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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year: A)

Sun 24th
Sep

Old Testament: Isa. 55:6-9
Psalms: Ps. 144:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
Epistle: Philip. 1:20-24, 27
Gospel: Matt. 20:1-16

Sunday Mass times

Saturday 6:00pm
Sunday 8:00am 10:00am
See weekday Mass times | Diocesan Year Book

Whats Happening

24th
Sep

Syro Malankara Mass

Special Mass for the Syro Malankara community in Ipswich and surrounding area, held monthly in our church …

Welcome

Welcome to the web site for the Roman Catholic parish of St. Mary Magdalen Ipswich.  We welcome all visitors and newcomers to the Church, and hope that you find everything you are looking for on this site. Our aim is to keep this web space up to date with current parish news, information and events, aiming to be accessible for the people of the parish and the community in which we are situated.

Under the guidance and leadership of our parish priest, Fr Luke Goymour and his assistant priest Fr Paul Chanh, we are looking to expand and enrich our community in youth projects, music in worship, children's liturgy and other areas. If you want to be active in our future please speak with Fr Paul at the church, or use the contact page

If you have any comments about this site, its content or suggestions for additional content, particularly if you could not find the information you were looking for, please use the contact form to send a message to the webmaster.

On-Line Giving

During the times when our ability to attend church in person was impacted by Coronavirus restrictions, on-line donations to our offertory collection were a lifeline for the parish.  Even if you are now attending again in person, please consider donating on-line to our offertory by setting up a regular payment by standing order from your bank account, or alternatively you can make a one-off payment. This is easy to do - you can find details here. 

A Prayer for Ukraine


God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today.  We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.  We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,  that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.  We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions.  Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them.  We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  Amen

Prayers for the Sick

Almighty and Eternal God, You are the everlasting health of those who believe in You. We ask you to remember those in our parish who are unwell, afflicted or distressed. Grant them comfort, relief and consolation of your Holy Spirit and through the aid of Your tender mercy, restore  them to bodily health. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Find our Facebook Page

Use the QR Code below to find the St Mary Magdalen Facebook group which you can join.



St Mary Magdalen's Parish Newsletter
The latest issue of the parish newsletter is available on-line: you can find it here.

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.

The Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - 17th September 2023

Today's Gospel reading directly follows last week's Gospel in which Jesus taught the disciples how to handle disputes and conflict within the Christian community. In today's reading Peter asks Jesus how many times one ought to extend forgiveness to another. Peter proposes a reasonable number of times, perhaps seven. Jesus replies by extending Peter's proposal by an enormous amount; not just seven times should one forgive, but 77 times. The parable of the unforgiving servant is Jesus' elaboration of his initial reply to Peter. Through the parable we come to understand the depths of God's mercy toward us and the results of our acceptance of God's forgiveness.

The king in the parable decides to settle accounts with his servants. We are told that one servant in particular owes the king an enormous sum of money. Despite the promise of the servant, it is unlikely that he would ever be able to repay the debt that he owes. The king is moved by the humility of the pleading servant and mercifully forgives the debt. Rather than displaying gratitude for this forgiveness, the servant confronts a fellow servant who owes him a small debt—a pittance when compared with the amount that was owed to the king. The unmerciful servant refuses the pleas of his fellow servant and sends the servant to prison.

A few other servants tell the merciful king about the actions of the unforgiving servant. The king punishes the servant because he refused to show the kind of mercy he had himself received from the king. Jesus concludes by indicating that this is how it will be with God and those who refuse to forgive one another.

There is a temptation to quantify forgiveness as Peter tried to do, but Jesus' point is that forgiveness is not about quantity—the number of times we extend forgiveness to another. In the parable the king's forgiveness is like God's forgiveness, and it transforms us, helping us to be as forgiving as God. The lesson is clear: If we hoard God's mercy while showing no mercy to others, we risk forfeiting the effects of God's mercy in our lives. Courtesy Loyola Press

Prayer of the Icon of St Joseph



St Joseph, watch over and care for me,
just as you cared for Jesus when he was a child:
and by your help may I come to know Jesus, the Son of God,
and so grow in love, strength and wisdom. Amen

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ grew to maturity.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen