A Year For Priests

This is an extract from Pope Benedict XVI's letter proclaiming the inauguration of a Year for Priests in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, Patron saint of priests:

O, how great is the priest! ... If he realised what he is, he would die... God obeys him; he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small Host... Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put Him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the Blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die (as a result of sin) who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest... After God, the priest is everything! ... Only in heaven will he realise what he is.

Were we to fully realise what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright but of love... Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth... What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord, the administrator of his goods... Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end up worshipping the beasts there... The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you.

This article by His Holiness was included in the parish newsletter on the Feast of Christ the King. In these days of reduced number of priests, it was appropriate that the Holy Father reminded us of the great honour it is to be a priest. In St. Mary's Church, a relic of St. John Vianney has been placed on the Sacred Heart altar, and will remain there for the duration of this Year of the Priest. Parishioners are encouraged to pray to him for an increase in Vocations to the Holy Priesthood.

Prayers of the Month

Prayer of Dedication of England to Our Blessed Lady

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mother of grace and Queen of the kingdom of thy Son; humbly kneeling before thee, we offer thee this country in which we live. It was once thine before it was robbed of the holy faith; all its children were thy children and you were honoured throughout its length and breadth as its protectress and its queen. Again we consecrate it to you; again we dedicate it as thy own dowry. We offer our own hearts that their love and service may ever grow and increase. We offer all our brethren; those multitudes who know you so little. May thy prayer bring back our country's ancient faith! May thy intercession lead us to a closer union with thy Divine Son! We consecrate ourselves to Him through you. Obtain for us and for England, thy dowry, every grace and blessing.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us O Holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Prayer for the Conversion of England

O Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down in mercy upon England thy dowry and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our hope was given unto the world and He has given thee to us that we may hope still more. Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the cross, O sorrowful Mother. Intercede for our separated brethren that with us and the one true fold, they may be united with the chief shepherd, the Vicar of Thy Son. Pray for us all dear Mother, that by faith and fruitful good works we may all deserve to see and praise God together with thee in our heavenly home.

Prayer to Our Lady of Consolation

O God, who through the Virgin Mary has willed to give to your people the true consolation, Jesus Christ; grant to us who venerate her, under the title of Our Lady of Consolation, the grace to co-operate with her in the work of Redemption, through Christ Our Lord. Our Lady of Consolation. Pray for us.

Bidding Prayers Compiled By Parishioners

Here are samples of the Prayers of the Faithful which have been used in Masses over the past month. Would you like to produce the Bidding Prayers for Mass (on a rota basis)? Contact Gill or Peter Clarke (tel: 01983 566740).

Prayer: We pray for the people of the Middle East and Afghanistan that they may soon live in peace. May the peace of Christ touch the hearts of those who lead and govern them so that there is a respect for justice and human dignity. Lord hear us.

Prayer: We pray for all those suffering in the world today, at home and abroad, especially those whose homes or lives have been lost in the recent floods in our country. Lord hear us.

Prayer: In the gospel today we heard that God sees all that we do. He can see our honesty and sincerity. We ask for his help in promoting these qualities in our daily lives and our relationships with others. Lord hear us.

Prayer: The ashes that we receive on our forehead today, remind us of our own mortality. We pray that we can be ready at any time for God's calling. Lord hear us.

Prayer: We ask you to bless all children that they may live in peace in their own homes and in the world; give them the grace to be kind to others. Lord hear us.

Deceased Parishioners

Please pray for the following deceased parishioners of St. Mary's whose anniversaries occur in February:

Patricia Holman	2009	Eileen Deane	2009
Joy Hall	2008	Maria Valvona	2005
Vera Rayner	2003	Margaret McDonagh	2001
Philip Mainston	2001	Rick Valvona	2000
Freda Britton	1999	John Cooper	1999
Grace Gurney	1997	Josie Honey	1997
Ann Minns	1997	Michael Kelly	1996
Alice Atkins	1996	Kenneth Hewett	1996
Anthony Brenan	1996	Ronald Luke-Styles	1995
Margaret Thorpe	1995	Esme Taylor	1995
Phyllis Gregory	1995

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Poem of the Month

Poem on Walsingham by Ed Matyjaszek

Do not go now you have brought me
To this pass of time,
Where for a mother's love you free
My soul from its crime

And bring me to this Norfolk village
To know quiet and ease
Where I, by a late year's pilgrimage,
Bend my proud knees

To ask for mercy and to plead
For guidance and for love,
For the spirit that in these times we need
To come down like a dove

And shelter us as your mother shelters
All in this her shrine;
To bind us in the tender fetters
Of your bread and wine

And bring our souls back to their form,
Natural and free;
For which to Walsingham I have come
To pray sweet Mary.

Ed is a parishioner of St. Mary's as well as a parish catechist, poet and playwright. He has given several talks to the parish on Catholic history.

Hymn of the Month

A Lenten Hymn – My Song Is Love Unknown

This Passiontide hymn is known and loved throughout the Christian world. Samuel Crossman (1623-83) who wrote the words, worked for reconciliation between Anglicans and Puritans, between whom he was torn. My Song Is Love Unknown was written in 1664, during the most stormy period of his life, when he had been expelled from the Anglican Church and the words might well come from his own life as well as from his faith in his Lord. He returned to the Anglican Church, becoming Dean of Bristol Cathedral, where he is buried in the south aisle. The melody was written by the English 20th century composer John Ireland. His fellow composer, Geoffrey Shaw, suggested that he write a tune for the poem and Ireland duly obliged, composing it over lunch one day.

My song is love unknown,
My Saviour's love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed-for Christ would know:
But O! my Friend, my Friend indeed,
Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
Then "Crucify!" is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
Themselves displease, and 'gainst Him rise.

They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they save,
The Prince of life they slay,
Yet cheerful He to suffering goes,
That He His foes from thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav'n was His home;
But mine the tomb wherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King!
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

Look out for the contrast in the middle of verse 3 between the 'Hosannas' of Palm Sunday and the 'Crucify' of Good Friday. The whole richly repays learning by heart and using in meditation during the Lent and Passiontide seasons.

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