January 30, 2005

Fourth Sunday of the Year

SCRIPTURE READINGS (A)

                    Zephaniah 2:3;3:12-13    God leads a humble and lowly people

1 Corinthians 1:26-31     God choose the weak

Matthew 5:1-12             Christ preaches the Beatitutdes

THE DIVINE APOSTLE

This Tuesday we kept the feast of the conversion of Saint Paul, known to later Christian writers as The DivineAapostle. It is hard for us to imagine what the church would have looked like without the intervention of 'Saul, later called Paul [Acts 13:9] His conversion made a deep impression on the author of Acts, who relates it no less than three times in chapters 9, 22 and 26 of his work. The light and the voice together had the astonishing effect of changing the would be zealous persecutor of the followers of the way - a term under which the young church was known [cf. Acts 9:2] - into an even more zealous advocate of the religion he had sought to exterminate. He describes his travels for the gospel in his second letter to the people Corinth as 'in journeyings often' [ 2 Corinthians 11:26] When we consider the mode of transport at his disposal and the vast areas he covered, we cannot but wonder at his energy and resourcefulness. On one occasion he seems to imply that he was not a strong man nor of distinguished appearance [ 2 Corinthians 10:10] Whether his experience on the road to Damascus made him wary of horses, as Byron suggests, we shall never know.He may have used a cart or may have walked. On this subject he is silent. Several of his journeys, above all his last one to Rome made use of ships, The zeal and energy of the man are amazing. Some of us today are not to eager to use planes and railways. In the days of Paul none of these were available. To him above all we owe the fact that the infant church changed from a Jerusalem centred, largely Jewish community, to a largely gentile community with Rome as its endpoint and centre.and so it has remained.

Yet this was all achieved through a man who had never known Jesus according to the flesh.[2 Corinthians 5:16] He had never heard him preach or seen him work a miracle. He never cites the words of Jesus in the gospels. Yet it would be hard to imagine a man in whom the message and love of Christ burnt more strongly. His experience on the road to Damascus had taught him that Christ was all. 'For me to live is Christ and to die is gain' [Philippians 1:21] His zeal was a direct consequence of his being as it were "intoxicated" with Christ.  

                                                                     Fr Anthony Meredith SJ

From the Parish Priest: The Tsunami Appeal - Results

Last Sunday saw the great generosity of our Farm Street congregation in the face of a world catastrophe: our Tsunami appeal in aid of relief and reconstruction in devastated areas on the island of Sri Lanka resulted in donations approaching £20,000. To this sum will be added another £4,000 in tax refunds from Gift Aid. Heartfelt thanks are due to all who contributed to this inspiring Christian response. But who can speak on behalf of the thousands of victims who in due course will benefit? As we create a new spiritual bond with those unseen brothers and sisters of ours on the other side of the globe, we might consider how we shall all meet “merrily in heaven” one day. Perhaps a great part of the joy of that meeting will be the shared gratitude we shall have for one another – for all the countless acts of kindness that have woven our lives into the “seamless robe” of Christ. It might be timely also to add that, quite separately from donations being made through Jesuit organisations, parishes, schools and other works in the UK , the British Province of the Society of Jesus has allocated £250,000 from its own resources for immediate use in Jesuit-led relief programmes in the entire region affected by the tsunami. The parish appeal will continue as long as funds are needed and we are working in partnership with Jesuit Missions, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and Young British Jesuit Alumni (YBJA). Donations are chanelled directly through the Society of Jesus to the locations in Sri Lanka which we have targeted for help.Cheques may be made to Farm Street Church and there are Gift Aid envelopes available. May God continue to bless our efforts.        

REPORTS FROM JESUITS IN SRI LANKA

We will soon have a separate page for reports on relief and reconstruction.

In the meantime this is a digest of news issued from Colombo on:

JANUARY 28

COLOMBO   The relief operations under the auspices of the Sri Lankan Province of the Society of Jesus are directed by Fr Anton Pieris SJ , appointed by Father Provincial for this task. A special office has been set up in to co-ordinate these efforts. The team includes Fr Louis Prakash SJ, experienced in disaster management. Postal address: Nirmala, 31 Clifford Place, Colombo 4, Sri Lanka.  Email: jtrr@sltnet.lk  Fax: (0094) 011 258 5260

BATTICALOA (from Fr Guy Rajenram SJ):: Motorbike purchased for fieldwork; direct financial assistance given to victims; Jesuit novices working in the transit camps; financial aid for immediate purchase of books and paper for school children; temporary shelters erected by JRS; purchase of tools for rebuilding

GALLE (from Fr Kurukulaaratchi SJ) Meetings with Government agencies; clean-up of schools; teams gathering data on displaced families

KIRINDE-TANGALLE: (from Fr Ashley Samarasinghe SJ) Co-operation continues between Muslim, Catholic and Anglican organisations; children top priority; data-gathering teams for essential needs; sewing machines purchesed for local affected tailors

SATYODAYA (from Fr Paul Casperesz SJ) Tea plantation workers, peasant farmers and villagers helped; Satyodaya Community is an NGO project bringing together Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher members.

