Newsletter- 8th Week of Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners
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 core 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 1st /Sunday 2nd 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 a period of silent prayer and Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, concluding with Benediction.
First Holy Communion Mass: Please pray for our First Holy Communion Candidates and for their families and our parish Catechists, as our young people continue their preparation to receive Holy Communion for the first time, at a special Mass celebrated in the parish, on Saturday 22nd June at 11 am.
Andrew Wakley Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate: In this Bulletin you will find details of the plans to mark Andrew’s ordination next month to the diaconate. We wish him well as he prepares for this important next step in his vocation journey as he prepares now for his ordination on Saturday 29th June at 12 noon in the Cathedral of St Barnabas, Nottingham and as he looks towards his future ministry amongst us and in the wider diocese too. This coming week Andrew will be making his pre-ordination retreat at the St Beuno’s retreat centre, an important time for him to pause and reflect before his ordination. Do keep him in prayer during his time away.
New Lectionary: The Lectionary, the books that contain the sacred Scripture Readings for Mass and the Sacraments, is changing as part of the continuing process of revising the liturgical translations. The new Lectionary will come into force on the First Sunday of Advent 2024.The process began with the Roman Missal in 2011 and has continued with all the other liturgical texts. The new Lectionary will use the English Standard Version – Catholic Edition of the Bible and the Abbey Psalter. The changes are intended to make the biblical translations more faithful to the original languages, biblical scholarship, and to provide a text for use in a liturgical setting that is more proclaimable and, where appropriate, more inclusive.
Buying copies of the New Lectionary will mean a considerable outlay for our parish. We shall need to pre order the following in the next few weeks from CTS, for delivery by this October:
- A Four Volume set of the complete Lectionary for use at the Ambo at Mass – Price £695
- A Processional Book of the Gospels for use at Sunday Masses, Solemnities and Feast days – Price £395
In line with other parishes, I invite you as members of our congregation to consider making a monetary donation towards the purchase of the new Lectionary for our parish. If you would like to make a monetary donation, perhaps in memory of a loved one, please speak with me in person. Donations should be put in an envelope marked “New Lectionary” which can be put in the collection plate at Mass on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, or given to me in person, or if you prefer made via the electronic Dona Plate (in the entrance to the church). All Donations whether large or small will be gratefully received, and I thank you in anticipation, for your kind generosity to our parish.
I hope when they become available to purchase, that we will be able to order from CTS for interested parishioners, through orders placed via the parish Repository, copies of the New Sunday Missal and the New Daily Missal which will be available to pre-order soon. More information will follow about how to do this.
With prayers and best wishes for you and for your families during the coming week,
Your parish priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
2024 26th May – Newsletter – Download