The New and Events for Week beginning May 9th

As your parish priest I would like to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to you all for your prayers, cards, flowers and kindness during this time of undergoing surgery. A very special thank you to Fr Michael and the Churchwardens for their hard work in keeping the show on the road. Thank You all! Fr Paul

At Mass today we continue our journey through Chapter 15 of St John’s Gospel. In just eight verses of this Gospel, we hear the word “love” eight times. Opening his heart to his intimate friends, Jesus speaks about love – in the Greek agape – ἀγαπη. The word occurs 31 times in this discourse. The love he speaks of is not trivial or sentimental. On the contrary, it’s really far too big for us to get our small minds around.

In principle this love is utterly beyond our comprehension, although precisely this is what we are called to enter and live by. Its source and reference point is the love by which God the Father loves His only Son.

The love of Christ in reality, is a terrible thing. Why, because it demands everything, and must cost us everything. Sometimes people are delighted with this love, and so they embrace it; but then somehow, we lose sight of it, and refuse to go any further towards it. Having given so much, they will give no more.

This is always sad, because in so far as we give, so much the more do we receive – grace upon grace – and as our love is called upon, and exercised, and stretched, so is it purified, and deepened, and widened, and strengthened, until finally it flows easily, spontaneously, naturally, with all the joy of the Holy Spirit. To reach this state is the highest conceivable good for us. No human aspiration can go beyond that. To live according to this is to be perfectly happy. To live without it is to lack the very beatitude for which we were made.

Ascension Day is May 13th. Sung Mass at Holy Trinity 7:00PM. This Sung Mass will be a shared event with our friends from Deal joining us here at Holy Trinity. Two choirs!!! Please make a special effort to be in Church for this special Festival of the Christian Year.

The May Devotion – we will have our annual May Devotion to Our Lady next Sunday May 16th with the usual procession and Crowning of Mary.

May 30th is The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. This is our Patronal Festival. Festival Mass at 10:00AM.

Our Annual Parish Meeting will now take place in Church on Sunday June 6th. Is God calling you perhaps to stand for election to office by the congregation, to serve and commit to working to make our church a place of deep Christian and Catholic apostolic witness? Official forms for the election of Churchwardens and PCC are now in Church.

The Blessing of the Sea – Bank Holiday Weekend MAY 31st. We have been invited by our neighbours at St Augustine’s and St Ethelbert’s Roman Catholic Church to be part of their celebrations for The Blessing of the Sea at 2:00PM. Watch this space for further information.

CORPUS CHRISTI FESTIVAL 2021 You are all invited to Deal! It is hoped that our two parishes of Holy Trinity and St Andrew’s Deal will come together for the annual Corpus Christi Mass and Procession on Thursday June 3rd at 7:00PM. This is quite a spectacle and a wonderful way to honour Our Lord Jesus.

A NEW CHILDREN’S MASS ON SATURDAYS AT 4:30PM

Until Sunday School begins again later in the year (September), Fr Paul is offering a very short and child friendly Mass of about thirty five minutes duration on Saturdays at 4:30PM as a Vigil Mass for the Sunday. This will be an age-appropriate Mass, with only one Gospel reading and a special simple Eucharistic prayer for children. We will begin this new liturgy on Saturday May 22nd the Eve of Pentecost. You are asked to come to Church dressed in RED for this exciting occasion when we think about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church.

It is hoped that this simple teaching Mass will encourage a group of younger children and their parents to consider being prepared for First Holy Communion which in time will lead preparation for Confirmation at a later date by Bishop Norman.

Parish Pilgrimage to The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Monday August 16th – 20th. (Monday – Friday). There are places now available, but time is limited for booking. Cost: Full board from Dinner on Monday until after Breakfast on Friday is approximately £275. Children £165. Travel costs will be extra. Travel details will be arranged when we have firm numbers. Please inform Fr Paul as soon as possible to book. 01843 654102 or [email protected]