Maundy Thursday message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning - blessings for this great feast of Maundy Thursday, the feast of the great mandate, the command to love and serve one another as Christ himself showed us. The Master goes on his knees to wash the feet of his disciples and in doing overturns the whole notion of who is the servant, of who serves whom.

These days we are more aware than ever of the generosity of those who are caring for and supporting with love and compassion those who are sick and in need. Many of our parishioners serve in hospitals, care homes and in the community; many others are volunteering as part of the emergency outreach and others just because it is what they do normally. We keep them all in our prayer.

Tonight at 8.05pm (after showing our appreciation for the work of our medical and emergency staff) we will gather for our Zoom Mass of the Lord’s Supper. However, I wonder if we might celebrate it at home beforehand - rather than sitting in front of the TV might we instead sit at the table and take time to reflect together. Maybe like the disciples, we can talk about the importance of Jesus in our lives; maybe remind ourselves of the blessings we share now; maybe recall past blessings with people who have gone to heaven. Maybe just take special time for each other - thankful to God for our communion with one another for that too is a real part of our Mass.

After Mass we will have a time for quiet prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

There are many other resources available on-line particularly for parents to share with their children.

Tomorrow we will meet on-line at 3.00pm for our commemoration of the Lord’s Passion.

Let us continue to pray for Patricia, Evelyn, Steve, Mary, Winnie C. and all those who are sick, and all those who are caring for them.
We pray too for those who have died - Anne, Edward, Mary, Chris, Stella, Mary, Roy, Ingeberg, Marcia, Emily, Alf, Matthew and for Sharon whose funeral is today at 12.30pm in Swindon Cemetery. We pray especially for all those who mourn at this too-sad time.

The food bank were very grateful for the two deliveries we made this week. Thank you for your continued support for those in special need. There is a box at the back door of CTK presbytery which is emptied regularly.
Please let me know if we can help in any way.

Dear St Joseph, friend and guardian, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John

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