Message from Canon Kristian

Dear brothers and sisters

Much of the content of this week’s Newsletter is similar (but NOT identical!) to last week’s.  This is because it is important that we become familiar with the changes that are taking place with regards to the way we are gathering for Mass, particularly at St James where we have been able to increase the amount of available seating and therefore no longer require people to book a place before coming to Mass at the weekend.  I will not repeat all the changes in this covering letter, but simply invite you to read through them carefully.  Rest assured that the situation will be kept under constant review and different decisions made if the changing circumstances require it.  I am sorry that we remain constrained to continue the booking process for Mass at St Boniface due to the reduced seating capacity.  We will do what we can to accommodate more people safely there within the limitations imposed by the size and layout of the building.

The other main content of the Newsletter this week is the inaugural World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly this Sunday, celebrated in connection with the Memorial of Sts Joachim and Ann on Monday.  The role of grandparents has grown considerably over the last decades, both with regards to providing support to working parents and with regards to the handing of the Faith to the younger generations.  This invaluable contribution is so important to the life of the Church that it is beginning to be recognised as a new “ministry”, alongside catechists and the liturgical lay ministries.  Likewise, we need no reminder that the older generations within our parish community hold a special place amongst us.  Not only do we rejoice over, and are inspired by, the witness of their years of faithful commitment to the practice and living out of their Faith, but they make an essential contribution to the life of the parish community through their expanded and compassionate wisdom, gained through decades of experience of the complexities of life, and through their quiet, persevering prayer and the daily sacrifices which are connected with the physical and mental challenges of old age.  This weekend is an opportunity not only to pray for all grandparents and older people, but I would also encourage everyone to reach out physically or online to those grandparents and older members of the community known to you to show your love, appreciation and support for them.  In connection with this, the  Holy Father has also granted the faithful the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence on July 25 by devoting adequate time to actually or virtually visit elderly people in need or in difficulty, such as the sick, the abandoned, the disabled and other similar cases. Let us pray together a prayer written by the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI:

Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary.
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents (and older people) the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them as they grow older.
May they continue to be for their families strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardians of noble domestic ideals, living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus,
help families and society to value the presence and role of grandparents (and older people).
May they never be ignored or excluded, but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents (and all the elderly) constantly in your care, accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity for the great embrace of life without end.

Amen

You will also see in the calendar for this week that on Thursday, 29 July, we will celebrate the Memorial of Sts Martha, Mary and Lazarus for the first time (Please note the change of Mass time due to the CHAT AGM taking place in the church on Thursday evening).  For many years this was the Memorial of St Martha alone, but Pope Francis has decreed that St Mary of Bethany and St Lazarus should be included alongside their sister.  The rationale behind this change is important and so I give here the text of the Decree:

CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS

DECREE

on the Celebration of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus

in the General Roman Calendar

In the household of Bethany the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them. Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words and Lazarus promptly emerged from the tomb at the command of the One who humiliated death.

The traditional uncertainty of the Latin Church about the identity of Mary – the Magdalene to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection, the sister of Martha, the sinner whose sins the Lord had forgiven – which resulted in the inclusion of Martha alone on 29 July in the Roman Calendar, has been resolved in recent studies and times, as attested by the current Roman Martyrology, which also commemorates Mary and Lazarus on that day. Moreover, in some particular calendars the three siblings are already celebrated together.

Therefore, the Supreme Pontiff Pope FRANCIS, considering the important evangelical witness they offered in welcoming the Lord Jesus into their home, in listening to him attentively, in believing that he is the resurrection and the life, and accepting the proposal of this Dicastery, has decreed that 29 July be designated in the General Roman Calendar as the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

The Memorial must therefore appear under this title in all Calendars and Liturgical Books for the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours; the variations and additions to be adopted in the liturgical texts, attached to the present decree, must be translated, approved and, after confirmation by this Dicastery, published by the Episcopal Conferences.

Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 26 January 2021, Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops.

Robert Card. Sarah

Prefect

+ Arthur Roche

Archbishop Secretary

Along with the Newsletter, I attach the Message of Pope Francis for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly (video also embedded below) and the official Prayer for the Day.  I also attach the last Newsletter for the school year from St John’s.  Sadly, Mrs Fullick and Mrs Ford are both retiring this year.  They have both made an enormous contribution to our Parish School and, on behalf of the whole parish community, I would like to thank them and to wish them every blessing for the future.

The usual online parish get-together will take place on Thursday.  The access details are available from the parish office as usual.

Thanks to Monika Manser for her weekly guide to praying the Sunday Gospel by way of imaginative contemplation.

Please remember to pray for the sick of our community.

God bless you all

Canon Kristian