South Cardiff Ministry Area

Connect | 1 April 2026

Published every Wednesday

Connecting you to the churches of South Cardiff Ministry Area across Butetown, Grangetown and Splott. Our vision is to be a creative and resourceful community which is welcoming, faithful and just!

This Week

Holy Week is now fully underway and we’re looking forward to the Sacred Triduum (Latin for “three days”) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. These days are the high point of the Christian year and are full of symbolism, power and drama.

Then of course we look forward to the great celebration of Easter, including a new dawn service in Grangetown to welcome Easter Day.

There’s also news about a new young people’s group in Grangetown, a new edition of the South Cardiff Calendar, and information about the various Walsingham Pilgrimages.

Keep scrolling to find out more!

Holy Week

Holy Week is the most important week of the Church year, as we commemorate and celebrate the saving passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The week begins with Palm Sunday, and in all our churches we commemorate the entrance of a Jesus into Jerusalem, with the blessing of palms and procession.

Maundy Thursday begins the three great days (The Holy Triduum) with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper with washing of feet, as Jesus did on this night, giving us an example of service, and the mandatum to love one another as he has loved us. The Mass is followed by a watch until midnight.

Good Friday is the most solemn day when we commemorate Jesus’ death on the Cross with the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at 3pm.

Holy Saturday is a day of waiting, and our churches are decorated ready for the Easter celebrations.

Then in the evening of Holy Saturday we proclaim Easter in a joyful way with the Easter Vigil, the Queen of Festivals.

As Sunday is to our week, so the Easter Vigil is to our year.

We encourage all to participate as much as possible, particularly the three great liturgies of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil

Details of all our liturgies are given below:

Lenten Charity

An important part of Lent is charitable giving and our Lenten charity this year is Christian Aid.

We are asking that any offerings be presented at the Maundy Thursday Mass clearly identifying which church congregation you are part of.

St Saviour’s Easter Raffle

Tickets are now available at St Saviours for our Easter raffle which will be drawn on Sunday 12 April. All proceeds to St Saviours Church!

Grangetown Rising!

A new initiative for this year! Join us for a short service at dawn on Easter Day at the summit of Grangemoor Park in Grangetown, which overlooks the city of Cardiff.

We will hold a short service to greet Easter Day and offer a blessing over our city. You’re invited to meet at the entrance of Asda in the Cardiff Bay Retail Park at 6am to walk to the summit. Afterwards we will enjoy coffee and pastries.

Shine Club

Our school holiday activity morning for children and young people – Shine Club – is taking place on Tuesday 7 April in St Dyfrig & St Samson.

We gather at 11am and will be exploring the Easter story through games, songs, and activities. The morning concludes with a free lunch, and all are welcome.

Thrive at Five youth group

A new group for young people is being launched after Easter. Thrive At Five is taking place on Sunday 12 April from 5-6.30pm in St Paul’s Community Hall, and then on the second Sunday of the month going forward.

The group arose out of the recent Confirmation classes that were held, but it is open to any young people in year 5 of school or older. We’ll explore the Christian faith in a fun way and conclude the evening with free pizza. All welcome!

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

An ornate golden monstrance sits on an altar inside a church with sunlit windows.

It’s so important to find space for silent prayer in the midst of our busy lives, but it’s also very hard to find that space! To provide an opportunity for this, a monthly time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament will begin in April, in St Dyfrig & St Samson’s.

The first occasion will be Monday 13 April, from 5.45pm-6.15pm, followed by the usual 6.30pm mass. It will then take place at this time on the second Monday of every month.

Do come along and join us for some quiet time with Jesus.

Grangetown Consultation

St Paul’s and St Dyfrig & St Samson’s churches in Grangetown are working together to understand what really matters to our community.

A short survey (about 5 minutes) is available and will help us learn how we can serve and support our neighbourhood better.

You can fill in the survey anonymously or leave your details so we can contact you to follow up on your ideas. Your data will not be shared with anyone else and will be deleted after 12 months.

If you prefer you can fill in the survey online at bit.ly/grangetownsurvey

Dates for your diary

Here is a new-look South Cardiff Calendar, with details of lots of upcoming events and activities across our Ministry Area. Make sure you put everything down in your diary so that you don’t miss anything!

There will be more details about these events in future editions of Connect.

This is also available on our website here.

Walsingham 2026

Bookings are now open for the Walsingham Pilgrimage 2026 which takes place from July 20- 23 2026.

