In this week’s newsletter, you will find the text of the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter with a short commentary. These are particularly, though not exclusively, included for those who do not have access to the internet. This is also designated as “Good Shepherd Sunday” when we are asked especially to pray for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. You will note a plethora of “Feria” this week – there is a brief explanation of the origin of this term. There is a quiz at the end to test your knowledge of the New Testament. This will be the seventh Sunday without Mass in our little church. The picture on the left shows us what we are missing. We pray that it will not be too long before we are able to gather there once again. Please do continue to keep in touch with each other by phone – without doubt the sound of a familiar voice can do wonders for morale – or by email.
Sunday 3rd Fourth Sunday of Easter
Monday 4th English Martyrs
Tuesday 5th Easter Feria
Wednesday 6th Easter Feria
Thursday 7th Easter Feria
Friday 8th Easter Feria
Saturday 9th Easter Feria
Sunday 10th Fifth Sunday of Easter
Monday 4th English Martyrs
Tuesday 5th Easter Feria
Wednesday 6th Easter Feria
Thursday 7th Easter Feria
Friday 8th Easter Feria
Saturday 9th Easter Feria
Sunday 10th Fifth Sunday of Easter
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles 2:14, 36-41 and if taken together with that of the next few Sundays provides insight into the preaching of the early Church in the persons of Paul and Barnabas. The mission first to the Jews is now to be placed second to the mission to the Gentiles, a theme which the reading for next Sunday also explores with the warning by the preachers that those who follow the Lord will necessarily have to endure trial and sufferings.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.
The second reading is from the first Letter of Peter 2:20-25. In these verses today, St. Peter is giving advice to Christians who were slaves. He tells them to be submissive to their masters with all respect.
Beloved: If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
The Responsorial Psalm is the famous Psalm 22:1-6
The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for his own name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff my comfort still.
My table thou hast furnished me
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house forevermore,
My dwelling place shall be.
The Gospel is from St. John 10:1-10. One of the oldest paintings of Christ, in the Roman catacombs, represents Christ as carrying the injured, straying sheep gently on his shoulders back to the sheepfold. This is an image of Christ which has always appealed to Christians. We have Christ as our shepherd - he tells us so himself in today's gospel - and we do not resent being called sheep in this context. There is something guileless about a sheep, and at the same time a lot of foolishness! But with Christ as our shepherd and the "good shepherd" who is sincerely interested in the true welfare of his flock we have reason to rejoice.
“Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gatebut climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.When he has driven out all his own,he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,because they recognize his voice.But they will not follow a stranger;they will run away from him,because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”Although Jesus used this figure of speech,the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,I am the gate for the sheep.All who came before me are thieves and robbers,but the sheep did not listen to them.I am the gate.Whoever enters through me will be saved,and will come in and go out and find pasture.A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
The leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees and Sadducees, were false shepherds who tried to prevent the people from following Jesus, but they failed. They then killed the shepherd but in vain. He rose from the dead and his flock increased by the thousands and will keep increasing until time ends. We surely are fortunate to belong to the sheepfold of Christ - his Church. We surely are blessed to have the Son of God as our Shepherd, who came among us in order to lead us to heaven. Do we fully appreciate our privileged position? Do we always live up to our heavenly vocation? We know his voice, we know what he asks of us, but do we always listen to that voice, do we always do what he asks of us? There are many among us today who foolishly think they need no shepherd. They think they know all the facts of life while they are in total ignorance of the most basic fact of all, namely, the very purpose of life. Not that the thought of it does not arise disturbingly before their minds time and time again. But they try to smother that thought and ease their consciences by immersing themselves deeper and deeper in the affairs and the passing pleasures of this temporary life. Alas for them, a day of reckoning lies ahead, a day that is much nearer than they would like to believe. What will be their fate when they meet Christ the Judge, whom they had refused to follow and acknowledge during their days on earth? This is a misfortune that could happen to any one of us, unless we think often of our purpose and our end in life. We have a few short years, but short though they be, we can earn for ourselves an eternity of happiness during this life. Let the straying sheep boast of their false freedom and of the passing joys they may get in this life - this freedom and these joys are mixed with much sorrow, and will end very soon. We know that if we follow the shepherd of our souls, we are on the way to the true life, the perfect life, the unending life which will have no mixture of sorrow, regret or pain. Where Christ is, there perfect happiness is, and there with God's grace we hope and trust to be.
