Prayers of the Faithful

The prayers below have been written by parishioners and read at Sunday Masses in December / January.

Reader: We pray that the peace of Christ, which is evident at Christmas time, will influence the hearts and minds of us all as we seek to create a society based on Christian charity, fairness and social justice. Lord hear us.

Reader: We pray for those who have little experience of the knowledge of God and the redeeming love of His Son, Jesus. May the message of Christmas bring them to an understanding of the Gospel news and the promise of eternal life for those who follow it. Lord hear us.

Prayer: In this Season of Christmas we ask for a spirit of love and peace to emerge. We pray that we can promote this Christian spirit in our families and in our daily lives. Lord hear us.

Prayer: On this feast day we remember the wonderful example of family life as exemplified by Jesus, Mary and Joseph at Nazareth. We pray that in these times when broken homes and relationships are so prominent that the family unit will become a focus of love and understanding. Lord hear us.

Prayer: As we look forward to 2012 we pray for a year devoid of oppression and injustice. We ask that those in leadership and government will find a road to a worldwide lasting peace based on justice and respect for human dignity. Lord hear us.

Would you like to produce the Bidding Prayers for Mass (on a rota basis)? Contact Gill or Peter Clarke (tel: 01983 566740).

Prayers of the Month

Prayer before a Crucifix

Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself on my knees in your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul, I pray and beseech you that you would impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, with a true repentance of my sins, and a firm desire for amendment, while with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate your five most precious wounds; having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy of you, O good Jesus: "They pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones".

At the Christmas crib

O Divine Redeemer, prostrate before Thy crib, I believe Thou art the God of infinite Majesty, even though I do see Thee here as a helpless babe. I humbly adore and thank Thee for having so humbled Thyself for my salvation by being born in a stable. I thank Thee for all Thou didst wish to suffer for me in Bethlehem, for Thy poverty and humility, for Thy tears, cold and sufferings.

Help me to show Thee that tenderness which Thy Mother had towards Thee, and to love Thee as she did. Would that I could praise Thee with the joy of the angels, that I could kneel before Thee with the faith of St. Joseph, the simplicity of the shepherds. Uniting myself with these first worshippers at the crib, I offer Thee the homage of my heart. Fill me with that spirit of renunciation, of poverty, of humility, which prompted Thee to assume the weakness of our nature, and to be born amid destitution and suffering. Grant that from this day forward, I may in all things seek Thy greater glory, and may enjoy that peace promised to men of good will.

This prayer was recited at the Christmas crib after Masses during the Christmas Season.

Prayer to St. Joseph

Blessed Joseph, husband of Mary, be with us this day. You protected and cherished the Virgin; loving the Child Jesus as your Son, you rescued Him from the danger of death.

Defend the Church, the household of God, purchased by the Blood of Christ.

Guardian of the Holy Family, be with us in our trials. May your prayers obtain for us the strength to flee from error and wrestle with the powers of corruption so that in life we may grow in holiness and in death rejoice in the crown of victory. Amen.

Deceased Parishioners

Please pray for the deceased parishioners of St. Mary's whose anniversaries occur in January:

Daisy Kenny	1995	Stefania Jezorska	1995
Leslie Waddington	1995	Roger Escasany	1996
Jane Dobson-Dune	1996	Eveley Garabet	1996
Margaret Morley	1996	Margaret Connolly	1996
David Hewitt	1996	Michael Selby	1998
Joan Smith	1998	Stanley Rivlin	1998
Winnie Kerton	1998	Constance Payne	1999
Donal O'Brien	1999	Leslie Salter	1999
Patricia Beard	1999	William Sutton	2001
Gerald Sirkett	2001	Mary Ingram	2001
Alan Newell	2003	Tony Dunford	2003
Frances Love	2003	James McHale	2003
Josepine Edwards	2004	Frances Greenwood	2004
Michael O'Meara	2005	Gladys Lawrence	2005
Penny Webber	2005	Mary Hickman	2007
Asa Singleton	2009	Paul Lucas	2009
Emily Callaghan	2009	Val Morris	2009
Rebecca Joyce	2009	John Quayle	2009
Monica Ayles	2009	Albert Mann	2010
Sally Foulkes	2010	Antonia Cotton	2010
Jean Burberry	2012

Please pray for deceased parishioners whose anniversaries occur in February:

Esme Taylor	1995	Phyllis Gregory	1995
Ronald Luke-Styles	1995	Margaret Thorpe	1995
Kenneth Hewett	1996	Anthony Brenan	1996
Michael Kelly	1996	Alice Atkins	1996
Josie Honey	1997	Ann Minns	1997
Grace Gurney	1997	John Cooper	1999
Freda Britton	1999	Rick Valvona	2000
Margaret McDonagh	2001	Philip Mainston	2001
Vera Rayner	2003	Maria Valvona	2005
Joy Hall	2008	Eileen Deane	2009
Patricia Holman	2009	Adam Coyne	2010
Eamon Shortt	2010	Veronica Dyer	2011

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Poem of the Month

The Slipper Chapel, Walsingham
by Edmund Matyjaszek

In that small house find
The resting of all care;
Beneath the canopy
Easeful in her chair
Of blue and gold, the simple host
With child and book and flower,
While through mosaic window glass
The western sun will pour
Its stillness. I remember
The first year I came,
Alone, seeking absolution,
Seeking a face, a name.
Now busy with my own sons,
With the bustle of work, of care,
I only come close at all
If I approach in prayer.
But knowing you still sit there,
Ready if I pushed the door,
Knowing you have waited
Centuries, will await centuries more,
I know I have a home on earth
Far from paradise’ blue sky:
For where you sit is love seated too,
And time just a passer-by.

This year marks the 950th anniversary of the foundation of the Walsingham Shrine. There is an article on the history of this Norfolf Shrine (written by Ed Matyjaszek) at the bottom of the Newsletter page on this web site.

St Mary's, Ryde

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