Thank you to those parishioners who, since last week, have added their names to the list of those receiving this newsletter by email. If you are in contact with any parishioner who has not received a newsletter, please let us know and they will be added to the list. Please continue to contact by phone those members of our parish that you have agreed to “adopt”. Several parishioners have commented on how happy they were to receive a call. Please let us know if there are any who are particularly in need of our prayers.
Palm Sunday Readings: Today we commemorate Christ's entry into Jerusalem for the completion of the Paschal Mystery. In the old calendar before Vatican II, the Church celebrated Passion Sunday two Sundays before Easter, and then Palm Sunday was the beginning of Holy Week. The Church has combined the two to reinforce the solemnity of Holy Week. The Palm Sunday procession is formed of Christians who, in the "fullness of faith," make their own the gesture of the Jews and endow it with its full significance. Following the Jews' example we proclaim Christ as a Victor... Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. But by our faith we know, as they did not, all that His triumph stands for. He is the Messiah, the Son of David and the Son of God. He is the sign of contradiction, acclaimed by some and reviled by others. Sent into this world to wrest us from sin and the power of Satan, He underwent His Passion, the punishment for our sins, but issues forth triumphant from the tomb, the victor over death, making our peace with God and taking us with Him into the kingdom of His Father in heaven. Below is the text of the Gospel read during the ceremony of the blessing of the palms. The text of the Gospel read during Mass is too long to reproduce here. However, if you do wish to download the full text of Mass on Palm Sunday, you can access it here: http://www.stmarysloughborough.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Order-of-Mass-Palm-Sunday.pdf
When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Say to daughter Zion, “Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them.
The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Homily of Pope Francis for Palm Sunday 2014
Who Are We before Jesus Who Triumphs and Before Jesus Who Suffers?
This week begins with the festive procession with olive branches: the entire populace welcomes Jesus. The children and young people sing, praising Jesus. But this week continues in the mystery of Jesus’ death and his resurrection. We have just listened to the Passion of our Lord. We might well ask ourselves just one question: Who am I? Who am I, before my Lord? Who am I, before Jesus who enters Jerusalem amid the enthusiasm of the crowd? Am I ready to express my joy, to praise him? Or do I stand back? Who am I, before the suffering Jesus? We have just heard many, many names. The group of leaders, some priests, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, who had decided to kill Jesus. They were waiting for the chance to arrest him. Am I like one of them? We have also heard another name: Judas. Thirty pieces of silver. Am I like Judas? We have heard other names too: the disciples who understand nothing, who fell asleep while the Lord was suffering. Has my life fallen asleep? Or am I like the disciples, who did not realize what it was to betray Jesus? Or like that other disciple, who wanted to settle everything with a sword? Am I like them? Am I like Judas, who feigns loved and then kisses the Master in order to hand him over, to betray him? Am I a traitor? Am I like those people in power who hastily summon a tribunal and seek false witnesses: am I like them? And when I do these things, if I do them, do I think that in this way I am saving the people? Am I like Pilate? When I see that the situation is difficult, do I wash my hands and dodge my responsibility, allowing people to be condemned – or condemning them myself? Am I like that crowd which was not sure whether they were at a religious meeting, a trial or a circus, and then chose Barabbas? For them it was all the same: it was more entertaining to humiliate Jesus. Am I like the soldiers who strike the Lord, spit on him, insult him, who find entertainment in humiliating him? Am I like the Cyrenean, who was returning from work, weary, yet was good enough to help the Lord carry his cross? Am I like those who walked by the cross and mocked Jesus: “He was so courageous! Let him come down from the cross and then we will believe in him!” Mocking Jesus…. Am I like those fearless women, and like the mother of Jesus, who were there, and who suffered in silence? Am I like Joseph, the hidden disciple, who lovingly carries the body of Jesus to give it burial? Am I like the two Marys, who remained at the Tomb, weeping and praying? Am I like those leaders who went the next day to Pilate and said, “Look, this man said that he was going to rise again. We cannot let another fraud take place!”, and who block life, who block the tomb, in order to maintain doctrine, lest life come forth?
