St Edmund of Canterbury, Loughton

Dear Friends in Christ, Second Sunday of Easter 2018

Today we hear in our gospel the post resurrection story of Thomas, who was not present when the Lord first appeared to the Apostles. Thomas is the typical stereotype of those who refuse to believe unless they have physical proof; hence the expression ‘doubting Thomas’. But on his encounter with the Risen Lord, his doubt turns to faith, his fear turns to hope. But Jesus quite rightly says to Thomas, ‘You believe because you can see me, happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ In the Life of faith, there is much that we will never fully understand completely, but the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, and showed himself to his disciples and many hundreds of others, is a testament to the power of God, and evokes faith as a response!

Faith is God’s gift to each one of us, how we respond to that faith is something which is very personal. In an age that is far less conscious of the sacred and the holy, we see many people walking away from the practice of any kind for formal faith. What we learn and glean form our parents in the practice and understanding of our faith is invaluable; you will never be able to quantify everything learnt along the journey of life and faith, this will help our understanding, and more importantly the commitment that we make to the practice of the our faith. WE will hopefully be able to echo the words of our Lord to Thomas: ‘…happy are we who have not seen, and yet believe!’

Dear Friends in Christ,

On the 5^th October 1938, a young religious by the name of Sister Faustina (Helen Kowalska) died in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Krakow, Poland. Having been born into a very poor farming family, Sister Faustina received only basic education, and so, on entering the convent, she was assigned the most humble and lowly tasks, usually in the kitchen or the vegetable garden.

On the 22^nd February 1931, however, she began to experience visions of Christ in prayer. She wrote of her first vision in a diary: ‘In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing; the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, “paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: ‘Jesus, I trust in you.’”

In another vision Jesus explained the image to her: ‘The pale ray stands for the water which makes souls righteous; the red stands for the blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issue forth for the depths of my tender mercy at that time when my agonising heart was opened by a lance on the cross…fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.’ Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and through the intercession of St. Faustina we ask for th grace to plumb the depths of God’s mercy and love.

Pope Francis has made God’s mercy almost a motif of his pontificate. He has transformed the noun ‘mercy’ into a verb, explaining that by receiving God’s love, we are ‘mercyed’, and in showing God’s mercy to others, we mercy. ‘Mercy’, then, is our watchword. Are we merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful?

Dear Friends in Christ,

In ancient time, on Easter Sunday morning, Christians greeted their neighbours with the salutation ‘Christ is risen’, and their neighbours answered, ‘Christ is risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon.’ Perhaps this ancient custom should be resurrected today. Christ has risen indeed! The Easter Liturgy leads us in an exultant hymn of praise. The tomb is empty! Jesus is the Risen Lord, the Victor, the Lord of Life, the Living One who conquered sin and death.

Today we put our lives in a missionary key and take the message that Christ is risen into the world, courageously bearing witness to the truth that death is not the end but merely the door through which we enter into the fullness of eternal life, with God. The resurrection of Jesus is the central and crowing truth of our faith, handed down to us first from the apostles, who witnessed it with their own eyes, and then passed on to the apostolic fathers, and through them into the living tradition of the Church today. We are a resurrection people: ‘Alleluia Christ is risen!’ is our hymn of praise. But do you really believe this? Do you really believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Has this profound mystery of our faith taken root in you? Do you cry out, as Paul cried out, ‘I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection’?

Today of all days presents us with a God-given opportunity to reflect on what we understand by the statement that ‘Jesus Christ is risen today’. The following words from Pope Benedict provide us with food for thought: ‘We could regard the resurrection as something akin to a radical evolutionary leap, in which a new dimension of life emerges, a new dimension of human existence. Indeed, matter itself is remoulded into a new type of reality. The man Jesus, complete with his body, now belongs totally to the sphere of the divine and eternal.’ In Jesus of Nazareth, God-made-man, the God-man, a new humanity was revealed, a new creation. This message turned the world of the first century upside down, and it can do so again in the twenty-first century if we will take courage and proclaim it.

As we begin the Sacred Triduum, I would take this opportunity of encouraging all of our parishioners to enter into this most sacred time, by participating in the beautiful liturgies of these three holy days.

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper, remembering the Mandatum – the example of service shown by Jesus to the apostles with the Washing of Feet.  This sacred action is r-enacated at Holy Mass. We remember the Ordination of the Priests in the Apostles, and finally the eternal gift of the H?oly Eucharist, given to us on this night.  There will be watching in the Church until midnight.

