SAINTS PETER & PAUL (A)
28th June 2020
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today we celebrate the feast day of two great saints, Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Peter and Paul were both friends of
Jesus, but their lives were very different. Peter, a fisherman in Galilee, was first named Simon but Jesus gave him the
name 'Peter', which means 'rock'. Jesus told Peter that he would build his Church on this rock. Jesus
called Peter to leave his work as a fisherman and follow him. Peter became the leader of the twelve Apostles (the special
friends of Jesus). When Jesus asked his friends who they thought he was, Peter said "You are the Messiah, the Son of
the Living God". At the Last Supper, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him three times, before the cock crew. That
night, when Jesus was arrested, Peter was so frightened that he denied knowing Jesus - three times - and then the cock
crew, and Peter wept. After Jesus rose from the dead, he asked Peter three times "Do you love me?" When Peter
replied, three times, that he did, Jesus told him "Feed my sheep". Peter was an important leader of the early
Church. After Pentecost he was able to preach to large crowds, telling them about Jesus. He became the first Bishop of
Rome: the first Pope.
Paul, a very religious Jew from Tarsus, was first called Saul. He never met Jesus whilst Jesus was on earth. After Jesus
had ascended to heaven, Saul was trying to stop the early Christians teaching about Jesus. Then on the road to Damascus,
the Risen Jesus appeared to Saul, telling him to stop persecuting Christians and to believe in Jesus. Saul was converted.
He became known as Paul and Jesus made him into an Apostle for the Gentiles (the people who were not Jews). Paul made three
missionary journeys, founding churches in places in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and Europe. Paul was a tentmaker and he did
this work to support himself on his travels. After his third journey, Paul was arrested and put into prison for two years.
He insisted on standing trial in Rome, but the ship he was taken on was shipwrecked off Malta. Finally Paul reached Rome,
where he spent two more years under house arrest. Peter and Paul both died as martyrs in Rome, around 63 AD: Peter by
crucifixion and Paul, as a Roman citizen, by beheading with a sword. You can read about them in the Bible: in the four
Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles. In the New Testament, you can also read letters (Epistles) that Paul wrote to
people in the churches he had founded, in places such as Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus and Philippi. So let us follow
these two great pillars of our catholic faith.
Wishing you all a peaceful and serene time. Stay safe and healthy.
SEND O LORD, HOLY APOSTLES INTO YOUR CHURCH.
Fr. Sabu Pariyadan RCJ
Notices:
-
From Fr. Sabu: It is with great joy that we have all listened to the news that the churches can now
resume acts of worship from the 4th of July onwards. Yes it is a great relaxation for the public expression of our
faith, but it also comes along with a great responsibility. So from Saturday onwards we will be back into our normal
routine of masses with slight time changes temporarily to allow more people to attend. But there will be a number of
restrictions and health precautions and, above all, face coverings will be mandatory for anyone who wishes to attend
the mass. We will soon be arranging our church in a 1 meter distance; and we are expecting to have a capacity of 80-90,
which in fact is half of our normal capacity (actual figures may vary). And therefore we may need a booking system to
attend the mass. Watch this space closely for further details as we finalize details during the week.
At the moment we are planning for only one Sunday mass. But if there is a greater need we will have a Saturday vigil
mass added to our mass schedule.
If you are shielding or still not sure about going to mass, our bishop reminds us that the Sunday obligation is still
not binding and virtual mass attendance or a weekday mass attendance is still allowed in its place.
Mass Timetable: |
4th July, Saturday: |
Mass at 10:30 AM |
5th July, Sunday: |
Mass at 9.00AM |
Subsequent Monday to Saturday masses at 10:30am until our situation changes further. |
Private Prayer Timetable (to accommodate different groups): |
29th June, Monday: |
11.00-12.00 Noon |
30th June, Tuesday: |
11.00-12.00 Noon |
1st July, Wednesday: |
8.00-9.00 AM |
2nd July, Thursday: |
7.30-8.30 PM |
3rd July, Friday: |
11.00-12.00 Noon |
The guidelines from our diocese requires at least two stewards to be present every time we keep the church
open. When we do open the church we will need volunteers to open the church and to be there whilst it is open; and to
clean the church (by wiping down chairs door handles etc.) at the end of each session. More volunteers will be required
on Sundays. Thus it is possible only with the help of generous hearts. So may I request anyone who is available to let
the parish office know by clicking
here to Email or by ringing the parish office at 01245 465333. In the light of what we know about who may become
most seriously ill with Coronavirus, please can we have volunteers age 69 yrs and younger.