WHAT IS A FERIA DAY?
(Feria is the Latin for "free day).
A day on which the people, especially the slaves, were not obliged to work, and on which there were no court sessions. In ancient Roman times the feriae publicae, legal holidays, were either stativae, recurring regularly (e.g. the Saturnalia), conceptivae, i.e. movable, or imperativae, i.e. appointed for special occasions.
When Christianity spread, the feriae were ordered for religious rest, to celebrate the feasts instituted for worship by the Church. The faithful were obliged on those days to attend Mass in their parish church; such assemblies gradually led to mercantile enterprise, partly from necessity and partly for the sake of convenience. This custom in time introduced those market gatherings which the Germans call Messen, and the English call fairs. They were fixed on saints' days (e.g. St. Barr's fair, St. Germanus's fair, St. Wenn's fair, etc.)
Today the term feria is used to denote the days of the week with the exception of Sunday. Various reasons are given for this terminology. The Roman Breviary, in the sixth lesson for 31 Dec., says that Pope St. Silvester ordered the continuance of the already existing custom "that the clergy, daily abstaining from earthly cares, would be free to serve God alone". Others believe that the Church simply Christianized a Jewish practice. The Jews frequently counted the days from their Sabbath, and so we find in the Gospels such expressions as una Sabbati and prima Sabbati, the first from the Sabbath. The early Christians reckoned the days after Easter in this fashion, but, since all the days of Easter week were holy days, they called Easter Monday, not the first day after Easter, but the second feria or feast day; and since every Sunday is the dies Dominica, a lesser Easter day, the custom prevailed to call each Monday a feria secunda, and so on for the rest of the week.
The ecclesiastical style of naming the weekdays was adopted by no nation except the Portuguese who are alone today in using the terms segunda feira for Monday, terça fiera for Tuesday, quarta feira for Wednesday etc..
The old use of the word feria, for feast day, is lost, except in the derivative feriatio, which is equivalent to our of obligation. Today those days are called ferial upon which no feast is celebrated. Feriae are either major or minor. The major, which must have at least a commemoration, even on the highest feasts, are the feriae of Advent and Lent, the Ember days, and the Monday of Rogation week; the others are called minor. Of the major feriae Ash Wednesday and the days of Holy Week are privileged so that their office must be taken, no matter what feast may occur.
A Gentle Reminder:As we move into our seventh week of no Sunday Mass in our church can we remind parishioners of the need to continue to put aside their normal weekly contributions. Keep these in a separate jar or something similar, or use the planned giving envelopes if you have them. Those with gift aid envelopes please use them. We do recognise some parishioners may be facing short-term financial difficulties as a result of the Coronavirus so we only ask you to put aside what you can afford. It is in these situations that we are particularly grateful to those parishioners who contribute their collection monies through Bank Standing Orders. If anyone would like to open a Standing Order please contact Paul Carroll on 01509 620889. (Parish Finance Committee)
Justice & Peace Group: You will recall that the 2019 Advent Charity chosen and organised by the Youth Group was Loughborough Town of Sanctuary so we thought you may welcome an update on their work in these most difficult times.
The Home Office has relaxed some of the regulations, such as the requirement of asylum seekers to report at Loughborough Reporting Centre at the beginning of the lockdown. This has helped the asylum seekers with regard to travel. However, this pause in reporting means there will be no face-to-face asylum interviews which will inevitably lead to delays in initial decision making and asylum appeals taking place. This can only increase the anxiety felt by many of them. The work of the LTOS volunteers has had to be suspended but there is now a greater need for asylum seekers to be supported in their locality. Many of them are at great risk of contracting Covid 19 as they are living in shared accommodation with no space for social distancing and they cannot attend the regular support groups and activities in our main cities. As LTOS is not incurring costs during the suspension, donations have been made to Leicester City of Sanctuary, Derby Red Cross and Nottingham Refugee Forum. The Home Office has also announced that for the next three months, people will not be asked to leave their asylum accommodation. This applies to both people whose asylum cases are refused and those who are granted status. Hopefully this will stop the evictions we hear about from time to time. There is little more practical action that we as parishioners can do at the moment but please keep all asylum seekers in the East Midlands in your prayers.
