Dear friends in Christ
We are hearing some of the parables of Jesus, as recorded by St Matthew, over these current Sundays. Why did Jesus speak to the crowds in parables and not just tell them directly what He wanted them to know and learn? He Himself says that the mysteries of God are not for everyone and that for some they need to be told as simple metaphors; it reminds us, that before God we have to be very simple, uncomplicated, like children, so that we can learn the things of God well. The parable of the wheat and the weeds this Sunday is easy for anyone to grasp. In any part of the world, but especially in the Middle East, the problem of weeds, or cockle, is a serious one, and even more serious when you can’t distinguish one from the other. The Fathers of the Church, for example St John Chrysostom, understood the weeds to be a metaphor for false doctrine, which is not easy to distinguish from the Truth. This is true above all at the beginning, because it is proper to the devil to mix falsehood with the Truth; and if error is allowed to flourish it always has catastrophic effects on the people of God. This parable has lost none of it’s relevance for our time: many people are confused; many Christians have fallen asleep and have allowed the enemy to sow bad seed with total impunity. All Truth now seems up for questioning and debate, everyone seems to have their own ‘truth'. If we are to be faithful to the requirements of our Catholic vocation, we need to be continually awake and alert so that the Evil One does not come and sow cockle — the seeds of falsehood and error — alongside the truth that Christ and His Church have communicated to us. Let us keep this vigilance by using the Word of God, and the perennial teachings of Holy Church, before our eyes; keeping ourselves informed and well-formed in the tenets of our Catholic Christian Truth: keeping our eyes on Jesus.
It has been beautiful to see many more of the Parish coming back to church and Mass after all these weeks. Many are still nervous about going out and venturing too far from home; enclosed spaces are still precarious places for many of us. However, we are ensuring that the church building is safe and hygienic and we hope that many more will feel comfortable and able to be at Mass again in the coming weeks. If we are attending, it is very important that we continue to observe the guidelines carefully, especially the social distancing. Thank you to our volunteers who have been stewards and cleaners: without this help we could not keep the church ready in the way we need to. As the weeks go on, I hope that we can introduce another Sunday morning Mass and the Vespers and Benediction; this will depend upon demand and the availability of volunteers for stewarding and cleaning, as well as ensuring there is adequate time between the Masses for ventilation. From this Monday we will change the times when the church is open since the times around Mass seem most popular for visits. The more volunteers we have the more we can keep our buildings ready for the worship of Almighty God. If you can help, please go to the website and sign-up there.
Thank you all once again and God bless you in this coming week!
Msgr Kevin Hale