- Youth member to PPC: We have recently held a Pastoral Parish Council meeting to review our parish
situation, as we usually do every quarter or thereabouts. We are still looking for a member under the age of 30 yrs. IS
THIS YOU? Please, if you think you might like to be involved, let Fr Sabu know.
- Parish AGM: The PPC regret that, due to the current Covid-19 situation, the Parish AGM provisionally
scheduled for Wednesday, 8th July 2020 will no longer take place and is postponed to a later date. It is hoped that the
AGM will be able to take place later in the year, once we are able to gather again together in the hall. As soon as
this is possible, a new date for the AGM will be confirmed. Thank you.
- Keeping In Touch: As a parish, we have our website, Facebook and the email chain to keep us in
touch. The SVP have been phoning some of those among us who do not have internet access. Please, if you know someone who
would like to see our news, and if you cannot print off from the webpage for them, do let Father Sabu know, so that we
can produce hard copy and arrange to deliver it.
- Looking out for our friends: If you know any of our parishioners or your neighbours, who live alone
and who may not be using the new world media and communication technologies like internet and smart phones, it would be
great if you have their telephone numbers, to give a call and offer words of support and make them feel connected.
-
Parish Email Chain: There is a parish group of email chain circulating around, connecting people and
sharing their lockdown activities and advices. So if you wish to be added to the email chain please click
here to Email the parish address or click here to
Email directly to Margaret cook who is coordinating it. Thank you all for the good job.
-
"Lourdes in your Living Room": Join this amazing virtual pilgrimage with Bishop Alan and
people from across the Diocese during the week of 27th - 31st July, with daily Mass, Reflections, Rosary and Angelus,
as well as the Marian ("Torchlight") procession, and a talent show at the end of the week. It will all be on
YouTube, and all the information you need is at www.bcys.net/lourdes2020, including a timetable for the pilgrimage. If you know someone who you could help
to get online to participate, now is the time! If you would like to be more directly involved, there are several
opportunities - just have a look at the website. The pilgrimage is for those of all ages, with a special additional
programme for those aged 15-23. It is all completely free.
The Summer Lourdes pilgrimage usually involves about 250 adults from across the Diocese, including many who are frail
and ill, as well as 250 young people who travel to serve those who need extra help to move around Lourdes. This year,
as we cannot travel to Lourdes, we are bringing Lourdes to your Living Room!
We are very pleased to share with you the details of this virtual experience of Lourdes. With many parishioners still
unable to leave their homes, or rather frightened about doing so, we hope that this will be a wonderful week of
connection, prayer and inspiration for those of all ages
The outline programme for adult pilgrims will be available on our website or at www.bcys.net/lourdes2020.
All the Prayers, Masses and Reflections will be on YouTube (@BrentwoodCYS) as well as the Friday evening talent show.
There is also the following:
- A "green screen" in the Walsingham House chapel will give you the effect of being in some of the iconic
places in Lourdes.
- We are asking for photos of parishioners holding a lighted candle, standing in their house or garden, to help us
create the best possible virtual torchlight procession - to send these click here to Email.
- Could you record the Hail Mary in a foreign language? To let us know click here to Email and we'll be in touch about recording.
- Could you provide an act for the talent show? To let us know click here to Email and we'll be in touch about filming.
- There will be a full liturgy booklet to download from the BCYS website on 15th July.
For young people (those aged approx. 15-23), the BCYS are also adding a programme around the main programme. It is
available on our website. The simplest way to stay updated is to follow us on Instagram (@BrentwoodCYS), as well as
subscribing to the @BrentwoodCYS YouTube channel. For young people the pilgrimage will begin with "The 18 hour
challenge". Our coach journey to Lourdes usually takes about 18 hours, and, as you know, Mary appeared to
Bernadette 18 times. So we are encouraging young people to consider something around the number 18 (walk 18km, bake 18
cakes for people in your street, wash 18 cars …) that they can accomplish between 4.30pm on Saturday 25th July
and 10.30am on Sunday 26th July. Sponsorship will be split between Cafod's "Summer of Hope" appeal and
the BCYS, and can be offered via www.bcys.net/donate.
-
St Paul In Acts: During the Easter period we have been hearing excerpts from the Acts of the Apostles
at the Liturgy of the Word at Mass. It is from Scriptures such as these, which point to the priorities of Christian
faith lived in the world, that we can reinvigorate our faith as we go forward from Pentecost to face new problems for
the world and for the Church. Fr Adrian Graffy, Scripture scholar and parish priest of Gidea Park, has prepared a new
talk 'Paul in Acts' which can be accessed by going to www.whatgoodnews.org/faith-talks
Please remember to pray for:
Daily for the sick clergy of our Diocese
The sick and housebound
Those who have recently died