All posts by 3 churches

The additional Apostle

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Saint Matthias – feast day on Thursday – according to the Acts of the Apostles, was the man chosen by the believers to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and suicide.

There is no mention of a Matthias among the lists of disciples or followers of Jesus in the Gospels. His calling as an apostle is unique because it was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended into heaven. It was made before the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. However, according to the Acts, he had been with Jesus from his baptism by John in the Jordan to the Ascension. In the days following, Peter proposed that the assembled disciples nominate two men to replace Judas. They chose Joseph called Barnabas and Matthias, and then prayed. When they then cast lots, the lot fell to Matthias, so he was numbered with the eleven, and he was therefore present with the other apostles at Pentecost.

No further information about Matthias is to be found in the New Testament. Some in the early centuries said he was the same man as Zacchaeus, others identified him with Barnabas. The Greeks said that St. Matthias planted the faith in Cappadocia in current day Turkey and on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Some claimed he was stoned to death in present day Georgia, while some said he went to Ethiopia. Yet other traditions maintained that Matthias was stoned and beheaded at Jerusalem, or that he simply died of old age there.

A strong tradition claims that St Matthias the Apostle’s remains are buried in the Abbey of St Matthias in Trier, Germany, brought there through Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine. Others say he was buried after his martyrdom in Georgia. The feast of Saint Matthias was included in the Church Calendar in the 11th century. In 1969, his feast was transferred from February to May 14, so as not to celebrate it in Lent but instead in Eastertide, close to the Ascension, after which he became one of the chosen.

Fr Matthew

Our Lady in Cardiff

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Have you ever wondered why St Mary’s Street is so called? Have you even realised that one of Cardiff’s main streets is dedicated to the Mother of God? I’m not sure what she thinks of it now – especially on weekend evenings…

Many will know that the reason for the street’s name is the fact that the original (ie Catholic) parish church of Cardiff was called St Mary’s. It was located down the far end, roughly where Wetherspoon’s/ The Prince of Wales is now. For several hundred years in the Middle Ages it was served by Benedictine Monks from Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire, founded by the original (Norman) lords of Cardiff.

Unfortunately it was built very close to the river Taff, which flowed much closer to the town then, roughly where Westgate Street is. Slowly, over the centuries, first the churchyard and then the church itself were swept away by the river. By now, of course it was in the hands of the Anglicans, and St John’s had become the main church of the town.

When the St Mary’s church was rebuilt, it was located further south in Bute Street, where it still stands, known as St Mary the Virgin. William Wordsworth was commissioned to write a sonnet to fundraise for it! If you go inside the church, at the back you will find a plaque with a list of the parish priests going back into those medieval times. When I was pp down at St Cuthbert’s in the early 80’s, and enjoyed good relations with the vicar, I used to pull his leg – but with a more serious glint in my eye – that, er, the line of succession went a bit haywire around the 16th century!

So next time you are in St Mary Street spare a thought for our Catholic forbears who celebrated the Mass and sacraments there – and perhaps say a prayer to Our Blessed Lady for the city, as she must have a special place in her heart for anywhere that dedicated its main church to her.

Fr Matthew

The joy of the Gospel

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It is very clear from the Gospels in this Easter season that spreading the Word and deepening our own faith had to be a priority for the Church as it had been for Jesus. “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” “Go out into the whole world, proclaim the good news!” And the apostles and early Church did it, as have thousands down through the centuries – that’s how you and I come to share the precious gift of faith.

Pope Francis is urging us to be filled with the joy of the Gospel, so that we feel impelled to share it. I’ve mentioned in a previous newsletter that we now have a 3 Churches group looking at Evangelization in our area. We thought it was now a good time to report on activities.

Open Churches While St Brigid’s and St Paul’s churches are open for much of the time, we have enabled Christ the King to be open on Friday evenings as well as during Adoration on Tuesdays. This has led us to reflect on the various spiritual activities that are available in our 3 Churches, and this will be reported in a newsletter in the near future.

Local Outreach At Pentecost we will launch a new project to gently spread the word and offer the prayers of our 3 Churches for the local streets and neighbourhoods. Delivery of simple prayer cards will be combined with invitations through the newsletter and other means for all of us to pray for our locality. We need some volunteers to simply pop about 20 such notes through letterboxes. There will be no return visits needed! If you would like to know more or be willing to give around 30 minutes every few weeks to help deliver the cards please contact Fr Matthew, Anne Burns (2076 6318) or Elizabeth Taylor (2075 1401).

Youth Outreach We are starting to rethink ministry to and with our young people, with the help of professionals.

Sacraments We organized an evening for catechists and are continuing to reflect on their role and support, in evangelization in relation to the sacraments.

Can you help us with any of these activities and play your part in this great project, the bringing of the Good News to the four corners of Thornhill and Lisvane, of Llanishen and the Heath, of Cyncoed and Penylan?

Fr Matthew