Sunday 24th Seventh Sunday of Easter
Monday 25th St Bede the Venerable
Tuesday 26th St Philip Neri
Wednesday 27th St Augustine of Canterbury
Thursday 28th Easter Feria
Friday 29th Easter Feria
Saturday 30th St Paul VI, pope
Sunday 31st PENTECOST SUNDAY
Monday 25th St Bede the Venerable
Tuesday 26th St Philip Neri
Wednesday 27th St Augustine of Canterbury
Thursday 28th Easter Feria
Friday 29th Easter Feria
Saturday 30th St Paul VI, pope
Sunday 31st PENTECOST SUNDAY
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Sunday Readings
First Reading: Acts 1: 12-14
So from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, they went back to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a Sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Second Reading: Peter 4:13-16
But in so far as you share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, so that you may enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for bearing Christ's name, blessed are you, for on you rests the Spirit of God, the Spirit of glory. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if any one of you should suffer for being a Christian, then there must be no shame but thanksgiving to God for bearing this name.
The recipients of Peter’s letter have been persecuted for their faith in Christ. In the beginning, they might not have realised that the active exercise of their faith would lead to persecution. They might even be tempted now to repudiate their faith so that they might bring a halt to the persecution. However, Peter calls them to an altogether different response. He calls them to rejoice, because they have been honoured to participate in Christ’s sufferings - to experience a bit of what he experienced - to gain an appreciation of the sacrifices that he made in their behalf.
Gospel: John 17:1-11
After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; so that, just as you have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me comes from you for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified.
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.
Today we move on to the great chapter 17 of John. Jesus is still with his disciples at the Last Supper and this is the final part of his discourse. It consists of a long prayer, sometimes called the High Priestly prayer of Jesus.
The prayer can be said to be in three parts:
– Jesus prays for his own mission;
– he prays for his immediate disciples, who are with him as he prays;
– he prays for all those who in later times will become his disciples.
Jesus begins by praying for the success of his mission. He prays that, through his passion, death and resurrection, he may find glory. In John’s gospel Jesus’ glory begins with his passion and the high moment is the moment of his dying on the cross which is also the moment of resurrection and union with the Father. This glory is not for himself but to lead people to glorify God, of whom Jesus is the Revealer and Mediator.
In turn, he prays that all he does may lead to people everywhere sharing in the life of God. And what is that life? It is stated here in one of the key sayings of Jesus reported in the Gospel: “Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
To know God and to know Jesus is to acknowledge their unique place as the source and end of all we have and are. To know the Father and Jesus is to have as full as possible an understanding of Jesus’ message and to have assimilated it into one’s whole life. It is not just a knowledge of recognition but a mutual identification of vision and values. As the Jerusalem Bible comments: “In biblical language, ‘knowledge’ is not merely the conclusion of an intellectual process but the fruit of an ‘experience’, a personal contact. When it matures, it is love.”
It is to be aware of that, to accept that fully as the secret of life, not just in the world to come but here and now. Everything else – and it really means everything – is secondary to this. To put anything else, however lofty, in first place is to go astray.
Jesus has given glory to the Father by all that he has said and done. He now prays again that glory will be given to him, because by giving glory to him we give glory to his Father also. In fact, it is through Jesus, through our total identification with him, that we give glory to God. Jesus now prays for his disciples, the “men you took from the world to give me”. Although it was Jesus who chose them, ultimately they are the gift of the Father to help Jesus continue his work on earth. Jesus thanks God that they have recognised that he comes from the Father and that they have accepted his teaching. And, because they belong to Jesus, they also belong to the Father and through them Jesus will receive glory.
Finally, they have been chosen from the world and yet will remain in the world, though not sharing in its values. In fact, they will give glory to Jesus precisely by challenging the values of that world and leading it to the ‘eternal life’ which they have discovered through Jesus and which they have already begun to enjoy.
We thank Jesus for his disciples. We thank them for handing on to us the secret of life.
We thank them for the giving of themselves, sometimes through a martyr’s death, to share that secret with us. We recognise that they, like us, had many weaknesses but Jesus still worked through them and through them the world came to know Jesus.
The Church and the Environment
Catholic organisations are among faith groups calling for a just recovery by divesting from fossil fuels
As major challenges for the global economy are predicted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a diverse group of faith institutions is putting the call for a just economic recovery into practice.
On Monday 18thMay 42 faith institutions from 14 countries, including 21 from the UK, announced their divestment from fossil fuels. This is the largest-ever joint announcement of divestment from fossil fuels from faith institutions. It comes from institutions in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Myanmar, Spain, the UK, and the United States.
As governments around the world make substantial investments in an economic recovery, faith communities urge them to think long term and focus on a recovery that is low-carbon and just.
Today’s multi-faith announcement comes from Catholic, Methodist, Anglican and Buddhist institutions, among others with over £1 billion in assets under management. The group includes the Jesuits in Britain, the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (UK) and the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, which becomes the third Catholic diocese in England and Wales to divest. There are now more than 170 Catholic institutions around the world that have made commitments to divest from fossil fuels.
The Bishop of Arundel & Brighton, Rt Revd Richard Moth, said: “Care for the world that has been given to us is an increasingly pressing need. It is therefore timely that the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton divests from fossil fuels. This positive step will contribute to the common good and, I trust, pave the way for further practical action to safeguard this and future generations.”
Several Catholic religious orders in the UK have already divested from fossil fuel companies, including the Passionists, the Congregation of Jesus, the Religious Sisters of Charity, the Presentation Sisters and the Franciscan Sisters Minoress.
