CHURCH
OF SAINT PETER IN CHAINS, ARDROSSAN • A Family of
Parishes • SAINT BRIDE'S CHURCH, WEST KILBRIDE
BULLETIN 5 JULY 2020
SERVICES
AND GATHERINGS
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, public Church services and gatherings
are suspended till further notice. Father
Duncan
will live stream Holy Mass every day and assures you of his prayers for you
and your family. Saint Peter's is open for private prayer on Wednesdays and
Saturdays from 11.30am to 12.30pm and Saint Bride's on Wednesdays from 11.30am
to 12.30pm.
INTRODUCTION
Today we hear a very familiar - and very comforting - passage from the Gospel.
Jesus praises the innocence of children and then invites us all to take his
yoke on our shoulders. Jesus is the gentle one who aids us and brings us rest.
In our prayers today, let us think of our burdens at home or work or school
and consider how we can let the gentle Jesus help us as we accept his yoke.
A READING
FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW (11:25-30)
Jesus exclaimed "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for
hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to
mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything
has been entrusted to me by my Father and no one knows the Son except the
Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the
Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened
and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle
and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is
easy and my burden light."
REFLECTION
"Shoulder my yoke" is probably one of the Lord's more famous sayings
- but when did we last stop to think what it actually means? A yoke is a device
which ties two beasts of burden together - oxen, donkeys, camels, horses -
so that they can share the task of pulling a heavy weight. The image of a
yoke has been used in the past to talk about oppression or enslavement - we
are forced to do things we do not want to do. But the yoke of Jesus is different
if we submit to him. But there is something more. Normally a yoke ties two
animals together. So who is on the other side of Jesus' yoke? Surely Jesus
himself! This is why his yoke is easy and the burden light - because he carries
it with us. This is, after all the meaning of his whole life on this earth,
even to death on the cross. So when Jesus says "Come to me, you who are
overburdened" it is not just words. He is slipping into the yoke of grief,
unemployment, injustice, conflict, fear and suffering to carry side by side
with us, the weights and woes of life.
NEW MASS TIMES IN SAINT PETER'S AND SAINT BRIDES
As you know, the weekend Mass times at Saint Peter's and Saint
Bride's have been discussed in the Parish Pastoral Councils
over the last weeks of the lockdown. It seems that the best suggestion, although
a big change, will be Sunday Mass at Saint
Bride's at 9.00am, followed by refreshments and at Saint
Peter's at 11.00am again followed by refreshments. The Vigil Mass at Saint
Bride's won't start again and the Vigil Mass at Saint
Bride's will be half an hour earlier at 5.00pm as parishioners
seem to prefer this is winter time. Parishioners who prefer an early Mass
or who have plans for Sunday, can attend the 9.00am Mass at Saint
Bride's. Parishioners who prefer a later Mass can attend
Saint Peter's at 11.00am. The weekday Masses at Saint Peter's will stay the
same - Monday to Saturday at 10.00am. Saint
Bride's will also have a weekday Mass, probably on Fridays
at 11.30am or 12 noon. Please pass the word to friends, neighbours and families
so that parishioners are aware of the new times. The new Mass times will begin
as soon as we receive confirmation that the Churches can re-open, probably
for 25 July.
RE-OPENING OF OUR CHURCHES
It seems that our Churches can re-open for public Mass and Services from Thursday
23 July. It this remains the case then our first public Masses will resume
at the weekend 25 and 26 July, with Mass on Saturday at 10.00am, Vigil Mass
at 5.00pm and Sunday Mass at 9.00am at Saint
Bride's and 11.00am at Saint Peter's. These are the new
Mass times. If the social distancing remains the same, that is two metres,
then Saint
Bride's could hold around twenty-four people and Saint
Peter's around sixty. Families and couples can sit together. The Bishops have
suspended the Sunday obligation until the pandemic passes. This means that
you can come to Mass anytime during the week or at the weekend. Since places
are very restricted, it would be important for parishioners to plan coming
to Mass during the week if they can and then the numbers attending will be
well within the limits. The procedures for coming to Church will be the same
as for everywhere else - wearing a face covering, using the sanitising wipes
as we enter Church, sitting only in the available pews, keeping the social
distance at all times, entering Church by the main entrance and leaving by
the side exits. Mass itself will be a bit simpler - only the cantor will be
singing, there will be no Gloria or Creed sung or spoken, only one Reading
from Holy Scripture and Holy Communion will be distributed at the end of Mass,
so that the congregation can leave the Church directly afterwards. The Offertory
Collection will be in the plastic buckets as we enter Church and the Building
Fund Collection as we leave. All this is very awkward for us and causes a
great deal of inconvenience and extra work and preparation. However, it is
the price we will have to pay to return to our Church and receive the sacraments
as long as the pandemic endures. Please reassure any apprehensive parishioners
that the Church is safe for public worship. We have regular procedures for
cleaning and the entire Church building is sanitised before and after use
each time.
