Coming Home

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queue-of-peopleDid you know that whilst it’s estimated that there are about 1 million Catholics attending Mass regularly in England & Wales, there are at least another 3 million who for one reason or another don’t come to church.

Probably all of us have brothers or sisters, sons or daughters, nephews or nieces, or grandchildren (and perhaps even great grandchildren) who no longer practise their faith. To many of us it can be a real source of sadness. We might even wonder what we’ve done wrong!

The reality is we’ve probably done nothing wrong. People live their own lives and make their own choices and in today’s society there is an awful lot competing for our attention which can squeeze church-going out of mind.

imagesA better question – but another one for which it’s hard to find an answer – is what can we do about it? Should we say something to our lapsed friends and family or should we say nothing? Should we pester them or ignore the fact that they no longer come to church?

One thing we can do is talk to one another in the parish about it: to share our own experience. Perhaps some of us have had success in encouraging loved ones back.

Perhaps some of us ourselves lapsed once and yet found our way back. The interesting question there is what brought us home?

Unknown-1To mark the last phase of our Year of Faith, we plan to have a prayer campaign for those who no longer come to church, running from Home Mission Sunday (15 September) until the start of Advent.

We will prayer together each week during our Sunday Mass intercessions for those who are not with us.

We will be invited to take a copy of the prayer home with us, on small business-size cards. It’s up to each us what we do with them.

Some may choose to say the prayer daily, making it part of their usual prayer routine. Others might just decide to stick it on the fridge or leave it lying about the house.

Perhaps it will start a conversation which in turn might be the beginning of something more. At the very least, family and friends who see it will know we’re praying for them.

What’s most important in this time is that we each value the prayer we make: that we believe God will hear us and will answer.

Our Home Mission Prayer, ‘Crossing the Threshold‘ can also be found on the Prayer page of the website.

 

 

 

Crossing the Threshold

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threshold

Loving Father,
We pray for those baptised who no longer or rarely attend Church, that they will understand, and experience in their hearts, that Christ is the source of unconditional love and reconciliation.

We pray for everyone who worships in our parish community, that we may find the right words and means to invite our absent brothers and sisters to return to the practice of their faith.

AMEN 

‘I have a dream’

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406This year marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s inspirational ‘I have a dream’ speech.

Given on 28 August 1963 at a rally of over 250,000 people in Washington, Martin Luther King called for a world where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers, ‘when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’

His dream for a society united and based on justice for all was drawn from the last book of the Bible, Revelation. His commitment to non-violence in promoting this dream, and in securing an inclusive future, was ridiculed by some who saw only violent methods as having any chance of success. There were even some who saw racial justice only in terms of one group ‘overthrowing’ another.

Today, and in our own country, we still have racial tensions. We face the challenges posed by living in a multi-cultural society with the added complications of differences of language, ethnicity, and country of origin being ever present.

In the world there is conflict and injustice based around prejudice, racism, and the struggle for one religious or ethnic or racial group to secure superiority over another.

There seems little we can do about the global situation. Nor even, in our little section of the Fens, about problems faced by inner cities and areas of high racial mistrust.

However, this Sunday 8 September is Racial Justice Sunday and we are invited to think again about Martin Luther King’s speech. We can ask ourselves how we contribute to making our own towns and villages places where ‘freedom rings’ and where everyone irrespective of colour or creed can feel secure and included.

We can pray for a just and peaceful environment which begins with, and springs from, our own attitudes and actions.

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Prayer for Justice

Merciful Lord,
we consider your wonderful world
and its beautiful people created in your image,
and we ask for forgiveness for behaviours and attitudes
that devalue or demean those who are different.
Forgive us for our tacit acceptance of a society
where privilege, partiality and advantage
are often the passports to success and wealth.
Have mercy on us for ignoring the reality of racism and bigotry,
which deny or curtail the rights and opportunities
of those of different ethnicities and cultures.
Give us the courage, determination and honesty
to fight for a society governed by justice, equity and compassion,
and underpinned by the belief that each person has an inherent worth,
and has been afforded the dignity and respect they deserve.
Enable us to value diversity, as you do, and encourage it in all forms.
This we ask in your precious name. Amen.

