A spiritual talk will be given on Saturday, 19th of March at St. Winefride’s church on the Feast of St. Joseph following the 10:00 am Mass.
Weekend of 29th and 30th January: Plenary Indulgence available
- Saturday, January 29th – Feast of St. Franci s de Sales, Secondary Patron of the Institute
- Sunday, January 30th – External Solemnity of St. Francis de Sales, (4th Sunday after the Epiphany)
Plenary indulgence available under usual conditions: Confession, Communion & Prayer for the Sovereign Pontiff
Liturgy Fund
As announced last Sunday, we want to set aside funds for the purpose of acquiring more liturgical vestments and other items needed for the celebration of the liturgy.
We will publicise the balance of this Liturgy Fund in our weekly Newsletter and will keep you informed about those items that are needed most. We are planning on purchasing 2 copes (in purple and green colour) for the Sundays of Advent and Lent and for all Sundays after Pentecost celebrated in green colour. The price for these copes will be approx. £1,750.00 each. –
Thank you very much for your support of the Institute’s work in Shrewsbury and for considering to donate toward the Liturgy Fund.
Pastoral Letter of the Bishop on Re-awakening Eucharistic Faith
My dear brothers and sisters,
Today marks the beginning of a new year in the life of the Church. Advent places all the turmoil of history and the upheavals of the present pandemic in one and the same perspective: that of Christ’s return “with power and great glory”.i Our contemporaries might see time as an inevitable path of progress, whereby humanity throws off the moral constraints of Christianity. How often do we hear it suggested that it is inevitable that society will progress to removing all barriers to killing the unborn, or assisting the suicide of the sick, or rejecting the model of the family founded on marriage. Tragically, some see this as human progress. The Gospel offers a radically different itinerary, seeing this time as the moment of witness ushering in the dramatic struggle of the last days, marked by the trial of evil which does not even spare the Church.ii
Yet, as the Catechism reminds us, all time is moving towards the hour which we pray is hastened, when we say: “Marana-tha! Our Lord, come!”.iii Indeed, “whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she … turns her gaze ‘to him who is to come,’ knowing that, “the Lord comes even now in his Eucharist and that he is here in our midst”.iv Advent reminds us that our time must be marked by alertness as we heed Our Lord’s call to: “Stay awake, praying at all times to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man”.v
The pandemic years have led to such a re-awakening in our parishes as many have recognised anew, the Eucharistic Presence of the Lord Jesus, and the need to participate actively in the Sacrifice of the Mass and the grace and forgiveness which awaits us in Confession. I am especially conscious of those who remain medically vulnerable and are unable to return to Mass this Winter. Let us not forget these most isolated members of our communities and help them remain connected to the life of the Church. Yet, we must also be aware of those who may have ‘fallen asleep’ and be in danger of losing the perspective of what ultimately matters in time and for all eternity. Let us think of those who may not with us at Mass and seek actively to help and encourage each one to make their return this Christmas and in the new year ahead. This involves not merely a change of priorities on a Sunday but the same re-awakening to the presence of Our Lord. Let our help for them begin with prayer and our own example.
Pope Francis has asked that this be a time marked by listening. Attentive listening is not always easy in our lives or relationships, nor is it easy when we come to the silence of prayer. We all too readily hear only the sound of our own voices; and can struggle to find the silence which allows us to be attentive to the presence of the Lord. Soon we will celebrate, that on the first Christmas night, while the whole world slept, poor shepherds alone heard the voice of Heaven. In one of the best loved Christmas Carols we sing of the silence of that Holy Night declaring: “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given …” In silence the Saviour was born for us. It is in an atmosphere of silence in every Mass, that we hear God’s Word and receive the wondrous gift of the Eucharist. As the Saint of Calcutta, Mother Teresa reminded us, it is in silence before the Holy Eucharist that we also learn to be attentive to the spiritual and material needs around us. Let us rediscover this precious silence in all our churches so we can once more hear “the news of great joy”;vi and recognise “Emmanuel God-with-us”vii in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. This would surely be the greatest outcome of this time of listening, which Pope Francis describes as leading us all to the supreme prayer of adoration – which is reverent silence in the presence of God.viii
May this new year in the Church’s life be marked by such a re-awakening, so we recognise the purpose of our time. Let us be attentive to the reality of the Eucharist which contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, Christ Himself;ix and aware of our constant need of grace and conversion in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. May we also be ready to help others to awaken in Eucharistic faith and in the words of the Gospel hold “their heads high because our redemption is near at hand”.x
Let us ask Our Lady, Help of Christians to guide us all as we prepare to share the joy of Christmas,
+ Mark
Bishop of Shrewsbury
i Mk. 13:26
ii Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1403
iii Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 671
iv Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 404
v Lk. 21: 36
vi Lk. 2: 10
vii Mt. 1: 23
viii Cf. Homily of the Holy Father for Opening the Synodal Pathway, 10th October
2021 & Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2628
ix Cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis no. 5
x Lk. 21: 28
First Holy Communion
Sunday, October 31st 2021 – Feast of Christ the King
On the feast of Christ the King, titular feast of our Institute, a group of children in our community will receive the Eucharistic Lord for the first time. We all join the families of these young faithful in their joy and gratefulness. Please pray for our children, especially in preparation of this important day in their lives.
