Summer has come, and the Parish Office is now closed.

Children’s Liturgy Groups return on September 27th (registration on the 13th & 20th after the 9.30am Mass);
Music Groups return on September 6th;
Toddler Group starts on September 8th, and the Italian Toddler Group on September 10th;
The Parish AGM is on Friday 2nd October, at 8pm (NOT 18th September);
The Confirmation Reunion is on Friday September 25th, at 7.30pm.

If you’re going on holiday, don’t forget to check the times of the local Catholic Mass – either consult The National Catholic Directory in the Sacristy after Mass, or look at MassTimes.org (UK is under Great Britain!).

Week beginning 12th July 2009, 15th Sunday of the Year

Sacred Heart: Teresa Wright RIP
St Joseph: Connor Family
St John Fisher: Auntie Ellie
St Thomas More: Wendy’s Grandmother
Our Lady (Saturday – Monday): Linda Darlington / Deacon John Sampson

Find out about our Votive Lamps at the Shrines programme.

This week we keep the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – a special feast locally since this Diocese is home to the shrine at Aylesford, an ancient Priory of the Carmelite Order. Here Our Lady appeared to St Simon Stock and gave him the Brown Scapular, as a pledge of her protection. This devotion is now popular throughout the Catholic world.

While the Carmelite tradition has a special significance for us, we should not forget that Mount Carmel is also important not only to all CHristians, but also to Jewish and Muslim believers.

Carmel is a mountain in northern Israel, overlooking the Mediterranean. It was considered a sacred place even by the pagans who lived there before the Jews. However, it came to special prominence in the ministry of the Prophet Elijah. The Book of Kings describes how Elijah entered into a contest on Mount Carmel with the priests of Baal (a false god). The challenge was to see which deity could light a sacrifice by fire. After the prophets of Baal had failed to achieve this, Elijah poured water on his sacrifice, prostrated himself in prayer, and fire fell from the sky, and consumed the sacrifice – a clear victory for the God is Israel!

This event is celebrated not only in the Bible but also in Islamic tradition – the Arabic name for Mount Carmel is El-Maharrakah, meaning ‘the burning’ – a reference to Elijah’s successful prayers.

Mount Carmel is thus a reminder of the many things that bind together the three great monotheistic religions of the world – Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Yet the story of Elijah confronting the priests of Baal also reminds us that we must not be afraid to defend God’s truth. Southwark diocese is home nowadays to a great melting-pot of difference religions, nationalities and cultures. In celebrating the things which unite us, yet also upholding the unique revelation of Christianity, we may surely seek the special help of our Patroness, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Recently we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi. On this feast, different aspects of the mystery of the Eucharist are suggested to us during the 3 year cycle of the Lectionary. This year, there was a special emphasis on the Precious Blood of Our Lord, which was shed for our Redemption and which we receive each and every time we share in Holy Communion (this is even the case when Holy Communion is given under One Kind only, for the Church teaches that the whole Christ – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – is received in the Sacred host alone, or indeed in the Chalice alone for those unable to consume the Host).

Traditionally, July has been dedicated to the Precious Blood, just as June is the Month of the Sacred Heart, and May the Month of Mary. The decotion is especially associated with an Italian priest, St Gaspar del Buffalo, who lived and worked in the 19th Century. He preached many missions, in which he emphasised how Our Lord had poured out his Blood on the Cross for us, as a great proof of his love – and how we share in that love through the Eucharist. St Gaspar was very effective at winning even hardened hearts back to Jesus – on one occasion he went up into the hills outside Rome and preached to the bandits who lived in hiding there: they were so moved by his bravery and his preaching that they turned away from a life of crime and returned to the practice of their faith.

We too should have a deep devotion to the Blood of Jesus, always remembering that in Biblical language blood symbolises LIFE. When we hear the words of Jesus – “This is my Blood…” and when we share in the Eucharist, we are really and truly sharing his life. We do not live for ourselves anymore, but for him, and everything we do must reflect that reality.