Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 6th October 2019
Fr Frank writes:
My dear friends,
In today’s Gospel, the Apostles ask, “increase our faith”.
A person enters into the realm of faith through his/her openness in seeking actively to know God who invites us to make a conscious commitment to follow Jesus. In this following of Jesus we should not expect any personal benefit but, rather, acknowledge that ‘we are merely servants; we have done no more than our duty’ – humility is the fruit of faith. Further, faith needs to be nourished by a life of prayer, for, in this living contact with God our faith grows and flourishes – prayer is the root of faith.
October is the month of the Holy Rosary (the Memorial itself falling on Monday). To mark this month a hymn in honour of Our Lady will be sung at the end of all Sunday Masses, and during the week a decade of the rosary will be recited at the end of Mass – this is in addition to the recital of the rosary at Harwich on Thursday and after the weekday Masses at Frinton.
Sunday the 13th is a great day for our country as Blessed John Henry Newman is canonised. On that Sunday we will remember the contribution of St John Newman to the Catholic life of our nation by singing some of his hymns and I will reflect on his life in the homilies.
May Our Lady of the Rosary pray for you and may God richly bless you.
Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
A large car pulled up outside a village church. The elderly gardener was busy mowing the grass. The window slid down and a voice with a strong American accent said, “Say, any great men born around these parts?”
“Nope,” came the reply, “only babies.”
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 29 September 2019
Fr Frank writes:
My dear friends,
On 4th October we celebrate the feast of St Francis of Assisi, a saint close to the heart of many Catholics and other Christians throughout the world. St Francis is also the secondary patron of our church in Frinton. In Frinton, in addition to the Mass on Friday (4th), we will be celebrating St Francis’s entry into heaven with a traditional Transitus service on Thursday evening (3rd) – this service will be attended by members of the Clacton OFS Fraternity. My hope is that, in addition to the Fraternity, many parishioners from both parishes will be present that evening. In view of this impending Feast I thought it appropriate to offer you a prayer written by St Francis himself.
Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me true faith, certain hope,
and perfect charity, sense and knowledge,
Lord,
that I may carry out your holy and true command.
Today we give thanks to God for the harvest of land and sea. All the foodstuffs brought to church today will be distributed via the Foodbank. Thank you for your generosity.
May God richly bless you, and may St Francis of Assisi and all the Saints pray for you.
Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
A father, who was a minister, had been sitting watching the second hand of a new electric clock. “It’s amazing how long it takes for that hand to move round one minute,” he said.
“I’m glad you’ve noticed that, Dad,” said his son. “Now you know what it’s like to sit through 35 of them.”
Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 22 September 2019
Fr Frank writes:
My dear friends,
On Tuesday we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Walsingham – there will be a Mass in Frinton on that day. Walsingham was a very early Shrine, and, in the Middle Ages, ranked with Compostella, Rome and Jerusalem as a major pilgrimage site. It was established in 1061 by Richeldis, Lady of the Manor of Walsingham, who received a vision in which Our Lady asked her to build a replica of the Holy House of Nazareth. Our Lady gave Richeldis the dimensions of the house and promised to show her where to build it. In the morning a new spring of water marked the spot. The site of the original Holy House can be seen in the Priory grounds and the wells are still in existence. A replica of the Saxon Holy House can also be seen in the Anglican shrine in the village centre close to the now ruined Priory.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is still very much alive and attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year. I was privileged, together with the other clergy of the deanery, to spend some time in the newly established retreat house only two weeks ago.
Walsingham is a holy place and has been close to my heart for over 55 years. If you have never been, I urge you to go there and pray that Our Lady will bless our country. If you have been there, why not pay another visit? I guarantee that Our Lady will give you a warm welcome.
