St. Teresa of the Child Jesus
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Roman Catholic Church in Morden, Surrey

WHAT IS MEDITATION?

30/1/2021

 
Meditation is a Christian practice of prayer dating back to the early Church. As the Catechism states: "Meditation is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking." By meditating on the Gospels, holy icons, liturgical texts, spiritual writings, or "the great book of creation," we come to make our own that which is God's. "To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: "Lord, what do you want me to do?" (CCC 2705-2706).
How do we pray with Sacred Scripture?
Spiritual reading of Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels, is an important form of meditation. This spiritual reading is traditionally called lectio divina or divine reading. Lectio divina is prayer over the Scriptures.
  1. The first element of this type of prayer is reading (lectio): you take a short passage from the Bible, preferably a Gospel passage and read it carefully, perhaps three or more times. Let it really soak-in.
  2. The second element is meditation (meditatio). By using your imagination enter into the Biblical scene in order to "see" the setting, the people, and the unfolding action. It is through this meditation that you encounter the text and discover its meaning for your life.
  3. The next element is prayer (oratio) or your personal response to the text: asking for graces, offering praise or thanksgiving, seeking healing or forgiveness. In this prayerful engagement with the text, you open yourself up to the possibility of contemplation.
  4. Contemplation (contemplatio) is a gaze turned toward Christ and the things of God. By God's action of grace, you may be raised above meditation to a state of seeing or experiencing the text as mystery and reality. In contemplation, you come into an experiential contact with the One behind and beyond the text.
What are devotions?
Popular devotions are expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of one's own faith, culture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As Saint John Paul II said in 2001:
"Genuine forms of popular piety, expressed in a multitude of different ways, derives from the faith and, therefore, must be valued and promoted. Such authentic expressions of popular piety are not at odds with the centrality of the Sacred Liturgy. Rather, in promoting the faith of the people, who
regard popular piety as a natural religious expression, they predispose the people for the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries.
The correct relationship between these two expressions of faith must be based on certain firm principles, the first of which recognizes that the Liturgy is the centre of the Church's life and cannot be substituted by, or placed on a par with, any other form of religious expression. Moreover, it is important to reaffirm that popular religiosity, even if not always evident, naturally culminates in the celebration of the Liturgy towards which it should ideally be oriented. This should be made clear through suitable catechesis." (Address to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, September 21, 2001).
Join with the Church as she expresses her praise and devotion to God through many popular devotional practices. They are priceless!

GRACIOUS AND LOVING FATHER

30/1/2021

 
This is where we live out our faith. Since 1937 tens of thousands have come through our doors to seek you in prayer, to honour your Son, Our Lord Jesus, to ask Him for heavenly help. We know He is in our midst when we meet at Holy Mass, in Adoration, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in the Sacred Words of Holy Scripture proclaimed in the assembly of the faithful, He is honoured and loved in each of our Seven Sacraments. He is in the hearts and ministry of our Catechists, our Readers, our Eucharistic Ministers, our Altar Server Team. He welcomes and blesses all who seek His love and mercy. He is our friend who we can rely on in Private Prayer. He points us to his Blessed Mother, "Seek her help, seek her support, seek her guidance". It's true she is the Mother of our Parish, with Saint Joseph her co-worker - she supports without hesitation the sons and daughters of Saint Teresa's parish. Every family, every young person, every single person, every sick person, everyone troubled in mind or spirit can seek solace and spiritual comfort.
Your saints led by Saint Teresa are loved and honoured throughout the year, Holy Souls know that we pray for them with the assistance of their Guardian Angels and ours too.
We seek Heaven's blessing for our Parish and all who live out their faith in our midst and online. These are difficult times for the church on earth as we live through a world-wide pandemic. We also know that the Holy Spirit is guiding us all through these difficult, sad and troubling times. We can sense His Presence, we can sense His Guidance, we can sense His Light at the end of the tunnel.
Week by week, we come to share or give witness to our faith. Saint Teresa's is dedicated and consecrated to worshipping You.
We are grateful for the chance to show our love for You and the family of Heaven. So many at this time are unable to join us for Holy Mass here in the church and for other special moments in the life of the parish.
So, we pray now for those who, for a variety of reasons are unable to worship with us, those confined to their homes,
those no longer fit enough to get out and about,
those in hospital,

those in care homes,
those having to work on Sundays,
those looking after loved ones,
those advised to stay at home during this pandemic, those who are scared and frightened to leave home.