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 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
Let us all pray a hymn together:
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.
What is your favourite hymn?Let us know and we shall publish it in the next newsletter.
Follow me(chosen by Marie-Hélène)
Follow me, follow me,
Leave your home and family,
Leave your fishing nets and boats upon the shore.
Leave the seed that you have sown,
Leave the crops that you’ve grown,
Leave the people that you’ve known
And follow me.
The foxes have their holes
And the swallows have their nests,
But the Son of Man has no place to lie down.
I do not offer comfort,
I do not offer wealth,
But in me will all happiness be found.
If you would follow me,
You must leave old ways behind,
You must take my cross and follow on my path.
You may be far from loved ones,
You may be far from home,
But my Father will welcome you at last.
Although I go away,
You will never be alone,
For the Spirit will be there to comfort you.
Though all of you may scatter,
Each follow his own path,
Still the Spirit of love will lead you home.
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.
A DAILY PRAYER
Please say this prayer every day, together with the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Glory be. It is adapted from a prayer written by the Most Reverend Mark Coleridge, archbishop of Brisbane.
Almighty and all-merciful God, lover of the human race, healer of all our wounds in whom there is no shadow of death, save us in this time of crisis, comfort the sick and the dying, the isolated and the afraid; be with us in our need. Grant wisdom and courage to our leaders and all who are responsible for the common good. Watch over everyone who is working in our National Health Service as they tend the sick, all who are supporting the vulnerable, and those who are working for a cure. Stir in us a sense of solidarity beyond all isolation; if our doors are closed, let our hearts be open. By the power of your love, destroy the virus of fear, that hope may never die, and grant that the light of Easter, the triumph of life, may shine upon us and the whole world; may we, like the Paschal Candle, marked with the sign of the Cross, give of ourselves and burn yet more brightly, for love conquers everything, light transforms darkness. By welcoming Christ into our hearts each and every day, may we always spread your love far and wide by valuing in all in the name of Jesus the Christ and being the people you have made us to be. 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.
Our Lady Immaculate, Our Lady of Walsingham, Our Lady Health of the Sick, pray for us.
St Joseph, guardian of Jesus, guardian of us all, pray for us.
St Hugh of Lincoln, Patron of the Diocese of Nottingham, pray for us
The new school term: Even if schools have not reopened for most pupils, let us remember in our prayers all parents who are supervising home schooling, teachers who are providing a wealth of material via online lessons and, of course, the young people themselves who are having to deal with this difficult period in their young lives.
Birthdays: Belated birthday wishes to Tricia Walker, Fr Anthony and Brian Ratcliffe.
Happy 58th Wedding Anniversary to Brian and Shirley Ratcliffe who celebrated this landmark on 28thApril which just happens to be Brian’s birthday. There’s no way he can forget his anniversary, is there?
QUIZ
(Answers at the end – no cheating!)
1.) How many books are there in the New Testament?
a. 66
b. 39
c. 27
d. 12
2.) What is the common name given to the first four books of the New Testament?
a. the Gospels
b. the Revelations
c. the Acts
d. the Synopsis
3.) Which of the following are NOT one of the first four books of the New Testament?
a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. James
4.) Who wrote most of the books in the New Testament?
a. James
b. John
c. Peter
d. Paul
5.) Which of these are NOT books in the New Testament?
a. 3 John
b. 1 Corinthian
c. 3 Peter
d. 2 Thessalonians
6.) Who wrote the Acts of the Apostles?
a. Matthew
b. Paul
c. Peter
d. Luke
7.) Which of these women is mentioned in the New Testament?
a. Rebekah
b. Sarah
c. Martha
d. Hannah
8.) Which of these books comes first in the New Testament (relative to the others)?
a. Romans
b. Ephesians
c. Hebrews
d. Revelation
9.) Which of these books comes last in the New Testament
a. Revelation
b. Colossians
c. Galatians
d. The Acts
10.) Which of the following correctly describes the first four books of the New Testament?
a. the first gives the details of Christ's birth; the second, of his childhood; the third, of his ministry; the fourth, of the last week of his life
b. they are excerpts from the journals of four of Christ's disciples
c. they are narratives about the life and ministry of Christ, written by four different authors
d. the first includes the most important commandments, the second contains the second-most important commandments, and so on.
Answers:
1.c 2.a 3.d 4.d 5.c 6.d 7.c 8.a 9.a 10.c
Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles 2:14, 36-41 and if taken together with that of the next few Sundays provides insight into the preaching of the early Church in the persons of Paul and Barnabas. The mission first to the Jews is now to be placed second to the mission to the Gentiles, a theme which the reading for next Sunday also explores with the warning by the preachers that those who follow the Lord will necessarily have to endure trial and sufferings.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.
The second reading is from the first Letter of Peter 2:20-25. In these verses today, St. Peter is giving advice to Christians who were slaves. He tells them to be submissive to their masters with all respect.
Beloved: If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
The Responsorial Psalm is the famous Psalm 22:1-6
The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for his own name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff my comfort still.
My table thou hast furnished me
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house forevermore,
My dwelling place shall be.
The Gospel is from St. John 10:1-10. One of the oldest paintings of Christ, in the Roman catacombs, represents Christ as carrying the injured, straying sheep gently on his shoulders back to the sheepfold. This is an image of Christ which has always appealed to Christians. We have Christ as our shepherd - he tells us so himself in today's gospel - and we do not resent being called sheep in this context. There is something guileless about a sheep, and at the same time a lot of foolishness! But with Christ as our shepherd and the "good shepherd" who is sincerely interested in the true welfare of his flock we have reason to rejoice.
“Amen, amen, I say to you,whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gatebut climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.When he has driven out all his own,he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,because they recognize his voice.But they will not follow a stranger;they will run away from him,because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”Although Jesus used this figure of speech,the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,I am the gate for the sheep.All who came before me are thieves and robbers,but the sheep did not listen to them.I am the gate.Whoever enters through me will be saved,and will come in and go out and find pasture.A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
The leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees and Sadducees, were false shepherds who tried to prevent the people from following Jesus, but they failed. They then killed the shepherd but in vain. He rose from the dead and his flock increased by the thousands and will keep increasing until time ends. We surely are fortunate to belong to the sheepfold of Christ - his Church. We surely are blessed to have the Son of God as our Shepherd, who came among us in order to lead us to heaven. Do we fully appreciate our privileged position? Do we always live up to our heavenly vocation? We know his voice, we know what he asks of us, but do we always listen to that voice, do we always do what he asks of us? There are many among us today who foolishly think they need no shepherd. They think they know all the facts of life while they are in total ignorance of the most basic fact of all, namely, the very purpose of life. Not that the thought of it does not arise disturbingly before their minds time and time again. But they try to smother that thought and ease their consciences by immersing themselves deeper and deeper in the affairs and the passing pleasures of this temporary life. Alas for them, a day of reckoning lies ahead, a day that is much nearer than they would like to believe. What will be their fate when they meet Christ the Judge, whom they had refused to follow and acknowledge during their days on earth? This is a misfortune that could happen to any one of us, unless we think often of our purpose and our end in life. We have a few short years, but short though they be, we can earn for ourselves an eternity of happiness during this life. Let the straying sheep boast of their false freedom and of the passing joys they may get in this life - this freedom and these joys are mixed with much sorrow, and will end very soon. We know that if we follow the shepherd of our souls, we are on the way to the true life, the perfect life, the unending life which will have no mixture of sorrow, regret or pain. Where Christ is, there perfect happiness is, and there with God's grace we hope and trust to be.
WHAT IS A FERIA DAY?
(Feria is the Latin for "free day).
A day on which the people, especially the slaves, were not obliged to work, and on which there were no court sessions. In ancient Roman times the feriae publicae, legal holidays, were either stativae, recurring regularly (e.g. the Saturnalia), conceptivae, i.e. movable, or imperativae, i.e. appointed for special occasions.
