ASCENSION OF THE LORD
20th MAY 2012
At the end of His earthly life, having completed everything God the Father had given Him to do (culminating in the Paschal Mystery), Our Lord ascends into Heaven. He speaks of His absolute joy, which He wants to share. It is His own joy which will make us truly joyful people.
Our Lord wants us to long for the gift of the Holy Spirit who will remind us of everything the Lord taught us and lead us into all truth. Our desire should be to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord commissions the Apostles to go out into the whole world to proclaim the Gospel. We can only share the Good News insofar as we know it - know it in our mind and love it in our heart. Our Lord came to communicate God's love for us - sometimes in words, sometimes in deeds, and sometimes in silence: we have to learn from Him.
Pope Benedict in his message for the "COMMUNICATIONS SUNDAY" today speaks about our need to discover silence as an integral part of communication:
"It is often in silence that we observe the most authentic communications taking place between people who are in love: gestures, facial expression and body language are signs by which they reveal themselves to another." Pope Benedict reminds us that God also speaks without words: As the Cross demonstrates, God also speaks by His silence. God's silence prolongs His earlier words. In these moments of darkness, He speaks through the mystery of silence".
So, we need some silence in order to learn to listen to God speak in the depths of our own being. To communicate well, be it with God or with one another, we need to listen and contemplate as well as speak.
The art of silence is central to our spiritual life: without it we cannot learn to speak the Truth in love.
Fr David Barnes, Rector
NEW DIOCESAN VESTMENT
New diocesan chasuble. Our Archbishop, Vincent Nichols, explained the meaning of the design at the Chrism Mass in Holy Week. During the Chrism Mass the priests promise "to discharge faithfully the sacred office of teaching, not seeking any gain but moved only by zeal for souls", and "to be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God in the Holy Eucharist and other liturgical rites". The Archbishop continued:
"Both these tasks are signified in the designs of the vestment which have been taken from the embellishments of the Cathedral. The first is the five circles, an ancient geometrical pattern, which represents Christ in majesty, surrounded by the four Gospels, or reaching out to the ends of the earth. You can see this pattern there on the pulpit of the Cathedral, with the central circle containing the figure of the Lamb of God holding His flag of victory. It is also present on the bishop's cathedra, the chair which signifies the bishop as teacher of the faith. The same pattern is repeated with the diamonds. These represent the five wounds of Christ, the wounds through which we are saved, the wounds open for us in the celebration of every Mass". Archbishop Vincent also made a request to all those at the Chrism Mass, "which I put to you with all my heart: Pray for your priests that the Lord may pour out His gifts abundantly upon them and keep them faithful ministers of Christ, the High Priest, so that they may lead you to Him who is the source of salvation. Amen". As we crown Our Lady in the parish this weekend, pray that the spirit of Mary, the spirit of a total YES to God in all things, will reign in our hearts.
MARY'S MONTH OF MAY
MAY is a time to grow in love and joy - especially through sharing in the joy of Our Lady. For she who bore Our Lord in her womb, and who formed Him in His human nature (though not of course His divine nature) has risen from the dead. Having shared her sorrow in His Passion and Death, we share now her joy in His Resurrection. The Church's Easter anthem to Our Lady should be known by all of us - in both Latin and English! Please ensure that each of us in our parish know how to sing or say the "REGINA COELl" (Queen of Heaven rejoice.........)
Latin
REGINA COELI, laetare, alleluia,
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia,
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
English
Joy to thee O Queen of heaven, Alleluia,
He whom thou wast meet to bear, alleluia,
As He promised has arisen, alleluia,
Pour for us to him thy prayer, alleluia.
"Through Mary to Jesus" is the teaching many saints have given us. The more we put it into practice, the more we shall know Our Lord Jesus.
