Month: October 2018

Dear Friends in Christ, 

Entire newsletter in PDF format

There is no mystery about the ways of this world. The problem is that these ways easy infiltrate into the Church and become its ways. Selfish ambition, self-advancement and self-promotion are often hallmarks of clerical ambition. Pope Francis, for example has put a stop to the plethora of young clerics being awarded the title Monsignor. Under his pontificate a cleric cannot be made a Monsignor until he is the age of 65! One or two have slipped through the net, mind you, but that is understandable; the disease of clerical ambition isn’t easily eradicated from the Body of Christ.

James and John approached the Lord, seeking just this kind of affirmation: pride of place in the kingdom. The desire for power, prestige and position reveals their folly and misunderstanding of the gospel. They want affirmation and promotion. Jesus’ rebuke is not harsh or sharp but compassionate and enquiring: ‘Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised?’ Their youthful zeal overtakes them and they declare that they can!

Jesus uses this display or worldly ambition to teach about the new way in his kingdom. If we want to be great, we have to choose to be small. If we want to be first, we must choose to be last. If we was esteem and recognition, we must serve and not be served. Jesus attacks the wisdom of this world which looks to dominate, manipulate and control. To be meek and to serve is a sign not of weakness but of true strength and character. To adopt the disposition of a slave is not to be trampled on but to rise above selfish drives which compel us to serve ourselves and not others.

Jesus is clear and direct; to lord it over others and exercise authority in a harsh, overbearing way has no place in his kingdom. Humility, not pride is the blessed way of the kingdom. Those in positions of authority or power have a vocation to show the world the power of love, service and humility: the greater our responsibility, the more humbly we should behave.

ST. JOHN FISHER CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL – OFSTED REPORT

It is with great joy that I would like to inform the whole parish community that our Parish School St. John Fisher, at the recent OFSTED inspection on the 25^th & 26^th of September was assessed as being a “GOOD” school over all in each of the Five Categories of assessment.

* Effectiveness of leadership and management
* Quality of teaching, learning and assessment
* Personal development, behaviour and welfare
* Outcomes for pupils
* Early years provision

This is truly a magnificent result! I would like to thank and congratulate our Head teacher Mrs Patricia Bryson, and all her staff for the incredible hard work that has gone into the school over the past couple of years. We are now on a par with the schools in our locality. To have this “GOOD” result is a wonderful uplift to the school and the parents alike. We should always give our Catholic support to our local Parish School.

Obviously, with admissions to Reception places for September 2019 taking place over the next few months, I would ask all of our Catholic families, if you have a child eligible for Reception 2019, that you would consider seriously a place at St. John Fisher School. I can assure you we will give the best education to your child, within the ethos of the Catholic School system.

Mrs Bryson states: “We are now looking forward to continuing the journey and building on our success. I am especially proud of my staff and would like to thank them for their dedication and hard work.”

“If you would like to know more about our school, you are very welcome to come and visit. The children of St John Fisher Catholic Primary School enjoy talking about and sharing their achievements and our successes.” (Mrs P Bryson)

APPLICATIONS FOR RECEPTION PLACES IN SPTEMBER 2019: The applications procedure for the Secondary School will be completed by the 31^st October. Approximately, from the middle of November applications through Essex County can be made for Reception places for September 2019. Parents will not be notified by the Essex County that you have to make application; if your child is eligible to start school in 2019. If your child will be four rising five in September 2019 please complete the procedure ‘on-line’. You have until 15^th January 2019 to make your application. For candidates for St. John Fisher School, you will also need a Certificate of Catholic Practice (CCP), signed by Fr. John declaring your weekly practice of faith.

May God Bless You All

28th Sunday of the Year 2018

Dear Friends in Christ, 

‘Come follow me!’ The rich young man wanted to love God and inherit eternal life. His genuine efforts delighted Jesus. Nonetheless, Jesus saw that he was relying on his own efforts to gain salvation. By inviting him to see all his goods, Jesus opened up a choice to him. Would he acknowledge his insufficiency and turn to Jesus for the grace to move forward, or would he turn away defeated and despairing?

