5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B - 4th February 2018
It is the Mass that Matters
Catholics know that Mass is the perfect prayer. At every Mass Jesus Christ offers his life once again to God, with infinite love for all people. We join our weak distracted prayers with this perfect prayer of Our Lord, and this gives infinite worship to God. Today there is no fear or penalty for coming to Church. Make the sacrifice of your life and time generous to God. Try to come in good time to Mass, join in the prayers and hymns and wait to the end. The Lord loves a cheerful giver.
English History In 1534 King Henry VIII set aside the Pope’s authority by an act of Parliament. The Act of Supremacy made it high treason to refuse to acknowledge the King, as the only supreme Head on earth of the Church of England. The liberty of practicing the Catholic faith was taken away. Mass was suppressed. It was considered seditious to call oneself a Catholic. Being found to be a priest or seminarian bore the penalty of death. In England more than 350 Catholics died for the faith.
Martyr St John Haughton refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and so was condemned to death. He was dragged on hurdles with two other Carthusian Priors to Tyburn in London. In May 1535 St John Haughton was the first to suffer martyrdom at Tyburn and the first martyr of the English reformation.
National Eucharist Congress The National Eucharist Congress will take place in Liverpool 7th—9th September 2018. The sacrifice of the Mass and Holy Communion and the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament will be honored and discussed. Each parish is invited to send two delegates to the Congress.
Fr. Ray Armstrong C.M.
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