Earlier this month, a new report from Operation Noah showed that none of the major oil companies are compliant with the Paris agreement targets. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, said in response to the report, “The current health crisis has highlighted as never before the need for coherent international action in the face of global threat. Can we learn the lesson and apply it to the global threat of climate change? To do so means taking practical and effective steps to reduce our lethal dependence on fossil fuels.”
Illustrating the need for a just recovery for our brothers and sisters in faith globally, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace in Bangladesh is among those committing to divest from fossil fuels.
Bangladesh is home to the world’s largest refugee camp, where more than half a million people live near the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is extremely vulnerable to the greater risk of catastrophic storms that come with climate change. A viral pandemic and a catastrophic storm would bring one of the world’s most vulnerable communities to a halt, illustrating the need to repair the faults that have left economies near the breaking point.
The global divestment announcement comes at the start of Laudato Si’ Week, a global commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change and ecology. After being invited to participate in Laudato Si’ Week by Pope Francis, Catholics have taken up the project to build a more just and sustainable future together. In the last month, 21 Catholic organizations with $40 billion in assets under management committed to invest in companies that align with their values by signing the Catholic Impact Investing Pledge.
James Buchanan, Bright Now Campaign Manager at Operation Noah, said: “The decisions we make now will affect the future of humanity for thousands of years. These faith institutions are showing strong leadership in response to the climate crisis, and we hope that more Catholic dioceses and religious orders will join them in divesting from fossil fuels and investing in the clean technologies of the future.”
Statements from Catholic churches:
“Climate change is the most pressing challenge the world faces as climate disasters wreak more and more destruction, hitting poorer countries the hardest – despite them having done the least to cause them. The decision to divest is principally a response to the clear moral imperative of acting to safeguard our planet for future generations at a time when scientific evidence is mounting that we are facing a grave climate emergency.” Fr Damian Howard SJ, Provincial Superior of the British Jesuits
“The climate crisis calls each of us to conversion of heart and change in behavior. We felt compelled to divest of fossil fuels to reflect our values. We are also committed to using our resources to make positive investments that will help the transition to a zero carbon future.” Sister Bridgetta Rooney, trustee of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace.
In the light of the above article, you might like to pray either or both of the following:
Collect from the Mass in a time of Pandemic
Almighty and eternal God,
our refuge in every danger,
to whom we turn in our distress;
in faith we pray
look with compassion on the afflicted,
grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners,
healing to the sick, peace to the dying,
strength to healthcare workers, wisdom to our leaders
and the courage to reach out to all in love,
so that together we may give glory to your holy name.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Praised Be
A prayer inspired by the papal encyclical ‘Laudato Si’
Living God,
have mercy on us,
for the times we forget
that we belong to each other.
You call us to be still,
to hear the whisper of our Sister Wind,
to feel the radiance of our Brother Sun,
and to be nourished by our Mother Earth.
Renew us in your healing love.
Inspire us to water the earth,
and nurture one another,
so all may flourish.
Together, as one family,
may we always sing your praise.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
St Bede the Venerable
St. Bede was born in England. A Benedictine, he was "the most observant and the happiest of all monks." His writings were so full of sound doctrine that he was called "Venerable" while still alive. He wrote commentaries on Holy Scripture and treatises on theology and history. He died at Jarrow, England. Bede occupies an important niche in Church history by bridging the gap between early Christian and early medieval times, the era when the Germanic nations had just been Christianized. Through him Christian tradition and Roman culture came to the Middle Ages. He is also honoured as the "father of English history." His writings were read publicly in churches while he was still alive; but since he could not be called "Saint," the title of Venerable was attached to his name, a usage which continued down through the centuries. True Benedictine that he was, his life revolved around prayer and work. On the vigil of the Ascension he felt death approaching and asked to be fortified with the last sacraments. After reciting the Magnificat antiphon of the feast's second Vespers, he embraced his brethren, had himself placed upon a coarse penitential garment on the earth, and breathed forth his soul while saying softly: "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost." How St. Bede loved the Bible! Anyone who intends to live with the Church must keep the Scriptures near, day in, day out.
St Philip Neri
This gracious, cheerful saint was Rome's apostle of the sixteenth century (1515-1595). A peculiar trait was his burning love of God, a love that imperceptibly communicated itself to all about him. So ardently did this fire of divine love affect him during the octave of Pentecost in his twenty-ninth year that the beating of his heart broke two ribs. It was a wound that never healed. For fifty years the saint lived on in the intensity of that love which was more at home in heaven than on earth. Through those fifty years his was an apostolate to renew the religious and ecclesiastical spirit of the Eternal City, a task he brought to a happy conclusion. It is to his credit that the practice of frequent Holy Communion, long neglected in Rome and throughout the Catholic world, was again revived. He became one of Rome's patron saints, even one of the most popular.
Philip Neri loved the young, and they responded by crowding about him. As a confessor he was in great demand; among his penitents was St. Ignatius. To perpetuate his life's work, St. Philip founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy without religious vows. The purpose of his foundation was to enkindle piety among the faithful by means of social gatherings which afforded not only entertainment but religious instruction as well. Joy and gaiety were so much a part of his normal disposition that Goethe, who esteemed him highly, called him the "humorous saint." It was his happy, blithe spirit that opened for him the hearts of children. "Philip Neri, learned and wise, by sharing the pranks of children himself became a child again" (epitaph). As a youth Philip Neri often visited the seven principal churches of Rome. He spent entire nights at the catacombs, near the tombs of the martyrs, meditating on heavenly things. The liturgy was the wellspring of his apostolic spirit; it should likewise motivate us to Catholic Action.