When Christianity spread, the feriae were ordered for religious rest, to celebrate the feasts instituted for worship by the Church. The faithful were obliged on those days to attend Mass in their parish church; such assemblies gradually led to mercantile enterprise, partly from necessity and partly for the sake of convenience. This custom in time introduced those market gatherings which the Germans call Messen, and the English call fairs. They were fixed on saints' days (e.g. St. Barr's fair, St. Germanus's fair, St. Wenn's fair, etc.)
Today the term feria is used to denote the days of the week with the exception of Sunday. Various reasons are given for this terminology. The Roman Breviary, in the sixth lesson for 31 Dec., says that Pope St. Silvester ordered the continuance of the already existing custom "that the clergy, daily abstaining from earthly cares, would be free to serve God alone". Others believe that the Church simply Christianized a Jewish practice. The Jews frequently counted the days from their Sabbath, and so we find in the Gospels such expressions as una Sabbati and prima Sabbati, the first from the Sabbath. The early Christians reckoned the days after Easter in this fashion, but, since all the days of Easter week were holy days, they called Easter Monday, not the first day after Easter, but the second feria or feast day; and since every Sunday is the dies Dominica, a lesser Easter day, the custom prevailed to call each Monday a feria secunda, and so on for the rest of the week.
The ecclesiastical style of naming the weekdays was adopted by no nation except the Portuguese who are alone today in using the terms segunda feira for Monday, terça fiera for Tuesday, quarta feira for Wednesday etc..
The old use of the word feria, for feast day, is lost, except in the derivative feriatio, which is equivalent to our of obligation. Today those days are called ferial upon which no feast is celebrated. Feriae are either major or minor. The major, which must have at least a commemoration, even on the highest feasts, are the feriae of Advent and Lent, the Ember days, and the Monday of Rogation week; the others are called minor. Of the major feriae Ash Wednesday and the days of Holy Week are privileged so that their office must be taken, no matter what feast may occur.
A Gentle Reminder:As we move into our seventh week of no Sunday Mass in our church can we remind parishioners of the need to continue to put aside their normal weekly contributions. Keep these in a separate jar or something similar, or use the planned giving envelopes if you have them. Those with gift aid envelopes please use them. We do recognise some parishioners may be facing short-term financial difficulties as a result of the Coronavirus so we only ask you to put aside what you can afford. It is in these situations that we are particularly grateful to those parishioners who contribute their collection monies through Bank Standing Orders. If anyone would like to open a Standing Order please contact Paul Carroll on 01509 620889. (Parish Finance Committee)
Justice & Peace Group: You will recall that the 2019 Advent Charity chosen and organised by the Youth Group was Loughborough Town of Sanctuary so we thought you may welcome an update on their work in these most difficult times.
The Home Office has relaxed some of the regulations, such as the requirement of asylum seekers to report at Loughborough Reporting Centre at the beginning of the lockdown. This has helped the asylum seekers with regard to travel. However, this pause in reporting means there will be no face-to-face asylum interviews which will inevitably lead to delays in initial decision making and asylum appeals taking place. This can only increase the anxiety felt by many of them. The work of the LTOS volunteers has had to be suspended but there is now a greater need for asylum seekers to be supported in their locality. Many of them are at great risk of contracting Covid 19 as they are living in shared accommodation with no space for social distancing and they cannot attend the regular support groups and activities in our main cities. As LTOS is not incurring costs during the suspension, donations have been made to Leicester City of Sanctuary, Derby Red Cross and Nottingham Refugee Forum. The Home Office has also announced that for the next three months, people will not be asked to leave their asylum accommodation. This applies to both people whose asylum cases are refused and those who are granted status. Hopefully this will stop the evictions we hear about from time to time. There is little more practical action that we as parishioners can do at the moment but please keep all asylum seekers in the East Midlands in your prayers.
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 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
Let us all pray a hymn together:
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.
What is your favourite hymn?Let us know and we shall publish it in the next newsletter.
Follow me(chosen by Marie-Hélène)
Follow me, follow me,
Leave your home and family,
Leave your fishing nets and boats upon the shore.
