The Parable of the Wedding FeastJesus spoke and taught this parable in a specific time, place and historical context, and it was relevant to that specific time, place and historical context. It addressed the Jewish people’s reaction to his presence among them, to his teaching and the claims that he was making. Given this context and understanding we could be forgiven for thinking, ‘What on earth does this parable have to do with my life, here and now, in October 2017?’ We can be sure that God in his infinite wisdom will reply: ‘Good question.’The parable, because it is the inspired word of God, transcends historical context and also speaks into our twenty-first-century lives. A key to its meaning is found in studying, praying and reflecting on the ‘mindsets’, ‘attitudes’ and ‘ways of thinking’ prevalent in those who rejected the invitation to the wedding party, but also the ‘attitude’, ‘mindset’ and ‘way of thinking’ of the king in the parable. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or indeed even a theologian to understand that whenever we celebrate the Eucharist we are attending a wedding banquet. However, we can be like the invited guests who refused the invitation because they were too busy about their own business. When we come to celebrate the Eucharist, our minds and hearts can be preoccupied so that we pay no attention to the great feast of grace to which we are invited. We are present but absent at the same time!Recovering a sense of Eucharistic awe is an important part of our ongoing conversion and interior renewal. Understanding that we are guests at the Eucharistic banquet, and that this celebration is the ‘source and summit’ of our faith and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet towards which we journey on pilgrimage, is vital in living our faith today. We will then grasp that God’s invitation of love, mercy and forgiveness is extended to every human person: rich, poor, righteous, unrighteous, regardless of gender, race or social class. We don’t want to be among those who are invited but not chosen because we failed to grasp the blessing and grace of God in our lives, available to us through the sacraments of the Church.

UPCOMING MASSES TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)FIRST MASS OF SUNDAYSaturday 14 6.00 p.m. Alan Turvey RIP A TurveySunday 15 8.30 a.m. People of the Parish 10.30 a.m. Jim Jarvis RIP P and M Barlow

NO WEEKDAY MASSES FOR THE TIME BEING WHILE FR. LESLIE IS AWAY AND RECOVERING FROM HIS OPERATION. THE CHURCH WILL BE OPEN EVERY DAY AS USUAL FOR PRIVATE PRAYER.

FIRST MASS OF SUNDAYSaturday 21 6.00 p.m. Mary Swift RIP G SarahSunday 22 8.30 a.m. Marjorie Morris RIP 10.30 a.m. People of the Parish

NO WEEKDAY MASSES FOR THE TIME BEING WHILE FR. LESLIE IS AWAY AND RECOVERING FROM HIS OPERATION.THE CHURCH WILL BE OPEN EVERY DAY AS USUAL FOR PRIVATE PRAYER.

BaptismsIf you wish your child to be baptised during the period of my absence, do please contact Fr. Anthony at Ingatestone church – phone number and address as on page 3.

Fr. Leslie KnightThe Presbytery 17 Highview Crescent, HuttonBrentwood, Essex CM13 1BJ T: 01277 221917 M: 07730 409784

Miss Bernadette RossiterSt. Joseph the Worker Primary SchoolHighview Crescent, HuttonBrentwood, Essex CM13 1BJT: 01277 227282

Mission StatementTo have Christ at the centre of our lives, enabling us to grow in faith as a community where all feel welcome, loved and valued.

www.stjosephshutton.org

Stewards Of The Gospel“The important thing in evangelising is not to effortfully set out to try to convert someone, but to live one’s faith as a Catholic attractively. It is important to trust that God is working”.

Welcome to our parish news of St. Joseph the Worker 15 October 2017

Health and SafetyRecently we have had our annual Health and Safety inspection. We are catching up on their report as funds become available. Urgent matters have already been attended to. We have been requested to have to fire wardens at each Mass. It will be their task to keep you informed of the exits and where you gather should there be a fire.There are two doors at the back which are unlocked during Mass and one on the right which exits into the playground. The area outside the church has to be kept free of cars so that fire trucks may have access to church or school.

May I also remind you that when lighting candles, please make sure it is one person at a time – not two or three lighting candles at the same time. In another parish (not our parish) there has been an issue about this.We need to be aware of all these issues when we gather in a public building. Please look around the church and the hall for the fire exits and make a note of them.We are obliged to have two fire drills per year about which you will be told in advance. Thank you for your reading this and in advance for your support.

