SERVICES
AND GATHERINGS
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, public Church services and gatherings
are suspended till further notice. Father
Duncan
will celebrate Holy Mass privately every day and assures you of his prayers
for you and your family.
A READING FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES - 6:1-7
About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists
made a complaint against the Hebrews. In the daily distribution, their own
widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples
and addressed them. It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God
so as to give out food. You, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven
men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom. We will hand
over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to
the service of the word. The whole assembly approved of this proposal and
elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, together with
Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert
to Judaism. They presented these to the apostles who prayed and laid their
hands on them. The word of the Lord continued to spread. The number of disciples
in Jerusalem was greatly increased and a large group of priests made their
submission to the faith.
A READING
FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF SAINT PETER - 2:4-9
The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious
to him. Set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that
offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to
God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says - See
how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who
rests his trust on it will not be disappointed. That means that for you who
are believers, it is precious, but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by
the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock
to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the
word. It was the fate in store for them - but you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of
God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
A READING
FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN - 14:1-12
Jesus said to his disciples "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust
in God still and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house. If
there were not, I should have told you. I am going now to prepare a place for
you and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you
with me so that where I am you may be too. You know the way to the place where
I am going." Thomas said "Lord, we do not know where you are going,
so how can we know the way?" Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and
the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you know me, you
know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him." Philip
said 'Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied." "Have
I been with you all this time, Philip" said Jesus to him "and you
still do not know me? To have seen me is to have seen the Father so how can
you say Let us see the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and
the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself. It
is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You must believe me when
I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Believe it on the evidence
of this work, if for no other reason. I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes
in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater
works, because I am going to the Father."
A LETTER FROM FATHER
DUNCAN
Dear
brothers and sisters
As the Body of Christ, the Church in all her sons and daughters has been enduring
a time of severe trial. As we continue to practise social distancing to limit
the spread of coronavirus, I write today with deep gratitude for all of you,
the faithful in Ardrossan, who have been walking the path of love for one another,
particularly the most vulnerable among us, by sacrificing your ability to gather
together for Mass during these last several weeks. Thank you for your witness,
your faith and your loyalty. I am so grateful for all the signs of support and
kindness, the telephone calls and numerous emails being sent and received. Many
of you have shared with me your sadness and devoted desire to return to Mass.
Please know that we share this deep longing for the Eucharist and have taken
them to prayer as our bishops in Scotland discern the next steps of the Church's
response to this global pandemic. I share your desire to return to normal liturgical
life and reestablish the rich spiritual and communal life of our Parish and
school. We are grateful to God that as the lockdown restrictions may soon be
eased, public Masses are once again becoming a possibility in our parish Church.
While we do not yet have a firm date when it will be safe to resume public gatherings
here, please know that the Scottish Dioceses are working together to find a
suitable way forward. We will resume our public Masses and other parish events
when we are confident that doing so will not pose undue risk to the health and
well-being of the members of our Parish Family. I celebrate Holy Mass privately
every day and consciously include all our parishioners and our personal needs
and intentions. I am also very grateful to George McGrattan and Colin Mulhern
who have been working so hard on our parish websites. Both are up and running
and will keep you informed with the latest news and offer information and a
variety of resources for prayer. It is important to note that the Sacrament
of Penance and Reconciliation has not been prohibited during the pandemic. Parishioners
are welcome to call me and we can work out a time together. Likewise, Anointing
of the Sick and the pastoral care of the sick and the dying have continued as
clergy are able and with respect for individual hospital policies. It is my
daily prayer that we will gather again soon for Mass, in one form or another
- although the regulations may be somewhat strange for us. We know that this
return will look and feel different from what we are used to experiencing. As
we move forward, we must remember God's unending love for us and his ability
to bring good from our trials. He created each of us to live in this moment,
during this pandemic so that we might give witness to our confidence in the
good news of the Lord's victory over suffering and death. Let us pray together
that we all may rise to this challenge. Let us also continue to pray for our
heroic health care and social care workers, for those who are ill or who have
died from the virus and for their families. We entrust them and our entire parish
family into the loving care of Our Blessed Lady, Health of the Sick and Refuge
of Sinners. To this end, I repeat the invitation of our Holy Father, Pope Francis,
that we all pray a daily Rosary in the special month of May. On your behalf,
I crowned the statue of Our Lady in Church on the first Sunday of May. We unite
ourselves once again with the faithful throughout the world and entrust ourselves
to the prayers of our Blessed Mother. Through her intercession, may God bring
about an end to the pandemic and grant healing and protection to the people
in Ardrossan and beyond. Let us hold each other as we pray at home in these
difficult times. Looking forward to seeing you all soon! Keep safe, keep well
and keep praying!
God
bless,
Father Duncan, Parish Priest
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY
Every day this week, Father Duncan
will celebrate Holy Mass privately, focusing on these Thoughts for the Day taken
from Our Lady, Undoer of Knots by Marge Fenelon.
