33RD WEEK OF THE YEAR
The church is open all day from dawn till dusk. Tea and coffee are served after the 10.00 a.m. Mass on Sunday.
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY NOVEMBER 13TH 2005 33RD WEEK OF THE YEAR
Today’s Gospel: The basic message of today’s gospel is that we all have talents. Maybe not spectacular or dramatic like other people who get national or international acclaim; just ordinary, but nevertheless important. Experts say that the average person uses only 10% of their talents. “I weep that there are so many missed opportunities for comforting, so many smiles withheld, hands untouched, kind words unspoken. We hold within ourselves such power for love and healing, it is a wonder that it does not explode like a volcano running down our streets and enveloping all.” [Sheila Cassidy from ‘Sharing the Darkness’]. Each of us can think of somebody who has overcome a disability and is as a result an inspiration. “They also serve who only stand and wait.” [Milton]. A strange statement “Take the talent from him and give it to the one with five.” In other words “use it or lose it.” One of the main reasons why people do not use their talents is because they have been belittled. To belittle is to put someone down, to make them feel small, lessen their sense of self worth. There are many ways of demeaning another person: cynicism, sarcasm, non-appreciation, taking for granted. The antidote to belittle is to lift people up, to encourage them to value themselves.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
[John Gillespie Magee (1922-1944) ‘High Flight’]
Pilot Officer John Magee, an American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force, was killed on 11 December 1941, when his Spitfire collided with another plane over England.
Rest in Peace: After a long struggle Veronica Homan finally went to God in the early hours of Monday morning. She had spent the last few weeks of her life in Castle Hill where she was wonderfully and lovingly looked after by the staff on Ward 1. Veronica would have been 98 on Thursday last. She was married to Arthur at St. Charles in 1935 and he died in 2001. She leaves two sons Malcolm and Geoff, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I must express my gratitude to Teresa Ulyatt for her dedication in bringing Holy Communion to Veronica and also to Betty Nicholls every Sunday morning whilst they were in Raleigh Court. Eternal rest grant to her, O Lord, and may she rest in peace. Amen. Her Requiem Mass will be tomorrow, Monday, at 11.30 a.m.
Paul Wood’s Requiem Mass will be this coming Friday at 11.00 a.m. at St. Anthony’s where he was M.C. for a long time assisting Fr. Seamus Kilbane in the liturgy.
Blessing of the Graves Service: This will take place this afternoon at Eppleworth Cemetery starting at 3.00 p.m. Traditionally we go round the graves of your relatives and friends and deceased parishioners and say a short prayer at each, finishing up at the grave of Fr. McEntegart. It shouldn’t take more than an hour.
Mass on the Radio: Every Sunday at 10.00 a.m. you can listen to Mass if you tune in to Long Wave 252 or Sky Channel 910 or 892. I know that some parishioners really enjoy this service so feel free to pass it on to any housebound people you might know. (And the great thing is that there is no collection!).
O eternal Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the sea; who hast compassed the waters with bounds until day and night come to an end: Be pleased to receive into thy Almighty and most gracious protection the persons of us thy servants, and the Fleet in which we serve. Preserve us from the dangers of the sea… that the inhabitants of our Island may in peace and quietness serve thee our God; and that we may return in safety to enjoy the blessings of the land, with the fruits of our labours, and with a thankful remembrance of thy mercies to praise and glorify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [Royal Navy – prayer to be used at sea]
Generator Gift Donation: “Dear Fr. Pat, further to our phone conversation this morning, I am very grateful to be able to enclose my cheque for £2,000 (gift-aided), made out to Holy Cross Church, as a donation to the Generator Fund for our twin parish, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Sierra Leone. At all times, please treat this donation anonymously. I hope the donation will bring the Fund up to its target figure, and so enable the church and school and people of our twin parish to enjoy the benefits of electricity which they so desperately and urgently need… With every blessing. God bless. ***** ******.”
The gift-aid adds another £560 to the amount! It’s always worth doing!
There once was a pious young priest (Fr. Pat?)
Who lived almost wholly on yeast.
He said, “For it’s plain
We must all rise again,
And I want to get started at least.” (Les Ulyatt’s offering!)
Auction of Promises for the Generator Fund: Our next major fund-raising event will be an Auction of Promises on Friday March 31st 2006. If anyone would like to donate promises, eg. cook a meal for four, provide transport to an airport, please write down your promise and place it in the box in the porch. If you have any queries please contact either Gwen O’Reilly on 845459 or Jacqui Woodmansey on 446369.
Birthday Girl: Elsie Murphy is 92 today, Sunday, and we wish her all the best from all her friends here at Holy Cross. If you’d like to speak to her [and I’m sure she’d be glad to hear from you] her telephone number is 882295.