Fr David Barnes, Rector
The Source of my Vocation by Blessed John Paul
I set off in search of the source of my vocation. It is beating there.... In the Upper Room in Jerusalem. I transport myself in thought to that memorable Thursday, when Christ, having loved His own to the end (cf. John 13:1) instituted the Apostles as priests of the New Covenant. I see Him bending down before each of us, successors of the Apostles, to wash our feet. I hear Him, as if He were speaking to me - to us - these words: "Do you realise what I have done for you? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Master', and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you an example to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do." (John 13: 12-16)
Together with Peter, Andrew, James and John let us continue to listen; "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love! If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."John 15: 9-14)
Is not the mystery of our vocation contained in these sayings? These words of Christ, spoken at the hour for which He had come (cf. John 12: 27), are at the root of every vocation: those of the Apostles and their successors, but also everv other vocation, because , the Son wishes to be a friend to everyone: because He gave his life for all. Here we find what is most important, most valuable, and most sacred: the love of the Father and the love of Christ for us, His and our joy, and also our friendship and fidelity, which express themselves in the fulfilment of the commandments. Those words also contain the goal and meaning of our vocation:to "go and bear fruit that will last" (John 15: 16) From "Rise, Let us be on our way"
MARRIAGE - WHAT CAN I DO? Today we need to do all we can to cherish and foster marriage, and ensure that a true meaning of marriage is not lost for future genemtions. And we need to do this without losing pastoral support for those of same sex orientation. Archbishop Vincent Nichols.
What does the Government want to do? The Government is consulting on "Equal Civil Marriage" because it wants to extend the right to a civil marriage to same sex couples. The public consultation runs until 4th June 2012 and is open to everyone.
WHAT CAN I DO? The Government needs to know your views.
1. Do write to your MP. MP for Anytown, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, or find your MP's name from local information or via www.findyourmp.parliament.uk This is the most important action you can take.
Here are some points you can draw on in your letter: The law helps to shape and form social and cultural values. A change in the law would gradually and inevitably transform society's understanding of the purpose of marriage.
A change in the law which allowed same-sex marriage would:
- Change the meaning of marriage for everyone.
- Break the connection between marriage and child bearing;
- Disregard the fundamental complimentarity of male and female and its Creativity;
- Reduce the meaning of marriage solely to the commitment of the two people involved.
Further briefing is available on the Bishops' Conference website www.catholicnews.org.uk
2. You can also respond to the Consultation document - follow the links from "Government Consultation" at www.catholicnews.org.uk. The most important question in the Consultation is the first: "Do you agree or disagree with enabling all couples, regardless of their gender to have a civil marriage ceremony?" You do not need to answer all questions. Further detailed arguments about the policy will be found at www.catholicnews.org.uk
3. If you do nothing else. please sign the Coalition for Marriage Petition at the back of the church or on-line via www.c4m.org.uk
Why should I get involved? Marriage is the one institution which exists to recognise and protect the creation and up-bringing of children, and research confirms that it provides the best circumstances in which children can be raised, it is vital for the future of any society, and that is why it always had special protection.
Is this legal change necessary? The Civil Partnerships Act 2004 already enables same-sex couples to enjoy all the legal and practical benefits of marriage such as inheritance, pension and next of kin rights. The changes proposed would not increase the legal protection for those in civil partnerships.
Does it matter, if only civil marriages are affected? The Church is opposing the Government's policy because it cares for the common good of society. Society should support the best means of raising the next generation. It's about what marriage means for all - it's not just what happens in Churches.
PLEASE THINK AND PRAY PLEASE ACT NOW SO THAT THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE IS PRESERVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. If you would like to read or hear the Letter on Marriage or know more about the support available within the Catholic Church for marriage and for Catholics who are homosexual in their sexual orientation please visit www.catholicnews.org.uk
A PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS by Blessed Pope John Paul II
Lord Jesus, once you called the first disciples in order to make them fishers of men. Continue to let resound today, Your sweet invitation: "Come and follow me." Grant to young men and women the grace to respond to Your voice. Sustain our bishops, priests and consecrated souls in their apostolic work. Give perseverance to our seminarians and to all those living a life of total consecration to Your service. Enkindle in our communities a missionary zeal. Send Lord, workers into Your fields, and do not let mankind be lost because of a lack of pastors, Missionaries and people dedicated to the cause of the Gospel.
Mary Mother of the Church, Model of Vocations, Help us to say "Yes" to the Lord who calls each one of us, to play our part in His plan of Salvation. Amen.