You can either book directly online or give your £50 deposit and details to Georgina Partidge, Liz Norman or the clergy.

WALSINGHAM PILGRIMAGE 2026

Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage

Young people aged 11-18 are invited to join us for the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage from 3-7 August.

Around 500 young people from all over the UK camp in a field just outside the village of Walsingham. Worship takes place in a large marquee led by the excellent worship band CJM. There are also lots of different activities for young people to take part in during the week.

As part of the Welsh camp, all tents are provided and you will be fully catered for. All you need to bring is a sleeping bag, air bed, clothes and toiletries. For more information, please contact Fr Richard and also take a look at the link below to find out more.

WALSINGHAM YOUTH PILGRIMAGE

Worship for the Week Ahead

Mass is celebrated each day across our churches. Here’s our pattern of prayer for the week ahead.

Wednesday 1 April | Wednesday of Holy Week
10.00am: Mass at St Paul's 
11.00am: Mass at St Mary's 
6.30pm: Mass at St Saviour's

Thursday 2 April | Maundy Thursday
7.30pm:  Sung Mass of the Lord's Supper with Washing of Feet, Procession to the Altar of Repose and Watch until Midnight at St Saviour's

Friday 3 April | Good Friday
10.00am: Family Service at St Paul's
3.00pm: Liturgy of the Day at Ss Dyfrig & Samson 

Saturday 4 April | Easter Eve
8.00pm: Easter Vigil & First Mass of Easter at St Mary's

Sunday 5 April | Easter Day 
9.30am:  Sung Mass at Ss Dyfrig & Samson
9.30am:  Sung Mass at St Saviour’s
11.00am: Sung Mass at St Paul's
11.00am: Solemn Mass at St Mary's

Monday 6 April | Monday in the Octave of Easter
10.00am:  Mass at Ss Dyfrig & Samson

Tuesday 7 April | Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
6.30pm:  Mass at St Mary’s

You can discover more about our regular pattern of worship through the week at

WORSHIP

United in Prayer

WE PRAY FOR a faithful keeping of the Holy Triduum and a joyful Easter to come.

WE PRAY FOR peace in the Middle East.

WE PRAY FOR a spirit of respect and tolerance within our society.

For more prayer resources, check out our ‘Day by Day’ pages which includes prayers for various times and occasions.

Day by Day

Funerals

Wednesday 1 April at 1130am at St Paul’s (Freda Dite)

Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Clergy contacts

Ministry Area Leader and Priest for St Mary’s and St Saviour’s: Fr Dean Atkins

07368 176300 | deanjatkins@outlook.com

Ministry Area Vicar and Priest for St Paul’s and Ss Dyfrig & Samson: Fr Richard Green

0333 301 1850 | RichardGreen@cinw.org.uk

Keep in touch

To receive news and updates in your inbox, sign up here:

Love Community

In the gospel reading today, the community of disciples appears to be fractured and fragile. Our dreams for true community begins with living what we hope to change. Here’s today’s reflection from Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: The readings for the Tuesday of Holy Week, can be found here.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was executed at Flossenburg concentration camp in 1945, wrote, “Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community.”

We may have a dream for the church and imagine what it could or should be really like, but, if we take Bonhoeffer’s words seriously, then it must begin with a love of the church, whisky acknowledging its sinfulness and weaknesses.

In the gospel reading, at the heart of the celebration from which we receive the sacrament of unity and communion, there is a very real sense of fear and foreboding, self doubt and questioning. Jesus himself is troubled in spirit, and each of his disciples become suspicious of the other. They eye up one another as potential threats and even Peter, who seems so self assured, has the rug pulled from under him. The community of Jesus’ disciples seems fragile.

We live in a society which is so often divided, where we can suspiciously eye up people who are different from us, look for someone to blame for all the problems in society whilst we are distracted from what the real problems might be. How can we, as the Christian community, dismantle the barriers which exist, and model the kind of relationships which bring unity, hope and love? How can we have the kind of conversations which are respectful, choosing our words carefully, listening to others and learning from them? Perhaps it begins with being more self aware and certainly with taking the posture which Jesus adopted— stooping to wash feet, and laying down our lives as servants, loving one another as he has loved us.

Mass today is at S Mary’s Church at 630pm

DAY BY DAY

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.

What’s it worth?

In the gospel reading today, Judas thinks Mary is wasteful, but their perspectives on life are quite different. Here’s today’s reflection from Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: The readings for the Monday of Holy Week, can be found here.

