CHURCH
OF SAINT PETER IN CHAINS, ARDROSSAN • A Family of
Parishes • SAINT BRIDE'S CHURCH, WEST KILBRIDE
BULLETIN 28 JUNE 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 celebrate a special feast day - the Solemnity of Saints Peter and
Saint Paul. The feast is actually tomorrow, but holy days are moved to Sunday
when they fall on Saturday or Monday. Peter and Paul were very different in
character and history but were drawn together in service of Jesus and his
Gospel. Both ended their lives in the city of Rome. They are nicknamed 'princes
of the Apostles' because each in his own way was a leader and influence in
the Church in its beginnings.
A READING
FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW (16:13-19)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to
his disciples - "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" and they
said "Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah and others Jeremiah
or one of the prophets." "But you" he said "who do you
say I am?" Then Simon Peter spoke up "You are the Christ,"
he said "the Son of the living God." Jesus replied "Simon,
son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that
revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you - you are
Peter and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of the underworld
can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven. Whatever
you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven."
REFLECTION
Today Jesus makes a pun! He renames Simon as Peter. Petros in Greek and Kepha
in Aramaic means Rock - or perhaps even Rocky! The point is that Jesus wants
Simon Peter to be the 'rock' or foundation of the Church. But it may seem
that Peter was a somewhat wobbly foundation. Remember how he denied knowing
Jesus three times on Maundy Thursday? Saint Paul too is an unusual leader
for the early Church. He had started out persecuting Christians, arresting
and imprisoning them! Jesus chooses real, fragile people. The weaknesses of
Peter and Paul become their strengths, as they allow the grace of God, rather
than anything of their own, to work within them. We may sometimes feel we
are not cut out to be saints. Let us remember this feast day and the trust
Jesus shows in ordinary human beings, with all their faults, to do His work
in the family of the Church.
|
SAINT
PETER'S NEWS
RE-OPENING
OF SAINT PETER'S FOR PRIVATE PRAYER |
|
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 28 June, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul -
our Parishes
Monday 29 June - our Parishes and Mrs Gallacher of Kilmarnock
Tuesday 30 June - our Parishes and Lianne Lieser as a special
intention
Wednesday 1 July - our Parishes and Margaret Taylor who
died recently
Thursday 2 July - our Parishes and Joe Martin who died recently
Friday 3 July, the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle - our
Parishes and a special birthday intention (BM)
Saturday 4 July - our Parishes and in thanksgiving from
Betty Craig
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF THE MASS - PART 4
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 Introductory Rites. The purpose of the Introductory
Rites is to ensure that we come together as one to establish communion and
dispose ourselves to listen properly to God's Word and celebrate the Eucharist
worthily. The Mass begins with an Entrance Hymn. This song has the purpose
to unify those present so that we can offer true worship to the Father. The
priest then venerates the Altar with a kiss. The Altar symbolises Christ.
On special days, the priest may incense the Altar as another gesture of respect.
In our Christian tradition, the ascending smoke of the incense symbolises
the prayer of our hearts rising up to God. We then make the Sign of the Cross,
proclaiming that we belong to Christ and that he is our way to the Father.
The Penitential Act is our opportunity to recognise our sinfulness before
God and praise God for is mercy. The Gloria is a most ancient hymn by which
the Church, gathered in the Holy Spirit, glories and entreats God the Father
and the Lamb. The Opening Prayer of the priest - the Collect - brings together
the prayers of the congregation and presents them to God. The Collect completes
the Introductory Rites. Our behaviour at Mass is contagious. We can impact
those around us in a positive or negative way. The prayerful and warm celebration
of Mass attracts people, while one carried out in a cold and impassive manner
is a sure turn-off and drives people away. When we gather to celebrate the
Mass, we must be ready to cooperate with God's grace. A good practice suggestion
is ti show hospitality in Church, aware that the warmth you show to another
may be very important to a visitor or to someone who is hurting and feeling
alone.
YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE
An old fable that has been passed down for generations tells about an elderly
man was who was travelling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through
a village, the man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind.
The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding so to please them
he climbed up on the animal's back. When they came to the next village, the
people said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the
ride. So, to please them, he got off and set the boy on the animal's back
and continued on his way. In the third village, people accused the child of
being lazy for making the old man walk and the suggestion was
made that they both ride. So the man climbed on and they set off again. In
the fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey
because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen
carrying the donkey down the road. We smile, but this story makes a good point
- we can't please everybody and if we try, we end up carrying a heavy burden.
Well-meaning people may offer us advice and much of it is valuable but when
we try to do everything other people want us to do, we can easily become frustrated
and confused. That's why we need to remember that the one we must please above
all others is Christ - and we do that by obeying God's word. Have you carried
any donkey's lately? You don't have to if you're trying to please Jesus.
THE
POWER OF GOD'S GRACE
Christ chose Saint Peter to be the first Pope, to be 'the rock' upon which
he would build his Church - but this is the same Peter who denied our Lord
three times the night Jesus was arrested, before the rooster crowed. He betrayed
his Lord, Saviour and friend when being questioned by a mere servant girl.
That's hardly the kind of dependability you would expect from a rock. It is
said that Peter wept for this sin at least once every day for the rest of
his life until the tears wore two pale tracks down the skin of his face. Christ
chose Saint Paul to be the Church's first and greatest missionary - and yet,
Paul started out as the leader of a violent persecution designed to crush
the infant Church soon after Christ's ascension. But Christ chose him to announce
the Gospel all over the ancient world, planting Christian communities in dozens
of cities for almost thirty years. And he didn't choose Paul because he was
such a great public speaker and charismatic leader. He was short, bow-legged,
skinny and had a weak and whiney voice. The Bible tells us that his critics
despised him because 'His bodily presence is weak and his speech of no account'
(2 Corinthians 10:10). How did these two men, so flawed, so human, become
the two unshakable pillars of the Catholic Church? What transformed them into
saints, martyrs and history-makers? The answer is God's grace - the same grace
that has kept the Church alive and growing for twenty centuries, the same
grace we all received at baptism. On today's Solemnity of Saint Peter and
Saint Paul, God wants to remind us that our success and fulfillment as Christians
depends more on his grace than our efforts. What a relief!
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 ...
A passenger in a taxi tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him something.
The driver screamed, lost control of the taxi, nearly hit a bus, drove up
over the kerb and stopped just inches from a large plate glass window. For
a few moments, everything was silent in the taxi then the driver said "Please
don't ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of me." The passenger,
who was also frightened, apologised and said he didn't realise that a tap
on the shoulder could frighten him so much. The driver replied "I'm sorry.
It's really not your fault at all. Today is my first day driving a taxi. I
have been driving a hearse for the last twenty-five years!
For those of the older generation who do not and cannot comprehend why Facebook
exists, I am trying to make friends outside of Facebook while applying the
same principles. Therefore, every day I walk down the street and tell passers-by
what I have eaten, how I feel at the moment, what I have done the night before,
what I will do later and with whom. I give them pictures of my family, my
dog and of me gardening, taking things apart in the garage, watering the lawn,
standing in front of landmarks, driving around town, having lunch and doing
what anybody and everybody does every day. I also listen to their conversations,
give them the 'thumbs up' and tell them I like them - and it works just like
Facebook. I already have four people following me - two police officers, a
private investigator and a psychiatrist.
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.