Where is my heart? Which of these persons am I like? May this question remain with us throughout the entire week.
When Mass cannot be celebrated publicly: A recent newsletter contained a document provided by the Bishops’ Conference with prayers that can be used at home while we cannot assist at Mass and an explanation of what is meant by “Spiritual Communion”. There is a copy of this on the parish website should you have misplaced yours. If you do not have access to the internet, but would like another printed version, please contact Peter on 416193. It is, of course, not essential, but how wonderful it would be if we could all pray these prayers at the same time. How about the time when we would normally be at Mass on Sunday morning at 9.00am?
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 Cathedral in Nottingham on each day of the week. The schedule is as follows:
Sunday12thApril: 10.00am.
Monday to Friday: 1.00pm.
Saturday 18th: 10.00am.
Sunday 19th: 10.00am.
Also on the parish website, an additional link has been added to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham whose 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.
CAFOD reflection for Palm Sunday:
(Provided by the Justice and Peace Group)
Today on Palm Sunday we see Jesus enter Jerusalem in triumph. Seated on a colt, welcomed by the shouts of joy and praise of his disciples. They cannot keep the good news to themselves.
This contrasts with Peter in the Passion story, which we also hear today. Peter loses faith and denies Jesus three times.
Time to speak out
Think of a time when you were brimming with confidence and joy and wanted the whole world to know why. Could you have kept quiet?
Now think of a time when you should have spoken out. When you should have admitted your guilt, or your faith. A time when you should have stood up for what was right, but you just weren’t able to do it.
How did you feel?
We are in good company. Even Peter got things wrong. He wasn’t brave enough to admit to his friendship with Jesus. Yet he became the rock on which Christ built his Church.
None of us is perfect, but this Holy Week let us be brave and speak out. Let us lift our voices and refuse to be quieted.
Lent prayer
Christ Jesus, forgive me for the times I have lost courage and been unable to speak up for what I know is right. Strengthen my voice to speak from my heart and help ensure that all people can make themselves heard. Amen.
Act
Be part of the good news for our brothers and sisters and Our Common Home. Take action on climate today.
The importance of routine: In these difficult times, we are reminded of the value of establishing a routine. One parishioner remarked that, in a curious way, she had benefited from being obliged to stay indoors as she had begun to spend more time reading books of a spiritual nature. How profitable it would be to reserve a portion of the day for prayer and spiritual reading. For those of us who have the Internet, there are numerous possibilities: there are free books on www.catholicculture.org; The Catholic Truth Society http://www.ctsbooks.org has a wealth of short publications that are inexpensive and very accessible. The parish website has a page devoted to “The Way of the Cross” (https://www.saintgregorysileby.org/stations-of-the-cross.html) and the Holy Rosary (https://www.saintgregorysileby.org/rosary.html). If you have a hymn book, you could read (or sing, provided that you do not disturb or frighten the neighbours) your favourite hymns. If you do not have a hymn book and miss hearing your favourite hymn, just let us know and we can publish your requests over the coming weeks. If we all were to read (or sing) the parish “favourite for 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.
Go on a retreat: The coronavirus pandemic has brought about huge changes in the pattern of our everyday lives, but we can turn this situation to advantage. Most of us now have a lot more time on our hands and the days can seem to drag unless we organise our time. An excellent piece of advice is “Go on Retreat.” A retreat is a time spent apart from the pressures of normal living to be with God. Usually we go to another place to make our retreat (our Parish retreat at the Rosmini Centre on 21stMarch had to be cancelled) but it can be done at home. It’s all about structuring our day. It might go something like this: * Spend 20 minutes in prayer. * Read the daily Scripture readings that will be used at Mass (sites like “Universalis” will give the texts. * Say the Rosary or do the Stations of the Cross. * Watch a live streamed Mass on line. * Spend 15 minutes in prayer without words. * Read a spiritual book. * Make contact with someone who might be lonely or worried. It’s surprising how quickly the day goes when we adopt a routine like this.
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.
Recently died: Parishioners will be sad to hear of the recent death of Anthony Belderbos of Thussington who died on 21stMarch. He and his wife used to very generously open their home in Thrussington for our Parish to raise money for CAFOD by selling plants, cakes etc. After he retired Anthony worked for CAFOD when it was based at Rearsby convent. He would go into schools (including Sacred Heart) and speak to the children about his trips with CAFOD to raise awareness of the Charity and the work they do. He was buried in Thrussington Cemetery on Monday 30thMarch.
Missio “Little Red Boxes”:We have received details of the amount raised via the Little Red Missionary boxes for 2019. This was the magnificent sum of £662.57 an increase of £42 on the 2018 figure. Sincere thanks to you for your generosity and to Bron for organising the scheme.
Children’s Liturgy: During this difficult period, the Children’s Liturgy Group will be using a virtual children’s liturgy resource provided by CAFOD: https://cafod.org.uk/Education/Children-s-liturgy. It is good to know that our young parishioners are being well looked after.
Catholic Truth Society:Our mission is to help people discover, nurture and share their faith and we understand this is needed more than ever in the current climate. To that end, we are working on new ways to help you, both digitally; through prayer communities and blogs, and through our publications. We are now offering The CTS New Sunday Missal 2020 for just £1 to help you follow the prayers and readings of the Mass from home. I also want to reassure you that we are operating "business as usual", so that while our staff are working from home where possible and our distribution partners are practising social distancing, we are still available to respond to your queries, send you books, and work on new publications. This is undoubtedly a difficult time for everyone, but it is now more than ever that God calls us to remember that He never abandons us: "the Lord your God is going with you; He will never fail you or desert you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)
You can browse their website on: https://www.ctsbooks.org
Faith, Hope and Love
(The following thoughts are offered by one of our fellow parishioners)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines “virtue” as “an habitual and firm disposition to do good”. The “theological virtues” (faith, hope and love) differ from “moral virtues” as they are God’s gifts direct to us through sanctifying grace, whereas moral virtues are acquired through the help of God through our own human effort. It is important to note that all virtues are a cooperation with God’s grace which requires an “opening of ourselves” to receive His gifts of the divine life into our souls. The Catechism tells us:
The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity(Catechism 1813)
Faith, hope and charity (love) are gifts from God that are said to be “infused” within us and draw us towards participating in the divine life, for which God has made us! It could be said they are the difference between heaven and hell, eternal life or eternal nothingness.
The virtues are interdependent i.e. they work at their best when they operate together. Faith deprived of hope and love is weak and does not fully unite the believer to Christ, making him a living member of his body[1]. Faith apart from works (which, of course, are dictated by love) is dead[2].Faith (in the present) without hope (in the future) is at worst, impossible (for then we do not really believe God's promises will materialize), and at best, weak and cowardly. Charity (love) without faith at best is mere sentimentality and at worst is self-serving and exploiting (albeit in a tepid, semi benign way). Charity (love) without hope is desperation, futile and useless. Hope without faith is hollow optimism or groundless wishful thinking, blind, deaf and wrong-headed. Hope without love is selfish and isolating. This tripartite of virtues is the foundation of all other virtues and the key to God’s gift of life within all of our souls. Patience, justice, chastity, honesty, self-control and even love-of-neighbour all originate from God within us, which in turn is expressed and realized through faith, hope and charity (love). For example, love of God should always extend to love of neighbour.
