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.
INTRODUCTION
This is an 'in between' Sunday. Last Thursday was the Ascension when Jesus
returned to his Father in heaven. Next Sunday is Pentecost when the Holy Spirit
came to take possession of the disciples. On this 'in between' Sunday, we
think of what Mary and those disciples were doing - waiting in prayer for
Jesus to complete his Mission by sending the Spirit. Let us praise the glory
of God.
A READING
FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN (17:1-11)
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said "Father, the hour has come.
Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you and, through the power over
all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those
you have entrusted to him. And eternal life is this - to know you, the only
true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have glorified you on earth
and finished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, it is time for
you to glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world was.
I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me.
They were yours and you gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now
at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you for I have
given them the teaching you gave to me and they have truly accepted this,
that I came from you and have believed that it was you who sent me. I pray
for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me because
they belong to you. All I have is yours and all you have is mine and in them
I am glorified. I am not in the world any longer, but they are in the world,
and I am coming to you."
REFLECTION
Notice how, in today's Gospel, Jesus starts by thanking his Father as he completes
his Mission - something which happened both on Good Friday, Easter Sunday
and Ascension Thursday - one mystery referred to as the 'Paschal Mystery'.
But then he moves on to pray for us - those to whom he has made known the
Father's name. This is Jesus' prayer for us, the Church, today and always.
The last words of the Gospel make it perfectly clear why he is praying like
this - it is our job now. We are the ones still in the world, still proclaiming
the Gospel, still working our daily miracles of kindness and mercy and compassion.
But Jesus never abandons us - as last week he said "I will not leave
you orphans" - but comes to us spiritually and physically and sends his
Spirit constantly to strengthen us. Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the
earth to the Church. That promise is fulfilled for us every day of our lives,
when we invite the Spirit in. What are the ways in which we can ask the Spirit
into our lives? How can we rejoice in our 'togetherness' with God?
PENTECOST
SUNDAY - ROSARY RALLY
Pope
Francis is encouraging Catholics to pray the Rosary in their family homes
during the month of May, especially when the pandemic is making us aware of
the value of our families and making it possible for us to pray together in
lockdown at home. He encourages simple Rosaries and joining online Rosary
initiatives to pray to Our Lady for deliverance from Covid-19 and he has composed
two prayers for this intention. You are invited to join in an initiative that
follows on the Pope's request, the Pentecost Sunday National Rosary Rally,
from 9.00am to 9.00pm across Scotland, England and Wales. Bishop
Nolan has pledged our Diocese to lead an hour from 8.00 to 9.00pm.
RECENTLY
DECEASED
Esther Tumilty died on Friday 8 May 2020. Her funeral service will be at Ardrossan
Cemetery on Wednesday 27 May 2020 at 2.00pm. May she rest in peace and rise
in glory!
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY
Every day this week, Father Duncan
will celebrate Holy Mass privately, focusing from Sunday to Friday, on these
Thoughts for the Day taken from Quotes That Reveal the Secrets of the Holy
Rosary by Eric Robinson.
A message from Father Duncan on Sunday 24 May 2020
Today, I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish.
When I was on my journey from Protestantism to Catholicism
over five years ago, Mary was my biggest stumbling block to coming into the
Church. It's that way for many converts. I did not see her importance in Scripture
and probably would have told you that the Hail Holy Queen prayer was a certain
form of blasphemy. Alas, seeing Mary in the Scriptures as the 'New Eve', 'New
Ark of the Covenant' and 'New Queen Mother' overcame my discomfort with devotion
to her. Though I was comfortable enough with the Church's teaching about Mary
to join the Catholic Church, it took a severe trial in my life a year later
to get me to pray the rosary on a daily basis. For the first few months, the
rosary seemed burdensome, cumbersome and not very fun at all. Yet, through
the grace of God, I persevered in praying my rosary and it has since become
my absolute favourite form of prayer. Much could be said about Mary in this
wonderful month of May, which is dedicated to her honour. For my part, I will
leave you with six quotes by Saint Louis De Montfort from his book called
The Secret of the Holy Rosary. Please be
assured of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Monday 25 May 2020
Today,
I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and that we may be strengthened
by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our Lady … revealed
to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her
a beautiful rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses.
Please be assured of my daily prayers for
you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Tuesday 26 May 2020 - Memorial of Saint Philip
Neri, priest
Today,
I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and deceased members of the
Little family at their anniversaries. It is not so
much the length of a prayer as the fervour with which it is said which pleases
God and touches his heart. A single Hail Mary said properly is worth more
than a hundred and fifty said badly. When the rosary is well said, it gives
Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious for the soul than any other
prayer. But it is also the hardest prayer to say well and to persevere in
owing especially to the distractions which almost inevitably attend the constant
repetition of the same words. Please be assured of my daily prayers
for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Wednesday
27 May 2020
Today,
I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and Katherine and Peter Finnegan.
What a wonderful thing to have Jesus Christ in our
midst! And all we have to do to have him with us is to come together to say
the rosary. That is why the first Christians met so often to pray together,
in spite of the persecutions of the emperors, who had forbidden them to assemble.
They preferred to risk death rather than to miss their gatherings where our
Lord was present. Please be assured
of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Thursday 28 May 2020 - also the anniversary
of the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop John Cunningham in 2004
Today,
I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and John Ross who died recently.
Only he who perseveres in asking, seeking, and knocking,
will receive, will find and will enter. It is not enough to ask God for certain
graces for a month, a year, ten or twenty years; we must never tire of asking.
