CHURCH OF SAINT PETER IN CHAINS, ARDROSSAN  •  A Family of Parishes  •  SAINT BRIDE'S CHURCH, WEST KILBRIDE

                                                        

BULLETIN                                                  30 AUGUST 2020

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME IN YEAR 1

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 16:21-27)
Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. "Heaven preserve you, Lord" he said "this must not happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path because the way you think is not God's way but man's." Then Jesus said to his disciples "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour."

REFLECTION
Do you remember last week, when Saint Peter got it right? Well, today he gets it very wrong! The strength of Jesus' condemnation "Get behind me, Satan!" is almost excessive - something Peter said obviously 'touched a nerve'. Perhaps the answer comes in the last line of last week's Gospel where Jesus gives the disciples strict instruction not to tell anyone he is the Christ. Did you wonder about that when you read it? Surely the whole point is to "Go out to the whole world, proclaim the Good News!" But Jesus knows what people are like and he understands his own temptations - do you remember them? People will see the Christ - the Messiah - as a King who will defeat the Romans, bring back the Kingdom and make Israel great again. He will be crowned and powerful and mighty - but this is not who the Messiah is, it is not who Jesus is. Just as Jesus rejected the devil's temptations when he promised him earthly power, so now Jesus rejects Peter's desire for him to be the Messiah he is not. He is the suffering servant, the sacrifice that takes our sins away, the humble king who rides a donkey and who knows that he must die so that other may live.

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 29 August  
Memorial of the Passion of 
Saint John the Baptist 
 
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
 
Sunday 30 August  
Twenty-second Sunday of the  
Year
 
Holy Mass at 10.30am for our parishes Holy Mass at 12.15pm for our parishes
Monday 31 August  
   
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Mary Fraser at her anniversary and Angela Body on her eightieth birthday
 
Tuesday 1 September  
World Day of Prayer for 
 Creation 
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Robert Kelly and Margaret Friel at their anniversaries
  Private
 
Wednesday 2 September  
Memorial of Saint Gregory the 
Great  
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Jack Campbell and Tony Fraser at their anniversaries

 
Thursday 3 September  
Memorial of Saint Gregory the 
Great  
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Margaret Swiercz as a special intention and Maria and Frank McEvoy at their anniversaries
  Private
 
Friday 4 September  
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Rona and James Taylor and Jean Fenn at their anniversaries Holy Mass at 12 noon
Saturday 5 September  
Our Lady's Day 
 
 
Twenty-third
Sunday of the  
Year
 
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Enis Delahunt at his anniversary
  Private
Vigil Mass at 5.30pm for Margaret Harvey who died recently
 

SAINT MARY'S AND SAINT JOHN'S CHURCH SERVICES
 
Saturday 29 August  
Twenty-second Sunday of the  
Year
  
Vigil Mass at 4.30pm

 
Sunday 30 August  
Twenty-second Sunday of the  
Year
 
Holy Mass at 10.00am

Holy Mass at 11.30am
Monday 31 August   
   
Tuesday 1 September  
World Day of Prayer for 
 Creation 
Holy Mass at 10.00am  
Wednesday 2 September  
Memorial of Saint Gregory the 
Great  
  Holy Mass at 10.00am
Thursday 3 September  
Memorial of Saint Gregory the 
Great  
Holy Mass at 10.00am
 
Friday 4 September  
  Holy Mass at 10.00am
Saturday 5 September  
Twenty-third Sunday of the  
Year
 
Vigil Mass at 4.30pm
 

PARISH CENTRE EVENTS
Wednesday 2 September  

9.00 to 11.00am

Slimming World

Scallywags Aftercare is on Monday to Friday from 3.00pm to 6.00pm during term time and 8.00am to 6.00pm during school holidays.

PRAYERS
Please remember in your prayers:
John Clarke;
Margaret Harvey, Margaret Taylor, Margaret Bannon, Janice Connor, Lorraine Hayes, Karen Gilchrist and Ritano Betti who died recently;
Canon Eugene Dowd 2012, Sister Mary Peter 1999, James McGrattan 1982, John Stewart, Jim Duffy 2013, Sandra Rocks 2019, James Steele 2010, Thomas Wright 2008, John Dundas 2014, Flight Lieutenants Rick Harrison and Pete Mosley (air crash) 1994, Bert Kelly 2017, Grant Middlemiss 2005, Irene Millar 2000, John Sherry 2005, Samuel Cooper 1999, Elizabeth Loudon 1982, Joe Mallon 2016, James McCarthy 1985, Helen Mulhearn, Michael Brown 1958, Ella Kirk 1996, Canon Myles Moriarty 1989, Alex Doherty 2016, Cathie Mitchell 2006, Margaret Prince 2015, David Shaw 2015, Ann Marie Gilmour 2018, James Graham 1993, Janette Little 2008 and Margaret Nicol 2007
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

SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
We welcome to the family of the church Arthur and Amelia Louise Shanks who will be baptised this Sunday. Congratulations to their parents and Godparents.

