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 in the newsletter archive- 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.
The Divine Mercy
Each Friday, after the 10:00 am Mass, there will be Exposition, a Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Benediction
Second Sunday of Easter - 27th April
Today's reading, from the Gospel of John, is proclaimed on the second Sunday of Easter in each of the three Sunday Lectionary cycles. This should alert us to the significance of the encounters with the resurrected Jesus described in this reading. This Gospel combines two scenes: Jesus' appearance to his disciples after his Resurrection and Jesus' dialogue with Thomas, the disciple who doubted.
Part of the mystery of Jesus' Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit but in bodily form. We do not know exactly what this form was like. Earlier in John's Gospel, when Mary of Magdala first encountered the risen Jesus, she did not recognize the figure standing before her until Jesus spoke her. In Luke's Gospel, the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus until he broke bread with them. We know from readings such as today's that in his resurrected body, Jesus was no longer bound by space; he appeared to the disciples in spite of the locked door. And yet, on this resurrected body, the disciples could still observe the marks of his Crucifixion.
In today's Gospel, Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun. As Jesus was sent by God, so too does Jesus send his disciples. This continuity with Jesus' own mission is an essential element of the Church. Jesus grants the means to accomplish this mission when he gives his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit binds us together as a community of faith and strengthens us to bear witness to Jesus' Resurrection.
Jesus' words to his disciples also highlight the integral connection between the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness and reconciliation are gifts to us from Jesus. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, we can share these with others. This is another essential aspect of what it means to be Christ's Church. The Church continues Jesus' ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Thomas, the disciple who doubts, represents the reality of the Church that comes after this first community of disciples. All but the first disciples of Jesus must believe without seeing. Like Thomas, we may doubt the news that Jesus, who was crucified and buried, appeared to his disciples. It is part of our human nature to seek hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to the disciples after his death is, indeed, the same Jesus who was crucified. Thomas is given the opportunity to be our representative who obtains this evidence. He gives witness to us that the Jesus who was raised is the same Jesus who had died. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are among those who are blessed for we have not seen and yet have believed. Courtesy Loyola Press
Parish Missional Prayer
God our Father, we give you thanks and praise for calling us to share in the fullness of life and love that Jesus won for us. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon our parish community. Changed by your Spirit, may we become a community of disciples, attentive to the needs of all who come through our doors, and even those who don’t. We pray for your blessing upon every person in our parish community, and on all who live in and around our parish. May they know your love, your presence, and your power in their lives. For all who are struggling at this moment, we ask that you enter their lives and lift them. May our parish become a place of adoration, where the hungry are fed, the sick are healed, the bereaved are comforted, and all are made whole. Soften our hearts to your will. Make us open to what you desire to do in and through our parish, and give us the courage and strength to follow your call.
We make this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen
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.