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
God's lover Who can that be? It is us. To be precise, every one of us. God Loves us, whoever you are, and He desires our love to Him. It is an invitation: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' (Mk 12:30) Now, you might thinks: this is my all, my everything! Nothing left for myself? Exactly. When Jesus asks us to love Him, He expressed it in such a way which seems quite harsh: 'He who does not hate his father and mother is not worthy of me'. But we must learn to penetrate its true meaning. 'To hate' means 'not to put my love first'. He speaks of a love through which we must learn to lose ourselves. And this divine love, unlike human love which often violate the beloved when in excess, does not degrade our life. If you do love God, as a lover, you will try your best; because he who loves wants to see the lover's desires fully satisfied, and the will of the beloved will become the will of the lover. Also because love exists in such a way that it cannot be satisfied unless it continually increases and expands. But if you do struggle to unite with Him, do not worry, He is with you, He will come to meet you with His Love. Truly, we have no pure true love within ourselves unless we have God within us, who is Love Himself, who diffuses charity in our hearts, who teaches us how to love. And this Love needs to be loved, as only in the act of love does the object of love reveal himself to the lover, and unveil the lovableness through which the lover loves him. Within this Love, the lover is continually transformed into the Beloved and the Beloved into the lover, slowly the lover will be like the Beloved and gradually the lover acts like the Beloved. Through loving Jesus, we are being introduced into His Kingdom of Justice and Holiness and drawing us to the heights of charity where we would be one with God. The Lord's daily request of us, is simply that we love Him ever more. (Reference: 'Rosminian Spirituality: In the Spirit of the Founder', Fr Giovanni Gaddo, 1971)
Next weekend there will be a second collection for this Appeal. This year alongside supporting seminarians, this collection will also be used for wider discipleship activity across the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia. Please support this appeal to the best of your abilities
Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ (John 21:15)
Holy Rosary will be held in Our Lady’s Garden at St Peter’s every Sunday beginning 4th May at 10.45am All are welcome to join!
The Love of God What is Love? We probably can easily quote St Paul's words to the Corinthians: "Love is patient and kind, doesn’t envy, doesn’t brag, not proud...." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) But why is this one thing becomes so many different things? What is Love, exactly? God is Love and hence Love is a Mystery. The created cannot fully understand the Creator, hence no one can truly understand what Love is. However, we can have a glimpse of it by what we experienced and revealed to us. Love is like the dispersion of white light through a prism and gives out a spectrum of rainbowlike colours. But who can name all the shades of colours? Hence we can only use our limited words to describe Love, but still they are just like a tip of an iceberg. What can we say then? God is the Alpha and Omega, so Love is our beginning and our end and perfection. All the goodness of things and persons comes from Him alone. Without Him, we are nothing, but dust. God's Love is what created us, complete us, sustain us, die for us. But that is not the end. As His unlimited Love never ends, so are our souls never die. Our whole being is the imprint of God's Love. Our life eternal is the promise of God's Love. (Reference: 'Rosminian Spirituality: In the Spirit of the Founder', Fr Giovanni Gaddo, 1971)
We thank God for the life and wonderful example of Pope Francis. His was an Easter death and his Christ filled life was an example of faith for all of us. Rest In Peace
‘Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’’ (John 20:26-27)
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 On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment… ” (Diary 699)
Dear brothers, Happy Easter! Despite his illness of these past months, we were all saddened to hear the news yesterday of the death of Pope Francis. He was an extraordinary witness to the Risen Lord and we pray now that the Lord quickly receive him into the kingdom. I will be celebrating a “Mass of the Resurrection – Remembering Pope Francis” in St David’s Cathedral, Cardiff at 6.30pm tomorrow evening (Wednesday) . Please come to concelebrate if you can and encourage our people to come too. There will also be a Vigil of Prayer on Thursday Evening at 6pm in St David’s Cathedral to which we have invited ecumenical, inter-faith and civic dignitaries. Do come to that, too, if you are able, and encourage people to attend, if they can. With my thanks and with my prayers and best wishes. Yours devotedly, +Mark Archbishop Mark O’Toole
‘...The angels there attesting; shroud with grave-clothes resting. Christ, my hope, has risen: he goes before you into Galilee…’ (Victimae Paschali Laudes)