Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Loughborough

5th July 2020  – 14th Sunday in ordinary time

“I bless you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.”

The thing that has always intrigued me about this prayer of Jesus is that he should bless, or thank, his Father for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. He could, simply have remarked that it is so but he blesses his Father for arranging things this way. Clearly Jesus approves.

God takes a delight in turning human arrangements on their head, “The first shall be last and the last first.” Human beings love hierarchies, putting people in order of importance. We see this very clearly in businesses or organizations; those with the best education, by and large, end up in the top positions.

If this were so in the Church then the path to heaven would be a matter of passing exams; eternal life would be a reward for academic achievement. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time believed something similar to this. They looked down on ordinary people, who couldn’t understand the Law, let alone keep it! In the time of the early Church, a group called the “Gnostics” (the ones in the know) held a similar view. The idea that Christian virtue is a matter of understanding has been present throughout the history of the Church but Jesus, in this passage from today’s Gospel reading, flatly contradicts this idea. For him, what matters is Faith, not knowledge or intelligence. The faith of ordinary people is as valuable in God’s eyes, as the Faith of Doctors and Theologians. 

The only real knowledge worth having, we are told, is Jesus’ knowledge of the Father and this knowledge is revealed to those who come to him in Faith. Those who excel according to human standards have no advantage in the Kingdom of God over those who have a simple Faith. Perhaps this is why he says to us,

“Come to me, all you who are labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.”God Bless

Fr Paul

Masses this week will continue without a congregation. Prayer intentions for the week ahead are as follows

Masses this week	Intentions for the week ahead
Sundays 5th July        14th Sunday in Ordinary Time.	People of the Parish
Monday  6th July Feria	Bishop Edward Ellis R.I.P. Seventh Bishop of Nottingham.
Tuesday 7th July. Feria	Canon Vincent Berry R.I.P.
Wednesday 8th July Feria	Pamela Poyser R.I.P.
Thursday 9th July Feria	All at Sacred Heart School
Friday 10th July. Feria	Holy Souls
Saturday 11th July  Saint Benedict, abbot, Patron of Europe	Fr. John Guest 50th Anniversary of Ordination.

Weekly News

A storm is coming… Please see the message from Terry Spicer, Saint Mary’s Catholic Action Group https://sacredheartloughboro.org/quick-updates-with-our-parish/

The Bridge needs our help. Times are hard for many. Are you able to donate a little to help those in need in Loughborough? You can donate via The Bridge website or send a letter entitled “Food Poverty” with a cheque made payable to “The Bridge (East Midlands)” to The Bridge, 38 Leicester Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 2AG. Alternatively using the following information, you can make a one off BACS payment. Name = The Bridge (East Midlands) Sort Code = 40-52-40. Account Number = 00084149 Reference = Food Poverty.

Reopening of Churches.

The government has given permission for churches to re open from 5th July for public worship, but only if they are “Covid Safe.”A great deal of work is required before our church can reopen for Mass –

• the church will need to be thoroughly cleaned after each Mass
• only 24 people can be admitted to each Mass to comply with Social Distancing – a Booking System will be in place
• two stewards will be needed at each Mass to ensure people comply with the rules
• our church will need to be marked out and signs in place to ensure Social Distancing
• we need to have supplies of hand sanitisers etc. for people to use.

Our Parish Pastoral Council will meet this Sunday, 5th July, to consider whether we can achieve what is required. The bishop’s permission to re open will also be required when we can show that we have met the regulations. This will depend on the response by parishioners. If we are able to re open at a future date, this will be announced on the parish website.

Fr Paul

Personal Prayer at St Marys Ashby Road, Loughborough

St Marys, has received permission from the diocese to open the church for private prayer at the following times: Mondays 10.30am -12.30pm, Wednesdays 4pm – 6pm, Saturdays 10.30am – 12.30pm, Sundays 3pm – 5pm.  Seven people will be allowed in the church at any one time and social distancing of 2 metres must still be observed. Hand sanitiser must be used on entry and exit and there is a single directional walkway which is indicated.

Please read the information from Bishop Patrick, which can be found using the following Link: https://sacredheartloughboro.org/interaction-nottingham-diocese/

To share from our school

First Holy Communion.
Please keep our children who would have been making their first Holy Communion this summer, in your prayers. We will contact families when things return to normal.

Please find additional notices to refer to by following the links

Nottingham Diocese Interaction News:- https://sacredheartloughboro.org/interaction-nottingham-diocese/