We pray too for those who have drifted away from regular attendance, those who have lost their faith,
those who have lost trust in the Catholic Church,
or joined other churches,

or moved to a new area among new people.
Gracious and Loving Father,
May each of these, good people, our friends, know they are still remembered,
much valued,
and much cared about.

We miss them in our midst,
we send out our blessing to each and every one of them, whatever their situation, whatever their challenges may they know You are close by their side,
joined with us and all Your parish family in the heart of every Holy Mass,
in the heart of the Rosary, in the heart of every prayer.

Amen.

ASH WEDNESDAY 2021

30/1/2021

 
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This year Ash Wednesday falls on Wednesday 17th February. It's a day of fasting and abstinence. Ashes will be blessed during our 10am Mass. We wish to begin our Parish Lenten Journey in the best possible way. We will be open. Social distancing will be fully implemented. We will not be able to distribute the Ashes in the usual way. This year we will be sprinkling them over your head. The Pope and many around the world receive in this manner - so you will be in good company. Below is an outline of a very Special Day we plan for Ash Wednesday.
9.30 Church Doors Open Rosary led by Parishioners
10am Holy Mass With Distribution of Ashes 11am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. 11.15am Rosary
12.30-12.45 Sprinkling of Ashes available

1-2pm Silent Prayer
2pm Guided Meditation Led by Con Diver
3pm Rosary Led by Members of the Parish Council
3.30-4pm Sprinkling of Ashes
4.15pm Rosary Led by Members of the Parish Adoration Team
5pm Prayers or Benediction with Fr. Roshy and Canon Michael
5.30pm Holy Mass
For your Lenten Intentions with Sprinkling of Ashes

6.30pm Church Closes.
Please note: This year we can offer, because of the circumstances we find ourselves in, a chance for one family member to pick up a small amount of ashes - blessed - to bring home and offer to those sick, housebound, or isolating. We will also put on our website and newsletter a prayer for you to use at home. 

A CALL TO PRAYER - TUESDAY 2ND FEBRUARY

30/1/2021

 
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Feast of the Presentation of The Lord
The Catholic Church will hold its annual celebration of WORLD DAY OF PRAYER for Consecrated Life this Tuesday and in intercessions at our weekend parish Masses.
In unity with the nations of the world, our Pope, our bishops and the faithful of Holy Mother Church, we see that this is a special time for every Catholic, every parish to celebrate the gift of Consecrated Life and pray for men and women discerning a consecrated vocation.
Instituted by St. Pope John Paul II in 1997, World Day of Prayer in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of The Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, which commemorates through the blessing and lighting of candles that Christ is the Light of the World. So, too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus to all peoples.
To mark this Special Day following our 10am Mass we will have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until 12 Midday. Fr. Roshy, a Capuchin Priest, will give a Spiritual Reflection of Consecrated Life at 11.30am.

