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2nd Sunday of Easter 2020

St. Edmund of Canterbury & St. Thomas More

Second Sunday of Easter 2020, Divine Mercy Sunday

Dear Friends in Christ, 

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the whole parish community for your wonderful response to the online streaming of all our Holy Week & Easter ceremonies. As I said last week it was completely unprecedented, and we hope and pray it never happens again. Your messages of support through texting and emails was very affirming. I am honoured and privileged to be able to offer Holy Mass each day for you each day and this will continue until further notice. It looks as though self-isolation will continue for another three weeks. If there are any parishioners in our community who are finding it difficult to get shopping or medicine, please let us know. We have an active WhatsApp Group you can join Tel No: 07806 998187. Obviously, we need to be careful, stay at home and keep well. But we also need to help one another when we can.

In the Gospel we see the famous story of Thomas missing the Risen Lord, doubting until he saw the wounds of Jesus. There are moments of doubt within all our lives, and we usually want to check out the facts for ourselves, but as the Lord said to Thomas “Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.” We can take heart in these words, and echo the words of Thomas who said, “My Lord & My God!”

EASTER SUNDAY 2020

Dear Friends in Christ, 

We have travelled through this Holy Week in an unprecedented way; celebrating all our masses & services through the medium of Facebook & the Website. But we have been making this journey with Jesus together. Despite the hardship and difficulty of self-isolation we have managed to focus our lives on the saving events that Jesus Christ has won for each one of us; he triumphed over sin and death and Rose on Easter Day. Fundamentally these are the tenets of our belief in the Roman Catholic Faith. Even in the darkest hours of Jesus’s life, God’s plan for his Son was triumph!

Today we celebrate the Resurrection! We are invited to proclaim Jesus as Our Lord & Saviour. He cannot die anymore, and he invites each of us to share in the New Life of Resurrection Faith. During these difficult times, we have had the opportunity to evaluate the most important aspects of our lives. We see the importance of family united in love; health that can never be taken for granted; our faith in God & Jesus that is the life-source of everything that we are striving to be – without it we are nothing! Jesus has triumphed; let us rejoice in his Resurrection today!

Wishing You All & Very Happy & Holy Easter

May Our Risen Lord Jesus, be with you and your families

Dear Parishioners, this evening is our first mass of Easter starting at 6pm and tomorrow Easter Sunday Mass will be at 10am. We can make our Easter offering in so many ways (as you know, the Easter offering is traditionally a personal gift from each of us to our Parish Priest). One of the simplest way to give is through the Brentwood diocese giving webpage for St Edmunds. Just click on this link to go there.
https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/donations?parish=loughton Please remember to include your gift aid number (if you have one) when you enter your name, so just add the number in brackets at the end of your name i.e. “Horace McFarlane(104)”.
There are several other ways to give during these difficult times:
The gift aid envelopes are available from Father’s garage which is open during the day. You can still use these by putting them through Father’s door.
Another way to give is by transferring money or setting up a standing order please contact Iain McLay by email bloggeriain@gmail.com to organise that.

WHATSAPP GROUP: ST. EDMUND’S PARISH GROUP 07806 998187. 
We have a wonderful WhatsApp group going, please think of joining it, and keeping in touch on a daily basis. The group has been set up to help people during this crisis.
If you’re already on WhatsApp, all you need to do is text
Iain McLay 07806 998187. and he will add you to the group.

Please be assured of my daily thoughts and prayers
With Peace & Many Blessings
Fr. John

We have just received a very useful link from Brentwood Diocese which will make it even easier to make our donations.
https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/donations?parish=loughton
If you click on this link it will take you straight to the giving page for St Edmunds. Here you can make your general Sunday offering and also make your special Easter offering which, as you know, is traditionally a personal gift from each of us to our Parish Priest.
Please remember to put your gift aid number as part of your name when you make you donations as this will help Maria to collect the gift aid. If you want to join the gift aid scheme or set up standing orders you just need to email Maria Moschera (mjm70@hotmail.com).

PALM SUNDAY 2020

Dear Friends in Christ, 

These are unprecedented times. The world has never known anything quite like this shut down. We are all now very conscious of self-isolation and keeping well. We’ve seen the incredible work of the front-line workers in the NHS, and all those workers in our supermarkets, pharmacies, etc. who are working flat out to provide for the general public. It has brought the best out in most people; there will always be those who take advantage of these situations, but for the most part the good will and kindness of people far outweighs selfishness.