PRAYER OF ST ANSELM Monk, Archbishop, Doctor of the Church
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete"
My God, I pray that I may so know you and love you that I may rejoice in you. And if I may not do so fully in this life, let me go steadily on to the day when I come to that fullness. Let the knowledge of you increase in me here, and there let it come to its fullness. Let your love grow in me here, and there let it be fulfilled, so that here my joy may be in a great hope, and there in full reality.
Lord, you have commanded, or rather advised us, to ask by your Son, and you have promised that we shall receive "that our joy may full" (Jn: 16.24) That which you counsel through our "wonderful councellor" (Is: 9.5) is what I am asking for, Lord. Let me receive that which you promised through your truth, "that my joy may be full." God of truth, I ask that I may receive, so that my joy may be full.
Meanwhile let my mind meditate on it, let my tongue speak of it, let my heart love it, let my mouth preach it, let my soul hunger for it, my flesh thirst for it, and my whole being desire it, until I enter the joy of my Lord (Mt: 25.2 I) who is God, one and triune, blessed forever. Amen
Proslogion, 26. Copyright trans. Benedicta Ward
Let your God love you.
Be silent.
Be still.
Alone Empty before your God.
Say nothing.
Ask nothing.
Be silent.
Be still.
Let your God look upon you.
That is all.
He knows.
He understands.
He loves you with an enormous love.
He only wants to look upon you with His love.
Quiet.
Still be.
Let your God - Love you.
HOW TO BEHAVE IN CHURCH by St Padre Pio of Pietrelina
In order to avoid irreverence and imperfections in the house of God, in church which the Divine Master calls the House of Prayer - I exhort you in the Lord to practise the following. Enter the church in silence and with great respect, considering yourself unworthy to appear before the Lord's Majesty. Amongst other pious considerations, remembering that our soul is the Temple of God and, as such, must keep it pure and spotless before God and His angels. Let us blush for having given access to the Devil and his snares many times (with his enticements to world, his pomp, his calling to the flesh) by not being able to keep our hearts pure and our bodies chaste, for having allowed our enemies to insinuate themselves in our hearts, thus desecrating the Temple of God which we became through holy Baptism. Then take holy water and make the sign of the cross carefully and slowly. As soon as you are before God in the Blessed Sacrament, devoutly genuflect. Once you have found your place, kneel down and render the tribute of your presence and devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Confide all your needs to Him along with those of others. Speak to him with filial abandonment, give free reign to you heart and give Him complete freedom to work in you as He thinks best. When assisting at Holy Mass and the sacred functions, be very composed when standing up, kneeling down and sitting, and carry out every religious act with the greatest devotion. Be modest in your glances, don't turn your head here and there to see who enters and leaves. Don't laugh, out of reverence for this holy place and also out of respect for those who are near you. Try not to speak to anybody, except when charity or strict necessity requests this. If you pray with others, say the words of the prayer distinctly, observe the pauses well and never hurry. In short, behave in such way that all present are edified by it and, through you, are urged to glorify and love the Heavenly Father. On leaving the church, you should be recollected and calm. Firstly take leave of Jesus in the Blessed Saerament, ask his forgiveness for the shortcomings committed in his divine presence and do not leave him without asking for and having received his paternal blessing.
HOW TO BEHAVE IN CHURCH: the teaching of St Padre Pio is to be embraced by us all. Among our Parish Lenten disciplines, may we all put into practice what he teaches us.
HOLY HOLBORN.
I often forget what a privilege it is to be walking on such holy ground as we go about our daily lives in this area of London. Crossing the road by Holborn underground station or walking along High Holborn towards either Oxford Street or Chancery Lane, we need reminding that during the Reformation it was along this road that the Martyrs (priests and lay people) were dragged along on hurdles, to be executed at Tyburn. T.S.Eliot, the famous poet who lived in Bedford Place during the 1950's, wrote 'For wherever a saint has dwelt, wherever a martyr has given his blood for the blood of Christ, There is holy ground, and the sanctity shall not depart from it.'
Following our Centenary celebrations in 2009, Father Nicholas Schofield, the Archivist of the Archdiocese of Westminster was invited by Father David to give a talk to parishioners entitled Holborn - London's Via Sacra (The Way), regarding the Catholic history of the Parish. Father Nicholas spoke in particular about the Catholic safe houses used to shelter priests in the area during the time of the Reformation and of those Saints and Martyrs who lived in Holborn and were put to death outside their homes or at Tyburn, by being hanged, drawn and quartered.
