Bulletin 23 August 2020

SERVICES AND GATHERINGS
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, public Church services and gatherings are limited till further notice. Father Duncan will live-stream Holy Mass every day and assures you of his prayers for you and your family.

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF THE APOCALYPSE (Matthew 16:13-20)
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." Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

REFLECTION
This Gospel passage tells us something important about the ministry of Our Lord. It clearly shows that he wanted a community of faith to follow him - a Church - and that he recognised it would need human leadership. The nickname bestowed on Simon - Peter, meaning Rock - might seem amusing, even ironic, given Peter's rather poor track record after this. But Peter's faith eventually became the firm foundation of the Church, like the 'house built on rock' of another of Jesus' parables! It's easy to point to 'bad' Popes in two thousand years of papal history - and in discussion with non-Catholic friends, or even family, you may find this coming up quite often! But the humanity of Saint Peter, which was refined by the Lord's mercy, became the Rock on which we are still resting after all these centuries. Let us pray for ourselves, that we may overcome our frailties and for our Holy Father Pope Francis, that he may be given strength to continue the mission entrusted to Peter.

THE LORD'S DAY AT HOME
If you are housebound or self-isolating at this time, please use these prayers to unite yourself with the worship of the Universal Church, and your own parish, this Sunday. If alone, read or say these prayers quietly to yourself. If with another, or in a family, someone should read the Gospel and others respond. It might be suitable to find a special, quiet place at home for your Sunday prayers.

SAINT PETER'S AND SAINT BRIDE'S CHURCH SERVICES

	Saint Peter's - All Masses are live-streamed and public unless otherwise stated.	Saint Bride's - All Masses are public unless otherwise stated.
Saturday 22 August The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary Twenty-first Sunday of the Year	Holy Mass at 10.00am for Hamish Fraser at his anniversary Private Vigil Mass at 5.30pm for Bridie Maher at her anniversary
Sunday 23 August Twenty-first Sunday of the Year	Holy Mass at 10.30am for our parishes	Holy Mass at 12.15pm for our parishes
Monday 24 August Feast of Saint Bartholemew	Holy Mass at 10.00am for Sadie and Frank Hamilton at their anniversaries and Anna Higgins who died recently
Tuesday 25 August	Requiem Mass at 10.00am for Margaret Harvey Private
Wednesday 26 August Memorial of Saint Monica	Holy Mass at 10.00am in thanksgiving for Novena to Our Lady, Untier of Knots
Thursday 27 August	Holy Mass at 10.00am for Desmond McGarvey and Brian Collins at their anniversaries *Private*
Friday 28 August Memorial of Saint Augustine	Holy Mass at 10.00am for Cathie Carroll who died recently and Patricia Milligan as a special intention	Holy Mass at 12 noon
Saturday 29 August Memorial of the Passion of Saint Augustine Twenty-second Sunday of the Year	Holy Mass at 10.00am for Father Gerard Bourke at his anniversary Private Vigil Mass at 5.30pm for Canon Patrick Gunning and James McGrattan at their anniversaries

SAINT MARY'S AND SAINT JOHN'S CHURCH SERVICES

	Saint Mary's Church, Saltcoats	Saint John’s Church, Stevenston
Saturday 22 August Twenty-first Sunday of the Year	Vigil Mass at 4.30pm
Sunday 23 August Twenty-first Sunday of the Year	Holy Mass at 10.00am	Holy Mass at 11.30am
Monday 24 August Feast of Saint Bartholemew
Tuesday 25 August	Holy Mass at 10.00am
Wednesday 26 August		Holy Mass at 10.00am
Thursday 27 August Memorial of Saint Monica	Holy Mass at 10.00am
Friday 28 August Memorial of Saint Augustine		Holy Mass at 10.00am
Saturday 29 August Twenty-second Sunday of the Year	Vigil Mass at 4.30pm

PRAYERS
Please remember in your prayers:
John Clarke:
Father Con Botter, Anna Higgins, Margaret Harvey, Catherine Carroll, Anita Coyle and Ritano Betti who died recently;
Daniel Byers 1994, Ella Cairns, Bridie Maher 2015, Maureen Taylor 2019, Catherine Fitzsimmons 2004, Jim McManus 1997, John Quinn 2015, Catherine Bell Boyle 2004, Annie McCormick 1976, Giocondo Michelin 1959, Connor Collins 1978, Harry Currie 2008, John O'Donnell 2009, Mick Smith 1998, Patricia Sullivan 2006, Elizabeth Hosie 2010, Mary McCann 1987, Monsignor Mike Regan 2015, Samuel Taylor 1969, Frank Coyle 2008, Vincent Cunningham 2015, Joseph Doyle 2005, Nancy Erskine 2006, John Kelly 2004 and Michael Pollock 2008 whose anniversaries occur at this time and those who are sick.
If deceased members of your family are not on our anniversary list, please tell Father Duncan, the parish office or contact WebsiteAuthor@SaintPeterinChains.net. If members of your family or friends are in need of our prayers, please tell Father Duncan or the parish office.

SAINT PETER'S NEWS

MARGARET HARVEY
Please pray for the Repose of the Soul of Margaret Harvey who died on Friday 14 August. Her Requiem Mass on Tuesday 25 August at 10.00am will be followed by her interment at Ardrossan Cemetery. May she rest in peace and rise in glory!

LIVE-STREAMING OF MASS
All our Celebrations of Mass and other services are live-streamed, starting five minutes beforehand. You can access them every day by going to our websites. On SaintPeterInChains.net, in the top right corner, click on Live Streaming at Mass Times. On SaintPeterInChains.co.uk, click Services in the red menu bar, select Mass Times then scroll down to Click here to view Mass.