Pablo Picasso, the surrealist painter who died in 1973 is reputed to have said, “I’d like to live as a poor man with plenty of money.” A contradiction if ever there was one.

Incidentally, he died without leaving a will which meant that a feud soon began amongst his family members, including his three illegitimate children. They finally reached an agreement of how his $240 million estate would be divided.

In the gospel reading, Judas Iscariot is eyeing up the value of the expensive ointment in the hands of Mary. We are told that he often dipped his hand into the common fund and had no real concern for the poor, despite saying they it would be better if the ointment had been sold and the money give to the poor. We can only imagine why and how Mary came into possession of the perfume, or what her plans were for it but Mary’s life has been changed by Jesus, and she contradicts what’s Judas thinks is important. She is bold and courageous. She is generous and loving. She holds nothing back from Jesus, and as she anoints his feet, the whole room is filled with the sweet aroma of what she has done.

Our life is often full of contradictions. We say one thing, and do another. We believe one thing, but our belief isn’t always expressed in how we act or respond to others. We may want to live simply and yet litter our lives with so many things we don’t need. We may have a hope or an ambition but do nothing to realise it. Mary’s actions give an example of authentic faith and living, full of love and generosity. Her perspective on life has been changed by Jesus. May we recognise the true value of everything and discover afresh what it means to place Jesus at the heart of our lives, pouring out our love upon him and filling the world with sweetness.

Mass today is at S Dyfrig and S Samson Church at 630pm

DAY BY DAY

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.

God’s inclusive vision

Our world loves to erects barriers and boundaries between peoples, nations and groups. God’s vision for the world is far more inclusive – Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from mass.

Readings for Saturday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

Milton Keynes, Harlow, Stevenage, Skelmersdale. These are just a few of the so-called “New Towns” created in Britain in the years following World War Two. The idea was to offer people a place to live designed from scratch, as an escape from overcrowded cities which had developed more haphazardly. One of the concepts of the New Towns was for them to be “open plan” – no walls or fences between properties, to encourage community and neighbourliness. Opinions, of course, vary on the success of the New Towns. But the radical nature of the ideas reminds us how ingrained is the human desire to put up walls and barriers around our little bit of territory – whether it be home, nation, or community.

Our readings today present to us the inclusive vision that God has for his people and his world, where barriers begin to break down. Ezekiel looks forward to a time when God will restore his people from exile in foreign lands to their own nation. The division which existed before, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, will be no more. “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people”, the prophet reports God as saying. This vision goes further in today’s Gospel. Caiaphas makes the unwitting prophecy that Jesus should be sacrificed to save the nation of Israel. But then the Gospel writer says that Jesus’ death would be about more than this – it will also “gather into one the children of God”. Just as the curtain in the Temple was torn in two at the moment of Jesus’ death, so are the divisions between peoples are broken down by his atoning sacrifice.

Our world today, it seems, is becoming increasingly divided. People are keen to retreat behind their self-made borders and boundaries, and pull up the drawbridge. In the midst of this, the Church needs to model what an inclusive community looks like, where God’s love is proclaimed and shared to everyone without distinction.

Mass today is at St Mary’s at 11.30am (with Stations of the Cross at 11am).

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, then check out our Day By Day pages.

When opposition comes

Proclaiming God’s message to the world will not always be popular. What are we to do when we encounter hostility or opposition? Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Friday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

It’s a truism that politics nowadays is more divisive and angry than ever, fuelled in part by social media. There’s one commentator on YouTube who taps into this phenomenon, but with a twist. He invites those opposed to him to come on his channel and debate with him. They tend to attack him quite viciously, questioning his motives and calling him all sorts of names. Somehow, in the face of all of this, he just sits there, quite calmly, and never responds in kind. Gently, but firmly, he puts his point of view through argument not insult. Occasionally his opponents are won over by this approach and calm down. Often it makes no difference, but he carries on, seemingly undeterred and unflappable.

In our first reading, Jeremiah is feeling harangued and attacked by his opponents, but unlike the YouTuber he has not invited this, nor does he relish it. “‘Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ say all my close friends, watching for my fall”, says Jeremiah. The reason that Jeremiah is being attacked is quite simply that he is proclaiming God’s message, and the people do not like what they are hearing. Jeremiah challenged their complacency and their sinfulness and tried to lead them back to God. The people and their leaders, however, thought they were doing just fine. In a similar, way, Jesus repeatedly came into conflict with the religious leaders of his day. Today the Jewish leaders try to stone him for whey regard as blasphemy, him claiming to be God. Again, there is a challenge to their ideas, to the status quo, which they cannot accept.

