Saturday
6.30pm: Parish
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ PMB 255
8.30am: Sean McCabe Rec Dec
10am: Deceased Parishioners
11.30am: Priest Int
Monday
NO MASS
Tuesday
10am: Holy Souls
Wednesday
10am Holy Souls
Thursday
10am: Holy Souls
Friday
10am: Fr Patrick Taggart RIP
Saturday
6.30pm: Holy Souls
The Second Sunday of Easter
8.30am:Parish
10am: Holy Souls
11.30am: Tim Rooke Rec Dec
Jesus has been raised from the dead and will never die again. He overcame death, not by avoiding it, but by undergoing it and triumphing over it. What happened to Jesus is meant to happen to us. Let us never forget or take for granted the great hope that is ours because Jesus has scattered the shadow of death, and causes the radiance of eternity to shine upon us. This feast should inflame our hearts and raise our spirits, filling our hearts with a peace that the world simply cannot give. We have the sure hope of an inheritance that can never fade. ALLELUIA!
First Reading Luke shows in the Acts of the Apostles the triumphant progress of the faith throughout the whole world. It’s the Holy Spirit at work as Peter in the house of Cornelius gives a brief sketch of the ministry of Jesus. He stresses that he an his companions were witnesses to all that had taken place. Now they had to go and proclaim the Good News. If we believe we are forgiven and saved.
Second Reading All about baptism when we die and rise again with Christ. We are to seek the things of heaven rather than the things of earth.
Gospel Only the beloved disciple interprets the scene correctly – that is, the presence of the burial clothes. He understands that Jesus has risen from the dead.
What the Historians say: Josephus, a Jewish historian, in AD 66 wrote : “It was at this time a man appeared – if ‘man’ is the right word – who had all the attributes of a man but seemed to be something greater. His actions certainly were super-human for he worked such wonderful and amazing miracles that I for one cannot regard him as a man; yet in view of his likeness to ourselves I cannot regard him as an angel either”.
The fact that Jesus is hardly mentioned outside the gospels is not surprising. When non-Christians did refer to him, they obviously saw him as a troublemaker. The writings of the two famous Romans illustrate this.
PLINY, writing in AD 112. In a letter to the Emperor Trajan, the Younger Pliny complains that there was a slump in the agricultural markets because people were no longer buying beasts for sacrifice. This was the fault of people called Christians, who formed a secret society and refused to offer sacrifice to the god-emperor.
TACITUS, Writing early in 2nd century. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that the Christians had been made the scapegoat for the great fire of Rome in the reign of Nero (AD 64) Their founder was a criminal who had been executed by Pontius Pilate thirty years or so earlier. Unfortunately the death of the ringleader had not stopped the mischief!
Receive the Holy Spirit John tells us that as Jesus died on the cross a soldier pierced his side with a sword and immediately blood and water came out. The blood and water are a sign of the outpouring of the love of Jesus. This outflow is a sign of the spirit of Jesus in which we can all share. And then, after the resurrection, the first act of Jesus is to breathe on his followers. As he did so he said “Receive the Holy Spirit …
Reflection We feel sad at the onset of winter. But we are not too despondent, because we know that spring will renew everything again. Just as the expectation of spring takes the sting out of winter, so the resurrection f Jesus takes the sting out of death for us. God of power and love, through the resurrection of your Son you have kindled in our hearts the hope of eternal life, Grant this hope with your grace, and bring it to fulfilment in the Kingdom of heaven
A Message from the Cardinal This is a year when, against a backdrop of so much suffering, we may be struck with greater conviction by the truth, that, for people of faith, the darkness of death is not the whole story, but is transformed in the light of Christ to a new beginning. We know better than to rage against the dying of the light, for through death we enter into the glory of God. So it is important this Easter. We pray especially for those who have suffered and died in the pandemic, for those who have cared for them, for those who mourn. We pray that the light of Christ will touch and console them, and lead them home to Him. In the Risen Lord, God set out our true course, a new way of life for us to pursue, a new grace and power by which we can life. This Easter, as we look to a new future, we pray that e may embrace this God-given future, and the Easter message of salvation with all our hearts. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
CAFOD Four million children are dying in the Yemen. In the first quarter of 2019, 3.4 million died of hunger. Please help by making a donation. Envelopes available back of church. You can make a CAFOD donation any time.
Easter Offerings the back of the Church. It’s my pay day in these hard times! A very Happy Easter from Marty
!!!!! I love you and miss you all.