Stela Maris

Apostleship of the Sea “Stella Maris” Day of Prayer & Pilgrimage:

Will be on Saturday 25th June 2011.

First Fridays and Saturdays

First Friday and First Saturday of the Month:

First Friday is in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and First Saturday in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

First Fridays

In 1675, Our Lord appeared "out of a monstrance" before St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and showed the burning love of His Heart for men. After revealing the now-famous promises to those who would venerate his Sacred Heart, Our Lord Said:

"The all powerful love of my Heart will grant to those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance."

Those who honour Our Lord in His Sacred Heart by attending Mass and receiving Communion for nine consecutive First Fridays would receive many graces from the Heart of Jesus and would not die without receiving the Sacraments. 

A final promise was that the Sacred Heart would be an "assured refuge at the last hour." A similar promise was made by Our Lady for those who faithfully practice the First Saturday Devotion.

First Saturdays

The promise made by Our Lady to Lucia at Fatima on July 13, 1917, that there would be a future manifestation concerning the five First Saturdays, was fulfilled on December 10, 1925. Lucia was then a postulant in the Dorothean convent at Pontevedra, Spain. This time Our Lady appeared together with the Child Jesus. She addressed Lucia as follows:

"Look, my daughter, at my heart encircled with thorns, with which ungrateful men wound it every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Give me consolation, you, at least; and announce for me that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all who on the first Saturday of five consecutive month confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to me."

The devotion of First Saturdays, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima, carries with it the assurance of the graces necessary for salvation at the hour of death. However, to derive profit from such a great promise of Our Lady, the devotion must be properly understood and duly performed. The requirements as stipulated by Our Lady are: Confession, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, and to do all these things in the spirit of reparation to my Immaculate Heart.

Raise Your Voices to Heaven

CANTORS!

Please if you are interested in being a cantor kindly wait after the Mass.

“He who sings prays twice” (St. Augustine)

Easter Sunday Message from our Parish Priest

Alleluia, Christ the Lord is risen indeed! Our Redeemer Liveth! 

“If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing is useless” ( 1 Cor. 15:14). 


At the beginning of the Holy Week, I sent out a message to you, encouraging you to celebrate the Holy Week in preparation for the Resurrection of our Saviour with hearts and minds that are worthy of the love Christ showed us in his sufferings and death. With the responses I received, I am glad that many of us paid attention to the message and I believe acted upon it.


Based on this I am so glad that our Church has greatly been renewed within this period, and I pray that the grace and the fruit of this season will abide with us forever.


The hallmark of the resurrection of Christ is VICTORY. Triumph over evil. Setting us free from the captivity of devil, St. Paul puts it more aptly “You were dead. You were in sin and uncircumcised at the same time. But God gave you life with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He cancelled the record of our debts, those regulations which accused us. He did away with all that and nailed to the cross. Victorious through the cross, he stripped the rulers and authorities of their power, humbled them before the eyes of the whole world and dragged them behind him as prisoners” (Col.2:13-15). 


Our actions henceforth should be perceived as sweet fragrance exhibiting love, charity and hope here in Burry Port, Kidwelly and in anywhere we find ourselves.


I want to seize this opportunity to thank you so much for the love and affection shown me on my 40th birthday, Thanks for the gifts and the cards, they are simply gorgeous. Thanks and God bless. Happy Easter to you all.

A Happy and Holy Easter to All

Parish Easter Mass times cards for Burry Port and Kidwelly Churches' front cover is pictured above.

Good Friday - Collection and Response

> Holy Places Collection: Collection will be taken for Holy Places on Good Friday.

> At the veneration of the Cross on Good Friday our response shall be:

  Venite, Adoremus (come let us adore him).

This Sunday's Journey Through Faith: Confession

OUR JOURNEY THROUGH FAITH: The topic for the week. “The Sacrament of Penance (Confession)”

Time: 5:00pm to be followed by Benediction.

Tea/ Coffee, biscuits will be served at the Hall.

All are encouraged to attend.

Warm Greetings From Kidwelly

KIDWELLY CHURCH HEATING:

The heating system of Kidwelly was installed few weeks ago. The cost of installation was £1,082.00. Many thanks to Kim and the 200 Club who raised £760.00 and £100.00 were raised from St. David’s Day raffle. Very many thanks for your generosity.

OUR PARISH PRIEST'S EASTER MESSAGE

Holy Week message from the Parish Priest:

As we prepare to celebrate the great events of our salvation, I want to implore us to approach this holy season with hearts and minds that are worthy of the love that Christ showed us, in his great sacrifice. Let us eschew all forms of hatred, gossips, rumours and ill feelings. Let us allow Christ to be rooted in all of our actions.

The “Exsultet”, the great Easter song which doubles also as the Easter Proclamation states clearly that the grace of this most wonderful event “dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride...when heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God!” You will agree with me that this is most gracious. PLEASE do not let us lose out in the grace that God is lavishing on us. Our act of appreciation to God for this greatest event in human history is to “climb the mountain of the Lord with clean hearts and pure hearts”

Please let us remain the salt of the earth and light of the world. We are witnesses of Christ!

Let us join of prayers and petition with St. Francis of Assisi;

O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is discord, harmony.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sorrow, joy.

Oh Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

I wish you all a grace-filled Holy week and Happy Easter Celebrations.

Holy Week

* PROGRAM FOR THE HOLY WEEK WILL BE OUT BY NEXT (PALM SUNDAY)


  The blessing of the palm will be at the Church Hall. There will be procession to the Church from the Hall.

Next Parish Guild Meeting

* Parish Guild: The meeting of the Parish Guild comes up on Thursday 07-04-11 @7pm