Tag Archives: lent

Conversion and repentance

newsletter, , ,

Dear friends and parishioners

We are at the middle part of the great season of Lent, when the Church brings us to the central Lenten theme of conversion and repentance. The Church reminds us in the first reading today of God’s Word to us at Sinai, urging us to live his life and walk in his ways. We are then urged in the Gospel to cleanse the Temple of our hearts so that we can enthrone there Christ, who St Paul proclaims in the second reading to be “the power and the wisdom of God.” Let us spend some time during the week reflecting on our situation in life, on our journey in faith, and prepare to bring our sins next Sunday to that same Jesus, to the Father and to the Spirit, to receive “pardon and peace”.

Fr Matthew

The season of Lent in our 3 churches

3 churches, lent,

Please make sure that you read and absorb the special LENT FLYER that has all the details you need for Lent to help us all observe this important season.

This year we will follow the STATIONS OF THE CROSS live-streamed from St Brigid’s every Saturday commencing 20 February at 9.30 in place of Mass. We will pause at two or three Stations each week in a reflective way. Most of us “connect” with at least one of the Stations from our own experience of judging, or assisting, or keeping going etc – the great themes of the Stations.

This year we want to bring the Stations alive by listening to one another’s story. One of the organisers Ami Liddington writes: “Lent is fast approaching. We will be running Stations of the Cross every Saturday morning via live-streaming at St Brigid’s. We would love to receive life reflections from as many people as possible, across our 3 Churches. For more information and / or to volunteer a reflection, please contact Ami Liddington on liddingtona@talktalk.net.”

Fr Matthew

Christ the King Bidding Prayers for the 4th Sunday in Lent, 2019

bidding prayers, Christ the King,

PRIEST – Confident of the mercy of our God we place before Him the needs of the Church, the world and ourselves.

READER – The response to our petitions is – “Merciful Lord ………… Listen favourably to our prayers”

Let us pray for the Church that she can put behind her the scandals of recent years and be a source of love and mercy to all, leading us closer to God…..pause……. Merciful Lord………..Listen favourably to our prayers.

There is too much conflict, inequality and oppression in our world and so we pray that those leaders and politicians who are in a position of influence will work more effectively to bring about change for the better….pause…Merciful Lord………..

We pray for the leaders of the U.K. and Europe that the current negotiations will involve compromise and result in a solution which is beneficial to all……pause…..Merciful Lord……

Let us pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died including Julia Churchhouse and Anne Cronin, whose funerals are on 9th and 11th April respectively…..pause……Merciful Lord………

In a few moments of silence, let us listen for the voice of the Lord and put before Him our own needs…….longer pause…Merciful Lord….

We ask Mary our Mother to join with us in our prayers, as we say… Hail Mary….

PRIEST – We make all our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour…. Amen

 

Christ the King Bidding Prayers for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, 2019

bidding prayers, Christ the King,

Priest: The Lord is our light and our help, let us call on him for our needs and the needs of the world.

Reader: Let us pray for the Church: for all the holy people of God, and for those preparing to be received into the Church at Easter.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.  

Reader: Let us pray for our leaders, that in these uncertain times they will choose to work in the interests of the most vulnerable in our society.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

Reader: Let us pray for victims of war and terrorism, remembering especially those killed in the attacks in New Zealand this week. We pray that the hearts of men and women are turned away from violence and hatred and towards justice and reconciliation.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

Reader: We pray for our 3 churches, and especially remember our young people preparing for the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist and for the Catechists who teach them. May they all receive inspiration and guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Reader: We pray for family and friends who have died. May they rest in peace in their homeland in heaven and see Jesus in all his glory. We remember especially Lilian Dyer.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We ask for the intercession of Our Blessed Lady as we say – Hail Mary.…..

Let us pray for a while in silence.

Priest: Heavenly Father, in your goodness, listen to our petitions and answer our prayer of faith. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Christ the King Bidding Prayers for the 1st Sunday of Lent, 2019

bidding prayers, Christ the King,

As we commence the season of Lent we are encouraged by Pope Francis to learn to love again and thus become beacons of God’s love for the world.

Our response is “Be with us Lord in all our endeavours”

We pray for the worldwide church remembering especially our brothers and sisters in Syria and the Middle East who live in constant danger because they choose to follow Christ

PAUSE

We pray……Lord, be with us in all our endeavours

Tonight many will sleep on the streets of Cardiff and other cities because they are homeless .We pray for them and the agencies and individuals who work to relieve their plight

PAUSE

We pray….Lord be with us in all our endeavours

We remember now all the deceased of our Three Churches and mention especially Evelyn Trueman and Lillian Dyer who died recently. May the Lord greet them joyfully and may their friends be comforted in their time of loss

PAUSE

We pray…..Lord be with us in all our endeavours

We listen with concern to the discussions between Britain and The European Union regarding our withdrawal and pray for a just and equitable solution which will recognise the needs of all including refugees who struggle to make  homes in a strange country                    

PAUSE

We pray,,,,,,Lord be with us all our endeavours

For a few moments let us listen in our hearts to the voice of our Loving Father

LONGER PAUSE

We ask Mary our mother, to take up our concerns and join us in our prayers saying Hail Mary ….etc 

Heavenly Father, listen to our petitions and and grant them through Jesus your Beloved Son who lives in glory with You and the Holy Spirit forever.

AMEN