

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5th Week of Easter

May 14th, 2022 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 19 May 2022

 

 

Wednesday 18 May 2022

An invitation from the Bishops of England and Wales

This is the bread come down from heaven (John 6:58)

A beautiful hallmark of the Catholic faith is the profound desire to participate in the Holy Mass and share in the Eucharist. We do so with deep gratitude and joy. The Eucharist gives the Church her identity – “The Eucharist makes the Church, and the Church makes the Eucharist.” It enables us to worship Almighty God, to support each other on our journey of faith, and to be a visible sign of faith in the world. This hallmark is supported and strengthened by the precept that our fundamental Christian duty is to worship God by participating in the celebration of Mass. Attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is the greatest of all privileges, sometimes referred to as “the Sunday Obligation.”

Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, until the present time, we have shared with you our judgment that the situation of the last two years has meant that the Sunday Obligation has been impeded and has needed to be fulfilled in other ways. We thank God that this situation has now changed. The pressing challenges of the pandemic have lessened significantly. Most people have resumed the wide range of normal activities, no longer restricted by the previous Covid measures. We therefore believe that the reasons which have prevented Catholics from attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation no longer apply.

We understand there will still be some members of our congregations who, for reasons of health, do not feel safe enough to return to Mass. It has always been the understanding of the Church that when the freedom of any Catholic to attend Mass in person is impeded for a serious reason, because of situations such as ill health, care for the sick or legitimate fear, this is not a breach of the Sunday Obligation.

Our Catholic people and parishes have benefitted during these difficult times from the online streaming of Mass and other services. “Virtual viewing” of Mass online does not fulfil the Sunday Obligation. It may, however, be a source of continual spiritual comfort to those who cannot attend Mass in person, for example those who are elderly and sick, for whom the obligation does not apply. In this context, we recognise gratefully the ministry of those who administer Holy Communion to the elderly, sick and housebound.

We are grateful to our clergy, religious and lay faithful who have served our parishes, schools and communities with dedication and distinction throughout this pandemic. Now we look forward with renewed faith and confidence.

In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus entrusted to us the precious gift of Himself. With humility, we glory in being a Eucharistic people for whom attendance at Mass is essential. Looking forward to the forthcoming feast of Pentecost, we now invite all Catholics who have not yet done so to return to attending Mass in person.

As the Church needs the witness of the presence of each person, so too each believer needs to journey in faith and worship with their fellow disciples. Nourished by our encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus, fed with His Word and His Body and Blood in Holy Communion, and supported by the presence of each other, we receive strength week by week, to serve the Lord and glorify Him with our lives.

Approved by the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops’ Conference
Friday 6 May 2022

 

Tuesday 17 May 2022

Day of Prayer for Survivors of Abuse

Today the Catholic Church in England & Wales is keeping a National Day of Prayer for those in our families and communities who carry within themselves the deep and traumatic wounds inflicted by abuse.

We’ve all been horrified by the accounts of abuse in the Church that have emerged in recent years and angered by the subsequent coverups.  Words fail us in the face of such evil perpetrated against children and those who are vulnerable.

The Church must be the one place that is safe for everyone.  That’s the responsibility of us all.  Today we pledge again to make this a reality in our own parish, and to support those who’ve been hurt by members of the Church or members of their families or others.

Father,
since your mercy has been revealed
in the tenderness of your Son, Jesus Christ,
who said to his disciples:
“Let the little children come to me”,
we pray that your Church may be a secure home
where all are brought closer to your Beloved Son.
May all those who have been abused be respected
and accompanied by justice and reparation
so that they may be healed by the balm of your grace.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For more information, check out the Catholic Bishops Conference of England & Wales website which has a dedicated page for today with all sorts of information and resources:

Prayer for Survivors of Abuse 2022 – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)

For local information, help and support, see the Safeguarding page on this website under ‘Information’ above.

 

Monday 16 May 2022

COVID Update – where are we up to?