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
The gutters from the Church and presbytery will be cleared out this week. A tremendous amount of hard and time-consuming work has been done around the Church in taking out the weeds and moss between the individual path blocks. This is a huge task and is still ongoing. A problem has developed with some lights in the back Sacristy. This will be dealt with after the roof repair. In our Health and Safety Audit recently, we were asked to place fire-resistant mats under the two votive candle stands in Church. This will be completed this week. The fire extinguishers in the Church, presbytery and Parish Centre have been serviced. Sincere thanks again goes to all our parishioners for their time, commitment and for all the hard work in the Church and parish.

USED POSTAGE STAMPS
Please donate your used postage stamps to fund Medical Science by handing them in to the Parish Office or giving them to Alfie Agostini.


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 beside the Pink Bucket as you leave the Church. We appreciate your contributions to the 100 Club over the years and in this strange time, we really rely on it. Thank you
.

SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY
A big thank you goes to the congregation last Sunday for your generous donations to our funds. We have decided to put the box out each week on one of the tables at the back of the Church! Your donations will enable us to continue providing support to needy individuals in the village either by ourselves or through organisations that we have a partnership with. Thank you again for your generosity.
            Bob Adams, Treasurer

A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF THE MASS - PART 13
This week, we'll consider the proper disposition for receiving Holy Communion. When it comes to receiving Holy Communion, we should remember the words of Saint Paul - Whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord" (1Cor 11:27). With these words in mind, we can say that two extremes are to be avoided. If we suffer from an overly scrupulous conscience, we might judge ourselves as never worthy of Holy Communion unless we have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation the day before. Such a scrupulous conscience brands God as a very demanding taskmaster who is never satisfied with us. In contrast, some people might casually approach the Table of the Lord without regard to their spiritual state as, for instance, when they carry a hardened heart that absolutely refuses to forgive a hurt or to pray for the grace of forgiveness. We should conscientiously prepare for the moment of Holy Communion. This means that we should be in the state of grace and if we are conscious of a grave or serious sin, we must receive the Sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion. We are also expected to fast from food and drink for at least one hour prior to the reception of Holy Communion. Even though none of us is worthy to receive our Divine Lord in Holy Communion - Lord, I am not worthy - all of us must make every effort to be the least unworthy that we can be.

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


LORD REMEMBER ME
The main theatre in Moscow was getting ready for the opening night of a anti-religious play called Christ in Top Hat and Tails. Schools, youth organisations and youth workers were required to include the piece in their programme for the year. The main part, portraying Jesus Christ was played by the famous actor and committed communist Alexander Rostowzew. The theatre was full with every ticket having been sold months before. The curtain opened to a scene with an altar in the middle, covered with empty beer bottles. Around the altar were drunken priests and monks. At the second act, Rostowzew came onto the stage. In his hands he held a copy of the Holy Bible and wore a top hat and tails. The audience laughed and clapped, waiting for his humorous lines and superb acting. He opened the Bible and started to read "Blessed are those who are poor before God, then theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted..." The Director stood at the side of the stage, he knew that soon Rostowzew would break into dancing and the whole theatre would erupt with cascades of laughter. But nothing happened. Rostowzew continued reading "Blessed are those who are peacemakers, for they will inherit the land..." The audience didn't move. They realised that something was happening in the heart of the actor. The theatre was completely silent. Only the firm voice of Rostowzew could be heard. He continued reading, in fact, in read the complete forty-eight verses of the Fifth Chapter of Saint Matthew's Gospel. No-one interrupted him, no-one called out, everyone remained completely silent, listening to every word. He finished with the verse "You should be perfect, just as your heavenly Father in heaven is perfect!" Rostowzew closed the Bible. It seemed that a chapter in his own life was also being closed. Very slowly he made the Sign of the Cross and repeated in a firm and clear voice the words of the repentant thief at the side of Jesus on Calvary "Lord, remember me, when you come into your Kingdom". No-one protested, there were no whistles or booing. The audience slowly left the theatre in silence. The production was never repeated anywhere. After that evening, Alexander Rostowzew was never seen again.


JUST FOR A LAUGH ...
The ninety-eight-year-old Mother Superior from Ireland was dying. The nuns gathered around her bed trying to make her last journey comfortable. They gave her some warm milk to drink but she refused. Then one of the nuns took the glass back to the kitchen. Remembering a bottle of Scottish whisky received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened and poured a generous amount into the warm milk. Back at Mother Superior's bed, she held the glass to her lips. Mother drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, she had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop. "Mother" the nuns asked with earnest, "please give us some wisdom before you die." She raised herself up in bed and with a pious look on her face said "Whatever you do, don't sell that cow!"

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.