Newsletter- 32nd Week of Ordinary Time
At the Saturday Vigil Mass this weekend on 11th November at 6 pm we celebrate the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. On Sunday 12thNovember we keep Remembrance Sunday. The Parish Mass at 9.30 a.m. will be a Requiem Mass in anniversario for all who died in the past two World Wars and all subsequent conflicts since. At this Mass there will be an Act of Remembrance, a Trumpeter playing the Last Post, then we will keep Two Minutes Silence, after which the Trumpeter will play the Reveille before we hear the Kohima Exhortation and receive the Final Blessing from the Altar. We keep in our prayers on Remembrance Sunday all who died in the service of their country and for our freedom. This Sunday afternoon, 12th November at 2 pm, I invite you to join me at Grantham cemetery for the yearly Blessing of Graves. This will be a simple liturgy of prayer and blessing with holy water of all our Catholic graves. A chance too to pray for the repose of the souls of family members and friends buried in the cemetery grounds. Please meet at the stone archway as you enter the main cemetery gates.
This Sunday’s Gospel invites us all to prolong our reflection on eternal life that we began on the Feast of All Saints and the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls). In the Gospel passage for this Sunday Jesus recounts the parable of the ten virgins invited to a wedding feast, symbol of the Kingdom of heaven. In this parable, Jesus reminds us all that we must be prepared for His coming. Not only the final coming, but also for our everyday encounters with him, in the little things and the bigger things of life, with a view to that final encounter, for which the lamp of faith is not enough; we also need the oil of charity and good works. As the Apostle Paul says, the faith that truly unites us to Jesus is: “faith working through love” (Gal 5:6). It is what is represented by the behaviour of the wise virgins. Being wise and prudent means not waiting until the last moment to correspond to God’s grace, but to do so actively and immediately, starting right now. If we want to be ready for the final encounter with the Lord, we must cooperate with Him in the here and now and perform good works and be generous to one another inspired by the grace of His love. Let us pray that Mary Most Holy, will help each of us to live an active faith, just as she did: for it is the shining lamp with which we can pass through the night beyond death and reach the great feast of the life to come.
Reminder changes to the weekday Mass schedule for next week: on Tuesday 14th November Andrew will offer a simple period of Exposition and Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in church, from 6pm -6.45 pm followed by Mass at 7 pm celebrated by Fr Michael who will be assisted at the altar by Andrew. On Friday 17th November there will be no Mass. Mass will be replaced by a Service of Word and Holy Communion which will be offered by Andrew in church at 9.30 a.m. I hope by the following week to be back to a more active role within the parish.
Please keep me in your prayers, as I pray for you and for your families,
Your parish priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
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2023 12th November – Newsletter – Download