Llandudno -
Our Lady Star of
the Sea
Parish Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday, April, 15th 2007 -
Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday
Parish Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday, April, 15th 2007 -
Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday
Dear
Parishioner,
The Synod of Bishops met with the Holy Father in Rome at the end of 2005 to discuss the Mass. Pope Benedict has just published his response to these discussions in a document called Sacramentum Caritatis, Sacrament of Love. It is a thought- provoking document and I will try, in my sermons over Eastertide, to get over to you the main ideas that the document contains. So, we will be linking the theme of faith, which is the dominant theme of Eastertide with the theme of the Mass. We are very blessed to have a Pope of the calibre of this one – like Pope John Paul before him he is a giant of a theologian.
Over the page I have put into bold print the sums of money you donated to charity during the Easter Celebrations. £782 for Sister Jean; £216 for the Holy Places; £261 for Feed my Lambs – a grand total of £1259. It is truly remarkable how charitable you are and there can be no doubt but that the Parish as a community and yourselves individually will be blessed for this kind of generosity. By being generous to the poor we express our gratitude for the kindness and generosity we ourselves have received from the Lord, a divine kindness that was behind everything we celebrated during the Easter Triduum.
It was wonderful to welcome so many new members into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Night. Giving them the sacraments and receiving them into the Church reminds us of all the privileges and graces we ourselves have received.
And the wheel turns again. It will soon be time for us to start the Catechumenate afresh. The first session is scheduled for 730pm on Tuesday 29 May. During these coming six weeks, maybe you could think of anyone you know who may be seeking Christ and his Church but diffident about making the first move. In the 1970s, I worked in the Catholic Enquiry Centre in London, the outfit that used to send pamphlets to people who were interested in the faith but who hadn’t yet made any definitive move in that direction. What was always very evident to us was that people were generally hesitant to make the first move towards the Church and relied on others to offer them a helping hand. Do you know any such person who is perhaps waiting for you to make the first move? I remind you, as I have reminded you many times before, there is no greater gift you could give to anyone, no greater service you could ever render, than to bring someone to Christ and his Church.
Pentecost Sunday (27 May) has acquired something of a special character here at Our Lady’s, for it is the Sunday when we hold our International Mass. It has been a great joy for us to welcome into our parish family fellow Catholics who have come here from the four corners of the world. Their very presence among us reminds us that our Church is truly catholic, knowing no boundaries of language, race or culture. Christ is the bond that binds us all together. On the first Pentecost Sunday the catholicity of the future Church was dramatically forecasted when the Apostles spoke in the different languages of the world, telling everyone about the wonderful sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord.
I would like to invite representatives of all the different ethnic groups in our parish to take part in this Mass on Pentecost Sunday. Last year the Mass was fantastic, and for it to be so again it will need preparation; so there will be a preliminary meeting at Stella Maris at 730pm on Thursday 26 April. If you have come into our parish from another country, then I encourage you to come along.
God bless you,
Fr Anthony Jones
The Synod of Bishops met with the Holy Father in Rome at the end of 2005 to discuss the Mass. Pope Benedict has just published his response to these discussions in a document called Sacramentum Caritatis, Sacrament of Love. It is a thought- provoking document and I will try, in my sermons over Eastertide, to get over to you the main ideas that the document contains. So, we will be linking the theme of faith, which is the dominant theme of Eastertide with the theme of the Mass. We are very blessed to have a Pope of the calibre of this one – like Pope John Paul before him he is a giant of a theologian.
Over the page I have put into bold print the sums of money you donated to charity during the Easter Celebrations. £782 for Sister Jean; £216 for the Holy Places; £261 for Feed my Lambs – a grand total of £1259. It is truly remarkable how charitable you are and there can be no doubt but that the Parish as a community and yourselves individually will be blessed for this kind of generosity. By being generous to the poor we express our gratitude for the kindness and generosity we ourselves have received from the Lord, a divine kindness that was behind everything we celebrated during the Easter Triduum.
It was wonderful to welcome so many new members into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Night. Giving them the sacraments and receiving them into the Church reminds us of all the privileges and graces we ourselves have received.
And the wheel turns again. It will soon be time for us to start the Catechumenate afresh. The first session is scheduled for 730pm on Tuesday 29 May. During these coming six weeks, maybe you could think of anyone you know who may be seeking Christ and his Church but diffident about making the first move. In the 1970s, I worked in the Catholic Enquiry Centre in London, the outfit that used to send pamphlets to people who were interested in the faith but who hadn’t yet made any definitive move in that direction. What was always very evident to us was that people were generally hesitant to make the first move towards the Church and relied on others to offer them a helping hand. Do you know any such person who is perhaps waiting for you to make the first move? I remind you, as I have reminded you many times before, there is no greater gift you could give to anyone, no greater service you could ever render, than to bring someone to Christ and his Church.
Pentecost Sunday (27 May) has acquired something of a special character here at Our Lady’s, for it is the Sunday when we hold our International Mass. It has been a great joy for us to welcome into our parish family fellow Catholics who have come here from the four corners of the world. Their very presence among us reminds us that our Church is truly catholic, knowing no boundaries of language, race or culture. Christ is the bond that binds us all together. On the first Pentecost Sunday the catholicity of the future Church was dramatically forecasted when the Apostles spoke in the different languages of the world, telling everyone about the wonderful sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord.
I would like to invite representatives of all the different ethnic groups in our parish to take part in this Mass on Pentecost Sunday. Last year the Mass was fantastic, and for it to be so again it will need preparation; so there will be a preliminary meeting at Stella Maris at 730pm on Thursday 26 April. If you have come into our parish from another country, then I encourage you to come along.
God bless you,
Fr Anthony Jones