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An Advent for all!

December 8, 20233 churches, adventadvent, newsletter3 churches

Advent this year has some real highlights, starting with this Sunday evening!

There will be beautiful music for Advent and Christmas in St Brigid’s at 7.30pm when “In The Stillness” is a concert given by the Elizabeth Singers with our own Max Davies. There is nothing like music to set the scene for events, and when it is as good as this will be, I’m sure we will all be smiling our way towards Christmas. There will be refreshments to follow. Free entry with retiring collection. Don’t miss it…

Meanwhile, on Saturday of this week a wonderful Catholic Youth Retreat will take place with young people from all corners of the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia! Are you a teenager or young adult? Join us on Saturday 16 December in Swansea for a day filled with joy, inspiration, and spiritual growth. This is a follow-up to World Youth Day in Lisbon in July, but also it is the launch of a Youth Service for the Catholic church here in South Wales, something we have looked towards for a long time… What to expect? Mass with Archbishop Mark… Uplifting music from 99. One… Inspiring talks and insightful conversations… Delicious food to fuel your spirit… Two streams available: ages 13 to 18 and ages 18 and above. To register, please email Deacon Christian Mahoney at: christian.mahoney@rcadc.org or call him on: 07764 515864.

Then next Sunday, so-called Gaudete Sunday is also Bambinelli Sunday in our 3 Churches. At all weekend Masses in all 3 churches, you are invited to bring the figure of the baby Jesus from your crib at home. During the Mass the images will be blessed, ready for you to place in your crib at Christmas. This lovely tradition from Italy (bambinelli means little children) has taken off here in Britain too in recent years. Children love it, but anyone can bring their little figures to the altar when the priest invites us – young and not-so-young!

Lastly, we have our 3 Churches Carol Service on Tuesday 19 December 6pm at St Brigid’s, led by our younger children from Christ the King, our parish school.

So there’s a lot going on this Advent in our 3 Churches. Make sure you are part of it…

Fr Matthew

New Vicar General, New Dean

December 1, 2023advent, newsletterdean, newsletter, vicar general3 churches

Today, the First Sunday of Advent, sees a new year in the life of the Church, and in the life of our own local Church in Cardiff we see some significant new appointments. Our new Vicar General in the diocese is Fr Brian Gray, formerly Dean of Cardiff, who now replaces Mgr Can Joe Boardman of Penarth, while our new Dean is Canon John Griffiths. Fr Gray is parish priest of St Cadoc’s, St John Lloyd’s and Blessed Sacrament on the east side of the city, but parishioners of St Brigid’s and St Paul’s may remember him as assistant to Canon Dunne and acting parish priest for a few years up to 2004. Canon Griffiths is parish priest in our neighbouring parish of St Teilo’s with Our Lady of Lourdes.

Our diocese is divided into four deaneries, and each Dean has a coordinating role, among the clergy and parishes in his area, and between his area and the Archbishop. In each diocese the diocesan bishop must appoint a vicar general who is to assist the bishop or archbishop in the governance of the whole diocese. It is a personal appointment by the bishop. Church law states that he is “to be a priest not less than thirty years old, a doctor or licensed in canon law or theology or at least truly expert in these disciplines, and recommended by sound doctrine, integrity, prudence, and experience in handling matters.” A bishop can delegate a lot of actions to him, but communication between them is very important.

I remember being told in my church law studies back in the 80s in Canada that although the job of “V.G” might be seen as high profile, it is also potentially very difficult, because of one little phrase in the small section in the law devoted to the role. This states that a Vicar General is “never to act contrary to the intention and mind of the diocesan bishop. In other words, if he has his own ideas any different to those of the bishop, he is to be “of one mind”. Hmm, tough call, especially in the modern church where we are more encouraged to share our thoughts and opinions! Good luck lads!

Fr Matthew

Clergy summer moves

July 29, 2023newsletternewsletter3 churches

The Archbishop announces clergy moves for September:

Cathedral and University: Fr Robert James moves from the Cathedral to Mountain Ash/ Hirwaun/ Aberdare. Fr Michael Doyle moves to the Cathedral from Newport as Parish Priest and Vocations Director. He will also be Diocesan Coordinator for the Jubilee Year in 2025. Fr Elliot Hanson also moves to the Cathedral from Newport, as Assistant, as Chaplain to the University, and Vocations Promoter in the Archdiocese. Fr Nicholas Williams moves to St Albans Royal College, (the English College pre-seminary) Valladolid as a member of the Formation Staff. The Archbishop points out that although we are stretched for priests in our Dioceses, it is important for us to be generous to the wider needs of the Church, too.

Newport: The Nigerian Province of the Dominicans assume the overall oversight of All Saints, Newport – Fr Stephen Ogbe OP moves from mid-Wales to become Parish Priest and Fr Richard Odok OP, who recently arrived from Nigeria, joins him. A third Dominican will join them next year. Within Newport, the Ordinariate assume pastoral responsibility for Ss Basil and Gwladys Church, Rogerstone. Fr Bernard Sixtus takes up priestly ministry there and in Usk, alongside his work for our Schools as Director of Religious Education. The Syro-Malabar Eparchy have agreed to assume pastoral oversight of St David’s Church, Maesglas in Newport, where Fr Mathew Palarakarottu moves as Priest-in-Charge.

