Archbishop Eamon Prays for Peace and Offers a Message of Support to the People of Ukraine

Archbishop Eamon joins with Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, Chair of the Bishops’ Council for Justice and Peace, in calling for prayers for the people of Ukraine. Bishop Alan states: “We keep the people of Ukraine in our prayers at this time. We hold in prayer all leaders who have a duty to return to the table of peace building in this time of great anxiety and challenge for all of Europe and particularly the peoples of the countries involved.”

Dear Friends,

The people of Ireland are well aware that we can never take peace for granted. We must continue work for peace, to pray for peace and to make sacrifices for peace.

The scenes from Ukraine in recent days are distressing and frightening. They remind us how fragile peace in the world is. To think that only days ago the people of that country were getting on with their lives, making plans for their families, their businesses, their education, and now suddenly their lives, homes and futures are under threat. One of the awful things about war is the way that it suddenly destroys everything in its path. It disrupts normal life and overnight introduces death, destruction, violence, fear, sorrow and grief.

Watching our screens from Ireland we feel powerless to help. Our hearts and our prayers go out to the people of Ukraine who didn’t ask for this war, and who simply wanted to be left to get on with their lives, their jobs and with bringing up their families. Now they must hide, shelter, and even run for safety to protect themselves and their children.

We can never take peace for granted. We must always work for peace, pray for peace and make sacrifices for peace. All of us have the capacity to build peace by our words, our actions and our attitudes to others. We choose to sow peace or conflict, love or hate, to build up, or to tear down, to heal or to hurt, to forgive or to resent, to soothe or to inflame.

The current situation in Ukraine appears to be motivated at least partly by abuse of power and by the desire to control and dominate. It is alarming to think that despite the lessons learned last century in Europe about the horrors of war, that our continent could so easily be plunged back into chaos and uncertainty.

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Peace I leave you, my own peace I give you, a peace that the world cannot give, that is my gift to you”.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the Handshake Sign of Peace at Mass was suspended. But our obligation as Christians to offer each other the peace of Christ never goes away. The expression of peace follows the greeting of the priest who says, “The peace of the Lord be with you always”.

Today, I invite the people of Ireland to reflect on those words every day during the forthcoming season of Lent and in doing so to pledge that we will never take leave for granted but instead we will pray for peace, work for peace and make sacrifices for peace. I suggest that after these words are prayed at every Mass during Lent, we might pause for a brief moment to pray that the peace of the Lord will be with the people of Ukraine and guide the efforts of all those who are working to restore peace there, and in other countries across the world where war and violence are raging.

Pope Francis has asked that Catholics all over the world will pray and fast for peace on Wednesday next, Ash Wednesday. I encourage you to keep the Ash Wednesday fast, to take just one main meal on Wednesday and two small snacks; to abstain from meat and to consider also abstaining from alcohol. Make some extra sacrifice this Lent and offer it up for peace in Ukraine.

Loving God,

We pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world  that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity
to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways
so that peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine
and for all the world.

Amen.

In accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis, Archbishop Eamon invites all across the Archdiocese to make Ash Wednesday, 2 March, a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace.

Lenten Reflections in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh

Lenten Reflections in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh

On each of the Tuesday evenings during Lent, a guest speaker will join and offer their thoughts in St Patrick’s Cathedral at 7.30pm to help us reflect on each of the following themes. People may wish to join in person or via St Patrick’s Cathedral Webcam.

Tuesday 8 March “Giving witness to faith in the world today”. (Malachi Cush)

Malachi is a singer/songwriter, producer and presenter from Donaghmore, Co Tyrone. He has worked for many years in the music and media industries and he has presented with BBC, UTV & Irish TV. He’s a man of deep faith and he has produced and performed at many events within our Churches and he’s a member of the Diocesan Synodal Core Group. Among other things, he’s currently studying a programme in Pastoral Theology.

Tuesday 15 March “Only in God is my soul at rest, in Him comes my salvation”. (Sr Elaine Kelly)

Sr Elaine is a Poor Clare Sister, a native of West Belfast and a guide on The St Patrick’s Way, hosting walks around the life and legacy of St Patrick in Co Down. She was a barrister at law for a number of years and a former Adoration Sister and lived in community in Belfast. Sr Elaine says that she’s now “living the dream” as a child of God in St James’ Parish, Monksland, Co Louth and she lives in community at Faughart Monastery, close to the birthplace of St Brigid.