Basic Christian beliefs are important for us in today’s world. Modern (so called “post Christian”) society largely has lost the fundamental understanding and importance of these virtues. Fear, doubt, despair and selfishness are the pillars of modernity, not faith, hope and charity! Faith is portrayed as naïve and childish; hope as an optimistic marketing slogan and charity (love) as a weakness to be exploited. Materialism is rife and can be considered as “unbelief in practice”; misplaced optimism and (pseudo) love of things rather than people all of which brings with it a rising suicide rate, a pandemic of fear and anxiety (the opposite to faith); depression (which is despair in practice – i.e. a lack of hope in love) and an inevitable plague of selfishness (the opposite to authentic love).
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3: 16)
John 3:16 is the epitome of hope through faith and love. They all need each other; remove faith and you perish; take away love and you perish. It is important to discern from this biblical extract that faith comes from us, but love comes to us; faith here is more than just belief, it is a reliance. Whilst God’s love is given to us it is important to understand we must open ourselves to receive it. In doing so it is necessary to accept God’s plan (Holy will). In biblical terms, this is an attitude or act of the heart, a decision of the spirit and a loving self-commitment to God’s plan. We accept everything from God: as we give all our commitment and thus our love in return. This faith through love gives us the right to be children of God:
But as many that received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name (John 1:12)
This is a call to conversion; a true self transcendence through God’s grace; an exercise of profound love and a movement towards eternal life. However, it is a personal choice for us all; as fear is the opposite to faith, we must allow love to cast out fear, thus enabling us to open our heart for faith to flourish. We then see that love and faith are bound together.
Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." (Heb 10:23) "The Holy Spirit . . . He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life(Titus 3:6-7)[3]
Our hope is given substance by our faith, for without hope it is impossible to grasp what we have faith in. Hope is not a sentimentally superficial optimism but a concrete expectation in the fulfilment of Christ’s promises. This kind of hope energises faith and gives true believers courage as our journey in life will encounter evil and temptations. We must be wary of false hopes:
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be find it (Matt 7: 13-14)
At the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Reformers, using faith in the biblical sense (saving faith) insisted that the Bible clearly taught that “faith alone” (“Sola Fides”) was sufficient for salvation (“Sin hard but believe harder”). They argued against the traditional Catholic Church’s insistence that good works are also necessary for salvation. However, James in his epistle stated: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
Love is God; and Love’s truth is Jesus Christ. Thus the worst of sins against Love (God) is hatred of God. Other sins against Love include: hatred and hostility towards others; seducing others from the truth of Love (God). Jesus clearly abhorred this in Matthew 18: 6-7: “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come: but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”
There are other sins against love, especially apparent in today’s “advanced” society. Scandals, often publicised in mainstream tabloids and social media, are sins against love and can seduce (another sin) the non-believer into believing this is acceptable behaviour. Equally, complicity with Evil is a sin against Love. We must always seek to protect and educate our youth about all the modern forms of complicity with Evil as they are all anti-love.
When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Say to daughter Zion, “Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them.
The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Homily of Pope Francis for Palm Sunday 2014
Who Are We before Jesus Who Triumphs and Before Jesus Who Suffers?
