Newsletter- 10th Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s great Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) is an opportunity for us to reflect on the wonderful mystery of the Eucharist: the sacrament that nourishes our faith and gives life to the world. Each reading at Mass this Sunday offers an opportunity to pray about the significance of this gift, reminding us of the richness of the Eucharistic tradition in the Church. Moses recalls that though the people of God were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, God never abandoned them (First Reading). Instead, he encouraged them to have faith in his continuing living presence. The Responsorial Psalm suggests many reasons to praise God, including both the material and spiritual nourishment that God offers us. Paul reminds the factious Corinthians of the profound spiritual significance of taking the body and blood of Christ. By participating in the Eucharist, they are uniting themselves to Christ and to the whole Christian community (Second Reading). In the Gospel, Jesus affirms that He is the bread of life: the very life force of God. Through his life, death and resurrection, Christ nourishes our deepest hunger for God. We draw life from him even as Jesus drew life from the Father. This week, let us pray for a deepening of Christian Unity and let us ask the Father that we may truly become one as followers of Christ.
The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is the day on which our Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion publicly renew their commitment. I will invite those Extraordinary Ministers present at the Saturday Vigil Mass and Sunday morning Mass this weekend to stand and to make their commitment after the distribution of Holy Communion. For those Eucharistic Ministers unable to be present at Mass this weekend you may make your commitment to me privately after one of the weekday Masses this coming week. Please just approach me in the sacristy before or after Mass.
First Holy Communion Mass: This coming Saturday 17th June at 11 am, our First Holy Communion Candidates will receive Holy Communion for the first time, at a special Mass celebrated by me here in the parish. Please keep them and their families and our parish catechists in your prayers during the coming week, as our young people prepare for this special day in their lives and in their journey of faith.
Tuesday 13th June – This Tuesday we welcome volunteers from Grantham Passage to our evening Mass at 7 pm. An opportunity for us as a parish community to offer Mass for the important work that they do as we pray that evening for all volunteers and clients, past and present. Following Mass, The Passage community will host a communal shared supper in the church hall.
Fr Jonathan Annual Leave: I shall be away from the parish on annual leave from the afternoon of Sunday 18th June until Friday 7th July inclusive. During my absence from the parish Monsignor John Hadley has kindly agreed to offer Mass cover at the weekends, and there will be no changes to the normal weekend Mass schedule, Saturday Vigil Mass at 6 pm and Sunday morning Mass at 9.30 am. On weekdays whilst I am away Mgr. Hadley will be celebrating one Mass only each week. From Tuesday to Sunday during my absence the church will remain open during the day for private prayer.
Mass Times During Fr Jonathan’s Absence
Wednesday 21st June – St Aloysius Gonzaga – 9.30 am.
Saturday 24th June – 12th Sunday of the Year – Vigil Mass 6 pm
Sunday 25th June – 12th Sunday of the Year – 9.30 am Mass.
Thursday 29th June – Saints Peter and Paul – 11 am.
Saturday 1st July – 13th Sunday of the Year – Vigil Mass 6 pm
Sunday 2nd July – 13th Sunday of the Year – 9.30 am.
Wednesday 5th July – Feria – 9.30 a.m.
I shall be back to celebrate the Sunday Masses for the weekend of 10th/11th July –14th Sunday of the Year – after which the normal weekday Mass schedule will resume.
My former lay chaplain from the University of Nottingham will be house sitting in the Rectory whilst I am away on my holidays. I am very grateful to him and to both Fr John and Andrew Wakley for their generosity and kindness in offering their practical help and support during my time away. Please be aware though that they all work full time, Andrew within his own business and Fr John as chancellor of the diocese. In the case of an emergency during my absence please contact Andrew in the first instance who will put you in touch with a priest. For all other routine parish enquiries and non-emergencies, I ask please that you wait to contact me upon my return to the parish when I will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible upon my return.
New Boilers for the church and parish halls: I mentioned some months ago that we have been given permission by the diocese to commission and fit new boilers this summer. This is greatly needed as our present heating system has been “limping along” for many years now and our boilers are past repair. The cost of replacing our boilers is a major expense for our parish, and I am very grateful for the generosity of those parishioners who have contributed to the Boiler Fund and for two very significant bequests received, your generosity means that these much-needed works can now go ahead this summer in readiness for next winter. To avoid as little disruption to parish life as possible I have arranged with the company who will be carrying out the commissioning and instillation works that this will be carried out and completed over five days during the week, from Monday 17th July – Friday 21st July inclusive. This means that during this period the church and parish halls will need to remain closed to the General Public, and there will be no Public Worship, nor access allowed to the church buildings during this period.
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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2023 11th June 2023– Newsletter – Download