Our Lady & St Neot, Liskeard prepares for Pentecost

“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful with the fire of your love”.

Living life in the power of the Holy Spirit is at the very heart and essence of the Christian vocation. As we open our lives to this power, we will begin to manifest the fruits and gifts of the Spirit.

Pope Francis recently introduced this new feast day – the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church - which is celebrated on the Monday after the feast of Pentecost.

Mary was present at the key moments in Jesus’ life: his birth, during his ministry, at the foot of the cross and in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. She is both the model disciple and also teacher of how to treasure, ponder and pray on the mystery of Christ. Mary was present in the Upper Room and right at the very heart of the Church’s beginning. She remains at the heart of the Church and just as John took Mary into his home, so we must too. Mary teaches us to speak little, listen a lot and cherish the word of God in our hearts.

The Holy Spirit leads us to nurture a Marian piety; through saying the Rosary especially but also by studying the Scriptures that refer to Mary. She is always close to us, not just at the hour of our death but every moment, and we turn to her intercession and rejoice in her witness and example of faith.

“Mother, help our faith! Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. And may this light of faith always increase in us”.
{Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei}

This is very much at the heart of our Evangelisation in Liskeard. At our Exposition on Thursday 16th of May instead of the Divine Mercy Litany in honour of Mary we said The Rosary and Fatima prayer, for the intentions of a family new to our parish in Liskeard.
In April the Bethany group made flames for our Pentecost display in front of the altar, Our Lady altar and windows.

In May the Bethany group’s monthly theme was caring for our planet and restoration of nature as part of the Diocese Laudato Si week. We talked about and discussed how small actions can make a huge change. We also make pompoms to add to the Mossy Carpet mass participation artwork which was on display at the Cathedral of St Mary and St Boniface before moving on to other locations. Liskeard’s contribution was a peace dove carrying an olive branch in its beak.

The Mossy Carpet is a moss-inspired artwork that celebrates everyone’s steps towards a better world. Moss was the first plant to venture out of the sea and onto the barren land. Over millions of years, mosses have trapped energy and buried carbon deep beneath the surface, transforming our planet into a place where life could thrive. Each tiny moss reveals skills for using energy well and successful living. Persistence, resilience, simplicity, and adaptability. From mosses we gain hope as they return carbon to the earth. There is so much to learn from nature. Through a small moss plant, we are told tiny actions make a big difference. When we work together, we can bring abundance back to abandoned places.

Carbon looms large, it is the giant of our times. On our own, we can feel powerless, but when we work together, we can bury the giant. This artwork gives inspiration, comfort and hope. Creative activities help us to slow down, have better conversations, imagine new things, have fun and feel more connected.

​“God who gives us breath; We pray for the world we live in: that God may open our eyes to recognise the goodness of all creation and help us to do what we can to restore and care for the wonderful gift that we have been given. May he open our ears to hear his still small voice urging us to make good choices for this world. Amen” {CAFOD}