Holy Mass of 25th Sunday After Pentecost

Holy Mass will take place this Saturday, 5th November, at Sacred Heart, Morriston, 5pm.

This will be the final occasion on which the Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated on a Saturday evening.

From Advent onwards, the Mass on the first weekend of the month will take place on Sunday at 3pm at Sacred Heart.  Please continue use to check your emails or visit the site for up to date information.

The propers of the Mass of 25th after Pentecost will be those of the 5th Sunday after the Epiphany.

There will be refreshments after the Mass in the Sacred Heart Centre, all are welcome.

All Saints Day - Tuesday 1st November 2016

Holy Mass - All Saints Day

Will be offered at 6 p.m. on Tuesday 1st November at Sacred Heart, Morriston.


A Prayer for All Saints Day

How shining and splendid are your gifts, O Lord
which you give us for our eternal well-being
Your glory shines radiantly in your saints, O God
In the honour and noble victory of the martyrs.
The white-robed company follow you,
bright with their abundant faith;
They scorned the wicked words of those with this world's power.
For you they sustained fierce beatings, chains, and torments,
they were drained by cruel punishments.
They bore their holy witness to you
who were grounded deep within their hearts;
they were sustained by patience and constancy.
Endowed with your everlasting grace,
may we rejoice forever
with the martyrs in our bright fatherland.
O Christ, in your goodness,
grant to us the gracious heavenly realms of eternal life.
Unknown author, 10th century

Month of November

The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Church commemorates all her faithful children who have departed from this life, but have not yet attained the joys of heaven. St. Paul warns us that we must not be ignorant concerning the dead, nor sorrowful, "even as others who have no hope ... For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven ... and the dead who are in Christ shall rise. 

The Church has always taught us to pray for those who have gone into eternity. Even in the Old Testament prayers and alms were offered for the souls of the dead by those who thought "well and religiously concerning the resurrection." It was believed that "they who had fallen asleep with godliness had great grace laid up for them" and that "it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." We know that a defiled soul cannot enter into heaven.

Excerpted from Liturgical Meditations, The Sisters of St. Dominic 

More About Praying for the faithful departed

BY FR. JOE SCOTT MAY 18, 2008

The earliest Scriptural reference to prayers for the dead comes in the second book of Maccabees. The books of Maccabees were among the latest written books found in the Old Testament. They recount the struggle of the Jewish people for freedom against the Seleucid Empire, around 100-200 years before the birth of Christ. They are written from an Orthodox Jewish point of view. The second book of Maccabees tells how Judas Maccabee, the Jewish leader, led his troops into battle in 163 B.C. When the battle ended he directed that the bodies of those Jews who had died be buried. As soldiers prepared their slain comrades for burial, they discovered that each was wearing an amulet taken as booty from a pagan Temple. This violated the law of Deuteronomy and so Judas and his soldiers prayed that God would forgive the sin these men had committed (II Maccabees 12:39-45). 

This is the first indication in the Bible of a belief that prayers offered by the living can help free the dead from any sin that would separate them from God in the life to come. It is echoed in the New Testament when Paul offers a prayer for a man named Onesiphorus who had died: “May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day”(II Timothy 1:18). The cavelike tombs under the city of Rome, which we call catacombs, bear evidence that members of the Roman Christian community gathered there to pray for their fellow followers of Christ who lay buried there. By the fourth century prayers for the dead are mentioned in Christian literature as though they were already a longstanding custom. 

The practice of praying for the dead is rooted first in Christian belief in the everlasting life promised in Jesus’ teachings and foreshadowed by his disciple’s experience that God had raised him from the dead. After death, even though separated from our earthly body, we yet continue a personal existence. It is as living persons that God invites us into a relationship whose life transcends death. 

Praying for the dead has further origins in our belief in the communion of saints. Members of this community who are living often assist each other in faith by prayers and other forms of spiritual support. Christians who have died continue to be members of the communion of saints. We believe that we can assist them by our prayers, and they can assist us by theirs. 

Our prayers for the dead begin at the moment of death. Often family members will gather in prayer around the bedside of the person who has died. The Order of Christian Funerals includes a Vigil Service for the deceased, which can be held in the home, in the church, or in a funeral home chapel, the funeral Mass and the Rite of Committal (which generally takes place at the burial site). The prayers express hope that God will free the person who has died from any burden of sin and prepare a place for him or her in heaven. Death remains a mystery for us–a great unknown. Yet Christian language evokes a hopeful imagination in the presence of death, an assurance that our love, linked to Christ’s love, can help bridge whatever barriers might keep those whom we love from fully enjoying the presence of a loving and life-giving God. 

Prayer Resources

Can be found on the following link 

http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/tp/Prayers_November.htm

22nd Sunday after Pentecost - 3pm Sacred Heart Morriston

Holy Mass will take place tomorrow on 22nd Sunday After Pentecost (16th October) at 3 p.m. at Sacred Heart Morriston.

Due to vacations,  the next scheduled time for Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form after 16th October will be on the Feast of All Saints, Tuesday 1st November.  Details to be confirmed.

Many Thanks for your continued support of the Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form within the Diocese of Menevia

Times of Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form from 1st Sunday of Advent

Calendar Update

There will be a change in Mass Times for the Holy Mass in the extraordinary form at Sacred Heart, Morriston,  starting on the first Sunday of Advent 2016. 

This is due to an additional pastoral requirement to provide a weekly Saturday evening parish Mass for those who are working on shift at the hospital.

From Sunday 27th November (1st Sunday in Advent) there will no longer be Holy Mass on the first Saturday of each month.   The Saturday 5 p.m. Mass will transfer to the first Sunday of the month at 3 p.m.

Until Sunday 27th November, there will be Saturday evening Mass in the Extraordinary Form on the following occasions.

Saturday 1st October, 5 p.m.
Saturday 6th November,  5 p.m.

Please see the page on Mass Times for an updated and current list of forthcoming times and events.

Vigil Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary (1st October) , Benediction and Harvest Supper

Holy Mass will take place on Saturday 1st October, 5 p.m. at Sacred Heart, Morriston.

The propers will be those of the Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Father has kindly planned Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament after Holy Mass.

Following this, you are all invited to take part in the Harvest Supper of the parish of the Sacred Heart, in the Parish Centre.

There is no specific charge, however an idea of numbers would be appreciated, to assist those who are providing the catering.  If you would like to stay, please let me know by email,  tom.sharpling@btinternet.com.

An interesting link about the Month of the Holy Rosary can be found below.

Month of the Holy Rosary

As we enter the month of the Holy Rosary, let us fervently pray the following , which is from the collect of the Mass

"Grant, we beseech thee that by meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen".

Holy Mass on Sunday 18th September

Holy Mass for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost will be celebrated on Sunday 18th September at 3pm. At Sacred Heart Morriston.

Refreshments will be available after Mass in the Parish Centre.

Please see the following link for a useful summary of this season.

Sundays after Pentecost

Welcome back and Holy Mass on Saturday 3rd September

A warm welcome back to the site, and to the Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form in Menevia. For those who have been away, we hope you return refreshed physically, mentally and spiritually.

We will have Holy Mass on Saturday 3rd September at 5pm at Sacred Heart , Morriston.

This will be the vigil Mass for the 16th Sunday after Pentcost.

We look forward to seeing you there, and there will be the normal opportunity for tea and coffee after the Mass in the Parish Centre.

Going forward, we will publish a more detailed timetable as soon as this is agreed.