And As They Were Eating He Took Some Bread

Corpus Christi, 7th June 2015

“And as they were eating he took some bread."

The Church’s proudest possession has always been the Eucharist, God's greatest gift to God’s people. Today’s Gospel is a foundation document for us. From the beginning, Christians assembled in private homes and relived the Last Supper; and communion was taken to the sick people who could not come. St Justin the Martyr describes this for us, and he died in AD 165. So the Mass, and Holy Communion, are as old as the Church herself. As was logical, the custom developed of keeping hosts for Holy Communion somewhere safe, so that they would be available to the priest or deacon in an emergency.

If you had gone into a church in the tenth century, you would not have seen a tabernacle, but a dove-shaped container hanging over the altar. It was called a pyx, and the Blessed Sacrament could be placed inside. Gradually people reflected on the significance of this. Jesus is present. This is the body and blood of the risen and living Lord. He deserves our attention, indeed our adoration, not only at the moment of communion but whenever we come into the church. The greatest saint and scholar of the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas, wrote superb hymns which we still sing today in praise of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

The custom developed of carrying the Blessed Sacrament in procession, for the veneration of believers. This is part of what we do on Maundy Thursday evening - we take the Eucharist to the altar of repose, so there is a short procession round the church; but the occasion is a sad one, because Jesus is beginning his passion. So the Church, waking up at last to the full dimension of this glorious gift she has always had in her possession, launched the summer feast of Corpus Christi, or, as the Church calls it today, “The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ”. In many countries there are processions through the streets, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a precious casing called a monstrance: children scatter rose petals, citizens hang coloured banners out of their windows, the town band plays.

What about us? In the tabernacle, here, Our Lord is alive and welcoming. The sanctuary lamp, always burning, is a sign of that. Christ invites us to come and spend time with him. The tabernacle is a place for face-to-face encounter, and the face of the Lord is a challenging face but also a smiling face, an understanding face, an encouraging face, a forgiving face. If we have an hour of exposition, with the Eucharist displayed on the altar, it's a time of opportunity. If we had lived in Galilee or Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, we would have had the greatest difficulty in getting anywhere near him, what with the curious crowds and the scores of sick people. And if we did get the chance to speak to him, after thirty seconds someone else would have elbowed us out of the way. Here, in the Eucharist, we can have that quiet, prolonged, personal conversation that is the heart of all prayer. May we always feel the gentle presence of Jesus, drawing us like a magnet to his company.

Redemptorist Publications, The Living Word, B3, 2015 (adapted)

Latin texts.You will find the Latin texts for the Mass on page 61 of the Mass Book.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.This weekend at all the Masses, our ministers will be commissioned or re-commissioned.

Ashford on the Map, Sunday 7th June, 11.00am – 5.00pm in the grounds of Brooklands College. Please support the Parish Tombola Stall at Ashford on the Map on Sunday afternoon.

Feast of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday, 12th June.We will celebrate this Feast at the 9.15am Mass.

Pender’s Project Auction Evening on Saturday, 20th June 2015. Tickets, £5.00 which includes buffet and a complimentary drink on arrival, will be on sales after all Masses this weekend and next weekend.

Confirmations.Please pray for thetwenty seven young people who will be

confirmed by Fr Chris Viper, Episcopal Vicar for the Western Area of the Diocese, next Saturday afternoon.

Weekday Rosary.The Rosary is recited in St Joseph’s Chapel after weekday morning Mass (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday).

Parish Council Minutes.The minutes from the last Parish Council meeting are now available in the narthex and on the parish website.

May Bucket.Thank you for your donations of £95.61 during May for the Epilepsy Society.

Fr Jim Overton

Dates for your Diary

June

Sunday, 7thFirst Holy Communion Breakfast, 10.30am

Sunday, 7thAshford on the Map,Brooklands College, 11.00am – 5.00pm

Saturday, 13thConfirmation Mass, 2.30pm

Saturday, 20thPender’s Project Auction Evening, 7.30pm

July

Friday, 10thLourdes Redcaps Country and Western Evening, 7.00pm

OffertoryCollection.Last week’s collection was £1,526.08

(Envelopes £489.40; Bankers Orders £550.00 (monthly average); Loose Plate £486.68)

The Bucket Collection in June is for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Would you like to join the team of Altar Servers at St. Michaels? Girls and boys who have received their First Holy Communion are invited to become Altar Servers. There is a meeting in the church after the 9.30am Mass on Sunday 14th June. If you are interested but have not yet given in your name please let Heather Nolan know on
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. The new rota is now ready for collection from the Sacristy and online at
St Michael’s News is always looking for interesting and diverse articles, so if you would like to contribute a piece to the June edition in as many or few words as you wish, please do so. You can remain anonymous if requested and you can be any age. Those children who are leaving St Michael's School and are off to Senior School in September may like to write a piece about their memories of St Michael's.The copy deadline for this edition of St Michael’s News is 14th June. Please forward articles to or leave at the presbytery.

