SCRIPTURE READINGS (A)
Jeremiah
20:10-13
He has delivered the soul of the needy fom the
hands of evil men
Psalm
68
In your great
love, answer me, O God
Romans
5:12-15 Grace
through Christ is God's abundant free gift
Matthew
10:26-33 Do not
be afraid of those who threaten you
COME
TO YOUR SENSES!
It
has become a commonplace of our times that many people
are seeking a personal spirituality but have turned away
from religion – or what is called “organsised religion”.
(That's what it is called in “organised journalism”, at
any rate.) Over the years the churches have responded
to this phenomenon and in the Catholic Church we have
seen a growth in the area of personally guided retreats,
prayer and meditation courses and lay spiritual movements.
Farm
Street is no exception. Currently we are offering a lunchtime
introduction to forms of prayer and a lunchtime period
of guided meditation. We have had a series of Sunday talks
on prayer in the early Church and a parish day of recollection.
Evening talks have included different approaches to personal
growth through the study of the Gospels and St Paul .
The At Your Word Lord programme has fostered shared prayer
and Scripture study in small groups. Christian Life Com-munities
meet regularly in the parish rooms. There is also an on-going
offer of personal spiritual direction to those
who request it. In the coming Advent season we hope to
provide a full introduction to Ignatian spirituality and
an opportunity for making the Spiritual Exercises in everyday
life.
One
very popular course in recent weeks has been “Sadhana”,
provided by members of the Mount Street Jesuit Centre.
This approach to spiritual enlightenment was associated
for many years with the Indian Jesuit Fr Anthony de
Mello. His style of speaking and writing was so unconventional
that he got into trouble from time to time. Essentially
he based his message on the theme of “awareness”. His
method of spiritual guidance was to tell stories. He offered
no “theology” or doctrine, but relied – as Jesus did –
on the power of story to convey a truth beyond words.
Above all he mistrusted our typically Western dependence
on conceptual thinking, especially when applied to the
mystery of God.
Preacher:
“God made all things!” Master: “And you made God.” Preacher:
“That's blasphemy! Do you mean to say that I made God?”
Master: “The God you are always thinking about and talking
about – yes .”
Sometimes
Fr de Mello would teach “awareness” of the physical world
– of nature, our bodies – as a way to enlightenment. Catholicism
is a very physical religion and there is an old principle:
per visibilia ad invisibilia . Fr de Mello would
have said not to worry about the invisibilia,
but first to find “awareness” here and now in the way
that we are .
Little
fish: “I've heard so much about this thing they call the
ocean and I've been swimming for a long time looking for
it – can you help me find it?” Big Fish: “You are in it!”
Little Fish: “But this is just water! I'll keep looking.”
A
favourite saying of Fr de Mello's was, “Lose your mind
and come to your senses!” There are many ways to find
the One we seek – in the end, He will find us .
Fr William Pearsall SJ
EVENTS CALENDAR
FIRST
COMMUNIONS
Today
at the Family Mass ( 9:30am ), Grace Eastwell, Pamela
Naidoo and Christopher and Natalie Sameen will make their
First Holy Communion. Our congratulations to them, their
families and their catechists.
FARM
STREET TALKS
The
June series of talks given by Fr James Campbell S.J. continues
in the Meting Room at Mount Street Jesuit Centre on
Fridays from 12:30-1pm. The
theme is Guidance in
Prayer and will examine different
forms of prayer.
On
Sundays the subject is: The
Jesuits: History &Life and the
talks will be in the Church Hall from 5-6pm. Admission
free.All
welcome
MOUNT
STREET CENTRE TALKS
Fr
James Hanvey SJ, Director of the Heythrop Institute for
Religion, Ethics and Public Life, will speak on Monday
June 20th (7:30-9:30pm )
in the Church Hall on The
Church: 40 Years since Vatican
II.
Those who have heard Fr James
will testify to his excellence as a speaker. There is
a light supper and drinks from 7pm for those who wish.
Please let Brian Purfield, course co-ordinator, know if
you plan to attend:
brianpurfield@hotmail.comTel:
020 7495 1673
(£5
donation requested)
A
MASS FOR THE HOLY FATHER
On
the Feast of SS Peter and Paul (Wednesday 29 th June)
there will be a sung Mass at 6pm in honour of our newly-elected
Pope, Benedict XVI. The Mass will conclude with a Te
Deum. Note that this Feast is a Holy Day of Obligation.
REFUGEE
WEEK
June
20th - 25th is Refugee Week. Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue,
Chairman of the Office for Refugee Policy, Catholic Bishop's
Conference of England and Wales, reminds us about persecution
as one of the main causes of forced migration and about
the terms of the Refugee Convention, one of whose principles
is the non-forcible return of people to territories where
they may face persecution. Let us support all efforts
to alleviate this source of suffering.
SADHANA:
A WAY TO GOD
Those
who have just completed the six-week beginner's course
have asked that we continue. We will therefore be running
for a further six weeks from 2nd
June until 7th July, 6:30-7.45pm. Beginners are welcome
to join this new course. See notice board for details
or ring 8374 6959 or leave a message at Mount Street reception
for Lynne.
CAKE
AND JAM SALE FOR THE JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE
Please
come and enjoy the goods on offer (home-made cakes of
all sizes, home-made jams, marm-alade, chutney, etc) in
the Meeting Room, 114 Mount Street, on Sunday July 3rd
, 10.15am-1pm. Proceeds go to the support of AIDS orphans
in East Africa. This is a chance to meet JRS volunteers.
The
Church Team
Fr
William Pearsall SJ (Parish Priest)
Fr
James Campbell SJ (Asst Priest)
Fr
Anthony Meredith SJ (Asst Priest)
Philip
O'Brien (Parish Council Chairman)
David
Graham (Director of Music)
Patrick
Mallon (Sacristan)
Fr
Hugh Duffy SJ ( Superior
of the Jesuit
Community)
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