Coronovirus (Covid-19) Resources
On 18th March 2020 the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales announced that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has now reached the point where all public celebrations of religious services will be suspended, from the evening of Friday 20th March until an unspecified date.
A very strong part of our Catholic identity is communal worship at Mass, especially on Sundays, and we know that many of you, parishioners of Our Lady's and St. Joseph's, will find the lack of Mass very difficult. The situation we now find ourselves in is without precedent in recent history – even during the Second World War there was Mass!
Even though we cannot physically gather together for prayer at the current time, we can come together for the on-line streaming of Mass and other services from Our Lady's. You can also request to have a candle lit at church.
There are also various ways we can remain a community through resources online.
You may find the following resources helpful in the coming weeks:
A very strong part of our Catholic identity is communal worship at Mass, especially on Sundays, and we know that many of you, parishioners of Our Lady's and St. Joseph's, will find the lack of Mass very difficult. The situation we now find ourselves in is without precedent in recent history – even during the Second World War there was Mass!
Even though we cannot physically gather together for prayer at the current time, we can come together for the on-line streaming of Mass and other services from Our Lady's. You can also request to have a candle lit at church.
There are also various ways we can remain a community through resources online.
You may find the following resources helpful in the coming weeks:
- The Prayer of the Church (the Divine Office) links us across parishes, dioceses, the country, and indeed the world in a union of worship.
- Reading the prayers and scripture in the Missal for a given day, perhaps combined with the practice of making a spiritual communion.
- The use of specially devised prayers in time of sickness can be a great comfort (download in PDF format).
- The prayerful reading of Scripture known as Lectio Divina brings us into contact with the living Word of God.
- The practice of various meditation techniques such as Centering Prayer, or the Practice of the Presence of God.
- Taking part in televised services online. These are happening in our parish. Other resources include: Vatican News; Church Services TV; Walsingham National Shrine; Knock Shrine; Lourdes Shrine.
- Those with Facebook accounts will find resources there including our parish Facebook page, and a group set up especially by the Spirituality Committee of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales CCC - Christ, Covid, Community.
- Other online faith resources are listed by The Tablet.