The Lord wants us to come to him for salvation to arrive at the point where we discover our weakness and frailty and then turn to him for grace, strength and life. It is essential that we discover this moment in our lives at least once or, as is more likely, again and again. Do we depend on ourselves or on God? The heart of ‘being saved’ is acknowledging our need and depending on God. We cannot taste the goodness of the Lord id we rely only on ourselves.

Jesus challenged the man to a decision. Similarly, Jesus challenges us to make wise and godly choices. The choice is genuinely ours, as the young man’s choice was his. He could not make the decision to follow Jesus because the sacrifice of all his possessions seemed too great to him.

We sometimes fail to make the choices demanded of us. The sacrifices involved seem too much for us. For this reason Jesus promises us that giving up everything for his sake will be rewarded a hundredfold. The reward far outweighs the cost. He asks us to believe his promise and act upon it.

When we are following Jesus everything else in our lives loses importance: ‘I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’. The young man clung to the security of his possessions because he could put his trust in Jesus’ love for him. Only by experiencing Jesus’ love shall we be able to believe his promises and act upon them without counting the cost. Therefore we need to pray persistently to grow in our knowledge of his love for us. This is the key to following Jesus. Then not lacking one thing, we shall have treasure in heaven.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This weekend the Holy Father will canonize Archbishop Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI – they, and four others, will become Saints of our Church.

Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, was assassinated whilst celebrating Mass in a hospital in March 1980. Despite threats he had become an outspoken voice for the poor in defence of truth and justice. He achieved much by his life and even more by his martyrdom. In the weeks before he died he spoke to a journalist about the threats to his life and told him: “You can say, if they come to kill me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully they may realise that they will be wasting their time. A bishop will die but the Church of God, which is the people, will never perish.”

Pope Paul VI can also be remembered for his courageous proclamation of the Gospel. He reminded us that faith is often caught rather than taught, and he wrote: “Above all the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness…Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live: Why are they like this? Why do they live in this way?… Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and a very powerful and effective one” [Evangelii Nuntiandi n21].

The witness of Oscar Romero is a model for each of us, and in a particular way for bishops. As he visited the towns and villages of El Salvador, and saw the violence against the people, Romero said, “The ones who have a voice must speak for those who are voiceless.” How true this is for children, and vulnerable adults, yet in recent months we have been shocked and saddened by the example of bishops who have covered up the truth and therefore allowed injustice to flourish. We have heard stories of survivors of sexual abuse whose most basic rights have been violated by Catholic clergy or other members of the Church. The lives of survivors have been violated and in some cases destroyed by the crimes of the abusers. Those in authority in the Church have often failed to act.

In Brentwood Diocese, the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults has developed significantly over the last twenty years, and now involves many staff and volunteers at diocesan and parish level, and in our schools. Our Diocesan Safeguarding Commission includes representatives from the Metropolitan Police, the legal profession, and social workers, together with clergy and lay people who have extensive experience in education and youth ministry. With all my heart, I urge any survivor of abuse to speak out. I know that this can be very difficult, and so I promise, as your Bishop, that every allegation of abuse will be met with a response that is both pastoral and professional. I thank our parish Safeguarding representatives for the work that they do, and I affirm that safeguarding must be the concern of all of us who are able to give a “voice to the voiceless.” It is one of the ways in which, in the words of Pope Paul VI, we “proclaim the Gospel by our witness.”

So we are now going further: during our recent visit to Rome the Bishops’ Conference decided to commission an independent and comprehensive review of safeguarding structures that currently operate within the Catholic Church of England and Wales. Our children and vulnerable adults must be safe in the Church of Christ. We need to respond to survivors as we heed the words of Pope Francis, “No effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening”.