If you wish your child to participate in this year’s First Holy Communion, please contact Canon Wiener via details here.
First Communicants will meet with Canon Wiener in the presence of their mothers and/or fathers to answer fundamental but simple questions regarding the Church’s teaching about the Eucharist. Please make an appointment with Canon for the week of October 25th-30th.
First Confessions are possible daily (30 minutes before each Mass) or upon appointment.
Canon Gribbin’s Farewell to Shrewsbury!
Canon Gribbin, as announced here, will leave St Winefride’s for Ardee, Co. Louth to be chaplain to the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus. He will celebrate a farewell Mass here on the 26th September at 12.30pm
General Chapter
Canon Wiener will be leaving Shrewsbury between August 8th and August 28th to visit Germany and to attend the chapter in Gricigliano. Please pray for the superiors of the Institute and all canons attending this year’s chapter as also for Canon Wiener’s safe return to Shrewsbury.
During Canon’s absence Father Anselm Gribbin will return to Shrewsbury to celebrate all weekday Masses between Wednesday, August 11th, and Sunday, August 22nd (incl.). The Masses on August 9th and 10th had to be cancelled.
During the chapter meeting, Father Gerard McGuiness most generously agreed on coming to St. Winefriede’s to celebrate the daily Masses between Monday, August 23rd and Saturday, August 28th (incl.). The usual Mass schedule applies. However, the Adoration and Benediction on Tuesday, August 24th and August 26th has had to be cancelled.
On Sunday, August 29th, Father Stephen Goodman of the Archdiocese of Birmingham (Wolverhampton) will come to us to celebrate the Mass at 12:30pm. We are most grateful for Father’s generous offer to assist Canon Wiener who, due to COVID travel restrictions, will not be able to celebrate publicly for several days after his return. Father Gribbin will celebrate the weekday Masses of August 30th to September 4th.
Brown Scapular Enrolment
In the year 1251 Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, an Englishman and Prior of Carmelite Order. She handed him a brown woolen scapular and said, “This shall be a privilege for you and all Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall not suffer eternal fire.” In time, the Church extended this magnificent privilege to all the laity who are willing to be invested in the Brown Scapular of the Carmelites and who perpetually wear it.
The Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel has promised to save those who wear the scapular from the fires of hell and to shorten their stay in purgatory if they should pass from this world still owing some debt of punishment.This promise is found in a Bull of Pope John XXII. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and, speaking of those who wear the Brown Scapular, said, “I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in purgatory I shall free so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”
Unlike typical sacramentals, scapulars are not merely blessed, but need to be invested/imposed by a priest to enroll the faithful.Any Catholic priest may invest a baptized Catholic with the Brown Scapular. Lay people are unable to bless a Scapular
On Sunday, July 18th 2021 after the 12:30pm Sung Mass at St Winefride’s there will be an enrolment for those wishing to avail of this powerful sacramental. Scapulars will be available on the date.
Elements of Catholic Reform Bases on Truth
Canon Wiener has ordered copies of Msgr. Rudolf Michael Schmitz’ “Elements of a Catholic Reform Based on Truth.” Monsignor talked in 2018 at the ‘Catholic Voice’ conference in Limerick and gave in this fascinating presentation a comprehensive description of the most important areas in the Church’s life. His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke wrote the foreword. – These booklets will be available for purchase after Mass on Sunday 20th June (£3.00).
Scaffolding Works at Shrewsbury Cathedral
During the week of Monday, June 14th to Friday, June 18th scaffolding will be erected in the Cathedral. Masses in the Extraordinary Form (Adoration/Benediction included) will be transferred to St. Winefride’s church according to the usual schedule:
Monday: 10:00am Holy Mass
Tuesday: 6:30pm Holy Mass; (5:30-6:15p Adoration/Benediction)
Wednesday: 10:00am Holy Mass
Thursday: 6:30pm Holy Mass; (5:30-6:15pm Adoration/Benediction)
Friday: 10:00am Holy Mass