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PARISH OF ST. BONIFACE, SOUTHAMPTON JANUARY 26th., 2014 THIRD SUNDAY of ORDINARY TIME [A] “The Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand” Presbytery: St. Boniface House, 413 Shirley Road Southampton SO15 3JD Tel: 023 80771231 Parish Clergy: Father David Sillince [Parish Priest], Canon Terry Walsh [in retirement] Safeguarding Officer: Anne Monaghan 023 80777691 Chair of Parish Pastoral Council: Mike Wood 023 80630396 Parish Secretary: Eileen B. Aylett Parish Office opening hours Monday Thursday and Friday 9.00am to 12.30pm Newsletter deadline 9.00pm on Tuesday for inclusion on following Sunday, space permitting. Parish Website: www.st-boniface.org.uk Parish Office e mail: [email protected] This Parish is within the Pastoral Area of Southampton Central & West. RC Diocese of Portsmouth Regd. Charity 246871 The Church is normally open on weekdays 8am-12noon, Saturdays 8am-11am & 5-7.45pm, Sundays 7.30am-12noon CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK (Divine Office week 3) Saturday Sunday January 25 January 26 ] ] THIRD SUNDAY of ORDINARY TIME [A] Monday Tuesday January 27 January 28 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday January 29 January 30 January 31 February 1 [St. Angela Merici, Foundress †Brescia 1540] St. Thomas Aquinas, Dominican, Doctor of the Church (†Fossanova 1274) Feria, week 3 Feria, week 3 St. John Bosco, Founder of the Salesians (†Turin 1888) Our Lady on Saturday [St. Henry Morse, Martyr †London 1645] 6.30pm Mass is of CANDLEMAS We pray especially for:6.30pm 8.30am 10.30am 10.00am 10.00am Mass Mass Mass Mass Mass Mercy Pereira, RIP Raymond Perry, RIP Antoinette Baxter, RIP Patricia & Bridget McGinnity, RIP Pauline Harden, RIP 10.00am 10.00am 10.00am 10.00am Mass Mass Mass Mass In thanksgiving [MC] Romualda Bunales, RIP Michael McCarthy, RIP Pereda family Confessions Saturdays after 10am Mass and from 5.45pm to 6.15pm PARISH PRAYER GROUP: Fridays 11am-12noon in the Hall, all welcome. REFRESHMENTS in the Hall every Sunday after 10.30am Mass, also Fridays after 10am Mass. Next Sunday is Candlemas, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (replacing the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, readers please note). At the beginning of Mass we bless the candles used for the difference purposes of the church throughout the year. The crib remains in the church until this day, the fortieth after Christmas, and donations can still be made there for Christian communities and schools in the Holy Land. Please pray for those who are sick especially: Colette Morfett, Canon Terry Walsh, James Marsh, Edward Standley, Gordon Lyons, Sheila White, Kathy White, Aileen Lynn, Geoffrey Milford, Gabrielle Loney, Mary King, Sidney Dugdale, Keith Owen, Mary Hoskins, Maureen Guly. Please pray for the repose of the souls of those with anniversaries at this time: Mary McGinnity, Doris Mulvihill, Steven Caraher. COLLECTION: January 19: Loose £405.67, Envelopes £476.40. Apportionment: Bankers’ Orders £320.00, Gift Aid £180.00. Total £1382.07. Building & Maintenance £326.23. ‘Connect2Ethiopia’ charity £37.18 (£4131.93 Ethiopia total so far / £27799.92 Ethiopia + previous Kainmari ‘Connect’]. Many thanks for these kind contributions. Next weekend: Fund (February). Building & Maintenance DIOCESAN PRAYER INTENTIONS: Su: Sufferers from leprosy; Priests no longer in active ministry. M: Holocaust Memorial; Diocesan Pastoral Council. T: Staff & Students in Higher Education. W: Salesian Cooperators of Don Bosco. Th: St. John Bosco, Woodley, Reading. F: Salesians in the Diocese. Sa: St. Brigid, West End. FIRST HOLY COMMUNION: A reminder that this programme begins on Wednesday February 12 with an important introductory session for parents. Fr David will be sending an e-mail shortly. YOUTH CLUBS: Junior [‘Frogz’] for ages 8-10 normally meets on the first and third Fridays of the month during termtime, from 6-7.15pm. Senior [‘Fanning the Flame’] weekly from 7.30-9pm. Both in the Hall. All are welcome. Full details of our two clubs and confirmation of dates from Angela Wood (023) 80630396. IN THE PORCH: Cafod Connect 2 Sebeya, Ethiopia – succeeds Kainmari, Bangladesh. Poitiers Care food box for needy local families: suitable items list on lid of box. Apostleship of the Sea box (blue) for bags of sweets, toothbrushes/paste, soap, Vaseline and moisturising cream for seafarers visiting our port. CAFOD SUPPORTERS’ DAY Saturday February 8, 10am-1.30pm at St. Bede, Basingstoke. For details of all current plans, news and developments. Fundraising writer Mark Chamberlain speaks about this Lent’s focus country, Sierra Leone. Book at 01252 329385 or at [email protected] “THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL”: ch.3 (1) Chapter 3 of Pope Francis’ “Apostolic Exhortation”, turns from challenges to “The Proclamation of the Gospel”. It is of similar length to chapter 2, but the thought is less diffuse. In one way or another, all Christians must proclaim the Gospel, for it is for all, and not least “those who feel far from God and the Church, those who are fearful or indifferent”. “The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.” The spread of the Gospel is necessarily linked to cultures, the diversity of which is not a threat to the Church. Some cultures (especially European) have traditionally been associated with evangelisation, but they do not have a monopoly of it, for it is a work of the Spirit, which attunes all the baptised, to a greater or lesser degree, to the realities of the divine. Thus despite our imperfections we are all called to offer witness to the Lord’s saving love, implanting that in our own culture, whichever culture that may be. It is the Spirit which can prevent this diversity from descending into chaos, while it is up to us to avoid creating an artificial and dictatorial unity which actually stifles the Church’s mission. The Pope turns to the theme of preaching. This may seem to be the preserve of the