The Liturgy of Good Friday is so simple. The day speaks for itself, sombre and solemn! Process into the Church in silence at 3.00pm remembering the Hour of Our Lord’s Death. Listening to the Sacred Passion from St. John’s Gospel.  The Veneration of the Cross, this ancient custom, as a sign of lover and reverence to Christ for his self-sacrifice on the Altar of the Cross

Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil:  The highpoint of the Liturgical Year.  The Liturgy incorporates the whole history of Salvation, commencing with Creation and reading the climax of Resurrection.  We bless the Easter Water, Renew our Baptismal Promises, Receive new members into our Parish Family through Reception into full-communion. We celebrate the Triumph of Jesus Christ over sin and death.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS SACRED TRIDUUM

Dear Friends in Christ, 

Our Holy Week Journey has begun! This is the most sacred time in the Church’s liturgical year. We retrace the final days of Jesus’ journey that will lead to Calvery and Resurrection on Easter Day! It is a personal journey of faith also. I encourage all of our parish community to enter into the full spirit of this Holy & Most Sacred Week. It can be a real moment of grace for you and your families. This weeks’s Newsletter lays out clearly all the ceremonies and masses to help us enter into this incredible drama of Salvation history. (Also on the website & Facebook) The ultimate sacrifce that Our Lord made on Good Friday was for our Salvation, to free us from the slavery of sin, and allow us to enter into the new life of grace!

I make an impassioned plea to all of you to share in the Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday & the Mass of the Lord’s Supper; The Good Friday Passion of Our Lord, and the Easter Vigil. This is one continuous celebration with three different facets to it. Obviously the high point is the celebration of the Easter Vgil commencing at 7.30pm on 31^st March 2018. This year there will be two receptions into the Church Samantha Gell & Lorraine Leith. Please pray them There will be a reception immediately after the Easter Vigil in the Parish Hall. If anyone would like to contribute some food for a finger buffett this would be very helpful, just drop it off at the parish hall before the Vigil commences. I really look forward to celebrating this Holy Week with you this year!

If you have never participated in the Triduum, this really is a wonderful time in the Church’s Liturgical Calandar. Or if you have not entered into the full–spirit of the Lenten Season, why not make a very special effort to join us for these three wonderful ceremonies. When we think of what Our Lord did for us, the least we can do is make a special effort to join with Him as he enters His Passion & Death, but also to rejoice with Him & in Him on his Day of Resurrection. I cannot stress enough the untold graces you will receive from God in participating in these sacred liturgies.

Dear Friends in Christ: 

As Holy Week rapidly approaches, this is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to ponder on the great mystery of our Salvation gained for us through Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. Please read St. John’s Gospel Chapter 13 onwards this week.

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday of the Passion; we recall in a very vivid way the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and the cries of “Hosanna to the Son of David” greet Our Lord as the people lay their palm branches before him. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of this most “Holy Week”.

THE TRIDUUM OF THE LORD is the most powerful liturgy that we experience during the church’s liturgical year. I earnestly encourage you all to participate fully in these most wonderful celebrations of the Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. As we begin our Holy Thursday celebration with the sign of the Cross it is important to remember that the next time we cross ourselves will be at the end of the Easter Vigil; the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Good Friday Liturgy, and the Easter Vigil, are one continuous celebration of Salvation History.

Please make every effort to enter into the spirit of this Holy Week, attend the Masses and Services organised here at St. Edmund’s. This is a truly wonderful time for parents to teach children about these most sacred events in Our Lord’s life; bring your children with you and let them experience these most wonderful events of our Salvation.

There will be a Parish Reconciliation Service on 27^th March 2018 at 8.00 p.m. There will be several visiting Priests to help with the Sacrament of Confession. Please make every effort to be there and, avail yourselves of the Sacrament of God’s forgiving Love. There will also be other opportunities for Confession throughout Holy Week, please see your Parish Newsletter.

God Bless You All,

Dear Friends in Christ, 

It is with great joy this week that we welcome our new Bishop Alan Williams to our parish for his Pastoral Visitation and the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Alan will visit St. John Fisher School for an Assembly with the children. The Mass of Confirmation will take place at 7.00pm where 40 of our young people will receive the Sacrament. This is truly a momentous occasion in their lives of faith, and it has been a great joy to have helped them over the past several months prepare for this great day.

On behalf of the Candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation, I would like to thank our six guest speakers over the past several months. They have certainly given a great insight into the importance and the sacredness of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Also I would like to thank our Catechists, who untiringly turn up to help our young people; To Mark Anthony, the Director of the Programme, Shirley Rooney, Andrew Burrowes, Ferdi Tisi, Mark Poulter, Ian Kendal, Ian McLay, & Aidan Potter. The wonderful input and example of these Catechists is truly inspiring for our young people and, for the whole parish community. Thank you!

Immediately after the Confirmation Mass, Bishop Alan will greet all the parishioners as they leave the Church. All the Confirmandi and their families are invited into the parish hall for light refreshments; this will be an opportunity to have a personal photo with Bishop Alan. This is also open to any parishioner who wishes to come in for a cup of tea.

