Welcome to the Parish of the Nativity of the Lord
a community of over 2000
Roman Catholics across the three Churches of St Joseph’s
in Redhill, Holy Family in Reigate and
St Teresa of the
Child Jesus in Merstham.
Willkommen! Vítejte! Bienvenido! Bienvenue! Dobrodošli! Benvenuti! üdvözöljük! Welkom! Witamy Serdecznie! Bom Dia!
20th May 2012
The
Ascension of the Lord (Yr B)
World Communications Day
Fr Chris writes:-
This weekend we celebrate three things:
Communication – how and what we communicate is
so important and especially how the Catholic Church presents the
Gospel Message to our world today.
Our Children’s’ Liturgy Groups – Thank you for
all you do and we extend a warm welcome to the children, their
parents and our Liturgy of the Word catechists. We hope your
celebrations at the 9am, 10.30am and 11am Masses will help us
all to reflect on the important message of our readings today.
Ascension – not a celebration of sadness or
despondency. It is a day of openness and joy. A day of renewing
our hope in the goal towards which the Lord leads us, namely, a
place in his kingdom.
Jesus’ ascension is not so much about him leaving us, leaving us
despondent and sad; it is about his return to the Father and
therefore his constant presence everywhere on earth. He leaves
us a hope and aim “Where I am, you shall be too”. Meanwhile we
have a task - to preach the Gospel and to be his witnesses to
the world.
Jesus empowers us through the word and sacraments he has left
the Church, these gifts enable us to continue to show forth the
fruits of Jesus’ love and to become partakers in them. Let us
not just gaze into heaven, but like the first Disciples, allow
ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit and continue
Christ’s work on earth.
To do this we have three challenges:
(1) May we continue to grow in our knowledge of Christ as we
enter ever more deeply into the mystery of faith and by the way
the message is communicated.
(2) May we continue to receive the gift of courage as we witness
to that faith not just when things are going well; but in our
struggles too.
(3) May love be the fruit of our faith, as we open our minds and
hearts to God; and to the needs of those around us and our
world.
Go and preach the Good News
to all the nations,
wisdom, with courage and with love!
Sunday Mass is celebrated in all three Churches. Together the Parish is committed to celebrating the Catholic faith as part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, in communion with the Bishop Kieran Conry.
Whether you are new to the parish or an existing church member, please explore our individual Church websites to join in our faith celebration and to find out how you can get the most out of the Parish community.