The martyrdom of Saint Oscar Romero points to hope rather than despair, to a kingdom of truth and justice. His time as Archbishop was full of great trials – five of the priests of his Diocese were shot in just three years, and many hundreds of parishioners were tortured and killed by the military dictatorship. Through all of this, he preached peace and he preached love. He said, “Let us not tire of preaching love, even when we see waves of violence succeed in drowning the fire of Christian love. Love must win out. It is the only force that will overcome the world. Always preach love.”

We may feel overwhelmed or inadequate to this task, and we may be utterly disheartened by the news of recent months. Oscar Romero said each one of us should be “God’s microphone,” tirelessly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ as friend of the poor, crucified Lord and risen Saviour, even in the most difficult times – especially in the most difficult times. So let us take heart from the example of Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI, and let us be strengthened by the words of today’s Gospel: “Many things seem impossible – but not for God; for everything is possible for God”.

With an assurance of continued prayers,

Yours in Christ and Mary,

+Alan Williams, sm

Bishop of Brentwood

As you know, the Annual Bazaar tends to be the only major fund-rising event that we have throughout the year. Its success is always dependent upon your generosity. So once again I appeal to your generosity for gifts and items for the Bazaar. This Weekend we will place the Bazaar Bin at the back of the Church; you can place your gifts and items in the box, or you can drop off anything at the Presbytery during the week. A BAZAAR IS NOT A JUMBLE SALE, please ensure that your gifts and items are worthy of sale! New items are preferable: e.g. Toiletries, fancy goods, bric-a-brac, cuddly toys, new toys, Jams & Preserves, Sweets, (Boxes of Chocolates, Christmas Selection boxes, Tins of Sweets, Christmas Sweets, Candy Canes

BOTTLE STALL:

Is always one of the most popular stalls at the Bazaar. We are appealing for Bottles of Wine and Spirits. We are aiming for 300, in that way we can make the bottle stall much bigger this year. If you have bottles of Wine and Spirits, you can drop them off at the presbytery at any time. Please be generous!

Suggestions for Grand Draw Prizes:

If anyone could donate any of the Money Prizes this would be helpful? 1^st Prize £200; 2^nd Prize £100; 3^rd Prize £50; Flat Screen Colour Television; I Pad; I Pod; Wii Game; Kindle, X Box games; DVD Player; CD Player; Theatre Vouchers; Crate of Wine; Tickets for Dinner at Restaurants; Theatre Tickets; Hairdressing & Beauty vouchers; Marks & Spencer Christmas Hamper, and various other hampers and many more prizes. If you can help with any of these prizes we would be most grateful.

FR. JOHN’S STALL:

Every year I try to enter into the full spirit of the Parish Bazaar; I run a stall with really excellent prizes. They are all donated by your good selves! I appeal to the whole parish community for really good quality gifts for my stall. Thanking you all in anticipation of your generosity! Flat Screen Television is a must! A Christmas Hamper; I Pad or I Pod; Kindle; Crate of Wine; Theatre Tickets; CD Music Player; X Box; Restaurant Vouchers, Theatre Vouchers and any other luxury goods that you might think worthy of a special raffle. Thanking you in anticipation!

PARISH BAZAAR – SATURDAY 1^st December 2018

11.00am – 3.00pm

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ANNUAL PARISH BAZAAR:

Saturday 1^st December 2018. There will be a Bazaar Committee Meeting on Tuesday 10^th October at 8.00pm in the Parish Retreat. If you are able to help with the annual parish bazaar, please do make a very special effort to attend this important meeting, Thank you!

TOILETRIES: Are always popular at a Parish Bazaar, if you have any toiletries can you let us have them as soon as possible. Please ensure that all toiletries and unopened, and unused. Please try to make a very special effort in even providing one item for the Toiletries Stall. Thank you!

SMALL CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR SANTA’S GROTTO: If you see any small toys or gifts for children, that you might feel would be good for Santa’s Grotto, please also think of the Bazaar. Every little helps. “If everyone does a little, a lot gets done!”

