Newsletter- 21st Week of Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners
This weekend, the readings at Mass invite us to look beyond our own surroundings and often narrow horizons and to reflect on the diversity and universality of Christ’s Church.
In the First Reading, Isaiah, seeking to encourage the people of Israel after their return from exile, assures them that ‘the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues’ to see the Lord’s glory. The short Responsorial Psalm calls on all peoples and nations to praise their ever-faithful Lord. For the writer of the letter to the Hebrews (Second Reading), being a son or daughter of God involves behaving as a child should, accepting a parent’s discipline, so that they can later enjoy ‘the peaceful fruit of righteousness’. The Gospel takes the ideas of the First Reading even further. We are reminded that belonging to a particular faith community will not in itself guarantee our being able to enter the ‘narrow door’. People from all nations will be accepted to share the banquet of the Lord.
We at St Mary’s are very privileged to have a congregation drawn from many different nations of the world. We have a beautiful diversity and richness to our worship here in this community and it reminds us to of the universal nature of the Catholic Church. As Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee Year, let us pray that people from every nation might be treated with dignity and find a welcome as they seek peace and a place of safety, not least in our own country. We remember especially those trying to escape the evils of modern slavery and we pray too for the areas of our world where there is continued warfare and violence. We pray this week for peace in our broken and fractured world and for an end to hatred and prejudice in our own country too. May the love which we find in God help us to be more caring and tolerant of one another and to see through the eyes of faith the richness and beauty our cultural differences can bring to the Church and to the wider community around us.
Many within our parish are still away for their summer holidays visiting friends and family at home and abroad, many of our regular volunteers and servers are also away, this means that at times our Sunday Liturgies will continue to be a little simpler than normal.
We warmly welcome this week all our visitors attending Mass in our parish. Please do make yourself known to me at the door after Mass. It is a great pleasure to welcome you into our parish community, and I hope you will enjoy your stay in the locality.
During this past week many more of our young people will have received their long-awaited exam results. Whether you got the grades you wanted or not, all is not lost I promise! We continue to keep you in our prayers as you look now towards the future. Sometimes the Lord can surprise us with new possibilities even when that future looks a little different than we expected! He certainly did in my own case!
With my prayers for you and for your families during the coming week ahead,
Your parish priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
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