Dear Friends,
In this Sunday’s Gospel, our Blessed Lord asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” In other words, “What do they think of me? What sort of image do they have of me?” And we heard, in the answer, what crazy ideas people had of him:- some thought that he was John the Baptist come back to life, others thought that he was one of the ancient prophets come back to life etc. etc. The fact is that our Lord did not conform to anyone’s expectations. It was what God, his Father, expected of him that really mattered.
We all want to be well thought of. We all want to have a good public image. Other peoples’ opinions and expectations of us can weigh heavily upon us and how unhappy we can be in spending our lives trying to live up to them. By doing so, we can become false and shallow people. Each and every one of us is the unique and special individual that God made us to be and we should never be content until we have realised the potential that is in each one of us…….so, Lord, we pray for the courage not to waste our time and energy pursuing some false image but to be true to ourselves, not unduly influenced by flattery or criticism.
We pray for the grace “to act justly and walk humbly with our God”.
Father Gavin.
Today is Home Mission Day – with a retiring collection after Mass.
The Sacred Heart Senior Citizens’ Group meets in the Parish hall from 11am. At 11.30am there will be chair exercises for those who wish to take part. After lunch they will watch a DVD – “Saints of the North” with Basil Hume. New members are always welcome: for further information please contact Teresa on 07901 830327.
At Hoveton today, (Sunday), at St Helen’s there will be a Celebration in honour of Our Lady of Panafranca. There will be a River Cruise and at 12.30am a Procession through the village & Mass. Entertainment in St Helen’s Church grounds. A truly festive afternoon – do join us!
Churches Together in North Walsham are having their annual Safari Supper on Saturday 22nd September. The Sacred Heart will be providing the main course. Please let Adrian Rudman or Chris White (CTNW reps) know if you would be able to help with this meal. Tickets’ for this most enjoyable evening, are only £7.50 (an incredibly small charge for a three course meal!) and will be on sale again after Mass on Sunday.
Harvest Celebrations On Sunday 7th October we will gather as a Parish at the Sacred Heart to celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving with a Family Mass at 11am (our monthly Mass where the children take major roles in the liturgy) followed by a Parish Harvest Lunch in the hall at 12.30pm. Parishioners from St John of the Cross will provide the main course and those from St Helen’s will provide the desserts. Michael Mc Mahon, President of the North Norfolk SVP, will speak to us during the lunch about the work of the SVP. Please sign the lists at the back of each church to let the cooks have some idea of numbers wanting to attend.
Also on Sunday 7th October:
Taking place at Walsingham is the Annual Pilgrimage for the Sanctity of Life, which will be led by Archbishop Kevin McDonald. All are warmly invited to unite in this day of prayer. For further details please see the poster on our church noticeboards or pick up a flyer from the porch.
Items for the newsletter. If you have details on any forthcoming events taking place in our three communities or around the diocese that could be publicised in the newsletter, please send these items to the office email address or hand in on paper. The email address is: sacredheart@computer-assist.net
We pray for all our sick parishioners, including Mary Johnson, Joe Seely, Sheila Hall and Maria Wilby.
We pray for all those whose anniversaries occur at this time including: Mary Mousley and Margaret Griffith. May they rest in peace.