TRINCOMALEE (from Veeasan Yogeswaran SJ) Training of  JRS personnel and others in counselling for victims; cocerted efforts to deal with collapse of local (fishing-based) economy; housing and food needs being met (cement in short supply); polluted wells cleaned.

From Fr Chryso Pieris SJ (Socius to the Provincial) "From the time the tsunami struck us, you, unknown friends from all over the wide world, have been for us a net of sympathy, strength and comfort. We suppressed our tears and got down to work. But some of your letters were so sincere and on the right wave length, it was a relief to shed a tear with you. In the name of all the bereaved and displaced tsunami victims of Asia, especially Sri Lanka, I humbly offer my deep fraternal respect and affection. God bless our human family!"

AT YOUR WORD LORD

This programme of prayer and spiritual renewal for the Diocese of Westminster begins its fourth Season on February 6 th . We invite you to use this opportunity for Lent. If you can be a part of a small group meeting once a week at the church for Bible study and reflection on the Faith, speak to one of the clergy today or leave your name and telephone number with us this week. Prayer booklets are available at the doors (£1 please) and anyone can take one home to use for personal prayer. See the special sheet for details.

First Communion

The first meeting of children and parents for all who wish to take part in our First Communion programme will take place on Sunday February 27 th after the 9.30am Mass. Please let Neil or Clare McNamara know in advance if you are coming: 0208 249 2935.

LEPROSY This is World Leprosy Day and there will be an appeal at all Masses in aid of this cause.To learn more about the disease and how it is treated, see the information posted at the doors or speak to one of the volunteerss. There will be a retiring collection. Please be generous. Thank you!

FAREWELL After six years as organist for the 9.30 Mass, Simon Clarke takes his farewell bow and moves on to a new post. Those of you who have had the chance to meet Simon will appreciate our sadness at the the loss - a lovely person as well as a talented musician! There will be a moment at coffee in the church Hall after the 9.30 Mass to wish him well. Do join us.

TSUNAMI The appeal has raised over £20,000 which will be sent through Jesuit Missinons to the Jesuits working in the affected areas of Sri Lanka. See notices at the doors or on our website for latest reports.

SHROVE TUESDAY There will be a concert of sacred music by the Cardinal Vaughan School Schola Cantorum at Farm Street Church on Tuesday February 8th at 7.30pm. This is to celebrate 25years of work for the homeless by The Passage. See notices for details and ticket information.

READERS' DAY   To all readers at Mass (including week-days) and to anyone interested in becoming a reader: There will be a Day of Recollection and Study on Saturday February 12th (10.30am-3pm). This will include a talk from Fr William on the ministry of the Word, a sharing of experiences and needs, Mass together in the Sodality Chapel, a practical session in the church (microphone use), and time for individual prayer and silence. Please bring sandwiches and a drink for lunch. There is no need to let us know beforehand if you are comuing but please come!

LAST SUNDAY'S COLLECTION: £2,293.68 Many thanks!

LENT

Easter comes early this year. To help us to enter into the spirit of Lent, there are a number of events coming up which you might want to make note of now:

February

Sunday 6 th Start of the At Your Word Lord season (Reconciliation)

Tuesday 8 th 7.30pm Concert of Sacred Music by the Cardinal Vaughan Schola Cantorum

Wednesday 9 th Ash Wednesday: Masses at usual times

Saturday 12 th 10.30am-3pm Day of Recollection and Study for Readers (open to those interested in joining)

Thursday 24 th 7pm CAFOD Evening with guest speakers

March

Saturday 5 th 10am-4pm Day of Recollection “Open My Eyes”

Thursday 10 th 7pm Concert of Sacred Music by the Cardinall's Musick

Sunday 20 th is Palm Sunday and we hope to share the Blessing of Palms once more with our Anglican neighbours from the Grosvenor Chapel.

There will be extended periods of Confession as we approach Easter. Please do avail yourself of every opportunity to deepen your Faith this Lent and to participate fully in the sacramental and spiritual life of the parish.

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