Stay Connected
Online Resources to Help During Isolation

KEEPING IN TOUCH
This will be an OPPORTUNITY (Life always follows death) to be Church in other ways. I hope to help all families and individuals live their faith at home. Many Catholic Families (e.g. in China, or the Amazon or under ISIS rule do this all the time). It would be a big help to me and a huge advantage to YOU, if we have your email address via which we can keep in touch and send you prayers and other resources. If you DO NOT receive the newsletter via email, could you please send an email to the parish (we’ll keep it private) so that we can keep in touch.  Denis.

In the meantime, this page contains some resources to help you remain in prayer with the whole church while being at home.
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES FOR OUR PARISH
DAILY PRAYER & REFLECTION
Our Lady, Queen of Apostles Stafford Catholic Church
OTHER WAYS TO BE 'CHURCH'
Other ways to be “church” and live out your Faith (Remember Mass is the “summit and source” of your life, it’s not the “be all and end all” as if nothing else matters.)
  • Print out the parish newsletter and leave it in the letter box of an elderly or sick parishioner who does not have a computer (the same with other resources we send you).
  • Be considerate of others—do not ‘panic buy’ and horde more than you need from the shops.
  • Offer to shop/telephone / look out for elderly or sick neighbours who find it difficult/dangerous to leave home etc etc.
  • Let’s get the ‘buddy system’ working! We may not be able to share a smile or a handshake at the moment. Be the joy in someone’s day! Give someone a call. Don’t let physical isolation stop you from keeping in touch with each other. Have the younger members of the family set up a group chat. Continue the Lenten program on a group chat. Phone a friend and do the Examen prayer together. We can grow as a faith community each day. Please share with us what you are doing to stay in touch with one another. We would like to share some of your stories in the coming weeks.​
If you think of other ways we can be church together, email me and we can pass on the ideas to others or try to implement them as Parish.

Pope Francis's Prayer to Mary
​during the Pandemic

​O Mary, you always shine on our path as a sign of salvation and of hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm. You, Salvation of Your People, know what we need, and we are sure you will provide so that, as in Cana of Galilee, we may return to joy and to feasting after this time of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform to the will of the Father and to do as we are told by Jesus, who has taken upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows to lead us, through the cross, to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Prayer in this Time of Crisis

​ Almighty and all-merciful God,
lover of the human race, healer of all our wounds,
​in whom there is no shadow of death,
save us in this time of crisis;
grant wisdom and courage to our leaders;
watch over all medical people
as they tend the sick and work for a cure;
stir in us a sense of solidarity beyond all isolation;
if our doors are closed, let our hearts be open.
By the power of your love destroy the virus of fear,
that hope may never die
and the light of Easter, the triumph of life,
may shine upon us and the whole world.
Through Jesus Christ, the Lord risen from the dead,
​who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.