This week begins with the festive procession with olive branches: the entire populace welcomes Jesus. The children and young people sing, praising Jesus. But this week continues in the mystery of Jesus’ death and his resurrection. We have just listened to the Passion of our Lord. We might well ask ourselves just one question: Who am I? Who am I, before my Lord? Who am I, before Jesus who enters Jerusalem amid the enthusiasm of the crowd? Am I ready to express my joy, to praise him? Or do I stand back? Who am I, before the suffering Jesus? We have just heard many, many names. The group of leaders, some priests, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, who had decided to kill Jesus. They were waiting for the chance to arrest him. Am I like one of them? We have also heard another name: Judas. Thirty pieces of silver. Am I like Judas? We have heard other names too: the disciples who understand nothing, who fell asleep while the Lord was suffering. Has my life fallen asleep? Or am I like the disciples, who did not realize what it was to betray Jesus? Or like that other disciple, who wanted to settle everything with a sword? Am I like them? Am I like Judas, who feigns loved and then kisses the Master in order to hand him over, to betray him? Am I a traitor? Am I like those people in power who hastily summon a tribunal and seek false witnesses: am I like them? And when I do these things, if I do them, do I think that in this way I am saving the people? Am I like Pilate? When I see that the situation is difficult, do I wash my hands and dodge my responsibility, allowing people to be condemned – or condemning them myself? Am I like that crowd which was not sure whether they were at a religious meeting, a trial or a circus, and then chose Barabbas? For them it was all the same: it was more entertaining to humiliate Jesus. Am I like the soldiers who strike the Lord, spit on him, insult him, who find entertainment in humiliating him? Am I like the Cyrenean, who was returning from work, weary, yet was good enough to help the Lord carry his cross? Am I like those who walked by the cross and mocked Jesus: “He was so courageous! Let him come down from the cross and then we will believe in him!” Mocking Jesus…. Am I like those fearless women, and like the mother of Jesus, who were there, and who suffered in silence? Am I like Joseph, the hidden disciple, who lovingly carries the body of Jesus to give it burial? Am I like the two Marys, who remained at the Tomb, weeping and praying? Am I like those leaders who went the next day to Pilate and said, “Look, this man said that he was going to rise again. We cannot let another fraud take place!”, and who block life, who block the tomb, in order to maintain doctrine, lest life come forth?
Where is my heart? Which of these persons am I like? May this question remain with us throughout the entire week.
When Mass cannot be celebrated publicly: A recent newsletter contained a document provided by the Bishops’ Conference with prayers that can be used at home while we cannot assist at Mass and an explanation of what is meant by “Spiritual Communion”. There is a copy of this on the parish website should you have misplaced yours. If you do not have access to the internet, but would like another printed version, please contact Peter on 416193. It is, of course, not essential, but how wonderful it would be if we could all pray these prayers at the same time. How about the time when we would normally be at Mass on Sunday morning at 9.00am?
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 Cathedral in Nottingham on each day of the week. The schedule is as follows:
Sunday12thApril: 10.00am.
Monday to Friday: 1.00pm.
Saturday 18th: 10.00am.
Sunday 19th: 10.00am.
Also on the parish website, an additional link has been added to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham whose 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.
CAFOD reflection for Palm Sunday:
(Provided by the Justice and Peace Group)
Today on Palm Sunday we see Jesus enter Jerusalem in triumph. Seated on a colt, welcomed by the shouts of joy and praise of his disciples. They cannot keep the good news to themselves.
This contrasts with Peter in the Passion story, which we also hear today. Peter loses faith and denies Jesus three times.
Time to speak out
Think of a time when you were brimming with confidence and joy and wanted the whole world to know why. Could you have kept quiet?
Now think of a time when you should have spoken out. When you should have admitted your guilt, or your faith. A time when you should have stood up for what was right, but you just weren’t able to do it.
How did you feel?
We are in good company. Even Peter got things wrong. He wasn’t brave enough to admit to his friendship with Jesus. Yet he became the rock on which Christ built his Church.
None of us is perfect, but this Holy Week let us be brave and speak out. Let us lift our voices and refuse to be quieted.
Lent prayer
Christ Jesus, forgive me for the times I have lost courage and been unable to speak up for what I know is right. Strengthen my voice to speak from my heart and help ensure that all people can make themselves heard. Amen.
Act
Be part of the good news for our brothers and sisters and Our Common Home. Take action on climate today.