Salve Regina

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Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiæ,

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevæ,

ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos

misericordes oculos ad nos converte;

et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

 

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
hail our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.

Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
and after, this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

℣ Pray for us O holy Mother of God,
℟ that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

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salve-regina_-_salvedominican1237pxThe Salve Regina, or Hail Holy Queen as it’s known in English, is one of four hymns to Our Lady traditionally sung after Compline. Each hymn reflects a particular season of the Church. The Salve Regina is usually sung from the Saturday before Trinity Sunday until the first Sunday of Advent.

The Hail Holy Queen translation is also traditionally used towards the end of the Rosary, having completed five decades. 

Adoration

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Adoration (sometimes called Exposition) refers to spending time before the Blessed Sacrament, usually visible in a monstrance on the High Altar.

Our parishes have times of Adoration each week before Masses. We also have more prolonged periods of Adoration on special occasions, for example the Feast of Corpus Christi and the Feast of Epiphany.

What to do during Adoration

adorationThe most important thing is to be there and to be still. Make space in your mind and in your heart so that Jesus, who is present in the Blessed Sacrament, can speak to you.

People often commit themselves to spending half an hour or an hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Below are some suggestions of what you can do in that time – but remember to give yourself plenty of moments of silent meditation as well.

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Ten Things to do during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

1. Read a bible passage (or one of the Psalms) slowly, over and over again. If a word or a phrase strikes you in any way, pause and pray about it. Then move on.

2. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours, for example Morning or Evening Prayer. Look at the Blessed Sacrament as you pray the ‘Glory Be‘ at the end of each psalm.

3. Talk to Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament as you would talk to a close friend. Tell him about your day. Ask his advice about what is worrying you. Speak to him about your family and friends. Use your own words and remember to leave space to listen to his replies.

4. Try using a mantra to concentrate your mind. Say over and over again some short phrase such as ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me a sinner‘ or ‘I will praise you Lord, you have rescued me‘ or ‘I love you Jesus, my love above all things‘.

5. Choose a hymn and read through it slowly, thinking about what it is saying to you. For example, ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind‘ or ‘Come Down O Love Divine‘ or ‘Here I Am Lord‘ or ‘Be Still my Soul‘.

6. Be silent and know that you are in the presence of Jesus the Lord. Try and listen to him.

7. Pray the rosary, making an effort to think about each mystery as you say the ‘Our Father‘ and ‘Hail Mary‘ prayers. Look at the Blessed Sacrament as you pray the ‘Glory Be‘.

8. Read about the life of a saint and ask for his or her prayers. Pray with the saint and imagine you are both together in the presence of God. You actually are both in the presence of God!

9. Read a spiritual book, especially something on prayer or about the life of Jesus. Make sure you take ‘time out’ and direct your thoughts and prayers to Jesus who is present in the Blessed Sacrament.

10.  If you fall asleep, don’t worry. Psalm 127 reminds us that the Lord showers his blessings upon his beloved while they slumber! Remind yourself that the Lord loves you so much and that it is He who has brought you to this moment, inviting you to waste time in his presence.

Glory Be

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Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit

as it was in the beginning,

is now and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

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Commentary

The ‘Glory Be‘ is what is called a doxology: in other words, a hymn of praise to God. Other doxologies include the Gloria sung during Mass and the Per Ipsum (‘Through Him and with Him and in Him’) sung by the priest at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer.

UnknownIt is an ancient prayer which reminds us that everything we do and all that we are about is for the glory of God. It reminds us that we worship one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The ‘Glory Be‘ is an excellent way to round off a period of quiet prayer or contemplation. It can be said after having spent some time reflecting on a bible passage or at the end of a period of praying for other people. It is a good way to end parish meetings.

‘Glory’ translates the Greek word, doxa (hence doxology) which in turn is used to translate the Hebrew word kabod.

The Hebrew word kabod originally meant heaviness or weightiness. It came to refer to something hidden away but whose presence could be felt by the weight or bulk (a bit like a bag full of gold bars – the presence and value of the bars could be sensed by the weight and bulk of the bag).

Gradually it was used to refer to God’s presence: something of ultimate value. Finally it came to suggest honour, importance and majesty.

In praying the ‘Glory Be‘ we are honouring the majesty of God but also recognising his presence in our lives and in our world.