Tuesday 22 March “Covid-19 – the call to look forward in a spirit of hope”. (Dr Bob Brown)

Bob lives in Armagh and he retired recently after working as Chief Nurse and Director of Community and Older Peoples Services in the Western Health and Social Care Trust. He now plans to continue some nursing practice while exploring a range of voluntary and community service opportunities. He’s a member of St Mark’s Parish and he hopes to develop a wellbeing and spiritual support service for people connected with the Church. He’s currently studying at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute and Trinity College, Dublin.

Tuesday 29 March “Finding God in a Pandemic World”. (Oisin Walsh)

Oisin is from Trim, Co Meath and he has been working in the Catholic Communications Office in Maynooth, Co Kildare for the last three years. He’s a man of deep faith and whilst working to help promote the Catholic Church throughout the country, he’s also assistant to the editor of Intercom (a Catholic pastoral and liturgical resource.) He writes regularly on religious matters and his articles can often be read on line and in the press. He’s a gifted musician and he plays in a band.

Tuesday 5 April “Care for oneself amidst the challenges of life”. (Stephen Donnelly)

Stephen has worked in the field of mental health for 30 years. A former mental health nurse, he’s now employed by the Western Health and Social Care Trust as team lead for the regional trauma network and as a specialist Psychologist Trauma Therapist. He has delivered numerous courses/programmes on positive mental health and well being. He resides with his family in Omagh, Co Tyrone and is a keen GAA enthusiast.

Tuesday 12 April “Grief – a process that’s experienced one day at a time”. (Paul Mallon)

Originally from Co Tyrone, Paul is a counsellor in private practice in Armagh City. He also works with businesses and public sector organisations and is currently the resident counsellor in Southern Regional College, Armagh. Having previously worked in engineering, he works as an Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner. He has contributed EFT meditations to the recently launched “Sibling Grief Club”, a local support group website for the bereaved.

National Day of Prayer for survivors and victims of abuse, Friday 25th February

National Day of Prayer for survivors and victims of abuse

Friday 25th FebruaryPope Francis and the Bishops of Ireland established a National Day of Prayer for survivors and victims of abuse. In 2019 the Irish Bishops introduced a Candle and Prayer of Atonement as part of this day. This year the Day of Prayer will take place on Friday, 25 February.

The Archdiocese of Armagh invites all parishes and religious communities to organise your own service or moment of prayer. I encourage you to light again the Candle of Atonement and include a prayer for victims on this day.

Please find attached a Rite of blessing and dedication of the Candle of Atonement. The Prayer of Atonement is also attached along with some sample prayers of intercession and images for use on parish websites and social media platforms.

Some Sample Texts for Intercession Prayers from Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors Candle of Atonement – Prayer Blessing and Dedication of the Candle of Atonement.

Click Here for Sample Texts for Intercession Prayers from Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors

Click Here for the Protection of Minors

Click Here for Rite of Blessing and Dedication of the Candle of Atonement.

Click Here for Candle of Atonement Prayer

Homily of Archbishop Eamon Martin for the Bloody Sunday 50th anniversary Mass

“Many families from right across our communities still endure the anguish of not knowing why, or how their loved ones were killed or injured or punished or targeted or disappeared or defamed or locked up, or interned or otherwise banished. Their unanswered questions linger on“.

“Oh Heavenly Father, God of love and peace, send your blessed peace into our hearts, our homes and our country.”

Some of you will remember those opening lines from the Peace Prayer often offered by the people of Derry in the 1970s during the darkest days of the Troubles. It was introduced by the late Bishop Edward Daly not long after his ordination here in Saint Eugene’s Cathedral. We prayed it at home at the end of our family rosary every evening, and I also remember the day in the mid ‘70s when the people of Derry took to the streets in their thousands praying that prayer in a great crusade for peace – calling for an end to the sectarian violence which was bringing so much death and destruction, injury and grief to our city. Bishop Daly was unequivocal in his calls and work for peace. I have no doubt that his strong opposition to violence was shaped not only by his deep respect for all human life, but also by his first hand experience of horrific violence, death and fear on Bloody Sunday.

