All posts by Parish Secretary

Remembrance

November is the month in which Catholics traditionally bring to mind those who have died and pray for their souls. This may be particularly poignant in our current circumstances.

Our Parish Book of Remembrance will be open at the font all month from All Saints Day for you to write the names of your departed family members and friends. If you cannot come along to church in person, please e-mail Andy Doyle (andydoyle1066@sky.com) and he shall arrange for names to be added.

The 10am Mass on Saturday 7th November will hold especially in mind all who have died in the last few years together with those who mourn and you are invited to come along, you do not need too book for this Mass.

Unfortunately, we shall not be able to offer the refreshments that have been available in previous years. The 10am Mass on Sunday 8th November (Remembrance Sunday) will conclude with a short moment of gratitude and remembrance for all who died in the World Wars and other conflicts of recent decades.

Northern Cross

The Northern Cross has been part of the life of our diocese for over 60 years, but our diocesan newspaper has been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic and closure of churches. You can help by:

Taking out an annual subscription; £36 for the print edition delivered to your door each month, £20 for the online edition. 

Advertising your business or service in the Northern Cross.

Sending in your stories. Northern Cross is your newspaper and we would love to hear what you have been up to over the past month.

You can contact the Northern Cross at  editor.norcross@btconnect.com, by post c/o WM Fortune & Son, Collingwood House, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EN, or on 01325 464008. Or go to www.northerncross.org.uk

Counselling & Listening Service

A number of qualified counsellors and listeners have generously made themselves available to anyone who may be troubled by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown. These counsellors and listeners can be contacted through the St Mary’s Cathedral Listening Service on 0191 232 6953 and the Northumberland Listening Service on 07732 980740.

Listening Skills Training

A course for those who would like to support members of our parishes and partnerships who may be experiencing mental health issues. A 6-week course beginning on Tuesday 10 November, on Zoom.  You will learn effective listening skills to offer support and if necessary “sign post” people to other sources of help. For further details on the course contact: Oonagh Atkinson on 0191 3891188. If you are interested in taking part, please contact Fr Andrew – sponsorship may be available from the parish.

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God

In Jesus’ time, the Jewish people lived under the rule of the Roman Empire. As always happens, a few people resisted the occupying power, a few collaborated, and most kept their heads down and tried to survive. But the people hated paying taxes to the Romans. And, to add insult to injury, the tax had to be paid in Roman coins, which bore the head of the Emperor Tiberius, and an inscription that described him as ‘Son of God’ and ‘High Priest.’ To the Jews, this was blasphemy. There were many among them who longed for a Messiah who would lead an uprising against the Romans.

In this explosive situation, Jesus’ enemies try to set a trap for him. If he tells the people that they should pay taxes to Caesar, they will write him off as a collaborator. But if he tells the people not to pay, he risks being arrested by the Romans as a rebel. What can he say?

Jesus asks to see the coin that is used to pay the tax. The coin bears the image and title of Caesar; so, Jesus says, give it back to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God. His disciples would hear his unspoken message. The coin bears Caesar’s image, but the human person bears the image and likeness of God, as the Book of Genesis tells us. The wealth of the world is controlled by worldly powers, but men and women belong only to God. All of the Caesars of this world will one day answer to a higher power; and they will be judged on the way they treated the people they ruled – people who are precious in God’s eyes.

World Mission Sunday

This Sunday 18th October is World Mission Sunday, supporting missionaries who work alongside communities that are poor or in need, regardless of their background or belief. By supporting Missio, the Pope’s charity for world mission, you will help missionaries to share the love of Christ with those most in need. Please pray for the mission of the Church throughout the world, and give what you can to today’s retiring collection, which will sustain the future of the Church. Alternatively, please call 020 7821 9755 (office hours) or visit Missio’s website to give a single gift, set up a Direct Debit and Gift Aid your donation if possible: missio.org.uk

God’s ways are not our ways

Today’s Gospel parable shocks us. We are attached to the idea that we should get what we deserve. Those who work harder should be better paid. It seems obvious – to human thinking.

Jesus’ teaching shows us a difference between God’s ways and our ways. One denarius was a day’s wage for a worker – a living wage, we might say. So, if the vineyard owner had paid the late arrivals less than a denarius, they and their families might go hungry that day. Instead, the landowner pays each worker enough to get by, and gives each one the dignity of earning their daily bread. But it seems unfair to those who have done a full day’s work in all the heat. Why should others receive the same wage for just one hour’s work? The landowner replies, ‘Why be envious because I am generous?’

The parable teaches us that, when we stand before God, we are not like workers, demanding our just wages. Before God, we always stand as beggars. We can never earn our place in the kingdom of heaven; we can only hope for God’s mercy. Salvation is always God’s gift. Once we understand this, there is no room for jealousy or resentment over God’s gifts to others. We can only receive with gratitude what God gives us.

Forgive us our Sins

We are all sinners. We begin every celebration of Mass by asking God’s mercy. Every time we pray the Our Father, we ask God our Father to forgive our sins. To be a Christian doesn’t mean that we are without sin; it means that we know God will forgive our sins.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples a parable to show them the immensity of God’s mercy. A servant owes the king ten thousand talents – an incredibly large sum of money – millions of pounds, in today’s terms. He has no hope of paying the debt. But when he appeals to the king, he receives mercy; his debt is cancelled and he is set free. We have no hope of paying the debt that we owe to God through our sins, but by God’s mercy, we are set free. Pope Francis has said that God’s mercy is always more than we deserve – and that’s why we call it mercy.

But there is a twist in the tail of the parable. The servant who has received unstinting mercy from the king shows himself to be stingy and unforgiving with a fellow servant, who owes him a small sum. In the Lord’s Prayer, when we ask God to forgive our sins, we go on to say ‘…as we forgive those who sin against us.’ We can’t expect to receive God’s mercy unless we are ready to forgive one another. The generous mercy of God challenges us to show a generous spirit to our fellow sinners. If we won’t forgive, we will find ourselves imprisoned by anger and resentment, just like the unforgiving servant in the parable.