I would like to thank all those parishioners who have been keeping in regular contact with me, especially over the past week. Your thoughts and prayers mean so much. With the miracle of modern technology, we have been able to live-stream Holy Mass each day. I thank all those who have tuned into our daily celebration at 10.00am. First and foremost, it is a lifeline with our faith, even though people aren’t able to receive Jesus sacramentally, there is the wonderful opportunity to make ‘Spiritual Communion’.

2nd Sunday of Lent 2020

Dear Friends in Christ, 

Today we are given a glimpse into another world – a heavenly, eternal world, far beyond this world but mysteriously right at the heart of it. Jesus was transfigured before the three chosen disciples – Peter, James & John. Jesus’ face and clothes became dazzling white and we are told, by these reliable witnesses, that Elijah and Moses appeared among them. The Two Old Testament prophets spoke with the Lord about his forthcoming ‘departure, which he would accomplish at Jerusalem’. God the Father also spoke as a voice from heaven saying, @this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him’.

What do you make of this incident in Jesus’ life? What is its meaning, it significance? Well, in that holy moment Jesus disclosed his divine glory. He also revealed that his glory was achieved first and foremost by embracing the shame of the cross. Jesus kissed the cross in order to enter the glory of heaven. It also presents us, as St. Thomas Aquinas explained, with a revelation of God as Trinity: ‘The whole Trinity appeared: The Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in the shining cloud.’ This revelation of God as Trinity also occurred on the threshold of other significant moments in Jesus’ life such as his baptism and his Passion.

Jesus’ transfiguration can be understood as the sacrament of our future resurrection from the dead. Through the grace of baptism, we somehow share in the resurrection of Jesus. The Transfiguration is a foretaste of the life to come, when our lowly bodies will be changed to be like his glorious heavenly body. However, we too must embrace the shame of the cross in our lives for, as Paul taught, ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. We. Like Peter prefer the mountain-top experiences, but St. Augustine exhorts us: ‘Peter did not yet understand this when he wanted to remain with Christ on the mountain. It has been reserved for you, Peter, but for after death. For now, Jesus says, “Go down to toil on earth, serve on earth, to be scorned and crucified on earth. Life goes down to be killed; Bread goes down to suffer hunger; the Way goes down to be exhausted on his journey; the Spring goes down to suffer thirst; and you refuse to suffer?”’

5th Sunday of Lent 2020  

Dear Friends in Christ,      

As we continue in this world shut down, our Lenten journey also continues. These are unprecedented times and trying to keep some semblance of normality is very difficult. People are becoming inventive and using initiatives to pass time each day in the confines of our family homes. 

I’m truly grateful to everyone who has joined our parish WhatsApp Group, and those who are using social media, Facebook & the Parish Website. Holy Mass is celebrated each day at 10.00am and this is live-streamed.  I’m grateful to all who tune in each day and join us for holy Mass. It is a wonderful way of keeping connected with our faith. The Sadness is not being able to receive Jesus in Holy Communion; but I encourage all who tune in daily to make a Spiritual Communion.

A big thank you to all those parishioners who are going out of their way to assist and help those who are self-isolating; our parishioners who are over 70 yeas of age, and those who are sick and housebound. 

It is with sadness that I have to announce the complete closure of our Parish Church, St. Edmund of Canterbury, Loughton. But in compliance with the Prime Minister’s address last night, and with a great sense of everyone’s well-being it is absolutely necessary!

If it is possible, make a special place of prayer in each of your homes. Place a crucifix, An open bible, a rosary, a statue of Our Blessed Lady, a candle. You may like to begin & end each day by lighting your candle as a family and simply praying the Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be together, and any other family prayers you may have. Prayer really focuses the mind & heart.

In every celebration of Holy Mass I will keep all of your intentions in my heart and offer them up to the Lord through His Holy Eucharist. In these difficult and trying times, we must never lose faith or hope. Jesus said “I have overcome the world!”

I will celebrate Holy Mass each day at 10.00am. If you are free to join us through Facebook, you need to access the St. Edmund of Canterbury Loughton FB site.

Please be assured of my thoughts, prayers & love as we continue on this strange journey. May God Bless You All.
Fr. John