Edmund of Canterbury & St. Thomas More
The phrase ‘Do not be afraid’ occurs 365 times in the Bible. ‘Do not be afraid’ was also the clarion call of St. John Paul II. Today’s Gospel addresses a certain kind of fear: we could call it the fear of witness or testimony. Since the beginning the Church has lived through times of terrible persecution. Believers under Nero and Diocletian were subject to all manner of torture and suffering for giving witness to their faith. Nero lit up the Roman sky with burning bodies of crucified believers; Diocletian was merciless, completely focused on eradicating Christians from the face of the earth.
In our own time too, in countries like Syria and Iraq Chaldean/Syrian Christians are subject to constant fear and intimidation. The martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya in February 2015 shocked the world. Before the execution the kidnapped workers were invited to renounce their faith, but they refused. They were heard to pray ‘Lord Jesus help me’ before they were beheaded in such brutal fashion.
Among their number was Matthew Ayairga from Chad. He wasn’t a Christian and was invited by his executioners to embrace Islam. He refused. They said to him: ‘Do you reject Christ?’ The witness of the other men so moved him that he said: ‘Their God is my God’ He was then beheaded. These men are martyrs for the faith, outstanding witnesses for Christ. We salute them and thank God for them, as we do for men and women around the world who suffer persecution, fear and intimidation because of their faith.
Pope Francis said: ‘As we recall these brothers who died only because they confessed Christ, I ask that we encourage each other to go forward with this ecumenism which is giving us strength, the ecumenism of blood. The martyrs belong to all Christians.’ The blood of the martyrs is the seed of love, unity and brotherhood, and bears witness that every believer is called to give testimony for Christ. Not many of us will be called to proclaim the name of Jesus. We aren’t zealots or fanatics: we are simply men and women who are always prepared respectfully and with love in our hearts to share the reason for our love and joy.
Dear Friends in Christ 12th Sunday of the Year
ORDINATION TO THE DIACONATE: Please pray for our own parishioner Frank Westcott who will be Ordained a Deacon next Sunday 2nd July at Oscott College by Archbishop Bernard Longley. Many of you know Frank, and it is truly a great honour for our parish and for the Diocese of Brentwood that his Ordination as a Deacon is part of that journey to Priesthood. Frank will be a transitional Deacon, meaning that in twelve months’ time he will be Ordained to the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ in our own Parish. If you would like to send him a card or good wishes his address is: Oscott College, Chester Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. B73 5AA. If there are any more contriubitions towards the special collection we had last weekend, please drop them off at the Presbytery. Thank you! As Frank has no family here in England, this would be a wonderful gesture and way of supporting him. With grateful thanks!
May God Bless You All,
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAMME 2023/24: My sincere and grateful thanks to all the parents who collected the First Holy Communion enrolment forms over the past week. My sincere apologies for not being able to see you all, but unfortunately I had to take to my bed with severe summer flu. If you can let me have the enrolment forms back as soon as possible, I can then order the new Work Books for the children. The prerequisites for enrolment are: a) That you are a baptised practicing Roman Catholic attending Weekly Mass. b) That your child will be in Year 3 or above, 7 rising 8 as of September 2023. c) That you live in the Parish of St Edmund of Canterbury.
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION: Will be celebrated in 2024. (As yet we have no date from the Bishop’s Office). If there are any young people wishing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation next year please see Fr John for an enrolment form. Prerequisites: a) Baptised, Weekly practicing Roman Catholic. b) That you will be 14 years of age and above at the time of Confirmation. c) If you have not been attending church over the past year please don’t waste our time. Sadly, out of the 48 Confirmed in 2021, very few attend weekly Mass. some have never returned since the Day of their Confirmation; this is manifestly an insult to Almighty God and the dignity of the Sacrament. PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES FOR CONFIRMATION PLEASE PERSONALLY COLLECT ENROLMENT FORM FROM Fr JOHN AT THE PRESBYTERY. Please kindly return by Friday 30th June 2023 to Fr John, Thank you!