Canons: Canon Paul Millar moves from Leominster to Pontypool/ Blaenavon. Belmont Abbey assume oversight of Leominster/ Bromyard. Canon Mike Evans has recently moved from St Patrick’s Grangetown to Barry. Canon Eddie O’Connell has resigned from Ecclesiastical Office. We give thanks for his generous priestly ministry and wish him well in this next phase of priestly service.

Also: Fr Valentine Mobuogwu has moved to St Patrick’s as Priest-in-Charge. He will be joined there shortly by Fr Malachy Orjiebele and Fr Solomon Ugwummadu, from the Diocese of Issele-Uku, Nigeria. Fr Lawrence Agyepong remains in residence at Tredegar for this period of orientation. Fr Denis Opoku will arrive from Accra, Ghana, during the summer and will spend some months of orientation with other priests before taking up an appointment.

We keep all concerned in our prayers.

Saint Martha, Disciple of the Lord

July 22, 2023newsletternewsletter, st martha3 churches

Saint Martha is commemorated each year on 29 July with her brother and sister, Lazarus and Mary. She was from Bethany, a village a few kilometres east of Jerusalem. Jesus was often a guest in her home, especially during the time of His preaching in Jerusalem. St Luke relates one time when he was visiting his friends in Bethany. “As they continued their journey He entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed Him. She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to Him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.’ The Lord said to her in reply, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

On account of her dedication to doing the work necessary to welcome a guest, the Church recognizes Martha as a model of industriousness, but even praiseworthy labour can risk obscuring the interior life. We are reminded how important it is to nourish the spirit, to listen to the Word of God, because it is the Word of God that gives meaning to our daily activities. And so Martha and Mary have been seen as examples of the active and the contemplative life; the life of external activity and the life of prayer. In the life of a Christian, activity and contemplation should be seen as complementary, and not opposed to one another.

But Saint Martha has also left us a strong witness of faith. “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.’” We see here a total belief, a faith that does not hesitate or doubt. Martha has complete confidence in God, even in the face of what seems impossible on a human level: Martha condenses the whole of the faith into a simple confession of belief, a simple answer in which every Christian can recognize the meaning of life.

Today in Bethany (now known as El-Azariyeh, “the place of Lazarus”), you can find the tomb of Lazarus, as well as a church built upon the remains of Byzantine and Crusader structures -themselves constructed on top of a pre-existing structure. This is believed to be the house of Martha. Then tradition tells us that, after the first persecutions of Christians, Martha, with Mary and Lazarus, and some others, left their own land and went to France, arriving in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the Camargue, Provence, where they brought the Christian faith.

Fr Matthew, based on an article from Vatican News www.vaticannews.va

The Synod moves on – the world!

July 16, 2023synodnewsletter, synod3 churches

An important document called the Instrumentum laboris will be the basis for the work of the participants in the General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, which begins in the Vatican in October 2023 and concludes with a second Assembly one year later. It brings together the experiences of dioceses around the world over the last two years, when Pope Francis set in motion a journey to discern what steps to take “to grow as a synodal Church.” It has some sixty pages that incorporate the experiences of local Churches in every region of the world – Churches that are experiencing wars, climate change, exploitation, inequality, and ‘waste’.” Churches whose faithful suffer martyrdom, in countries where they are minorities or where they are coming to terms “with an increasingly driven, and sometimes aggressive, secularisation.” Churches wounded by sexual abuse, or abuses of power and conscience,” whether economic and institutional – wounds that demand answers and “conversion.”

“Indeed, the purpose of the synodal process is not to produce documents but to open horizons of hope for the fulfilment of the Church’s mission.”

The Instrumentum laboris is composed of an explanatory text and fifteen worksheets that reveal a dynamic vision of the concept of “synodality.” Section A highlights the experience of the past two years and indicates a way forward to become an ever more synodal Church; Section B – entitled “Communion, Mission, Participation” – focuses on the “three priority issues” at the heart of the work to be done in October 2023. These are elaborated in three main themes:

• Growing in communion by welcoming everyone, excluding no one;

• recognizing and valuing the contribution of every baptised person in view of mission;

• and identifying governance structures and dynamics through which to articulate participation and authority over time in a missionary synodal Church.

“Rooted in this awareness, is the desire for a Church that is also increasingly synodal in its institutions, structures, and procedures.” It notes that a synodal Church is first and foremost a “Church of listening” and therefore “desires to be humble, and knows that it must ask forgiveness and has much to learn…The face of the Church today bears the signs of serious crises of mistrust and lack of credibility. In many contexts, crises related to sexual abuse, and abuse of power, money, and conscience have pushed the Church to undertake a demanding examination of conscience so that ‘moved by the Holy Spirit’ the Church ‘may never cease to renew herself’, in a journey of repentance and conversion that opens paths of reconciliation, healing, and justice.”

A synodal Church is also “a Church of encounter and dialogue” with believers of other religions and with other cultures and societies, “not afraid of the variety it bears,” but on the contrary, “values it without forcing it into uniformity.” The Church is synodal when it is unceasingly nourished by the mystery it celebrates in the liturgy, experiencing everyday “radical unity” in the same prayer, in the midst of a “diversity” of languages and rites.

Other significant passages concern the question of authority – is it rooted in service?; the need for “integral formation, initial and ongoing” for the People of God; as well as the need for “a similar effort” aimed at the renewal of the language used in the “liturgy, preaching, catechesis, sacred art, as well as in all forms of communication, including through new or traditional forms of media.”

Fr Matthew, based on a summary by Salvatore Cernuzio.