Newsletter- 33rd Week of Ordinary Time
Changes to Mass Times this week: On Friday 18th November I will offer the Funeral Mass for Barbara Fiorentino at 11am this will replace the normal 9.30 am Mass that day.
Remembrance Sunday: This Sunday 13th November we keep Remembrance Sunday and the 9.30 am Mass this Sunday will be a Requiem Mass in anniversario for all who died during the past two World Wars and all subsequent conflicts since. At this Mass before the final Blessing there will be an Act of Remembrance and we shall keep the Two Minuit’s Silence as we remember all who died in the service of their country and for our freedom. The Saturday evening Vigil Mass at 6 pm this weekend on 12th November will be the normal Sunday Mass for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Church Cleaning: I am very grateful to Sylvia Wakely who since the opening up of the church after the Covid “Lock Down” has each month kept the church and halls clean and tidy, she is kindly continuing in this role. But going forward now that the church is being used daily, and we are fully functional again, we need to ensure that the church is dusted and hoovered weekly. I have since I arrived employed a window cleaner who cleans all the glass and windows of the church plant inside and out each month and so this no longer needs to be done by volunteers. I am very grateful to the loyal band of volunteers who used to clean the church weekly prior to “Lock Down” and who have now agreed to offer their help and support again, however, the number of volunteers able to help in this way has decreased since the pandemic and we need a few more volunteers now to join the church cleaning group! If you can assist in this way, please see the notice in this weeks Bulletin giving times of cleaning and contact details for volunteering. With thanks in anticipation for your generosity to our parish community.
In the context of Luke, today’s Gospel for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, appears near the end of Jesus’ teaching in Jerusalem, just prior to the events that will lead to his crucifixion. His warnings and predictions are ominous but can be read in many ways.
To those who first heard Luke’s Gospel, those may have been words of encouragement. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans was history (70 A.D.); Luke’s Gospel, Catholic scholars propose, was written between 80 and 90 A.D. His audience was probably Gentile Christians. Luke here tries to interpret the fall of Jerusalem for them and to locate it in God’s plans for humankind (salvation history). At the same time, Luke is suggesting to his audience that there will be a considerable elapse of time before Jesus’ final coming. Luke’s listeners have likely seen much upheaval and are anxious to know if these are the signs of Jesus’ coming. Luke is urging greater patience.
In the second part of today’s Gospel, Jesus warns that his followers will face persecution for their beliefs. Luke presents persecution as an opportunity for the followers of Jesus for “It will lead to your giving testimony” (Luke 21:13). In persecution God’s wisdom and power will be shown in the example of followers of Jesus. Perseverance in the face of persecution will lead to their salvation. Here Jesus is assuring his followers that God is present to all believers, even in times of trouble. Ultimately, Jesus will witness to this with his own death.
As modern-day disciples of Jesus, we too must try to follow his example, trusting in God’s mercy and protection, even when we face difficulties, as many people will be experiencing in their own lives right now, or when as now, the situation in the world seems bleak and we could so easily give in to despair and be without hope for the future. Let us instead look towards the Lord’s example upon the cross and allow the Gospel message of Christ to touch our hearts and our lives afresh this Sunday, that he may give to each of us a newfound strength to face the future whatever the future may hold, looking towards the future with courage and fortitude, and with a newfound sense of Christian hope. For our future is held in the loving hands of God alone, and he will never leave us nor desert us, whatever difficulties and trial await us in life and however hard things may become for us, and so this weekend at Mass let us ask for the grace to put all our hope and trust in God.
Please keep me in your prayers during this week ahead and be assured of my own for you and for your families too.
Your parish priest and friend,
Father Jonathan
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2022 13th November – Newsletter – Download