Newsletter 21st November 2021
This weekend at all the Sunday Masses we keep the great Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The picture of Christ as King that we are given in the Readings at Mass this Sunday is a powerful and majestic one. We honour the Lord Jesus Christ today as King whose Kingdom is eternal in time, universal in scope, yet very personal in power. In the meeting of Pilate and Jesus, we have the encounter of the representative of Imperial Rome with Christ the Universal King. To speak of Christ as Universal King is, among many other things, to be reminded that while there is a kind of kingship that is built on power and domination, true kingship, that of Christ, is not like that. Christ’s kingdom, His truth, His grace are always close at hand, in every church, every sacrament and particularly when we come together to share in the Eucharist together. These are the access points into Christ’s Kingdom of Saving Truth, of Loving Mercy, of Unconditional Love and Lasting Life.
This weekend is also the weekend of special prayer for Young People, National Youth Sunday. At the 9.30 am Mass this Sunday we welcome some of our young people from St. Mary’s Primary School who will be helping at our Mass with the Offertory and the Readings. On National Youth Sunday let us pray for all our young people that they may grow in the knowledge of Christ as their Lord and Saviour and come to know day by day His loving presence in their lives.
The great Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, marks too, the end of the Church’s Liturgical Year as next Sunday, the First Sunday in Advent, we begin our Advent journey together, a chance to renew our relationship with Christ and with each other, and to unite ourselves more deeply to Christ through the power of His transformative love.
This week we shall have the Third Parish Meeting as part of the Synodal process for our diocese. This will be held on: Tuesday 23rdNovember in the link room after evening Mass from 7.30pm -8.30 pm. There will be a period of Exposition at 6 pm with special intentions for the Synodal Process, followed by Benediction at 6.40 pm and Mass at 7 pm. The parish meeting this week will consider what the Holy Spirit may be saying to us as individuals and as a parish. In the light of God speaking to Mary, we will consider specifically the questions:
- How do I hear and respond to the voice of God’s Holy Spirit, in my life?
- what signs of the Spirit at work do I see in the life of my parish?
- What steps may the Holy Spirit be calling us to take, as a parish, on our journey together into God’s future?
Next Sunday, 1st Sunday in Advent, as we begin our Advent journey, we shall be giving out copies of Walk with Me, a journey of Prayer for Advent. These handy little pocket Prayer Books have been specially designed by the Diocese of Nottingham to follow the daily Mass Readings during Advent and to help us to journey and prepare together as individuals and as a diocese for the coming of Christmas. There is a short Preface written by Bishop Patrick, and the theme of this useful little booklets daily reflection and prayer is, ‘An Encounter with Jesus, the Word made Flesh.’ It mirrors our own diocesan seasonal theme of ‘Encounter’ and I am offering these booklets to you as a small free gift this Advent from your parish. Please do take copies home with you and use them each day during the Advent season and take some extra copies too to share with your family and friends.
There will be a series of Advent Services of Recollection throughout the Deanery during December, and more details will follow in the next Bulletin about these. We shall hold ours here at St. Marys on Tuesday evening 14th December at 7 pm. This service will replace the normal evening Mass at 7 pm and Mass that day will be celebrated in the morning at 9.30am.
It is with great sadness that I must announce the death of one of regular parishioners, Bob Adams, who died peacefully at home in the early afternoon of Monday 15th November. It was a great privilege for me personally to have had several private conversations with Bob after he knew that his sickness was terminal, and to help him to prepare for the end of his life here on earth. I had the opportunity to visit him and Linda at their home last week and to give Bob the Last Rites of the Church. Please keep Bob’s family in your prayers at this very sad time.
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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2021 21st November – Newsletter – Download
2021 21st November – Newsletter (Including Sunday Message – Password Protected)– Download
2021 21st November – LOOK – (Password Protected)– Download