THE PRAYER OF PRAYERS: An exploration of the Our Father
Fr Adrian Graffy explores this prayer of Jesus found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. What did Jesus mean in the original Aramaic he used? How has the prayer been understood by those who have used it across the centuries? Should it be prayed in archaic language or should translations be in the language of today? Fr Adrian Graffy is parish priest of Gidea Park, a Scripture scholar, and since 2013 member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Wednesday 12th July 7.00pm
This is an in-person event. Tea and coffee will be available from 6.30pm. Easy access on Elizabeth Line, three minute walk to church. The event is also available on live stream free of charge at www.whatgoodnews.org No prior booking necessary. A recording of the talk will be available subsequently on the same website. Catholic Church of Christ the Eternal High Priest, Brentwood Road, Gidea Park RM2 6DH
ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY: The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. The St Vincent de Paul Society approaches each request for help with compassion and consideration for support tailored to the uniqueness of the individual and situation. I have been approached by a few members of the parish to re-establish the SVP here in our parish. If you are interested in joining a Parish SVP Conference please speak to Fr John or Sharon Fitzmaurice. Thank you! More information later.
NEW ALTAR SERVERS: If any of our First Holy Communicants would like to become Altar Servers, please see Fr. John. It would be wonderful if some of the children would consider this wonderful ministry of serving God and the Community each week. Serving at the Altar is truly a great honour, and I’m always grateful to everyone who has volunteered to become Altar Servers.
MASS INTENTIONS: There is a lot of availability in the Parish Mass register. If anyone wants a mass intention for any reason, Anniversaries, birthdays, special occasions, for anyone who is sick, please complete the Mass Envelope in the porch and leave off at the presbytery.
BAPTISMS: If there are parents wishing to have their children baptised at St Edmund’s could you kindly contact Fr John as soon as possible. For first time parents there is a Baptismal Programme run by Mrs Sharon Chalk. Baptisms take place on either Saturday or Sunday at 12.30pm
MISSIO COFFEE MORNING AND BOX EMPTYING: There will be a Missio Coffee Morning and “Red Box Emptying” this Sunday, 25th June, following the 11am Mass. This will be a great chance for all parishioners to meet and enjoy each other’s company while sharing tea and cake and raising some money for our wonderful missions abroad. Please bring your boxes to church next weekend and leave them in the porch after mass. Don’t forget to put your name on the bottom of the box.
NOTE FOR OUR CONTEMPORARY MUSIC GROUP: For our next 11am Mass on Sunday, 2nd July, we’ll be having a practice 7pm until 8pm on Monday, 26th June in the Choir loft. Please do come to the practice! Our previous Mass was, as always, well attended, but very few came to our last practice – we hope to see many of you there! New singers who might like to join us will be made very welcome.
ST JOHN FISHER SUMMER FAIR: The annual Summer Fair & Bounce will be on Friday 30th June from 3.30pm – 6.30pm. The PTA would like to invite all parishioners and families to come and join the school for an afternoon of inflatable fun, BBQ, activities, entertainment, stalls and more. The tickets, £2pp entry or £7pp for entry and unlimited bouncing, will be available on the gate or by emailing ptastjohnfisher@gmail.com. Family family/group deals are also available by email.
The PTA look forward to welcoming parishioners to the Summer Bounce!
PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE SICK IN OUR PARISH
Edgar Azzopardi, Margaret Baldwin, Evelyn Bearne, Karl Britz, Brenda Bryant, Carlos Camacho, Jane Downs, Steve Dalgliesh, Pat Fenn, Bernadette Hall, Ann Hawkes, Claire Howes, Shaun Keel, Bridget Kinsella, Les Langan, Angela Long, Lilian Mothersole, John McKernan, Rosemary O’Rourke, Remy, Geraldine Taylor, Vera Taylor, Mary & Steve Witten, James Wright. And all our loved ones.
ANNIVERSARIES: Alice Bate RIP, Kazimierz Michalik RIP, Tom Smith RIP. Please pray for all whose anniversaries occur at this time and for all of our deceased loved ones, Requiescant in Pace.
