CCC 1360 The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving."
Come to Me - parents and pre school gathered together and sang a thank you song to remind us that Eucharist means thanksgiving. The children also spontaneously clapped at the end of each our our liturgy songs - which was a real joy.
Come to me: Parents and children
Follow Me - our children coloured in a monstrance which is something we use to 'show' Jesus during adoration. They shared things they were thankful for as a reminder that Eucharist means thanksgiving.
Follow Me children shared what they were thankful for.
The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Preparing to receive the Body and Blood of Christ
Today we celebrate the great feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Our Gospel is from Mark and contains two sets of instructions Jesus gave the disciples. The second set of instructions are very familiar we hear them every time we come to Mass when the Priest follows Jesus instructions by TAKING bread and, giving THANKS, BREAKING it, and GIVING us the People of God not the bread but the Body of Christ so that when we leave Mass and are sent out on our Mission we take Jesus with us.
We are reminded in the words used to bless the wine which becomes for us the Blood of Christ that this is a new covenant, a promise between God and his people. When we receive communion and say Amen, we are agreeing that we believe we are receiving Jesus and promising to fulfil his commandment to love one another.
The first set of instructions relates to preparing the room for the Passover meal which we know as the Last Supper. The disciples didn't know what was going to happen in that meal, but when we come to Mass we know what will happen which is both a mystery and something that is truly amazing. In reflecting on the opening section of the Gospel it struck me that what seemed everyday preparation of getting a room ready was also important.
For each of us coming forward to receive the Body of Christ we need to think about how we are preparing ourselves (our room). As we come forward as the Body of Christ each with our own hopes, fears, joys and sadness with our God given gifts and talents, we receive the Body of Christ who we take out into the world. So perhaps we can be more aware of how we prepare to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. AMH
Sacraments 101 Eucharist (How we receive)
There are two ways we can receive Jesus in our hands or on our tongue, this short video reminds us of things we should remember when receiving Holy Communion and provides some teaching from the catechism for those wanting to learn a bit more.
Tomorrow we begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. The video below uses art to help us learn more about Ash Wednesday.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
CCC 1430 Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance.
Today is the first day of 2024. The start of our secular year we celebrate the Feast of Mary the Mother of God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains Mary's important role in her Son Jesus role as saviour.
1172 "In celebrating this annual cycle of the mysteries of Christ, Holy Church honors the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, with a special love. She is inseparably linked with the saving work of her Son. In her the Church admires and exalts the most excellent fruit of redemption and joyfully contemplates, as in a faultless image, that which she herself desires and hopes wholly to be."
Below a video with a beautiful hymn reflecting on Mary's role and relationship with Jesus' actions.
1. Mary the dawn, Christ the Perfect Day; Mary the gate, Christ the Heavenly Way!
2. Mary the root, Christ the Mystic Vine; Mary the grape, Christ the Sacred Wine!
3. Mary the wheat, Christ the Living Bread; Mary the stem, Christ the Rose blood-red!
4. Mary the font, Christ the Cleansing Flood; Mary the cup, Christ the Saving Blood!
5. Mary the temple, Christ the temple’s Lord; Mary the shrine, Christ the God adored!
6. Mary the beacon, Christ the Haven’s Rest; Mary the mirror, Christ the Vision Blest!
This week we light the candle of peace our Advent wreath often known as the candle of peace. The catechism of the Catholic Church CCC 2304
Respect for and development of human life require peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is "the tranquillity of order." Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.
This week, we listened in our Gospel Sharing this week to a short video about the words of peace in the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word Shalom and in the New Testament Eirene. Peace meaning a sense of wholeness and completeness, a bringing together, with Jesus bringing us his peace.
Seeking a time or place for peace and stillness we have our online Meditation group that meets on a Monday 7.00 to 8.00. All are welcome, if you are interested please get in touch, further details on our newsletter.
This week we light the first purple candle on our Advent wreath often known as the candle of hope. In the Catechism CCC 1817 we read that
Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit
This year during our Gospel Sharing we are also learning more about the Bible meanings of the themes of our Advent candles. This first week of Advent we light the candle of Hope. This short video from the Bible Project reminds us of Hope throughout the Bible. Our Gospel Share group meets online on a Thursday 7.30 to 8.30 if you'd like to join please see the bulletin for further details.
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, the painting is Giotto's Entry into Jerusalem and shows how the crowds welcomed Jesus as their king. How quickly they would turn away, and even Peter who by the end of the week was to deny his friend. We'll see a painting of Peter's denial, a scene from the passion we'll hear at Mass, later in the week.
For our younger parishioners a short video of Palm Sunday showing how the people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Christmas Video The video today is the great traditional song of praise the Te Deum which is sung to celebrate great feasts. As we come to the end of the octave (eight days of Christmas) tomorow when we celebrate the Feast of Mary the Mother of God
7th Day of Christmas
Remind us of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit see Isaiah 11: 1-2. Flames and a dove are symbols of the Holy Spirit - the craft today shows the dove and the flames in a mobile of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We receive gifts at Baptism and they are confirmed when we receive confirmation - for adults see the effects of confirmation in the Catechism Seven is also the number of petitions in the Our Father, last words on the Cross, deadly sins and virtues. News of Confirmation 2014Please note for young people in Year 9 or above there will be an introductory Meeting in Cathedral House for the Confirmation Programme on Sunday 26th January after 6.30pm Mass. Poster in Porch, and further details in future newsletters and Confirmation Page
Over the Christmas season we will be including a series of activities for the family that are linked to the hidden messages within the traditional Christmas song, the 12 Days of Christmas. It is suggested that it is a hidden catechism. Each line includes a clue to a key truth about the Christian. The 'true love' represents God Himself and the 'me' represents every baptised person. There are different accounts about what is the first day, we will take Christmas Day as our 1st day, and include activities for the 1st and 2nd day.
1st Day of Christmas The partridge in the pear tree represents Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. In Isaiah 9:1-7, 1st reading at Midnight Mass he is described as Mighty Counsellor, Prince of Peace. He came to bring Peace on earth - for papal reflection in a encyclical (letter) by John XXIII on Universal Peace in Truth, Justice, Charity and Liberty Colouring of Baby Jesus in manger and Jesus after the resurrection
2nd Day of Christmas The two turtle doves represent the two testaments in the Bible which tell us the story of God's people which we listen to in the Liturgy of the Word and which we can reflect on. This year there is the opportunity to have a daily email message to read the Gospels in a year.