St Augustine of Canterbury
St. Augustine was the agent of a greater man than himself, Pope St. Gregory the Great. In Gregory's time, except for the Irish monks, missionary activity was unknown in the western Church, and it is Gregory's glory to have revived it. He decided to begin with a mission to the pagan English, for they had cut off the Christian Celts from the rest of Christendom. The time was favourable for a mission since the ruler of the whole of southern England, Ethelbert of Kent, had married a Christian wife and had received a Gaulish bishop at his court. Gregory himself wished to come to Britain, but his election as pope put an end to any such idea, and in 596 he decided to send an Italian monk following the comparatively new Rule of St Benedict. Augustine set out with some companions, but when they reached southern Gaul a crisis occurred and Augustine was sent back to the pope for help. In reply the pope made Augustine their abbot and subjected the rest of the party to him in all things, and with this authority Augustine successfully reached England in 597, landing in Kent on the Isle of Thanet. Ethelbert and the men of Kent refused to accept Christianity at first, although an ancient British church dedicated to St Martin was restored for Augustine's use; but very shortly afterwards Ethelbert was baptized and, the pope having been consulted, a plan was prepared for the removal of the chief see from Canterbury to London and the establishment of another province at York. Events prevented either of these projects from being fulfilled, but the progress of the mission was continuous until Augustine's death, somewhere between 604 and 609. The only defeat Augustine met with after he came to England was in his attempt to reconcile the Welsh Christians, to persuade them to adopt the Roman custom of reckoning the date of Easter, to correct certain minor irregularities of rite and to submit to his authority. Augustine met the leaders of the Welsh church in conference but he unfavourably impressed them by remaining seated when they came into his presence — it is likely that in this he unfavourably impressed St Bede too. Augustine was neither the most heroic of missionaries, nor the most tactful, but he did a great work, and he was one of the very few men in Gaul or Italy who, at that time, was prepared to give up everything to preach the gospel in a far country.
St Paul VI
Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) was born on 26 September 1897 at Concesio (Brescia), in Italy. On 29 May 1920 he was ordained to the priesthood. In 1924 he began his service to the Supreme Pontiffs, Pius XI and Pius XII, and at the same time exercised his priestly ministry among university students.
Nominated as the Substitute of the Secretariat of State he worked during the Second World War to find shelter for persecuted Jews and refugees. He was later designated Pro-Secretary of State for the General Affairs of the Church, also because of which he knew and encountered many of the proponents of the ecumenical movement. Appointed as Archbishop of Milan, he worked with great care for the diocese. In 1958, he was elevated to the dignity of a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church by Pope Saint John XXIII, and following his death was elected on 21 June 1963 to the See of Peter. He immediately continued the work begun by his predecessors, in particular, he brought the Second Vatican Council to its completion and he began many initiatives that showed his solicitude for the Church and for the contemporary world. Among these initiatives we ought to recall his voyages as a pilgrim, undertaken as an apostolic service which served both as a preparation for the unity of Christians and in asserting the importance of fundamental human rights. Furthermore, he exercised his Supreme Magisterium favouring peace, promoting the progress of peoples and the enculturation of the faith (the adaptation of Christian liturgy to non-Christian cultural background), as well as the liturgical reform, approving Rites and prayers at once in line with tradition and with adaptation for a new age. By his authority he promulgated the Calendar, the Missal, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Pontifical and nearly all of the Ritual for the Roman Rite with the purpose of promoting the active participation of the faithful in the Liturgy. At the same time he saw to it that papal celebrations should take on a more simple form.
At Castel Gandolfo on 6 August 1978, he gave his spirit back to God and, according to his wishes, he was buried just as he had lived, in a humble manner.
Mass online:
Several parishioners have used the link on the Home Page of the parish website which allows them to view Mass being celebrated at a variety of churches:
* The Cathedralin Nottingham on each day of the week. (https://www.churchservices.tv/nottinghamcathedral)
The schedule is as follows:
On Saturdays and Sundays: Mass at 10.00am
From Monday to Friday: Mass at 1.00pm
* Also on the parish website, an additional link has been added to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsinghamwhose new website provides live streaming 24/7 of Masses, Prayers (Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet), Exposition, Spiritual Readings and Talks. This is a rich source of material in these extraordinary times.(https://www.walsingham.org.uk/live-stream/)
* Mass celebrated daily by Pope Francis from the Vaticanis also available: http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html
* There is another excellent suggestion from Paul Carroll: St Alban’s & St Hugh’s, Derby. Daily and Sunday Masses are at 10.00am except for Thursday when Mass is at 7.00pm. Paul writes: “Fr David Cain has lay readers from their homes and deacons from their homes either reading the Gospel or delivering the Homily. He also uses other priests in the Deanery to deliver the homily as well as himself. I find it very inclusive. He clearly has a good technical team in the parish.” The link is: http://derbycatholiclive.co.uk
Masses attended
Parishioners have “attended Mass” as follows:
Top marks to Bridget O’Dwyer who spotted the deliberate (!) mistake in recent newsletters where Nottingham Cathedral appeared to have been rededicated to St Boniface. The change was inserted just to see how carefully parishioners were reading the newsletter. The Cathedral patron is, of course, St Barnabas, whose feast day is 11thJune.
