Our Lady Queen of Heaven
Catholic Church, Harwich, Essex

DOUBLE EDITION The Most Holy Trinity (Year B) 27 May Corpus Christi (Year B) 3 June

Fr Frank writes:

 

My Dear Friends,

 

Today we celebrate the great mystery of the Holy Trinity – One God, three persons. We rejoice that our wonderful God manifests himself in this way, and that through baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we are members of His family and privileged recipients of His great love.

 

Next week we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi (The Body & Blood of Christ). What a great gift we receive when we come to Mass. We offer so little, and He gives us so much – in fact He gives us everything He is.   So we come to Mass next weekend with even more thankfulness than ever.

 

My thanks to our volunteer readers who read in so many different languages at our Pentecost Masses last weekend. A special thankyou to Beatrice and Maja who recited the ‘Hail Mary..’ in German and Polish respectively at the Dovercourt Mass. Across the two parishes we heard readings in three different European languages and, in the case of Frinton, in Arabic and Tagolog as well. Thank you Inge, Maria, Marianne, Najat and Valentina.

 

This week I celebrate my 70th Birthday. As a special treat the whole family have rented a house in Thorpeness for the week. I am really looking forward to it, but am sure that the grandchildren will wear me out!   Anne and I also want to celebrate with our parish families and hope that you will be able to join us either on Saturday evening (after the Vigil Mass at Frinton) or after the late Sunday Mass at Dovercourt for a civilised celebratory drink and a slice of birthday cake. During my absence, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate the weekday Masses at Our Lady Queen of Heaven, and the Frinton Eucharistic Ministers will provide services of the Word and Holy Communion at Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi. My thanks and gratitude, as ever, to them.

 

May our Great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bless you today and always.

 

Frank ofs

 

Sunday Smile:A pastor from Michigan became rather concerned about one of his members who lived close by the church and came to every service. She would shake his hand at the door and comment, “That was a very challenging service, just what THEY needed to hear.”

One Sunday there was a heavy snowstorm, and she was the only person in the congregation. Seizing his opportunity the minister took the full service and preached a very strong sermon directed to this particular lady. As she shook his hand at the door she said, “What a challenging word, if only THEY had been here to hear it.”