On the weekend of 28/29 September we celebrate Harvest Festival in both parishes. On that day could you please bring foodstuffs to church to be placed around the altar. After Mass these can then be distributed to the Foodbanks in Harwich or Walton-on-the-Naze. I know you are generous in your support of the Foodbanks, but it would be wonderful if we could make an extra effort that weekend. No fresh foods, please.
May Our Lady of Walsingham pray for you, and may our good God bless you.
Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
A man was collecting Christian Aid envelopes. Calling at one house he met the response, “Sorry I can’t give you anything, the dog ate the envelope.”
“Ah,” said the collector. “Don’t worry, I have a spare envelope.” Back came the quick reply, “It’s no good, he’d only eat that one too.”
Twenty fourth Sunday in ordinary Time 15 September
Fr Frank writes:
My dear friends,
The three parables in today’s Gospel speak of the intrinsic nature of God as a loving and merciful father.
We note that God’s love towards His children is unconditional, non-calculating, benevolent and infinitely merciful. He searches for the lost one until He finds him. And then, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103). This is amply illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son. The son comes to his senses and chooses to retrace his steps to his father’s house with a repentant heart. We note that his father accepts him wholeheartedly. If we have strayed, we too can turn to God our loving Father in full confidence that he will pour his merciful love and forgiveness upon us.
On the weekend of 28/29 September we celebrate Harvest Festival in both parishes. On that day could you please bring foodstuffs to church to be placed around the altar. After Mass these can then be distributed to the Foodbanks in Harwich or Walton-on-the-Naze. I know you are generous in your support of the Foodbanks, but it would be wonderful if we could make an extra effort that weekend. No fresh foods, please.
May our loving and caring God bless you now and always.
Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
Parishioner to rector’s wife: “Did you wake up grumpy this morning?”
Rector’s wife: “No, I thought I’d let him sleep on.”
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time 8 September 2019
Fr Frank writes:
My dear friends,
Our Gospel reading today is about discipleship. It seems apt to meditate on the following passage from Pope Francis:
Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries,” but rather that we are always “missionary disciples.”
(Evangelii Gaudium).
I shall be away from Tuesday spending a few days with the deanery clergy in Walsingham. I shall pray for you all at Our Lady’s Shrine. My thanks to our Eucharistic Ministers who will be providing Services of the Word and Holy Communion at Frinton in my absence, and, as ever, to Fr Bill who will be celebrating the weekday Masses at Harwich.
May God richly bless you and may Our Lady of Walsingham pray for you.
Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
A bishop consulted his doctor who said, “You must winter on the Riviera.”
“Out of the question,” declared the bishop, “I have far too much work to do.”
The doctor said, “It’s either the Riviera or Heaven.”
“Dear, dear,” said the bishop. “It must be the Riviera then.”
Twety-second Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 September 2019
Fr Frank writes:
My dear friends,
In our readings today we are reminded of the importance of humility.
In our first reading (from Ecclesiasticus) we are told that if we ‘behave humbly we will find favour with God.’ The second reading (from the letter to the Hebrews) backs this up by making it clear that we are all ‘first born.’ In other words, all of us are equal as long as we do His will – live as his children. Our value in God’s eyes isn’t to do with our intellectual or physical abilities, nor our economic or social standing. We are all valuable simply because we are ‘first born’ children.
Today is a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. It reminds us that we all have a responsibility as God’s children to care for the world He has entrusted to us. Remember, there is no Planet B!
It was decided at the Annual General Meetings of both parishes that a discussion topic would feature on the agenda of future PPC meetings, and that this would be published in advance to give parishioners who are not members of the PPC the opportunity to pass on their views. The topic for the agenda (Frinton 5th and Harwich 19th September) is “How can we best evangelise our parish”. Please pass on any ideas you may have to me or to any member of your PPC.
May our Creator God bless you now and always.
Frank ofs
Sunday Smile: Seen in a Newspaper in India:
Sacred to the memory of Rev Pugh who, after twenty years of unremitting labour as a missionary, was accidentally shot by his native bearer.
“WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT”