Emergency Stewards:
Please note that we would be delighted to hear from anyone else who is willing to be a steward in case of any emergency.
Please contact the parish office if happy to help.
We are meeting after Mass on Sunday 26th to go through the evacuation plan. (There will be no teas and coffees after Mass that day as we will use the main hall for our meeting.) Or a mop up meeting on Monday evening on 27th if you cannot attend on the Sunday.
Many thanks, Fr Frank
Thank you, as ever, to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections for the Feast of the Body & Blood of Christ Year C ~ Corpus Christi ~
1st Reading from the Book of Genesis 14:18-20.
The appearance of this priestly King, who brought out gifts of bread and wine, as an offering to Abraham for rescuing Lot and all his possessions from the Elamites a Gentile tribe. He blesses Abraham and the God of all creation. It is a strange episode within the saga of Abraham, yet this fleeting appearance of Melchizedek, leaves a lasting image within scripture, and will be highlighted by the offering Jesus will give us, to celebrate his victory over death and evil.
Psalm 109: 1-4.
This strange priestly king is again recalled in this passage, that Jesus will quote to the Pharisees, when he is disputing about the Messiah being a descendant of David. It addresses the Messiah as David’s Lord, and therefore of more importance, and the recollection of this priest with his gifts of bread and wine is once more lauded within scripture, as we await the real meaning to be fulfilled in Jesus.
2nd Reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 11: 23-26.
This passage is announced to remind the Corinthians that this is a Holy Eucharist, not for sordid squabbles and divisions or feasting and drunkenness. Paul recalls the solemnity and full importance of the offering we are enacting, the death of our Lord Jesus, until he comes again. So, he calls to unity, reverence and peace within our communities, for those approaching the sacred species.
We are taken back to the feeding of the People of Israel in the desert in Exodus. Luke also mentions how Jesus welcomed the crowds, for Luke, “Hospitality” is very important. It is a very powerful story, and of course prefigures the Eucharist where he will feed us all with Himself in the form of Bread and Wine, his own Body and Blood.
This is one of the most beautiful feasts in the Church’s calendar. It is a time to actually contemplate the gift of himself to us. Don’t try to understand it just experience it with the eyes of Faith, and it will reignite the coldest of hearts, for in believing in Christ, the Father accepts us as His Children, brothers and sisters of Christ.
God Bless us all now and always.
Deacon Vincent
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