Llandudno -
Our Lady Star of
the Sea
Parish Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday, May, 20th 2007 - The Ascension of Our Lord
Parish Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday, May, 20th 2007 - The Ascension of Our Lord
Dear
Parishioner,
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord, the feast ordered by the Bishops of England and Wales to be celebrated on the Sunday now rather than the Thursday. It is a celebration of the victory and the glory of the Lord.
Yesterday, Saturday, we had quite a do in the church, with seven school children being baptised and sixteen making their First confession. This gives us a grand total of twenty-three children to make their First Holy Communion on Sunday 10 June.
The baptisms were a good visual aid to the other children and to the parents, reminding us all of the tremendous gift we receive when God admits us into his family, the Church, by pouring out upon us his very own life, his very own Holy Spirit.
When children are baptised and receive their First Confession and First Holy Communion, grace comes powerfully into families. Often it is neglected and ignored. But if it is accepted, the family returning to the practice of their Catholic Faith, then wonderful things can and do happen. Let us pray that it may be so in the case of each and every one of these children and their families this year.
Next Sunday is Pentecost. When the Risen Lord had ascended into heaven, he poured out upon his Church the gift He had promised, the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
**********************
With the coming of the Spirit, the Apostles were transformed and began to speak to the crowds in every language of the world. We will celebrate this in our special International Mass next Sunday. We invite these parishioners who have joined our parish from abroad to take part in a special way in this Mass on Pentecost Sunday. The readings, bidding prayers etc will all be in different languages, with an English translation available to everyone else. The Mass will be followed by refreshments over in Stella Maris, but refreshments and cakes with a difference, baked in the traditions of various countries.
We have already had one meeting to prepare for our International Mass, and in essence it is all ready. What we need now are volunteers, people willing to take an active part. There will be a special meeting on Monday at Stella Maris at 7:30pm and I earnestly ask representatives of those of you who have made your home among us to come along to it. Sister Jennifer will be on the lookout after the Masses this weekend!
*********************
I thank Fr Andrew for supplying for me while I was away on holiday. Pwllheli was as beautiful as ever, and the sun shone on the righteous! I asked him to tell you that the Walk in the Spirit, which I wrote about in my Newsletter before my holidays, has been postponed. In fact, we decided at a Cytun Steering Committee meeting since I got back to postpone until next Pentecost. Pentecost is really the most suitable day for it.
*********************
Every week, at one or other of the weekday Masses, a young man comes into church, usually slightly late, and settles himself on the back bench of the church. As he is gone before I am unvested after the Mass, I never had chance to speak to him. Until recently, that is, when I met him in town. I asked him, a young Eastern European, why I never see him on a Sunday but always during the week. He told me simply that he works on a Sunday and makes up for it by coming to Mass when he can.
What a fantastic example that is! There are Catholics in our parish, who practised their faith regularly until they got a Sunday job. Then you never saw them in church again. Ever. It makes you wonder what kind of faith they had in the first place! But that young man, away from the support of his own family and nation, making the effort to keep faithful to the Lord and to his duties to God and the Church. How he puts so many of us to shame! We can learn so much from these young people who have come among us. I hope our International Mass will show them how much we appreciate them and how much we welcome them.
God bless you,
Fr Antony Jones
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord, the feast ordered by the Bishops of England and Wales to be celebrated on the Sunday now rather than the Thursday. It is a celebration of the victory and the glory of the Lord.
Yesterday, Saturday, we had quite a do in the church, with seven school children being baptised and sixteen making their First confession. This gives us a grand total of twenty-three children to make their First Holy Communion on Sunday 10 June.
The baptisms were a good visual aid to the other children and to the parents, reminding us all of the tremendous gift we receive when God admits us into his family, the Church, by pouring out upon us his very own life, his very own Holy Spirit.
When children are baptised and receive their First Confession and First Holy Communion, grace comes powerfully into families. Often it is neglected and ignored. But if it is accepted, the family returning to the practice of their Catholic Faith, then wonderful things can and do happen. Let us pray that it may be so in the case of each and every one of these children and their families this year.
Next Sunday is Pentecost. When the Risen Lord had ascended into heaven, he poured out upon his Church the gift He had promised, the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
**********************
With the coming of the Spirit, the Apostles were transformed and began to speak to the crowds in every language of the world. We will celebrate this in our special International Mass next Sunday. We invite these parishioners who have joined our parish from abroad to take part in a special way in this Mass on Pentecost Sunday. The readings, bidding prayers etc will all be in different languages, with an English translation available to everyone else. The Mass will be followed by refreshments over in Stella Maris, but refreshments and cakes with a difference, baked in the traditions of various countries.
We have already had one meeting to prepare for our International Mass, and in essence it is all ready. What we need now are volunteers, people willing to take an active part. There will be a special meeting on Monday at Stella Maris at 7:30pm and I earnestly ask representatives of those of you who have made your home among us to come along to it. Sister Jennifer will be on the lookout after the Masses this weekend!
*********************
I thank Fr Andrew for supplying for me while I was away on holiday. Pwllheli was as beautiful as ever, and the sun shone on the righteous! I asked him to tell you that the Walk in the Spirit, which I wrote about in my Newsletter before my holidays, has been postponed. In fact, we decided at a Cytun Steering Committee meeting since I got back to postpone until next Pentecost. Pentecost is really the most suitable day for it.
*********************
Every week, at one or other of the weekday Masses, a young man comes into church, usually slightly late, and settles himself on the back bench of the church. As he is gone before I am unvested after the Mass, I never had chance to speak to him. Until recently, that is, when I met him in town. I asked him, a young Eastern European, why I never see him on a Sunday but always during the week. He told me simply that he works on a Sunday and makes up for it by coming to Mass when he can.
What a fantastic example that is! There are Catholics in our parish, who practised their faith regularly until they got a Sunday job. Then you never saw them in church again. Ever. It makes you wonder what kind of faith they had in the first place! But that young man, away from the support of his own family and nation, making the effort to keep faithful to the Lord and to his duties to God and the Church. How he puts so many of us to shame! We can learn so much from these young people who have come among us. I hope our International Mass will show them how much we appreciate them and how much we welcome them.
God bless you,
Fr Antony Jones