Parish Newsletter 12/13 June 2021
11Sunday in Ordinary Time
11Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our Lady and St Peter, Aldeburgh
All Saints, Leiston
Parish Priest: Fr Tony Rogers tonybrucerogers@gmail.com
Website: catholicsinaldeburghandleiston.org
Tel: 07778 221509
Masses during the Week
All Masses from Aldeburgh are live-streamed*
Saturday: 1800 Aldeburgh*
Sunday: 0915 Leiston
1100 Aldeburgh*(People of the parish)
Monday No Mass today
Tuesday 0900 Leiston (donor’s intention)
Wednesday 0900 Aldeburgh* (donor’s intention)
Thursday 0900 Leiston (donor’s intention)
Friday 1200 Aldeburgh* (donor’s intention)
Saturday 1800 Aldeburgh*
Next Sunday 0915 Leiston
1100 Aldeburgh *(people of the parish)
Hospital Stays: the contact number for Fr Bineesh, who is the Catholic chaplain at Ipswich Hospital is 075496 95648. Please phone him directly, if you would like a visit during your stay, or ask a family member or friend to do so. This is obviously subject to hospital regulations..
Welcome to all visitors and those who have returned to mass this weekend.
Feasts and Memorials of the Week: Wednesday – St Richard of Chichester; Thursday – St Botolph of Iken
Mass on Friday: In recent years, I’ve been asked to join the Head Teachers of the Catholic Schools in our diocese for a three day study/worskshop/retreat somewhere in Italy. It’s always a pleasure because we have a great bunch of teachers. Last year, of course, it wasn’t possible, and the same is true this year, but instead the Heads have been asked to join a Zoom meeting led by David Wells, a well-known Catholic speaker from the Plymouth diocese who, by sheer coincidence lives in the parish in which I grew up and was ordained from in Exmouth. During the course of the day I shall be celebrating a live-stream Mass at 12 noon, but I would appreciate a congregation that day!
Next Sunday – the Day of Prayer for Life – there will be a retiring collection for the work of the Life Charities
Money Matters: Thank you for last week’s loose plate collection which amounted to GBP 119. We continue to be grateful and rely on all who pay by standing order and we still encourage you to set up one, if you haven’t yet done so. In these days of lockdown, it is all the more necessary that we can be assured of a regular income, irrespective of Mass attendance The only details you need are these: Sort Code 20-98-07: a/c number: 90777048. And for Gift Aid purposes, the Charity number for the diocese is 278742. Thank you
for your continued generosity. The parish account is: St Peter’s Catholic Church Parish Account’: Registered Charity: No 278742’. If you have a problem when you try to set up a direct debit, please get in touch.
Please Keep In Your Prayers Glen Ogilvie, Liz O’Connor, Paul McComish, Alex Vachell, William Leigh, Giovanna Cimenti, Luisa Bessey, Margaret Stubbs, Heather Mabey, Maureen Dawson, Anne Smith,
Pam McKibbin, Brigid Simpson, Fr Don Coleman, Dominic Dobson, Annie and David Morris, and all who are sick or in isolation. Pray for all who died recently, also Charles de Boer, Walter Parry, & all whose anniversaries are at this time
Lectio Divina: YouTube>Fr Tony’s Home Channel>Lectio Divina>Wednesday, 16th June.
Catholic Climate Change Action: The garden is growing and so are the weeds! Avoid chemicals such as weed killers. A dutch hoe is an efficient and eco friendly tool to rid the garden beds of weeds.
Confirmation will be celebrated in Leiston at 18.00 on Monday, 21st June – the first day of release from lockdown if everything goes to plan. In the meantime, please keep our nine candidates in your prayers – Amy, Cameron and Liam, Ollie, Harry and Matthew, Benedict, Eduardo and Rob Prince, who is to be married in Aldeburgh on 26th June.
By Monday 14th, we should have a clearer position from the government on what is happening of the ease of lockdown, currently scheduled for 21st June. There is plenty of speculation at present, but please be assured that I will update you in good time. In the meantime, may I ask the parents of the confirmation candidates to let me know how many will be in your party evening. If we are still restricted in terms of numbers, at least I will have a starting point to go from.
EU Settlement Scheme: The deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme is 30 June. If you are an EU or EEA citizen in this area, our Citizen’s Advice Bureau based at 14 Colonial House, Station Road, Leiston can help you apply. email address is: http://www.leistoncab.org.