ORDINARY TIME

23/1/2021

 
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God Bless Your Continued Journey to Lent
As we continue our way through these weeks of ordinary time before Lent, we pick up from last week a few more steps that can help us draw closer to God.
4. Fourth, cultivate honesty. Complete honesty is only possible for a humble person. The reason is simple. The most painful but important honesty is telling the truth to ourselves about our own motives and our own actions. The reason honesty is such a powerful magnet is because it’s so rare.
Modern life is too often built on the marketing of half-truths and lies about who we are and what we deserve. Many of the lies are well-intentioned and not even very harmful — but they’re still lies. Scripture praises the honest woman and man because they’re like clean air in a room full of smoke. Honesty allows the mind to breathe and think clearly.
5. Fifth, seek to be holy. Holy does not mean nice or even good, although truly holy people are always good and often – though not always — nice. Holiness means “other than.” It’s what Scripture means when it tells us to be “in the world, but not of the world.” And this doesn’t just miraculously happen. We need to choose and seek holiness.
God’s ways are not our ways. Holiness is the habit of seeking to conform all of our thoughts and actions to God’s ways. There’s no cookie-cutter model of holiness, just as piety can’t be reduced to one particular kind of prayer or posture. What’s important is to love the world because God loves it and sent his Son to redeem it, but not to be captured by its habits and values, which are not godly.
6. Sixth, pray. Prayer is more than just that portion of the day when we advise God about what we need and what he should do. Real prayer is much closer to listening, and it’s intimately tied to obedience. God certainly wants to hear what we need and love and fear, because these things are part of our daily lives, and he loves us. But if we’re doing the talking, we can’t listen. Note too, that we can’t really pray without humility. Why? Because prayer requires us to lift up who we are and everything we experience and possess to God. Pride is too heavy to lift.
7. Seventh, read. Scripture is the living Word of God. When we read God’s Word, we encounter God himself. But there’s more: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Georges Bernanos and so many others – these were deeply intelligent and powerful writers whose work nourishes the Christian mind and soul, while also inspiring the imagination. Reading also serves another, simpler purpose: It shuts out the noise that distracts us from fertile reflection.
By the way, if you get the chance, read Tolkien’s wonderful short story, Leaf by Niggle. It will take you less than an hour, but it will stay with you for a lifetime. And then read C.S. Lewis’ great religious science-fiction trilogy – Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. You’ll never look at our world in quite the same way again.
8. Eighth, believe and act. Nobody “earns” faith. It’s a free gift from God. But we do need to be willing and ready to receive it. We can discipline ourselves to be prepared. If we sincerely seek truth; if we desire things greater than this life has to offer; and if we leave our hearts open to the possibility of God — then one day we will believe, just as when we choose to love someone more deeply, and turn our hearts sincerely to the task, then sooner or later we usually will.
Feelings are fickle. They’re often misleading. They’re not the substance of our faith. We need to be grateful for our emotions as God’s gifts, but we also need to judge them in the light of common sense. Falling in love is only the first taste of love. Real love is both more beautiful and more demanding than the early days of a romance.
In like manner, a dramatic “road to Damascus” style conversion doesn’t happen to most people, and not even St. Paul stayed on the road very long. Why? Because in revealing himself to Paul, Jesus immediately gave him something to do. We know and more deeply love Jesus Christ by doing what he tells us to do.
In the real world, feelings that endure follow actions that have substance. The more sincere we are in our discipleship, the closer we will come to Jesus Christ. This is why the Emmaus disciples only recognized Jesus in “the breaking of the bread.” Only in acting in and on our faith, does our faith become fully real.
9. Ninth, nobody makes it to heaven alone. We all need friendship and community. It's been said that the heart of a good marriage is friendship. Every successful marriage is finally about a deep and particular kind of friendship that involves honesty, intimacy, fidelity, mutual sacrifice, hope and shared beliefs.
Every successful marriage is also a form of community. Even Jesus needed these two things: friendship and community. The Apostles were not simply Christ’s followers; they were also his brothers and friends, people who knew and supported him in an intimate way. All of us as Christians need the same two things. It doesn’t matter whether we’re a religious, layperson, deacon or priest, single or married. Friends are vital. Community is vital. Our friends both express and shape who we are. Good friends sustain us. Bad friends undermine us. And that’s why they’re so decisive to the success or failure of a Christian life.
10. Tenth and finally, nothing is more powerful than the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist in leading us to the God we seek. God makes himself available to us every week in the confessional, and every day in the sacrifice of the Mass. It makes little sense to talk about the “silence of God” when our churches are made silent by our own absence and indifference. We’re the ones with the cold hearts – not God.
He’s never outdone in his generosity. He waits for us in the quiet of the tabernacle. And he loves us and wants to be loved wholeheartedly in return.


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Registered charity number in England: 1173050
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