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
Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord - 20th April
Today we begin the Easter Season, our 50-day meditation on the mystery of Christ's Resurrection. Our Gospel today tells us about the disciples' discovery of the empty tomb. It concludes by telling us that they did not yet understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. Thus, the details provided are not necessarily meant to offer proof of the Resurrection. The details invite us to reflect upon a most amazing gift, that is faith in Jesus and his Resurrection.
Each of the four Gospels tells us that Jesus' empty tomb was first discovered by women. This is notable because in first-century Jewish society women could not serve as legal witnesses. In the case of John's Gospel, the only woman attending the tomb is Mary of Magdala. Unlike the Synoptic accounts, John's Gospel does not describe an appearance of angels at the tomb. Instead, Mary is simply said to have observed that the stone that had sealed the tomb had been moved, and she runs to alert Simon Peter and the beloved disciple. Her statement to them is telling. She assumes that Jesus' body has been removed, perhaps stolen. She does not consider that Jesus has been raised from the dead.
Simon Peter and the beloved disciple race to the tomb, presumably to verify Mary's report. The beloved disciple arrives first but does not enter the tomb until after Simon Peter. This detail paints a vivid picture, as does the detail provided about the burial cloths. Some scholars believe that the presence of the burial cloths in the tomb offers evidence to the listener that Jesus' body had not been stolen (it is understood that grave robbers would have taken the burial cloths together with the body).
The Gospel passage concludes, however, that even having seen the empty tomb and the burial cloths, the disciples do not yet understand about the Resurrection. In the passage that follows, Mary of Magdala meets Jesus but mistakes him for the gardener. In the weeks ahead, the Gospel readings from our liturgy will show us how the disciples came to believe in Jesus' Resurrection through his appearances to them. Our Easter faith is based on their witness to both the empty tomb and their continuing relationship with Jesus—in his appearances and in his gift of the Holy Spirit.
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.