Month: February 2019

Dear Friends in Christ, 

Full Newsletter for 7th Sunday of the Year 2019

Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of the teaching that began in last Sunday’s gospel. We continue to hear Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. Recall that in Luke’s Gospel, this teaching is addressed to Jesus’ disciples. This is contrast to the parallel found in Matthew’s Gospel, the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus’ words are addressed to both the disciples and to the crowds.

These words from Jesus’ teaching are familiar to us. They constitute the crux and the challenge of what it means to be a disciple: Love your enemies, turn the other cheek, give to those who ask, do unto others, lend without expecting repayment, judge not lest you be judged.

There are several similarities between Luke’s and Matthew’s report of Jesus’ great teaching. Both begin with the Beatitudes. Matthew includes nearly all the content that Luke does; the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel is longer than Luke’s Sermon on the Plain. There are, however, differences in language and nuance. For example, Matthew presents this portion of the teaching as a contrast between Jesus’ teaching and the teachings of the law and the prophets. This is in keeping with Matthew’s concern to address his predominantly Jewish audience. It is likely that Luke omits this contrast because it was unnecessary for the Gentile believers for whom Luke is writing.

Another point of contrast between Matthew and Luke’s presentation is the terminology. In Luke, Jesus contrasts the behavior of his followers with the behavior of “sinners.” In Matthew, Jesus contrasts the behavior desired with the behavior of tax collectors and Gentiles. Matthew concludes the teaching about love of enemies with the admonition to be perfect as God is perfect; Luke concludes by emphasizing God’s mercy.

In both Gospels, Jesus’ words challenge those who would follow him to be more like God. God loves us beyond our expectations, beyond anything we can possibly imagine. In response to God’s love, we are to love as God loves, beyond expectations and with a depth beyond imagining.

7^th Sunday of the Year

Dear Friends in Christ,

I would like to take this opportunity of sharing some important news with you. Many of our parents already know that our Head teacher of St. John Fisher Primary School, Mrs. Patricia Bryson will be leaving us at the end of April 2019. We will be very sad to see her go, as over the past three years she has contributed so much in leading her staff and the school to once again regain our ‘Good’ rating through Ofsted. Mrs. Bryson’s only daughter was gravely sick over a year ago with cancer, and she has decided to relocate to Ireland where her daughter is now living. We wish her every happiness and success in all of her future endeavours. Family is everything!

In a bid to help the school, which certainly suffered financially during the interregnum of appointing Mrs Bryson as Head back in 2017; in light of the recent sale of the site of St. Thomas More site in Debden, in conjunction with the permissions of the Trustees & Finance Board of the Diocese of Brentwood, our parish has committed to help the school financially over the next five years, by setting up a fund to give additional financial support & aid to the school in the education of our children. Obviously this is a great commitment on behalf of the parish, and I would be grateful if you could keep this in mind when making your Weekly Offertory contribution.

Our Catholic Primary School is a wonderful asset to our Parish, and many generations of children have gone through the school since its establishment by the Chigwell sisters in 1955. For all those who value Catholic Education please be supportive of St. John Fisher School. Please also pray that the Lord will send us a good New Head teacher to replace Mrs Bryson.

May God Bless You All,

Thank you to the many parishioners who came to our meeting in February. A number of people also took the trouble to send their apologies that they were unable to attend this time. We hope to see you next time! There is a lot of goodwill and positive energy to build our parish community and actively welcome new members as well as those who may have lapsed from their faith. We should like to encourage all of you to help and take part in the following initiatives:

Daffodils for Mothering Sunday: We would like to buy some daffodils for our children to give out to parishioners on the weekend of Mother’s Day (Sunday 31^st March). Would you be willing to sponsor the daffodils? If so, please let Fr John know. We would also like to encourage our teenagers to help the younger children distribute the daffodils. Teenagers willing to help should speak to Kathryn Poulter kathrynpoulter@hotmail.com or Iain McLay.

Parish forest walk on Sunday 28^th April: An informal chance to socialise with fellow parishioners. Further details to come nearer the time. Bring family and friends!

Car pool: We are aiming to form a list of volunteers to provide lifts for people to our weekend Masses. Could you help? If you could volunteer or would like more details, please contact Grainne 07402 907594, Emma 07790 767829 or Marjorie 07905 619566.

