EIN HARGLWYDDES SEREN Y MôR –

OUR LADY STAR OF THE SEA – LLANDUDNO

Fr Jones’s Newsletter - Sunday 25 January 2009

Dear Parishioner,

I came home with my bag a lot heavier than it was when I arrived at the school last Thursday for Mass with Year 5 .  The children of that class had been putting some of their pocket money away to save £35, the sum needed to keep one starving Sudanese child alive and fed for a whole year.  Very well done, children!

It had been a great celebration of the Mass, well prepared by Mrs Hills.  I talked to them about the importance of their attending Sunday Mass, for they had all made their First Holy Communion only two years ago, yet only three of them from this parish are regularly attending.  I could see how eagerly the children themselves listened and agreed with everything I was saying, and it further reminded me of what we have been going on about for some weeks now, that it is the parents  whom we must first win back to the Church in this our Parish Year of the Child.

This year’s children from Year 3 began their First Holy Communion instructions last Monday at Stella Maris with Mrs Elaine Dingsdale, our Head Teacher.  We are very grateful to an overworked Head Teacher for doing this extra voluntary work for the sake of the children and the Parish.

First of all, I would like to make it very clear  to the parents of these children that there is nothing we would like more than for them to stay in the class with the children and listen in from the sidelines to what the children are being taught.  This would give them the opportunity of continuing the discussion with the children at home and of moving the lesson from the class room into the real world outside.

The invitation is also extended to them to attend the school Masses and penitential services.  Each term there is a Mass celebrated to mark the beginning of the term and one at mark the end of it.  In the term each class celebrates one Mass and one confession service .  Already many parents and grandparents attend these services, and I would be delighted to see that number increasing.  Again it gives the parents the opportunity of  sharing what’s going on in the classroom and of following it up at home.

This parental involvement is so important that at our recent Pastoral Council it was decided that during the course of the children's’ preparation this year, provision will be made for some sessions for the parents, while the children are having their own lessons.  We hope to have these dates fixed in time for the next lesson with the children on Monday.

What a wonderful thing it would be if the children preparing for First Holy Communion this year not only come to Mass for that special occasion but begin with their families to be regular practitioners of their Faith.  It is their rightful inheritance as baptised Catholics  and an enormous privilege for them to worship God through the Mass and to live out their lives as committed Catholic Christians.

Now for something completely different.  The Car Park!

The combination number will change next Sunday.  Before then, please pick up your permit for the next six months.  The £20 fee is a double blessing!  It saves you pounds and pounds on parking fees in town, as well as saving you lots of time searching for somewhere to park; it also helps us to save up for the renovations of the Car Park which are now very soon to materialise before our waiting eyes.

And finally.  Confessions. 

I have decided to add a further slot for confessions.  I shall be in the confessional for an hour every Saturday evening, from 4 to 5pm. 

So, if you finally find yourself meeting the Lord with your sins still unforgiven, don’t blame me! I give you plenty of opportunity.  From 4 to 5pm and after both Masses on Saturdays ; a Confessional Service on the First Saturday of the month.  And at the Presbytery any time you care to call.

        God bless you, 

        Fr Antony Jones