The annual Diocesan Eucharistic Procession will take place on Sunday 9th June , 3:00pm at Hinsley Hall (weather dependent). Barbecue and children’s games afterwards. All invited to participate including Altar servers and First Holy Communion children (wheelchair/pram accessible route). Further details will soon be on the Diocesan website! See Poster on notice board.
Mass at 10am St John the Evangelist, Skirwith – everyone welcome, walk starts at 11am from St Lawrence Church, Kirkland. There is no cost to take part in the Pilgrimage Walk, however donations will be gratefully received towards the Mutemwa Leprosy Centre. For further information and details of the route, please see poster on notice board.
The final workshop led by the Diocesan Faith Formation team will take place on Saturday 25 May at St Benedict's, Garforth. Join us for the morning workshop or afternoon worship and prayer (or both!) and explore the power of the Holy Spirit following the Catholic Parish Summit webinar Sent or Stuck: Where are your people going. Free event open to all. Please book with us at formation@dioceseofleeds.org.uk and don't forget to bring your packed lunch!
The season of Easter concludes with today’s celebration, the feast of Pentecost. On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church. The story of Pentecost is found in the Acts of the Apostles, today’s first reading. The account in today’s Gospel, John 20:19- 23, also recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Yet the event in John’s Gospel takes place on Easter Sunday. There is no need to try to reconcile these two accounts. It is as we know that after his death, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send to his disciples a helper, an Advocate, who would enable them to be his witnesses throughout the world. In the context of the feast of Pentecost, John 20:19-23 reminds us about the integral connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness and the action of the Holy Spirit. Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and sends them to continue his work of reconciliation through the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ act of breathing the Holy Spirit upon the apostles mirrors God’s act of breathing life into Adam. In fact, both the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” can also be translated as “breath.” This Gospel reminds us that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence in the world. The reconciling presence of Christ is celebrated in the Church’s sacramental life. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and become a new creation in Christ. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Church celebrates the mercy of God through the forgiveness of sins. This reconciling presence is also to be a way of life for Christians. In situations of conflict, we are to be agents of peace and harmony among people.
On Tuesday, 21 May at 7.30pm Richard Atkinson will give a talk on the history of Pietro Lorenzetti’s painting of Christ Between Saints Peter and Paul now hanging on the wall in church, which originates from the altar in Sienna. Everyone is welcome. The talk will be held in church after the evening Mass. Refreshments will be served afterwards in the Parish Centre. Although a free event, donations will be welcome.
Today we read from the 17th chapter of John's Gospel, which comes at the conclusion of Jesus' farewell discourse at the Last Supper. This entire chapter is a prayer by Jesus, commending himself to the Father and expressing his care and concern for his disciples. Several important themes appear in this prayer. First, Jesus' prayer reaffirms the complete union between himself and the Father. Jesus has been presented as the one who pre-existed with the Father and as the one sent by the Father to do his work on earth. In today's reading, we hear Jesus include all his disciples in this union with the Father. We are reminded that Christ is the source of Christian unity. Through Christ, we are united with one another and with God Our Father. In this prayer, Jesus describes part of his mission in the language of protection. He has protected those who were given to him by the Father. John presents Jesus' mission on earth in the context of a cosmic struggle between good and evil, represented by light and darkness. In Jesus' presence, his disciples have been protected from Satan. Now that Jesus is returning to the Father, he prays that his disciples will continue to be protected from the evil one. We can't help but note here the echoes of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples, the Lord's Prayer. We also see the distinction found between the world and the disciples. The disciples are in the world, but they do not belong to the world. Yet like Jesus, they are sent into the world for the world's salvation. As Jesus' teaching and ministry was a source of consternation for some, Jesus knows that the world may not accept his disciples with open arms. Again, we hear echoes of John's theme that salvation is worked out through the cosmic battle between light and darkness. The world, according to John, prefers the darkness. Yet the light will not be overcome by the darkness. Reading this prayer of Jesus during the Easter Season, through the lens of his Resurrection, we know that the light of Christ has overcome the darkness of sin and death in our world. In the opening line of this prayer, we hear Jesus pray that his disciples will be kept in the name that he was given by God. We know that salvation is given to us in the name of Jesus, and that his name—“God saves”—announces his mission on our behalf.