HELPERS ARE NEEDED THIS YEAR: We need help in sorting out the gifts that are donated on a weekly basis; also transporting the gifts and items to the presbytery or the storage room at the back of the parish hall. If you can help in the process we would be most grateful. Sadly these tasks are usually just left for the few, the more help we have the more we can get done! If you can help please speak to Fr. John. Thanking you in anticipation.

MATCHED GIVING: COULD WE MAKE A SPECIAL APPEAL THIS YEAR FOR ADDITIONAL MATCHED GIVING? Can anyone help again this year with Matched Giving from your Firm or Bank? Many companies do employ a Matched Giving facility, all you need to do is ask your place of employment; this truly would be of great benefit to us. If you work at the bazaar on a particular stall, whatever is raised is matched by the company. Please look in to it!

GRAND DRAW MONEY PRIZES: If there are any parishioners who would be able to donate this year’s Grand Draw Money Prizes, I would be most grateful, Or any other Money donations are always gratefully accepted. If you use the Parish Gift Aid Scheme, these prizes and money donations can be Gift Aided, all we need is your name orenvelope number. Thank you!

St Edmund of Canterbury and St Thomas More

Parish Prayer Booklet 2018(Printable PDF copy)

As we begin a new initiative “Forming Intentional Disciples’ in our parish, let us pray together that we will grow in love for God and one another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection

Do I allow the Holy Spirit to speak in my heart?

Do I ask Jesus: What do you want me to do, what do you want from my life?

This is training.  Ask Jesus, speak to Jesus, and if you make a mistake in your life,

If you should fall, if you should do something wrong, don’t be afraid.

Jesus, look at what I have done what must I do now?

Speak continually with Jesus, in the good times and the bad,

When you do it right and when you do it wrong.  Do not fear him!

This is prayer

Pope Francis

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Prayer for Intentional Discipleship

 

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this great opportunity to grow in love and relationship with you.

I know that you are calling me to know you more deeply through your son Jesus.

I open my heart to the great power of your Holy Spirit and I invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as I begin this new journey to find you from within, and to realise the gifts I received through my baptism.

Help me Father, to be released from any preconceived notions that stifle the creativity of the Holy Spirit, so that I am completely in your hands and compliant to all that you wish for me.

I pray also for my fellow pilgrims, that we will support, inspire and enthuse each other, fanning the spark of faith into a fire that fills us with the desire to proclaim the Good News of your Gospel.

Take from me any thought of self and give me the courage and humility I need to speak out and listen respectfully. So that together we may grow in confidence, give witness to you with joy and build your Kingdom.

I thank you Father in joyful anticipation, and offer this prayer through Jesus Christ your Son.

Amen

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Prayer for Evangelisation (Proclaim 15)

Loving Father, You so loved the world that you sent us your only Son that we might believe in him and have eternal life.

May we encounter Jesus Christ anew this day
and live the Good News with joy.

Through the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to “go out to the whole world and proclaim” our faith with confidence.

Give us the courage to witness to the Joy of the Gospel by our words and actions.
Help our parish to become more welcoming and missionary, so that you may be known and loved by all people.

We make this prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever,

Amen.

 

Our Lady, Star of the New Evangelisation,

Pray for us.

Blessed John Henry Newman,

Pray for us.

St Thérèse of Lisieux,

Pray for us.

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Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Glory be to the Father –

In whom we live and move

And have our being.

Glory be to the Son –

Whose name we bear

And who calls each of us

To be his disciples;

To build his Kingdom

And to go out into the world

And bear its fruit.

 

Glory be to the Holy Spirit –

Pouring out grace and guidance,

Forming us and renewing us.

 

Inspire us all in our parish

To live the Gospel,

To be open to change

And to move forward together in hope.

