Llandudno -
Our Lady Star of
the Sea
Parish
Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday, February
4th, 2007 (5 C)
Dear Parishioner,
There is a text in Sacred Scripture which says, “Let him who thinks he
stands firm beware lest he fall”. I want to illustrate this text
with reference to my devoted secretary, Mandy.
Now Mandy prepares the weekly leaflet for the Welsh Mass, the leaflet
that carries the hymns and some of the responses. This regular
involvement in the Welsh language has improved Mandy’s ability to
handle it, though, it must be said, she is not as fluent in it as she
is in Portugese. But a little learning is a dangerous thing, as
we shall see.
Last Sunday, the Alleluia Verse for the Mass was Myfi yw’r ffordd a’r
gwirionedd a’r bywyd, medd yr Arglwydd. Nid yw neb yn dod at y
Tad ond trwof fi. Which translates, I am the Way and the Truth
and the Life, says the Lord. No one can come to the Father except
through Me.
Now sadly for Mandy, she misspelt the word bywyd, which means life as
bysys which means buses. So it read, “I am the Way, the Truth and
the buses, says the Lord. No one can come to the Father except
through Me.” It made the good Lord sound like an Arriva
driver! And the lady who spotted the howler comes to the Welsh
Mass all the way from Prestatyn – on two buses! Poor Mandy.
Next Sunday is 11 February, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, or would
have been, did it not fall this year on a Sunday. You will
remember that on the Saturday nearest this feast we hold the first of
our two yearly Masses for the Sick. Over the years these Masses
have become more and more popular, with usually seventy or eighty
people turning up to receive the wonderful Sacrament of the Sick.
I hope it will be equally well attended this year, and I hope that our
expanding choir will make a big effort to be there to support the
singing.
So, I look forward to welcoming you to this Mass next Saturday at
530pm. It will be followed, as usual, by refreshments at Stella
Maris. I remind you again that this Mass is for those whom I call
the Walking Wounded. You don’t have to be in hospital or
bedridden to be in need of healing. Sickness strikes in many
ways, psychologically as well as physically, and the Lord is there for
all of us.
I want to remind you now of what I spoke about in my Newsletter a few
weeks ago, namely making our parish a more welcoming place and a more
family-oriented place. It already is, and visitors are for ever
commenting on it, but there is always room for improvement. The
Mass is the celebration of God’s love for us, and that love must be
visibly reflected in the way our Mass is seen to be conducted.
Lent will be beginning soon, 21 February to be precise, and I would
like to fix Easter as the time when we will have our plans in
place. Different families of parents and children, week by week,
welcoming the people as they come into church; different people every
week bringing up the offertory collection and the Feed my Lambs churn;
the children helping with the handing out of the hymnbooks and
leaflets; the young people assisting with the collection – these are
some of the things we must try to get organised during Lent. The
Ushers, who do a fantastic job and whom I would be lost without, will
be in overall charge of operations, their task being to ensure that all
these people do what they are supposed to do, and at the right time!
You will notice when I report last week’s collection, I tell you now
how much of the offertory was gift aided. This is literally money
for old rope, and the Finance Committee is presently conducting a slow
but sure campaign to familiarise us with what exactly it means.
Next week, Gift Aid forms will be generally available. You are an
incredibly generous parish!
God bless
you, Fr Antony Jones