Brentwood CateniansOur mission statement is - strengthening family life through friendship and faith.If there are any gentleman interested in the Catenian Association please contact Mark Yates on 214621 or Patrick Keogh

Welcome to all our parishioners and visitors to our parish of St. Joseph the Worker.

In the parable of the wedding feast, Jesus offers an image of the Kingdom of God using the symbol of the wedding banquet. Jesus’ audience would have been familiar with this image as a sign of God’s salvation. They would consider themselves to be the invited guests. Keeping this in mind helps us to understand the critique Jesus makes with this story. The listeners would

have been surprised to hear that the first guests refused the invitation and again great surprise that some guests refused the king’s invitation. Some go as far as to kill the servants.

When the invited guests do not attend, the king sends for anyone he could find so that the wedding feast is filled. The guest who failed to dress in the appropriate attire is cast out. We are reminded that while many are invited to the Kingdom of Heaven, not all are able to meet its requirements. God invites us to his feast, giving us his salvation. Yet he asks us to repent of our sins. Do we?

This parable also teaches us about humility. To accept God’s invitation is to accept its obligations. God wants our full conversion and complete acceptance of his mercy.

Have a great Sunday with your families and a wonderful week.

Eucharistic Ministers for this week’s Masses (14/15 October)6.00 p.m. Ewa Kania Carol Turnbull Paul Bolton8.30 a.m. John Spinks Mary Allum Lyn Birnie10.30 a.m Willa Jackson Kathy Hillhouse Dominc D’AlbequequeReaders for this week’s Masses (14/15 October)6.00 p.m. Ann Howarth8.30 a.m. David Holt10.30 a.m. Paula SandersEucharistic Ministers for Next week’s Masses (21/22 October)6.00 p.m. Ian Restall Gay O’Regan Bill O’Regan8.30 a.m. Mary Allum Ken Eady John Spinks10.30 a.m. Mary Brooks Chris Brooks Marina MoffatReaders for next week’s Masses (21/22 October)6.00 p.m. Paul Bolton8.30 a.m. Alan Bailey10.30 a.m. Willa JacksonREMEMBER To have a Mass offered for your loved ones. One day we too will be a Holy Soul depending on others to pray for us. Book of Macabees – “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for our dead that they may be loosed from their sins”.DON’T FORGET TO PRAY FOR YOUR PRIESTS WHO HAVE GONE HOME TO ETERNAL LIFE. ALSO YOUR RELATIONS, FRIENDS AND PARISHIONERS.

SicknessWe pray for our sick in our parish:Nicholas Sharkey, Daniella DiLisio, Paul Denton, Simone Austin, Jacqueline Birnie, Maureen Flaherty, Mairead O’Driscoll, Nora McPherson, Mano Subryan, Kathleen Green, Beryl de Prazer, Diana Pearce, Janet Holt, Linda Stimpson and Peggy Ford.Our Lady of Lourdes intercede for them.If there are any changes please let Fr. Leslie know.PLEASE NOTE THAT IN FUTURE THE NAMES OF ALL THE SICK WILL BE CONTAINED ON A CARD THAT WILL BE PLACED ON THE ALTAR AT EVERY MASS

AnniversariesWe pray for the anniversary of all our relatives and friends, especially those whose anniversary occurs at this time. We pray for:Jean Marler, Ernest Kettley, Leslie Burrowes and John Castle.Priests of our Diocese: Fr. Alfred Clements (1931), Pope Pius XII (1958), Fr. John Dempsey (1942) and Fr. Patrick Malin (2000).May these and all the faithful departed Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory and Grace.

NO WEEKDAY MASSES FOR THE TIME BEING WHILE FR. LESLIE IS AWAY AND RECOVERING FROM HIS OPERATION. THE CHURCH WILL BE OPEN EVERY DAY AS USUAL FOR PRIVATE PRAYER.

Dates for your diary2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Diocese of Essex on 22 March 1917 and the subsequent erection of the Diocese of Brentwood on 20 July 2017. There will be a programme of liturgical, historical, educational and cultural events to celebrate the centenary as set out below.

