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Newsletter for 14/15 September - Sunday 24(C)

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Thank you...

...to all who came and prayed for Syria and the Middle East last evening. It was wonderful how word got around and how people responded at such short notice.

Let us continue to hear and respond to the words of Pope Francis at the Vigil in Rome last evening:

Let the words of Pope Paul VI resound again: “No more one against the other, no more, never! ... war never again, never again war!” (Address to the United Nations, 1965). “Peace expresses itself only in peace, a peace which is not separate from the demands of justice but which is fostered by personal sacrifice, clemency, mercy and love” (World Day of Peace Message, 1975). Forgiveness, dialogue, reconciliation – these are the words of peace, in beloved Syria, in the Middle East, in all the world! Let us pray for reconciliation and peace, let us work for reconciliation and peace, and let us all become, in every place, men and women of reconciliation and peace! Amen.

Newsletter for 7/8 September - Sunday 23(C)

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Could I draw your attention to the 'Stop Press' item on page one?

STOP PRESS

Pope Francis has asked the whole Church to keep this Saturday, September 7th as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria and the Middle East. Prayer Vigil at St Wilfrid’s 7pm–8pm this Saturday Please come for as much of this time as you can.

Please make this as widely known as possible.

Our response

In answer to the Holy Father's call for a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria and the Middle East, there will be a prayer vigil at St Wilfrid's on Saturday evening, September 7th from 7pm-8pm.
Please come for as much of this as you are able.

Please make this as widely known as you possibly can - invite people from St Wilfrid's Community and anyone else who longs for peace.

Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children! Help us, Mary, to overcome this most difficult moment and to dedicate ourselves each day to building in every situation an authentic culture of encounter and peace.
Pope Francis, Angelus Address, 01.09.13.

Day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world

Pope Francis has called us all to participate in a day of fasting and prayer for peace this coming Saturday, September 7th. You can read the full text of last Sunday's Angelus address when he made this call by clicking here.

I have a dream

Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King made his famous speech on his dream for civil rights for all in the United States. As I have heard the speech replayed on radio and TV over these last couple of weeks, it has challenged me to articulate my dream for our parish as we return from our holidays and ‘get back to normal.’ This is what I came up with very quickly without prolonged thought, simply typing as things came to mind.

I have a dream...

that we will all gather for Mass every Sunday, and not only when it suits us.
that we will prepare for Sunday Mass by study of the readings during the week and by quiet prayer when we arrive at Church.
that we will stay and meet each other in greater numbers over a cuppa after Mass and build up our community life.
that meeting the Lord in word, sacrament, and each other will send us out changed in our attitudes and ready to challenge the attitudes of society.
that this change in our attitudes will move us to work generously for justice and peace locally, nationally, and worldwide.
that we will reflect on our lives regularly and use the sacrament of reconciliation when necessary.
that we will pray every day and come to Mass in greater numbers on weekdays.
that we will use opportunities to find out more about our faith when these are offered in the parish, through the diocese, and elsewhere.
that we realise that events and meetings are not just for other people.
that we will all feel part of the Body of Christ in our parish.
that we will care for each other, especially the sick, bereaved, lonely, and disadvantaged, in our parish community and throughout our locality.
that the young and the old will be equally valued in our parish life.
that we will care for our buildings, our finances, share the tasks that keep our parish life going, and not assume that A N Other will do it.
that we will share our love of Jesus, our faith, the Mass, the Church with all we meet, and invite them to share that love.

Do you share my dream?
Have I left out anything important?
How can we make the dream become a reality at St Wilfrid’s?

Double Issue Newsletter - Sunday2 21 & 22(C) - August 24/25 and 31 August/1 September

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A bit of history

The scenes in Rome the day the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary was infallibly proclaimed by Pius XII in 1950.

THE ASSUMPTION PROCLAMATION

Newsletter for 17/18 August - Sunday 20(C)

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Thursday 15th August - Assumption of Mary

An interesting discussion on tomorrow's Feast can be read here. I must confess that the details of the observance of the Feast in the Eastern Church were new to me. One thing that comes over very clearly in Dr Taylor Marshall's post is the antiquity of this teaching and of the Feast. Although the formal definition of the doctrine of the Assumption by Pius XII did not take place until 1950, the Feast was observed, the doctrine held throughout the Church from at least the middle of the first Christian millennium.

Mass at St Wilfrid's for the Feast of the Assumption, 9.45am and 7.30pm.
It is a Holy Day of Obligation so we should all be at Mass.

I have come to bring fire to the earth

I have been reflecting on the Readings for next weekend's Masses, as I always do, to prepare my homily. They are not easy reading. I searched on-line to find some inspiration. I found a fascinating address by Pope Benedict on the 650th Anniversary of the Venerable English College in Rome. The College's motto comes from the Gospel for the 20th Sunday of Year C.

Pope Benedict commented:

You have heard much talk about the new evangelization, the proclamation of Christ in those parts of the world where the Gospel has already been preached, but where to a greater or lesser degree the embers of faith have grown cold and now need to be fanned once more into a flame. Your College motto speaks of Christ’s desire to bring fire to the earth, and your mission is to serve as his instruments in the work of rekindling the faith in your respective homelands. Fire in sacred Scripture frequently serves to indicate the divine presence, whether it be the burning bush from which God revealed his name to Moses, the pillar of fire that guided the people of Israel on their journey from slavery to freedom, or the tongues of fire that descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost, enabling them to go forth in the power of the Spirit to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Just as a small fire can set a whole forest ablaze so the faithful testimony of a few can release the purifying and transforming power of God’s love so that it spreads like wildfire throughout a community or a nation. Like the martyrs of England and Wales, then, let your hearts burn with love for Christ, for the Church and for the Mass.

 Full text of the address here.

Latest Year of Faith Video from Bishop Malcolm: Catholic Social Teaching

Newsletter for 10/11 August - Sunday 19(C)

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Please remember that Thursday, 15th August is the Assumption of our Lady, a Holy Day of Obligation. Mas at St Wilfrid's will be at 9.45am and 7.30pm. If you are on holiday, find your nearest Catholic Church and keep the feast with the community there.

Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 966

Newsletter for 3/4 August 18th Sunday (C)

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