Part of the church’s calling is to be a prophetic voice to society today. We are to challenge conventional wisdom where it conflicts with God’s ways. This can lead to opposition and criticism, which is never easy to take. Both Jeremiah and Jesus continue their mission despite the attacks they face. Jeremiah is convinced that “the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero”; Jesus calmly states his case to the Jewish leaders. May we likewise have that serene trust in God so that we might preach the Word of God whether it is popular or not.

Mass today is in St Saviour’s at 10am.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our Day By Day pages.

What’s in a name?

Names are important in the Bible, often indicating a person’s calling or mission. If we were to adopt a name based on how God wants us to serve him, what would it be? Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Thursday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

Names are important things – they cement our identity and give us a sense of who we are, either when we introduce ourselves to others or are addressed by them. Nowadays names are given to babies on the basis of what the parents happen to like, but in former times they described an attribute or occupation of the person concerned. It’s often fun to look up the meaning of names to see how well they apply to the ones who bear them. Just to take some random examples, Dean comes from the Latin Decanus, meaning a person in charge of 10 others. Jeffrey is a form of Godfrey, meaning “God’s peace”. Richard means “strong leader” in Old French while Martin comes from Mars, the Roman God of war.

In our first reading God changes Abram’s name as a result of the covenant God makes with him. He is now to be called Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude of nations”. This name is in part related to Abraham’s vocation, but it is mainly about God’s vision for the world. His love and providence is not confined to one family or nation, but extends to all people everywhere. In the Gospel, Jesus claims the divine name of “I Am” which God revealed to Moses in the Book of Exodus. This assertion of divinity, both through the name “I Am” and saying that he existed before Abraham, causes the Jewish leaders to try and stone him for blasphemy. But as with Abraham, this alternate name for Jesus – “I Am” – tells us something about what God is doing in the world. He reveals himself to us in human form, in the man Jesus, whose glory comes not from himself but from the Father.

Whatever our name, and whatever it means, let us reflect on how God’s purposes are being fulfilled through us. What is our particular vocation, the way in which we are being called to serve him in the world? If we were to be given a holy nickname, what would it be, reflecting how we are seeking to make his love known to everyone?

Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson at 10am.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, then check out our Day By Bay pages.

Connect | 25 March 2026

Published every Wednesday

This Week

We’re particularly looking ahead towards Holy Week which begins this Sunday with Palm Sunday.

During the last full week of Lent, there are the final Stations of the Cross, Lent Lunch, updates on our Lent course, and news about the Chrism Masses.

Further ahead there’s information about the various Walsingham Pilgrimages.

Keep scrolling to find out more!

Holy Week

Holy Week is the most important week of the Church year, as we commemorate and celebrate the saving passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The week begins with Palm Sunday, and in all our churches we commemorate the entrance of a Jesus into Jerusalem, with the blessing of palms and procession.

Good Friday is the most solemn day when we commemorate Jesus’ death on the Cross with the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at 3pm.

Holy Saturday is a day of waiting, and our churches are decorated ready for the Easter celebrations.

Then in the evening of Holy Saturday we proclaim Easter in a joyful way with the Easter Vigil, the Queen of Festivals.

As Sunday is to our week, so the Easter Vigil is to our year.

We encourage all to participate as much as possible, particularly the three great liturgies of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil

Details of all our liturgies are given below:

Act on Poverty

Our Lent course, Christian Aid’s “Act on Poverty” may be over but that’s not the end of the story.

As we discovered on Tuesday in our last session, it’s a springboard for action. We came up with a way ahead and will be exploring these in the months to come.

We were joined by Jenny Weaver, Church Engagement and fundraising officer for Christian Aid Wales

Lenten Charity

An important part of Lent is charitable giving and our Lenten charity this year is Christian Aid.

Offertory boxes are available in all our churches. If possible, please present any offerings at the Maundy Thursday Mass clearly identifying which church congregation you are part of.

Stations of the Cross

This week is the last of our Lenten Stations of the Cross at St Mary’s on Saturday at 11am

We have many resources online that you can use at home. Why not check out this “Just Stations of the Cross” published a few years ago.

Just Stations of the Cross

Lent Lunches

Our final Lent lunch takes place this Saturday at 12noon in St Dyfrig and St Samson.

Lunch is £8 and all proceeds are going to the charity Smile Train, which supports children suffering with a cleft.

