+ Thurs 28th – Church openings info – and a question about Jesus’ yearning

28 May 2020

Dear friends –

Today’s blog post is simply two things: 1. A further mention of the church opening times for prayer at Our Lady of the Way and 2. Today’s Gospel from the Mass of the day for Thursday of the 7th week of Easter – with a simple question following it.

Please see the encouragement below to call someone who doesn’t use the internet and let them know of the prayer times / church openings. Also keep an eye on this Parish Blog space in coming days for info about step by step church openings for small number Masses.

So firstly …

CHURCH OPENING FOR PRAYER AND ADORATION

Starting today, the church will be opening for two prayer visit times each week, with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This hopefully might become well known and ongoing as part of the practice of Our Lady of the Way. Wednesdays 9.45am-10.45am AND Thursdays 8.45am to 10.45am. Note that these opening times with Prayer and Adoration will fit well with the morning Mass times once they begin again soon.

This will include opportunities for our school children to make special visits to the church too. Our sincere thanks to the parishioners who volunteered in response to last week’s letter to the parish seeking leadership to oversee this idea of opening the church for special times. (see last Friday’s blog post 22nd May). According to current COVID regulations, we will operate on a careful welcome of 10 people in the church maximum at a time and follow cleaning procedures etc – but the parishioners who are leading this initiative have been through a preparation and are ready to make all those things happen and most importantly, to make you very comfortable. So please feel very welcome. Hopefully this might become a really reflective and prayerful feature of the church here. (It is also part of an idea that our school leadership team has expressed great enthusiasm to work with the parish to create … that is, to make Thursday morning, as a norm across the whole parish property, a time of quiet, prayer and reflection – with opportunities for children, parents and all parishioners to participate.)

Please make a phone call or visit someone today who doesn’t use the internet and tell them of these church opening times and prayer visit details.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (17:20-26)

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

I pray not only for these,

but for those also

who through their words will believe in me.

May they all be one.

Father, may they be one in us,

as you are in me and I am in you,

so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave to me,

that they may be one as we are one.

With me in them and you in me,

may they be so completely one

that the world will realise that it was you who sent me

and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me

to be with me where I am,

so that they may always see the glory you have given me

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Father, Righteous One,

the world has not known you,

but I have known you,

and these have known that you have sent me.

I have made your name known to them

and will continue to make it known,

so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,

and so that I may be in them.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

REFLECTION

A Gospel related reflection question following the above passage:

I’m choosing not to put a voice recording in the blog post today following the Gospel. Instead, I want to just leave us with one brief reflection and question … and of course you will have other reflections on this passage. But the one reflection and question I’ll pose is this:

A pinnacle yearning from Jesus at this time just before giving his life, was that all people would be one! AND according to the Gospel of John, he meant that ONENESS, not only for the ones who were close to him. He meant it also for the others who those close ones could reach out towards. ‘May they all be one!’ QUESTION: So, what’s ONE priority action for us as parishioners together, that might express this pinnacle yearning of Jesus?

See you in the next Parish Blog post and

With friendship in God’s mission

fr Paul

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