Any pilgrimage is an important undertaking and for us from St Alban’s this year, it was doubly important as we would cover two different destinations. One being Fatima in Portugal and the other was Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain. Our first stay in Fatima started off on the right foot when we were accommodated in a local Convent / Hotel right in the centre of the town, which thankfully gave us easy strolling access to the Basilica square. We did of course expect it to be very busy that weekend as it was the anniversary of the final six monthly Apparitions of Our Lady to the three children of Aljustrel, (Lucia Jacinta and Francisco) in May 1917, but the size of the multitudes at every service exceeded even our expectations. The Rosary and the Masses were prayed in many languages including English, which enabled us to keep very much involved. A great spectacle before the Masses was when our Lady’s flower adorned statue was taken from the Little Chapel (being the exact spot where she appeared) and processed through the entire square, led by the Chief celebrant, (often an Archbishop or Cardinal) and hundreds of Priests. The crowd, singing with gusto, was very uplifting. The highlight Mass of the 13 th October was celebrated with 450 priests including our own Fr. Peter. The excitement from us when he passed in the procession to the altar was euphoric, and yes - he did see us... even though the number of people in the square was estimated at150.000! The most memorable happening of that day, was when Our Lady’s statue was again processed, after Mass, back to the little chapel from whence she came, as the traditional and moving Portuguese farewell took place, with the swelling throng of around 150,000 people, all waving their white handkerchiefs, till she disappeared out of sight to the strains of “Ave Maria” - Unforgettable!! The next day we set off for Santiago de Compostela, capital city of Galicia, which has its origins in the Shrine of St James. The journey to the shrine of St James in the Cathedral is known, in English, as the Way of St James and, in Spanish , the Camino de Compostela. Over 100,000 pilgrims travel to the city each year from points all over Europe and other parts of the world. One of the highlights for any pilgrim, is to be lucky enough to witness in action the great censor known as the Botofumero, sweeping through the transept of the Church to the delight of the congregation. Because it is very expensive to operate ... (the Cathedral charges €200 to cover fuel and staff costs)... it is actually quite a rare occurr - - ence to see it in operation. We however saw this spectacle each of the three days..... Cont’d Page 4 St. Alban’s Monthly News The monthly magazine of St. Alban’s Parish, Macclesfield Issue No. 125 November 2013 “Blessed Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, with renewed gratitude by your motherly presence we unite our voice to that of all generations that call you blessed.” Pope Francis entrusts the world to Our Lady of Fatima with a special prayer in front of pilgrims at St. Peter's Square as, at the same time, the pilgrims from St Alban’s join with 150,000 attending Mass in Fatima on Sunday 14 th October. “We aim to be a loving Catholic community in Macclesfield, assisted by prayer and the sacraments, proclaiming God’s Word, serving all in need.”
Transcript
Any pilgrimage is an important undertaking and
for us from St Alban’s this year, it was doubly
important as we would cover two different
destinations. One being Fatima in Portugal and the
other was Santiago de Compostela in North West
Spain.
Our first stay in Fatima started off on the right
foot when we were accommodated in a local
Convent / Hotel right in the centre of the town,
which thankfully gave us easy strolling access to
the Basilica square.
We did of course expect it to be very busy that
weekend as it was the anniversary of the final six
monthly Apparitions of Our Lady to the three
children of Aljustrel, (Lucia Jacinta and Francisco)
in May 1917, but the size of the multitudes at every
service exceeded even our expectations.
The Rosary and the Masses were prayed in many
languages including English, which enabled us to
keep very much involved.
A great spectacle before the Masses was when
our Lady’s flower adorned statue was taken from
the Little Chapel (being the exact spot where she
appeared) and processed through the entire square,
led by the Chief celebrant, (often an Archbishop or
Cardinal) and hundreds of Priests. The crowd,
singing with gusto, was very uplifting.
