Praying for the General Assembly of the Synod
Webmaster • September 29, 2023
The Church began the process of preparing for the Synod on Synodality in October 2021. The parish of St. Teilo’s with Our Lady of Lourdes, along with parishes and dioceses across the world, contributed to the discernment on the themes of communion, participation and mission. The parish discernment, along with that of other parishes in the Archdiocese, was collated and synthesised before being submitted to the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The Bishops’ Conference, informed by diocesan representatives from across England and Wales, agreed a National Synthesis which has subsequently been discussed and used to inform the European Continental Stage of the process. This week, on Wednesday October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis, the first General Assembly of the Synod process begins.
In a letter addressed to bishops and eparchs from all over the world, Cardinal Mario Grech, General Secretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, invites all the Catholic faithful from around the world to prayerfully participate in the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will open in the Vatican on October 4 th . Cardinal Grech, reminds everyone that the Synodal Assembly is above all a spiritual event, of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit who is the true protagonist of the event. The full text of the letter (in multiple languages) can be read here:
We will pray for the Synod’s intentions at Mass each day during the duration of the General Assembly. Please add an intention for the Synod Assembly meeting and all gathered in Rome in the next few weeks to your own prayers.
The next social event as part of this centenary year will be “A Pie, A Pint and A Song Night” on Friday, October 10th from 7.30pm to 10.30pm at Rhiwbina Recreation Club. Tickets, priced at £5.00 will be available after mass on September 21st and 28th and October 5th. Tickets will include a pie (steak, chicken & mushroom vegan and gluten-free options available). The event will comprise of 30 minute intervals of songs followed by 30 minutes of time to chat. While performers are live, we ask that those attending to respectfully listen or if appropriate to sing along. If anyone would like to sing a song or recite a poem and for enquiries regarding this event, please contact John Steele on 07491677528. Due to spaces available song/poem slots will be on a first come first served basis.
• Are you someone without a formal religion who wants to be baptised in the Catholic faith? • Are you a Christian from another faith tradition who would like to be received into the Catholic Church? • Are you an interested inquirer who wants to find out more about the Catholic Faith? • Are you an adult who has missed out on the Sacrament of Confirmation? If any of the above applies to you, you are most welcome to join the Parish Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) programme which will run in the Parish Hall at St. Teilo’s on Wednesday evenings at 6pm beginning on Wednesday, October 15th . Please come along and discover more – attendance does not commit you to completing the programme but is designed to allow you to reflect on God’s call for you. (The Parish Hall is accessed from the back of the Church building, between the Church and the Priest’s House.)
Next Sunday the Church celebrates Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) Sunday. This year, the Church has been celebrating a significant anniversary. It is 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea. At Nicaea, the great gathering of Bishops from around the Church began the work to formulate the Creed we proclaim Sunday by Sunday. It is the content of this Creed that is our mission as faithful followers of Jesus, so that we may know and love God in this life, in order to be happy with him forever in the next. The Creed begins with a profound proclamation, “I believe…” This is the theme for Evangelii Gaudium Sunday 2025. There will be a retiring collection at the end of all Masses next weekend to support the development work of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’ Department of Evangelisation and Discipleship to allow the Church to continue to spread the Good News proclaimed in the Church each time we say the Nicaean Creed.
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The feast recalls three historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem by the Emperor Heraclius II. However, the deeper meaning of the feast is a celebration of the Cross as the instrument of our salvation. This instrument of torture, designed to degrade the worst of criminals, became the lifegiving tree that reversed Adam's Original Sin when he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. Let us all place our hope and trust in the Cross as we celebrate this feast today.
Rest in Peace Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sandra Chisnall, a faithful parishioner at St. Teilo’s who died recently. Sandra’s funeral Mass will take place at St. Teilo’s at 1pm on Friday, October 3rd followed by interment at Pantmawr Cemetery. Please also pray for Gina Cumberlidge, her Funeral Mass will be on Saturday, October 25th at 10am at St. Teilo’s. Please also pray for those whose anniversaries occur at this time: Canon William O’Connor, Ethelreda Thomas, John Finney, Peter Gibbs, Albert Hitchman, Audrey ‘Hayter’ McKay, John Houlihan, Catherine Donovan, Florence Waterman, Giovanni Moschetti, Nicholas Ford, Catherine Lovell, Margaret Rees, Julian Theophilus, George Collings, Ralph Hammond, Bernard Monaghan, Dennis Cahill, Marie Johnson, Francs Stewart, Albert Wallace, Lional Sharp, Toni Taylor, Julie Taylor, Julia Clarke, Joseph Flanagan, Margaret Salter, Colin Jones and James Thomas.
Many thanks for your ongoing support for the homeless at the Night Shelter at St. Mary of the Angels, Canton. The team still needs hats, gloves, boxer shorts, socks and jackets for the people who use the night shelter, they are also in desperate need of jeans or trousers (32” waists). Please note that the young people are medium size at most. Please do not donate large clothes items. Sleeping bags and haversacks are also very welcome. The team also needs Fizzy drinks, chocolate bars, crisps, sweets and cakes. If you are able to help by donating any of these items, please drop them at the back of the Church.
The Parish Knit and Natter group will meet in St. Teilo’s Hall on Thursday 11th September . All are welcome to come along and join in the knitting or the nattering or both!
This month’s craft session takes place in the Parish Hall at St. Teilo’s next Saturday, September 13th from 10.30am - 12.30pm. The session is about making Christmas Cards and is suitable for absolute beginners to experts. The session is free. Hope to see you there! Any enquiries please contact simplycraft@btinternet.com or speak to Erica.
Canon John on leave With Canon away, there will be no weekday Mass at St. Teilo’s and Our Lady of Lourdes. Neither St. Teilo’s nor Our Lady of Lourdes will be open this week. St. Teilo’s is closed as the new carpet is being fitted. Weekday Mass is available in our neighbouring churches: Nazareth House (access to the chapel is through the door on Colum Road, lift assisted access is via the convent entrance) – Mass is celebrated at 10am at Nazareth House on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. (No Mass on Tuesday) St. Joseph’s – Mass is celebrated at St. Joseph’s at 9.15am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 7pm on Wednesday. The Three Churches – Mass is celebrated in the 3 churches as follows: Monday at 9.30am at St. Brigid’s, Tuesday at 9.30am at Christ the King, Wednesday at 9.30am at St. Paul’s, Thursday at 9.30am at Christ the King, Friday at 9.30am at St. Paul’s, Saturday at 9.30am at St. Brigid’s. St. Mary of the Angels and Holy Family –Mass is at 9.30am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at St. Mary’s and at 9.30am on Thursday at Holy Family.
St. Teilo’s Friends of Divine Mercy Prayer Group meets on Saturday, September 13th at 2.30pm in the Parish Hall. Everyone is welcome to come along to pray for the parish and the intentions of the parishioners.