You will remember that, in the days before lockdown, Mass was said at 7.00pm each Wednesday evening in Barrow. Everyone in the parish was welcome, though inevitably, perhaps, those who attended were mostly Barrow residents. Over the last eight weeks they have tried to maintain the sense of community worship by “coming together” on a Wednesday evening at 7.00pm to pray or “attend Mass” together. All parishioners are, of course, welcome to join in this communal worship and you are all encouraged to suggest intentions for which everyone might pray.
Bidding Prayers:
You will remember that, at the end of the Bidding Prayers each Sunday, the reader asks, “Does anyone have any other intentions?” Most weeks this question is followed by silence, but occasionally one of the congregation will make a contribution. I think that some people must feel a little daunted at the prospect of speaking up in front of everyone else, but now we can change all that. If you have a prayer intention, no matter how “trivial” it might seem, please do not hesitate to let me know and I shall include it in next week’s newsletter. This can be personalised or anonymous, as you wish.
This week’s prayer intentions include:
If we all were to read (or sing) the parish “favourite of the week” what a great way it would be of reminding us of the community to which we belong. Some parishioners will remember the Rosary Crusade of Fr Patrick Peyton in the 1950s. He popularised the saying: “A family that prays together stays together”. We could easily adapt this to read: “A parish that prays together stays together”. Let’s give it a try.
Veronica Brown has chosen “O Lady full of God’s own grace”, a hymn to Our Lady in recognition of May being the month of Mary.
O lady, full of God's own grace,
whose caring hands the Child embraced,
who listened to the Spirit's word,
believed and trusted in the Lord.
O virgin fair, star of the sea,
my dearer mother, pray for me. (2)
O lady, who felt daily joy
in caring for the holy Boy,
whose home was plain and shorn of wealth,
yet was enriched by God's own breath.
O lady, who bore living's pain
but still believed that love would reign,
who on a hill watched Jesus die
as on the cross they raised Him high.
O lady, who, on Easter day,
had all your sorrow wiped away
as God the Father's will was done
when from death's hold be freed your Son.
What is your favourite hymn? Let us know and we shall publish it in the next newsletter.
Sick List: Please continue to pray for the following members of our parish: Bernard Moyers, Patrick Hodgson, Tod Smith, Angela Doyle, Ida De Melo, Maurice Nixon, Eva Shirreffs, Stefania Stasior, Irene Pallot.
Anniversaries:
Let us remember in our prayers those whose anniversaries occur in the coming week:
26th May: Peter Dexter (1993)
27th May: John Denvir (1979)
and Alistair Walker who was only 20 when he died in 1999. The exact date is not in our records.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Recommended viewing:
A parishioner (altar server, moustache, Sheffield United supporter) recommends the BBC series “Retreat : meditations from a monastery” a three part series which goes in search of inner peace in three monasteries around Britain, (Downside Abbey, Pluscarden Abbey and Belmont Abbey) and provides a welcome retreat from the hectic pace of our daily lives. This is available on the i Player and the first episode is available until June 1st.
Fr Vincent:
Many parishioners will remember Fr Vincent who was a regular visitor to our parish for many years. Several members of the parish made regular contributions to Fr Vincent’s mission via a Standing Order. If your contribution was rejected this month, the reason is that Father Vincent has changed his bank account. Please get in touch if you require the new details. Details of Fr Vincent’s work can be found on the parish website.
Newsletter typos:
The following announcements apparently appeared in newsletters from around the world:
You may have read the report about Matty, a young pupil of De Lisle (and formerly Bishop Ellis). A friend of the family has set up a “Go Fund Me” page to raise funds for this brave young lad. More details can be found on: https://www.gofundme.com/f/memories-for-matty?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
You may feel moved to make a donation.
Happy birthday to Michelle Cafferky who will be 37 on Tuesday 26th from David, Kellan and all the parish.
Happy Birthday to Mark Boland who will be 74 on Thursday 28th. He should have been in Ibiza with the family, but of course this has all had to be changed. Nevertheless, we hope that he has a wonderful day and we shall all be thinking of him.
QUIZ- The Old Testament
(Answers at the end – no cheating!)
1. How many books are there in the Old Testament?
a. 27
b. 66
c. 39
d. 12
2. What is the name commonly given to the first five books of the Old Testament?
a. Pentateuch
b. Pseudepigrapha
c. Septuagint
d. Apocrypha
3. Who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament?
a. Moses
b. Adam
c. Abraham
d. Noah
4. In what language was the Old Testament written?
a. Greek
b. Latin
c. Hebrew
d. Assyrian
5. What time period does the Old Testament cover?
a. the building of the temple of Solomon to the time of its destruction
b. the time of the Messiah to the time of His death
c. the beginning of man to the time of the Messiah
d. the beginning of man to the time of the Messiah's death
6. Which of these books is NOT found in the Old Testament?
a. Amos
b. Jude
c. Hosea
d. Joel
7. Which of these books is NOT found in the Old Testament?
a. Leviticus
b. Numbers
c. Revelation
d. Deuteronomy
8. Which of these books is NOT found in the Old Testament?
a. 3 Kings
b. 2 Chronicles
c. Psalms
d. 2 Samuel
9. Which of these women is mentioned in the Old Testament?
a. Anna
b. Rachel
c. Martha
d. Elisabeth
10. Which of these books come first in order in the Old Testament?
a. Lamentations
b. Ecclesiastes
c. Ruth
d. Exodus
Answers:
1.c 2.a 3.a 4.c 5.c 6 b 7.c 8.a 9.b 10.d
Sunday Readings
First Reading: Acts 1: 12-14
So from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, they went back to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a Sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Second Reading: Peter 4:13-16
But in so far as you share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, so that you may enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for bearing Christ's name, blessed are you, for on you rests the Spirit of God, the Spirit of glory. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if any one of you should suffer for being a Christian, then there must be no shame but thanksgiving to God for bearing this name.