Although the Government speaks and acts as if the pandemic is over, I’m afraid it isn’t.  The good news is that hospitalisations and deaths continue to fall; the bad news is the number of daily infections has stopped falling at around 120,000 a day.  So COVID is still with us, although the vaccination programme together with the less severe Omicron variant means people are not getting as sick as they were with previous strains.

With the dramatic reduction in testing and much less data, the best source of information is the Zoe Covid Study:    ZOE COVID Study (joinzoe.com)

Professor Tim Spector, Scientific Co-Founder of ZOE, comments on the latest COVID data:

“After a number of weeks with cases steadily falling, we are now seeing a real slow down in the cases and we predict cases will stall around 100,000 new cases a day for a while.  Scotland is the first region where cases appear to be trending upward again and the same is true for those aged 0-17 years old.  It is too early at this stage to know what is causing the slow down but it’s a strong signal that COVID is not going to disappear this summer.”

The NHS advises us to:  

• Get vaccinated
• Continue to practise good hand hygiene
• Wear a face covering in enclosed spaces
• Ventilate indoor spaces
• Stay at home if you have symptoms or test positive

New Variants

On Friday, the European CDC designated Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 as variants of concern.  They are causing a new wave in South Africa at present.

 

5th Sunday of Easter (C) – 15 May 2022

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Easter 5C)

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Easter 5C)

Reflection on the Readings:   prego-easter-5-year-c-2022

 

CAFOD’s Prayer for Ukraine

Loving God,
We pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world
that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity
to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways
so that peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine
and for all the world.

Amen.

 

Some Funnies

 

 

 

God bless,
Fr Dave

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4th Week of Easter

May 7th, 2022 by Dave Heywood

Friday 13 May 2022

Animal Friday

 

Thursday 12 May 2022

 

Wednesday 11 May 2022

 

 

Save bees from deadly pesticides

Bees are essential for our survival. They pollinate much of what we eat and play a critical role in sustaining ecosystems around the world. But the last decade has been devastating for insect populations, and bees have been hit hard – with populations shrinking by a third in the UK.

Bee-killing neonicotinoids have been banned across Europe since 2013, but the UK government has just approved these deadly chemicals for emergency use – posing a lethal threat to bee populations.

Greenpeace have set up a petition to the Secretary of State for the Environment requesting a total ban on bee-killing pesticides.

Please add your name to the petition:

Save bees from deadly pesticides (greenpeace.org.uk)

 

Tuesday 10 May 2022

‘God is Father who does not disown any of his children’

Last week, Pope Francis answered three questions put to him by Jesuit Father James Martin whose pastoral ministry involves the LGBT community.

What would you say is the most important thing for LGBT people to know about God?

Pope Francis: God is Father and he does not disown any of his children. And “the style” of God is “closeness, mercy and tenderness.” Along this path you will find God.

What would you like LGBT people to know about the Church?

Pope Francis: I would like for them to read the book of the Acts of the Apostles. There they will find the image of the living Church.

What do you say to an LGBT Catholic who has experienced rejection from the Church?

Pope Francis: I would have them recognise it not as “the rejection of the church,” but instead of “people in the church.” The church is a mother and calls together all her children. Take for example the parable of those invited to the feast: “the just, the sinners, the rich and the poor, etc.” [Matthew 22:1-15; Luke 14:15-24]. A “selective” church, one of “pure blood,” is not Holy Mother Church, but rather a sect.

 

Monday 9 May 2022

Sometimes animals have so much to teach human beings:

 

4th Sunday of Easter (C) – 8 May 2022

Good Shepherd Sunday – World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Easter 4C)

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Easter 4C)

Reflection on the Readings:   prego-easter-4-year-c-2022

 

CAFOD’s Prayer for Ukraine

Loving God,
We pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world
that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity
to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways
so that peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine
and for all the world.

Amen.

 

Some Funnies

 

 

 

God bless,
Fr Dave

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