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

The Bishops of England and Wales have written a letter to help us regarding the Election. The full document is in a leaflet that should be in our churches this weekend, or may be seen online at http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/Home/Featured/General-Election-2015/Election-Letter

Here are some extracts from the introduction:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

The Gospel is radical and challenging. It is the saving message of Jesus Christ. It is a way of life. It teaches us to value each person… As Catholics, we are called to work for a world shaped by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel proclaims the mercy of God and invites us steadfastly to love God and our neighbour. Our relationship with God leads to the desire to build a world in which respect, dignity, equality, justice, and peace are our primary concerns.

Pope Francis tells us that we are ‘missionary disciples’ who witness to the mercy of Christ through the faithfulness of our lives and the world we wish to build. In the light of the Gospel we can be messengers of hope as we challenge the political candidates about the policies they wish to implement and the reasons why.

At this General Election we are asked to think about the kind of society we want here at home and abroad. Whom you vote for is a matter for you alone. Our aim is to suggest how you might approach this important question in May 2015 and to suggest some key issues for your reflection as you make your own decision.

Voting in a general election should seldom, if ever, be based on a single issue. Elections involve a whole range of issues, some without doubt more central than others, particularly those concerned with the dignity and value of human life and human flourishing. In this letter, we highlight some important issues – but not the only ones. In each case we suggest a question which you may wish to bear in mind.