There will be a special welcome for 2021 with Praise and Worship at 11.00pm on New Year’s Eve and then Mass at 11.30pm leading into the New Year.
It will be held at SS Peter & Paul Church and it will also be online. The Praise and Worship songs will be led by the students of Wolverhampton University. As there is more interest than expected for this Mass, it is best to book a seat by ringing 07934905283 We celebrated the Rorate Mass this morning by candlelight at SS Peter and Paul and online. A Rorate Mass is a special Mass of our Lady celebrated in Advent before sunrise. Rorate is the first word in Latin of the Entrance Antiphon of the Mass: Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.
We pray to Our Lady today on the feast of Our lady of Guadaloupe, that we may be open to receive in our hearts, Jesus the light of the world. Next week's bulletin is now ready to download from the Mass Times and Bulletin page. As you will have seen at Mass this morning, the Diocesan Youth team came to promote their work in the diocese and provided the music and readings for our Mass. At the end of Mass, Lucas mentioned various links so that you can follow up on all that they are doing. The buttons below will take to you straight to all the information you need.
In this Sunday's gospel we hear about the parable of the talents. We pray that despite the restrictions in our lives due to the pandemic, we can encourage each other to to share and develop our God given talents.
In the hope that we may have public Masses at Christmas, we have prepared a new schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day across our three churches. It will be necessary to book seats because the demand will be high and we are not allowed to exceed the set numbers that ensure social distancing. Details of how to book will be available next weekend. As Advent approaches you may be interested in celebrating the 'Advent Feast' with your family or your extended bubble. For more information, click the Advent Resources button below. Over the next few weeks there will be other initiatives added to this resource page so that we can make the most out of celebrating Advent and Christmas this year. CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF ENGLAND AND WALES
Statement from the President and the Vice-President of the Conference on the National Lockdown Wednesday 4th November 2020 Today, Parliament passed into law the Regulations governing many aspects of activity in the whole of England until 2nd December. These Regulations prohibit the gathering of people for communal worship in churches and other religious buildings. Churches remain open and in use for activities other than communal worship, including personal prayer and support for those in need. Funeral Masses and funeral services may be held. Please refer to the Regulations (for places of worship see paragraph 18) and associated Guidance. Despite profound misgivings it is important that we, as responsible citizens, observe these Regulations, which have the force of law: ‘Remind them to be obedient to the officials in authority; to be ready to do good at every opportunity’ (Titus 3:1). We do this in solidarity with so many others on whom are being imposed restrictions which impact severely on their lives and livelihoods. It is also important to recognise that these Regulations are not an attack on religious belief. However, they do demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of the essential contribution made by faith communities to the well-being, resilience and health of our society. At this difficult moment, we ask that, as a Catholic community, we make full use of our churches as places of individual prayer and sources of solace and help. We must sustain each other in our patterns of prayer, joining a national shared moment of prayer each day at 6pm, and observing the Vigil of Christ the King (21st November) as a day of prayer for the ending of this pandemic. And we encourage you all in your practical service and support of each other and those around you in need. This pathway of prayer and service is the royal road we are to take as a gracious witness in our society today. Cardinal Vincent Nichols Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP President Vice-President Our two Seminarians in Rome, Dave and Toby are in Assisi today and they prayed for all of us at the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Between 2015 - 2016 Toby spent a year at SS Peter & Paul's as a pastoral assistant whilst he discerned his vocation to the priesthood. He is now in his 5th year at the Venerable English College in Rome and, God willing, will be ordained a deacon next summer. Dave spent a year at SS Peter & Paul's similarly discerning his vocation from 2016-2017. He will be known to more of you because that was the first year of the amalgamation of our three parishes. Dave then spent a year at the Royal English College in Valladolid in Spain before moving to the Venerable English College in 2018. He is now in his third year of seminary. Many of you will remember when he received the Ministry of Reader online at SS Peter & Paul's earlier in the summer. As they have prayed for us, let us keep them in our prayers! After praying at the tomb of Blessed Carlo, Dave and Toby also visited the new Youth Oratory which is dedicated to him. It lies just behind the old Cathedral where he is buried in Assisi. In the background you can see the tower of the Basilica of St Clare. Dave and Toby are looking forward to welcoming a parish youth pilgrimage there. Not to mention a parish pilgrimage for the not so young as well!