clergy, but in fact he includes in it any form of personal dialogue where one person shares their “hopes, joys and concerns” with others, in the context of their faith in Christ. He also includes theological study, calling theologians to dialogue with the world of cultures and sciences while always relating to the living Lord and not being “desk-bound”. The Pope then devotes much space to the preaching of the homily, where, as we all know, the faithful often suffer from having to listen and the clergy from having to speak. Because the homily, properly speaking, is in the context of the Mass, it is superior in form to all other catechesis, “the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people”; the preacher is there to “join loving hearts, the hearts of the Lord and his people”. It must be the Lord who is allowed to speak through the preacher – who is not himself the centre of attention – and as the Lord delights in doing this, the preacher should express something of that delight too. The Pope insists that in using a Scriptural text the preacher must seek to produce the same effect as that text, so a text intended to console must not be used to rebuke. Nor must the preacher use the text simply to ride hobby-horses of his own, or unleash his preconceived opinions irrespective of what the text may be saying. The preacher should know his flock and their human situations, but should not be afraid to challenge if necessary, while recognising that there are those who will only receive what they choose to receive, and will be deaf to the idea of challenge. [continues PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL met last Sunday and approved minutes of November 10, now on the board. The main issues discussed were: Review of Christmas arrangements, Some issues over Funerals, First Communion programme, New Confirmation arrangements, What exactly is the ‘New Evangelisation’? (paper distributed), Outline of Bishop Philip’s parish visitation scheduled for December, Initial consideration of the Bishop’s plan for “Faith in Action”, Activities in Lent (an ‘Anchor’ programme on Reconciliation or a short series of talks by Fr. David), New members. Next meeting on March 9. SEPARATED & DIVORCED CATHOLICS group meets for meal at Puccini’s Thursday February 13, 7.30pm. Newcomers welcome; book a place via (023) 8077 8203. MEDITATION IN ‘THE HUT’ Friday February 14, 1.30-3pm, to reflect silently in the following Sunday’s Gospel followed by cup of tea. Irena (023) 8078 4208 or Jane (023) 8034 2290. LIVING REFLECTIVELY: at Wisdom House, Romsey, 01794 830206, reception@wisdomhouseromsey,org.uk. Saturday February 15, 10am-3.30pm. £25 including lunch. SING FOR A DAY with Southampton Choral Society, Saturday March 1, 10.30am4pm St. James’ Rd. Methodist Church; Purcell’s “Dido & Aeneas”. £10 covers cost of music hire and refreshments. Tickets at the door or (023) 8033 2467. GOLDEN GOA ASSOCIATION Carnival Party Sunday March 2, 1-6pm in the Hall. £10 (under 5 free, 5-15 £6). Indian buffet, drinks, children’s fancy dress, music, bingo, raffle, etc. Proceeds of raffle to Church Sacristy roof repairs. Tickets from the Parish Office or Dina Desouza (023) 8078 0774. ROME/ASSISI PILGRIMAGE May 1121, 2015. Organisers: Tony & Lillian da Silva. £1495 per person based on twin room. Bookings close March 15 2014, 07957 734814. THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Christianity & Islam II [from two weeks ago]. Many people of goodwill look for mutual tolerance and understanding between the major religions of the world. Vatican II says so, and so has Pope Francis I in his recent document [left-hand column] in which he calls for Christian respect and affection for Muslims while also appealing for the right for Christians to practise their faith in Muslim countries (something which 2 million Christians in the Arabian Peninsula cannot do, still less convert anybody). At the same time it is possible to speak in generalisations which, wrongly interpreted, might suggest we are ‘really all the same’. So, “together with us, Muslims adore the one, merciful God”. True, but the Christian conception of the one God is quite different. To the Muslim, God shows mercy by stooping down to the poor to give them something. To the Christian, God becomes poor, in Jesus Christ, raising us up from our level. Moreover “God is love”, by definition, a community of love which we know as the Holy Trinity; he is not just merciful. Then again, Muslims “retain some Christian teachings”. There are some Christian stories, notably the Annunciation, found almost identically in the Koran; however most overlaps are from the texts in the socalled apocryphal Gospels. Mary enjoys Muslim veneration, Jesus less so, for Jesus is seen as a prophet but less than Muhammad, and he is certainly not seen as Son of God. The Koran vigorously denies the threefold nature of the one God, and also denies that Jesus redeemed the world; indeed it was not Jesus himself who died on the Cross. Mary is seen as a ‘good Muslim’, but not the Mother of God. Again, in the realm of ethics, the Muslim sense of solidarity is directed not universally, but within the Muslim community, while the observance of Islamic law is seen as something to fulfil but not to go beyond; hence the Koran does not impose forgiveness, whereas Jesus requires it “seventy times seven”. Of course fundamentalism exists everywhere and in Islam it can take a violent form (as in earlier centuries it did in Christianity). It is said that Islam lacks a central authority to check extremism – but then Pope Francis doesn’t have much power to check the ravings of David Icke. None of this is to be horrid to Muslims; it is just stating differences. A ‘liberal Muslim’, Ziauddin Sardar, says that Jesus, Muhammad (and Moses) should be seen purely as “historical figures struggling with truth”. The trouble is that to us Jesus is both human and divine, and our four Gospels, set alongside each other, present that as a truth we cannot bargain away.