St Mary Magdalen's Parish Newsletter
The latest issue of the parish newsletter is available on-line: you can find it here.
Back copies of the parish newsletter from 2018 to date are also available on-line - select Newsletters from the menu bar, and then select the year required.
The Diocesan Newspaper
You can read the latest edition of Catholic East Anglia, the Diocesan newspaper on-line: you can find it here.
Fr Luke's Homilies
Each week, Fr Luke Goymour records and publishes his homily. You can listen to these recordings by clicking here.
Stations of the Cross
On each Friday during Lent, the 10:00 am Mass will be followed by Stations of the Cross.
The Fifth Sunday of Lent: 17th March, 2024
Today’s Gospel reading is taken from the Gospel of John. We are reading much further into John’s Gospel than we have for the past two weeks. Chapter 12 of John’s Gospel is a preparation for the beginning of the passion narrative to follow. Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead—an important sign in John’s Gospel, which inspired many people to believe in Jesus. This event also marks the turning point in Jesus’ conflict with the Jewish authorities. John’s Gospel tells us that the Sanhedrin met after this event and made plans to kill Jesus. In the 12th chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus is anointed at Bethany and enters Jerusalem in triumph. We again see evidence of the significance of the raising of Lazarus to this event; John reports that the crowds also gathered to see Lazarus.
Following his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus predicted his suffering, death, and Resurrection and prepared his disciples to believe in the salvation that his death would accomplish. Using the metaphor of the grain of wheat, Jesus presented the idea that his dying would be beneficial. He also taught that those who would be his disciples must follow his example of sacrifice. This theme will be repeated in John’s account of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as an example of how they must serve one another.
The final section of today’s Gospel might be read as John’s parallel to the agony in the garden. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John does not record Jesus’ anguished prayer in the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. Although comparable words are found in today’s reading, Jesus gives a confident response to the question he raises when asking God to save him from his impending death. After announcing his conviction that it is for this purpose that he came, a voice from heaven speaks, as if in answer to Jesus’ prayer. This voice, like the one heard at Jesus’ baptism and at Jesus’ Transfiguration—events reported in the Synoptic Gospels but not in John’s Gospel—affirms that God welcomes the sacrifice that Jesus will make on behalf of others. In John’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that this voice was sent for the sake of those who would believe in him.
In today’s Gospel, we also hear Jesus speak about the cosmic framework against which we are to understand his passion, death, and Resurrection. Through his death and Resurrection, Jesus conquered Satan, the ruler of this world. In this way the world is judged, but the judgment is not condemnation. Instead, through Jesus’ dying and rising, salvation is brought to the world. Courtesy Loyola Press.
Prayer for Peace in the Middle East
They will hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, no longer will they learn how to make war.
Isaiah 2:4
God of peace, bearer of hope, we seek your help for the peoples of the Middle East.
Quiet the clamour of war and guide us towards peace.
Where there is hatred and division, sow seeds of calm and openness.
Where there is destruction, help us to rebuild.
Where children are crying, bring an end to tears.
Shelter your peoples and protect them.
Guide them and keep them from harm.
Show us how to break down the barriers of history and fear and breathe whispers of hope.
Amen.
Linda Jones / CAFOD
The Divine Mercy
You expired, Jesus,
but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.
This picture of the Divine Mercy was painted by Ben Goymour and hangs in St Mark's Catholic Church, Ipswich.
Each Friday morning after the 10:00 Mass at St Mary Magdalen church, we pray a chaplet of the Divine Mercy in front of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by Benediction.