Weekly Zoom Prayers
Webmaaster • October 22, 2020
Weekly Zoom Prayers
Weekly ZOOM PRAYERS - AT 6PM
Prayer time leading to the Assumption of Our Lady
The Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Theme is : Your body is holy and glorious
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Meeting ID: 790 7736 3714
Password: novena
Sunday
Hymn As I kneel before you
1. As I bow my head in prayer, Take this day, make it yours and fill me with your love.
Refrain:
Ave Maria,Gratia plena, Dominus tecum, Benedicta tu.
2. All I have I give you, Every dream and wish are yours, Mother of Christ, Mother of mine, present them to my Lord Ave Maria, Gratia plena, Dominus tecum, Benedicta tu.
In their sermons and speeches on the feast day of the Assumption of the Mother of God, the holy fathers and the great doctors of the church were speaking of something that the faithful already knew and accepted: all they did was to bring it out into the open, to explain its meaning and substance in other terms. Above all, they made it most clear that this feast commemorated not merely the fact that the blessed Virgin Mary did not experience bodily decay, but also her triumph over death and her heavenly glory, following the example of her only Son, Jesus Christ.
Meditate and then Discuss:
We think about what we understand that after death Mary, Mother of Jesus was taken up to heaven in bodily form. A most ancient tradition of the Church.
Prayer
Here again is the wonderful day on which the Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven. We all praise her with the words:* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
℣. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise: through you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Monday
Hymn As I kneel before you
Thus St John Damascene, who is the greatest exponent of this tradition, compares the bodily Assumption of the revered Mother of God with her other gifts and privileges: It was right that she who had kept her virginity unimpaired through the process of giving birth should have kept her body without decay through death. It was right that she who had given her Creator, as a child, a place at her breast should be given a place in the dwelling-place of her God. It was right that the bride espoused by the Father should dwell in the heavenly bridal chamber. It was right that she who had gazed on her Son on the cross, her heart pierced at that moment by the sword of sorrow that she had escaped at his birth, should now gaze on him seated with his Father. It was right that the Mother of God should possess what belongs to her Son and be honoured by every creature as God’s Mother and handmaid.
We think about the privileges given to Mary mother of Jesus.
Discussion
Here again is the wonderful day on which the Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven. We all praise her with the words:* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
℣. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise: through you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Tuesday
Hymn - As I kneel before you
St Germanus of Constantinople considered the preservation from decay of the body of the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, and its elevation to heaven as being not only appropriate to her Motherhood but also to the peculiar sanctity of its virgin state: It is written, that you appear in beauty, and your virginal body is altogether holy, altogether chaste, altogether the dwelling-place of God; from which it follows that it is not in its nature to decay into dust, but that it is transformed, being human, into a glorious and incorruptible life, the same body, living and glorious, unharmed, sharing in perfect life.
No other person has had this Assumption into Heaven We think and discuss
Here again is the wonderful day on which the Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven. We all praise her with the words:* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
℣. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise: through you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
Wednesday
Hymn As I kneel before you
Another very ancient author asserts: Being the most glorious Mother of Christ our saviour and our God, the giver of life and immortality, she is given life by him and shares bodily incorruptibility for all eternity with him who raised her from the grave and drew her up to him in a way that only he can understand.
All that the holy fathers say refers ultimately to Scripture as a foundation, which gives us the vivid image of the great Mother of God as being closely attached to her divine Son and always sharing his lot.
We consider in what other ways Mary was closely attached to Jesus. Here again is the wonderful day on which the Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven. We all praise her with the words:* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
℣. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise: through you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
Thursday
Hymn As I kneel before you.
It is important to remember that from the second century onwards the holy fathers have been talking of the Virgin Mary as the new Eve for the new Adam: not equal to him, of course, but closely joined with him in the battle against the enemy, which ended in the triumph over sin and death that had been promised even in Paradise.
Think about this new title “The New Eve”
Here again is the wonderful day on which the Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven. We all praise her with the words:* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
℣. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise: through you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
Friday
Hymn As I kneel before you.
The glorious resurrection of Christ is essential to this victory and its final prize, but the blessed Virgin’s share in that fight must also have ended in the glorification of her body. For as the Apostle says: When this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the scripture will be fulfilled that says “Death is swallowed up in victory”.
