Llandudno -
Our Lady Star of
the Sea
Parish Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday, April, 22nd 2007 - Third Sunday of Easter
Parish Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday, April, 22nd 2007 - Third Sunday of Easter
Dear
Parishioner,
Next Sunday, at the evening Vigil Mass and at the Sunday morning Mass, we will be crowning the statue of Our Lady. As you know, this is traditional during May, and as I shall be away for the first two weeks of the month we shall be holding the crowning ceremony next weekend, the 28/29 April. Adults will crown the statue at the vigil Mass, children at the morning Mass.
This is not an old fashioned exercise in sentimentality. Devotion to Our Lady should hold a central part in our Christian lives. There are some who have been misled by the behaviour of the “reformed” churches which, at the Reformation, abandoned the ancient tradition of venerating Our Lady, and in doing so they really did throw the baby out with the bath water! Happily, they are now coming around to recognising the error they made. There are profound theological reasons why we should be devoted to the holy Mother of God.
It is now axiomatic – we take it for granted – that the Church is not, as people used to think, just the pope, the bishops and the priests. The Church is us – we are the church. St Paul makes this point over and over again: we are the Church because we are the Body of Christ; He is the Head, we are the members. Now if we are really the Body of Christ, take a fresh look at the statue of Our Lady here in church, or the statue or picture you have at home. Our Lady holding the Child Jesus - that is also a statue of Our Lady holding the Church in her arms; of Our Lady holding you or me. “Woman, behold thy son”.
And leading easily from this is what I have to tell you about the Union of Catholic Mothers. We had a lovely Mass at Stella Maris last Monday to mark their Annual General Meeting. At the meeting, Mrs Christine Goodwin took over the reins as President from Mrs Margaret Amiel, who, as you know, has been dogged with ill health for some years now. It gives me the opportunity to tell her, on my behalf and yours, how much her efforts on the part of the UCM have been appreciated. We really do thank her for all the hard graft she has put into this work. We wish Christine well as she takes over these responsibilities. And extra responsibilities too, for she has generously accepted the post of Treasurer in addition to that of President. We thank Mrs Sheila Johnson who had been holding this post beforehand and Mrs Des Blease for accepting the crucial job of Secretary. The UCM plays an important role in any Catholic Parish. I warmly encourage parishioners to consider joining, for their own personal benefit and for the benefit of the parish.
The Repository has, or will very soon have, a large supply of Penny Catechisms! Actually, there has been a 550% rise in inflation since last you bought your penny catechism, for it now costs £5.50, but worth every single one of those 550 pennies!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, a weighty tome and expensive too (about £25), is one of the most magnificent achievements of the Church in the last fifty years. At a Synod of Bishops, meeting in Rome in January 1985, there was a call for a catechism to be drawn up, a compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals. Pope John Paul took up the challenge and appointed Cardinal Razinger, the present Holy Father, to chair a commission of twelve Cardinals and Bishops to prepare such a catechism. Nine drafts in all were drawn up and circulated to all the Bishops of the world-wide Catholic Church for their observations and the observations of their people, before the final text was published. Pope John Paul said: It can be said that this Catechism is the result of the collaboration of the whole Episcopate of the Catholic Church (i.e. all the Bishops of the world). The achievement of this Catechism thus reflects the collegial nature of the Episcopate; it testifies to the Church’s catholicity. On publishing the Catechism, he said: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I approved on 25 June 1991 and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church’s faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church’s Magisterium (i.e. teaching authority). I declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion.
You can’t get anything more authoritative than that!
What is on sale in the repository is a Compendium of this Catechism. It is an abbreviated form of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and is in question and answer form, like the old penny catechism used to be. Having one in your home would be an ongoing source of information for every member of the family. I thoroughly recommend that you invest in one.
Also in the repository are versions of the Revised English Bible, a translation I recommend, and at a discounted price too; and copies of the Welsh Missal, a must-have for any Welsh speaker or learner who attends the Welsh Mass regularly.
