newsletter and website featured articles and links 2021 (as at
end December)
January | February |
March | April | May |
June | July | August |
September | October | November | December + other links
JANUARY:
Epiphany
Traditional New Year House Blessing "20 + C + M + B + 21" Christus Mansionem Benedicat ~ May Christ bless this
house. A tradition in the Catholic Church was to hand out
blessed chalk at the Masses for Epiphany, to be used in blessing
one’s home in the New Year. Write above your doorway as in the
example above: 20 (first two numbers of the year) + C + M + B ( for
the 3 Magi, Casper, Melchior, and Balthasar), then + 21 (last two
numbers of the year), then write below: ' Christus Mansionem Benedicat', (“May Christ Bless this House.”). The four crosses
represent the 4 seasons. As you are writing, pray the following
prayer: "Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your
only-begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless
this house and all who inhabit it. Fill us with the light of
Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask
this through Christ our Lord. Amen." ~ read more
here or use a search engine. (this is adaptable for any time of
year, e.g. a new home).
Pope Francis on Twitter
1 Jan: As we begin the New Year, we place
ourselves under the protection of the Mother Of God, who is also
our mother. May she help us to keep and ponder all things, unafraid
of trials, in the joyful certainty that the Lord is faithful and
knows how to change crosses into resurrections.
see
Newsletters 17th + 24th Jan The Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity is observed from 18th - 25th January, the octave of St.
Peter and St. Paul. Theme for 2021 is 'Abiding in Christ', with
resources for download from 'Churches Together in Britain and
Ireland' (link above) For 2021 these are prepared by the Monastic
Community of Grandchamp
in Switzerland.
How can
prayer help us navigate the struggles and conflict of our world
today? For this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,
#PrayForCornwall, join Churches Together in Cornwall for 10 min
podcasts daily Mon 18 - 25 Jan, containing short
reflections to strengthen us in our daily lives, from church
and community leaders including Bishop Philip, Rev Mark
Dunn-Wilson, Bishop Hugh, Deacon Andrew Shute, Roger Mills, Jane
Yeomans, Lesley Chandler and others. see the CT podcast page or Facebook /
Twitter pages, also Spotify / iTunes later each day.
From our audio
library: The CTIPA Christian Unity Service, with Choral
Evening Prayer, in our Parish church on 22nd Jan 2012. Preacher: The Bishop of Truro, Tim
Thornton; 'if we take prayer seriously, will the process of
prayer allow the possibility of change ... structural
unity, working together.' 
listen / download mp3 audio (16:20 mins)
Peace
Sunday is celebrated in England and Wales on 17 Jan 2021. see Pax
Christi, the International Catholic movement for peace for resources
'Communicating by Encountering
People as They Are'
Pope Francis' message for World Communications Day, Jan 24th
2021
homily on
offering up 'suffering' by Bp. Robert Barron, Mass for Hospital
Workers and First Responders (Jan 12)
4 talks
on the Gospel of Mark - Fr Matt Blake, find on Carmelite Kensington
website or YouTube -
enter more deeply into the readings for most Sundays in year
B.
"We can always give praise, in good times and bad,
because God is the faithful Friend. This is the foundation of
praise: God is the faithful Friend, and His love never fails."
~ Pope Francis, January 2021
Racial Justice Sunday
31st January 2021 This year’s Racial Justice Sunday is more important than
ever. The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, the killing of George Floyd, and
the powerful message on fraternity and equality by Pope Francis in Fratelli
Tutti speak of the need to actively oppose racism and pursue racial justice with
renewed vigour.
FEBRUARY:
Evangelium newsletter: 'Making Disciples - Speaking The Truth
In Love' ~ from Plymouth Diocese Vicariate of Evangelisation &
Catechesis Incorporating Marriage, Family Life & Youth,
February 2021
Listen to
the 'Stay Awake'
2021 Catholic Christian Conference worship music on spotify -
Dorchester February. Praise and worship, keynote talks (including
David Wells, a past speaker here in Holy Family parish), discussion
time and a kids session. 'Stay
Awake 2021' link is left here hoping recordings become
available. Also on Facebook.
Lent resource pages +
Reconciliation etc
A short
meditation for Lent 2021: ‘The Green
Cross’ by Canon David Annear (pdf)
MARCH:
Statement from Catholic Bishops
Conference for Tuesday 23rd March as a National Day of Reflection
(and prayer) to mark anniversary of first national
lockdown.
video Reflection for Ash
Wednesday from Plymouth Cathedral
From Pope Francis on Twitter:
"All of us have spiritual
infirmities that we cannot heal on our own. We need Jesus’ healing,
we need to present our wounds to him and say: “Jesus, I am in your
presence, with my sin, with my sorrows. You can set me free. Heal
my heart”. #Lent
Pray the Rosary with Bishop Robert Barron using his
introduction to the Rosary
videos
Music for the Triduum during
Covid-19 restrictions on singing, recordings from choir and
musicians at our church.