The recipients of Peter’s letter have been persecuted for their faith in Christ. In the beginning, they might not have realised that the active exercise of their faith would lead to persecution. They might even be tempted now to repudiate their faith so that they might bring a halt to the persecution. However, Peter calls them to an altogether different response. He calls them to rejoice, because they have been honoured to participate in Christ’s sufferings - to experience a bit of what he experienced - to gain an appreciation of the sacrifices that he made in their behalf.
Gospel: John 17:1-11
After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; so that, just as you have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me comes from you for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified.
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.
Today we move on to the great chapter 17 of John. Jesus is still with his disciples at the Last Supper and this is the final part of his discourse. It consists of a long prayer, sometimes called the High Priestly prayer of Jesus.
The prayer can be said to be in three parts:
– Jesus prays for his own mission;
– he prays for his immediate disciples, who are with him as he prays;
– he prays for all those who in later times will become his disciples.
Jesus begins by praying for the success of his mission. He prays that, through his passion, death and resurrection, he may find glory. In John’s gospel Jesus’ glory begins with his passion and the high moment is the moment of his dying on the cross which is also the moment of resurrection and union with the Father. This glory is not for himself but to lead people to glorify God, of whom Jesus is the Revealer and Mediator.
In turn, he prays that all he does may lead to people everywhere sharing in the life of God. And what is that life? It is stated here in one of the key sayings of Jesus reported in the Gospel: “Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
To know God and to know Jesus is to acknowledge their unique place as the source and end of all we have and are. To know the Father and Jesus is to have as full as possible an understanding of Jesus’ message and to have assimilated it into one’s whole life. It is not just a knowledge of recognition but a mutual identification of vision and values. As the Jerusalem Bible comments: “In biblical language, ‘knowledge’ is not merely the conclusion of an intellectual process but the fruit of an ‘experience’, a personal contact. When it matures, it is love.”
It is to be aware of that, to accept that fully as the secret of life, not just in the world to come but here and now. Everything else – and it really means everything – is secondary to this. To put anything else, however lofty, in first place is to go astray.
Jesus has given glory to the Father by all that he has said and done. He now prays again that glory will be given to him, because by giving glory to him we give glory to his Father also. In fact, it is through Jesus, through our total identification with him, that we give glory to God. Jesus now prays for his disciples, the “men you took from the world to give me”. Although it was Jesus who chose them, ultimately they are the gift of the Father to help Jesus continue his work on earth. Jesus thanks God that they have recognised that he comes from the Father and that they have accepted his teaching. And, because they belong to Jesus, they also belong to the Father and through them Jesus will receive glory.
Finally, they have been chosen from the world and yet will remain in the world, though not sharing in its values. In fact, they will give glory to Jesus precisely by challenging the values of that world and leading it to the ‘eternal life’ which they have discovered through Jesus and which they have already begun to enjoy.
We thank Jesus for his disciples. We thank them for handing on to us the secret of life.
We thank them for the giving of themselves, sometimes through a martyr’s death, to share that secret with us. We recognise that they, like us, had many weaknesses but Jesus still worked through them and through them the world came to know Jesus.
The Church and the Environment
Catholic organisations are among faith groups calling for a just recovery by divesting from fossil fuels
As major challenges for the global economy are predicted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a diverse group of faith institutions is putting the call for a just economic recovery into practice.
On Monday 18thMay 42 faith institutions from 14 countries, including 21 from the UK, announced their divestment from fossil fuels. This is the largest-ever joint announcement of divestment from fossil fuels from faith institutions. It comes from institutions in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Myanmar, Spain, the UK, and the United States.
As governments around the world make substantial investments in an economic recovery, faith communities urge them to think long term and focus on a recovery that is low-carbon and just.
Today’s multi-faith announcement comes from Catholic, Methodist, Anglican and Buddhist institutions, among others with over £1 billion in assets under management. The group includes the Jesuits in Britain, the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (UK) and the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, which becomes the third Catholic diocese in England and Wales to divest. There are now more than 170 Catholic institutions around the world that have made commitments to divest from fossil fuels.
The Bishop of Arundel & Brighton, Rt Revd Richard Moth, said: “Care for the world that has been given to us is an increasingly pressing need. It is therefore timely that the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton divests from fossil fuels. This positive step will contribute to the common good and, I trust, pave the way for further practical action to safeguard this and future generations.”
Several Catholic religious orders in the UK have already divested from fossil fuel companies, including the Passionists, the Congregation of Jesus, the Religious Sisters of Charity, the Presentation Sisters and the Franciscan Sisters Minoress.
Earlier this month, a new report from Operation Noah showed that none of the major oil companies are compliant with the Paris agreement targets. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, said in response to the report, “The current health crisis has highlighted as never before the need for coherent international action in the face of global threat. Can we learn the lesson and apply it to the global threat of climate change? To do so means taking practical and effective steps to reduce our lethal dependence on fossil fuels.”
Illustrating the need for a just recovery for our brothers and sisters in faith globally, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace in Bangladesh is among those committing to divest from fossil fuels.
Bangladesh is home to the world’s largest refugee camp, where more than half a million people live near the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is extremely vulnerable to the greater risk of catastrophic storms that come with climate change. A viral pandemic and a catastrophic storm would bring one of the world’s most vulnerable communities to a halt, illustrating the need to repair the faults that have left economies near the breaking point.