Bad News: The damage caused to the floor of the church by the woodworm infestation is not covered by our insurance! But we have enough in the bank to, hopefully, pay for the work needed! The carpet will need to be replaced as it is glued down to the floor. Has anybody any connections in the carpet trade who could make us an offer?
Hull Prison: Parishioners Tony and Shirley work there and they are looking for ‘Good News Bibles’ and copies of ‘The Dalesman’ or any other suitable magazines on Yorkshire. Can be left in the porch. Their telephone number is 842285.
Garden Room Bookings: These all must be made through Jan Woodmansey, whether for church use or otherwise. There is no charge for parishioners wanting to use the room. Telephone 845496.
“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.”
(Albert Schweitzer)
Time on your hands and want to earn some money? St. Mary’s College is seeking to recruit invigilators for the Public Exams held at the College. The duties involve supervising students whilst they are sitting examinations. These take place each year in December, January, May and June. The pay is £6.00 an hour. For further details, please contact Mrs. Yvonne Hetherington at the College on 808803 or 851136.
Mass this Monday will be at 7.00 p.m. and it is being offered for the Deceased Members of the parish Catholic Women’s League. Veronica’s Requiem Mass will be at 11.30 a.m. NO 9.00 a.m. Mass on Monday.
Pastoral Reorganisation: Consultation Document: Initial Draft:
“Creating Sustainable and Evangelising Parishes.” A full copy of this document will be in December’s Catholic Voice but here is the gist of it and it does not make for easy reading! Bishop John writes:
Some Statistics: Active Priests in 1992 numbered 135. We now have 61. Active priests in 2030 is anticipated at 25 and possibly 19 if we have no more ordinations! Total Sunday Mass attendance (diocese wide) in 1992 was 29,957. It is now 19,362. Conclusion – Urgent action is needed to encourage vocations and the reduction in the number of people is a far more urgent issue than the decline in the number of priests. What is suggested, and it is only a suggestion to promote discussion, is that the diocese works towards an establishment of twenty-four parishes. One possible advantage of the structure is that the numbers of priests projected to be available in the future would allow for at least one resident priest in each of these new parishes for the next twenty years. As existing parishes gradually come together to form new parishes, so consideration will need to be given by each new community to which church building is identified as the central one and which buildings might be considered no longer to serve the needs of parishioners. It may be that in a few of the new parishes consideration is given to building a new church to replace all the existing churches in order to serve the newly created area. N.B. The proposed “24 Parishes Model” does not mean only 24 local church communities. Each proposed parish with at least one resident priest in the “mother” church would serve several other church communities in the enlarged area. The prime responsibility however, of the parish priest in these large urban and rural parishes has to be the pastoral/spiritual care of the people. In these new circumstances, it will become increasingly necessary to release our clergy from other (material) responsibilities, so that they can devote their time and energy to what lies at the very heart of the priestly ministry. [Just what you said Chris, at Mass on Tuesday evening!]
In Hull there would be just three parishes, East Hull, West Hull and ourselves in North Hull comprising of Holy Cross, Holy Name and St. Anthony’s, St. Vincent’s and the Marist Parish.
P.S. If vocations continue at the present level the worst case scenario for 2050 is that we will have no priests active in the diocese! The best case scenario is that we’ll have about 7 priests in 2050 (I’ll be 98 and hopefully retired!).
Using your gift: It seems a bit unfair. He only buried the one talent after all and the owner got it back. What’s the big deal? In Biblical times, a ‘talent’ was a large unit of money, not a skill or ability as we understand talent today. But whether it’s an aptitude or a financial asset, I suspect that many people have a hoarding attitude to life. There must be drawers with jewelry, linen or some fine products hidden away for a ‘special occasion’ that somehow never came. If it’s true of commodities, it’s certainly true of life. Skills left untouched, unshared, unused. Safe, careful, lives as trim as our lawns living as semi-detached as our houses from anyone and the Gospel call to engage in life. Many seek a Disney World sort of life – inauthentic, narrow, utterly predictable, and largely devoid of any real meaning. Some believers see their Christian life in rather passive terms, just looking after themselves, living in conformity to the commandments of God and the Church, fulfilling their ‘religious duties’, making sure to die ‘in the state of grace’. This, in effect, is to bury one’s talents. Today’s gospel makes it very clear that far more is expected of us. We are expected to make an active and positive contribution to the work of the Kingdom and of the Christian community as the Body of Christ. In short, take an active part in the church, your church. Today, not tomorrow. No more than our modern notion of talent. If you don’t use it, you ultimately lose it.
