There are a few notices I want to bring to your attention this week:
FUNERAL Tuesday morning There is a funeral Mass on Tuesday morning at 10am for the repose of the soul of John Crossan. Again, due to government restrictions on numbers, this Mass will be for John’s immediate family only. FIRST COMMUNIONS/SATURDAY MORNING MASSES Throughout the month of September and the first Saturday in October, the Saturday morning Masses in the parish are First Communion Masses for our children who were supposed to receive the Sacrament in May but due to the lockdown were postponed. Because there are limited numbers allowed in the church and also given we have so many children receiving the Sacrament, the SATURDAY MORNING MASSES FOR THE NEXT MONTH WILL BE FOR THE CHILDREN AND THEIR LIMITED INVITED GUESTS ONLY. THEY ARE NOT OPEN TO THE GENERAL PARISH. I apologise to all those who normally come to Saturday morning Mass but I’m sure you will agree and understand the importance of the children receiving the Lord. If you are among those unable to come on Saturday mornings, please offer your sacrifice in prayer for the children. (The Confirmations for S1 will be arranged after all children have received First Holy Communion.) RCIA--NEW MEMBERS BEING RECEIVED INTO THE CHURCH This weekend our parish receives into the Church two adult converts to the faith. It has been a bit of a convoluted route to full reception for Karen and Stephen due to the coronavirus, lockdown and restrictions but nevertheless this is a time of great joy for them and the whole parish as we welcome two new members into our community. It may not be the great Easter Vigil (when adult converts are usually received into the Church) and there may be restrictions on numbers celebrating the event, sanitising, facemasks, etc., etc. but well done to them both for making it through their journey to this point!! Please keep Karen and Stephen in your prayers. If interested in joining RCIA for the next session, have a word with Fr Joe or Fr Jonathan. CLERGY MOVES On Friday, Bishop John very reluctantly made some clergy moves. Unfortunately, they do affect us in St John’s. Bishop John has decided to move me to become the Administrator of St Mirin’s Cathedral. Fr Joe Blamer, PP in St Thomas’ will also take on the role of PP here at St John’s alongside Fr Jonathan. This is a time of change which is always unsettling for all concerned—People and Priests—but I know you understand and appreciate how difficult this is for the Bishop. Let’s all pray and work together for the smooth transition as I head to Paisley and Fr Balmer takes up the reins here. On a personal note, may I say how happy and truly blessed I have been here in St John’s for the past two and a half years and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your kindness and support and especially your prayers. God bless you all!! This is the full list of moves: Canon Oliver Freney has stepped down from being Administrator of Saint Mirin’s Cathedral and is currently on leave of absence. Fr Joe Burke, currently PP of St John’s in Barrhead, will move to become Administrator of St Mirin’s Cathedral and of St Colm’s Kilmacolm. Fr Joe Balmer, currently PP of St Thomas’ Nielston, will also become PP of St John’s Barrhead, having charge of both parishes. Fr Eoin Patten moves from St. Cadoc’s and Canon Eddie Cameron, currently PP of St Peter’s Glenburn and St Paul’s Foxbar, will move to become PP of Saint Cadoc’s, Newton Mearns. Fr Andrew Coleman, currently PP of St Laurence’s Greenock and chaplain to Notre Dame High School, will move to become PP of St Peter’s, Glenburn. Fr Eoin Patten will become the PP of St Laurence’s in Greenock and chaplain to Notre Dame High School. Fr Jude Okorie, currently PP of St Mary’s in Paisley, will also become PP of St Paul’s in Foxbar. Fr Ryan Black will take up his first priestly appointment as Curate at St Mirin’s Cathedral, Paisley. Deacon Don Keane, currently serving in St Laurence’s, Greenock will move to exercise his ministry in St John’s, Port Glasgow. Also, Canon Eddie Cameron to Diocesan Convenor of Fundraising and to lead our Diocesan Fundraising Team. PRAYERS REQUESTED Please keep in your prayers all those who have asked us to pray for their intentions, especially for the repose of the souls of John Crossan, Paul Gillan, William Houston, Janice Connor, Michael English and Alice Morgan who all died recently As well as Belle Finnie, Betty Mooney, Joe Kenny, Neil Duffy, Bernard and Margaret McDermott, Marion Rose McDermott, Andrew Curran, John De Souza, Jim Carroll and Greta Doyle whose anniversaries occur around this time. May all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. Reflection on this week’s Scripture Today’s gospel is rather shocking. It presents us with Jesus’ foretelling his own suffering and death and then clearly stating that his followers too would have to suffer. This all sounds more than a bit disconcerting but how true those words are! As his modern day followers, do you always find it easy to practise your faith; do you at times have to make choices which are actually sacrifices, giving up something you’d rather do or taking on something when in fact you’d rather not? Are others respectful always of your beliefs? This is what the Lord is talking about—doing what He asks of us and in so doing, putting Him before ourselves. It’s not always easy in reality to be a witness to our Faith. We may not be physically crucified but we may well face criticism, mockery, insults. We may run the risk of being ostracised or shunned. It can happen in a family situation, workplace or even in the street. A brief look at the past two thousand year history of our Church shows how true those statements actually are-- perhaps even more so in our modern, secular, materialistic and increasingly atheistic society. And yet, this is what our God asks of us. Why? Because His message, His Good News is needed more than ever. We are given beautiful consolation, though. He promises us we will never be left orphans, that He will always be with us. And we believe that wholeheartedly. We know He loves us. And that is what is at the root of our strength and courage—LOVE. What the Lord did for us and what we do in serving Him is and should always be rooted in love, His love for us and our love for him. Love makes sacrifice possible. This week, let’s ask the Lord to deepen our love for Him and always allow Him to work in others through our words and actions. Amen.
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