God bless you,
Fr Anthony Jones
Next Sunday, at the evening Vigil Mass and at the Sunday morning Mass, we will be crowning the statue of Our Lady. As you know, this is traditional during May, and as I shall be away for the first two weeks of the month we shall be holding the crowning ceremony next weekend, the 28/29 April. Adults will crown the statue at the vigil Mass, children at the morning Mass.
This is not an old fashioned exercise in sentimentality. Devotion to Our Lady should hold a central part in our Christian lives. There are some who have been misled by the behaviour of the “reformed” churches which, at the Reformation, abandoned the ancient tradition of venerating Our Lady, and in doing so they really did throw the baby out with the bath water! Happily, they are now coming around to recognising the error they made. There are profound theological reasons why we should be devoted to the holy Mother of God.
It is now axiomatic – we take it for granted – that the Church is not, as people used to think, just the pope, the bishops and the priests. The Church is us – we are the church. St Paul makes this point over and over again: we are the Church because we are the Body of Christ; He is the Head, we are the members. Now if we are really the Body of Christ, take a fresh look at the statue of Our Lady here in church, or the statue or picture you have at home. Our Lady holding the Child Jesus - that is also a statue of Our Lady holding the Church in her arms; of Our Lady holding you or me. “Woman, behold thy son”.
And leading easily from this is what I have to tell you about the Union of Catholic Mothers. We had a lovely Mass at Stella Maris last Monday to mark their Annual General Meeting. At the meeting, Mrs Christine Goodwin took over the reins as President from Mrs Margaret Amiel, who, as you know, has been dogged with ill health for some years now. It gives me the opportunity to tell her, on my behalf and yours, how much her efforts on the part of the UCM have been appreciated. We really do thank her for all the hard graft she has put into this work. We wish Christine well as she takes over these responsibilities. And extra responsibilities too, for she has generously accepted the post of Treasurer in addition to that of President. We thank Mrs Sheila Johnson who had been holding this post beforehand and Mrs Des Blease for accepting the crucial job of Secretary. The UCM plays an important role in any Catholic Parish. I warmly encourage parishioners to consider joining, for their own personal benefit and for the benefit of the parish.
The Repository has, or will very soon have, a large supply of Penny Catechisms! Actually, there has been a 550% rise in inflation since last you bought your penny catechism, for it now costs £5.50, but worth every single one of those 550 pennies!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, a weighty tome and expensive too (about £25), is one of the most magnificent achievements of the Church in the last fifty years. At a Synod of Bishops, meeting in Rome in January 1985, there was a call for a catechism to be drawn up, a compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals. Pope John Paul took up the challenge and appointed Cardinal Razinger, the present Holy Father, to chair a commission of twelve Cardinals and Bishops to prepare such a catechism. Nine drafts in all were drawn up and circulated to all the Bishops of the world-wide Catholic Church for their observations and the observations of their people, before the final text was published. Pope John Paul said: It can be said that this Catechism is the result of the collaboration of the whole Episcopate of the Catholic Church (i.e. all the Bishops of the world). The achievement of this Catechism thus reflects the collegial nature of the Episcopate; it testifies to the Church’s catholicity. On publishing the Catechism, he said: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I approved on 25 June 1991 and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church’s faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church’s Magisterium (i.e. teaching authority). I declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion.
You can’t get anything more authoritative than that!
What is on sale in the repository is a Compendium of this Catechism. It is an abbreviated form of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and is in question and answer form, like the old penny catechism used to be. Having one in your home would be an ongoing source of information for every member of the family. I thoroughly recommend that you invest in one.
Also in the repository are versions of the Revised English Bible, a translation I recommend, and at a discounted price too; and copies of the Welsh Missal, a must-have for any Welsh speaker or learner who attends the Welsh Mass regularly.
God bless you,
Fr Anthony Jones