Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear friends in Christ
In the Gospel of the Mass this weekend, Jesus addresses each of us with the words…Come, follow me. The antecedent to this imperative is that we should eschew everything that inhibits our unconditional following of Him. For most of us, who are living normal lives in society, giving up all we possess is not a practical choice. What we must do, however, is to live in such a state of mind that even what we need (our possessions), do not get in the way. It means knowing the proper value of everything, and using everything, not as an end in itself, but for the greater glory of God and His Church.
Beginning this week I would very much like us to begin our spiritual preparation for the forthcoming Holy Year (which begins on Christmas Eve) and our Parish Mission during Lent, which also marks the one hundredth anniversary of the opening of our own church. In fact last Monday—Feast of the Most Holy Rosary—was the centenary of the laying of the foundation stone. This you can view on the outside of the east end of the church, which you find by entering the Presbytery front garden. Do go and have a glimpse of it, situated just behind the tomb of Canon Francis Gilbert, the priest responsible for the building of our fine church. Pray for him, and all those benefactors who, by their vision and generosity, were able to raise up these stones, symbolic of us, the living stones of the Church, founded on the faith of the Apostles. There are some prayer cards available at the back of church which I invite you to take and pray daily; you might also give one to someone who might not otherwise receive it. You may recognise the prayer as the one we used for the Parish Mission in 2017 (centenary of the erection of our Diocese). We could say this prayer together each Sunday during Mass at the conclusion of the Prayers of the Faithful.
You will probably have heard that we shall be using a new translation of the Scripture Readings at Mass from the First Sunday of Advent. The new Lectionary will use both the English Standard Version—Catholic Edition of the Bible and the Abbey Psalter for the psalms. The changes are intended to give us a more faithful translation of the original biblical languages. I am very grateful to those who have made donations to cover these books: four new volumes for the Sundays, weekdays, and Feasts; and an embellished Book of the Gospels for use at Solemn Masses. Many of you will be able to follow the readings at Mass as before, using your hand-held devices, editions of the Magnificat book or the new Sunday Mass Books to be available at the back of church. For those who would like to possess their own copy of the Sunday Missal, the Catholic Truth Society are publishing these and you will able to obtain them directly from the CTS or from our Repository. All of this is being done to allow us a more profound access to the Word of God and its centrality in our lives. As the Second Vatican Council teaches in Dei Verbum, 21: The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, especially in the sacred liturgy.
You will be aware of the ongoing debate on Assisted Dying in Parliament and elsewhere. Please take some time to read the information provided by our Bishops and do take time to pray and write to our Member of Parliament. You will find fuller information here: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/opposing-assisted-suicide/ You can also read in this Newsletter the excellent Pastoral Letter of Cardinal Nichols issued this week.
I wish you all a blessed week ahead in this month of the Holy Rosary!
Msgr Kevin Hale