Grangetown Consultation

St Paul’s and St Dyfrig & St Samson’s churches in Grangetown are working together to understand what really matters to our community.

A short survey (about 5 minutes) is available and will help us learn how we can serve and support our neighbourhood better.

You can fill in the survey anonymously or leave your details so we can contact you to follow up on your ideas. Your data will not be shared with anyone else and will be deleted after 12 months.

If you prefer you can fill in the survey online at bit.ly/grangetownsurvey

St Saviour’s Easter Raffle

Tickets are now available at St Saviours for our Easter raffle which will be drawn on Sunday 12 April. All proceeds to St Saviours Church!

Grangetown Rising!

A new initiative for this year! Join us for a short service at dawn on Easter Day at the summit of Grangemoor Park in Grangetown, which overlooks the city of Cardiff.

Chrism Masses

The Chrism Mass is where the holy oils for the year are blessed, and when clergy reaffirm their priestly vows.

If you would like a seat on the coach to the Bishop of Oswestry’s Mass in Bathwick on Saturday 28 March, then please see Glyn Perryman or Fr Dean.

Bishop Mary’s Chrism Mass takes place on Monday 30th March at 11am. All are invited.

Walsingham 2026

Bookings are now open for the Walsingham Pilgrimage 2026 which takes place from July 20- 23 2026.

You can either book directly online or give your £50 deposit and details to Georgina Partidge, Liz Norman or the clergy.

WALSINGHAM PILGRIMAGE 2026

Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage

Young people aged 11-18 are invited to join us for the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage from 3-7 August.

WALSINGHAM YOUTH PILGRIMAGE

Worship for the Week Ahead

Mass is celebrated each day across our churches. Here’s our pattern of prayer for the week ahead.

Wednesday 25 March | Annunciation of the Lord
10.00am: Mass at St Paul's with St Paul's School
11.00am: Mass at St Mary's with St Mary's School

Thursday 26 March
10.00am:  Mass at Ss Dyfrig & Samson

Friday 27 March
10.00am: Mass at St Saviour’s 

Saturday 28 March
10.50am: Morning Prayer at St Mary's
11.00am: Stations of the Cross at St Mary's
11.30am Mass at St Mary's
12 noon: Sacrament of Reconciliation

Sunday 29 March | Palm Sunday 
9.30am:  Sung Mass at Ss Dyfrig & Samson
9.30am:  Sung Mass at St Saviour’s
11.00am: Sung Mass at St Paul's
11.00am: Solemn Mass at St Mary's

Monday 30 March | Monday of Holy Week
6.30pm:  Mass at Ss Dyfrig & Samson

Tuesday 31 March | Tuesday of Holy Week
6.30pm:  Mass at St Mary’s

You can discover more about our regular pattern of worship through the week at

WORSHIP

United in Prayer

WE PRAY FOR the work of Christian Aid, as it campaigns against poverty, and responds to those in need throughout the world.

WE PRAY FOR a good and faithful Holy Week to come.

WE PRAY FOR those who work with the bereaved, for funeral directors and counsellors, and our own ministry to the bereaved.

For more prayer resources, check out our ‘Day by Day’ pages which includes prayers for various times and occasions.

Day by Day

Funerals

Thursday 26 March at 1130am at Ss Dyfrig and Samson (Clare Chelmis)

Thursday 26 March at 230pmSt Mary’s (Kathleen O’Neil)

Wednesday 1 April at 1130am at St Paul’s (Freda Dite)

Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Clergy contacts

Ministry Area Leader and Priest for St Mary’s and St Saviour’s: Fr Dean Atkins

07368 176300 | deanjatkins@outlook.com

Ministry Area Vicar and Priest for St Paul’s and Ss Dyfrig & Samson: Fr Richard Green

0333 301 1850 | RichardGreen@cinw.org.uk

Keep in touch

To receive news and updates in your inbox, sign up here:

The Cross of healing

Fr Richard reflects on the great paradox at the heart of our faith – the Cross, an instrument of torture and suffering, becomes the means of healing and salvation for all.

Readings for Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

At this time of the year, my mind always goes back to March 2020 – now 6 years ago – and the tumultuous early days of the Covid pandemic. Life changed so dramatically, and we all became familiar with terms such as “lockdown”, “social distancing” and “Zoom call”. One of the great successes of that period was the swift development of a Covid vaccine. I’m sure we all remember queuing up in some hall or centre to get our jab in the arm. The remarkable thing about a vaccine is that it often uses a portion of the virus – the harmful thing – in order to give protection.

