1st HOLY COMMUNION *2023*
If your child would like to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion for the 1st time in 2023 please submit details to the Parish Office.
This will be for candidates who will turn 8 in the next school year, 2022-2023, and any older children who may have missed out over the past few years.
If you wish to apply for your child please get a form by emailing or picking one up from the parish office. The deadline for returned forms is 28/8/22.
The course will possibly start in Sept/Oct of this year, meeting monthly on a Sunday morning after Mass, through to June/July 2023 when the Sacramental Mass will take place, but we will know the definite plan over the next few months when our new Priest arrives and will keep in close communication with all the parents who submit an application.
Thank you
Fr Frank's Retirement Mass
If you have not yet booked a place at the special celebration Mass on 21st August, please do so using this Eventbright link, so that we can plan for catering purposes. (We'll need to know how many Mars bars to buy! haha)
Thank you
Thanks, as ever, to Deacon Vincent for his reflections for 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
1st Reading from the book of Deuteronomy 30: 10-14.
Deuteronomy is one of the most influential in the entire Old Testament. It’s format takes the form of the Second Reading of the Law, and it could be argued that it forms Israel as “People of God.” It offers a vision of how Israelite society ought to be. This particular section follows an exhortation for the people to turn back to God, and this gives us to understand that if we absorb the teachings of the Law, it will be instilled in our minds and hearts, and so assist us in following and keeping not just the letter of the Law, but the spirit of the Law for the Word of God is very near to us. We do not have to struggle to find or hear it, our whole being is enveloped in the teaching and observance of God’s Word. The Ten Commandments are not a series of gloomy prohibitions from a tyrant but an expression of personal love on the part of God, and so it is for this reason that Israel is forbidden from flirting with other deities. “To love the Lord our God is to listen to his voice and hold fast to him.”
Psalm 68: 14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37.
This is a song crying out to God for help, it begins describing their traumatic situation and gradually assumes an air of great confidence and the assurance of being heard. It reminds us of the God who is always listening. Even when things are at their very worse, he is always labouring to put things right.
2nd Reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Colossians 1: 15-20.
This is often described as a hymn to Christ, perhaps one used in the liturgy at Colossae, to which Paul has added some elements to make a theological point. Some scholars are not quite sure what it is, however, it sings about Christ as the prime figure in creation and in redemption. Some view it as a meditation on the opening words of scripture, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” It is amazing to be able to join with our forebears in the faith, right at the very beginnings of the Church and sing a hymn in unison with them to the glory of Christ.
The Holy Gospel according to Luke 10: 25-37.This is the first of many wonderful Lucan parables. This episode is also related in Mark, and Matthew’s Gospels, each with its own differences. Lawyers do not get a good press in Luke’s Gospel, whereas Samaritans are usually acclaimed. The road on which this story is set will, no doubt, have been familiar to most of his hearers, as will its perils, for it runs through the desert, with hills on either side, ideal country for brigands to way lay unwary strangers. The best stories always show those who should have helped, passing by on the other side of the road, but we think that they would have had a shock when it is the hated Samaritans who do the right thing. Concluding, notice how Christ then turns the story from a tale to ponder over, to one of action, “Go and do the same yourself.” We are not just told what is right and who is the hero, but we are challenged to go and do likewise. Following Christ is a journey, which requires action in assisting our neighbours, not just thinking good thoughts. We are always challenged by Christ to activate our faith in good works. Christianity is not a passive experience; it is a total way of life. Let us always Thank God for opening our eyes to the joy of assisting people in need.
God Bless us all, as we journey onwards towards Him.