The horror inflicted on Derry on that day has thankfully been challenged and exposed. We are grateful for the dignity, determination and example of the families, friends and neighbours of those whose lives were so cruelly taken on 30 January 1972, just a short walk from this Cathedral.

The shocked silence which fell on Derry when the shooting stopped around 4.40 pm that afternoon was compounded by the deliberate silence of governments and politicians who wilfully ignored the truth. Immediately the priests who had been present, tending to the wounded and dying, and many other eye witnesses, called it as it was: wilful murder; shooting indiscriminately; no provocation.

Many years later – too many years – Lord Saville would conclude that the shooting and killing of these innocent civilians, who had not posed any kind of threat, was ‘unjustified and unjustifiable’. Saville found that the soldiers, as a justification for their actions, ‘knowingly put forward false accounts’ about shooting at only armed targets.

Our Peace Prayer continues: ‘O Lord Jesus, you died to make peace between God and mankind. We long for justice and peace; send us your gift of peace.’

Even though I was only ten years old at the time, I had a sense of the awful calumny that followed Bloody Sunday. I remember we were asked to bring to school our family’s copies of the Derry Journal so that the truth could be sent out and shared around the world. The pain of loss suffered by the Bloody Sunday families continued to be sharpened for many more years by blind eyes, deaf ears and the deliberate concealment of the truth.

The second reading of today’s Mass is taken from the letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. Saint Paul describes the characteristics of love – how it is patient and kind, never jealous or boastful or conceited. One phrase from that reading speaks strongly to us today: ‘Love delights in the truth’ (1 Cor 13:6).

In Saint John’s Gospel, Jesus often speaks about Truth – on one occasion He said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ (Jn 14:6); on another, He said, ‘The Truth will set you free’ (Jn 8:32); and, very powerfully when He himself was facing false witnesses and unjust condemnation before Pontius Pilate He said, ‘I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’ (John 18:37) – to which Pilate famously responded, ‘Truth? What is Truth?’

Very painfully the Bloody Sunday families were denied for too long the truth about what happened to their loved ones. And sadly they are not alone. A legacy of heartbreak, and with it, a dark shadow of secrecy, still hangs over much of our troubled past. Many families from right across our communities still endure the anguish of not knowing why, or how their loved ones were killed or injured or punished or targeted or disappeared or defamed or locked up, or interned or otherwise banished. Their unanswered questions linger on, as a constant nagging reminder to the next generation of unfinished business, of a grief that is unsatisfied with silence, a pain that does not go away but lies beneath, an unhealed wound that is passed on to the next generation. It is difficult for them to move on. It is hurtful, as some have proposed, to expect them to simply ‘draw a line’ under the past.

Dealing with the legacy of our past and building meaningful reconciliation is complicated and delicate. As a society we have to find ways to open ourselves to the hidden truths about our past so that proper healing can happen. We have begun to explore and build a shared vision for our future on this island. But if we are to unite hearts and minds and nourish a genuine hope for lasting peace and reconciliation in Ireland, then we have to work together on healing the legacy of our shared past, because peace can only flourish in the light of knowledge, truth and justice.

Our Peace Prayer concluded: ‘O Holy Spirit, you work always for our peace. Show us the value of peace; take away all sorrow and hatred from our hearts’.

We know that peace is so much more than an end to war and conflict. Peace from poverty; peace from hunger; peace for those living on the streets or in camps for migrants; peace of mind and heart for those denied the truth, closure and justice both here and around the world; this is the kind of deep peace we should all strive for today. It is the peace of Christ. Such a gift of peace would be fitting reward for those who marched on that awful day in 1972 – some of them never to march again. May they rest in the peace of the Lord, and may we live in, and build that same peace today.

+Archbishop Eamon Martin

Week of prayer for Christian Unity, 18th – 25th January 2022

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2022

‘We Saw His Star in the East’

Archbishop Eamon and the Church of Ireland Primate of Ireland John McDowell met recently to record this message to mark the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2022. This year’s theme is “We Saw His Star in the East” and the story of the Magi or “Three Wise Men”.

