English Mass at Sant Jordi

As the holiday season has now drawn to a close the last Mass in English at Sant Jordi church will be celebrated on Sunday 23rd October 2011.

After this date please check the blog or website for the location and time of Mass celebrated in English within the Archdiocese of Tarragona.

The Proper Reception of Holy Communion

On the Brotherhood website you can find a variety of useful leaflets. The latest of these is on how to receive Holy Communion in a fitting and proper manner.

Please click on the link below to be taken to this new leaflet
 
Receiving Holy Communion

Many people, for one reason or another, aren't sure the correct way to receive Holy Communion and so this leaflet by Father Stephen Brown is very helpful.

Friday Penance - Abstinence from Meat

On Friday 16 September 2011 the Bishops of England and Wales decided to re-establish the practice of Friday penance which is fulfilled by abstaining from meat and by uniting this to prayer.

Below is the link to a video recording from Will Desmond who states his reasons for abstaining from meat on Fridays and the positive effect that it has had on his life. It's good to listen to the voice of the Church and see Her rules and regulations not as restraints, but rather as ways of helping us become better Catholics and better human beings.

http://vimeo.com/29065709

Please highlight the above link and right click on "Open Link in New Tab" to be taken to the video.

Youth Catechism - YOUCAT

The new catechism aimed at young people has been published and is available from any good online book retailer, or direct from CTS of London, or Ignatius Press of America.

This is a fantastic resource which will greatly help in the re-evangelisation so urgently needed in the West. 

Why is it needed? Well, the crisis in the Church has also been that of Western civilization in general, the last half century has witnessed a loss of confidence in objective values, save perhaps that of empirical science. We have become sceptical about a lot of things, and that includes the Church, and so there was less and less emphasis on learning objective "facts" about God and more on how I personally experience God. 

Needless to say, when adults encountered adult problems their faith content was that of children from the last time they were catachized, say for Confirmation, and so they could only bring a child's knowledge of the things of God to bear on complex problems, hence many rejected the Faith, not because they knew what the Church taught, but rather because they didn't know.


With the new youth catechism we have a real chance of addressing this problem so that young people can both know about God and the Church, and so come to know and love God and His Church, and so find meaning for their lives and their eternal salvation.

New Translation of the Novus Ordo Mass celebrated for the first time

Today saw the first celebration of the newly revised Rite of Mass in English at Sant Jordi.  It was good to see that most people were prepared for the change due to the good catechetical preparation that so many parishes have done over the last few months.

The new translation is a vast improvement over what we had before seems to be the almost universal comment from those who were there.

Don't forget that Mass is celebrated in Sant Jordi church in Cap de Salou each and every Sunday at 12:30pm.

Cambrils TV programme and the Third Revised Edition of the Rite of Mass in English

Our programme this week on Cambrils TV looks at the introduction of the Third Revised Rite of Mass in English. You can view our programme on YouTube on the mcstarragona channel too.

From next Sunday, this will be the Rite of Mass used in Sant Jordi.

If you need updated prayer books or Mass response cards, just ask and we will order you some!

This video series is produced by some College students for Madrid World Youth Day 2011. The youth participating in the series explore a variety of important, contemporary issues and present their personal view on questions relevant to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Each video is 2 minutes or less in length and deal with topics such as abortion, divorce, euthanasia, premarital sex, homosexuality, celibacy, abuses, women priests, the riches of the Church. To read English subtitles for each video just click on the "CC" button.

Cambils TV Programme having a look at Catholic Devotions

As today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and tomorrow the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our TV programme looks at these two important Catholic devotions.

You can find the programme on YouTube channel mcstarragona 

Church Door is Fixed

An apology to all of you who came to Mass at Sant Jordi yesterday only to find that we couldn't get into the church for Mass!

I'm happy to say that the door has now been fixed and there should be no repeat of the problem.

So Mass will be on as usual in Sant Jordi at 12:30pm next Sunday (3rd July).

Our TV Programme is Changing

Due the success of the TV programme the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross produces in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Tarragona, it's timeslot will be increasing from 10 to 15 minutes each week.  We will be joined by a presenter from the Archdiocese, and Archbishop Jaume himself will present a feature each week on a topical issue.  


The new look programme will be aired from Saturday morning of the 3rd of July.


As always, you can view the programme via the Internet at the mcstarragona channel on YouTube.

Appropriate Attire for Mass

It's great to see so many people coming to Mass at Sant Jordi, but I want to use this opportunity that although the weather is hot we should still dress appropriately for the celebration of Mass.

Please don't come to Mass in beachwear, or T-shirts or tops with inappropriate slogans written on them.

Mass is a joyous, yet solemn celebration of the Lord's Sacrifice and so has an inherent dignity to it. We recognise that dignity outwardly by our clothing - smart, and not too casual; and bodily gestures - such as whispering to our neighbour, making the Sign of the Cross, bowing from the waist, and of course, genuflection to the Real Presence of Christ on the Altar and in the Tabernacle.

Cambrils TV Programme Aired This Morning

The Brotherhood's first TV programme for Cambrils TV aired this morning.


If you missed it, don't worry, as it's available on YouTube, just type in mcstarragona in YouTube's search box, or click on


http://youtube/TPcm0r9iKxo


Don't forget to check the channel each Saturday morning for a new broadcast of "Tarragona Catholic News and Views"!

Brotherhood's Cambrils TV Programme begins tomorrow!

In conjunction with the Archdiocese of Tarragona and local television station Cambrils TV, the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross has been commissioned to produce a series of 10 minute television programmes to be broadcast on Cambrils TV each Saturday morning, with the show repeated on a Sunday morning. The first programme will be aired tomorrow morning (Saturday 11th June 2011).


The programme will also be available on both Cambrils TV and Tarragona Archdiocese YouTube channels, and of course on our own website too. As well as these you can access their channel on the Web via Internet TV.


The progamme will be entitled "Tarragona Catholic News and Views" and will be in English and aimed at the English speaking Catholic audience situated primarily within the Costa Daurada region.

Historic First Mass

Our apostolate got off to a great beginning with the first ever Mass in the English language in Sant Jordi church, Cap de Salou, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord, 5th June.


Nineteen people were there for the celebration from six nations; Scotland, England, Ireland, Guatamala, Belgium and of course, Spain.  So it was truly an international gathering!


Our archbishop, His Grace Dr Jaume Puljol Balcells, sent a message of blessing to mark the occasion too.


Afterwards we enjoyed refreshments in the grounds of the church on a very pleasant sunny day and some good conversation.

The First English Mass is this Sunday 5th June

 

In association with the

This Sunday 5th June, our very first English language Mass will be celebrated in the church of Sant Jordi, c/de Donzell Mari 17, 43840 (Cap de) Salou at 12:30pm.

This apostolate is approved and strongly supported by the Archdiocese of Tarragona because tens of thousands of Catholics whose native language is neither Catalan nor Spanish holiday and live within this area of Catalunya, Spain. These people either speak English as their first language or would be more comfortable to come to Mass, receive the other Sacraments, or be catechised in English, although they first learned another language other than Catalan, Spanish or English.

This Mass will take place every Sunday in the same place and at the same time for the foreseeable future.

If you are resident in the area or just here on holiday, please come by and be part of this historic event.