A message from Father Duncan on Sunday 10 May 2020
Today, I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish
and Ian McCormick on his anniversary. Knots.
Bumps in the road. Thorns in the side. Rough edges. Call them what you will,
but we all have them - those difficulties in life that make life knotty, bumpy,
thorny or rough. Some of them are, unfortunately, of our own creation - we make
bad choices and things get complicated. Others come of the craziness that is
life-illness, misunderstandings, unforeseen situations. While I certainly couldn't
begin to explain the reasons or solutions for the many knots in life, I can
say with one hundred percent certainty that we all have them. During his 12
October 2013, catechesis, Pope Francis revealed to the world his special devotion
to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. In his
address, he spoke of Mary as the 'new Eve' who unties the knot of Eve's disobedience.
He is referring to a beautiful image of Our Lady where she unties the knots
of our problems and worries. Each day this week tackles a different knot-injustice,
separation, confusion, hopelessness, grief and loss, discord, betrayal, envy
and pride and affliction. Please be assured
of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Monday 11 May 2020
Today, I
celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and
Kathleen Cairns. The Knot of Injustice - "You
young people, you have a particular sensitivity towards injustice but you are
often disappointed by facts that speak of corruption on the part of people who
put their own interests before the common good. To you and to all, I repeat
- never yield to discouragement, do not lose trust, do not allow your hope to
be extinguished. Be the first to seek to bring good, do not grow accustomed
to evil, but defeat it with good. The Church is with you, bringing you the precious
good of faith, bringing Jesus Christ, who 'came that they may have life and
have it abundantly (John 10:10) - Pope Francis. What injustice burdens you?
Have you been discriminated against because of your culture or religion? Perhaps
it was something subtle, like a snide remark whispered behind your back, or
the withholding of some privilege. That can be painful and disturbing. Injustice
becomes a knot that can trap us in sinfulness and turn us away from God. We
can become caustic and vengeful. Revenge can lead us to hatred and that's a
serious sin. That's why we need to turn our knot of injustice over to Our Lady,
Undoer of Knots - before it entangles us in sin and ruin. We might prefer to
cling to the knot, seeking vengeance or believing we deserve restitution. Please
be assured of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Tuesday 12 May 2020
Today, I
celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and
John Ross who died recently. The Knot of Separation
- "The divisions among Christians, while they hurt the Church, they wound
Christ. And, divided, we wound Christ. The Church is indeed the body in which
Christ is the head. We know well how much Jesus cared that his disciples remain
united in His love" - Pope Francis. Can you think of a time when you felt
the pain of being separated from a friend or loved one? At one time or another,
most of us have had such an experience. Rest assured, Our Lady wants you to
place your troubles into her lap, with confidence and childlike trust. Please
be assured of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Wednesday 13 May 2020
Today, I
celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and Joseph McIver
who died recently. The Knot of Hopelessness
- "May the Church be a place of God's mercy and hope, where all feel welcomed,
loved, forgiven and encouraged to live according to the good life of the Gospel.
And to make others feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged, the Church
must be with doors wide open so that all may enter. And we must go out through
these doors and proclaim the Gospel." - Pope Francis. Pope Francis assured
them of the Lord's goodness and mercy. He gave them hope. We are all exposed
to sin, to evil, to betrayal. We are fully conscious of the disproportion between
the grandeur of God's call and of own littleness, between the sublimity of the
mission and the reality of our human weakness. Yet the Lord in his great goodness
and his infinite mercy always takes us by the hand lest we drown in the sea
of our fears and anxieties. He is ever at our side, he never abandons us. And
so, let us not be overwhelmed by fear or disheartened, but with courage and
confidence let us press forward in our journey and in our mission. Do you think
your situation is hopeless? Are you struggling with a chronic illness, or an
unrelenting burden of circumstance? Are you suffering from anxiety or depression
that is wreaking havoc in your personal life? Take it to Mary. Please
be assured of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Thursday 14 May 2020
Today, I
celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and Mary Durkan who died recently.
The Knots of Grief and Loss - "Dear young people,
let us entrust ourselves to Jesus, let us give ourselves over to Him because
He never disappoints anyone! Only in Christ crucified and risen can we find
salvation and redemption. With him, evil, suffering, and death do not have the
last word, because he gives us hope and life. He has transformed the Cross from
being an instrument of hate, defeat, and death to being a sign of love, victory,
triumph and life." - Pope Francis. Every injury, every one of our pains
and sorrows, has been borne on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd who offered
himself in sacrifice and thereby opened the way to eternal life. His open wounds
are the cleft through which the torrent of his mercy is poured out upon the
world. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the basis of our hope! Please
be assured of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Friday 15 May 2020
Today, I
celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and
John Mullen at his month's mind. The Knots of
Envy and Pride - "What is the law of the People of God? It is the law of
love, love for God and love for neighbour according to the new commandment that
the Lord left to us (John 13:34). It is a love, however, that is not sterile
sentimentality or something vague, but the acknowledgment of God as the one
Lord of life and, at the same time, the acceptance of the other as my true brother,
overcoming division, rivalry, misunderstanding, selfishness - these two things
go together. We must ask the Lord to make us correctly understand this law of
love. How beautiful it is to love one another as true brothers and sisters.