The global divestment announcement comes at the start of Laudato Si’ Week, a global commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change and ecology. After being invited to participate in Laudato Si’ Week by Pope Francis, Catholics have taken up the project to build a more just and sustainable future together. In the last month, 21 Catholic organizations with $40 billion in assets under management committed to invest in companies that align with their values by signing the Catholic Impact Investing Pledge.
James Buchanan, Bright Now Campaign Manager at Operation Noah, said: “The decisions we make now will affect the future of humanity for thousands of years. These faith institutions are showing strong leadership in response to the climate crisis, and we hope that more Catholic dioceses and religious orders will join them in divesting from fossil fuels and investing in the clean technologies of the future.”
Statements from Catholic churches:
“Climate change is the most pressing challenge the world faces as climate disasters wreak more and more destruction, hitting poorer countries the hardest – despite them having done the least to cause them. The decision to divest is principally a response to the clear moral imperative of acting to safeguard our planet for future generations at a time when scientific evidence is mounting that we are facing a grave climate emergency.” Fr Damian Howard SJ, Provincial Superior of the British Jesuits
“The climate crisis calls each of us to conversion of heart and change in behavior. We felt compelled to divest of fossil fuels to reflect our values. We are also committed to using our resources to make positive investments that will help the transition to a zero carbon future.” Sister Bridgetta Rooney, trustee of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace.
In the light of the above article, you might like to pray either or both of the following:
Collect from the Mass in a time of Pandemic
Almighty and eternal God,
our refuge in every danger,
to whom we turn in our distress;
in faith we pray
look with compassion on the afflicted,
grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners,
healing to the sick, peace to the dying,
strength to healthcare workers, wisdom to our leaders
and the courage to reach out to all in love,
so that together we may give glory to your holy name.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Praised Be
A prayer inspired by the papal encyclical ‘Laudato Si’
Living God,
have mercy on us,
for the times we forget
that we belong to each other.
You call us to be still,
to hear the whisper of our Sister Wind,
to feel the radiance of our Brother Sun,
and to be nourished by our Mother Earth.
Renew us in your healing love.
Inspire us to water the earth,
and nurture one another,
so all may flourish.
Together, as one family,
may we always sing your praise.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
St Bede the Venerable
St. Bede was born in England. A Benedictine, he was "the most observant and the happiest of all monks." His writings were so full of sound doctrine that he was called "Venerable" while still alive. He wrote commentaries on Holy Scripture and treatises on theology and history. He died at Jarrow, England. Bede occupies an important niche in Church history by bridging the gap between early Christian and early medieval times, the era when the Germanic nations had just been Christianized. Through him Christian tradition and Roman culture came to the Middle Ages. He is also honoured as the "father of English history." His writings were read publicly in churches while he was still alive; but since he could not be called "Saint," the title of Venerable was attached to his name, a usage which continued down through the centuries. True Benedictine that he was, his life revolved around prayer and work. On the vigil of the Ascension he felt death approaching and asked to be fortified with the last sacraments. After reciting the Magnificat antiphon of the feast's second Vespers, he embraced his brethren, had himself placed upon a coarse penitential garment on the earth, and breathed forth his soul while saying softly: "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost." How St. Bede loved the Bible! Anyone who intends to live with the Church must keep the Scriptures near, day in, day out.
St Philip Neri
This gracious, cheerful saint was Rome's apostle of the sixteenth century (1515-1595). A peculiar trait was his burning love of God, a love that imperceptibly communicated itself to all about him. So ardently did this fire of divine love affect him during the octave of Pentecost in his twenty-ninth year that the beating of his heart broke two ribs. It was a wound that never healed. For fifty years the saint lived on in the intensity of that love which was more at home in heaven than on earth. Through those fifty years his was an apostolate to renew the religious and ecclesiastical spirit of the Eternal City, a task he brought to a happy conclusion. It is to his credit that the practice of frequent Holy Communion, long neglected in Rome and throughout the Catholic world, was again revived. He became one of Rome's patron saints, even one of the most popular.
Philip Neri loved the young, and they responded by crowding about him. As a confessor he was in great demand; among his penitents was St. Ignatius. To perpetuate his life's work, St. Philip founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy without religious vows. The purpose of his foundation was to enkindle piety among the faithful by means of social gatherings which afforded not only entertainment but religious instruction as well. Joy and gaiety were so much a part of his normal disposition that Goethe, who esteemed him highly, called him the "humorous saint." It was his happy, blithe spirit that opened for him the hearts of children. "Philip Neri, learned and wise, by sharing the pranks of children himself became a child again" (epitaph). As a youth Philip Neri often visited the seven principal churches of Rome. He spent entire nights at the catacombs, near the tombs of the martyrs, meditating on heavenly things. The liturgy was the wellspring of his apostolic spirit; it should likewise motivate us to Catholic Action.