 

‘We believe that God’s desire for our diocese is that every Catholic will be part of a viable and flourishing community in order for their own faith to grow and so that they can share it with others.  For that to happen each of us need to look urgently at how we can move forward together with hope. Bishop Alan

27th Sunday of the Year 2018(PDF of the full Parish newsletter)

Dear Friends in Christ, 

Our Sunday Gospel readings are taken from St. Mark’s Gospel, while the weekday readings are taken from St. Luke. So today we interrupt the Lucan sequence and read about the way Jesus handled an attempt by the Pharisees to catch him out by a question on the lawfulness of divorce. Clearly, the Law of Moses permitted some form of divorce. Jesus however, referred them back to God’s original plan of creation. IN creating human beings male and female, it is evident that, in God’s purpose, man and woman are made for each other, for communion in an unbreakable bond. In a real sense, the union of man and woman in marriage reflects the ‘image of God’. God also is communion – a union of relationship between the Father and the Son. Over the centuries the Church has come to understand that the love that unites the Father and the Son is no less than the Holy Spirit. BY referring back to the Creation, and so the time before the Fall of humankind and the entrance of sin into human relationships, Jesus is also announcing the salvation the he has come to bring about and its effects within the relationship and vocation of marriage.

In a profound way, we can see a link between today’s reading and the reading from Luke yesterday, which spoke of our participation in the heavenly life of the Trinity. The work of redemption brought about by Jesus, in which we are given a share through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, has the effect of restoring to humanity the full purpose of God’s creation because in Jesus the power of sin and the Fall can be overcome, and because the gift of the Spirit enables us to live again as ‘the image of God’. The love and communion which characterises the relationships within the Trinity can be reflected now within the relationship within marriage.

This profound truth does not automatically transform the marriage relationship so that is is no longer without difficulties and trials. It is, however, a revelation that married people have access to an immense resource. The power of the cross of Jesus can overcome the power of sin, which threatens to break down our relationship. The gift of the Spirit brings into every marriage open to the Spirit the very love of God himself. This givens a whole new meaning to the proclamation from the marriage service ‘what God has joined together, let no man put asunder’.

What do you do when you have a thriving, 22-strong mixed-voice choir but only 21 members can access the choir loft?

This was the dilemma facing us when one valued member of our choir, who regularly attended rehearsals in the church hall, could not join the other 21 when it came to our most important job of all – singing at mass. To the rest of us, this felt very unfair. After all, why should someone who’s done all the hard preparatory work be deprived of joining us to sing at mass simply because he is a wheelchair user and can’t climb the stairs to the choir loft?

We felt very strongly that Michael belonged with the rest of us and we were determined to make it happen. But how? Could we bring the choir downstairs, for instance? Unfortunately that was impossible – not enough spare space on a Sunday. So it was a no-brainer – we had to find a way to get him up to the loft.

As June arrived, we discussed the possibilities and realised there was actually a very simple solution. Buy a stairlift!

Our parish priest Canon John Harvey was totally supportive of our plan, but stairlifts on steep, winding staircases don’t come cheap and we soon discovered we would have to raise the daunting sum of £5,500 to make the plan a reality.

We came up with a number of fundraising possibilities. Some quiz nights, perhaps? A series of concerts? Raffles? Maybe a wine-tasting evening? These would raise some money, for sure, but it would take a long time to reach the large total we needed. Then our Director of Music came up with another idea – a twelve-hour sponsored organ marathon. She would play and people would sponsor her for each of those hours. We decided to give it a go.

For the next three weeks choir members set up stall outside the church after every mass, handing out sponsorship forms and accepting some generous and totally unexpected on-the-spot donations. Many in the congregation took forms away with them and signed up friends, family and colleagues as sponsors, as did all the choir.

The response was staggering. By the time the organ marathon was completed, we knew we were close to our target. A few weeks later we discovered we had exceeded it! We were able to order the lift, pay the deposit and prepare for the installation.

As a result of people’s amazing generosity our stairlift was installed and fully operational for the last Sunday in September, just three months after we began to fundraise. All 22 choir members are now able to sing together and are profoundly thankful for the incredible team effort that made it possible.

To the best of our knowledge, we at St Edmund’s have the first fully accessible choir loft in the Diocese of Brentwood. We hope that the story of our parish-wide team effort will encourage and inspire others to create an environment that is inclusive for all – irrespective of disability or ill health.