Leave the seed that you have sown,
Leave the crops that you’ve grown,
Leave the people that you’ve known
And follow me.
The foxes have their holes
And the swallows have their nests,
But the Son of Man has no place to lie down.
I do not offer comfort,
I do not offer wealth,
But in me will all happiness be found.
If you would follow me,
You must leave old ways behind,
You must take my cross and follow on my path.
You may be far from loved ones,
You may be far from home,
But my Father will welcome you at last.
Although I go away,
You will never be alone,
For the Spirit will be there to comfort you.
Though all of you may scatter,
Each follow his own path,
Still the Spirit of love will lead you home.
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.
A DAILY PRAYER
Please say this prayer every day, together with the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Glory be. It is adapted from a prayer written by the Most Reverend Mark Coleridge, archbishop of Brisbane.
Almighty and all-merciful God, lover of the human race, healer of all our wounds in whom there is no shadow of death, save us in this time of crisis, comfort the sick and the dying, the isolated and the afraid; be with us in our need. Grant wisdom and courage to our leaders and all who are responsible for the common good. Watch over everyone who is working in our National Health Service as they tend the sick, all who are supporting the vulnerable, and those who are working for a cure. Stir in us a sense of solidarity beyond all isolation; if our doors are closed, let our hearts be open. By the power of your love, destroy the virus of fear, that hope may never die, and grant that the light of Easter, the triumph of life, may shine upon us and the whole world; may we, like the Paschal Candle, marked with the sign of the Cross, give of ourselves and burn yet more brightly, for love conquers everything, light transforms darkness. By welcoming Christ into our hearts each and every day, may we always spread your love far and wide by valuing in all in the name of Jesus the Christ and being the people you have made us to be. 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.
Our Lady Immaculate, Our Lady of Walsingham, Our Lady Health of the Sick, pray for us.
St Joseph, guardian of Jesus, guardian of us all, pray for us.
St Hugh of Lincoln, Patron of the Diocese of Nottingham, pray for us
The new school term: Even if schools have not reopened for most pupils, let us remember in our prayers all parents who are supervising home schooling, teachers who are providing a wealth of material via online lessons and, of course, the young people themselves who are having to deal with this difficult period in their young lives.
Birthdays: Belated birthday wishes to Tricia Walker, Fr Anthony and Brian Ratcliffe.
Happy 58th Wedding Anniversary to Brian and Shirley Ratcliffe who celebrated this landmark on 28thApril which just happens to be Brian’s birthday. There’s no way he can forget his anniversary, is there?
QUIZ
(Answers at the end – no cheating!)
1.) How many books are there in the New Testament?
a. 66
b. 39
c. 27
d. 12
2.) What is the common name given to the first four books of the New Testament?
a. the Gospels
b. the Revelations
c. the Acts
d. the Synopsis
3.) Which of the following are NOT one of the first four books of the New Testament?
a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. James
4.) Who wrote most of the books in the New Testament?
a. James
b. John
c. Peter
d. Paul
5.) Which of these are NOT books in the New Testament?
a. 3 John
b. 1 Corinthian
c. 3 Peter
d. 2 Thessalonians
6.) Who wrote the Acts of the Apostles?
a. Matthew
b. Paul
c. Peter
d. Luke
7.) Which of these women is mentioned in the New Testament?
a. Rebekah
b. Sarah
c. Martha
d. Hannah
8.) Which of these books comes first in the New Testament (relative to the others)?
a. Romans
b. Ephesians
c. Hebrews
d. Revelation
9.) Which of these books comes last in the New Testament
a. Revelation
b. Colossians
c. Galatians
d. The Acts
10.) Which of the following correctly describes the first four books of the New Testament?
a. the first gives the details of Christ's birth; the second, of his childhood; the third, of his ministry; the fourth, of the last week of his life
b. they are excerpts from the journals of four of Christ's disciples
c. they are narratives about the life and ministry of Christ, written by four different authors
d. the first includes the most important commandments, the second contains the second-most important commandments, and so on.
Answers:
1.c 2.a 3.d 4.d 5.c 6.d 7.c 8.a 9.a 10.c