There will be an open meeting for the parish on Tuesday 20th July at 19.00 at Leiston, to discuss the recent short reflection ‘The Day of the Lord’ issued by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, and to discuss ways to re-engage and regenerate the parish as lockdown hopefully comes to an end. All welcome.
I’ve been asked to put the following notice in the newsletter.
Fr Tony’s Golden Jubilee
On the 26th of June next Fr. Tony reaches the wonderful occasion of his Golden Jubilee as a Priest. Sadly, he is away over the weekend of the event, so we are unable to organise anything for the actual weekend. However, we will be organising something for him and will advise you of dates as soon as we are able to tie them down. In the meantime, we will be collecting after each Mass towards a gift to recognise this amazing achievement so please come prepared.
So, the cat is out of the bag! I do look forward to being able to celebrate with you all at a date to be arranged. The reason for my absence on Sunday26th is that some time ago I was asked to preach at the silver jubilee of Deacon John Morrill in Newmarket, John offered himself for diaconal ministry while I was parish priest there, and happens to be a good friend of Fr Chris Dobson, a retired priest of the Arundel and Brighton diocese, now living in Hacheston. Chris will be celebrating both morning masses on 27th.
Food Bank Sundays: From the first Sunday of July – and on the first Sunday of every month, we will resume our collection for the Food Bank – in both our churches – an essential and valuable part of our outreach.
The Johnson-Symonds wedding. Quite understandably there has been considerable interest, not to mention confusion, puzzlement and even anger. If you subscribe to ‘The Tablet’ either hard copy or digital version, there’s some good stuff in the current issue, especially a piece by Fr Tim Buckley, and other helpful musings.
Readings for 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading
A reading from the Prophet Ezekiel
The Lord says this:
‘From the top of the cedar,
from the highest branch I will take a shoot
and plant it myself on a very high mountain.
I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel.
It will sprout branches and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Every kind of bird will live beneath it,
every winged creature rest in the shade of its branches.
And every tree of the field will learn that I, the Lord, am the one
who stunts tall trees and makes the low ones grow,
who withers green trees and makes the withered green. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.’
The Word of the Lord.
Psalm Response: It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord
to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your truth in the watches of the night. R
The just will flourish like the palm-tree
and grow like a Lebanon cedar. R
Planted in the house of the Lord
they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
still full of sap, still green,
to proclaim that the Lord is just.
In him, my rock, there is no wrong. R
Second Reading
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
We are always full of confidence when we remember that to live in the body means to be exiled from the Lord, going as we do by faith and not by sight – we are full of confidence, I say, and actually want to be exiled from the body and make our home with the Lord. Whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing him. For all the truth about us will be brought out in the law court of Christ, and each of us will get what he deserves for the things he did in the body, good or bad. The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Jn 15:15
Alleluia, alleluia! I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
Gospel
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’
Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.
The Gospel of the Lord.
A Sunday Thought
In today’s Gospel reading, we hear Jesus using parables to teach his disciples and the crowds about the Kingdom of God. For Jesus, the reality of the Kingdom of God was best explained by drawing on images and experiences from the daily life of Galilean villages.
As we hear in the first reading today from the Prophet Ezekiel, Jewish tradition sometimes compared God’s work in the world to the growth of plants and trees. Ezekiel, a prophet in the early stages of Israel’s exile in Babylon, prophesied that one day God would restore the exiled Israelites to a mighty and powerful nation, as in the days of King David, when Israel stood like ‘a majestic cedar’. It was a message of hope for a broken and disheartened people.
We find a similar message of hope, with accompanying images of palm and cedar trees, in today’s Responsorial Psalm. The psalmist offers a prayer of thanksgiving to God for his fidelity to those who are just and have remained faithful.
With such rich images and traditions embedded in Israel’s prophetic writings and psalm prayers, it is hardly surprising to find Jesus using similar agricultural metaphors, such as seeds and mustrard plants, to teach the crowds and his disciples about the kingdom of God. In his public ministry, Jesus was planting the seeds for the Kingdom of God that promised fulfilment in the future.
As Paul assures the Corinthians, we can be courageous in our faith in Christ. And the Kingdom of God continues in our day in ways beyond human understanding. Like the farmer who doesn’t see the growth minute by minute, but delights in the full-grown crop, the marvel of God’s ways gradually unfolds for us.
