Cardiff comes together

This Wednesday Catholic Cardiff comes together to celebrate our annual Lenten Mass. It will be at St Mary’s, Kings Road, Canton at 7pm. Let’s make sure the church is full!

The idea of local churches coming together in Lent goes back to ancient Rome when the Pope would visit different city churches in turn through the great season. People would come from all over the Eternal City to join him and all the clergy. So it was really a journey through Lent, with stops (“Stations”) at different places. It’s this idea of stopping that is the reason these Masses are sometimes known as Station Masses – it’s nothing to do with Stations of the Cross! The Popes still visit churches at this time of year and so now do many bishops, including our own Archbishop George Stack. He visits each of our six deaneries, or divisions of our diocese, one or two each week.

So why not come along? Well, you know that we are in this together – life, our faith, our Lent, our city. Our Catholic Church is just that – “catholic” meaning universal. We are not little island parishes, even though we may sometimes behave as if we are. We all belong to each other, and each parish belongs to the greater family of the diocese, just as each diocese belongs to the worldwide Church.

With all the priests of our deanery – Cardiff, Penarth and Barry – gather around our Bishop, let’s all come together for a great celebration of the Eucharist. Yes, it’s the “other” side of the city, yes the parking at St Mary’s is very difficult. But so what? Lent was not meant to be easy. Share cars, offer lifts, “offer it up” as my Mum would say.

So, drop your plans for Wednesday, let’s put ourselves out a little to be the Church of Cardiff celebrating a great Mass together. St Mary’s, Kings Road, Wednesday 7pm.

Fr Matthew