|
SAINT
PETER'S NEWS
FOOD
FOR THOUGHT |
|
SAINT
BRIDE'S NEWS
CHURCH
REOPENING |
MASS
LIVE-STREAMED EVERY DAY
Please tune in to our daily Mass live-streamed from Saint Peter's and join
in the Mass from home. Just visit our websites and you will find the link
to the live-streaming on YouTube. Between Monday and Saturday, the Rosary
is recited at 9.35am and is followed by Mass at 10.00am. On Sunday, Mass is
celebrated at 10.30am. Spread the word.
This week's Mass intentions are:
Sunday 5 July, the Fourteenth Sunday of the Year - our Parishes
Monday 6 July, the Memorial of Saint Maria Goretti - our
Parishes and Margaret Taylor who died recently
Tuesday 7 July - our Parishes and Loretta McLardy as a special
intention
Wednesday 8 July - our Parishes and Peter Reilly at his
anniversary
Thursday 9 July, Feast of Our Lady of Aberdeen - our Parishes
and Mary-Jane McInally as a special intention
Friday 10 July, the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle -
our Parishes, deliverance from the pandemic and Joseph Pendleton who died
recently
Saturday 11 July, the Feast of Saint Benedict, Abbot - our
Parishes and Lizzie Paterson at her anniversary
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF THE MASS - PART 5
The Mass has four parts altogether - the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of
the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Concluding Rites. The two main
parts of the Mass are the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
These two are so closely connected that they form one single act of worship.
Let's look this week at the Liturgy of the Word. When the Sacred Scriptures
are read in Church, God himself speaks to his people. The treasures of the
Bible are opened to us. In the First Reading, God is gradually revealing himself
to his Chosen People. The Responsorial Psalm helps us create an atmosphere
of prayer. The Second reading is always taken from one of the Letters in the
New Testament or from the Book of Revelation. They give us a glimpse into
the attempts of the early Christians to follow the ways of Christ. The Proclamation
of the Gospel is always about Christ and what he has said and done. We stand
as an outward expression of joy for the Good News. Before the Gospel is proclaimed,
all present make a threefold Sign of the Cross on their forehead, lips and
heart. The priest, in the Homily, shows how the Word of God is relevant to
our lives. He helps them hear Christ's voice and see Christ's face in the
sacred text. Having listened to the Word of God in the readings, we rise to
give public witness to the faith of our Baptism as we pray the Creed. The
Liturgy of the Word concludes with the Bidding Prayers. We offer our prayer
for persons that we will perhaps never know. Our concern for others expands
our hearts and directs our love outside of ourselves. A good practice suggestion
is to have a look at the Sunday Readings before attending Mass.
THE RAGMAN
Before dawn one Friday morning, I noticed a young man, handsome and strong,
walking the alleys of our City. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes
and he was calling in a loud voice "Rags! Rags! New rags for old! I take
your tired rags! Rags!" "Now, this is a wonder" I thought to
myself, for the man stood six-feet-four and his arms were like tree limbs,
hard and muscular and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better
job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city? I followed him - and I wasn't
disappointed. Soon the ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was
sobbing into a handkerchief, sighing and shedding a thousand tears. her heart
breaking. The ragman stopped his cart. "Give me your rag" he said
so gently "and I'll give you another." He slipped the handkerchief
from her eyes. She looked up and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so
clean and new that it shined. Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the
ragman did a strange thing. He put her stained handkerchief to his own face
and then he began to weep, to sob grievously as she had done, his shoulders
shaking. Yet she was left without a tear. In a little while, when the sky
showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging
out black windows, the ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a
bandage, whose eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of
blood ran down her cheek. Now the tall ragman looked upon this child with
pity and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart. "Give me your
rag" he said, tracing his own line on her cheek "and I'll give you
mine." The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage,
removed it and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers - and I
gasped at what I saw - for with the bandage went the wound! Against his brow
it went a darker, more substantial blood - his own! "Rags! Rags! I take
old rags!" cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong intelligent ragman. After
that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, an old man,
hunched and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself but for
the drunk he left new clothes - and now I had to run to keep up with the ragman.
I needed to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove
him so. He climbed a hill. Then he sighed. He lay down. He pillowed his head
on a handkerchief. He covered his bones with an army blanket - and he died.
