All posts by Parish Secretary

Love stronger than death

What brings Mary of Magdala to Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week? It can only be love. We visit the graves of those we loved. Mary loved Jesus dearly in life, and after watching him die, she goes to his tomb to mourn for him.

But Mary doesn’t find what she expected. The stone has been moved – perhaps Jesus’ body has been taken. The tomb is empty. The linen cloths that wrapped Jesus’ dead body have been cast aside. The truth dawns gradually on Mary, and on Peter and the beloved disciple. They see the empty tomb, and slowly they begin to believe. The prophecies have been fulfilled. He is risen.

The Gospel stories reflect the wonder that Jesus’ disciples must have experienced at his Resurrection. God had done something that they could not have expected or imagined. They had seen their Lord die on the cross, but now the tomb was empty. Death was defeated. Such a mysterious truth took time to dawn in their minds and hearts.

In a normal year, the Church’s liturgy helps us to share in the experience of the disciples. After forty days of penance in Lent, we enter into the drama of Holy Week, and encounter the risen Christ with joy on Easter Sunday. This year, because of necessary precautions against the spread of the Covid-19 virus, we have not been able to celebrate the Holy Week liturgies together in our churches. Instead, we have been asked to unite in prayer, with one another and with the Church across the world; to celebrate in spirit, though we cannot be physically present.

This strange and frightening time will test our faith. We may feel afraid, for ourselves and for those we love. The Church’s funeral rite includes this prayer over the grave:

Lord Jesus Christ,
by your own three days in the tomb,
you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you
and so made the grave a sign of hope
that promises resurrection even as it claims our mortal bodies.

The Good News of Easter is a timeless truth. The Lord is risen, and we are his witnesses.

A happy and blessed Easter to you all

This year, we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection in strange and difficult circumstances. We cannot gather in church for the liturgy as we usually do. But we are united in prayer with one another, and with the Church all over the world. I have been struck by how well our community has pulled together, and how many offers of help I have received. Please keep in touch; pray for those who are suffering because of the pandemic, and those who are working to combat it; look out for family, friends and neighbours; and look forward to the time when we can gather again as a community to celebrate the Resurrection. Fr Andrew.

Holy Week and the Easter Triduum

St Cuthbert’s Church will remain closed until further notice. All Masses and liturgies will continue to be celebrated without a congregation.

Palm Sunday: Bishop Robert has directed that palms should be blessed at Mass, so that they can be distributed to the faithful when it is possible to do so.

Diocesan Chrism Mass: This will be postponed until it can be celebrated with a gathering of clergy and people.

Holy Thursday: The Mass of the Lord’s Supper will be celebrated, without the Washing of Feet or the procession to the Altar of Repose.

Good Friday: The Liturgy of the Passion will be celebrated, with special intentions included in the Universal Prayer.

Easter Vigil: The new Paschal Candle will be blessed and lit, without the lighting of the Easter fire.

You are invited to join in prayer with all of these celebrations, and with the praying of the Office of Readings on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Remember that Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence.

Mass Intentions can be requested by email, telephone or letter. No offering is needed for a Mass intention.

Who is this?

Who is this?

‘Who is this?’ the people ask, as the Lord enters Jerusalem. And the reply comes back: ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth.’ Jesus is given many different titles in the course of Matthew’s account of the Passion. Some are proclaimed in joy and faith, others in cruel mockery. When he enters the city, the crowd acclaim him as a prophet and as ‘Son of David,’ recognising a king who comes to his people humbly, riding on a donkey. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is in stark contrast to the power of Rome, or the pomp of Herod’s court. He is modelling a different kind of leadership and authority.

When Judas greets Jesus as ‘Rabbi’ – Teacher – it is a traitor’s signal. When the High Priest asks Jesus if he is the Christ and the Son of God, he describes himself instead as Son of Man – the Messiah who has come to fulfil the Scriptures, and who will be seated at God’s right hand. The claim is blasphemous to the Jews; it is enough to seal Jesus’ fate.

Jesus’ last title – King of the Jews – is nailed above the Cross, as a dire warning to any other king who might be tempted to rebel against Roman rule. And yet, the Roman centurion and his squad recognise Jesus as a ‘Son of God.’

The Passion story prompts us to ask, ‘Who is Jesus for me?’ In normal times, the liturgy invites us to enter into the story. We sing ‘Hosanna’ with the crowds as Jesus enters Jerusalem; we walk with him to Calvary; we wait quietly on Holy Saturday for the Lord to burst from the tomb on Easter Sunday. This year, we cannot celebrate the liturgies of Holy Week together. Instead, we are called to enter individually into the Lord’s Passion; to walk prayerfully with him in our own homes; to share his suffering in our own hearts, knowing ourselves to be in communion with one another and with the Church around the world. We witness to our faith in Christ by our care and compassion for one another, and we wait in hope for new life.

Resources for Prayer

Readings for daily Mass, and the texts for the Prayer of the Church, can be found at www.universalis.com  Texts for the next seven days are available free, or you can subscribe to the Universalis app for unlimited access.

Magnificat includes Morning, Evening and Night Prayer, the daily Mass Readings, a daily mediation and Saint of the Day. It is currently available free at: https://us.magnificat.net/free 

Other resources, including links to live streamed Masses, can be found on the diocesan website, www.rcdhn.org.uk  and the website of the Catholic Bishops Conference for England and Wales: www.cbcew.org.uk 

Solemnity of St. Cuthbert

We will celebrate our patron saint with Sung Vespers at 6.30pm on Friday 20th March (no Stations this week.) The preacher will be the Revd Michael Everitt, Canon Pastor of Durham Cathedral. This event is going ahead, and will be our last act of shared worship for the time being.

The programme of events scheduled to take place at Durham Cathedral for St Cuthbert’s Day has been cancelled.

Holy Week Liturgy & Foot washing

If you can help with welcoming, reading or administering Holy Communion at our Easter services, please sign up on the rota on the noticeboard as soon as you can. We need lots of volunteers to ensure that our liturgies are celebrated with dignity and joy without overloading our ministers.

If you would be willing to take part in the foot-washing which is part of the Mass on Holy Thursday evening, then also sign up on the list on the noticeboard or let Fr Andrew or Andy Doyle know as soon as possible.

Saviour of the World

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well would seem shocking to his disciples. A Jewish man of that time was not supposed to speak in public to a woman outside his family. Jews and Samaritans distrusted and shunned one another. And it seems that this woman may be an outcast even among her own people; she has had five husbands, and she comes to draw water alone, at the hottest part of the day, when the other women of the community won’t be around.

Jesus pays no attention to rules that divide and exclude. He enters into a conversation with the woman, and draws her to faith in him. She becomes a disciple, and then a missionary; her witness draws the people of her town to faith in Jesus. The Samaritan woman who came to the well to draw water has received the living water that Jesus promised. The Samaritan town has become a field that produces a rich harvest of faith. Jesus sets no barriers to his mission. He really is the Saviour of the world.