THIS WEEK'S BULLETIN is now ready on the Mass Times and Bulletin page. As I write this, I am aware that we may be going into another lock-down. If so, the schedule of Masses on the bulletin will have to be abandoned and we will produce a new schedule of online Masses for this week. This schedule will be posted on this parish news page. God Bless, Fr Mark This Sunday at Midday in St Chad's Cathedral there is a special Mass with Bishop David Evans celebrating Marriages from around the diocese. It includes celebrating milestone anniversaries including those of couples linked to our parish.
If you would like to participate online with this special Mass, please click the link below. The October Rosary that is listed in the bulletin for October 21st is not correct. It is this Thursday the 15th! The Online bulletin will be corrected. Please share this information with your friends!
At the beatification of Blessed Carlo Acutis on Saturday it was announced that his feast day shall be on October 12th, the day he died and was born into Eternal Life. As our new parish patron this means that from now on October 12th will be our parish Feast Day. This means that our new parish will be blessed by the prayers of a great panoply of Saints! SS Peter & Paul Apostles, St Michael the Archangel, St Bernadette, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Blessed John Sugar, Martyr, and now Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to be beatified. As we have not received the new official Mass prayers for the feast, we will be using the "Common of Men Saints for one Saint" from the Lectionary and the Liturgy of the Hours. To download the prayers and readings for Mass today click the button below: Prayer in Thanksgiving for the Beatification of the Blessed Carlo Acutis
Oh Father, we give you thanks for the ardent testimony of Blessed Carlo Acutis, who made the Eucharist the core of his life and the strength of his daily commitments so that everybody may love You above all else. Confirm my faith, nurture my hope, strengthen my charity, in the image of young Carlo who, growing in these virtues, now lives with You. Grant me the grace that I need … I trust in You, Father, and your Beloved Son Jesus, in the Virgin Mary, our Dearest Mother, and in the intervention of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be The Beatification Mass will be in the Basilica of St Francis this afternoon at 3.30 pm our time (4.30 pm in Italy). You can access this live through the Vatican youtube Channel or EWTN Europe or the Franciscan Channel. This weekend's bulletin is now ready to download from the 'Mass Times and Bulletin' page.
Yesterday we began our Novena of prayer in preparation of the Beatification of Carlo Acutis, If you forgot to start yesterday, it is not too late to join us today as we pray together across our three church communities to our new parish patron. To join us, please click the link below: Below you can watch the video from yesterday in Assisi where the bishop formally began the veneration of his tomb in preparation for the Beatification next Saturday. Obviously it is not possible for us to travel to Assisi at the moment but there will be a special Online Mass that morning from SS Peter & Paul's at 8.00am October 10th. It is possible to visit his tomb online through out website and join with the pilgrims who are praying there. Please click on the link below:
Now that we have developed a good system for regular cleaning of St Michael's and SS Peter's & Paul's,we can begin the celebration of Baptisms in October. Before you child can be baptised you will need to attend a Baptism Class. This will, however, be a virtual class so that you do not need to leave home in order to attend.
The next Baptism Class will be online on Saturday 19th September at 12.30 pm. If you will to attend, please email mgr.mark.crisp@rcaob.org.uk You will then be sent an information leaflet, the Registration Form and the link to join us for the class on Saturday 19th. Please spread the word to your families and friends about all of this! This week's bulletin is now ready, please go to the "Mass Times and Bulletin" page to download a copy.
We have some good news this week because it is now possible for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to start taking the Blessed Sacrament to the housebound again. There are strict guidelines that have to be followed, however, in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The guidelines are available from Sr Lydwin. At this time, only those who are under 70 and have no underlying health problems may take Holy Communion to the Sick but it is a beginning!
