25th July, 2010– 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
GIVE UP GIVING UP!
I was looking out the window of my office the other day, and couldn’t help but admire the delicate pink and white flowers on whatever plants that were growing in the little garden there – sorry I can’t name them, but once you go beyond daisies and roses my botanical knowledge gets rather stretched! I was particularly impressed with how strong and healthy all the plants looked, particularly as it seemed that everywhere else all the plants were turning brown and clearly suffering in the intense sun and lack of rainfall. There was one snag about this idyllic scene, however. You see, I was looking out on a flat roof – there wasn’t supposed to be a garden there! And the only reason all the plants were so healthy, and hadn’t been burnt up, was because we had an overflow problem with a tank, and there was a constant drip of water coming from the overflow pipe onto the flat roof.
Isn’t it amazing how often that kind of thing happens? In fact I had another instance of it this week as well. A very kind parishioner was watering the real garden during the week – Fr. Christopher being away refreshing his lungs with some good healthy Irish air – and let me hasten to add that there is no real connection between his being in Belfast at the moment and any recent rioting – it was 8 and 9 year-olds that were involved, not 80 and 90 year-olds! Where was I (before I so rudely interrupted myself)? Oh yes, the kind parishioner watering the garden. It was obvious to both of us, as we surveyed her handiwork, that the weeds seemed to be thriving much more with the watering than were the flowers that had been planted. But then, it depends on what you call weeds. My father used to say that weeds were simply flowers in a place where you didn’t want them. He was happy enough to have ‘flowers’ – i.e. daisies – all over our lawn, and couldn’t bring himself to cut them off in their prime. I’ve never quite worked out whether he really believed that, or whether it was a clever ploy to avoid having to use the lawn mower – in either case I was the one who ended up having to mow the grass, daisies and all!
And how often does it happen that you say ‘I won’t water the garden this evening – the forecast is for rain during the night’ and of course the rain doesn’t come; and finally you decide you can’t risk it any more and you give it a good watering, and of course there’s a thunderstorm during the night! So I’ve got a certain degree of sympathy for the poor guy in our Gospel story today. I can just picture him delaying settling down for the night until he’s reasonably sure that he’s unlikely to get disturbed again. Finally he gets the children all off to bed, and he bolts the door for the night. And his head has hardly hit the pillow when there’s a banging on the door and one of the neighbours bothering him for bread. And what’s more shocking is that Jesus doesn’t have any sympathy for him at all – He says “keep hammering on the door until you annoy him so much that he’ll get up and give you his bread, just to get rid of you”!
Of course Jesus isn’t encouraging us to be making nuisances of ourselves. But He is saying that a little more perseverance and persistence wouldn’t do us any harm – especially when we pray. I wonder is this another of those instances that Jesus had in mind when he told us we should become as little children. So often as adults we ask a favour of someone, and they say they can’t oblige, and we feel the need to apologise for even asking. How often do children do that? “Mammy, can I have some sweets?” “No, it’s too near your dinner time.” “Sorry – I didn’t mean to bother you.” They tend to have a lot more of the persistence that Jesus talks about – and parents will tell you that it often works! Jesus is saying – with our Heavenly Father it always works. Why can’t we believe that?
We pray for the sick and housebound, especially Ralph Crisp, Ita Kennan: we remember those who have died recently– Seamus Nolan; and those whose anniversaries occur at this time - Frank Lloyd, Mary Traynor, Thomas Doyle, Patrick Eustace, Patrick Queenan .
(A fuller list is read out at masses, and is on the board in the church porch.)
Summer arrangements:As many people are going to be away during the month of August – including the priests – there will be no Bulletin issued. This will be our last issue until the beginning of September. However any important announcements that may arise will be given from the altar during Mass. There will be no alteration in our usual schedule of Masses over the holiday period. Can we take this opportunity to wish everyone – whether you are going away or not – a very pleasant break, and hope you get an opportunity to relax and enjoy some ‘quality time’ with your family and friends.
Papal Visit:
The sign-up sheets for attending either the Beatification in Birmingham or the Prayer vigil in Hyde Park are still available in the porch of the church. As we mentioned last week, the final day for adding you name to the list is this Sunday, July 25th. If, after this week-end, there are more names than places, then we will draw lots for who gets to go. When filling in the sheets it is vitally important that you keep in mind the following requirements – full names and addresses must be entered in clearly legible BLOCK CAPITALS. We will not have time, and to be honest, neither will be have the inclination to attempt to decipher any entries that are not immediately clear. We remind you again of the information we have to date –
“Coaches for Birmingham are being arranged by the Bishops’ Conference, and in most cases the departure point will be your Dean’s parish”. For us that means St. Joan of Arc parish in Highbury. “The cost per person for the Cofton Park, Birmingham event, including coach travel, will be £25; the cost for Hyde Park, including a Central zone travel card, will be £10. Parishes may wish to subsidise these costs as necessary. We will need to be in place in Birmingham by 8.30am, so please note that there will be a very early start. The Hyde Park event will be an afternoon event, the exact time still to be decided, and it is expected to be finished by 9.00pm.”
The Parish coordinator for these events will be Fr. Ray, and the pilgrim leaders will be Jenny Lee for Birmingham, and Elizabeth Eidinow for Hyde Park.
Christian Stewardship:
Last week's Offertory was £1,922. In addition we also receive standing orders worth around £475 per week. Thanks again for your continuing generosity and support.
Evening of Adoration and Intercession:
With the help of the Holy Spirit we will present your intentions to The Father in Jesus' Name. Come and join us in adoration and prayers of intercession for ourselves and others. 7.30 p.m. Tuesday 27th July in the Lady Chapel here at St. Joseph’s. Please see poster in church porch.
100 Club:
The July draw for the 100 Club will take place in the Parish Centre on Saturday evening next weekend. Would all members and agents who have not already done so please have their subscriptions in as soon as possible. Thank you once again to all who support the parish in this way.
Christian Meditation
The Christian Meditation Group will not meet during August. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 1st September.
Repeated from last week -
World Youth Day – Madrid 2011:
Since the first one in 1986 World Youth Day has been a big international event for Catholic youth from all over the world. I don’t know whether there has been any tradition of youth from St. Joseph’s parish attending – but this notice is to draw attention to the next one, which will occur in Madrid next August. “Day” is a bit of a misnomer, as in fact it goes on for six days, during which there are various celebrations and get-togethers by young people from all over the world. The Pope himself will be present for the final few days. The Diocesan guideline here is that young people must be aged 18 or over next August – when the event takes place. Detailed arrangements are not yet in place, but for any young people interested there are broadly two options likely to be available. They can travel with young people from the Archdiocese of Westminster – their pilgrimage will be from 11 th to 22 nd August, and will cost close on £1,000. The second option is to travel as part of a Passionist youth group from various Passionist parishes in Scotland and Ireland, and possibly further afield. The cost for this group is not as yet known. In both situations we would anticipate that some help in raising the necessary costs would be provided through the parish. There are various internet sites that give some information on the event in general, but I haven’t been able to locate an official one. The Diocesan site is www.rcdow.org.uk/wyd. Without necessarily asking people to make a commitment to actually going, we would very much appreciate if any youth from the parish could let us know very soon if they would be interested in being part of a group – either with the Diocese or with other Passionists.