|
SCRIPTURE
READINGS
|
Acts |
14:21-27 |
| Psalm |
144 |
| Apocalyse |
21:1-5 |
| John |
13:31-35 |
ST.
JOSEPH THE WORKER
The
feast of St. Joseph the Worker was instituted by
Pope Pius XII in 1956. Now an optional memorial,
it is observed on 1 st May. In many countries May
Day was celebrated as Labour Day with workers' rallies,
marches and speeches. Pope Pius wanted to underline
the Christian dignity of work and the Church's concern
for the human rights of all who work. To focus on
St. Joseph as worker is a simple and direct way
of highlighting this at the beginning of Mary's
month.
In
the Office of Readings in the Breviary for this
day there is this quotation from Vatican II in the
Church in the Modern World:
'When
men and women provide for themselves and their families
in such a way as to be of service to the community
as well, they can rightly look upon their work as
a prolongation of the work of the creator, a service
to their fellow men and women, and their personal
contribution to the fulfilment
in history of the divine plan.'
Pope
John Paul was to develop this train of thought in
his social encyclicals, reflecting especially on
the underlying first principle of the value of the
human person. Such teaching has developed down the
centuries, from the Benedictine respect for manual
labour for the monks in a civilization where it
had been considered servi l
e, only suitable
for serfs and slaves. Not only manual work but all
kinds of mental work have their dignity - according
to St. Ignatius '
principle that
everything should be AMDG, to the greater glory
of God . The
bishops of England and Wales have urged us to consider
the principles of Catholic social teaching, in the
light of the Common Good, when we undertake our
civic duty of voting in the Genera l
Election.
Such
principles can be grasped best, I think, by looking
at a person, the person of St. Joseph .
From the indications
we are given in the gospels we see him as a just
man, loyal to God, caring for his
family. We see him training
Jesus as a carpenter. We see Joseph bringing up
family,
working for their food and shelter, with Jesus as
his apprentice in work and re li
gious duties,
Joseph was surely a good member of his village community
and well respected in the synagogue.
In
the Breviary for the Office of Readings for the
Feast of the Holy Fami l
y there is a
med i tation
by Pope Paul VI when he was visiting Nazareth on
his pilgrimage to the Holy Land . He speaks of the
lesson from Nazareth of the formation received in
the home as gentle and irreplaceable. Here at Nazareth
we are aware of the nobility of work. He also reaffirms
t hat
that work cannot be an e n
d in itse l
f. Its freedom
and its excellence derive, over and above its economic
worth, from the value of those for whose sake it
is undertaken. St. Joseph undertook his work for
Jesus and Mary. That makes him a powerful and appealing
model for us. ”
Fr
Tony Nye SJ
DIACONATE
ORDINATIONS
On
SATURDAY MAY 8th, Archbishop
Vincent Nichols will be ordaining Martin Khiet Pham
and Justin Antony Prabhu to the Diaconate at the
11am Mass. You are welcome. Please keep them in
your prayers.
PARENTS
TALK
Parents
are the primary sex educators of their children,
but many parents are unwilling with this responsibility
as they do not know where to start. Greg Clovis,
head of Family Life International and father of
ten children and Robert Colquhoun will explain and
help parents talk to their children about the beautiful
gift of their sexuality on TUESDAY MAY 11th, at
7pm
in
the Hall, 114
Mount Street .
For more information or reserve a place, contact
Robert Colquhoun on 0794 769 8195 or robert543@gmail.com.
VOLUNTEERS
IN BRAZIL
Bianca
Venkata and Fiona Oteng will be giving a presentation
about their voluntary experience in Brazil
on
SUNDAY MAY 16th. The presentation will take
place at 12.30pm
in
the Meeting Room, 114
Mount Street .
Please attend, all are very welcome .
PEDAL
AGAINST POVERTY WITH CAFOD
Join
CAFOD for a sponsored bike ride to help raise funds
for CAFOD's poverty-fighting work overseas. The
family friendly sponsored bike ride will take place
on SUNDAY JUNE 13th in the beautiful Lee
Valley
Country
Park
, Hertfordshire
(10 or 19 mile routes available). For further details
and a registration form, please contact CAFOD on
0208-449-6970 or westminster@cafod.org.uk.
Closing date for applications: MONDAY MAY 24th.
WALSINGHAM
The annual
parish pilgrimage to Walsingham will take place
on SATURDAY MAY 29th
. This
year's pilgrimage will be in memory of Philip O'Brien,
our Parish Council chairman, who died last summer.
The coach leaves from 114 Mount Street at 8.30am
and returns to the same spot at around 8:30pm. Fr
Dominic Robinson will be leading the group. Cost
for the day including lunch is £30.
Cheques
payable to Farm Street Church. For further information,
contact Joan Hammett on 0208 657 6367 (after 6.00pm).
CHILD
PROTECTION
Please
pick up a copy of the Statement by the Catholic
bishops of England
and Wales
as regards to the protection of children which are
available at the church exits.
YOUNG
ADULTS RETREAT
Join
Bishop Alan and other Young Adults on a Retreat
Day to St Jude's shrine, Faversham on JULY 24th.
Meet, Pray and Relax with other Young Adults from
the Diocese. All Young Adults (17-35) are welcome
to attend. Cost: £15 includes coach travel.
For more information and to book your place, contact
David Burke on 0207 798 9357 or davidburke@rcdow.org.uk
.
NEW
CATECHISTS
Our
children's programme continues to grow but we have
lost some of our catechists this year and we need
new volunteers. The work is very enjoyable and rewarding
and only requires being with the children on Sunday
mornings (not necessarily every Sunday) and special
occasions. Training will be provided by the team.
If you are interested, contact Patsy Cummings pcummings@rcdow.org.uk.
DATES
FOR YOUR DIARY
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.
PENTECOST
SUNDAY
MAY 23rd
At
the 6:15pm Mass we welcome the St Patrick's Gospel
Choir. St Patrick, Soho Square, is closed for a
year for major works. The Gospel Choir performs
a variety of musical styles.
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
until 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.
LISTENING
SKILLS
ONE-DAY
WORKSHOP SATURday 15 th MAY, 11 am - 4 pm
Led
by MARGARET PHILPOT
The
aim is to improve our skills when listening to ourselves,
and to others, and perhaps also to God.
BOUNDARIES
AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
FOR
PASTORAL WORK
One-Day
Workshop Saturday 22nd May, 11an - 4pm
Led
by ROGER DAWSON SJ
For
those involved in pastoral work in which issues
such as boundaries, roles and relationships, power
and protection of vulnerable people may be an issue.
It will focus not just on "good practice"
(do's and don'ts) but also the "character"
of the person involved in pastoral care. Suited
to anyone in parish ministry or working with people
in any helping capacity.
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 .
|