Serving for the Pope In October last year you may remember the buzz around the build up to the canonisation of John Henry Newman. We had suspected that the English College would be asked to provide servers for the occasion and were excited when this was confirmed. Fr Rector offered Toby Duckworth and I first refusal, but of course we both jumped at the chance. Upon presenting ourselves for rehearsal to Mgr Marini, the papal master of ceremonies, I was chosen to be one of the four closest to Pope Francis during the canonisation mass itself. I was the only member from the VEC among these four and yet little did the monsignor know that I am from Newman’s home Archdiocese of Birmingham. God had indeed blessed me enormously. It was my job to carry the Pope’s pastoral staff. It turned out to be Pope Benedict’s crosier that was used, as a nod to the devotion of the pope emeritus to Cardinal Newman. The next morning, after waving our special tickets to pass by the Swiss Guard, we entered St Peter’s basilica and assembled under Michelangelo’s Pietà, behind the bulletproof glass, in order to meet the Pope beforehand. Without warning the Holy Father suddenly appeared through a side passage not open to the public and began shaking our hands one by one. I decided to make the most of my few seconds with the Holy Father and leant in to whisper to him (in Italian) my appreciation for Evangelii Gaudium – the papal document that’s most impacted my formation. I shall never forget the warm smile I received back. As we processed out into St Peter’s square, I could not believe I was actually involved in all this. The October Italian sun was still incredibly strong and seemed to bounce off the stone beneath our feet, creating a blinding effect. From my seat next to the Pope’s dais I could see Prince Charles looking on and remembered that I couldn’t immediately return home after the mass since the future king was due to visit our own Newman display, hosted by the college archivist. Mgr Marini had special signals for us in case we missed our cue to come forward but the four of us managed well enough. Standing beside the Supreme Pontiff as he sat ex cathedra pronouncing a local priest of ours a saint of the universal Church is something that shall remain with me forever. I was surprised by my lack of nerves and thanked God for the peace and joy of the event. That evening, those of us in Rome from this diocese celebrated by dining out and Toby, myself and Fr Ryan Service met Deacon Jack Sullivan who had been cured of a debilitating spinal problem by the intercession of Cardinal Newman. This provided the second miracle needed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to present Cardinal Newman to Pope Francis as a candidate for canonisation. Deacon Jack carried a relic of Newman’s on his person and blessed us each with it as the sun set on a truly remarkable day. Lectorate As amazing as life in Rome can be, it has been quite unique to return to the diocese, and particularly to Giffard House, and continue with seminary from afar. Helping Fr Mark in Eastertide under lockdown and forging the way forward as the Church reckons with this time of pandemic has been a parish experience unlike any other. It has been much more meaningful than if my college community simply quarantined in Italy. This has, however, also meant great changes to the ordinary customs for those of us at each specific stage of formation. I am delighted that Archbishop Bernard agreed under the circumstances to delegate the conferral of my first ministry to Fr Mark (who as a former rector has experience with all this). So, what are these ‘ministries’ all about? The seminary formation process requires each seminarian to advance towards ordination receiving greater and greater responsibility as a prospective future priest. The current structure was finalised by Pope St Paul VI in 1973. From the second year onwards, each year culminates in the reception of a ‘ministry’ that underscores a particular aspect of ministerial priesthood. One is successively instituted as a Lector; Acolyte; Candidate; Deacon; and finally, Priest. During the second semester we take time out of our usual schedule to go away on retreat and pray about the forthcoming ministry, and have weekly pastoral classes designed to broaden our awareness of what the Church is asking of us at any given stage. This is all part of the main objective of forming solid patterns of priestly living. Lectorate focuses on the Word of God and what it means to proclaim the Scriptures. The Bible is not a collection of dead letters, but the living Word of God as relevant in our age as in any other. In the book of Hebrews we read, “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (4:12). When a lector reads from the lectionary at mass, therefore, it helps to bear in mind that Christ is being announced to the people of God. When I began seminary (in Valladolid, Spain) I did not much like reading in front of my peers. Steadily, however, I began to deepen my awareness that it is Christ, the Word of God, being proclaimed and not about me at all. In Rome we have had voice coaching sessions that has also developed the skills necessary for communicating the intention of a passage. All this directs us towards one day proclaiming the Gospel, of course. Ultimately, this requires one to be sensitive to the workings of the Spirit who may be speaking a deep word through the lips of the priest to members of the congregation. It is an awesome responsibility and one in which I have felt myself grow closer to the Lord within His call. Let us proclaim this Good News boldly and joyfully. Article by David Bench The conferral of the Ministry of Lector will take place during our Mass on Sunday 12th July. We hope you will be able to watch and pray along with us online.