Saturday 28 October: (26 October is the Feast of St Cedd. Secondary Co-Patron of the Diocese): Centenary Music Concert at 7.00 p.m. in the Cathedral.

Thursday 16 November: (Feast of St Edmund of Canterbury, Secondary Co-Patron of the Diocese): Closure of Centenary Celebrations with Pontifical Mass at St Edmund’s College, Ware, at 12 noon.

A Prayer For Stillness - 2Continued from last week

◊ Still my unrelenting need to be busy all the time, to occupy myself, to be always planning for tomorrow, to fill every minute with some activity, to seek distraction rather than quiet. Give me the grace to sit in quiet that lets me savour a sunset and actually taste the water I’m drinking.

◊ Still the disappointment that comes with age. Soothe the unacknowledged anger I feel from not achieving much of what I’ve wanted in life, the failure that I feel in the face of all that I’ve left untried and unfinished. Still in me the bitterness that comes from failure. Save me from thejealousy that comes unbidden as I begrudgingly accept the limits of my life. Give me the grace to accept what circumstance and failure have dealt me.

◊ Still in me the fear of my own shadow, the fear I feel in the face of the powerful, dark forces that unconsciously threaten me. Give me the courage to face my darkness as well as my luminosity. Give me the grace not to be fearful before my own complexity.

◊ Still in me the congenital fear that I’m unloved, that I’m unlovable, that love has to be earned, that I need to be more worthy. Silence in me the nagging suspicion that I’m forever missing out, that I’m odd, an outsider, that things are unfair, and that I’m not being respected and recognised for who I am. Give me the grace to know that I’m a beloved child of a God whose love need not be earned.

◊ Still in me my false fear of you, my propensity for a misguided piety, my need to treat you like a distant and feared dignitary rather than as a warm friend. Give me the grace to relate to you in a robust way, as a trusted friend with whom I can jest, wrestle, and relate to in humour and intimacy.

Continued next week

Finance NewsFor the week ending 7/8 October you gave £282.02 of which £14.50 was Gift Aided. Cost of replacing conservatory roof and windows £31,213.00Total raised to date £900.00Thank you very much. God Bless.If you are a tax payer and have not Gift Aided your giving can you please pick up a Gift Aid Form from the back of the church. At no extra cost to yourselves whatsoever, the Parish will receive an extra 25% of your giving from the Government.Thank you and God Bless

Pope Francis

God does not disappoint! He has placed hope in our hearts so that it can blossom and bear fruit.

The search for peace is an open-ended task, a responsibility that never ends and that demands the commitment of everyone.

When you experience bitterness, put your faith in all those who still work for good: in their humility lies the seed of a new world.

The Rosary is a synthesis of the mysteries of Christ: we contemplate them with Mary, who allows us to see with her eyes of faith and love.

Bible Alive And Word Alive Bible Alive and Word Alive for June are on sale at the back of the church. These are daily Scripture readings to help us grow our knowledge

Blessed SacramentPlease do make a big effort to spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, in preparation of the Lord’s passion. “For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed”.

Candles at The ShrinesPlease make sure the candles you light are on the stand and NOT on the floor. This could cause a fire and is against our Health & Safety best Practice. Please be careful.

In Today’s GospelA king was planning a big wedding party for his son. He invited lots of important people to come - but they all ignored him. So the king sent his servants to invite everyone they could find to the wedding. These people were very happy to be invited and there were lots of people at the wedding.Prayer for TodayDear Jesus, thank you for inviting me to your party! Help me to say “yes” to your invitation by sharing your love with the people I meet each day. Amen

Christmas HampersThis year we will raffle two Christmas hampers, a large one (first prize) and a smaller one (second prize). We do however need volunteers to sell envelopes/tickets before Mass and after Mass and also to your friends and families. This is our only fundraiser of the year – and with a new roof and windows required for the conservatory (at a cost of £31,000) we will need a big push on this.Just a reminder, all you have to do is put £5.00 in an envelope and write your name and phone number on the outside and place in the box at the back of the church. Simples!