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is the Church's sacrament for those who are sick and aging and when we pray for God's grace to strengthen someone who is suffering from any form of illness. Everyone is welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served afterwards in the Parish Centre. If anyone requires transport, please contact the SVP on 07526 099 523 or leave a message at the parish office by close of Wednesday 15 May.
In John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus affirm that he is known by the Father and that his disciples will know the Father by knowing Jesus. In this passage, however, Jesus reminds his disciples that this knowledge is to be expressed in love. Those who know Jesus well—and Jesus says that his disciples do know him—will love one another. Knowledge leads to love, which leads to action. John reminds his community that Jesus taught that love is the sign of a true disciple and, thus, a true Christian. Even more, a true disciple shows a particular kind of love, sacrificial love. In the Greek, there are two words for love that are used in this passage. The first is agape. The second is philia. The first word is most often used to describe love for other persons and for God. It is understood as the highest and most perfect kind of love. The second word is used to describe the affection of friendship. In this context, John appears to use these words as synonyms. The root of the Greek word for friend comes from this second term for love, philia. By using this word, Jesus transforms the terms of his relationship with his disciples and redefines for them their relationship with God. In the Hebrew Scriptures, faith in God made one a servant of God. Here Jesus teaches that his relationship to his disciples is based on friendship, not servitude. John reminds his community that Jesus also taught that a disciple is one who had been chosen—one who had been chosen by Jesus. To be chosen by Jesus, however, is not to be set apart from the world. Instead, to be chosen by Jesus is to be sent to serve the world as he did. The disciples of Jesus were chosen and were sent into the world to bear fruit by serving others, by sacrificing for others, in love. This reading is part of Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. We read his instruction to the disciples in the light of his death and Resurrection. We know that Jesus himself gives us the greatest example of the kind of love and service that he teaches to his disciples. He has, in fact, laid down his life for his friends, for his disciples, and for us. Through his death and Resurrection, we have received the grace to love others as Jesus has commanded.
Today’s reading from the Gospel of John is part of Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper. In these chapters of John’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples about the importance of following his example of love and service, about the gift they will receive when Jesus sends them the Holy Spirit, and about their relationship with Jesus and with the world. The Last Supper discourse concludes with Jesus’ prayer for his disciples. Today’s Gospel reading is taken from middle of the Last Supper discourse. Jesus speaks about his relationship to his disciples. In his metaphor of the vine and the branches, Jesus is referencing the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel is the vineyard, and Yahweh himself tends the vineyard. One of the primary themes of John’s Gospel is to show Jesus to be the fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel. In this passage, Jesus teaches his disciples that his relationship with them will not end after his death; he will remain with them always. This unity between Jesus and his disciples is the basis for their ability to continue to do the work that he began. Similarly, Jesus’ presence with us through the Gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to continue the work of love and reconciliation that he began. Jesus also teaches his disciples about the importance of the words he has taught to them. Just as Jesus will remain in the disciples, so too will his words. We come to know Jesus through the Scriptures, the living Word of God. Our commitment to be Christ’s disciples is sustained through God’s Word. This commitment is also strengthened by our life of prayer and nourished by the Eucharist. Through the Eucharist, Jesus dwells in us, remains with us, and transforms us so that we might bear fruit in his name. We observe many people who act in ways that show their commitment to serve their neighbour. Christians and non-Christians feed the hungry, care for the sick, shelter the homeless, and give alms to the poor. These actions become acts of Christian discipleship when they are motivated by our relationship with Jesus. Whatever the immediate results, Jesus promises us that these actions will bear fruit when we undertake them in his name.