This years Srebrenica Memorial Week runs from 5th -12th July when Communities from across the U.K. will remember the 25th Anniversary of the genocide when over 8,000 Muslim Bosnian men & boys were murdered because of their faith.
Over the 25 years since this atrocity many organisations, schools Councils & Faith groups have held events to mark the occasion & Wolverhampton Interfaith would request your involvement. An event was planned this year in St Paul’s Cathedral but because of the Covid-19 situation this has been postponed until 2021 but we would encourage everyone to light a candle on: Sunday 5th July at 7.00pm And join together in the Srebrenica Prayer if you wish: We pray to almighty God May grievance become hope May revenge become justice May mother’s tears become prayers That Srebrenica never happens again To no one, no where. By lighting the candle we remember the 8,372 mainly men & boys who were murdered on 11th July 1995 We remember the Mothers of Srebrenica who grieve every day & fight for truth & justice & all those displaced & affected by atrocity. When we hear the language of ‘Us & them’ we will reach out & find common ground with our neighbour. We will challenge discrimination wherever we see it. - Interfaith Wolverhampton The Archbishops of England have issued an important briefing about the celebration of Mass which will be able to begin soon. Please read the announcement by clicking the button below.
You will read that a church cannot open for Mass unless it has a strong team of stewards and cleaners. We have begun a team at St Michael's but this was just for opening twice a week. If it is to open for more days of the week, we will need a bigger team. SS Peter & Paul and St Bernadette's will also need teams of stewards and cleaners who are under 70 before we are able to celebrate Mass in these churches. If you are able to volunteer, please let Fr Mark know as soon as possible. Please note that none of our churches will be able to open for the celebration of Mass unless we can satisfy the requirements to keep them safe. From Sunday 21st June, St Michael’s will be open for Private Prayer before the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Sunday afternoon from 2.00pm till 4.00pm and every Saturday from 11.00am to 1.00pm. There will be three stewards on duty for the duration of these times of prayer, please follow their instructions at all times to ensure the safety of everyone present. If there is a long queue outside the church, you may wish to wait in your car. Please wear a face covering before you enter the church and refrain from touching anything while you are in the church. Please follow the one-way system around the church at all times as indicated in the plan that you can find by clicking the button below: When you enter the church, please clean your hands with hand gel and make your way to one of the places marked with a green tick. Only sit or kneel at one of these allocated places.
If you come as a family, sit together between two green ticks. After you have spent some time in prayer, if you wish to donate towards the costs of the Personal Protection Equipment and Hand Gel, there will be a collection dish near the Baptismal Font. If you wish to light a candle, go to the Shrine of our Lady and the Sacred Heart, clean your hands with the hand gel provided and take a candle and place it on the stand and place your donation for the candle in the candle box as normal. Then move to the allocated area 6 foot away, and the steward will then light the candle for you. Remain at this distance while you are praying and then please leave the church by the fire exit. If a long queue develops outside the church, the steward will ring a bell. If you have already been in the church a while, this is a polite reminder that other people are waiting, and it is time to leave. If you, or anyone in your household or support bubble has symptoms or has been tested positive and are having to isolate under government guidelines, then please do not come to church, but continue to pray at home. Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring that we keep the church as a safe place to pray. May God Bless you and keep you and your families safe. Mgr Mark Crisp Parish Priest. Contrary to the incorrect information given by the BBC this morning, churches are not permitted to open today. Permission is given for for churches to open from next Monday and this is only for private prayer. There are strict guidelines that have to be followed before a church is ready to be opened and the Archdiocese of Birmingham issued a 24 page Risk Assessment for us to complete in order to comply with these regulations.
