Newsletter- 21st Week of Ordinary Time
Many people are still away enjoying a time of rest and relaxation with friends and family and many others are now returning from their breaks away. Welcome back to those parishioners returning this weekend! To those who may be visiting our parish in Grantham this weekend from other parts of the country a very warm welcome to you and to your families.
‘But you, who do you say I am?’ Today’s readings at Mass on this 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, focus on the way God looks on the lowly, the ones who need help, love, and support. The Gospel encourages us to reflect on our own faith in Christ Jesus. As we seek to answer truthfully Jesus’s question about His identity, we may also ponder on Peter, a simple fisherman, who is given the keys of the Kingdom and entrusted to build the Lord’s church. In the First Reading, a lowly servant is also given keys. He is entrusted with authority and will become a father to the nations. The key to the house of David is on his shoulder. The Responsorial Psalm expresses the gratitude of a lowly person. In their distress they call and the Lord answers, giving them the strength, they need. St Paul, in the Second Reading, asks several questions that no one can really answer. Thereby he leads us to realise the omnipotence, benevolence, and wisdom of God.
This week, like St Paul, we might also want to give glory to the Lord. Through our prayers we trust that God will help and empower the lowly and the needy, whether near at hand or further afield. God will always help us too when we are in the greatest of need if we allow him into all the areas of our hearts and lives. If we reach out to him when we are struggling or experiencing difficulties in our lives, he will never desert us. Christ remains close by our side walking with us through the good times and the hard times too. His love for each of us remains constant and his will never come to an end. But we must let him guide us and support us through all the twists and turns of our lives journey.
CAFOD – Solidarity with small farmers – Salina’s Giant Letter to the World Bank – Our global food system is broken. One tenth of the world go hungry whilst one third of all the food produced is wasted and giant corporations make huge profits. The way we produce food damages our planet too. But many of the small-scale farmers are pushing for the alternatives that are good for people and the planet. It’s vital for us as a parish community to support them to fix the giant global food system.
CAFOD works with small farmers around the world who produce lots of the world’s food. But many of them are facing a huge problem. For hundreds of years, they have freely used and shared their own seeds, but laws are being passed that limit what they are allowed to do with their own seeds giving them little choice but to buy more expensive seeds from large companies. These laws make it even harder for small farmers and their families to produce enough food.
Salina is a small farmer from Bangladesh, and she told CAFOD: “To keep the seeds in our own hands is the main thing. Without seeds being a farmer is not possible. “This is why Salina is writing a letter to the World Bank, which has a lot of influence over agricultural issues, asking them to protect the rights of small farmers to use and share their own seeds.
Please sign Salina’s letter on your way out of Mass on Saturday/Sunday 26th/27th August and Saturday/Sunday 2nd/3rd September. By signing your name alongside Salina, we can send a strong message to the World Bank that the Catholic community stands with small-scale farmers.
A copy of Salina’s letter is displayed on the notice board by the DONA Pay Station in the entrance to church. This Giant Letter will be sent back to CAFOD by 18th September.
With my prayers for you and for your families during the coming week,
Your parish priest and friend,
Father Jonathan
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2023 27th August 2023– Newsletter – Download