All Saints, Leiston
Parish Priest: Fr Tony Rogers tonybrucerogers@gmail.com
Website: catholicsinaldeburghandleiston.org
Tel: 07778 221509
Masses during the Week
All Masses from Aldeburgh are live-streamed*
Saturday: 1800 Aldeburgh*
Sunday: 0915 Leiston
1100 Aldeburgh*(People of the parish)
Monday No Mass today
Tuesday 0900 Leiston (donor’s intention)
Wednesday 0900 Aldeburgh* (donor’s intention)
Thursday 0900 Leiston (donor’s intention)
Friday 1200 Aldeburgh* (donor’s intention)
Saturday 1800 Aldeburgh*
Next Sunday 0915 Leiston
1100 Aldeburgh *(people of the parish)
Hospital Stays: the contact number for Fr Bineesh, who is the Catholic chaplain at Ipswich Hospital is 075496 95648. Please phone him directly, if you would like a visit during your stay, or ask a family member or friend to do so. This is obviously subject to hospital regulations..
Welcome to all visitors and those who have returned to mass this weekend.
Feasts and Memorials of the Week: Wednesday – St Richard of Chichester; Thursday – St Botolph of Iken
Mass on Friday: In recent years, I’ve been asked to join the Head Teachers of the Catholic Schools in our diocese for a three day study/worskshop/retreat somewhere in Italy. It’s always a pleasure because we have a great bunch of teachers. Last year, of course, it wasn’t possible, and the same is true this year, but instead the Heads have been asked to join a Zoom meeting led by David Wells, a well-known Catholic speaker from the Plymouth diocese who, by sheer coincidence lives in the parish in which I grew up and was ordained from in Exmouth. During the course of the day I shall be celebrating a live-stream Mass at 12 noon, but I would appreciate a congregation that day!
Next Sunday – the Day of Prayer for Life – there will be a retiring collection for the work of the Life Charities
Money Matters: Thank you for last week’s loose plate collection which amounted to GBP 119. We continue to be grateful and rely on all who pay by standing order and we still encourage you to set up one, if you haven’t yet done so. In these days of lockdown, it is all the more necessary that we can be assured of a regular income, irrespective of Mass attendance The only details you need are these: Sort Code 20-98-07: a/c number: 90777048. And for Gift Aid purposes, the Charity number for the diocese is 278742. Thank you
for your continued generosity. The parish account is: St Peter’s Catholic Church Parish Account’: Registered Charity: No 278742’. If you have a problem when you try to set up a direct debit, please get in touch.
Please Keep In Your Prayers Glen Ogilvie, Liz O’Connor, Paul McComish, Alex Vachell, William Leigh, Giovanna Cimenti, Luisa Bessey, Margaret Stubbs, Heather Mabey, Maureen Dawson, Anne Smith,
Pam McKibbin, Brigid Simpson, Fr Don Coleman, Dominic Dobson, Annie and David Morris, and all who are sick or in isolation. Pray for all who died recently, also Charles de Boer, Walter Parry, & all whose anniversaries are at this time
Lectio Divina: YouTube>Fr Tony’s Home Channel>Lectio Divina>Wednesday, 16th June.
Catholic Climate Change Action: The garden is growing and so are the weeds! Avoid chemicals such as weed killers. A dutch hoe is an efficient and eco friendly tool to rid the garden beds of weeds.
Confirmation will be celebrated in Leiston at 18.00 on Monday, 21st June – the first day of release from lockdown if everything goes to plan. In the meantime, please keep our nine candidates in your prayers – Amy, Cameron and Liam, Ollie, Harry and Matthew, Benedict, Eduardo and Rob Prince, who is to be married in Aldeburgh on 26th June.
By Monday 14th, we should have a clearer position from the government on what is happening of the ease of lockdown, currently scheduled for 21st June. There is plenty of speculation at present, but please be assured that I will update you in good time. In the meantime, may I ask the parents of the confirmation candidates to let me know how many will be in your party evening. If we are still restricted in terms of numbers, at least I will have a starting point to go from.
EU Settlement Scheme: The deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme is 30 June. If you are an EU or EEA citizen in this area, our Citizen’s Advice Bureau based at 14 Colonial House, Station Road, Leiston can help you apply. email address is: http://www.leistoncab.org.