Out of our three churches, St Michael's is large enough and has the best access so we are focusing on opening this church first. Some alterations have to be made, however on the Fire Doors and a company are coming in next week to deep clean the church. We also need to have a training session with our volunteers who will be stewards and cleaners. For all these reasons it will therefore not be able to open this week but we do hope to open next Sunday, 21st June for a couple of hours. I will keep you posted. In the mean time, please let anyone you know who does not have the internet that the Cardinal is celebrating Mass on Radio 4 tomorrow morning (Sunday 14th June) at 8.10 am. Wolverhampton City Council have issued a Press Release about the opening of Churches, Mosques and Temples all all places of worship across the city. Click the link below for the full text of the statement. To open our church, even for an hour once a week, requires a fair amount of preparation and we need good teams of stewards and cleaners. These volunteers need to be under 70 and have no underlying health problems. We need to start small and then expand things as we begin to get used to all the necessary procedures.
The plan therefore would be hopefully to open St Michael's for an hour (or possibly two hours) on a Saturday, perhaps, for private prayer in front of the Exposed Blessed Sacrament with access to light candles next to the statues of Our Lady and the Sacred Heart (these will not be in their normal chapels but in a specially designated area.) In order to do this we will need to satisfy all the requirements laid down by the Archdiocese of Birmingham. If we do not satisfy these requirements, we will not be allowed to open. At present we do not have enough volunteers to be able to open. Please consider if you are able to volunteer, either to be a cleaner or a steward. You will be required to wear PPE which will be provided by the parish for you own safety. If you are able to volunteer, please let Fr Mark know as soon as possible, either by email or on 01902 423005. If you phone and I am not in, please leave your contact details. I realise parishioners of SS Peter & Paul and St Bernadette's will be disappointed that their churches will not be opened yet but St Michael's has disabled access, plenty of space, and enough doors to enable a separate entrance and exit. This is a beginning and, God willing, we will soon be able to expand this provision for private prayer and eventually the celebration of Mass and the other Sacraments. You may remember at the beginning of lock down there was an ecumenical initiative to light a candle and pray at 7.00pm on Sunday Evenings. This is indeed why here at Giffard House we moved Adoration and Vespers to 7.00pm in order to be praying at the same time as this initiative. If you click the button below you can see a short video produced by our Multi Academy Company, the St Francis and St Clare MAC. As you know, our Catholic Schools welcome children from all religions and none and it has been wonderful that so many have responded to the "Shine a Light" Initiative. The video shows a selection of photos that have been sent in.
We are trying a system where someone you know who does not have the internet can use their telephone to listen to Sunday Mass tomorrow. It is important that only people who do not have the internet use this because we only have 50 spaces for callers. Please call your friends today who would benefit from this and explain to them what they need to do.
It is very simple, on Sunday Morning from 10.55 am onwards, the person needs to ring in using the following instructions:
This will take you straight through to the phone in church and they will be able to listen to Mass. Let us know if it works! Please note that the individual will be charged at the same rate as standard landline numbers. If their phone tariff offers free calls to landlines at certain times of day, or has inclusive calls or bundled minutes that cover calls to landline numbers, calls to this number (and all other 03 numbers) will be included in these deals on the exact same basis. There is a wonderful opportunity this afternoon at 4.30pm to pray the rosary with people all across the world for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit this Pentecost. Click below for the link to join with the Pope.
This Saturday 30th may at 4.30 pm our time, the Holy Father will praying the Rosary with people who have had direct experience of the COVID pandemic - nurses, doctors, care home staff, patients and chaplains. This will be live-streamed and linked with the Rosary being prayed in shrines around the world including Lourdes, Fatima, San Giovanni Rotondo, Pompei, Czestochowa, Immaculate Conception in Washington DC and so on. we are all invited to join with the Holy Father by praying and watching this event, either on Vatican TV or EWTN. We will put a link up on the Online Services page on Saturday.
|
InformationThis page page displays the latest announcements. For regular weekly news, please ensure you also read the Parish Bulletin, which is available on the Home page. For previous versions of the Bulletin, click here. Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|