BCCS Charity Race Night Romford DogsFriday 10 November 2017. Why not get together with friends and join us for a charity night ‘at the dogs’? Tickets are priced at £25 per person and include:

◊ Entrance & Race Card◊ Three course meal with coffee in the

Pavilion RestaurantSponsoring a race is the perfect way to promote your business. The cost is £450.00 per race and includes:

◊ Your own private table for 10 guests in the exclusive Pavilion Restaurant

◊ Three course meal with coffee◊ A race in your name/company name

along with the presentation of a trophy to the owner of your race

◊ A bouquet of flowers & colour photo of the presentation.

Contact Julie on 01268 784544/ jabbott@bccs.org.uk

Clearing LeavesPlease, if you are able, do come along and help to clear leaves from the church property. That would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance and God bless

In Fr. Leslie’s AbsenceWhen Fr. Leslie is away recovering from his operation we would like to publish a slimmed down version of the newsletter to try to keep parishioners in touch with parish news. If you have any items that you would like included please email them to ian.restall@design-portfolio.co.uk

Prayer SupportPlease pray this autumn for anyone with a new beginning - new school, university, job, retirement, and especially for our First Communion children embarking on their journey towards the Sacraments of Reconciliation and The Eucharist.

BCCS Ladies Christmas LuncheonFriday 8 December 2017. BCCS will be hosting their very popular Ladies’ Luncheon on Friday 8 December 2017 at the Rayleigh Golf Club, Hullbridge. Ladies will be treated to a delicious two course luncheon with tea & coffee served in the luxurious surroundings of this exclusive club.Tickets cost £25.00 per person and with lunch being served at 12.30 there will still be plenty of time to collect the children from school if you need to!To secure your place please contact: Libby on 01268 784544/lphillips@bccs.org.uk

Fr. Leslie - An updateFr. Leslie had his hip realignment operation on Tuesday as planned and he is now recovering. The surgeon was very pleased with how it all went and now Fr. Leslie just has to have plenty of rest and some physio to get him back on his feet. So far, so good. If there is any more news we’ll publish it next week.

CribsDuring the month of November we will be displaying cribs for sale in the Hall on Sunday mornings. 9.30 a.m. through to 12.30 p.m. Come and see. If you want a crib or to replace that old one that has seen better days then come along and see the collection. There are cribs for children and cribs for other people. In the Hall for the 4 weeks of November.

Sick ListRussell Ford writes that his mother, Peggy Ford, has been unwell for some time. Please remember her in your prayers. Her name has been added to the Sick List.

London Marathon 2018Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society has a number of Gold Bond Charity places for runners in the Virgin Money LONDON MARATHON taking place on SUNDAY 22 April 2018. If you are an experienced runner or someone who would value the opportunity to participate in this renowned event, please contact Libby Phillips for further details on 01268 784544/lphillips@bccs.org.uk. The closing date for completed applications is Friday 17 November and please note that there is a minimum sponsorship requirement of £1,600 (excluding Gift Aid). If you have been lucky enough to secure your own running place through the ballot, we would invite you to join us and run for Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society. The London Marathon is a unique opportunity to raise much needed funds for the Diocesan Children’s Society and perhaps achieve a lifetime ambition at the same time.

No Weekday MassesFrom 9 October until the beginning of December Fr. Leslie will be away from the parish while he recovers from a hip alignment operation. There will be no morning Masses during this period.

Gift AidIf you have not GIFT AIDED your donations to the church, please see Fr. Leslie or Mary Brooks. Gift Aid is a source of valuable income we could receive from the government at no extra cost to yourselves. If you are a taxpayer, all we need is your signature.Also, if you are able to make a donation towards the Presbytery roof that would be fantastic. It could also be gift aided as a one-off donation. Which of course would be even better!Please help if you are able to do so. Thanking you in anticipation. God Bless.

Mass IntentionsIf you wish a Mass to be said while I’m away please contact Fr. Anthony Cho at St John the Evangelist, The Presbytery, Roman Road, Ingatestone, Essex, CM4 9HP. 01277 353193. Email: ingatestone@dioceseofbrentwood.org or: hingacho@gmail.com

The Brentwood Diocesan Trust – Registered Charity No. 234092

We hope you enjoyed reading the newsletter this week; please do remember that if, for some reason, there are not enough hard copies at the back of the Church, it can always be downloaded from the Parish website (www.stjosephshutton.org). A PDF of the newsletter can be found under “communication”.

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