APRIL:
‘True Life in
Christ A short meditation for Easter 2021 by Canon
David Annear, based on the fourth of our Rosary windows, the
Glorious Mysteries.
Pope
Francis: Urbi et Orbi
- 'To the city and to the world', Easter 2021 + broadcast
on BBC
Cardinal
Vincent Nichols: Easter message
2021
listen to Holy Saturday Solemnity of the Lord's Resurrection
- our Easter Vigil Mass (edit 55 mins)
Music during Covid-19 restrictions
on singing, recordings of choir and other musicians at our
church
Fr. Philip in Newsletter for 18th April: Prince
Philip RIP. Much has been said, shown and written this past
week. Few knew much of his religious faith and thinking. He had on
his own bookshelves 634 books on religion. He founded in 1966 St
George’s House, Windsor, as a place for frank, vigorous discussion
across religious and political divides. He did write “Religious
conviction is the strongest and probably the only factor in
sustaining the dignity and integrity of the individual.” The royal
biographer Christopher Warwick wrote “He was a very religious man
and very questioning when it came to religion.” Here is a prayer he
wrote for a book of prayers in 1998, “O Lord, the creator of the
universe and author of the laws of nature, inspire in us thy
servants the will to ensure the survival of all the species of
animals and plants which you have given to share this planet with
us. Help us to understand that we have a responsibility for them
and that ‘having dominion’ does not mean that you have given us the
right to exploit the living world without thought for the
consequences. Through him who taught us that Solomon could not
compare with the beauty of the flowers of the field.”
Bishop
Mark: Vespers of the Dead in Plymouth Cathedral on 9th April,
praying especially for HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. We
commend his soul to God. Requiescat in pace. video
'Prayer
for the day' with Cardinal Vincent Nichols, BBC Radio 4 on 10th
April: listen "Good morning. Today we mourn the
death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, a man of such vitality,
determination and noble sense of duty. Who can forget the pageant
on the River Thames marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee when he
stood for hours in the rain at her side, not counting the cost? I
recall also, at the Palace of Holyrood House, he stood alongside
the Queen and the Pope, all three in their eighties, each committed
to serving nation or church without regard for age or personal
cost. A little time later, in an interview marking his ninetieth
birthday, Prince Philip said that he would slow down and reduce his
duties, stating that he had ‘done his bit’. Only much later did he
in fact retire from public life. This is how many of us will
remember Prince Philip – always there beside his wife and
sovereign, but active in his own right. This was the life he chose
when he married her, knowing that she would one day be Queen. At
the Coronation he was not crowned of course, but knelt before her
with her hands enclosing his, and swore to be her ‘liege man of
life and limb’. At the Diamond Jubilee the Queen referred to him as
her ‘constant strength and guide’. Lord, we thank you
for the long life which you gave to your servant, Prince Philip, a
life lived in loyalty and service to his Queen and to our country .
As he now rests from his labours may he share in your peace and
rise in glory. Amen"
listen
to 'Thought for the day' with Justin Welby, Archbishop of
Canterbury, BBC Radio 4 on 10th
April.
ICYMI - in
case you missed it: One year ago
in lockdown #1, 300+ churches sang The Irish
Blessing over Ireland and beyond.
MAY:
Pray the Rosary with Bishop Robert Barron using his
introduction to the Rosary
videos
Thy
Kingdom Come. Bishop Mark has taken the lead on this
evangelisation initiative,
video: The annual International Ecumenical
Initiative of Thy Kingdom Come is promoting a novena of prayer from
Ascension Thursday until Pentecost Sunday, introducing more people
to Jesus. This year it is encouraging us all to pray particularly
for a minimum of five nominated friends or relatives, on a daily
basis, that we wish to bring closer to Jesus. Information and
resources available at the Thy
Kingdom Come website.
