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SCRIPTURE
READINGS
|
Acts |
5:12-16 |
| Psalm |
117 |
| Apocalyse |
1:9-13,
17-19 |
| John |
20:19-31 |
THE
RESURRECTION
The
Resurrection is the great scandal at the heart of
our faith. It is God's work done, not in some flash
of blinding glory, but when no one was looking.
We are only witnesses to a work already accomplished.
It is a work which changes everything, even the
way in which we now know God: the object of Christian
faith is not simply God, but God the Father who
raises up his Son, Jesus Christ, in the power of
the Holy Spirit. This is not an aloof and detached
deity but the life of the Trinity open for us in
our history, offering us a new life, a new way of
being and seeing, and calling us to a moment of
decision. That Jesus is Lord is the Church's
earliest profession of faith, and it is grounded
in her experience that he is raised from the dead
(Rom. 10.9; Phil2.11; 1Cor.12.3). Everything is
changed.
We
can sense the beautiful strangeness of the Risen
Christ in the gospels. They strike us with inconsistencies
and puzzles which, at first sight make them seem
implausible as hard evidence. But how do you speak
about something that is utterly new? How do you
think and react to something which you could not
have experienced before, or trust your senses and
your judgement when everything says "this is
impossible" but yet here you are, and it is
real, maybe even more real and intense than anything
you have ever experienced?
Of
course no two people tell the same story in the
same way. There are differences of detail and emphasis
which reflect the concerns and styles of the different
gospels, but there is also a surprising transparency.
They do not disguise the fear and even disbelief.
They allow the testimony of women, which would have
not been accepted as valid in Jewish law. They don't
portray the disciples as heroic men who are utterly
reliable. All the accounts of the appearances show
remarkable restraint. They all, especially the austere,
almost brutally short, account of Mark, record fear
and confusion and failure to understand. But there
is a consistency about the Jesus they encounter.
His appearances are oddly low key and intimate,
not the great triumphant theophany one might expect.
They are not hallucinations, nor are they like the
transfiguration; all are clear that the Resurrection
is not resuscitation like that of Lazarus, or the
boy at Nain, or Jairus' daughter. Jesus is alive,
in the total integrity of his body and soul; he
bears the marks of his suffering and crucifixion,
he can be touched, he can eat, he speaks and consoles
- he is very much alive. Yet he is strange, his
body inhabits time and space but is not bound by
them; in some sense it is 'physical' but it seems
to have properties which we have never experienced
or seen before -the scholastic theologians referred
to them as 'agility, clarity, immunity from pain
and decay, absence of density'. Some modem scholars
speak of a 'transphysicality'. However we try to
comprehend the accounts of the appearances, they
represent attempts to understand and to ex press
the mystery of the finite transposed in the glory
of God's life: it is a vision of life not only beyond
death but beyond life.
Fr
James Hanvey SJ
LONDON
MARATHON
The
annual London
marathon
takes place on SUNDAY APRIL 25th and once again
we are proud to be fielding a hardy team of Jesuits
who will be running the marathon in aid of Jesuit
Missions. This weekend we welcome Anthony Vikram
SJ and his confrères who join us to promote
sponsorship for this event. Your donations will
help in the ongoing reconstruction of such afflicted
areas as Haiti
and
in the support of projects throughout the world.
Farm Street has recently twinned with the Catholic
community in Bishteck, the capital of Kyrgyzstan
and
we hope to be able to support a building programme
for them. Please take a copy of Jesuits and
Friends home with you (they are free) and
read all about the great work Jesuit Missions is
doing for Christ and the Gospel. For more information
regarding the London
marathon
and Jesuit Missions see www.gbjm.org/marathon
and for direct sponsorship: www.justgiving.com/Anthony-vikram
.
ACCOUNTS
The
accounts for 2009 are posted at the doors of the
church. We thank everyone for their generous support
of Farm
Street
over the past year. We were able to meet our running
costs and also to pay for a number of heavy additional
expenses. Most importantly, we were able to assist
a good number of worthy causes at home and abroad
and your contribution continues to make a difference
to many lives. A big Thank You!
PARKING
SPACE
The
Jesuit Community has disposed of the Community car
and now has an indoor parking space available for
annual lease. The entrance is in Farm
Street
close to the church. For details contact the House
Manager Marian Campbell: 020 7529 4804.