The story of the Magi visiting the Holy Family in Bethlehem is one very familiar to us. The Magi have sometimes been seen as a symbol of the world’s diversity – different religions and cultures – that comes to pay homage to the Christ-child. The story might therefore represent the unity of all created that God desires.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2022 has been prepared by the churches of the Middle East, the history of which was, and still is, characterised by conflict and strife, tainted with blood and darkened by injustice and oppression. The Christians of the Middle East offer these resources conscious that the world shares many of the travails and much of the difficulties that it experiences and yearns for a light to lead the way to the Saviour who is the light that overcomes darkness.

Serving the Gospel today requires a commitment to the human being, especially the poorest, the weakest and those marginalised. It requires from the churches transparency and accountability in dealing with the world, and with each other. This means churches need to cooperate to provide relief to the afflicted, to welcome the displaced, to relieve the burdened, and to build a just and honest society. This is a call for churches to work together so that young people can build a good future according to God’s heart, a future in which all human beings can experience life, peace, justice, and love.

Christian Aid

Each year Christian Aid provides the Go and Do action points for each of the daily reflections – linking into the important work of Christian Aid in the relief of poverty and advocacy of justice.

Click Here

Social media

Show your support for Christian Unity by posting unity messages and details of your events to our Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Twitter wall – simply add the #wpcuwall hashtag to your Twitter post (note there is a delay before they appear). You can also find updates about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on Twitter by following the #wpcu2022 hashtag.

Resources

Resources for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity can be found by clicking the following link.

Click Here

Catholic Schools Week 2022 ‘Catholic Schools: Living Life to the Full’.

Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated in schools across the island of Ireland from Sunday 23 January – Sunday 30 January. The theme for Catholic Schools Week 2022 is ‘Catholic Schools: Living Life to the Full’.

Primary National Resources Follow links from Doc attached.

csw2022-primary-flyer1

Primary School Resources

CSW2022 Primary Flyer
CSW2022 Primary Flyer Irish

Primary Junior and Senior CSW2022
Primary Junior and Senior CSW2022 Irish
First and Second Class CSW2022
First and Second Class CSW2022 Irish
Third and Fourth Class CSW2022
Third and Fourth Class CSW2022 Irish
Fifth and Sixth Class CSW2022
Fifth and Sixth Class CSW2022 Irish

Post-Primary School National Resources 2022

CSW2022 Post Primary Flyer
CSW2022 Post Primary Flyer Irish

Daily Themes and Resources

Monday: Living Life to the Full With God
Monday Resource Post Primary CSW2022
CSW2022 Monday PowerPoint
Monday Resource Post Primary CSW2022 Irish
Monday Powerpoint CSW 2022 Irish

Tuesday: Living Life to the Full Together
Tuesday Resource Post Primary CSW2022
CSW2022 Tuesday PowerPoint
Tuesday Resource Post Primary CSW2022 Irish
Tuesday PowerPoint CSW2022 Irish

Wednesday (Grandparents’ Day): Celebrating Being Together Again
Wednesday Resource Post Primary CSw2022
CSW2022 Wednesday PowerPointpptx
Wednesday Resource Post Primary CSW2022 Irish
Wednesday PowerPoint CSW2022 Irish

Thursday: Living Life in Wonder and Awe
Thursday Resource Post Primary CSW2022
CSW2022 Thursday PowerPoint
Thursday Resource Post Primary CSW2022 Irish
Thursday PowerPoint CSW2022 Irish

Friday: Living Life and Facing the Future
Friday Resource Post Primary CSW2022
CSW2022 Friday PowerPoint
Friday Resource CSW2022 Irish
Friday PowerPoint CSW2022 Irish

Social Media

Share what’s happening in your school on social media using the hashtag #CSW2022

DIOCESAN RESOURCES

ASSEMBLY for schools in the Archdiocese of Armagh and the Diocese of Dromore.

We have recorded an 18 minute long Assembly for schools to view and pray during CSW 2022.

Text of the Assembly Catholic Schools Living Life to the Full.

Catholic Schools – Living Life to the Full Assembly Full Text

Prayer Sheet to pray together-CSW Assembly 2022-download-to-print-for-students

Archbishop Eamon Martin’s message for New Year 2022

The beginning of a New Year is always a good time for both looking back and for expressing hopes and dreams for the future.

The Word of God today invites us to seek a blessing for the New Year. The psalmist asks: ‘O God, be gracious and bless us’. The Old Testament reading invokes the ancient priestly blessing:

“May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace (Numbers 6:23).”