It is curious, you might think, that God commands Moses to make a bronze serpent – the very animal that had been poisoning the people – in order to bring them healing. But often we need to come face to face with the thing that is causing us harm in order to overcome it. Jesus could be alluding to the story of Moses and the bronze serpent when he says “When you have lifted up the Son of Man …” Earlier in John’s Gospel he uses similar language when he refers to that story more explicitly: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up”. In both cases, the term “lifted up” has a double meaning. In one sense Jesus will literally be lifted up, nailed to a Cross, like the serpent on a pole, for all to see. But “lifted up” also means “exalted”. Here is the great paradox of our faith: Jesus is glorified through suffering. He brings healing – not just physical healing this time, but cosmic healing – by confronting the very things which cause so much suffering, namely sin, evil and death.

As Holy Week draws ever closer, let us give thanks that in Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross the instrument of torture becomes the instrument of salvation. As his servants in the world, let us all pledge to be instruments of his healing, bringing the saving message of the Cross to all those who so desperately need to receive it.

Mass today is in St Mary’s at 6.30pm.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our Day By Day pages.

Power and truth

Power can sometimes be used to dominate or abuse the vulnerable while serving the interests of the powerful themselves. As Christians we sometimes need to speak the truth to power. Fr Richard reflects on today’s reading from Mass.

Readings for Monday of the fifth week of Lent can be found here.

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. That famous line was written by John Dalberg-Acton, also known as Lord Acton. What is less well known is that Acton wrote it in a letter to the Anglican bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887. Creighton had objected to what he saw as the modern tendency to criticise authority figures. Acton disagreed – he argued it was important to hold those with power accountable. Though a Roman Catholic, he wrote that even the Pope should not be immune from criticism if he had erred.

In our readings today we see those who wield power using it for corrupt ends. The story of Susanna could be a modern-day case of the abuse of a vulnerable woman by powerful men. They desire her, and so decide that they shall get what they want. First the men try blackmail to get their way and when this doesn’t work they resort to lies to protect themselves and destroy Susanna. The Gospel reading features another woman whose fate is in the hands of powerful men. Unlike Susanna this woman has done wrong. Yet the Pharisees seek to abuse their power as religious leaders by using her case to test Jesus. They are not interested in morality but rather in finding something to use against Jesus. The woman’s life is just a pawn in their game.

Both women survive, but how are the abuses of power exposed? In the case of Susanna it is down to the bravery of Daniel who is prepared to speak out and expose the lies of the leaders. In the Gospel Jesus reveals the hypocrisy of the Pharisees by asking someone who has never sinned to cast the first stone. For him, the mercy, compassion and love of God is far more powerful than the grandstanding of the leaders. Increasingly, we are living in an age when politicians are speaking on matters of faith and religion. Often this is not borne of a desire to seek after the truth, but to consolidate their own power. May we have the courage to speak out when we see the abuse of power taking place, and so allow the love of God to shine through in every situation.

Mass today is in St Dyfrig and St Samson, Grangetown, at 6.30pm

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our Day By Day pages.

Wise Words

How quick we are to judge? How easily do we participate in gossip and rumour? Do we care about the truth? Here’s today’s reflection from Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: The readings for Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent, can be found here

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about,” wrote Oscar Wilde in his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray published in 1890.

PT Barnum, the American showman, took this further, when he infamously said, “All publicity is good publicity,” although perhaps celebrities are discovering how difficult it is sometimes to manipulate every piece of publicity to their own advantage, leading instead to the downfall of some, as we live in a society where people are so easily “cancelled.”

In today’s gospel reading, rumours are circulating about Jesus and everyone seems to have an opinion about him. On this occasion, it is his words which impress and astound his listeners. “We have never heard anyone speak like this,” some say. His words though have angered some, who believe they have every cause to bring him in and question him. Nicodemus speaks sense into the situation. He asks, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” Jesus has certainly caused a stir.

Today, we often witness “trial by media” or “trial by social media” when someone’s misdemeanour is prematurely judged, and they are found guilty by rumour and speculation. How do we respond to such things? Are we quick to make a judgement? Do we speculate without any evidence? The mainstream media is often called to take more responsibility, and over the years, laws have changed to support this. Likewise, each of us must also live responsibly, watching our words and sometimes bridling our tongue.

Meanwhile, there is one message we can keep alive, as we pass on the good news of Jesus, not only with our words but by how we live.

Mass today is at S Mary’s Church at 1130am

DAY BY DAY

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.