Download the 3 churches newsletter for Sunday 3 November 2019, the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C).
All posts by 3 churches
Archbishop calls for urgent action
Archbishop Stack writes: The Welsh Government wants to take away the rights of parents to withdraw their children from both Religious Education (RE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). They also want to dumb-down the subject of RE and force schools to teach children about worldviews instead.
The Church teaches that family is much more than just a unit in the culture or economy. Parents are the primary educators of their children and our schools aid them in that task. While parents may choose various modes of education for their children it remains the parents’ duty above anyone else’s to teach their children. This necessarily means remaining informed and involved in the education children are receiving and supplementing or moderating when the need arises. The proposals by the Welsh Government remove this fundamental basic right of parents.
Concern must also be taken when looking at the Religious Education provision for our children. For families who do not currently have the option of sending their children to a Catholic school, they must be allowed to retain the right to withdraw their child from RE in their own school. Also the proposed introduction of worldviews as a central focus for RE provision moves the subject away from a theological discipline into a more sociological model i.e. removing God who is at the centre of everything and replacing Him with secular ideology.
Archbishop George is asking parishioners to urgently contact their Assembly Members and demand that the State does not usurp parents’ rights to decide how to teach these sensitive topics to their children. To contact your AMs please visit the Catholic Education Service website – www.catholiceducation.org.uk.
Fr Matthew
Christ the King Bidding Prayers for the Feast of all Saints, 2019
CELEBRANT: Gathered together on this special feast day, we present these prayers in faith God Our Heavenly Father.
READER: That the Church becomes an example of holiness to the World
Lord Hear Us, Lord Graciously Hear Us
READER: That political leaders respect themselves and each other.
Lord Hear Us, Lord Graciously Hear Us
READER: That people emerge in our communities who can inspire us to know God more.
Lord Hear Us, Lord Graciously Hear Us
READER: That we recognise our differences, but discover that we are all made in the image of God .
Lord Hear Us, Lord Graciously Hear Us
READER: We pray for all the sick people in our community who are unable to join us today.
Lord Hear Us, Lord Graciously Hear Us
READER: We ask Mary the Mother of God to pray with us as we say Hail Mary…..
READER: We stand in silence as we offer our own prayers, thoughts and worries to our loving Father.
Lord Hear Us, Lord Graciously Hear Us
CELEBRANT: Lord , we offer these prayers with hope in our hearts through your Son Jesus Christ Our Lord Amen .
Christ the King Bidding Prayers for 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, 3 November 2019
Priest: We come before God joyfully, he has saved us and works marvels for us. Let us now ask him for all our needs
Reader: We pray that wherever there is blindness, prejudice, or lack of vision in the Church, the Lord may enlighten and transform it.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Reader: We pray for our parish; for those who minister to us, for our teachers and catechists, for our young people and for the sick and elderly. May we build up our community by giving of our talents and resources as much as we are able to do.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Reader: As our country prepares for a general election, we pray for our politicians, that they may seek to serve with honesty and integrity for the good of all, especially the most vulnerable in our society.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Reader: We pray for those who are sick, those recovering from surgery and for all who are enduring any kind of suffering.Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Reader: We pray that all those who have died, may find the fullness of joy in God’s presence. We remember especially Paul Walker, husband of Helen and Helen Owen, who have both died recently.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We ask Mary, our Mother, to pray with us as we say Hail Mary…
In silence we think of our own needs and intentions…
Priest: Heavenly Father, trusting in your great love for us, we bring you all our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
3 churches newsletter, Sunday 27 October 2019
Download our 3 churches newsletter for Sunday 27 October 2019.
Into your hands…
Five years ago I wrote this front page piece for November and the Holy Souls. It contains one of my favourite prayers, so I make no apology for reprinting it this year…
After the Second Vatican Council, the various liturgical books were renewed and translated. The Missal for Mass, the words for the seven Sacraments – it was a long process. One of the very last texts to be renewed (appropriately) was the Rite of Christian Funerals. I’m not sure if lessons had been learned in the previous years, but many agree that it is one of the best post-Council rites.
Not only are there different prayers for every situation imaginable, but the quality of the translation was somewhat better than some previous efforts. The language is modern yet dignified, suitable for public speaking and not contorted.
One of my favourite liturgical prayers is the Prayer of Commendation at the end of a funeral. It is a key moment as we prepare to leave the church, the emotions of the bereaved are often strained by this point in the Mass, and something profound yet accessible is called for. And it certainly works – you can usually hear a pin drop as the much-loved person is handed back to the God who gave them to us…
It is a prayer for November:
Into your hands, Father of mercies,
we commend our brother/sister N,
in the sure and certain hope
that, together with all who have died in Christ,
he/she will rise with him on the last day.
We give you thanks for the blessings which you bestowed upon N. in this life:
they are signs to us of your goodness and of our fellowship with the saints in Christ.
Merciful Lord, turn toward us and listen to our prayers:
open the gates of paradise to your servant
and help us who remain
to comfort one another with assurances of faith,
until we all meet in Christ
and are with you and with our brother/sister for ever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Fr Matthew