The Fathers of the Church see Mary as the first and closest disciple of Jesus
Here again is the wonderful day on which the Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven. We all praise her with the words:* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
℣. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise: through you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
Saturday
Hymn: As I kneel before you
So then, the great Mother of God, so mysteriously united to Jesus Christ from all eternity by the same decree of predestination, immaculately conceived, an intact virgin throughout her divine motherhood, a noble associate of our Redeemer as he defeated sin and its consequences, received, as it were, the final crowning privilege of being preserved from the corruption of the grave and, following her Son in his victory over death, was brought, body and soul, to the highest glory of heaven, to shine as Queen at the right hand of that same Son, the immortal King of Ages.
We call Mary Queen of Heaven, what do we appreciate her for?
Here again is the wonderful day on which the Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven. We all praise her with the words:* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
℣. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise: through you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
‘...The angels there attesting; shroud with grave-clothes resting. Christ, my hope, has risen: he goes before you into Galilee…’ (Victimae Paschali Laudes)
Holy Thursday 17 April till Good Friday 18 April The Filipino community of the Black Nazarene in the UK will be sending the Suffering Christ statue to St Peter’s Church.
Thank you because these will go towards training of Rosminian students. Please consider to GiftAid your offerings using the white envelopes.
The Burial of Jesus In the past, a widow's hope is on her own children. But Jesus' Passion and Death meant Our Lady's 'only Son' was taken away from her. His Last Word: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ which made the most sorrowful Mother's whole body trembled in the bitter pain of her heart, still present and fresh in her ears whenever she thought on this cry. Watching Him buried in the cold tomb, how much tears she must have shredded when bidding her final farewell, and how many 'final glance' at her Son she would have took, to a point that she would willingly to be placed alive in the grave with Him! We can imagine this pain as if her heart was torn into pieces, and everything seemed to be lost... How many times had we or saw others vent anger on God during our sufferings? Or falling into depression due to the miseries in lives? But our dear Mother, although in inexpressible anguish, was in peace and had unshaken fortitude. Why? Because of her 'fiat', her total abandonment to God's Will, her perfect faith in the Almighty God. Since she knew that everything had happened according to His Will and could not have happened unless He had allowed it. So she thanked God for everything, thus within her sadness there was even some joy, because she saw that Jesus had, in his great love, wanted to suffer this much for the sins of mankind. Jesus' Sacrifice redeemed our souls and brought us our salvation. And Mary, also loves us so, united her sufferings with her Son's and took part in the Work of Salvation. Not only that, she kept this sorrow within her heart and remained on this earth to be a witness of God's Love for all until her Assumption. May this Lent be a time that we re-examine our relationship with God, a time of realisation of how much He has done for us, and a time to begin to tell our neighbours how much He Loves us! (Reference: The Prophecies and Revelations of St Bridget of Sweden)
The Archdiocese’s Safeguarding Team is working with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation to deliver free ‘live’ online training sessions via TEAMS: 1) Professionals / Volunteers Protect (1 April 6-8pm) 2) Digital Resilience (11 June 6-8pm) 3) Understanding Harmful Sexual Behaviour (24 September 6-8pm) 4) Child sexual exploitation awareness (12 November 6-8pm) To book, please contact safeguarding@rcadc.org – stating which date and your name
Almighty ever-living God, who as an example of humility for the human race to follow caused our Saviour to take flesh and submit to the Cross, graciously grant that we may heed his lesson of patient suffering and so merit a share in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Mass Times Palm Sunday (13th April) 9:30am 11:30am Maundy Thursday (17th April) 7pm Good Friday (18th April) Children Station of the Cross 10.30am Liturgy at 3pm Station of the Cross at 6pm Holy Saturday Vigil Mass (19th April) at 8pm Easter Sunday (20thApril) 9:30am 11:30am
We have had to delay the Confirmation this year, it is likely to be around October time. Notice will be in newsletter in plenty of time for anyone wishing to make this Sacrament.
Sunday 27th April St Albans Church , Cardiff Confessions 2pm – 4pm 2.30pm Blessing and Veneration of the Image 3pm Divine Mercy Chaplet & the Three o’clock Prayer