And what are we doing? After our parish meeting last Tuesday a small group of three parishioners were delegated to plan a way forward. It was agreed that (1) to ask at the Masses next weekend for anyone interested in hosting and participating in home groups. (2) Peter to prepare an insert for the newsletter. (3) Peter and Chris to speak at Mass on Saturday evening and Helen on Sunday. (4) Cards to be available for details of those interested. (5) Meeting to sort groups and arrange follow-up. (6) Identify hosts/leaders and get them to liaise with their groups about best times etc. (7) Leaders Meeting planned for the 2nd week of January. (8) To launch the programme in the parish w/c Jan. 16th to run until Feb. 24th (with a possible week out for half-term).
More CWL News: Our talk tomorrow night after the Mass will be “Hull’s Wartime Christmas” given by Mr. K. Thomas and all ladies from the parish are welcome to come along. Our Christmas Appeal this year is for Zoe’ Place, a children’s’ hospice and the collection will be on the weekend on November 26 / 27.
Youth Sunday – Feast of Christ the King (next Sunday). Our local parishes have organised a celebration for the young people of the area and also for their parents should they wish to come along at St. Vincent’s Church and Social Club from 3 – 6.30 p.m. We’re aiming at 11 years and upwards. You can get more details from Micki and Nicky Coyle at St. Vincent’s on 470086.
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week there will be Communion Services at 9.00 a.m. I shall be in London accompanying a group of drama students from St. Mary’s College (for the nth time!). We shall be seeing “Richard II” starring Kevin Spacey and “Billy Elliott”.
Air Cadets: As Chaplain to 872 Squadron, we will be having a Service of Remembrance at the grave of a Hull pilot who is buried in the graveyard at Woodmansey Parish Church next Saturday at 11.00 a.m. Some of you Force’s Veterans came along last year and it was much appreciated. Please feel free to join us again this year.
“Our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion is to take off our shoes, for the place where we are approaching is holy. Else we may find ourselves treading on another’s dreams. More serious still we may forget that God was present before our arrival.”
Anniversaries this coming week:
Saturday – Mgr. Philip Purcell (Parish Priest of Holy Cross from 1957 –1980) and Anne Lapinskas.
Sunday – Arthur Swallow and Eileen Lawless.
Monday – Patricia Dent (Terry’s wife).
Tuesday – Albert Stephenson (Monica William’s father).
Wednesday – Margaret Woods-McConville (Tony’s grandmother) and Barbara Watson.
Friday – Catherine Tatum
Saturday – Alfred Stock (Martin Wood’s grandfather), Alfred Shipley (Mary Pidd’s father) and Walter Cross (Jan Woodmansey’s grandfather)
Sunday – Ivy Beavers (Agnes Spaven’s sister).
Mass Intentions for the coming week:
Saturday – 6.30 – Day and Clarke Families
Sunday – 10.00 – John and Mary Gavin
Monday – 11.30 a.m. – Requiem Mass for Veronica Homan
Monday – 7.00 – Mass for Deceased Members of the CWL
Tuesday – 7.00 – P.J. Quinn (A)
Wednesday – 9.00 – Communion Service
Thursday – 9.00 – Communion Service
Friday – 9.00 – Iveson Family
Friday – 11.00 a.m. – Requiem Mass for Paul Wood at St. Anthony’s
Saturday – 9.00 – The Parishioners
Saturday – 6.30 – Ann Stead (A)
Sunday – 10.00 – Stella Wiles (A)
Dangerous Car Parking! Please, please, do NOT park on the main road between Carrington Ave. and Priory roundabout. Complaints are coming in thick and fast both from neighbours and from fellow parishioners who take their lives in their hands as they try to negotiate a right turn out of the avenue after Mass. If you have to park on the main road, then park on the King Street side. If we continue to be a danger to passing traffic the police will be forced to put yellow lines all along the road and there will be a lot of people very unhappy with us Catholics!
Hull Savoyards Concert: What a wonderful evening we had on Thursday! The first half of the concert was a selection of “Songs from the Shows”: The Mikado, West Side Story, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, South Pacific to mention but a few. After the interval we had a full dress version of “Trial by Jury” by Gilbert and Sullivan. They are doing the same show this coming Saturday at Bricknell Ave. Methodist Church. We raised £200, half of which went to the Generator Fund and the other half to the Savoyards to help with their expenses. This is about the fourth time they’re been here and they are always a real treat. Great singing, great entertainment and great fun! Their big production in 2006 will be The Mikado and it will be in May at Middleton Hall, Cottingham Rd. For further details ring 876918 or visit their website www.hullsavoyards.co.uk You missed a real treat if you weren’t there, and there was nothing on the telly that night either!
Posted by Father Pat at 12:00 AM