Saturday 20 June 2009

Celebrating the school, discerning the deacons, praying for the priests

A good day yesterday - lovely Anniversary Mass at Christ the King School. The children excelled themselves in every way, a wonderful reflection on the dedication of all the staff. I'm glad Julie Morgan MP and Jonathan Morgan MEP were there to see Catholic education at its best! The Archbishop was fantastic with the kids - they had a great question and answer thing going on between them which was a joy to behold. Coffee and cake afterwards - a great morning.
In the afternoon I was with Archbishop Peter again and two others, interviewing a candidate for the permanent diaconate. As with all the other men and their wives that we've accepted -we now have 15 ministering in our diocese - I was so impressed by this one too. We were all particularly touched by his dedication to family life, including family prayer. After 30 minutes his wife joined us, and added her own joyful personality to the proceedings. Great couple, great faith, great candidate.
Then in the evening we hosted at St Brigid's the annual Sacred Heart Mass for adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. And they came from all over, including a bus and minibus from Pontypridd and Pontypool. This year we were marking the beginning of the Year of the Priesthood. We put up boards with the names of all the priests of the diocese, and distributed slips of paper with individual names on, for the people to pray for every day in this Year of the Priesthood. It was a great Mass followed by a "Holy Half Hour" until 9, beautifully led by Fr gareth Leyshon. I'll be putting up lots more on the Year as it continues, so keep an eye out. If you have any ideas how we can celebrate the Year of the Priesthood - well put your comments on here...

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