Webmaster • June 13, 2025
This week we return to the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. This Sunday and next Sunday, however, are designated as solemnities, special days that call our attention to central mysteries of our faith. Today, the first Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. This feast invites us to consider what we believe about God, who has revealed himself to us in the Trinity. Today's Gospel comes near the end of Jesus' long discourse at the Last Supper. In the early part of this discourse, Jesus offers assurances to the disciples. Even though he must leave, he tells them that they will have a future because of the help he will send in the Holy Spirit. In this section he focuses more on the shape of the future, which will include Jesus' victory over the world that they will share in. The disciples of Jesus cannot know the future. They can only know that whatever shape the future takes, they will not have to face it alone. They have the Spirit of Truth, who will continue to provide the teaching of Jesus in the future. Reading this passage on Trinity Sunday reinforces our understanding of the unity shared by the members of the Trinity. Although the idea of one God in three persons remains a mystery, we have the assurance that, as Jesus and the Father share all, Jesus and the Spirit share all.
Taking place at Ampleforth College from Friday 22nd - Monday 25th August , the Youth 2000 Summer Festival provides young adults (aged 16-35) from across the UK the opportunity to come together and explore faith, build relationships and find hope. This four-day festival includes great speakers, social time, break-out sessions, Daily Mass, 24/7 Adoration and much more! Register at: youth2000.org/events/summerfestival2025. Tickets are also available for priests, religious, families and groups. For more information, email: events@youth2000.org . If you would like to know more or fancy meeting up at Y2K (Saturday only), please contact Gill in the Parish Office or speak to Lauren Rayner (our flautist at Sunday morning Mass).
ALL welcome to join our Summer Laudato Si’ Mini-Pilgrimage on Saturday 9 August! 11am Mass at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Knaresborough & guided walk to St Robert’s Cave and Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag. Sign up via communications@dioceseofleeds.org.uk More information at: https://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/event/four-seasons-of-creationlaudato-si-mini-pilgrimage-for-summer/
On Saturday, August 9 , St Patrick's Mission will be hiking the Yorkshire Three Peaks to support the ongoing ministry in Bradford city centre. We are grateful for anyone who would like to hike with us, or who would like to volunteer to help on the day, or simply donate to the cause! To sign up, https://www.stpatricksmission.co.uk/event/one-and-three-peakchallenge or to donate: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/spm-peaks25 .
Mass for the Feast of St Bernard, Wednesday 20th August, 12noon. All welcome. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/fountainsabbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden/events
A big thank you to everyone who made our parish picnic and the blessing of our new Marian garden a great success
In today's reading, Luke presents the core of Jesus' teaching on prayer. It consists of Jesus teaching a prayer to his disciples, a parable on the persistent neighbour, and assurances that God hears our prayers. The disciples notice Jesus praying “in a certain place.” They ask him to teach them to pray just as John the Baptist had taught his disciples. Jesus teaches them a simple version of the most famous Christian prayer, the Our Father, or the Lord's Prayer. Matthew's version shows signs of being shaped by public prayer. Luke's version is probably closer to the original form that Jesus taught. Stripped of much of the language we are used to, Luke's version seems simple and direct. We pray that God's name will be recognized as holy and that his rule over all will be established. This is followed by petitions for our needs for bread, for forgiveness, and for deliverance. Luke uses the more theological language of “sins” rather than “debts,” used in Matthew's version. Having taught his disciples a simple, daily prayer, Jesus goes on to reassure them that God answers prayers. He tells a parable about a persistent neighbour who asks a friend for bread at midnight. The friend is already in bed and has no desire to disturb his family by opening the door, but because the neighbour is persistent, the sleeping man gets up and gives him all that he needs. This teaching concludes with the reminder that if we seek, we will get a response. If a human father, with all his faults, knows how to give good gifts to his children, how much more will our heavenly Father give us? Instead of good gifts, however, Luke substitutes the word Holy Spirit. This foreshadows the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is central to Luke's theology and who will play an important role in the growth of the early Church after Pentecost. The parable and the concluding teaching in this section should not lead us to think of prayer as a series of requests presented to God. Rather, as Jesus teaches in his model prayer, prayer consists in recognizing God's holiness and his rule over all things.
This year our retreat at The Briery will take place over the weekend of 31 October to 2 November . The cost will be in the region of £190 -£200 which includes all meals from Friday teatime to Sunday Lunch. If you think you may be interested then please contact Christine Szczepanski via the Parish Office.
Annette Allsop has now joined our team of Children’s Liturgy leaders. We would like to say a big welcome and thank you to Annette for volunteering for this ministry. Together with Sophie Evans they will now be offering Children’s Liturgy on a more frequent basis. Please see the calendar in the Narthex on the family community board for up and coming dates. Please note that after this Sunday 27th July Children's Liturgy will meet again on the 7th September.
MARIAN GARDEN BLESSING THIS SUNDAY : Our new Marian Garden is starting to take shape and the statue of Mary is now firmly in place. You can see the garden adjacent to the car park and through the Parish Centre windows. We are looking for contributions of plants especially of the perennial variety. If you would like to contribute or offer help for the care of the garden please speak to or contact Andrea Nicholls via the Parish Office. The Marian Garden will be blessed by Father Steven THIS SUNDAY 20th July at the Parish Picnic.
OUR PARISH PICNIC – THIS WEEKEND! Sunday 20 th July, 12 to 3pm in the Parish Centre/Garden – Join friends (and make new ones), at our Parish Picnic. You can find sign-up sheets for our bring and share picnic food in the Narthex – We would especially like to encourage our parishioners from different continents to bring and share their traditional food for us all to sample. Please see poster in the Narthex for more details. All are welcome. The Parish Social Events Team would welcome any help with the set up and clear up of this event. (Saturday evening set up). SUMMER RAFFLE: 🎟️ Tickets on sale at £1 per strip. GUESS THE NAME OF THE TEDDY : 🧸 Why not try your luck at guessing the teddy’s name – the winner gets to give teddy a new home. £1 per guess. HOW MANY SWEETS ARE IN THE JAR? : 🍬 Are you up for the challenge of guessing how many sweets you think the jar might contain? £1 per guess. All winners will be announced at the Parish Picnic. All proceeds go towards our Parish funds. Please contact Annette Allsop on 07717756770 for more details