Happy St George's Day! A Prayer for England . . .

Happy Feast Day everyone!  The flag is fluttering in the breeze outside.We had a beautiful Mass here at St Ann's this morning and we finished with the Prayer for England, just before Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

Adoration continues all day until 8pm this evening. If you're in the area why not drop in and say a prayer for England on St George's Day.

PRAYER FOR ENGLAND

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

and our most gentle Queen and Mother,

look down in mercy upon England thy "Dowry"

and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee.

By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour

and our hope was given unto the world;

and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more.

Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive

and accept at the foot of the cross.

O sorrowful Mother! Intercede for our separated brethren,

that with us in the one true fold

they may be united to the supreme Shepherd,

the Vicar of thy Son. Pray for us all, dear Mother,

that by faith fruitful in good works

we may all deserve to see and praise God,

together with thee, in our heavenly home. Amen.

La Fhéile Phádraig Shona Diobh . . . !

La Fhéile Phádraig Shona Diobh!

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary . . .

Mary is assumed into heaven.

The angels rejoice, and praising together

bless the Lord.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St Jean Marie Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests.

Act of Love of the Holy

Curé

D'Ars

I love you, O my God. My only desire is to love you, until the last breath of my life. I love you, O infinitely loveable God, and I prefer to die loving you, rather than to live for an instant without you.

I love you, O my God, and I desire only to go to heaven, to have the happiness of loving you perfectly. I love you, O my God, and my only fear is to go to hell, because one will never have the sweet solace of loving you there.

O my God, if my tongue cannot say at all times that I love you, at least I want my heart to repeat it to you as many times as I breathe.

Ah! Do me the grace: to suffer while loving you, to love you while suffering, and, that when I die: I not only will love you, but experience it in my heart. I beg you that: the closer I come to my final end, you will increase and perfect my love for you. Amen.

St Jean Marie Vianney, pray for me, and for all parish priests.

Confused? You're not the only one . . .

We've had one or two occasions recently when we've wanted to fly the Papal Flag outside our church. One of our parishioners kindly set up a temporary flagpole for us which did the job quite satisfactorily but we thought maybe if we had a proper flagpole we might be encouraged to use if more often, on special feast days for example.

Having erected the flagpole yesterday, we are having a 'dry run' with the complimentary flag of St George that came with it.

I think it confused a few parishioners when they came for Mass this morning. It's certainly not St George's Day but I hope St Martha appreciated it!

It also looks as if our magnolia tree thinks it's April too. One or two blooms have suddenly appeared amongst the greenery.

Feast of Sts Joachim and Ann . . .

A very happy feast day to all!

We celebrated our feast day in the parish with a lovely Mass this morning followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration throughout the day.

We also had a little social gathering with tea, coffee and cakes after Mass for those who were able to stay.

Lord, God of our fathers,

through Saint Joachim and Saint Ann

You gave us the Mother of Your Incarnate Son.

May their prayers help us to attain the salvation

You promised to Your people. Amen.

St Joachim and St Ann, pray for us.

Our Lady of Lourdes . . .

Our Lady is always Health of the Sick and Comfort of the Afflicted.

As we pray today especially for the sick, let us bring to Her our every need.

Our Lady had a clear message in mind when she appeared in Lourdes; she wanted to remind the world of the need for conversion and penance. She wished also to remind us that all have been redeemed by Christ's sacrifice on Calvary.

Today once again we ask Our Blessed Lady's help in all the circumstances of life.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Happy New Year/Solemnity/Octave . . .!

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, our Lady's greatest title.

This feast is the octave of Christmas. A very special celebration. In the modern Roman Calendar only Christmas and Easter enjoy the privilege of an octave.

Here's an extract from CCC about today's Solemnity.

"Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because his Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense the Church's Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts on wisdom in relation to Mary. Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy as the "Seat of Wisdom." — Catechism of the Catholic Church 721

And the Opening Prayer from today's Mass:

Let us pray

[that Mary the mother of the Lord,

will help us by her prayers]

God our Father ,

may we always profit by the prayers

for you bring us life and salvation
through Jesus Christ her Son
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Today's Solemnity is always celebrated on 1st January so as well as wishing everyone a very happy feast day, it also gives me an opportunity to wish you all . . .

A very Happy and Blessed New Year!

Our Lady of Sorrows . . .

Today the Church reminds us of the particular union that Our Blessed Lady shared with in the sacrifice of her Son on the Cross.