St Augustine of Canterbury
St. Augustine was the agent of a greater man than himself, Pope St. Gregory the Great. In Gregory's time, except for the Irish monks, missionary activity was unknown in the western Church, and it is Gregory's glory to have revived it. He decided to begin with a mission to the pagan English, for they had cut off the Christian Celts from the rest of Christendom. The time was favourable for a mission since the ruler of the whole of southern England, Ethelbert of Kent, had married a Christian wife and had received a Gaulish bishop at his court. Gregory himself wished to come to Britain, but his election as pope put an end to any such idea, and in 596 he decided to send an Italian monk following the comparatively new Rule of St Benedict. Augustine set out with some companions, but when they reached southern Gaul a crisis occurred and Augustine was sent back to the pope for help. In reply the pope made Augustine their abbot and subjected the rest of the party to him in all things, and with this authority Augustine successfully reached England in 597, landing in Kent on the Isle of Thanet. Ethelbert and the men of Kent refused to accept Christianity at first, although an ancient British church dedicated to St Martin was restored for Augustine's use; but very shortly afterwards Ethelbert was baptized and, the pope having been consulted, a plan was prepared for the removal of the chief see from Canterbury to London and the establishment of another province at York. Events prevented either of these projects from being fulfilled, but the progress of the mission was continuous until Augustine's death, somewhere between 604 and 609. The only defeat Augustine met with after he came to England was in his attempt to reconcile the Welsh Christians, to persuade them to adopt the Roman custom of reckoning the date of Easter, to correct certain minor irregularities of rite and to submit to his authority. Augustine met the leaders of the Welsh church in conference but he unfavourably impressed them by remaining seated when they came into his presence — it is likely that in this he unfavourably impressed St Bede too. Augustine was neither the most heroic of missionaries, nor the most tactful, but he did a great work, and he was one of the very few men in Gaul or Italy who, at that time, was prepared to give up everything to preach the gospel in a far country.
St Paul VI
Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) was born on 26 September 1897 at Concesio (Brescia), in Italy. On 29 May 1920 he was ordained to the priesthood. In 1924 he began his service to the Supreme Pontiffs, Pius XI and Pius XII, and at the same time exercised his priestly ministry among university students.
Nominated as the Substitute of the Secretariat of State he worked during the Second World War to find shelter for persecuted Jews and refugees. He was later designated Pro-Secretary of State for the General Affairs of the Church, also because of which he knew and encountered many of the proponents of the ecumenical movement. Appointed as Archbishop of Milan, he worked with great care for the diocese. In 1958, he was elevated to the dignity of a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church by Pope Saint John XXIII, and following his death was elected on 21 June 1963 to the See of Peter. He immediately continued the work begun by his predecessors, in particular, he brought the Second Vatican Council to its completion and he began many initiatives that showed his solicitude for the Church and for the contemporary world. Among these initiatives we ought to recall his voyages as a pilgrim, undertaken as an apostolic service which served both as a preparation for the unity of Christians and in asserting the importance of fundamental human rights. Furthermore, he exercised his Supreme Magisterium favouring peace, promoting the progress of peoples and the enculturation of the faith (the adaptation of Christian liturgy to non-Christian cultural background), as well as the liturgical reform, approving Rites and prayers at once in line with tradition and with adaptation for a new age. By his authority he promulgated the Calendar, the Missal, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Pontifical and nearly all of the Ritual for the Roman Rite with the purpose of promoting the active participation of the faithful in the Liturgy. At the same time he saw to it that papal celebrations should take on a more simple form.
At Castel Gandolfo on 6 August 1978, he gave his spirit back to God and, according to his wishes, he was buried just as he had lived, in a humble manner.
Mass online:
Several parishioners have used the link on the Home Page of the parish website which allows them to view Mass being celebrated at a variety of churches:
* The Cathedralin Nottingham on each day of the week. (https://www.churchservices.tv/nottinghamcathedral)
The schedule is as follows:
On Saturdays and Sundays: Mass at 10.00am
From Monday to Friday: Mass at 1.00pm
* Also on the parish website, an additional link has been added to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsinghamwhose new website provides live streaming 24/7 of Masses, Prayers (Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet), Exposition, Spiritual Readings and Talks. This is a rich source of material in these extraordinary times.(https://www.walsingham.org.uk/live-stream/)
* Mass celebrated daily by Pope Francis from the Vaticanis also available: http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html
* There is another excellent suggestion from Paul Carroll: St Alban’s & St Hugh’s, Derby. Daily and Sunday Masses are at 10.00am except for Thursday when Mass is at 7.00pm. Paul writes: “Fr David Cain has lay readers from their homes and deacons from their homes either reading the Gospel or delivering the Homily. He also uses other priests in the Deanery to deliver the homily as well as himself. I find it very inclusive. He clearly has a good technical team in the parish.” The link is: http://derbycatholiclive.co.uk
Masses attended
Parishioners have “attended Mass” as follows:
- St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham
- Walsingham
- St Joseph’s, Leicester
- CAFOD Mass on a Wednesday evening.
- St Peter’s, Brighton
- St Alban’s & St Hugh’s, Derby
- Sacred Heart, Rochdale
- St Anthony’s, Wythenshawe
- St Peter in Chains, Doncaster
- Shrewsbury Cathedral
- Santuario di Oropa, Italy
Top marks to Bridget O’Dwyer who spotted the deliberate (!) mistake in recent newsletters where Nottingham Cathedral appeared to have been rededicated to St Boniface. The change was inserted just to see how carefully parishioners were reading the newsletter. The Cathedral patron is, of course, St Barnabas, whose feast day is 11thJune.
You will remember that, in the days before lockdown, Mass was said at 7.00pm each Wednesday evening in Barrow. Everyone in the parish was welcome, though inevitably, perhaps, those who attended were mostly Barrow residents. Over the last eight weeks they have tried to maintain the sense of community worship by “coming together” on a Wednesday evening at 7.00pm to pray or “attend Mass” together. All parishioners are, of course, welcome to join in this communal worship and you are all encouraged to suggest intentions for which everyone might pray.