These crowns are not for the timid who are afraid of this world's taunts and
threats, neither are they for the lazy and indolent who only say their rosary
carelessly, or hastily, just for the sake of getting it over with. These crowns
are not for cowards who lose heart and lay down their arms as soon as they
see hell is let loose against their rosary. Please
be assured of my daily prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Friday 29 May 2020
Today,
I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and for all those struggling
in these difficult times. Your closest enemies will
attack you all the more cruelly because they are within you. I mean the powers
of your soul and your bodily senses, the distractions of the mind, distress
and uncertainty of the will, dryness of the heart, exhaustion and illness
of the body-all that will combine with the evil spirits who say to you 'Give
up your rosary - that is what is giving you such a headache. Give up your
rosary - there is no obligation under pain of sin. At least say only a part
of it. The difficulties you are having are a sign that God does not want you
to say it' You can say it tomorrow when you are more in the mood - and so
on. Please be assured of my daily
prayers for you and your family.
A message from Father Duncan on Saturday 30 May 2020
Today,
I celebrate Holy Mass privately for the Parish and Simon and Matilda Brannan.
Finally, my dear brothers and sisters, the daily
Rosary has so many enemies that I look upon the grace of persevering in it
until death as one of the greatest favours God can give us. I hope that these
words help you to persevere in praying the rosary and being devoted to the
Blessed Virgin Mary so that our sole worship to God may be magnified.
Please be assured of my daily prayers for you
and your family.
NOVENA FOR PENTECOST
To celebrate Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Church, we are
invited to pray the Holy Spirit Novena every day from the Solemnity of the
Ascension onwards. Ascension Thursday is 21 May 2020. It is a powerful prayer
that is meant to help us open ourselves up to the third person of the Holy
Trinity. The Pentecost Novena is the first of all novenas, nine days of prayer.
After Jesus' ascension into heaven, he commanded his disciples to come together
in the upper room to devote themselves to constant prayer (Acts 1:14). They
prayed for nine days before receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. On 4 May
1897, Pope Leo XIII proclaimed "We decree and command that throughout
the whole Catholic Church, this year and in every subsequent year, a novena
shall take place before Pentecost Sunday in all parish churches" (Encyclical
On the Holy Spirit, 13). Here is the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.
In
the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Come
Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire
of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and You shall
renew the face of the earth. O,
God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful,
grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His
consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
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
OUR
LADY'S JUGGLER
Many centuries ago, there lived a man by the name of Barnaby. He was a juggler
who lived from day to day on the small donations he received. He went from
town to town and he would take knives or balls and juggle them - and that
is all that he could do. He felt embarrassed over his lack of talent. He almost
felt totally useless. People in the town in which he juggled would be involved
in their business work. Some would run small little shops. Some were doctors
and teachers - and Barnaby would see all these people working every day and
be more discouraged with each passing day. One day on his travels, he was
passing a huge monastery and he started to think and pray. Maybe, if they
let me enter this monastery I can do the most menial tasks, do something positive
and save my soul and have more meaning and happiness in my life. He knocked
on the monastery door and was greeted by the brother who was in charge of
all the monastic duties. Barnaby told him he would perform the most menial
tasks for just a place to sleep and a little something to eat. He was admitted
and was given a small place in which to live and told when meal time was to
happen. He did this for months and seemed to find more meaning and happiness
to his life - but then his sense of meaning and happiness started to lessen.
He knew all around him that the brothers of the monastery were preparing for
an important feast day of Our Lady. One brother was writing a new musical
score for the Mass. Another brother was making special bread to be given to
the poor on the special day. Another brother was making a beautiful candle
to be placed in front of Our Lady's statue. Barnaby, in seeing what was done
by others so talented, felt more inadequate than ever. His sense of his own
inferiority became more painful than ever. Our Lady's feast day was coming
closer - and what was he doing but the most menial jobs in the monastery.
He went to bed each night heartbroken - but then one night, and no explanation
has been found for this, he took his small little blanket and his eight juggling
balls and went to the chapel. He stood in front of the statue of Our Blessed
Mother and gave her the only talent he had, the art of juggling. At that moment
something extraordinary happened. The statue of our Blessed Mother almost
came alive with radiance that Barnaby had never seen before. The brothers
of the monastery, seeing how the chapel was becoming filled with this new
light, rushed in thinking that something tragic had taken place. The Abbot
was there and as all of them came into the Chapel they saw Barnaby juggling
with joy and happiness. The statue of Mary, whether it took on new life to
others, took on new life to him. This man who thought he had so little talent
had brought joy to Mary, the Mother of Christ, on her special day. The story
of Barnaby, the juggler, the individual who though he was a nothing in anyone's
eyes teaches us that God has given to each one gifts and talents that if used
can bring greater joy and meaning into each one's life.
JUST FOR A LAUGH ... CLASSIC CHURCH BULLETIN BLOOPERS
• The outreach committee has enlisted twenty five visitors
to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any Church.
• The congregation is asked to remain seated until the end
of the recession.
• Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7.00
to 8.30p.m. Please use the back door.
• For those of you who have children and don't know it,
we have a nursery downstairs.
• The parish priest will preach his farewell message, after
which the choir will sing, Break Forth Into Joy.
• The concert held in Saint Peter's was a great success.
Special thanks are due to the organist's daughter, who laboured the whole
evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.
• Pot Luck Supper - prayer and medication to follow.
• The parish priest is on holiday this week. Massages can
be given to the parish secretary.
• The choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys
sinning to join the choir.
• Weight Watchers will meet at 7.00pm. Please use the large
double door at the side entrance.
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.
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.