|
SCRIPTURE
READINGS
|
Isaiah |
43:16-21 |
| Psalm |
125 |
| Philippians
|
3:8-14 |
| John |
8:1-11 |
ACHIEVEMENT
From
our earliest days, wining the game, and therefore
beating others has been part of our make up. Even
as we grow older the words of these verses continue
to haunt some of us:
I
pushed to the front in religion and play
I
knocked all competitors out of the way.
How
on earth could business and politics succeed without
the
medicine of competition and ambition? Even in the
quiet groves of academe the desire to achieve and
succeed haunts us. Academics are not noted for their
generosity towards those of the same breed, especially
if the other works in the same area as you do.
Even
in our dealings with almighty God, who never lets
us go, self-esteem is largely attached to the realisation
of our moral excellence. The Pharisee in Luke 18.9
ff prided himself on his fasting and alms- giving.
It is for him I I I all the way. He had forgotten
what we so easily forget ,
that our ability
to possess and realise our potential is a gift of
God. In other words we forget the words of Saint
Paul in 1 Corinthians 4.7, "What have you that
you have not received?" We are beneficiaries
rather than benefactors.
Interestingly
it is what Jesus suffers that is his greatest achievement.
Christ and his mother Mary turn our worldly standards
upside down. Jesus himself says "Come to me
you who are burdened and I will give you rest. I
am meek and humble of heart (Matthew 11. 28-30).
His mother Mary in her Magnificat speaks
of her own humility (see Luke 1.48).
Humility
is hardly a virtue to be proud of. It does not figure
among the virtues of Aristotle. It has received
something of a bad press since the days of Uriah
Heep and his humble mother. It also, more seriously,
challenges the gospel of competition on which so
much of our world runs. Yet there it is. It is the
necessary root of all our achievements and without
it we lapse into the crowning vice of PRIDE, which
can poison our virtues.
It
is not a weakness like greed or lust, but it is
the first of all sins and the origin and root of
all sin as Saint Augustine never ceases reminding
us. A passage in City of God 14, 13 tells
us that "Humility is especially commended to
the city of God as it sojourns in this world, ...
above all in the person of Christ, its king."
Fr
Anthony Meredith SJ
LENT
AND HOLY WEEK
Palm
Sunday , March 28
th
There
will be an exchange of palms with Grosvenor Chapel
at 10:45am
in Mount Street
Garden
.
Monday
in Holy Week , March
29 th
6:45pm:
Penance Service with opportunity for individual
confession.
Maundy
Thursday , April
1 st
Mass
of the Lord's Supper at 6pm.
Good
Friday , April 2
nd
This
is a day of fasting and abstinence. 3pm: Liturgy
of the Passion
6pm:
Seven Last Words
Holy
Saturday , April
3 rd
8pm:
Easter Vigil Mass
Easter
Sunday : regular
Mass times
STATIONS
OF THE CROSS
There
are Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent
at 12:30pm Children's Stations of the Cross
will take place on Sunday
March
21st at 10.30am in the church.
REFLECTION
DAYS FOR VOLUNTEER GROUPS
We
are very grateful to all our many volunteers for
the dedication they bring to serving our church.
To help in their formation and training we are offering
the opportunity for a half-day of prayer, reflection
and practical matters for our major volunteer groups.
If you are in one of these groups please put your
date in your diary. 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.
Junior
Altar Servers will have an evening this Friday,
March 12 th .
Please
see any of the clergy for details. We realise that
there are “unattached” volunteers and we will try
and serve them also.
LENTEN
TALKS
Sundays at
5pm in the Hall . Fr Anthony Meredith
concludes his series of Lenten talks today:
"JOURNEY'S END". All are welcome .
WALSINGHAM
The
Annual Pilgrimage to Walsingham is on Saturday 29
th May. This year's pilgrimage will be in honour
of Philip O'Brien who died last summer. The pilgrimage
will be led by Fr Dominic Robinson. For further
information, contact Joan Hammett on 0207 657 6367.
PASTORAL
LETTER
There
are copies of a Pastoral Letter from Archbishop
Vincent Nichols at the doors of the church for you
to take home if you wish. In it he discusses some
of the cardinal virtues as well as the coming election
and there are references to today's readings.
HOME
HELP
A
Polish lady who is a member of our parish and is
currently assisting the Tyburn nuns is offering
her services for cleaning and home tasks in order
to help with fees for English lessons. Contact Elizabeth
: 0783 140 2218 (after 3pm ) or see Fr William.
FARM
STREET FILMS
March
25 th : Romero (dir. John Duigan, 1989). Faith
and the cause of justice - one of the most inspiring
figures in the modern Church and a man whose influence
grows with time.
April
15 th : El Norte (dir. Gregory Nava, 1983). A couple's
journey towards self-understanding and the meaning
of love as they leave their Mexican homeland for
life in the US
.
All
welcome, admission free.
Next
Sunday is Palm Sunday. Palms will be blessed and
distributed at every Mass.
The
blessing for the 11am Mass will take place in Mount
Street
Garden
at 10.45am
.
CLOCKS
GO FORWARD NEXT WEEKEND!
There
will be no rehearsals of the Children's Choir until
after Easter
MOUNT
STREET JESUIT
CENTRE
ONE-DAY
WORKSHOP
WE
WHO WERE WITH HIM
Wednesday
24 th March, 10am – 2pm ,
To
book a place, e-mail brian@mountstreet.info
with your phone number or call 020 7495 1673
Led
by BRIAN PURFIELD
As
Holy Week approaches, you are invited to spend time
in prayer and reflection with some of the people
who encountered Jesus during his Passion. Based
on characters and events found in the Passion Narrative
of the Gospel of St. Luke.
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, 7– 8.30 pm
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.
Please
use Gift-Aid envelopes for your donations if you
are a UK
Tax-payer .
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