The highlight Mass of the 13th October was
celebrated with 450 priests including our own
Fr. Peter. The excitement from us when he passed
in the procession to the altar was euphoric, and yes
- he did see us... even though the number of people
in the square was estimated at150.000!
The most memorable happening of that day, was
when Our Lady’s statue was again processed, after
Mass, back to the little chapel from whence she
came, as the traditional and moving Portuguese
farewell took place, with the swelling throng of
around 150,000 people, all waving their white
handkerchiefs, till she disappeared out of sight to
the strains of “Ave Maria” - Unforgettable!!
The next day we set off for Santiago de
Compostela, capital city of Galicia, which has its
origins in the Shrine of St James. The journey to
the shrine of St James in the Cathedral is known, in
English, as the Way of St James and, in Spanish ,
the Camino de Compostela.
Over 100,000 pilgrims travel to the city each
year from points all over Europe and other parts of
the world. One of the highlights for any pilgrim, is
to be lucky enough to witness in action the great
censor known as the Botofumero, sweeping
through the transept of the Church to the delight of
the congregation. Because it is very expensive to
operate ... (the Cathedral charges €200 to cover fuel
and staff costs)... it is actually quite a rare occurr -
- ence to see it in operation. We however saw this
spectacle each of the three days..... Cont’d Page 4
St. Alban’s Monthly News The monthly magazine of St. Alban’s Parish, Macclesfield
Issue No. 125 November 2013
“Blessed Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, with renewed gratitude by your motherly presence we unite
our voice to that of all generations that call you blessed.”
Pope Francis entrusts the world to Our Lady of Fatima with a special prayer in front of pilgrims at St. Peter's Square
as, at the same time, the pilgrims from St Alban’s join with 150,000 attending Mass in Fatima on Sunday 14th October.
“We aim to be a loving Catholic community in Macclesfield, assisted by prayer and the sacraments, proclaiming God’s Word, serving all in need.”
XSeed members were busy gearing up for our retreat in
November, when we met for our October meeting. After
discussing plans for the year and finalising some great
fundraising ideas, along with our planned events, we
decided to trial some of the potential games that we
could use in the retreat in a Youth Hostel near Glossop.
We’re definitely not short of icebreakers to aid our so-
cialising when we go away early this month! Games
included ‘Splat!’, ‘Wink Murder’, and the ‘Washing
Machine Game’. Additionally, we watched a short
video about Operation Christmas Child, and a boy who,
having previously received a present box from the char-
ity, decided after his adoption by an American family,
to go back and deliver presents for Samaritan’s Purse.
We will not be having a regular meeting in November,
as it is replaced by our retreat, but we hope to be carol-
singing during the Christmas fair later on in the month.
. Aidan Hughes
St Albans Parish Meeting Come & Have your Say!
Members of the Parish Council will
feedback on Parish issues
Key Topic :
Review of Communication
within the Parish – Parish Website
Note for your diary
PARISH MEETING
Date: Tuesday 26th November
Time: 8.00p.m.
Venue: Parish Hall
Refreshments will be available
We look forward to welcoming you.
Monthly News Editor : Phil Read Shaw Tel: 01625-828152 Email: [email protected] Contributions welcome from all groups and individuals in the Parish. Copy deadline: last Monday of the month. Advertising contact: Keith Taylor Tel: 01625-429915 Email: [email protected] Rates £6.00 per single in-sertion. (width 6cms by depth 4cms.) (£30.00 for six months.) St Alban’s Website: This month’s and last month’s editions of the Monthly News are available at http://www.stalbanmacc.org.uk
St Alban’s Monthly News is printed by
MAIL BOXES ETC 1 Silk House, Park Green, Macclesfield SK11 7QJ Tel 429900 Email: [email protected]
Livesimply challenges us to respond to God’s call to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor.
Today we are focussing on living sustainably
This week the United Nations Climate Panel has published a report “Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis” (the full report can be found at: www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.UknUC19wYS1). This report says that scientists are 95% certain that humans are the “dominant cause” of global warming since the 1950s. The panel warns that continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming & changes in all aspects of the climate system.
