The Season of Creation

The Season of Creation is a period observed by the Catholic Church and other Christian communities – from 1 September to 4 October (the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi) – that offers Christians an opportunity to pray together and focus on common action that might be made for benefit of our common home.

Pope Francis’ Message for 2022 can be found here.

Other resources can be found here.

What might we do as a parish to engage with the season?

Veneration of relic of St Bernadette of Lourdes in Birmingham Archdiocese.

To ensure the comfort and safety of pilgrims, visitors will be asked to register to attend with a dedicated timeslot.

The reservation system is open NOW and can be accessed here.

For full details of accessibility, travel options etc for each venue please click here.

St Chad’s Cathedral

Friday 7 October

6pm – Cathedral open

7pm – Liturgy of Welcome & Evening Prayer. Followed by Veneration of the Relics until midnight.

Midnight – Cathedral closed

Saturday 8 October

8am – Veneration of the Relics until 11.30am

12noon – Mass with Anointing of the Sick

1.30pm – Veneration of the Relics until 5.30pm

6pm – Mass

7.30pm – Relics depart Cathedral

Location: St Chad’s Cathedral, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6EU.

Our Lady of Lourdes, Hednesford (home of the Diocesan Shrine)

Saturday 8 October, In Church.

10pm – Prayers of Welcome

10.15pm – Midnight – Veneration of the Relics

Midnight – Night Prayer

Sunday 9 October, In the Grotto.

8am – Morning Prayer

8.15am – 3.30pm – Veneration of the Relics

2.30 – 3.30pm – Individual Confessions & Anointing

4pm – Mass – Celebrant, Archbishop Bernard Longley

Location: The Church and Shrine is on Uxbridge Street on the A460, Hednesford, WS12 1DB.

Immaculate Conception, Bicester

Sunday 9 October

9pm – Arrival & Prayers of welcome

9.15pm to Midnight – Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; Veneration of the Relics & Rosary; candle light procession

12 Midnight – Holy Mass

Monday 10 October

7am – Veneration of the Relics

8am – Morning Prayer

8.15am to 9am – Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Veneration of the Relics

9.05am – Holy Mass

10am – Rosary – live streaming to all Catholic schools (Pupils from various Catholic schools to participate)

10.30am to 12.45pm – Anointing of the Sick

1pm – Concelebrated Mass

2pm – Departure to Northampton Diocese.

Location: Immaculate Conception, The Causeway, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 6AW.

Anointing of the Sick and Exposition

This service has been moved from last Friday to this coming Friday, 5th August, because of the Triathlon events in Boldmere on Friday last.

The celebration will begin at 11am and will last approximately 30 minutes.

This sacrament gives the grace of the Holy Spirit to those who are sick: by this grace the whole person is helped and saved, sustained by trust in God, and strengthened against the temptations of the Evil One and against anxiety over death. Thus the sick person is able not only to bear suffering bravely, but also to fight against it. A return to physical health may follow the reception of this sacrament if it will be beneficial to the sick person’s salvation.

The sacrament may and should be given to anyone whose health is seriously impaired; on the other hand, it may not be given indiscriminately or to any person whose health is not seriously impaired.

Late notice may be better than no notice…

Car park is available as usual for Mass tonight – but tomorrow (as already notified) it will not be available at all.

A parish pilgrimage to Lourdes?

National Justice and Peace Network

The Network held a conference at The Hayes, in Derbyshire last week, under the title ‘Hope is a verb, with its sleeves rolled up.’

Videos of principal presentations can be found here.

Praying for grandparents…

Pope Francis has written a letter for the 2nd annual Day for Grandparents and the elderly. Read it here.

And if grandparents and other members of the family have not been back to Sunday Mass for a while, because of COVID, why not come this Sunday to thank God for the gift of life and to pray for your family.

Some years ago, Pope Benedict XVI composed a prayer for the Church to use in praying for grandparents and for giving thanks for their role in families and society.

Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary.
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them as they grow older.
May they continue to be for their families strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardians of noble domestic ideals, living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus,
help families and society to value the presence and role of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded, but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care, accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity for the great embrace of life without end.

Amen

Pope Benedict XVI

And a prayer for use by grandparents themselves, can be read here.

Photograph: (c) 2017, Carving of the Holy Family with SS Joachim and Anne. Compton Verney.

Deep Waters

Deep Waters is Green Christian’s faith-based eight-session programme for enabling people to express their feelings about climate change. It seeks to help people navigate climate grief and eco-anxiety, and leads towards a place of active hope.

Deep Waters is a practical resource for pastoral needs and is available for use by anyone who chooses.

If you would be interested in running a group for our parish and our neighbours, please email or speak with Fr Allen

Safeguarding in Archdiocese of Birmingham

An independent review undertaken by the charity Barnardo’s on behalf of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in relation to the management of concerns about Joseph Quigley, a priest in the Archdiocese, is now available on the Diocesan website.

The Trustees of the Archdiocese of Birmingham have accepted this review and its 18 recommendations in full and you can also see the full response on the website.  As an institution it is for the present Bishops and Trustees to take corporate responsibility, to apologise, learn and ensure best safeguarding practice now and in the future. There has been a significant amount of positive change in Diocesan safeguarding practice.  However, these recommendations will help inform ongoing learning and improvement within the Archdiocese.

For more information on the Diocesan response, including an interview with Archbishop Bernard, click here.