Newsletter 6 August 2021
Hello everyone!
Congratulations to those of you who successfully navigated the road closure on Booths Hill Road last week. The neat big hole was speedily filled in by Monday. Did any of you attend the picnic in the park? With no ‘phone-in’ on a Wednesday afternoon I didn’t get any feedback. I trust that those of you who have engineered some time away and can access the website are having a splendid break. We all need one so much. Next weekend 14/15 August is the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven. Fr Tony Myers has kindly agreed to offer the Masses that weekend. There will be no newsletter next week.
Recommended Key Points mitigating against Virus Transmission in Churches
This appendix to the new guidelines is published on our noticeboard in the entrance to the church so all can see where the priorities lie. Rather than stay away, if you are anxious about being exposed to Covid by attending Mass, please voice your concerns as there are suggested alternatives. The safety of all remains our priority.
This weekend we read of the prophet Elijah at the end of his tether, who is coaxed by an angel to eat some food, and he revives and gets on with his tasks. Jesus in the gospel of John says he is the living bread which has come down from heaven, and this bread is his flesh, given for the life of the world. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever. Virtual Mass on line is not quite the same. St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians gives some excellent advice to families on holiday, and he says:
“Try then to imitate God, as children of his that he loves, and follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.”
Next week we honour Mary the Mother of Jesus, who lives for ever with her Son, having been taken up (‘assumed’) into heaven soul and body when her time on earth came to an end. Pope Pius XII in 1950 said that this had been part of the church teaching from the beginning. It was the last time any Pope used his infallible authority to proclaim a dogma.
Perhaps you could make a special effort to attend Mass and ask Our Lady’s protection and healing help.
If you are going away, it can be a rewarding experience to take the trouble to find out the times of Mass, and experience a different celebration, seeing how other places are coping with Covid. By the way, those who like Latin Mass may have heard that Pope Francis had banned it. Not true. He has asked those who insist on following what Pope Benedict called the ‘Extraordinary Rites’ (i.e. not accepting the changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council) to be united with the rest of the church. Mass in Latin is always lawful and valid, but the style and ceremonies changed, not just the language.
I was asked to offer Mass for Sister Catherine Joy, who has not been at all well, and we pray for her recovery, as well as all the other sick people who have asked our prayers. There was also a Mass for a Special Intention (TW) and on Sunday 8th for the Skidmore Family.
