For Catholics on the Tendring Peninsula….
SPECIAL NEWSLETTER XXI – keeping in touch.
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A) 22/23 August 2020
Catholic Parishes of:
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Dovercourt: 01255 503383
email Harwich@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website www.harwichcatholics.org.uk
Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi, Frinton-on-Sea: 01255 674475
email Frinton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website: www.frintoncatholicchurch.wordpress.com
Masses to be celebrated in our churches during the next week:
Monday (24th) (Dovercourt) 9.30am Private Intentions
Wednesday (26th): (Frinton) 11.00am Gerry Prendergast RIP (The Women’s Group)
Thursday (27th): (Frinton) 11.00am Pat Pollock RIP (Marie Taylor)
Friday (28th): (Dovercourt) 9.30am Fr Tom Jordan RIP
Saturday (29th): (Frinton) 6.00pm Fr Jonny Torres (Bray)
Sunday (30th): (Frinton) 8.30am Fr Charles Kakooza (Anne Jackson)
(Dovercourt) 10.45am All Parishioners
In addition to these Masses, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate Mass in The Presbytery. His Mass intentions are:
Gillian McMahon (Kathleen Farry)
Niall Buckley RIP (Kathleen Farry)
Seafarers & their families
The Recently Bereaved
Fr Frank & Anne.
My dear friends,
Our Gospel reading today focusses on the response to a question put to the Apostles by Jesus. It is Peter, the undisputed leader, who responds on their behalf.
Peter always comes over as a real human being, warts and all. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the Evangelists didn’t attempt to cover up the Apostles’ bad side. These were the leaders of the infant Church – you’d think the Gospel writers might have tried to build them up a little, cover up their faults. But, no. We see the Apostles as they truly were – often confused, foolish, and sometimes cowardly. The Gospels avoid any cover up because they want us to see the transformation that God brings about in their lives after that startling encounter with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Jesus knew he could safely found his Church on Peter, the rock, because he could see great potential in him.
We too are flawed, are subject to human weakness. But we can be transformed (you know this). Like Peter if we recognise our faults and repent we are assured of God’s forgiveness and of the power of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives.
May the God of all good things bless you today and forever.
Fr Frank
A hymn for this Sunday:
The Church’s one foundation, from heaven he came and sought her
is Jesus Christ, her Lord; to be his holy bride,
she is His new creation, with his own blood he bought her,
by water and the Word; and for her life He died.
The tune that these words are normally sung to is ‘Aurelia’, composed by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-76), a prolific composer of hymn tunes and anthems. He could certainly write a good tune; one of my favourites of all time is ‘Hereford’ sadly not in our hymn book. He came from a family of organists and composers and was the great nephew of John Wesley. This week’s reflection is the heart stopping statement made by St Peter: ‘You are the Christ, the son of the living God.’ (AJ)
Sunday Mass Attendance (both parishes): 22/23 August, surnames S-Z.; 29/30 August, surnames A-D.
Private Prayer: owing to a decline in attendance, Private Prayer times have been suspended in both churches. Our churches will be locked outside Mass times. Please do not enter church premises outside these scheduled times. There is no exception to this rule. Remember, we have a responsibility to keep one another safe.
Sunday Smile: Taken from an American church magazine: Wednesday, the Ladies’ Liturgy Society will meet. Mrs Jones will sing ‘Put me in My Little Bed’, accompanied by the Pastor.