Newsletter- 30th Week of Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” As we approach the end of the Church year, we are reminded this weekend on 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time that God’s way is one of humility, equality and perseverance in the pursuit of love.
The First Reading emphasises the Lord’s focus on the needs of the poor and the marginalised. God calls us to be persistent in our prayer and uncompromising in our quest for justice. This theme is continued in the Responsorial Psalm, which reminds us that the Lord always hears our prayers of pain and distress, and responds to petitions that seek to do good in the world.
The letter to Timothy reflects on the writer’s own ministry as a lesson to other followers of Christ (Second Reading). He encourages us to stand strong in the face of suffering, criticism and rejection, and to remain fixed on what is right and loving in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus (Gospel) offers a sobering illustration of the difference between what we in society uphold as noble, righteous and honourable, and the values of the Lord. God always sees through status and superficial expressions of faith and reminds us that we are all loved sinners and we come to him just as we are asking to be restored in his love.
As Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee year, we renew our commitment this weekend to sharing God’s compassion and care for all people. Let us strive for peace and justice in this world by reflecting this in our own behaviour to one another. We are reminded that we cannot do this on our own but must constantly seek the Lord’s loving guidance and strength.
Reception into Full Communion with the Catholic Church – This Tuesday evening, 28th October, on the Feast day of Saints Simon and Jude and during the parish Mass at 7 pm, it will be my great privilege and pleasure to receive Andrew Pritchard into Full Communion with the Catholic Church. Andrew will be well known to many of you already, he is the husband of Catherine, our lead catechist, and he has come regularly to Mass over the past four years offering to us his quiet worshipping presence. Andrew also volunteers with the Passage community here at St Mary’s. I am delighted Andrew has decided to take this next important step in his faith journey. Please keep him and his family in your prayers during the coming week and continue pray too for our other enquirers who are currently exploring the possibility of Reception into the Church. We are truly blessed to have such a good number in this parish!
Looking ahead to November: Month of the Holy Souls
Commissioning of Three New Eucharistic Ministers for our Parish – On Saturday 8th November at 11.30 am in the Cathedral of St Barnabas, Bishop Patrick will celebrate a special Mass for the Jubilee of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at which he will commission all the new Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion for the Diocese of Nottingham. We have three new Ministers going forward this year in our parish they are: Cecilia Collins, Darwin Agbay and Keith Streets. Please keep them in your prayers and pray too for the loyal band of Eucharistic Ministers who do so much to help to support me in my own ministry and in caring for the sick and housebound of our parish and assisting with Holy Communion during Mass. I am immensely grateful to each of them for giving of their precious time to this important ministry of service.
Monday 3rd November – All Souls’ – at 6.45 pm, we will celebrate a Parish Requiem Mass to commemorate All the Faithful Departed. On that evening there will be a period of Exposition from 6 pm, as we pray for our own dear dead and remember them before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This time of simple Adoration concludes with Benediction at 6.30 pm.
The November Dead List Envelopes, and printed sheets for writing the names of deceased family members and friends to be included in the envelope with a donation are now available in the entrance as you come into church. Your completed envelopes can either be given to me or dropped through the letter box of the Rectory or put in the collection plate at the weekend. The names of your deceased will then be placed in a basket close to the Altar from the Requiem Mass celebrated on All Souls and until the end of November. After which I will divide the names up into special Masses for the intentions of ‘The Holy Souls – November Dead List.’ These Masses will be offered by me throughout the year ahead.
Sunday 9th November – 2 pm – Annual Blessing of Graves – I invite you to come and join in a simple liturgy of prayer and intercession for the dead buried in our local cemetery as we bless the Catholic graves with holy water and pray for our friends, loved ones and past benefactors of the parish. Please meet promptly by the stone archway as you enter the main cemetery gates.
Remembrance Sunday – 9th November – The Vigil Mass on Saturday 8th November at 6.p.m. will be a Mass for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica as per the Ordo. On Sunday 9th November our Parish Mass at 9.30 a.m. will be a Requiem Mass in anniversario. At this Mass there will be an Act of Remembrance before the Final Blessing, and we shall keep Two Minutes Silence. We offer Mass on this day for all who died in the service of their country and for our freedom in the past two World Wars and all subsequent conflicts since and as we pray for peace in our troubled world of today.
With my prayers for you and for your families,
Your Parish Priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
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