The importance of routine: In these difficult times, we are reminded of the value of establishing a routine. One parishioner remarked that, in a curious way, she had benefited from being obliged to stay indoors as she had begun to spend more time reading books of a spiritual nature. How profitable it would be to reserve a portion of the day for prayer and spiritual reading. For those of us who have the Internet, there are numerous possibilities: there are free books on www.catholicculture.org; The Catholic Truth Society http://www.ctsbooks.org has a wealth of short publications that are inexpensive and very accessible. The parish website has a page devoted to “The Way of the Cross” (https://www.saintgregorysileby.org/stations-of-the-cross.html) and the Holy Rosary (https://www.saintgregorysileby.org/rosary.html). If you have a hymn book, you could read (or sing, provided that you do not disturb or frighten the neighbours) your favourite hymns. If you do not have a hymn book and miss hearing your favourite hymn, just let us know and we can publish your requests over the coming weeks. If we all were to read (or sing) the parish “favourite for 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.
Go on a retreat: The coronavirus pandemic has brought about huge changes in the pattern of our everyday lives, but we can turn this situation to advantage. Most of us now have a lot more time on our hands and the days can seem to drag unless we organise our time. An excellent piece of advice is “Go on Retreat.” A retreat is a time spent apart from the pressures of normal living to be with God. Usually we go to another place to make our retreat (our Parish retreat at the Rosmini Centre on 21stMarch had to be cancelled) but it can be done at home. It’s all about structuring our day. It might go something like this: * Spend 20 minutes in prayer. * Read the daily Scripture readings that will be used at Mass (sites like “Universalis” will give the texts. * Say the Rosary or do the Stations of the Cross. * Watch a live streamed Mass on line. * Spend 15 minutes in prayer without words. * Read a spiritual book. * Make contact with someone who might be lonely or worried. It’s surprising how quickly the day goes when we adopt a routine like this.
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.
Recently died: Parishioners will be sad to hear of the recent death of Anthony Belderbos of Thussington who died on 21stMarch. He and his wife used to very generously open their home in Thrussington for our Parish to raise money for CAFOD by selling plants, cakes etc. After he retired Anthony worked for CAFOD when it was based at Rearsby convent. He would go into schools (including Sacred Heart) and speak to the children about his trips with CAFOD to raise awareness of the Charity and the work they do. He was buried in Thrussington Cemetery on Monday 30thMarch.
Missio “Little Red Boxes”:We have received details of the amount raised via the Little Red Missionary boxes for 2019. This was the magnificent sum of £662.57 an increase of £42 on the 2018 figure. Sincere thanks to you for your generosity and to Bron for organising the scheme.
Children’s Liturgy: During this difficult period, the Children’s Liturgy Group will be using a virtual children’s liturgy resource provided by CAFOD: https://cafod.org.uk/Education/Children-s-liturgy. It is good to know that our young parishioners are being well looked after.
Catholic Truth Society:Our mission is to help people discover, nurture and share their faith and we understand this is needed more than ever in the current climate. To that end, we are working on new ways to help you, both digitally; through prayer communities and blogs, and through our publications. We are now offering The CTS New Sunday Missal 2020 for just £1 to help you follow the prayers and readings of the Mass from home. I also want to reassure you that we are operating "business as usual", so that while our staff are working from home where possible and our distribution partners are practising social distancing, we are still available to respond to your queries, send you books, and work on new publications. This is undoubtedly a difficult time for everyone, but it is now more than ever that God calls us to remember that He never abandons us: "the Lord your God is going with you; He will never fail you or desert you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)
You can browse their website on: https://www.ctsbooks.org
Faith, Hope and Love
(The following thoughts are offered by one of our fellow parishioners)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines “virtue” as “an habitual and firm disposition to do good”. The “theological virtues” (faith, hope and love) differ from “moral virtues” as they are God’s gifts direct to us through sanctifying grace, whereas moral virtues are acquired through the help of God through our own human effort. It is important to note that all virtues are a cooperation with God’s grace which requires an “opening of ourselves” to receive His gifts of the divine life into our souls. The Catechism tells us:
The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity(Catechism 1813)
Faith, hope and charity (love) are gifts from God that are said to be “infused” within us and draw us towards participating in the divine life, for which God has made us! It could be said they are the difference between heaven and hell, eternal life or eternal nothingness.