Ladies' Circle.We meet on Thursday, 11th June at 8.00pm in the parish hall. This week we are making our own jewellery.

Plant Sale. There will be a plant sale in the narthex after 9.30am and 11.30am Masses next Sunday, 13th June. All proceeds to the Friends of the Holy Land.

APF/Missio. We have a well-supported APF/Missio group in St Michael's with over 100 red boxes in people’s homes.The collectors will be round in September to empty these and will include the new boxes of those who joined in March at the Appeal Day. If your box has not been emptied for some time or if you have recently moved into the area and brought a box with you, please contact Maureen Meek on 01784 251590.Thank you.

German/English exchange, for one week, for an 11 year old boy.A German, Catholic family with an 11-year old son (Kilian)would like to send him to an English family, next October, for one week in order to practice/improve his knowledge of the English language. An English family with a son of similar age to Kilian who can help with this enquiryand in turn send their child to Germany for one week to stay with Kilian's parentsin due course would be ideal. Kilian lives in a village (Appenheim)with the nearest city being Mainz. Both his parents work for the world's largest, privately owned pharmaceutical company. Anyone interested in such an exchange please call in the first instance: Demetri Pavia on 01784 251841 after 11thJune.

Readings for Sunday, 14th June
Ezekiel 17; 22-24; 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10; Mark 4: 26-34

PLEASE PRAY

for all the sick and housebound in our parish.

for anniversaries June since 2008. Zoe DeSilva, Keith Greenwood, Cardinal Hume, David Nash, Helen O’Grady, Mary Teresa Kelly, Mary Murphy, Allan Spurgeon.

for Father Tom Quinn and the parishioners of St John Fisher, Shepperton in the Upper Thames Deanery.

for the Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions:

a) that immigrants and refugees may find welcome and respect in the countries to which they come and

b) that the personal encounter with Jesus may arouse in many young people the desire to offer their own lives in priesthood or consecrated life.

Mass Intentions 7th– 14thJune

Sunday, 7th Vigil Mass Sat 6.00pmDavid Nash RIP

Corpus Christi9.30am The People of the Parish
11.30am Mina Fernandes RIP

6.00pm Deceased Priests

Monday, 8th 9.15am Mary Attard-Aquilina RIP

Tuesday, 9th 9.15am Parish Benefactors

Wed, 10th 9.15am Grace and Alwyn Cooper RIP

Friday, 12th 9.15am Helen O’Grady RIP

Saturday, 13th 9.30am Clifford Jones RIP

Sunday,14th Vigil Mass Sat 6.00pmElizabeth Mortimer RIP

11th Sunday9.30am The People of the Parish
11.30am Reg Hempstead RIP

6.00pm Deceased Priests

Sunday Mass

Saturday, 6.00pm (First Mass of Sunday)

9.30am Family (Folk Group, Children’s Liturgy of the Word)

11.30am Sung (First Sunday, Ordinary of the Mass sung in Latin)

6.00pm

Mass on Holy Days of Obligation

9.30am and 7.00pm

Weekday Mass

9.15am Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (not Thursday)

Saturday (morning)

9.30am Mass, 10.00 - 10.30am Eucharistic Adoration,

10.30 - 11.00am Sacrament of Reconciliation

Sacrament of Baptism

Normally the second Saturday of the month (contact Parish Secretary)

St Michael’s Catholic Church

112 Clarendon Road, Ashford, Middlesex TW15 2QD

Email:

Website:

This parish is part of the Westminster Catholic Diocese Trustee Charity no. 233699

Parish Priest: Mgr James Overton Tel: 01784 252230

Parish Secretary: Mrs Shenda Holmes Tel: 01784 252263
ParishOffice Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9.00am - 1.00pm