A
NEW FILM ON THE CARMELITES
“NO
GREATER LOVE”
After
ten years of correspondence, director Michael Whyte
was given unrestricted access to the enclosed Carmelite
community of nuns hidden away in Notting Hill, in
the centre of London . The result is a unique and
beautiful insight into the world of prayer, contemplation
and the shared life of faith. These are the sisters,
by the way, who make the altar breads we use here
at Farm Street – a wonderful daily link between
us! For information on cinemas showing this film,
see bridgesandtangents.com .
REFLECTION
DAYS FOR VOLUNTEER GROUPS
The
days begin at 10am
and finish at around 2pm .
Sat
April 17 th : Catechists
Sat
June 12 th : Readers (this includes weekday readers
as well as those on the Sunday rota)
Sat
September 18 th : Welcomers (greeters, coffee and
bookshop helpers and night receptionists)
Sat
September 25 th : Ministers of Holy Communion.
DATES
FOR YOUR DIARY
A
DAY WITH MARY SATURDAY APRIL 24th
We
are happy to welcome this popular devotional event
once more here at Farm
Street .
Opening procession: 10am
. Mass:
11am
. Devotions
throughout the afternoon. Finish 4.30pm
. All
welcome!
FLORES
DE MAYO SATURDAY
MAY 8th
Led
by the Farm Street Filipino Community, this celebration
in honour of Our Lady begins with a procession into
the church at 2pm
followed
by Mass and devotions. Benediction and final procession
at 4pm
. All
are welcome and this is a great event for children.
SUMMER
GARDEN PARTY SUNDAY
JULY 4th
This
is our annual social get-together with lots of food
and drink and good fellowship. We call this our
Open Day and we make a special effort to introduce
new friends to our church. The event takes place
in Mount Street Garden and begins at noon , finishing
with a tour of the church at 3pm and ending with
Benediction at 4pm .
ST
IGNATIUS MASS AND CELEBRATION FRIDAY
JULY 30th
The
Feast of St Ignatius, Founder of the Jesuits, is
celebrated on the 31st, but in order to ensure that
as many as possible can be with us for the Mass
and reception, we are having a Vigil Mass on Friday
at 6pm
. The
choir will be performing, there will be a guest
preacher and we will be gathering Jesuit alumni
and alumnae from all over the world. A very special
event!
LIVING
THEOLOGY 2010
A
“long weekend” of the Living Theology Summer School
will take place at Allen Hall (the Diocesan seminary
located in Beaufort
Street ,
Chelsea
, on
the grounds once occupied by St Thomas More and
his family) from July 9th to 12th. Choose from a
variety of courses in theology, ethics, the Bible,
prayer and other topics. See www.livingtheology.org,uk
for full details or contact Fr Dominic Robinson
SJ at the Mount Street Jesuit Centre.
MOUNT
STREET JESUIT
CENTRE
WHO
DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
The
Mystery of Jesus Christ
Wednesdays
from 14th APRIL to 2nd JUNE, 7 – 8.30 pm
Led
by Fr DOMINIC Robinson SJ
The
question Jesus put to his disciples has been asked
of Christians (and others) for over 2000 years.
The module begins with the life of Jesus and his
message and proceeds to an overview of how the Church
has attempted to answer the question of the identity
of Jesus Christ. Later on in the course we reflect
more deeply on the centrality of our faith in the
cross and salvation and, finally, consider some
contemporary issues for the study of Jesus Christ
in today's multi-faith context.
A
GOD WHO SPEAKS
Reading
and Praying the Old Testament
Saturday
17th APRIL and 24th APRIL, 11am– 4pm
Led
by BRIAN PURFIELD
The
aim is to introduce participants to the writings
of the Old Testament in order to help them to recognise
God's revelation contained there and its continuing
relevance in Christian life today. Particular attention
will be paid to the different types of literature
that make up the Old Testament and to the diversity
of images of God. The significance of the covenant
and the centrality of the Exodus experience for
the people of Israel
will
be highlighted.
Details
of these programmes can be found in the leaflets
at
the doors of the church.
If
you would like us to put on a course or a one day
workshop on a particular topic of interest to you
now is your opportunity to make your requests.
Please
use Gift-Aid envelopes for your donations if you
are a UK
Tax-payer .
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