The virtues are interdependent i.e. they work at their best when they operate together. Faith deprived of hope and love is weak and does not fully unite the believer to Christ, making him a living member of his body[1]. Faith apart from works (which, of course, are dictated by love) is dead[2].Faith (in the present) without hope (in the future) is at worst, impossible (for then we do not really believe God's promises will materialize), and at best, weak and cowardly. Charity (love) without faith at best is mere sentimentality and at worst is self-serving and exploiting (albeit in a tepid, semi benign way). Charity (love) without hope is desperation, futile and useless. Hope without faith is hollow optimism or groundless wishful thinking, blind, deaf and wrong-headed. Hope without love is selfish and isolating. This tripartite of virtues is the foundation of all other virtues and the key to God’s gift of life within all of our souls. Patience, justice, chastity, honesty, self-control and even love-of-neighbour all originate from God within us, which in turn is expressed and realized through faith, hope and charity (love). For example, love of God should always extend to love of neighbour.
Basic Christian beliefs are important for us in today’s world. Modern (so called “post Christian”) society largely has lost the fundamental understanding and importance of these virtues. Fear, doubt, despair and selfishness are the pillars of modernity, not faith, hope and charity! Faith is portrayed as naïve and childish; hope as an optimistic marketing slogan and charity (love) as a weakness to be exploited. Materialism is rife and can be considered as “unbelief in practice”; misplaced optimism and (pseudo) love of things rather than people all of which brings with it a rising suicide rate, a pandemic of fear and anxiety (the opposite to faith); depression (which is despair in practice – i.e. a lack of hope in love) and an inevitable plague of selfishness (the opposite to authentic love).
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3: 16)
John 3:16 is the epitome of hope through faith and love. They all need each other; remove faith and you perish; take away love and you perish. It is important to discern from this biblical extract that faith comes from us, but love comes to us; faith here is more than just belief, it is a reliance. Whilst God’s love is given to us it is important to understand we must open ourselves to receive it. In doing so it is necessary to accept God’s plan (Holy will). In biblical terms, this is an attitude or act of the heart, a decision of the spirit and a loving self-commitment to God’s plan. We accept everything from God: as we give all our commitment and thus our love in return. This faith through love gives us the right to be children of God:
But as many that received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name (John 1:12)
This is a call to conversion; a true self transcendence through God’s grace; an exercise of profound love and a movement towards eternal life. However, it is a personal choice for us all; as fear is the opposite to faith, we must allow love to cast out fear, thus enabling us to open our heart for faith to flourish. We then see that love and faith are bound together.
Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." (Heb 10:23) "The Holy Spirit . . . He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life(Titus 3:6-7)[3]
Our hope is given substance by our faith, for without hope it is impossible to grasp what we have faith in. Hope is not a sentimentally superficial optimism but a concrete expectation in the fulfilment of Christ’s promises. This kind of hope energises faith and gives true believers courage as our journey in life will encounter evil and temptations. We must be wary of false hopes:
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be find it (Matt 7: 13-14)
At the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Reformers, using faith in the biblical sense (saving faith) insisted that the Bible clearly taught that “faith alone” (“Sola Fides”) was sufficient for salvation (“Sin hard but believe harder”). They argued against the traditional Catholic Church’s insistence that good works are also necessary for salvation. However, James in his epistle stated: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
Love is God; and Love’s truth is Jesus Christ. Thus the worst of sins against Love (God) is hatred of God. Other sins against Love include: hatred and hostility towards others; seducing others from the truth of Love (God). Jesus clearly abhorred this in Matthew 18: 6-7: “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come: but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”
There are other sins against love, especially apparent in today’s “advanced” society. Scandals, often publicised in mainstream tabloids and social media, are sins against love and can seduce (another sin) the non-believer into believing this is acceptable behaviour. Equally, complicity with Evil is a sin against Love. We must always seek to protect and educate our youth about all the modern forms of complicity with Evil as they are all anti-love.