Bidding Prayers:
You will remember that, at the end of the Bidding Prayers each Sunday, the reader asks, “Does anyone have any other intentions?” Most weeks this question is followed by silence, but occasionally one of the congregation will make a contribution. I think that some people must feel a little daunted at the prospect of speaking up in front of everyone else, but now we can change all that. If you have a prayer intention, no matter how “trivial” it might seem, please do not hesitate to let me know and I shall include it in next week’s newsletter. This can be personalised or anonymous, as you wish.
This week’s prayer intentions include:
- My nephews wife, Joan, in Australia who is in hospital having had heart problem when having surgery last week (Rosemary McKee)
- Would you please remember my cousin Jim in your prayers. He had a triple bypass operation on Monday and is recovering in Broad Green hospital in Liverpool. Early reports indicate that he is doing well. (Joan Wiggins)
- Will you remember George’s sister in your prayers. She had quite a bad fall; nothing broken but bruised from head to toe and just to complete her joys she has shingles. (Kathryn Timmons)
If we all were to read (or sing) the parish “favourite of the week” what a great way it would be of reminding us of the community to which we belong. Some parishioners will remember the Rosary Crusade of Fr Patrick Peyton in the 1950s. He popularised the saying: “A family that prays together stays together”. We could easily adapt this to read: “A parish that prays together stays together”. Let’s give it a try.
Veronica Brown has chosen “O Lady full of God’s own grace”, a hymn to Our Lady in recognition of May being the month of Mary.
O lady, full of God's own grace,
whose caring hands the Child embraced,
who listened to the Spirit's word,
believed and trusted in the Lord.
O virgin fair, star of the sea,
my dearer mother, pray for me. (2)
O lady, who felt daily joy
in caring for the holy Boy,
whose home was plain and shorn of wealth,
yet was enriched by God's own breath.
O lady, who bore living's pain
but still believed that love would reign,
who on a hill watched Jesus die
as on the cross they raised Him high.
O lady, who, on Easter day,
had all your sorrow wiped away
as God the Father's will was done
when from death's hold be freed your Son.
What is your favourite hymn? Let us know and we shall publish it in the next newsletter.
Sick List: Please continue to pray for the following members of our parish: Bernard Moyers, Patrick Hodgson, Tod Smith, Angela Doyle, Ida De Melo, Maurice Nixon, Eva Shirreffs, Stefania Stasior, Irene Pallot.
Anniversaries:
Let us remember in our prayers those whose anniversaries occur in the coming week:
26th May: Peter Dexter (1993)
27th May: John Denvir (1979)
and Alistair Walker who was only 20 when he died in 1999. The exact date is not in our records.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Recommended viewing:
A parishioner (altar server, moustache, Sheffield United supporter) recommends the BBC series “Retreat : meditations from a monastery” a three part series which goes in search of inner peace in three monasteries around Britain, (Downside Abbey, Pluscarden Abbey and Belmont Abbey) and provides a welcome retreat from the hectic pace of our daily lives. This is available on the i Player and the first episode is available until June 1st.
Fr Vincent:
Many parishioners will remember Fr Vincent who was a regular visitor to our parish for many years. Several members of the parish made regular contributions to Fr Vincent’s mission via a Standing Order. If your contribution was rejected this month, the reason is that Father Vincent has changed his bank account. Please get in touch if you require the new details. Details of Fr Vincent’s work can be found on the parish website.
Newsletter typos:
The following announcements apparently appeared in newsletters from around the world:
- The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
- Scouts are saving aluminium cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
- The sermon this morning: “Jesus Walks on the Water.” The sermon tonight : “Searching for Jesus.”
- Ladies, don't forget the jumble sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
You may have read the report about Matty, a young pupil of De Lisle (and formerly Bishop Ellis). A friend of the family has set up a “Go Fund Me” page to raise funds for this brave young lad. More details can be found on: https://www.gofundme.com/f/memories-for-matty?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
You may feel moved to make a donation.
Happy birthday to Michelle Cafferky who will be 37 on Tuesday 26th from David, Kellan and all the parish.
Happy Birthday to Mark Boland who will be 74 on Thursday 28th. He should have been in Ibiza with the family, but of course this has all had to be changed. Nevertheless, we hope that he has a wonderful day and we shall all be thinking of him.
QUIZ- The Old Testament
(Answers at the end – no cheating!)
1. How many books are there in the Old Testament?
a. 27
b. 66
c. 39
d. 12
2. What is the name commonly given to the first five books of the Old Testament?
a. Pentateuch
b. Pseudepigrapha
c. Septuagint
d. Apocrypha
3. Who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament?
a. Moses
b. Adam
c. Abraham
d. Noah
4. In what language was the Old Testament written?
a. Greek
b. Latin
c. Hebrew
d. Assyrian
5. What time period does the Old Testament cover?
a. the building of the temple of Solomon to the time of its destruction
b. the time of the Messiah to the time of His death
c. the beginning of man to the time of the Messiah
d. the beginning of man to the time of the Messiah's death
6. Which of these books is NOT found in the Old Testament?
a. Amos
b. Jude
c. Hosea
d. Joel
7. Which of these books is NOT found in the Old Testament?
a. Leviticus
b. Numbers
c. Revelation
d. Deuteronomy
8. Which of these books is NOT found in the Old Testament?
a. 3 Kings
b. 2 Chronicles
c. Psalms
d. 2 Samuel
9. Which of these women is mentioned in the Old Testament?
a. Anna
b. Rachel
c. Martha
d. Elisabeth
10. Which of these books come first in order in the Old Testament?
a. Lamentations
b. Ecclesiastes
c. Ruth
d. Exodus
Answers:
1.c 2.a 3.a 4.c 5.c 6 b 7.c 8.a 9.b 10.d