The immense courage and heroism of those who bore witness to the Catholic faith here in Holborn and sacrificed their lives along with many other Saints and Martyrs at that time, helped to ensure we have the religious freedom to practise our faith openly, free from the fear of persecution.
Hugely impressed by Father Nicholas' talk, Father David approached me to ask whether the text could be made into a booklet which could be obtained by everyone in the parish and beyond. Now, with additional material and accompanying photographs and illustrations, the publication is available from the Repository at the back of the church or from the Sacristy, with proceeds helping towards the costs involved in the reordering of the Sanctuary.
The booklet reflects our unique history. It is important that this is celebrated and brought to our attention once more.
Stephen Osborne
THE SUNDAY OBLIGATION: The first commandment of the Church binds all Catholics to attend Mass on all Sundays and Holy days of obligation. This is a grave obligation on our conscience, unless some really serious cause prevents us. To come in late, wilfully or through carelessness, when Mass has begun is at least a venial sin. To miss Mass when you cannot help it, or when it would be very difficult for you to attend Mass, is not a sin. So, if you were to miss Mass because you were ill, or because you had to stay at home to mind a sick person or children, or because you were a long way from church, or if for some other reason you could not go, it would not be a sin. When you cannot go to mass, say the Mass prayers yourself at home, if possible.
THE SEVEN CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY To feed the hungry; to give drink to the thirsty; to clothe the naked; to harbour the harbourless; to visit the sick; to visit the imprisoned; to bury the dead.
ADORATION: Monday to Friday 8.30am-5.45pm
ROSARY: during this Month of the Rosary please remember * Always have the rosary with you.....in your pocket, bag or (fashionable now!) around your neck Hold it with faith at various times of the day (say, at times of anxiety, or temptation, sadness or joy) for this is a prayerful action opening us to God. Say some part of the rosary every day If possible, join the public recitation of the Rosary every evening in church at 5.20pm.
RE-ESTABLISHING FRIDAY PENANCE
A key resolution of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, released after their May 2011 plenary meeting, was 'to re-establish the practice of Friday penance in the lives of the faithful as a clear and distinctive mark of their own Catholic identity.'
This act of common witness will come into effect from Friday 16th September 2011- the day the Church in England and Wales marks the anniversary of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom.
Since the Bishops of England and Wales announced this decision in May 2011, a number of questions have been asked. To help answer these questions the Bishop's Conference has produced a list of frequently asked questions with answers that will help to explain the reasons for the reintroduction of this penance.
The full document which includes further questions and answers, as well as a liturgical explanation of the Friday penance can be downloaded from the link www.rcdow.org.uk/includes/dow-content-print.asp?content- ref= 3473.
Questions and answers include: Why are we obliged to practice penance on Fridays? From the earliest centuries of the Church's history, Friday was dedicated to the memory of the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a day on which we should make a special effort to practice penitence. The seasons and days of penitence in the course of the Liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday) are therefore intense moments of the Church's penitential practice.
Does this mean that we should eat fish on Friday? There is no requirement for us to eat fish instead of meat on a Friday. Our act of abstinence does not mean that we have to eat another particular type of food as a regular substitute for meat on a Friday. The precise goal of penitence is not simply the avoidance of meat or its substitution with another food but relating the external and common act of penance we do to inner conversion, prayer and works of charity.
Are the Bishops placing a greater obligation on Catholics in England and Wales? Apart from the exception above, will it be a 'sin' to eat meat on Friday after the Bishops decision takes effect in September? The obligation on Catholics in England and Wales to do penance on a Friday will be the same after Friday 16th September 2011 as it was before that date. The only change is that the Bishops have determined that the requirement by all the faithful to do penance on a Friday will be fulfilled by abstaining from meat.
While failure to abstain from meat on a particular Friday would not constitute a 'sin' as such, the Vatican previously made it clear that it is our duty as Catholics to undertake penance on a Friday. It is more a question of intending to 'carry a small cross for Christ' than about abstaining from meat. The person who knowingly decides not to undertake any Friday penance at all is probably 'sinning'; the person who accidently eats a ham sandwich for lunch is not.