I sobbed myself to sleep. I can come to love that ragman. I did not know that
I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too. But then, on
Sunday morning, I was wakened by a violence. Light - pure, hard, demanding
light - slammed against my sour face and I blinked and I looked and I saw
the last and the first wonder of all. There was the ragman - no sign of sorrow
nor of age and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness. Well
I lowered my head and trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up
to the ragman. I told him my name with shame for I was a sorry figure next
to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place and I said to him with
dear yearning in my voice "Dress me." He dressed me. My Lord, he
put new rags on me and I am a wonder beside him. The ragman, the ragman, the
Christ!
PRAYER DURING A PANDEMIC
May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose
between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools
close remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips remember those that have no safe place
to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market
remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country, let us choose love.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbours. Amen. Cameron
Bellm
JUST
FOR A LAUGH ...
Unanswered Prayer - A young girl at Mass noticed that the priest always paused
and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked
him why. "Well" he began, very satisfied that this young parishioner
was so observant. "I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon."
"How come he doesn't answer it?" she asked.
Being Thankful - The Parish Priest said to a precocious six-year-old boy "So
your mother says prayers for you each night? That's very commendable. What
does she say?" The little boy replied "Thank God he's in bed!"
What Would Jesus Do - A parishioner from Saint Peter's in Ardrossan was in
Asda shopping and found a £20 note lying in the car park. She wasn't
sure what she should do and then wondered what Jesus would do. She went back
into Asda and turned it into wine.
Did Noah Fish - A primary school teacher asked "Johnny, do you think
Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?" "No" replied
Johnny. "How could he with just two worms?"
WEEKLY
BULLETIN
If you would like to receive the weekly bulletin and updates by email, please
get in touch with the Parish Office and send us your email address. If you
know of someone who would like to be included on the mailing list, please
let us know. Thanks!
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The financial support and upkeep of the Parish is also drastically affected
by the present situation. Please try and hand in your Offertory envelopes
to the Parish Office when you can or better still, consider taking out a Banker's
Order for Saint Peter's as the social isolation will probably impact us
for the next months. Banker's
Order and Gift
Aid Declaration forms are available in the Parish Office and on our website.
If you would prefer that we email you or post the forms, please let the Parish
Office know. If you require any assistance in completing the forms, please
contact George at the Parish Office and he can speak to you by phone. Thank
you for all you do and for your solidarity and generosity. In
these difficult financial times, there is no obligation to give to the Sunday
Collection. If, however, you feel able to, you can donate by text message
to an account set up by the Diocese of Galloway. It is not possible to nominate
a particular parish so all text-giving donations will be shared among parishes.
To donate, text the word SUNDAY to 70085 followed by the number of pounds,
from 1 to 20. For example, SUNDAY 5 to 70085 gives £5. This message
would cost £5 plus one standard rate message charge. Thank you for all
your commitment and support.
NEW PARISH WEBSITE
Please have a look at our new parish website which is now up and running.
There are lots of resources for prayer and information, latest news and also
the weekly bulletin. The history section is being expanded step by step and
has really interesting video clips and photos from past events at Saint Peter's.
Have a look at SaintPeterInChains.co.uk.
The older website at is www.SaintPeterInChains.net
and Saint Bride's website is at StBridesChurch.co.uk.
WEEKLY BULLETIN
If you would like to receive the weekly Bulletin and updates by email, please
get in touch with the parish office and send us your email address. If you
know of someone who would like to be included on the mailing list, please
let us know - thanks.
HOSPITAL CHAPLAINCY
If a member of your family or a friend is sick, please let us know and give
us the details. Deacon Bill Corbett (01292 521208, 07904 248948, Rev.BillCorbett@btinternet.com)
is the Chaplain to Crosshouse Hospital and is assisted by the Priest on call
each week.
ADVERTISER SUPPORT
Our advertisers would welcome your support. We are grateful for their continuing
sponsorship. We are grateful for the support of Mr and Mrs Sohal, Nisa Stores,
Glasgow Street for the weekly donation of tea, coffee and milk for the Sunday
teas.
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS - MISSION STATEMENT
The Catholic Church in Scotland is concerned with the lives, safety, wholeness
and well-being of each individual person within God's purpose for everyone.
It seeks to safeguard the welfare of people of all ages who are involved in
whatever capacity with
the Church and its organisations. As a Church community, we accept that it
is the responsibility of all of us, ordained, professed, paid and
voluntary members, to work together to prevent the physical, sexual, emotional
abuse or neglect of children, young people and vulnerable adults.