May He Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory.
We offer our blessing to the family of Janarthanan Fernando who has been called to Eternal Life. His son Joseph and the family have flown home to India to lay him to rest. Our prayers travel with him and to the graveside.
May He Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory. The family of Violet Wood, a longstanding parishioner, have informed us that she was called to meet the Lord last Sunday. We pray with Violet’s husband and with all her family and friends and offer our spiritual support.
May She Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory. Please continue to keep in your prayers, Maureen Smith, Irene Ward, Irene Matthews, Jean Lue, Ruba Santiapillai, Baby Alexander Lynch, Joseph Lunn, Erika Geddes, Barry Falcon, Denise Waaldjk, Lena McBride and Valerie Somerset. For those in hospital, care homes, those self- isolating and those patients in hospice care.
Our liturgical seasons, like all our life, has celebration of feasts and times of quiet growth and maturing. Because the term ‘ordinary’ in English most often means something that is not special or distinctive, many people think that ‘Ordinary Time’ refers to parts of the calendar of the Catholic Church that are unimportant. Yet Ordinary Time is far from unimportant or uninteresting.
Why is Ordinary Time called Ordinary? Ordinary Time is called ‘ordinary’ not because it is common, but simply because the weeks in Ordinary Time are numbered. The Latin word ordalis, which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which we get the English word order. Thus, the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time, in fact, represent the ordered life of the Church – the period in which we live our lives neither feasting (as in the Christmas and Easter seasons) or in more severe penance (as in Advent and Lent) but in watchfulness and expectation; expectation of Christ’s Second Coming. On the thirty-three Sundays of Ordinary Time – some years there are thirty-four - the vestments are usually green, the colour of hope and growth. This is the longest season of the Liturgical Year. So, for Catholics, Ordinary Time is the part of the year in which Christ, the Lamb od God, walks among us and transforms our lives. In this season, the Church celebrates the public ministry of Jesus. This is the time of conversion. This is living the life of Christ. There is nothing “ordinary” about that! We are happy to announce that St. Teresa’s Parish has been able to move to Phase 1A of the gradual reopening of our parish church for PRIVATE PRAYER and ADORATION of the Blessed Sacrament.
My thanks to the team who have helped us to get to this stage. Your time and willingness to help and support this first stage back is greatly appreciated. Opening times will be: FRIDAY 12 – 2p.m. SATURDAY 12 - 2p.m. Twenty persons are permitted to be inside the church at one time. Persons who come to pray will be permitted to stay in the church for a maximum of twenty minutes. Thus, St. Teresa’s can accommodate a maximum of sixty people during each one-hour period. Attendees must enter the church by the side sanctuary door. This will be sign posted. Upon entering the Church, attendees will be greeted by a Steward, a member of our Parish Reopening Team. They will provide each attendee with hand sanitiser and then guide them to an appropriate place in the church. Attendees must remain in the seat to which they are directed. Attendees must exit the church through the side doors near Our Lady’s Altar; to allow for one-way traffic. One family bench is available for attendees from the same family bubble to pray seated together. All seating is cleaned after every use by the Parish Reopening Team. Please consider wearing a face mask when you are in the church (optional, but wise). If you are feeling sick or showing ANY ‘flu like symptoms, please stay at home for your own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of others in the Church. Our Diocese asks our Stewards to request those showing symptoms not to enter the Church. We must adhere to the guidelines set out by our diocese so that our parish churches can begin to open again. We hope you understand that we are doing this for the health and safety of all persons present. Candles are available for lighting. The Bishop’s Conference advises attendees not to touch statues in the Church. We ask all attendees please to adhere to the twenty-minute time limit allowed for each person. This will allow more parishioners to participate in private prayer – THANK YOU! Please know that we hope to increase the amount of prayer time in church as soon as we are able. Everything depends on the number of volunteers who join our Parish Reopening Team, so that we can follow the guidelines set out by the authorities and the Bishop’s Conference. If you are a parishioner and NOT in a vulnerable category and wish to volunteer, please let us know who you are by email. A meeting will be organised for Monday 22nd June evening at 6p.m. Should you have any questions regarding this information please reply by email: morden@rcaos.org.uk or call our parish number: 020 8648 4113 Read here or download Archbishop John Wilson’s Pastoral Letter - Concerning the Reopening of Catholic Churches for Individual Prayer. |
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