STANDING ORDERS - PLEASE THINK ABOUT IT
The Parishes have taken quite a 'knock' through lockdown when public Mass was not available for sixteen weeks. This has had a huge impact on our parish finances. Could you consider taking out a Standing Order? It would be of great benefit to our parish. Forms are available from the Parish Office and here. Thank you

CHURCH PIETY STALL
If you should require anything from our Stall, for example, Mass Cards, religious items, et cetera, please ask Betty Craig and she will organise it for you. We hope you can still support our Piety Stall.

IN AND AROUND THE CHURCH
A lot of small jobs have been undertaken recently - new spotlights in the Sanctuary, for the Baptismal Font and Our Lady's statue; repair to the connecting door in the Parish Centre; small kitchen re-ordered and open for use from the Snug for refreshments, et cetera; cables tidied from the camera in the Sanctuary. A lot of work has been done in 'tweaking' the sound system to improve sound quality in the Church and on live-streaming. A repair to the clavinola piano has been completed. The presbytery garage door has been re-oiled. We have a series of roof leaks with water penetration in the choir loft, the entrance to the Parish Centre and the altar servers Sacristy. This will have to be looked at in the coming days. I would like to sincerely thank all those who have given their time and commitment. God bless!

SAINT BRIDE'S NEWS

VOLUNTEERS
We are obliged to provide two stewards for each Mass. If you can help out at any of our services, please get in touch on HowiePhyllis@yahoo.co.uk or 01294 822320. Thank you.

100 CLUB
Subscriptions are now due and still only £12 for the year! Please put your payment in an envelope, marked 100 Club, together with your name and put it into the collection box, as you leave the Church. Thank you.

A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF THE MASS - PART 12
At Communion time, the priest and the people take a solemn moment to prepare themselves to receive Holy Communion. Holding the large Host above the chalice, the priest says "Behold the Lamb of God." These are the words used by John the Baptist (John 1:29) when he saw Jesus during his Baptism ministry at the Jordan. The congregation responds "Lord, I am not worth" These are the words spoken by the Roman centurion when he asked Jesus to heal his servant (Matthew 8:8). The centurion is a model of faith, humility and confidence for all of us waiting to receive Jesus, the Lamb of God, in Holy Communion. When the priest takes the bread and wine into his hands and elevates them for all to see, it is as if Christ is calling out to us and saying "Here I am present in your midst under forms of life - bread and wine - to remind you that I am your life and you will have life forever if you come to me and learn from me to love the Father as I do. Here I am bread and wine to be shared - eaten = consumed so that I may become part of you, enter into your life and sustain you. Here I am as a total gift - as a sign that to be like me, you have to be ready to give yourselves for others. Here I am sharing symbols of life and joy because I want you to live my life and share my joy. Here I am as a sign of life freely given, freely shared so that all might come and none be turned away. Here I am for you because I love you."

PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this Holy Sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things and I passionately desire
to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. 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

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
If you are to resist the ever-present pressures to dilute the Christian ideal of holiness that surround you at every level of society and in almost every environment, you need God's help. You need God's strength. You need God's encouragement. Pray and listen to the voice of God in your life.

SATAN'S GARAGE SALE
Once upon a time, Satan was having a garage sale. There, standing in little groups were all of his bright, shiny trinkets. Here were tools that make it easy to tear others down for use as stepping stones - and over there were some lenses for magnifying ones own importance, which, if you looked through them the other way, you could also use to belittle others, or even one's self. Against the wall was the usual assortment of gardening implements guaranteed to help your pride grow by leaps and bounds - the rake of scorn, the shovel of jealousy for digging a pit for your neighbour, the tools of gossip and backbiting, of selfishness and apathy. All of these were pleasing to the eye and came complete with fabulous promises and guarantees of prosperity. Prices, of course, were steep - but not to worry! Free credit was extended to one and all. "Take it home, use it and you won't have to pay until later!" old Satan cried as he hawked his wares. One visitor, as he browsed, noticed two well worn, nondescript tools standing in one corner. Not being nearly as tempting as the other items, he found it curious that these two tools had price tags higher than any other. When he asked why, Satan just laughed and said, "Well, that's because I use them so much. If they weren't so plain looking, people might see them for what they were." Satan pointed to the two tools, saying "You see, that one's Doubt and that one's Discouragement - and those will work when nothing else will."

JUST FOR A LAUGH ...
A priest and a bus driver both died and went to heaven at the same time. They get to the pearly gates where Pope Saint Peter greets them. He motions to the priest and they both hop in a jeep and go out the back door. There are about fifty acres of rolling hills with a little cottage on the knoll. Saint Peter turns to the priest and says "This will be yours for eternity. A perfect little cottage, right next to lovely pond, a lush little garden and a library full of books." The priest says, "Thank you so much. This I shall enjoy!" Saint Peter drops off the priest, goes back to the pearly gates and motions to the bus driver. They hop in a stretch limo and go out the front door. There are about five hundred acres of land with mountains and lakes and rivers. There is a huge two-hundred room castle on one of the mountains and a wishing well that makes wishes come true. Saint Peter says "This will be yours for eternity. You can live in that castle with servants to wait on you hand and foot, and you can have everything you want." The bus driver looks and Saint Peter and says "Well, now, don't think I'm not grateful but why am I getting so much more than the priest?" Saint Peter just laughs and says "You brought more souls to heaven! When the priest preached, everyone fell asleep. When you drove your bus, people prayed like mad!"

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
It is now possible to make online donations to Saint Peter's. Details are on the Donations page and this News page. Thanks for your generosity.

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.