In the afternoon I will be meeting one-to-one with Bishop Alan; we will be reviewing the whole parish. A Pastoral Visitation of a Parish is a wonderful opportunity to show the chief Shepherd of our Diocese how the Community of Faith continues to grow in this little pocket of the Lord’s vineyard.

May God Bless You All,

Dear Friends in Christ 

St. John’s Gospel was written some years after the Synoptic Gospels and is the fruit of the Apostle’s long reflection on the life of Jesus. As he reflected John came to understand Jesus’ death on the cross as his ‘glory’ and his ‘hour’. It is remarkable, isn’t it, that an instrument of torture and execution, on a hill outside the city of Jerusalem, should become the world’s greatest symbol of self-sacrificing love? For John, Jesus was born to die: this was his destiny.

Jesus noted that in nature a kernel of wheat has to be buried in the ground – seemingly to die – before it rises again, producing a sheaf of wheat and many seeds. He was speaking prophetically about the fate he knew awaited him. From death comes life, from dying comes rising, from losing our lives comes finding our lives. This is an important principle of the Christian life: one we are called to appropriate and put into practice.

The season of Lent, and especially Holy Week, affords us the opportunity to focus on Jesus’ death, his hour of glory, and seek to penetrate ever more deeply the mystery and message of the cross. Scripture teaches us to view Jesus’ death as the power of God. In Paul’s words, ‘the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God’. Do you experience Jesus’ cross as God’s grace, power and wisdom?

One way we can know the power of the Cross in our own experience is by examining what it is to boast of. We tend to boast of the external: in power, position, possessions and so on. Paul, however, taught that we should boast of the cross. He said: ‘far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world’. In other words, he praised and thanked God for Jesus’ cross; he glorified in the cross and rejoiced in it. We can be expectant that, as we glory in the cross, we will experience its power to transform our lives.

Today is ‘Laetare Sunday’, the word ‘Laetare’ means to ‘rejoice’. It marks the mid-way point of our Holy Lenten Season. This gives us all a wonderful opportunity to review our Lenten resolutions. If we have been remiss in our resolve to renew and improve our lives of faith, it’s still not too late to make an extra special effort over the next few weeks of Lent. Obviously, this is a very personal journey that we make during this Lenten season. There is no one looking over our shoulder telling us what we should, or shouldn’t do. But personal self-discipline is very much at the heart of this Holy Season. Our Prayer, our fasting, our works of charity, our personal penance, all of these areas certainly help us on our spiritual journey to the Joy of Resurrection faith on Easter Day. To look forward in Rejoicing in the Lord Jesus is at the heart of our Liturgy today. Let us all really look forward to the remaining weeks of Lent as we anticipate the Joy of Easter!

Our First Holy Communion children on Sunday will participate in the celebration of Holy Mass. As part of their preparation for the Holy Eucharist the children have been systematically learning about each part of the Mass, this is their opportunity to participate in a tangible way by reading at mass, praying the prayers of Intercession, joining in the Offertory Procession. My sincere thanks to our Catechist Kathryn Poulter, and her great team of helpers who are doing the most wonderful job in preparing the children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist.

Today is also Mothering Sunday: We thank God for the gift of our mothers and motherhood. Let us make an extra special effort today to do something special for our mothers. For all those whose mothers are no longer with us, but are with God in heaven, we ask them to continue to pray for us, and we remember them with great love and respect, and think of all the wonderful things they were able to teach and share with us.

Dear Friends in Christ 

In the course of his late-night conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus makes reference to a highly symbolic story from the Old Testament. When Edom denied God’s people permission to pass through his land on the way back to Canaan, the Promised Land, and God instructed Moses not to fight him. The Israelites were far from being impressed at being forced to undertake a long and arduous journey going in the opposite direction to their destination and grumbled bitterly. As punishment for their rebellion God sent venomous serpents among them and many died. Repenting of their rebellious hearts, they begged Moses to help them. In response to his prayer, God told him to make a bronze serpent and raise it high on a pole, promising that if those who had been bitten looked up at the serpent raised on the pole, they would live. This incident was a prophetic reference to the cross of Jesus Christ. In the same way that Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man was lifted up on the cross, and everyone who believes in him will live.

St. Paul and John taught that the One who had no sin became for us a worm, a serpent and sin so that we might be reconciled to God and become the righteousness of God. Underpinning and overarching this revelation is the simple but profound truth that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’. This is the Good News. This is the kerygma, the basic proclamation of the gospel.

The simple message that God is love and showed his love by sending his Son has the power both to transform our own lives as part of our on-going conversion and also to transform our world. This is the message of eternal life to which we bear witness. The greatest symbol of love isn’t the heart but the cross, because while every heart will one day stop beating. The cross of Christ is an eternal, infinite testimony that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.