Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
Happy Easter!
Children's Stations of the Cross
On Good Friday we shared a lovely morning together.
Firstly, in Church, helping the children learn about the Story of Holy Week and then sharing Hot Cross Buns in the hall afterwards!
What a lovely morning!
Thanks to all who came along and supported the children of the parish, to all the musicians and singers, those who helped run the stations of the cross and those who provided the lovely refreshments.
On Easter Saturday, The Ukrainian Church met for a traditional Easter blessing.
Vera shared these words and photos with us.
"A beautiful morning with so many fellow Ukrainians blessings Easter baskets followed by kids Easter egg hunt around the church."
"The Eucharist: a bond of love which can never be undone.”
There is an opportunity on Saturday 8 June at St Bernadette’s Secondary School, Whitchurch, Bristol, for the whole diocese to deepen our understanding and love for the Eucharist as we grow in our desire to be a people of communion, participating together as the Body of Christ so that we may be the Body of Christ to the world.
We are delighted that Fr. Michael McAndrew will lead us in our reflections and conversations. The day will include a time of prayerful Adoration with words, music, and silence. Refreshments will be available from 9.30am. Attendees are asked to bring a packed lunch. We will finish by 4pm.
Please use the Eventbrite link: https://cliftoneucharist.eventbrite.co.uk/ to register for the day
A message from St Patricks Catholic Church in Redfield.
"We would like to invite your parishioners to our Pan African Mass on the 14th of April ’24 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Redfield at 1pm.
The Mass will be followed by refreshments in Brooks Hall.
We would like to invite all African’s, their families, and friends.
We look forward to celebrating with you, fellow parishioners, their families and friends."
"We would like to invite your parishioners to our Pan African Mass on the 14th of April ’24 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Redfield at 1pm.
The Mass will be followed by refreshments in Brooks Hall.
We would like to invite all African’s, their families, and friends.
We look forward to celebrating with you, fellow parishioners, their families and friends."
Thanks to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections for Second Sunday of Easter Year B
1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 4: 32-35.
This is the second volume of Luke’s narrative and whereas the first volume was undoubtedly about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this second volume could be said to be the “Gospel of the Holy Spirit”. There is a restlessness about it, always on the move and as the Pentecost incident has Luke portraying the Holy Spirit as “fire and “mighty wind”, so, as we read through this extraordinary book, we watch as this is made evident. In this passage for us today, we have Luke painting a beautiful picture of the early community, completely at one, but Luke knows that this wasn’t the complete picture, as later we encounter cheats within this community, taking advantage of their free spirit. We have before us a picture of how it can be, and how we should respond to each other. If we look at the various congregations and orders that have grown up in the Church one can see how there is still that call to a oneness in the Risen Lord, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 117: 2-4, 15-18, 22-24.
This delightful song is celebrating God in the Temple, and the “stone rejected by the builders became the corner stone”, is a theme that is taken up in several places in the New Testament.
2nd Reading is from the first letter of St. John 5: 1-6.
This letter of John’s is deemed by some scholars as a theological commentary on John’s Gospel, perhaps affirming the full humanity of Jesus, which readers of the Fourth Gospel might have been inclined to underplay. You will notice in this excerpt before us, how John is insisting upon the key issue of the humanity of Jesus. There must have been false prophets proclaiming that Jesus was not completely human, but somehow God playing at being human. John encourages us to distinguish spirit of truth (God), and the deception which is endemic in the world’s philosophy. If we acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in Flesh, then that prophet is from God, and anyone who says he is not human is from the spirit of deception. Although Jesus is God’s Son, he is also wholly human. His Godliness comes from his intimate relationship with God.
The Holy Gospel according to John 20: 19-31.
This passage unfolds in two phases. The first establishes that the disciples were frightened and certainly did not believe in the “Resurrection”. It affirms that Jesus is risen from the dead, and that the disciples have a mission. For John, the Holy Spirit is the very breath of God. The second phase comes from the incredulity of Thomas. Jesus approaches Thomas and offers his hands and his side for Thomas to feel the marks the nails and spear made on Jesus body. We are not told whether Thomas accepts the challenge, but we have the dramatic outburst of Thomas, “My Lord and My God.”, which is where this Gospel has been leading us all along; for us to be able to declare, with Thomas, that wonderful acclamation. Finally, we have ourselves being addressed by Jesus himself, “Happy are those who have not seen, yet believe.” Jesus is promising true Happiness to his believers.
He is truly Risen, Alleluia.
May we always abide in that Happiness.
Deacon Vincent
*Living the Common Good: Discerning Challenges and Responses*
It will be a day of formation and community, bringing people together in prayer to discern the practical ways to live the common good in our parishes, pastoral areas, and diocese. We are blessed to have Jenny Sinclair from 'Together for the Common Good' guiding us through our discernment process, and focusing on identifying the specific areas for mission in our communities as well as the practical steps we can take to serve those needs and proclaim the Gospel by our lives.
There is no cost to attend. Please register at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/living-the-common-good-discerning-challenges-and-responses-tickets-877814957167?aff=oddtdtcreator
Pope Francis' Stations of the Cross
This year, Independent Catholic News has reported that the Holy Father has written the Stations as a dialogue with Jesus, a face-to-face conversation with Christ, made up of reflections, questions, introspections, confessions, and invocations.
See them here: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49452
See them here: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49452
No comments:
Post a Comment