A day of prayer for the Synod of Bishops on the Family 2014

Today, Sunday 28th September, has been marked out as a special day of prayer for the preparations of the Synod on the Family.

Synod family pic

The Synod – a meeting of bishops – will take place from the 5th to the 9th October and will discuss the matters which were raised last year when the Church invited every member to fill out a questionnaire on family life. Pope Francis has asked for the following prayer to be recited by all the faithful during liturgical celebrations.

Prayer to the Holy Family for the Synod

 Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

in you we contemplate

the splendour of true love,

to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

grant that our families too

may be places of communion and prayer,

authentic schools of the Gospel

and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

may families never again

experience violence, rejection and division:

may all who have been hurt or scandalized

find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

may the approaching Synod of Bishops

make us once more mindful

of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,

and its beauty in God’s plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

graciously hear our prayer.

AMEN.

The bishops’ conference of England and Wales have more information which can be found here.

Stella Maris – Star of the Sea

Today in all military bases and in parishes with connections to the sea, the feast of Our Lady Star of the Sea was celebrated.

Stella Maris

She is our way into port in stormy waters and our harbour wall in distress;  the guiding light that shines to navigate our way to salvation offered by her son.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Bring us dear mother to your son.

Home Mission Sunday

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This weekend is Home Mission Sunday  – the day annually when we are invited to pray for and support the Church’s work of Evangelisation in England and Wales. The theme this year is:

“in the heart of the family’

We are reminded that the work of evangelisation begins within our own families – in our own homes – and also within the spiritual family of our parish. The bishops of England and Wales ask that we reflect very especially on how the Lord might be calling us to reach out to those that we know, in our home and parish family, who are non churchgoing Catholics. For more information look here.

Jump Update

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The money for the Jubilee Appeal has now started to come in! Here in St David and St Patrick’s parish we’ve already raised £1494. Last week bishop Tom had this to say:

“Congratulations to Fathers Liam Bradley and Mansel Usher for rising to the occasion for a Sponsored Sky-Dive in aid of the Diocesan Jubilee Appeal. Welcome back to earth, with a hearty bump to the Appeal Fund in excess of a reported £4k. Many thanks to all their sponsors.”

Please take a moment to look at the pictures on this site and on Facebook (link to the right of this page).

We Jumped!

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More pictures will follow soon, but for now, a great big thank you to all who have been so kind and generous in their support!

The weather was fantastic, the views were stunning, hanging out of a plane puts your heart in your mouth, and flying through the sky for the Jubilee Appeal is worth it! A short film has been made of the occasion and will be sent to Fr Liam in the next 8 days. Once it’s arrived in the parish there will be a showing after the Sunday Masses!

The height was 12,000ft.

The top speed was about 130mph.

The free-fall time was about a minute.

The controlled parachute descent was for about five minutes, from 7000ft!