WEEKLY OFFERTORY: My sincere thanks to those who are making their weekly contribution of Gift Aid envelopes and through the banking system that has been set up through the Diocese whereby your Offertory can be paid directly into the Parish Account, details below:
Or you can use Parish Bank Account: Using Online Banking
HSBC Sort Code 40-13-22 PLEASE BE GENEROUS IN YOUR
Account Number: 11019651 GIFT TO GOD & HIS CHURCH
PARISH FINANCES: As you can appreciate, during this pandemic the parish income took a severe hit, and we are still not back at the same levels as we were prior to 2020. My sincere and grateful thanks to those who have signed up for online giving and Gift Aid, this is helping. Many parishioners have not returned to the regular practice of faith, and many Gift Aid boxes were not collected this year. Please consider your weekly offertory to God.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A VOCATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD? At present we only have five seminarians training for the Priesthood in the Diocese of Brentwood. The period of formation for each is several years. If you know of anyone who may be interested in learning more about the priesthood, or who feel they may have a vocation to the Priesthood please contact Fr Mark Swires vocprom@dioceseofbrentwood.org We are hoping to resume our monthly meetings for those who may be enquirers, so please watch this space.
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY LITURGY: Thank you for starting children’s Sunday Liturgy again. But we need more help. Parents, can you spare one Sunday every two months to help the children during the 11.00am Mass? We need more parents to join our lovely group. Please contact Mrs Elena Manara at e_vismara@yahoo.com Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon.
RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS: Journey of Faith. Is there anyone who may be interested in the RCIA Programme, possibly with the view of being received into full-communion with the Roman Catholic Faith? Every year we run this programme commencing at the beginning of September, leading to reception into the Church at the Easter Vigil. It is a systematic programme of every aspect of Catholcism, including Scripture, Sacramental Life, and The Dogma’s of our Faith, Catholic Practice & traditions, Christology & Mariology, Study of the Church. Please see Fr John who will explain the whole process to you.
DO YOU LIKE SINGING? As you know we have a wonderful Choir and Choir Director in Sue Farrow. We are looking for new choir members who like singing with others. We learn traditional and contemporary pieces of music, and also sing Motets in four parts. If you’re interested please speak to Sue or Fr John. Choir practice on Wednesdays & Saturdays.
SICK & HOUSEBOUND: If there are any parishioners who have become sick or housebound, please notify Fr John, who will be only too happy to make a house call and bring Holy Communion on a regular basis. It’s important that we’re able to keep in touch with all of our parishioners, and especially those who are sick.
PARISH ALTAR SERVERS: Quite a number of Altar Servers ceased serving at Mass since the Pandemic. I’m making a special appeal to all former Altar Servers to kindly return their Albs to the Sacristy. Albs are extremely expensive to buy these days, and I believe there a quite a few still out there not being used anymore. If any young person wishes to become an Altar Server, please see Fr. John as soon as possible; we can help to prepare you to serve at the Altar. This is a truly wonderful ministry, and it is a special way of serving God and the whole community of faith.
PARISH REPOSITORY: There are a variety of First Holy Communion gifts available in the repository – Children’s Missals, Rosaries, medals, statues, candles, Communion Cards, crosses. Teresa Wallace is always very helpful in ordering any religious item you wish. The parish repository is available all week. Please leave your money for items in the box provided. Thank you!
EPPING FOREST FOODBANK DONATIONS: Thank you to all parishioners who continue to generously donate items for the Foodbank. They are truly grateful for the generosity our parish has shown and our donations are still needed desperately as more and more people in our community are struggling during this cost of living crisis. The Foodbank have asked for support with the following items: sponge pudding desserts, custard, juice, tinned meat, noodles, snack bars, small chocolate bars, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, toilet roll and deodorant. Please place any donations in the dedicated plastic boxes in the garage. Thank you! You can also keep up to date with the Foodbank news via their facebook page: www.facebook.com/EppingForestFoodbank/
PARISH READERS: We are always looking for some new Parish Lectors; parishioners who would be willing to read on a regular basis at one of the Sunday Masses. We have a few already, but it would be wonderful if there could be a few more volunteers. ALSO: If any of our regular weekday Mass attendees would be willing to read at the weekday masses we could organise a rota. Since Covid there haven’t been any regular readers. You may feel called to this ministry, and once again, it is doing something for God and the Community. Please speak to Fr. John.
SACRISTANS: Fr John could really do with some additional help in the Sacristy especially during the week. I have been very dependent upon Veronica Short over the past few years. But it would be good if another couple of people could volunteer during the week to help in setting up for Mass each day, and clearing up afterwards. It really doesn’t take that long to do. We could organise a rota of days. Once again this is service of God and the Community.