How beautiful! Let's do something today." - Pope Francis. Envy and pride
can lead us to segregate our lives into quarters, like the Old City of Jerusalem,
in the sense that we separate the 'haves' from the 'have-nots'. Whether it's
property, popularity, talents, intelligence or something entirely different,
we can be prideful when we have more than others and envious of those who have
more than we do. Please be assured of my daily
prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Saturday 16 May 2020
Today, I
celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and
James Joseph Timmons at his anniversary. One
of the defining aspects of being Catholic is devotion to Mary. I favour no Marian
celebration more highly than May Crowning, the feast that recognises Mary as
queen of heaven and earth. To a person of any age, this is a mighty big title
but to a child of five or six or seven, it expands to enchanting, magical proportions.
How many queens does one get a chance to meet in a lifetime, much less crown?
May Crowning marked a new spiritual season. Our Mary, queen of heaven and earth,
lifted us right out of the last long, cold days of winter and firmly planted
our hearts in the warm and promising soil of spring. I will be forever grateful
to the Church for bringing me Mary and grateful to Mary for bringing me her
Son. For that was my route. I might not have discovered the gaze of Jesus if
I had not first felt the maternal, nurturing and safe embrace of my mother in
heaven. Through Mary, I became enamoured of the holy family. Through Mary, I
was invited into the Catholic fold. It was her feminine presence and the safety
of her motherhood that helped me grow. My child's heart was so full of love
for my mother in heaven and understood already what my head could not yet know
- Mary would bring me to Jesus. The growing would be toward Jesus, for Jesus,
with Jesus. Through Mary, Jesus was brought to you and to me. She was delivered
up like an innocent, perfect spring flower to lighten our spirits, complete
our senses, bring the very aroma of heaven to our world in need of warming,
and welcome our hearts into the eternal mystery of spring and growing things.
This was written by a mum of three children. Please
be assured of my daily prayers for you and your family.
FOOD
PARCELS
If you know anyone who needs a parcel of food essentials left at the door, please
get in touch with the Parish Office on 01294 464063, with the name and address.
RECENTLY DECEASED
Please pray for the repose of the soul of John Ross who died on 3 May 2020.
His funeral service, for close family only, will be at the Clyde Coast and Garnock
Valley Crematorium, Dalry, on Monday 18 May 2020 at 10.00am. May he rest in
peace and rise in glory!
I WILL MOVE THE ROCK
A
man was sleeping at night in his house when suddenly his room filled with light
and the Saviour appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do and
showed him a large rock in front of his house. The Lord explained that the man
was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after
day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely
against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his
might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that
his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs
of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into
the man's mind such as "You have been pushing against that rock for a long
time and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going
to move it." This gave the man the impression that the task was impossible
and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man
even more. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just
put in my time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough."
And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer
and take his troubled thought to the Lord. "Lord," he said "I
have laboured long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that
which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that
rock by half a millimetre, What is wrong? Why am I failing?" To this the
Lord responded compassionately "My friend, when I asked you to serve me
and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with
all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that
I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with
your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?
Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown,
your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive
and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass
that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling
was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom.
This you have done. "I, my friend, will now move the rock."
When everything seems to go wrong... just P-U-S-H!
When your work gets you down ...
When people don't react the way you think they should
...
When your money is gone and the bills are due ...
When people just don't understand you ...
When you have a worry or trouble and can't find an answer
... just P.U.S.H.!
P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens
JUST FOR
A LAUGH ...
Two ninety-year-old men, Mike and Joe, have been friends all of their lives.
When it's clear that Joe is dying, Mike visits him every day. One day Mike says
"Joe, we both loved football all our lives and we played football on Saturdays
together for so many years. Please do me one favour, when you get to Heaven
- somehow you must let me know if there's football there." Joe looks up
at Mike from his deathbed "Mike, you've been my best friend for many years.
If it's at all possible, I'll do this favour for you." Shortly after that,
Joe passes on. At midnight a couple of nights later, Mike is awakened from a
sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to him
"Mike. Mike." "Who is it?" asks Mike, sitting up suddenly.
"Who is it?" "Mike - it's me, Joe. I have some really good news
and a little bad news." "Tell me the good news first" says Mike.
"The good news" Joe says, "is that there is football in heaven.
Better yet, all of our old friends who died before us are here, too. Better
even than that, we're all young again. Better still, it's always spring time
and it never rains or snows - and, best of all, we can play football all we
want and we never get tired." "That's fantastic" says Mike. "It's
beyond my wildest dreams! So what's the bad news?" "You're in the
team for this Saturday."