Newsletter for 29/30 June - Ss Peter & Paul

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Ordinations

Please pray for Neil Peoples and John Martin who will be ordained to the priesthood for our diocese next month, and continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

There is an interesting page on St Peter's, Leicester parish website which reflects on the meaning of Ordination to the priesthood:

The Ordination of a Priest

The Rite of Ordination, which takes place after the homily in the Ordination Mass, contains several elements.

The first of these is the examination of the candidate.  This examination involves promises which the priest is asked to renew each year at the Chrism Mass with the Bishop in Holy Week.

The Examination of the Candidate

Bishop: My son, before you proceed to the order of the presbyterate,
declare before the people your intention to undertake this priestly office.
Are you resolved, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to discharge without fail
the office of priesthood in the presbyteral order as a conscientious fellow
worker with the bishops in caring for the Lord’s flock?
Ordinand: I am.

Bishop: Are you resolved to celebrate the mysteries of Christ faithfully
and religiously as the Church has handed them down to us for the
glory of God and the sanctification of Christ’s people?
Ordinand:  I am.

Bishop: Are you resolved to exercise the ministry of the word worthily
and wisely, preaching the Gospel and explaining the Catholic faith?
Ordinand: I am.

Bishop: Are you resolved to consecrate your life to God for the
salvation of his people, and to unite yourself more closely every day
to Christ the High Priest, who offered himself for us to the Father
as a perfect sacrifice?
Ordinand: I am, with the help of God.

The Promise of Obedience

When Neil was ordained a deacon, he promised to remain celibate and to recite the Divine Office (The Official Daily Prayer of the Church). To this he now adds a promise of obedience. In the Ordination Rite, he will kneel before the Bishop, place his joined hands between those of the Bishop, and promise obedience to him and his successors. The congregation will invoke the Holy Spirit to impart the Grace to fulfil these promises.

Bishop: Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?
Neil: I do.
Bishop: May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfilment.

Celibacy

Much is said about celibacy and how out of step it seems with the modern world. In truth celibacy has always been a way of life that runs contrary to the norm. The sad truth is the whole Christian vision of sexuality has now become counter cultural. For the Christian, sexual intimacy only harmonises with the deep and authentic desire of the human heart when it is placed in the context of covenantal love in the service of life. In other words, sexual intimacy is only fully meaningful within marriage. The priest is one wedded to the Church. He is called to give his life in service of the Bride of Christ (the Church) following Christ’s own example. Celibacy is a powerful expression of this gift of himself. Together with his commitment to the Prayer of the Church, celibacy manifests the priest’s fidelity to the Bride of Christ.

Obedience

Surprisingly little is said about obedience. This promise is at least as counter-cultural as that of celibacy. In an age that exalts personal freedom and the right to self determination, the Church asks her priests to promise obedience to another man, the bishop. The priest’s obedience gives witness to the truth that the bishop exercises the authority given by Christ to His Apostles when he acts and teaches in harmony with the Catholic Faith and in communion with the Pope.

Congratulations..

...to Lynda, Pansy, Christine, Sue and Jamie who have been awarded the Bishop's Certificate in Catechesis at a ceremony in the Cathedral this afternoon.

Saint Joseph

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has issued a decree inserting the name of Saint Joseph into Eucharistic Prayers II, III & IV. The words ‘with blessed Joseph, her Spouse,’ are to be inserted between the mention of the Blessed Virgin Mary and that of the Apostles. The decree and the wording can be read on the Holy See website.

Year of Faith Websites

During this Year of Faith it's worth keeping an eye on some of the websites connected with the Year.

The Universal one from Rome is here.

Our Nottingham Diocesan one is here. The Nottingham one has some pictures of some of our recent celebrations at St Wilfrid's here.

Newsletter for 22/23 June - Sunday 12(C)

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Retired Priests Appeal

Thank you for your interest and generosity. I understand that the diocese is very pleased about the way the appeal is going at St Wilfrid's and that we will be featured in a  forthcoming edition of the Nottingham Catholic News. Many of the questions which people ask about the appeal are dealt with by this website.

Congratulations...

...to Rebecca Noon, one of our altar servers, who has been selected for the England Women's Under 20s Rugby Union Squad for 2013/14. We are proud of you, Becky.

Newsletter for 15/16 June Sunday 11 (C)

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MoonWalkers

Congratulations to Jim, Kate, Francis and Mary who completed the 13.1 hilly miles of the Edinburgh MoonWalk  in 3 hours 39 minutes. They raised £800 for Breast Cancer Charities. Jim tells me that a good proportion of that came from St Wilfrid's people and has asked me to pass on their thanks.

Newsletter for 8/9 June - Sunday 10(C)

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Special Mass for our Servers

We are very blessed at St Wilfrid's to have so many committed servers under the leadership of Tony Rush, our MC. At a special Mass this evening they were enrolled in the Guild of St Stephen. Refreshments followed for the servers, their families and friends. Thanks be to God.

School Transport

Once more, Leicestershire County Council is proposing to remove the subsidy on travel to faith schools. This means parents would have to pay £640 per student per year for school transport. This would impact on the Catholic community more than on any other group. De Lisle College, as the biggest faith school in the county would particularly suffer. Could I ask you to read the consultation leaflet, then fill in the transport consultation survey. Question 5 is the most crucial, and I hope that you might click 'strongly disagree’ for this question. Please hurry. The consultation closes on 30 June.

You may also like to find your councillor and send him or her an email expressing your opposition to this change. Public opinion prevented this change last time. Let's see if we can do it again!

Pictures of Yesterday's Procession