FROM OUR GIFT AID ORGANISER: Our Parish Gift Aid Organiser is Abbie Akinfenwa – abbie.akinfenwa@btinternet.com or text to 0775470934 with your name and gift aid number. I would encourage all parishioners to join the Parish Gift Aid Scheme. If you are a Tax Payer, it’s a really painless process, all we need is you name and address, there are Gift Aid Application Forms in the Porch of the Church, and Abbie can give you all the help you need re information. We are able to claim back 25 pence in every pound donated to the church, when you use you envelopes or pay by Standing Order. Please think about joining, and thanks to those who already belong!
REGISTERING AT THE PARISH: It’s always important to have details of all of our parishioners. There are Parish Registration Forms in the Porch of the Church. Please complete and return to the Presbytery.
IN CASES OF EMERGENCY: Tuesday is usually Fr. John’s Day Off. In cases of emergency please call one of the local parishes, either in Epping – Tel: 01992 572516, or the St. Thomas of Canterbury Friary at Woodford Green – Tel: 020 8504 1688. This would also apply if Fr. John is away for a few days break or on Retreat. All the local funeral directors have a contact number for Fr. John if a funeral needs to be arranged in his absence.
MASS INTENTIONS – JUNE / JULY 2023
| Sat 24th | 10.00am | Int’s of John & Marian Schutz (Remy) |
| Confessions 11am – 12Noon or on demandVigil Mass for Sunday. Confessions at 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 24th | 6.00pm | People of the Parish |
| Sun 25th | 9.00am | David Jarvis RIP (Sue & John Campbell) |
| Sun 25th | 11:00am | Isabelo Ballesteros RIP (Bacuetes Family) |
| Mon 26th | 10.00am | Bridget Kinsella RIP (Pat & Margaret) |
| Tues 27th | 10.00am | Int’s of Mary Rose (Maureen Perry) |
| Wed 28th | 10.00am | Edmund Schwindling RIP (Remy) |
| Thur 29th | 9.00am10.00am12.15pm7.30pm | Kitty McDermott RIPSt John Fisher SchoolJohn McMorrow RIP (Maureen Perry)Margaret Baldwin’s Int’s |
| Fri 30th | 10.00am | Pat McCreesh RIP (Christine Perrett) |
| Sat 1stJuly | 10.00am | Int’s of Marian & John Schutz (Remy) |
| Confessions 11am – 12Noon or on demandVigil Mass for Sunday. Confessions at 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 1st July | 6.00pm | People of the Parish |
| Sun 2nd | 9.00am | Jim Sullivan RIP (Celina Sullivan) |
| Sun 2nd | 11:00am | Deacon Frank Westcott (Fr John & People of the Parish) |
Please kindly put your Mass requests in early for anniversaries etc., this is to avoid any disappointment if a particular date has already been booked,
Parish Phone No: 0208 508 3492 Email: loughton@brcdt.org
The Brentwood Diocesan Trust Registered Charity No. 234092
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading : Jeremiah 20:10-13
Jeremiah said:
I hear so many disparaging me,
‘“Terror from every side!”
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who used to be my friends
watched for my downfall,
‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we will master him
and take our revenge!’
But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero;
my opponents will stumble, mastered,
confounded by their failure;
everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
But you, O Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice,
who scrutinise the loins and heart,
let me see the vengeance you will take on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
Sing to the Lord,
praise the Lord,
for he has delivered the soul of the needy
from the hands of evil men.
Responsive Psalm : Psalm 68(69):8-10,14,17,33-35
In your great love, answer me, O Lord.
It is for you that I suffer taunts,
that shame covers my face,
that I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my own mother’s sons.
I burn with zeal for your house
and taunts against you fall on me.
In your great love, answer me, O Lord.
This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favour.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails:
Lord, answer, for your love is kind;
in your compassion, turn towards me.
In your great love, answer me, O Lord.
The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
Let the heavens and the earth give him praise,
the sea and all its living creatures.
In your great love, answer me, O Lord.
Second Reading : Romans 5:12-15
Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. Sin existed in the world long before the Law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’, yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law.
Adam prefigured the One to come, but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift.
Gospel : Matthew 10:26-33
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not be afraid. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.
‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.
‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’