We know that rising sea levels and extreme weather such as floods, droughts and hurricanes hit poor communities hard as their homes and livelihoods are more precarious to start with and they have fewer resources to adapt to their changing environment.
So if humans are the main cause what action can we take to reduce the impact?
One of the key actions for us, in our homes or as a parish, is to save energy. This could include:
• Insulating our homes ( as illustrated in this month’s Clive Simply cartoon)
• Servicing our boilers and heating systems to ensure they are working efficiently
• Turning down our thermostats and wearing warmer clothes or more layers
• Turning lights off, including outdoor lighting when it is not needed or switching to solar powered lights
• Shutting down computers and other electric equip-ment when they are not in use
These are just a few ideas and I am sure you know of lots more. Let’s consider Pope Benedict’s guidance when he said “ we are all called to exercise responsible stewardship of creation, to use resources in such a way that every individual and community can live with dignity, and to develop that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God”.
How are you planning How are you planning How are you planning How are you planning How are you planning How are you planning How are you planning How are you planning
to get ready for to get ready for to get ready for to get ready for to get ready for to get ready for to get ready for to get ready for
Fatima Cont’d from Front Page …. we were there. Indeed we were very blessed! On our final day, we packed up for our journey to Lisbon Airport with a planned stop in the University town of Braga, where Fr. Peter was to say Mass at the Seminary of St James & St Peter. A young seminarian was our guide ... and he took us into a unique structure called “The Tree of Life Chapel” ... built within the seminary building itself. A unique construction (pod like) which was built using twenty tons of unadorned natural wood and not a single nail or metal fitting was used. The extraordinary peace experienced during Mass there was very moving and a real thought provoking experience. There were so many wonderful moments for us on this very worthwhile trip, too many to mention in detail here ,such as the memorable visit to the homes of the children in Aljustrel, and praying the Stations of the cross on the way to the garden where Our Lady appeared above the home oak. A valuable by-product of this pilgrimage was the cementing of great friendships among the group, brought about surely by the careful planning and preparations made by Phil & Tony, and also by being accompanied by our own Fr. Peter who gave us, as always, much insight and knowledge. We thank God! Anne Hannan
My highlight of the pilgrimage was the closing procession on Sunday ...seeing all the pilgrims waving white handkerchiefs in salutation to Our Lady of Fatima. It was a very emotional moment for me to be part of what some estimated to be 150,000 plus pilgrims and 450 priests all honouring Our Blessed Mother and reinforcing the universality of the church.
Marjorie's highlights were seeing the pilgrims walk-ing on their knees to the Chapel of The Apparitions which see describes as a very humbling experience. She was also taken by the realisation of the dedication to prayer which the enclosed Nuns offer to the world through their special vocation which was reflected during our visit to the Convent at Coimbra. .
. Peter and Marjorie Kennedy.
I have many very happy memories of our trip to
Fatima and Santiago: To pray the Rosary while
holding candles, with thousands of others in the square
of the Basilica made it a memorable candlelight evening
while the statue of Our Lady was brought in procession
through the crowds.
The Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross, made reverently and with
poignant brief reflections as a group walking united in
prayer, each of us aware of our own stories of crosses
and reliefs, made a deep impression. I treasured our
own time spent privately in prayer as we carried friends
and families in our heart.
We enjoyed the lively atmosphere of friendship in
Santiago, during our trips into the town, and watch-
ing with amazement the Botafumeiro (the big thurible lit
during the Pilgrim Mass in the Cathedral, swinging from
one aisle to the other).
Silvia’s Birthday
But most precious than anything was the background
to it all: a friendship shared as in the very family of God,
when love-giving was the core of our joy, and being
together in Jesus and Mary was what made all the
difference between this and any other holiday we could
ever have.
And lastly... I can't remember such a lovely birthday