Bible study/faith sharing group: Open to all who are interested in the Sacred Scriptures and in understanding them. The six-week programme will meet on Wednesdays, beginning on 15^th May. Everyone welcome!

Moving forward with our Parish Evangelisation Team!

Following the popular and fruitful Forming Intentional Disciples programme in the autumn, we now have a Parish Evangelisation Team (PET) that meets monthly to:

1. Pray together;

2. Reflect on, and to discuss, opportunities to spread the Good News among our own parishioners and the wider community;

3. Plan and organise a wide range of activities in our parish;

4. Help each other to develop our faith and our relationship with Jesus Christ through words and actions.

Dear Friends in Christ, 

Full Newsletter of 6th Sunday of the Year 2019

Today’s gospel reading is the beginning of what is often called the Sermon on the Plain. We find a parallel to this passage in Matthew 5:1-7,11 that is often called the Sermon on the Mount. As these titles suggest, there are differences and similarities between these gospel readings. As Luke introduces the location of Jesus’ teaching, Jesus teaches on level ground, alongside the disciples and the crowd. Luke presents Jesus’ authority in a different light. He is God among us.

Another distinction found in Luke’s version is the audience. Luke’s Sermon on the Plain is addressed to Jesus’ disciples, although in the presence of the crowd; Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount is addressed to the crowd. In keeping with this style, the Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel sound more personal than those in Matthew’s Gospel—Luke uses the article “you” whereas Matthew uses “they” or “those.” There is also a difference in number: Matthew describes eight beatitudes; Luke presents just four, each of which has a parallel warning.

The form of the Beatitudes found in Luke’s and Matthew’s Gospel is not unique to Jesus. Beatitudes are found in the Old Testament, such as in the Psalms and in Wisdom literature. They are a way to teach about who will find favour with God. The word blessed in this context might be translated as “happy,” “fortunate,” or “favoured.”

As we listen to this Gospel, the Beatitudes jar our sensibilities. Those who are poor, hungry, weeping, or persecuted are called blessed. This is, indeed, a Gospel of reversals. Those often thought to have been forgotten by God are called blessed. In the list of “woes,” those whom we might ordinarily describe as blessed by God are warned about their peril. Riches, possessions, laughter, reputation . . . these are not things that we can depend upon as sources of eternal happiness. They not only fail to deliver on their promise; our misplaced trust in them will lead to our demise. The ultimate peril is in misidentifying the source of our eternal happiness.

The Beatitudes are often described as a framework for Christian living. Our vocation as Christians is not to be first in this world, but rather to be first in the eyes of God. We are challenged to examine our present situation in the context of our ultimate horizon, the Kingdom of God.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Entire newsletter of 5th Sunday of the Year 2019

When the Church crossed the threshold of the millennium a new stage of the Church’s journey began. At the heart of this new adventure was the new evangelisation – a fresh, new and dynamic desire to ‘put out into the deep’ duc in altum. Peter and his first companions trusted Christ’s words and cast their nets, and ‘When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break’. These words, ‘duc in altum’ put out into the deep, still ring out for us today, and they invites us to remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm and look forward to the future with confidence because ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever’.

The invitations ‘to put out into the deep’ are primarily one of evangelisation, of winning souls for Christ. Jesus is the goal of history and the one Saviour of the world. The Church and the Spirit cry out in unity: ‘Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus’. Jesus is also the goal and purpose of our lives, and the litmus test of faith is always: do you know Jesus Christ our Lord? For in knowing and loving him we become strengthened in grace and love to share this blessing with others.

We are called no to be afraid but to be fishers of men and women. We are called to understand the deep desires and longings of every human heart – but in order to do that, we must first understand our own. We thirst to know the Living God. We cry out to know God’s mercy and forgiveness in such a way that deep joy and happiness well up within. The Spirit is the One who quenches thirst and brings new life. This is the merciful love of the Father which was made known in Christ. When we come to touch the goodness, kindness and compassion of God our hearts sing out: ‘O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever’. We are ambassadors of God’s mercy, channels of his love, witnesses of his goodness and kindness.

Lord, fill my heart with a new confidence to win others over to the living love and mercy of God.