Category Archives: newsletter

3 churches food market

newsletter

Why not visit the 3 churches food market every 3rd Saturday of the month, 10.30 to 11.30am at St Brigid’s Hall?

3 Churches food market poster at St Brigid's

  • Supports needy families living in our local communities
  • Helps to combat supermarket food waste
  • All donations received used to purchase food  (each Market costs approximately £400)
  • Run by young and older volunteers from the 3 Churches
  • Christianity in action! 

Like to be involved? 

  • PRAY – for those families who come to the Food Market
  • DONATE – via the special collection at all Masses on the feast of Corpus Christi (19 June) or at any other time via the labelled envelopes always available at the back of each church (cheques made payable to St Brigid’s Parish please)
  • HELP – at the Food Markets or with food collections from local supermarkets 

If you would like to help or know more about the 3 Churches Food Markets please contact:

 

Welcoming a new archbishop

newsletter

So, what is happening in the Cathedral on Monday at 12 noon? Here are some edited extracts from the Church’s code of Canon Law 382 – 387…

“A Bishop takes possession of his diocese when he shows the apostolic letters [of appointment] to the college of consultors. It is strongly recommended that this be performed with a liturgical act in the cathedral church, in the presence of the clergy and the people.”

And what is the archbishop’s job? The Code goes on: “In exercising his pastoral office, the diocesan Bishop is to be solicitous for all Christ’s faithful entrusted to his care, whatever their age, condition or nationality… He is to show an apostolic spirit also to those who, because of their condition of life, are not sufficiently able to benefit from ordinary pastoral care, and to those who have lapsed from religious practice. He is to act with humanity and charity to those who are not in full communion with the catholic Church, and foster ecumenism as it is understood by the Church. He is to consider the non-baptized as commended to him in the Lord, so that the charity of Christ, of which the Bishop must be a witness to all, may shine also on them.

He is to have a special concern for the priests, to whom he is to listen as his helpers and counsellors. He is to defend their rights and ensure that they fulfil the obligations proper to their state. He is to see that they have the means and the institutions needed for the development of their spiritual and intellectual life. He is to ensure that they are provided with adequate means of livelihood and social welfare, in accordance with the law. He must in a very special way foster vocations to the various ministries and to consecrated life, having a special care for priestly and missionary vocations.

The diocesan Bishop is bound to teach and illustrate to the faithful the truths of faith which are to be believed and applied to behaviour. However, he is to acknowledge a just freedom in the further investigation of truths. Mindful that he is bound to give an example of holiness, charity, humility and simplicity of life, the diocesan Bishop is to seek in every way to promote the holiness of Christ’s faithful according to the special vocation of each…”

Fr Matthew

The sign of the cross

newsletter

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

On Trinity Sunday we remember that these are some of the most often used words in our faith. Use of the sign itself goes back to early Christianity, when in the second century it was used during baptism, during ablutions before praying at fixed prayer times, and in times of temptation. The sign was originally made in some parts of the Christian world with the right-hand thumb across the forehead only. Traces of this remain in our Mass at the beginning of the Gospel, at the giving of ashes on Ash Wednesday, and the use of chrism at Baptisms and Confirmation.

The “right to left” form is used by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Eastern Rite Catholic churches, while “left to right” is used in our own Latin Rite Catholic church. The sign of the cross is also used in Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and some branches of Protestantism. In the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, the tips of the first three fingers are brought together, and the last two are pressed against the palm. The first three fingers express one’s faith in the Trinity, while the remaining two fingers represent the two natures of Jesus, divine and human.

We might begin the day, or our prayers and activities with the Sign of the Cross, dedicating the day to God for strength in temptations and difficulties. St John Vianney said a genuinely made Sign of the Cross “makes all hell tremble.” We might make the sign of the cross in response to blasphemy, or to seek God’s blessing before or during an event with uncertain outcome. In Hispanic countries, people often sign themselves in public, such as athletes who cross themselves before entering the field or while concentrating for competition.

It’s customary to make the Sign of the Cross using holy water when entering a church. This reminds us of our baptism and that we are entering a sacred place that is set apart from the world outside. The sign of the cross is made at several points in the Mass. We sign ourselves during the introductory greeting, the small signs of the cross before the Gospel, and at the final blessing. We can also do so at the end of the penitential rite. The priest blesses a deacon before he reads the Gospel, he signs the bread and wine at the invocation of the Holy Spirit before the consecration, and blesses the congregation at the conclusion of the Mass. Outside the Mass, a priest or deacon blesses an object or person with a sign of the cross.

Fr Matthew