Thursday 21 April 2016

Happy Birthday Ma'am

Queen in Vatican

Today is the ninetieth birthday of Her Majesty The Queen. We wish Her Majesty every happiness, and pray that she may continue to reign over us for many years to come.

On Sunday 12th June, when Her Majesty's Birthday will be celebrated officially,  the Prayer for The Queen will be sung or said after all Masses, at the request of the Bishops and England and Wales.  After the High Mass, there will be a 'Street Party' in front of the Parish Centre.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with Saint John XXIII:jxxiii

Visiting Saint John Paul II:jpii

Here is the text of the resolution of the Bishops' Conference:

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales

Plenary Resolutions: April 2016

Statement on HM The Queen’S 90th Birthday

The Bishops’ Conference establishes that, at all Sunday Masses on 11-12 June 2016, each parish prays for Her Majesty The Queen to mark her 90th birthday by including such an intention in the Bidding Prayers and by reciting at the end of Mass (after the Prayer after Communion and before the Final Blessing) the Prayer for The Queen as follows:

V. O Lord, save Elizabeth, our Queen.
R. And hear us on the day we call upon you.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come before you.

V. The Lord be with you. R. And with your spirit.

Almighty God, we pray,
that your servant Elizabeth, our Queen,
who, by your providence has received the governance of this realm, may continue to grow in every virtue,
that, imbued with your heavenly grace,
she may be preserved from all that is harmful and evil
and, being blessed with your favour
may, with her consort and the royal family,
come at last into your presence,
through Christ who is the way, the truth and the life
and who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen

Further, the Bishops’ Conference recommends to our parishes the circulation and use of the booklet ‘The Servant Queen and the King she serves’.

Copies of this excellent book have already been made available in our church, and snapped up by the faithful. Should you wish to order more, they are available here:

https://www.cpo.org.uk/range.aspx?range=4971&cat=3750&prod=V4971BT