In his message for today and the new year, the 55th World Day of Peace, Pope Francis observes that, sadly, in many places around the world, the “noise of war and conflict is intensifying, diseases of pandemic proportions are spreading, the effects of climate change and environmental degradation are worsening, (and) the tragedy of hunger and thirst is increasing.”

Pope Francis urges us to show solidarity with those in our human family who are suffering and to “work together to build a more peaceful world, starting from the hearts of individuals and relationships in the family, then within society and with the environment, and all the way up to relationships between peoples and nations.”

He suggests that one of the ways to build peace is by promoting dialogue between the generations, “between the keepers of memory – the elderly – and those who move history forward – the young”. The Holy Father explains:

“Young people need the wisdom and experience of the elderly, while those who are older need the support, affection, creativity and dynamism of the young.”

The importance of intergenerational partnership and dialogue on the island of Ireland came home to me last October when I joined with the other Church leaders to hold a Service of Reflection and Hope to mark the centenary of 1921. During the service I expressed a personal sense of sadness and loss at the partition of Ireland and, with my fellow religious leaders, I acknowledged that perhaps we in the Churches could have done more to deepen our understanding of each other and to bring healing and peace to our divided and wounded communities.

We were blessed that so many young people took part in that Service in Armagh and they made such a refreshing and positive contribution – their presence and their youthful voices and singing were full of confidence and hope that they can be the ones to help to build the bridges necessary to overcome the mistrust and divisions of our past.

As we begin a New Year, conversations are already taking place about what constitutional change and greater sharing on this island might look like. Intergenerational dialogue has much to offer these conversations – balancing reflection on the past with hope for the future. Clearly, the issues of legacy and the reality of trauma experienced by many families here must be included and handled sensitively in these conversations. Victims have spoken about the importance of continued access to justice, together with meaningful opportunities for truth and information recovery. No line can easily be drawn on our past and there is clearly much work to be done in exploring and building a unity of hearts and minds towards a shared vision for our future in this island.

Recalling words that he spoke a few years ago to the young people of the world, Pope Francis offers the following thoughts on this World Day of Peace:

“If, amid difficulties, we can practise this kind of intergenerational dialogue, ‘we can be firmly rooted in the present, and from here, revisit the past and look to the future. To revisit the past in order to learn from history and heal old wounds that at times still trouble us. To look to the future in order to nourish our enthusiasm, cause dreams to emerge, awaken prophecies and enable hope to blossom. Together, we can learn from one another (Christ is Alive 199)’. For without roots, how can trees grow and bear fruit?”

Another helpful opportunity for dialogue between the generations emerges in the context of the global climate crisis. The voices of young people were loud and clear at the COP26 conference in Glasgow in October. Among these were young voices of faith, reminding us of our responsibilities under God to be caring stewards of creation – always alert to the protection of life and the dignity of all and to the disproportionate impact that climate change is having on those who are already vulnerable and on the margins. These young people are strongly committed to dialogue and mutual respect between faith and science, while remaining determined to call out needless waste, ruthless exploitation and destruction of our planet’s resources. After all, they argue, the world not only belongs to us but to the generations who will follow us. In this case, therefore, intergenerational solidarity is not just an option, ‘but rather a basic question of justice (Laudato Si 159).’

In commending and encouraging young people for speaking into the global climate crisis and seeking a more just world, Pope Francis makes an interesting, but alarming, observation on this World Day of Peace. He writes:

“In recent years there has been a significant reduction worldwide in funding for education and training … Military expenditures, on the other hand, have increased beyond the levels at the end of the Cold War and they seem certain to grow exorbitantly.”

It is high time, Pope Francis says, that such a situation needs to be inverted. Governments should see the funding of education and training of our young people not as an expenditure, but as an investment.

Likewise, a fitting New Year’s resolution for all of us in Church and in society, might be to invest more of our time and resources, listening, dialogue and prayer in our young people who are already making it clear that they see themselves not simply as our future, but also as essential and creative contributors to our present.