The love of Our Lady for her Son permits her to share His sufferings as though they were her own.

Today's feast is an opportunity for each of us to accept our little trials as personal purification. Our Lady teaches us not to complain as we know she never would; she encourages us to unite our trials and difficulties to the sacrifice of he Son for our own salvation and for the whole world.

'O sweet Mother, fount of love,

touch my spirit from above,

make my heart with yours accord.'

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross . . .

Today's feast has been celebrated since the fourth century. The Divine Office and the texts of today's Mass proclaim the Holy Cross as the instrument of our salvation. Inasmuch as our first parents sinned beneath the shadow of a tree, God accomplished our redemption on the wood of the Cross.

At Mass we pray,

'God Our Father, in obedience to you, your only son accepted death on the Cross for the salvation of mankind. We acknowledge the mystery of the Cross on earth. May we receive the gift of redemption in heaven.'

The Cross is present in our lives in different ways; it may manifest itself through illness, loneliness, bereavement and in many other human circumstances. In our prayer today we can examine our disposition as we come face to face with the Cross.

'Cross most faithful, you are the noblest tree of all!

No other tree can compare with your leaves,

your flowers and your fruit.' (Hymn, Crux Fidelis)

Assumpta est Maria in Caelum, gaudent Angeli! Et Gaudet Ecclesia!

Assumpta est Maria in Caelum, gaudent Angeli! Et gaudet Ecclesia!

From the fifth century the Church has implicitly believed in the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul, into heaven. The dogma of the Assumption was promulgated by Pope Pius XII on 1st November 1950.

Mary's Assumption is a marvellous precursor of our own resurrection; it is made possible by Christ's own rising from the dead. St Paul reminds us, 'He will transfigure our lowly body, making it like his own body, radiant in glory' (Phil 3:21)

Our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, speaking about today's Solemnity says, 'Today's Solemnity is like a continuation of Easter, the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord. It is at the same time, a sign and source of hope for eternal life and the future resurrection.'

Our Blessed Lady is a great advocate before the throne of God. May we ask her today; Mary, Refuge of Sinners, show us your son Jesus whom we are in need of above all else.

'Today the Virgin Mother of God is taken up into heaven to be the beginning and pattern of the Church in its perfection, and a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way.' (Preface of the Assumption).

Saints Joachim and Ann . . .

Today here at St Ann's we celebrate our Patronal Feast of St Joachim and St Ann.

An ancient tradition from the second century attributes the names of Joachim and Ann to be the parents of Our Blessed Lady.

Today we entrust the mother and father of Our Lady with all our needs, particularly the needs of our families and the sanctity of our homes.

We pray in the Opening Prayer of today's Mass:

God of our fathers,

you gave Saints Joachim and Ann

the privilege of being the parents of Mary,

the mother of your incarnate Son.

May their prayers help us to attain

the salvation you have promised to your people.

St Joachim and St Ann, pray for us.

Cor Jesu in Te Confido . . .

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus existed in the Middle Ages and it appeared as a feast after the apparition of Our Lord to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Our Lord asked her to make reparation for her personal sins and for the whole world, and to respond to Christ's love. Our Lord asked her to extend the practice of frequent Holy Communion especially on the first Friday of each month in a spirit of reparation.

As we celebrate this feast we consider especially the infinite love of the human heart of Jesus for each one of us.

Today we thank God for loving us to the end and we make reparation to Him because He is often poorly responded to or scarcely repaid even by those who have good reason to thank and love Him.

Very close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus we will always meet His Mother; today, we ask her in a special way to lead us to the Heart of her Son.

"Sweet Heart of Jesus, we implore,

O make us love Thee, more and more."

Corpus Christi and 'Going Forth' Mass . . .

Today saw great celebrations at St Ann's! We not only celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi with a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, we also celebrated the Going Forth of our new First Communicants.

Lord, our God,
in this great sacrament
we come into the presence of Jesus Christ,
your Son, born of the Virgin Mary
and crucified for our salvation.
May we who declare our faith in this
fountain of love and mercy
drink from it the water of everlasting life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas . . .

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas . . .

"O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore thee."

This is the opening line of the hymn St Thomas Aquinas wrote for the feast of Corpus Christi.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi dates from the thirteenth Century. First established in the diocese of Liege, Pope Urban IV instituted it in 1264 throughout the Universal Church.

