Saturday 27 February 2016

Third Sunday in Lent



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Fig trees are supposed to provide figs, to produce the fruit that God made them to produce in the first place. And we, too, have been put on this earth to produce the results for which God gave us life in the first place to produce. A little lesson in Palestinian horticulture: fig trees over there produce crops of figs three times each year. These trees are given every chance to produce; they receive a gardener’s care. Their owners have a right to expect them to produce, not to simply wave their pretty leaves in the air. When the master found this fig tree to be yielding nothing, he had every right, if not the duty, to eliminate that fig tree. All it was doing was soaking up water, minerals and other precious resources needed by the other trees to produce their fruit. This tree was good for nothing.

The response of the owner here in this parable was extra tenderness, extra-ordinary care, and a range of “second chances.” The owner allowed three seasons, nine chances, to be productive, before it was to be cut down. That fig tree was given no room in which to complain that it wasn’t given a chance to produce.

What, then, about us? God has planted us in the midst of His love and grace. Our families and our friends have given us love, our schools have given us education, and our Church has given us God’s holy presence, love, and graces. God has offered us His tender, loving care in abundance. How have we responded? How will we respond? Will we just wave our pretty leaves in the air or will we feed the world’s hungry, care for the outcast, and be about the tasks of bringing order out of the injustices and chaos in the world around us?

God wants us to finish the story for ourselves; the parable of the fig tree had no real ending. It just sort of stopped and we don’t know what eventually happened to that fig tree. The same is true for you and me. God has given us life and launched us out into our world with a script to follow along with a director, Jesus, to guide us. But how our individual life stories are eventually written depends entirely on how we respond to what God has given us. A merciful God has spared us all, many times over, up to this present moment.

Sunday 21 February 2016

Fifth Anniversary Breakfast


We are looking to celebrate our 5th anniversary as the Reading Ordinariate Mission at the beginning of March. On 13th March this will be the anniversary of our first Sunday Mass together and we will celebrate with a Breakfast at Carluccio’s after Mass on this date.

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Visit by the Ordinary



We are delighted that the Ordinary of Our Lady of Walsingham, Rt Rev Msgr Keith Newton will be visiting us during Lent and will be celebrating our Sunday Mass on 6th March (Mothering Sunday). Mgr Newton has not celebrated Mass with us for several years and so this will be a good occasion for him to see everyone again. The visit of the Ordinary also coincides with our Fifth anniversary of meeting at St James' Church. The first Mass we attended as a group was the Ash Wednesday Mass on 9th March 2011 and our first Sunday Mass as the Reading Group was celebrated on 13th March by Msgr Andrew Burnham.

Tuesday 16 February 2016

Latest Newsletter


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