+ Archbishop Eamon Martin

Statement by the Catholic Bishops of Northern Ireland on the recent NI Assembly vote on the Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment Bill) NI

It is a matter of grave concern for all those who uphold the preciousness and dignity of every human life that the current legal framework in Northern Ireland permits abortion, to the point of birth, where an unborn child is found to be suffering from a serious but non-life-threatening disability. The nature of such a disability is not defined in our legislation but will include conditions such as Down’s Syndrome. The effect of similar legislation in other parts of the world, especially in Scandinavia, has been to screen out of existence an entire sector of humanity.

The Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment) Bill, recently voted on in our Assembly, was a measured and reasonable attempt to address this injustice and remove from the current abortion regulations discrimination against unborn children with non-fatal disabilities. Its defeat in the Northern Ireland Assembly represents a profound and fundamental failure to respect the equality of all persons, born and unborn, in our society.

As a consequence, the Abortion Law in Northern Ireland will send a message to all citizens that unborn disabled babies are less valued than those who are able-bodied. This is the opposite of a commitment to equality, professed by so many who supported, directly or indirectly, the progress of this unjust legislation.

To dispose of unborn human beings on the grounds that they are disabled is morally abhorrent and indefensible in a civilised society. Laws that discriminate unjustly against persons with disabilities at any time, including the time they spend in their mother’s womb, are completely unacceptable.

Discrimination in this context is not limited to the unborn child with a disability. Those parents who choose to continue with the pregnancy could also face the prospect of being discriminated against when it comes to accessing medical care, education and financial support for their child. Therefore, every effort must be made to ensure that children with disabilities and their families are treated justly with regard to the allocation of resources and funding. It is the least they can expect in a society which claims to value respect and compassion in the treatment of all its citizens.

We have consistently called for the equal right to life and compassionate care for a mother and her unborn child. The genuine difficulties experienced by some women in pregnancy are not addressed by ignoring the existence of the other life, or by supporting the fiction that abortion is exclusively a ‘health care issue’ or solely a matter of individual choice. The right to life and the equal dignity of every person is the concern of every person and the whole of society, not just the individual concerned.

As we approach the celebration of the birth of the child Jesus, a birth which brings the hope of peace rooted in dignity to the whole world, we call on all Christians and citizens who believe in the equal rights of all, to redouble their efforts to defend the most vulnerable in our society from this unjust legislation. As we look to a new year in which we will all have the opportunity to elect those responsible for our legislative values and framework, we shall all need to reflect carefully on the central importance of these fundamental human values in the decisions we make.

Catholic Bishops of Northern Ireland

St Patrick’s Archdiocesan Trust Limited – Annual General Meeting – 14th December 2021

St Patrick’s Archdiocesan Trust Limited – Annual General Meeting

14th December 2021

The Annual General Meeting of St Patrick’s Archdiocesan Trust Limited (Trust) was held by Zoom conference on Tuesday 14^th December 2021, in which the audited Annual Report and Financial Statements to 31^st March 2021 was presented. Presenting at the meeting were Archbishop Eamon Martin (Director of the Trust), Mr John McVey (Secretary to the Trust) and Mrs Roisin Traynor (Audit Manager – Cavanagh Kelly Accountants).

In attendance at the meeting where the Directors of the Trust, Members of the Diocesan Committees, Diocesan Clergy, Members of Parish Finance Committees, External Auditors, staff members throughout the diocese and volunteers throughout the Diocese.

A full copy of the Annual Report and Financial Statements and the presentation of the summary of the Financial Statements to 31^st March 2021 can be view below:

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st March 2021

AGM Presentation

Prayer at the Crib and the 12 Days of Christmas

This Christmas the Northern Pastoral Network has developed resources for Christmas and the 12 days of Christmas. In the video below Bishop Michael Router offers a reflection on the Nativity.

We hopes that people will be able to connect with their Parish Church. For some that will be gathering for a celebration of Mass over the Christmas Season and for others it may simply be a time of quiet prayer, lighting a candle or visiting the crib.

Visiting the Crib is a prayerful activity that we can encourage and the NPN have produced some resources to support Parishes. The resources connect to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter ADMIRABILE SIGNUM reflecting on the meaning and importance of the nativity scene.

Click here for the Prayer at the Crib resources

Click here for the Twelve Days of Christmas resources

We encourage all to share these resources and use over the coming days.

1...151617...185 Page 16 of 185

Other Agencies