The Parish Lenten Sessions continue on Wednesday. The theme, based on the theme of the Jubilee Year is: “We Dare to Hope” The topic of the third session will be: The Prayer of Hope. The session will remind us that hope and prayer are inseparable. Prayer is always an act of hope in God, an act of desire for God and of trust in Him. We exercise hope in prayer, as we come to God in our poverty of heart.  Why not come along to reflect on the theme of Hope during this Jubilee Year when we are called to be: Pilgrims of Hope?

This year, Pope Francis proclaimed 2025 as the Jubilee Year of Hope, with the theme of “hope does not disappoint” and a call to Catholics worldwide to become “Pilgrims of Hope.” The Jubilee Year officially started on Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and will continue until the Feast of the Epiphany in 2026. On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis invited pilgrims to the Vatican to walk through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s and the other Holy Doors throughout Rome and the world. In the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia the Holy Doors are at St. David’s Cathedral, Cardiff, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, the statue of Our Lady of Penrhys, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper, Cardigan, the Shrine of Divine Mercy at Sacred Heart, Morriston, the Churches of St. Francis Xavier, Hereford, St. Francis Xavier and St. David Lewis, Usk, Our Lady and St. Illtyd, Llantwit Major, the Welsh Martyrs, Aberystwyth, the chapel of St. Non’s Retreat Centre in St. David’s; and the Abbey Churches of St. Michael and All Angels, Belmont and Our Lady and St. Samson, Caldey Island.  On a visit to the Holy Door(s) you are invited to undertake a pious act including participating devoutly in Holy Mass or at a celebration of the Word of God; the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer); the Stations of the Cross or the Rosary along with the other requirements for an Indulgence - https://rcadc.org/jubilee-home/the-jubilee-indulgence/ Preparations for the 2025 Year of Jubilee began in Advent 2023, which marked the start of a year of prayer. The Bishops’ Conference have produced resources for the preparatory year of prayer, focusing on the Our Father, as well as resources about Jubilee in the Catholic Church. View the resources from the Catholic Bishops Conference here View the resources from our own Archdiocese here Jubilee Year Calendar (Cardiff-Menevia)

The children of the parish are continuing their preparation for First Holy Communion on Sunday, May 11th. Please keep these young people in your prayers as they prepare to receive the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament for the first time. The children’s names are Ashwyn, Brinley, Christian, Daniel, Dylan, Jessie, Nell, Orlaith, Rory and Thomas.

Many thanks for the very generous response to the appeal in the newsletter two weeks ago for hats and gloves for the people who use the night shelter. They were very well received by the recipients. More are always welcome. In addition, it has become clear that many of those at the shelter are in need of other items including sleeping bags, haversacks, boxer shorts, socks and jackets. If you are able to help by donating any of these items, please drop them at the back of the Church.