THE HOLY TRINITY

The Church continues to invite us to celebrate some notable feasts, even though we are back in Ordinary Time liturgically. The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity follows naturally from our celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit last weekend. The God in whom we put our faith was revealed to us by Jesus of Nazareth and it was he who spoke to us of his Father in heaven and of the Spirit, whom he would send to lead us to the truth. They are one and we are being invited to be one with them.

At the Holy Communion Masses this year I have stressed the wonder of how this happens. Our prayer at Mass, as indeed in all the sacraments, is that the Holy Spirit will make Jesus present so that he may live in us and thereby unite us with his Father. In the Eucharist he literally feeds us with himself.

Please pray for the families of the remaining 26 children in our parish who are making their First Holy Communion this weekend. May they experience the joy of this special occasion. Likewise, may we all rejoice that the Lord continues to sustain us with this gift of himself throughout our lives. Next Sunday we will be celebrating this gift as a community because it is the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Fr Tim -  MY RECORDED MESSAGE:

If you listen to my recorded message, you will realise how pressurised life continues to be and how badly we need volunteers to train for ministries.

The Funeral Ministry is a particularly urgent one, in that Bernard Kean has decided to retire at the end of September. He and Deborah Poole (in Bishop Eton) have supported countless families over recent years. I am immensely grateful to them for their outstanding service. If we are to continue to care for one another, we will need much more help. Bernard Kean is a little older than I am and, as you know, there are no clergy in the wings waiting to take over!

CONFIRMATION PREPARATION:

In my efforts to reach out to those who may have missed out in previous years plus our own young people in Year 8, I fear I may have created more problems than I have solved. With half-term on the horizon, I realise that we still have not organised anything for those who did not attend the sessions at St Julie’s. Accordingly, after a quick consultation with a couple of our catechists I have decided that we will have the first of two preparation sessions this coming Friday evening (May 24^th) between 6.30 and 8:00pm in the Fisher-More Hall. A second session will be negotiated with the candidates at that session. I do hope that this will be convenient for everyone.

A CHALLENGING WEEK:

Unfortunately, Hayley Metcalfe, the parish administrator at Bishop Eton has been on sick leave during the past week. We have been trying hard to ensure that everything which needs covering has been covered, but it may be that you have not received a response to a request. Meanwhile, we crave your patience and understanding if certain matters have had to be put on hold.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION:

This weekend we have the first three of our special First Holy Communion Masses at Bishop Eton. Please pray for the forty-two children who will be receiving Our Lord for the first time and for their families. May it be an occasion they will never forget, a memory that will not become nostalgic, but be a permanent reminder that we have a God who describes himself as the Bread of Life.

PENTECOST SUNDAY:

May the Gifts of the Holy Spirit enrich us, strengthening, consoling and comforting us as we face the continuing ups and downs of our daily lives.

THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION:

This leads me neatly to the preparation of our young people wishing to be Confirmed this year. I realise that in my efforts to reach out and support them that I have created some confusion with regard to the preparation programme. In the next few days we will have some definite dates for those who have not attended the sessions at St Julie’s. I also hope, during the coming weeks, to be able to check with each family personally and ensure that everything is now in order.

THE NOVENA:

Once again, we have entered those NINE DAYS (NOVENA) between the Feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost, when we think of the apostles “together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers”, waiting “in continuous prayer” for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Our Redemptorist Provincial, Fr Richard Reid, has reminded us of what a special time this was for our founder, Saint Alphonsus. So, may I propose that during these days, ALL OF US simply say several times each day: “COME HOLY SPIRIT.” Jesus promised that the Spirit would lead us to the truth. Amidst so much duplicity and deceit, especially among those entrusted with leadership in our world, we need to know the truth. Accordingly, we recall how Jesus responded to Thomas’s confusion about what way he was to follow: “I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.” The Spirit leads us to Jesus, makes Jesus present for us. You know that I repeatedly ask you to think about the significance of the laying on of hands in the sacraments: the symbol that points to the descent of the Spirit, filling us with the life (the new resurrected life) of Christ. In recent times I have been able to share with you some powerful personal experiences of the providence of God, of the Spirit moving among us, strengthening us and comforting us. Let us pray that we will all experience an outpouring of the Spirit in these days. We all need strengthening, we all need comforting, we all need the peace that only comes when Jesus is truly living in us.

THE PRAYER:

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

ASCENSION DAY:

This Thursday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension and accordingly we offer you the extra Masses now that the bishops have returned the celebration from the following Sunday to the day itself.

MISSIO (THE POPE’S OFFICIAL CHARITY FOR THE MISSIONS OVER SEAS):

We owe a great debt of gratitude to Ann Monaghan, who has supervised the red mission boxes for Bishop Eton for the last 25 years. However, she is now resident in Spain and is unable to continue this work. Accordingly, I am appealing to someone to volunteer to take on this role. It maybe that a group of you could share the work. Hayley has all the necessary information to share with those who may be willing to offer their services. You may recall that not long ago we had a visiting preacher congratulating our parishes on their commitment to this work.