There will be an open meeting for the parish on Tuesday 20th July at 19.00 at Leiston, to discuss the recent short reflection ‘The Day of the Lord’ issued by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, and to discuss ways to re-engage and regenerate the parish as lockdown hopefully comes to an end. All welcome.
I’ve been asked to put the following notice in the newsletter.
Fr Tony’s Golden Jubilee
On the 26th of June next Fr. Tony reaches the wonderful occasion of his Golden Jubilee as a Priest. Sadly, he is away over the weekend of the event, so we are unable to organise anything for the actual weekend. However, we will be organising something for him and will advise you of dates as soon as we are able to tie them down. In the meantime, we will be collecting after each Mass towards a gift to recognise this amazing achievement so please come prepared.
So, the cat is out of the bag! I do look forward to being able to celebrate with you all at a date to be arranged. The reason for my absence on Sunday26th is that some time ago I was asked to preach at the silver jubilee of Deacon John Morrill in Newmarket, John offered himself for diaconal ministry while I was parish priest there, and happens to be a good friend of Fr Chris Dobson, a retired priest of the Arundel and Brighton diocese, now living in Hacheston. Chris will be celebrating both morning masses on 27th.
Food Bank Sundays: From the first Sunday of July – and on the first Sunday of every month, we will resume our collection for the Food Bank – in both our churches – an essential and valuable part of our outreach.
The Johnson-Symonds wedding. Quite understandably there has been considerable interest, not to mention confusion, puzzlement and even anger. If you subscribe to ‘The Tablet’ either hard copy or digital version, there’s some good stuff in the current issue, especially a piece by Fr Tim Buckley, and other helpful musings.
Readings for 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading
A reading from the Prophet Ezekiel
The Lord says this:
‘From the top of the cedar,
from the highest branch I will take a shoot
and plant it myself on a very high mountain.
I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel.
It will sprout branches and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Every kind of bird will live beneath it,
every winged creature rest in the shade of its branches.
And every tree of the field will learn that I, the Lord, am the one
who stunts tall trees and makes the low ones grow,
who withers green trees and makes the withered green. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.’
The Word of the Lord.
Psalm Response: It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord
to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your truth in the watches of the night. R
The just will flourish like the palm-tree
and grow like a Lebanon cedar. R
Planted in the house of the Lord
they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
still full of sap, still green,
to proclaim that the Lord is just.
In him, my rock, there is no wrong. R
Second Reading
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
We are always full of confidence when we remember that to live in the body means to be exiled from the Lord, going as we do by faith and not by sight – we are full of confidence, I say, and actually want to be exiled from the body and make our home with the Lord. Whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing him. For all the truth about us will be brought out in the law court of Christ, and each of us will get what he deserves for the things he did in the body, good or bad. The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Jn 15:15
Alleluia, alleluia! I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
Gospel
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’
Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.
The Gospel of the Lord.
A Sunday Thought
In today’s Gospel reading, we hear Jesus using parables to teach his disciples and the crowds about the Kingdom of God. For Jesus, the reality of the Kingdom of God was best explained by drawing on images and experiences from the daily life of Galilean villages.
As we hear in the first reading today from the Prophet Ezekiel, Jewish tradition sometimes compared God’s work in the world to the growth of plants and trees. Ezekiel, a prophet in the early stages of Israel’s exile in Babylon, prophesied that one day God would restore the exiled Israelites to a mighty and powerful nation, as in the days of King David, when Israel stood like ‘a majestic cedar’. It was a message of hope for a broken and disheartened people.
We find a similar message of hope, with accompanying images of palm and cedar trees, in today’s Responsorial Psalm. The psalmist offers a prayer of thanksgiving to God for his fidelity to those who are just and have remained faithful.
With such rich images and traditions embedded in Israel’s prophetic writings and psalm prayers, it is hardly surprising to find Jesus using similar agricultural metaphors, such as seeds and mustrard plants, to teach the crowds and his disciples about the kingdom of God. In his public ministry, Jesus was planting the seeds for the Kingdom of God that promised fulfilment in the future.
As Paul assures the Corinthians, we can be courageous in our faith in Christ. And the Kingdom of God continues in our day in ways beyond human understanding. Like the farmer who doesn’t see the growth minute by minute, but delights in the full-grown crop, the marvel of God’s ways gradually unfolds for us.