Novena Prayer: Lord Jesus, We pray for the confidence to be
missionary disciples, sharing your Good News of salvation with
those we meet in our daily lives. We bring before you in prayer
those who have never known you, that the light of your truth may
penetrate their minds and hearts, and those who have grown lukewarm
in their faith that they may be reawakened to your graces. We
commend to you those in need of your mercy that they will know the
joy of your forgiveness (name the five people you want to pray
for). We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
'For the Spirit himself is gift: he
lives by giving himself and in this way he keeps us together,
making us sharers in the same gift. It is important to believe that
God is gift, that he acts not by taking away, but by giving.' ~
Pope Francis
JULY:
'Sunday - it is our Day' a short statement from the
Catholic Bishops Conference on attending Mass
after 19th July easing of Covid 19 legal
restrictions. Updates for our
churches are in latest newsletters. The Catholic Bishops
Conference guidance document for parishes says: 'Each local
community should examine the local conditions regarding the virus,
and adopt an attitude of care for the people who desire to attend
Mass'; 'Face coverings are strongly recommended to be
worn by those in church'; 'Churches should continue to
provide hand sanitiser at entrances and exits'. As always,
the Health & Safety of each and every one is paramount. Please
be aware and respectful of each other in our church
buildings.
AUGUST:
North Aisle fundraising campaign
leaflet (15th
August)
Haiti
earthquake: For information and to
donate to CAFOD appeal click here
Afghanistan
crisis: How CAFOD is responding -
for information and to donate click here
SEPTEMBER:
Evangelium newsletter Sept '21: "Making Disciples - Speaking
The Truth In Love" ~ from Plymouth Diocese Vicariate
of Evangelisation & Catechesis. This edition focuses on Youth,
with other articles on forming active evangelisers, Catechesis,
Marriage and Family Life.
Watch free
Episode
1 of Bishop Robert Barron's new six-part film series on 'The
Creed'
Fr David's
meditation: Following Jesus,
the Light of the world - based
on the Mysteries of Light and inspired by our Rosary
Windows.
OCTOBER:
Diocesan Pastoral Message - w/e 9+10
October '21 including a Prayer for the Synod BBC
Radio 4 -
COP 26:
Pope Francis - Thought
for the Day BBC R4 transcript: Dear BBC
listeners, good morning! Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic
have exposed our deep vulnerability and raised numerous doubts and
concerns about our economic systems and the way we organize our
societies. We have lost our sense of security, and are experiencing
a sense of powerlessness and loss of control over our lives. We
find ourselves increasingly frail and even fearful, caught up in a
succession of “crises” in the areas of health care, the
environment, food supplies and the economy, to say nothing of
social, humanitarian and ethical crises. All these crises are
profoundly interconnected. They also forecast a “perfect storm”
that could rupture the bonds holding our society together within
the greater gift of God’s creation.
Every crisis calls for vision, the
ability to formulate plans and put them rapidly into action, to
rethink the future of the world, our common home, and to reassess
our common purpose. These crises present us with the need to
take decisions, radical decisions that are not always easy. At the
same time, moments of difficulty like these also present
opportunities, opportunities that we must not waste. We can
confront these crises by retreating into isolationism,
protectionism and exploitation. Or we can see in them a real chance
for change, a genuine moment of conversion, and not simply in a
spiritual sense.
This last approach alone can guide
us towards a brighter horizon. Yet it can only be pursued through a
renewed sense of shared responsibility for our world, and an
effective solidarity based on justice, a sense of our common
destiny and a recognition of the unity of our human family in God’s
plan for the world. All this represents an immense cultural
challenge. It means giving priority to the common good, and it
calls for a change in perspective, a new outlook, in which the
dignity of every human being, now and in the future, will guide our
ways of thinking and acting. The most important lesson we can
take from these crises is our need to build together, so that there
will no longer be any borders, barriers or political walls for us
to hide behind.
Some days ago, on 4 October, I met
with religious leaders and scientists to sign a Joint Appeal in
which we called upon ourselves and our political leaders to act in
a more responsible and consistent manner. I was impressed by
something said by one of the scientists present at that meeting. He
told us: “If things continue as they are, in fifty years’ time my
baby granddaughter will have to live in an unliveable world”.
We cannot allow this to happen!
It is essential that each of us be
committed to this urgent change of direction, sustained by our own
faith and spirituality. In the Joint Appeal, we spoke of the need
to work responsibly towards a “culture of care” for our common
home, but also for ourselves, and the need to work tirelessly to
eliminate “the seeds of conflicts: greed, indifference, ignorance,
fear, injustice, insecurity and violence”.
Humanity has never before had at its
disposal so many means for achieving this goal. The political
decision makers who will meet at COP26 in Glasgow are urgently
summoned to provide effective responses to the present ecological
crisis and in this way to offer concrete hope to future
generations. And it is worth repeating that each of us – whoever
and wherever we may be – can play our own part in changing our
collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change
and the degradation of our common home. (Vatican
News: Crises present us with the opportunity to build
together.)
Caritas Plymouth newsletter October '21 - The Church’s
deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of
proclaiming the word of God, celebrating the sacraments, and
exercising the ministry of charity (caritas).
