Newsletter – 11th Week Of Ordinary Time
This Sunday we celebrate one of the most fundamental beliefs of Christianity: The Most Holy Trinity – three distinct, coequal Persons in one God. For the Church, the Trinity is considered a mystery. There are aspects of the Trinity that we will never fully grasp while we are this side of Heaven. But it is something we hold as revealed truth. We may never comprehend its totality, but we experience its presence and accept its reality.
There are references to the Holy Trinity in the Old Testament, but their meaning was mostly hidden. When Jesus became man through the Incarnation, he revealed the three Persons of the Trinity more fully. The Baptism of Jesus is one such “Trinitarian moment” when all three Persons are explicitly mentioned in the Bible – Jesus is being Baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, the Father’s voice is heard from Heaven saying: “This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased,” (Matthew 3:13-17) and the Holy Spirit is descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove.
The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity has been an official and universal celebration in the Church since the 1300’s. It is even celebrated by many Protestant denominations as it is a fundamental belief shared by all Christians. During today’s Mass, our prayers honour each of the Persons of the Trinity, but every Mass contains multiple references to the Trinity and prayers showing our devotion. This is evident in the simplest of prayers – the Sign of the Cross. We make this action upon entering and leaving the Church, and at the beginning and end of Mass, and even sometimes during the Mass. The words that accompany the action express our belief in the Holy Trinity – “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” Even when done silently, the action itself becomes a prayer!
Maybe at the next Mass that you attend, make a point to notice how many times we make the Sign of the Cross. Think about the words. Listen, too, for other prayers throughout the Mass that honour the Holy Trinity. Of course, the Creed (Profession of Faith) is probably the most obvious, but you will find others that express our belief in the Holy Trinity – three Divine Persons in one God.
Corpus Christi – Saturday 18th/Sunday 19th June – next weekend at all our Sunday Masses we keep the great Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). At both the Saturday evening Vigil Mass, at 6 pm and the Sunday morning Mass at 9.30 am, I will invite our Parish Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to stand in their places to renew their commitment. This will take place after Holy Communion and before the Post Communion Collect. In addition, at the Sunday morning Mass in place of the Final Blessing, the sacred Host will be enthroned in a Monstrance and carried in procession around the church. Following which there will be short period of silent prayer and Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, concluding with Benediction.
Little Church – We are still looking for a few more volunteers to assist with Little Church which I hope can resume again in September. My sincere thanks to those who have already kindly come forward to offer to help, we need though now a few more volunteers to ensure that Little Church can go forward after the summer. Please do make contact directly with me.
With my prayers for you and for your families during the coming week,
Your friend and parish priest,
Fr Jonathan
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IMPORTANT Newsletters – Our Parish Newsletters are available to be viewed and downloaded from our Parish website.
The online version will not include the Sunday Message
The Sunday Message and Newsletter will be available to download but this will be password protected – the password can be obtained from the Parish.
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2022 12th June – Newsletter – Download
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