On this day we thank God for His presence among us; we make reparation to Him for the offences committed against Him in the Blessed Sacrament. We will tell Him many times that we love Him.

It is a day of thanksgiving and joy because Our Lord has wanted to remain with us in order to feed us and strengthen us, so that we will never feel alone for He is indeed Panis Angelicus . . .

We intend to have a short procession here in the parish on the Feast of Corpus Christi. It would be marvellous to be able to do so with a canopy for the Blessed Sacrament. If anyone within travelling distance of Banstead knows of a canopy that we might borrow for the Feast, I would be delighted to hear from them. (Or even an ombrellino!)

The Conversion of St Paul

Today's feast marks the end of our Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. God's grace changed and transformed St Paul from a persecutor of Christians to a herald of the Gospel. This simple fact teaches us that our faith has its roots and basis in grace and the free correspondence of each human being.

In today's reading we have an account of the Conversion of St Paul when God stepped into his life. There are occasions in our daily lives when Our Lord want to attract our attention and step into our lives and tell us of the great plan he has for us. 'I stand at the door and knock'; so many times we are deaf to this knock, other times we are caught up in our own world and think we know best, and other times we are too busy, too busy with the trivia of life.

God's grace can work miracles in our hearts but He depends on our willingness to correspond to grace; 'my grace is sufficient for you'.

Let us ask Our Lord to help us to open our hearts to His grace every day.

All Saints Day . . .

'Let us all rejoice in the Lord and keep a festival in honour of all the saints.

Let us join with the angels in joyful praise to the Son of God.' (Entrance Antiphon)

On this feast of All Saints we rejoice and ask the intercession of 'the huge number, impossible to count' who have reached heaven. They strove to practice the Beatitudes which Our Lord sets before us in today's Gospel.

Each year the Church recognises many saints of every age; as we have recourse to them we ask their intercession for our many needs.

It is a source of comfort to realise that people with whom we talked and spent time with are now contemplating the face of God. We continue to be united to them through the Communion of Saints.

Today we make St Teresa's prayer our own:

'O holy ones who knew how to prepare so delightful an inheritance, help us now that you are so near the fount of all holiness. Draw water for those of us who are perishing of thirst.'

St Thérèse . . .

With being away, I have missed the opportunity to post about many important feast days recently (including my own namesake St Michael, on Tuesday!)

However, I couldn't let today end without a brief reference to St Teresa of the Child Jesus, or St Thérèse of Lisieux as she is perhaps better known.

Here is a short extract from the excellent website of the Society of the Little Flower

"My mission - to make God loved - will begin after my death," she said. "I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. I will let fall a shower of roses." Roses have been described and experienced as Saint Therese's signature. Countless millions have been touched by her intercession and imitate her "little way." She has been acclaimed "the greatest saint of modern times." In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared St. Therese a Doctor of the Church - the only Doctor of his pontificate - in tribute to the powerful way her spirituality has influenced people all over the world.

I'm very much looking forward to our visit to Aylesford on Friday to venerate the relics of St Thérèse as I'm sure many others are. Meanwhile . . .

St Thérèse, pray for us.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary . . .

The Immaculate Heart of Mary, is called, above all, ‘the temple of the Holy Spirit’ (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 53) by reason of her divine motherhood and because of the continuous and all embracing inhabitation of the Holy Spirit on her soul.

It is very fitting that following yesterday’s feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus we celebrate today the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. Our Lady knows the Heart of her Son well and she knows how to reach it. Through her intercession, our poor prayers reach Our Lord sooner and most certainly better.

Let us today renew our love for Our Blessed Lady, let us also renew our trust in her maternal love for us. In Cana, at that first wedding, Our Lord worked that first miracle at the request of his mother.

We dedicate to her once again all that we are and all that we have. We place on her motherly lap the days that seem good and those that seem bad, our illnesses, weaknesses, work, our tiredness and our rest, together with the noble ideals God has placed in our souls. And we place especially in her care our journey towards her Son.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Solemnity of St Joseph ....

Of course, parish priests don't really have 'days off' in the usually accepted understanding of the word but I delayed the start of my 'day off' today to celebrate Mass in the parish in honour of St Joseph before going out.

Once again, we had a good number of people at Mass this morning and it is so encouraging to see this. We were fortunate too that Flick, our organist, was able to play for us so we began our celebration with the hymn, 'Hail, holy Joseph, hail!'

St Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

and Patron of the Universal Church,

Pray for us.