All posts by 3 churches

Christ the King Bidding Prayers for the Feast of the Assumption, 2019

bidding prayers, Christ the King,

Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary-body and soul- into heaven as the Father’s special way of noting her role in  our salvation story. We ask that at our death He may be there to lead us home. 

R .Let us pray for the Church throughout the world that it may be a beacon of light leading all people to the Lord

Lord lead us home

PAUSE

We pray for the future of all our people and that of our neighbours in Europe that ways may be found to guide us all to a prosperous and peaceful future

PAUSE

Lord, lead us home

We remember now all the deceased members of out Three Churches calling to mind especially Mary Howard a long standing member of our community whose funeral took place yesterday. We remember all those who grieve and ask that the Lord may comfort them in their time of loss

PAUSE

Lord lead us home

Tonight many people will sleep rough on the streets of our city. Let us remember our Christian responsibility for them

PAUSE

Lord lead us home

On this special feast of Mary, Our Mother we ask for her special support for us her children saying HAIL MARY…..                                   

For a few moments let us listen in our hearts to our Beloved Father

LONG PAUSE

 

Heavenly Father we ask these gifts through Jesus your Son who lives with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever AMEN

 

 

 

To find but lilies there…

newsletter

There are various traditions surrounding the where and how of Assumption of Our Lady (Feast 15th August). Even in Jerusalem, one such version has it happen at the site of the present Church of the Dormition, (the Eastern Church’s alternative name for the Assumption), south of the Old City, while another shows you the cave-church dedicated to the event, close to the Garden of Gethsemane. One such tradition says that on the day of the death (and Assumption) of Our Lady, St Thomas the Apostle was not present, just as he was at the appearance of Our Lord on Easter Sunday evening. It was said that they opened the new grave for him to gaze on her one last time…

They bore her in a reverent group To a holy place,
Left her body in the earth –
Her body, “full of grace”.

But Thomas, tardy, slow of foot, Absent when she died,
Spent with sorrow, craved to see Her of the Crucified.

There was a swift intake of breath,
A hurried silent prayer;
Startled they opened the new-made tomb To find but lilies there.

– Sister M. Angeline

Truly good, a gift from God

newsletter

Pope Francis on the internet

I sometimes in this newsletter refer to various websites, and I know people follow them up. However, I suspect many will think, “Well I haven’t got time for that.” But in the lazy hazy days of summer I would really like to recommend one for your browsing. It’s a large site called New Pilgrim Path www.newpilgrimpath.ie
It’s a huge resource coming from Ireland, a “portal” in internet language, beautifully put together and covering many aspects of our faith and its expression in the arts, music, liturgy, spirituality etc.

As their opening page says, Pope Francis describes the internet as “offering immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is truly good, a gift from God”. They hope that the site and the resources “help you as you seek encounter with the person of Christ, the Word of God in our midst.”

The menu gives an idea of what kind of thing you’ll find: Website of the Week; Music for July; Sacred Music; Poem of the Week; July Book of the Month; Daily Prayer; Inspiration; Online Retreats; Broadcast Resources.

Just taking “Sacred Music” as an example, I came across a spine-tingling setting of the Lord’s Prayer sung by Andrea Bocelli (not usually a huge fan) and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Another example: the “Inspiration” page will take you to Henri Nouwen, Daniel O’Leary and many, many other top writers of our time.

So – why not have a wander through the upside of the internet, and enjoy this “gift from God”

www.newpilgrimpath.ie