CANDIDATES FOR LONDON’S MAYOR FOR NEXT THURS.

• Richard Barnbrook, British National Party “Putting London First”
• Gerard Batten, UK Ind. Party“Justice & Common Sense For London”
• Sian Berry, Green Party “Change London for Good”

• Alan Craig, Christian Peoples Alliance The priorities include:
 Promote marriage and stable family as a long-term solution to youth crime, educational under-achievement and child poverty …
 Champion London’s most vulnerable–the unborn, the elderly, the refugee
 Reduce .. yawning gap between …inner-city poverty & City-bonus wealth

• Lindsey German, Left List “…for the unions, speak out against racism and inequality, for proper council housing and for cheap … public transport.

• Boris Johnson, Conservative Party
“Beef up the police presence … serious strategies on knife and gun crime …Crack down on the culture of casual disorder … Make transport safer … Protect our green, open spaces…Scrap the proposed £25 congestion charge”

• Ken Livingstone, The Labour Party
“ … for London’s success to continue, to ensure every Londoner shares in that success, and to safeguard London’s environment. (London) needs a competent Mayor with a proven record of commitment to our city ….”

• Brian Paddick, Liberal Democrats
“… over 30 years working to help improve lives .. across the capital. … I’ve gained a unique insight into … the diverse communities that live here. … Londoners tell me how concerned they are about rising crime, especially knife crime …(and) are fed up paying record high fares on public transport“

• Matt O'Connor,English Democrats“Save London from Labour’s Tartan Taxes”

For fuller info. See www.londonelects.org.uk

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON HOLY MASS (NO. 11)

What is the Communion Rite? After the priest has finished the Eucharistic prayer, and the people have responded "Amen" to the final doxology "Through him, with him, in him..." the Communion Rite begins. This comprises all the ceremonies leading up to the priest and people receiving Holy Communion: the Our Father, the Sign of Peace, the Angus Dei ("Lamb of God"), ‘the commingling’, the Ecce Agnus Dei ("This is the Lamb of God") and Holy Communion itself.
Why is the Our Father in this place? Since the earliest times the Our Father has had a pre-eminent place in Christianity, because Christ himself taught this prayer to his disciples. The Our Father received its current position in the Mass, immediately after the Eucharistic Prayer, from St. Gregory the Great, in the late 6th century. Praying it together expresses the Communion that the sacrifice of Christ, in which we are participating, is establishing.
What is the Rite of Peace, which follows? The Church prays, efficaciously, for a growth in peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family.
Why a “Sign” of Peace? Because Christ, through His Self-gift, which we are intimately connected to through the Mass, has won the gifts of healing and peace for us from God the Father. The faithful express this, and its associated mutual charity, to each other.
What does the priest do whilst the “Lamb of God” is said or sung? He breaks the Sacred Host he has just consecrated (called the fractioning) and drops a small particle into the chalice (the commingling). This is a sign that in sharing in the one bread of life which is Christ we who are many are made one body. Describing Christ as the Lamb echoes the words of John the Baptist and the Book of Revelation.
Where do the words “Lord I am not worthy …” come from? The priest then holds up the Body of Christ saying "Behold the Lamb of God..." to which all respond "Lord, I am not worthy...". This acknowledgement of God's extraordinary grace to us and our own unworthiness is based on the words of the humble centurion (Matt 8:8).

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE MASS no.10

Instalment 9 was last June (24th, see our website) introducing the “Eucharistic Prayer”. Since then we’ve had no problem in finding relevant, exciting, enthralling etc. etc. things to put on the front of the newsletter (you didn’t notice?!!!), and so have kept putting off no. 10. Your great patience has paid off!

What is the structure of the Eucharistic prayer?

Each of the four possible Eucharistic Prayers (see 24th June newsletter on our website) contain the same basic elements, in one form or another. These are:
 Giving thanks and praise to God (the Preface and Sanctus as discussed earlier).
 Epiklesis, a Greek word meaning “invocation”, in which the Priest calls on God to send the Holy Spirit to change the bread & wine into the body and blood of Christ.
 The Institution Narrative: The priest retells the events of the Last Supper (e.g. “The day before he suffered he took bread in his sacred hands...”). The actual acting out of this narrative takes place over the whole Eucharistic Prayer.
 The Words of Consecration: “This is my body” and “This is the cup of my blood”. When the priest speaks these words, God transforms the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ – Christ is really present to us on the altar.
 Anamnesis (Greek for “remembering”), a solemn calling to mind of Christ's life, death and resurrection. Here we obey Christ's command to “do this in memory”.
 Offering of the sacrifice of Jesus to the Father and the offering of ourselves to God
 Intercessions: the sacrifice is offered on behalf of the whole Church, living and dead. We pray especially for the Pope and the Bishop as well as our community and ourselves. During the Eucharist Prayer we think too of the dead and pray for them also, that they may find peace in God's presence in heaven.
 The final doxology: a doxology is any short hymn of praise to God. All the Eucharistic Prayers conclude with the doxology “Through him, with him, in him...” said or sung by the priest alone. The people then respond “Amen”, showing the belief and assent to everything in the Eucharistic Prayer.

MIND THE GAP!

between two belief systems both claiming to be rational,
both attempting to convince others, but both cannot be true

Catholic Teaching
& Catholic Bishops’ Easter 2008 Government Belief
& 50 Top Medical Charities Etc

Strongly against Hybrid Embryo Bill Strongly in favour of Hybrid Embryo Bill

Believing that alleviating suffering is closely linked to fundamental dignity of every member of the human species. They go together and don’t work apart.
Believing in regulation of what is permissible case by case according to cultural norms. Absolute limits, irrespective of possible cures developed, are irrelevant.
At the heart of western civilization up to the 1960’s
Increasingly at the heart of the post-1960’s culture
Sees revelation through Church as inherent to healthy society, as can be shown by reason. Tends to see religious teaching, concerning absolute limits, as by non-rational and so not particularly relevant in public decision making


The distinction between Christ’s contemporary “But I say to you …” and our respectable political and medical establishment who deny a clear role to the Word of God in public life becomes clearer by the day.
This does not mean that our leaders are evil people whom we must disrespect. Their other opinions and actions might be very good, from which we can learn. It does mean that they are setting up a radically new basis to morality to the traditional Christian one. It has been called relativism and, in the rational opinion of classical Christianity, it is building a Brave New World upon sand. Sadly we should expect our “broken” society to further disintegrate.
Let us take up our Cross and take heart, for Christ is knocking at the door, already forgiving and beginning the rebuilding of his Kingdom.