“There was a great multitude that no one could count…standing before the throne and before the Lamb,…These are they who have come out of the great ordeal… The one who is seated on the throne will shelter them…They will hunger no more and thirst no more… The sun will not strike them, nor the scorching heat. The Lamb will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Rev 7,9…17

Dear parishioners,

Recently I have presided a rather long series of funerals, most recently, on Friday, the funeral of a woman who died at the end of a long challenging life, having had to witness the passing away of five of her eight children. We are reminded every day of just how hard life can be. But we aren’t reminded every day of the great rebirth and consolation that follows for all those who have left us, and eventually for ourselves. This Sunday’s beautiful passage from the Book of Revelation reminds us very eloquently that the best is yet to come, that we will be healed of all that oppressed and wounded us in this life, that there will be no more hunger, no more thirst, no more tears, no more fear. Only wellbeing in the presence of God and of the Lamb, forever. We need to live our lives here and now. It’s normal that we focus more on the things of this life than on the things of the life to come. But how precious it is if in a corner of our consciousness, the bright little light of what is to come is always on. By the grace of God, may that little light shine in all of us, all the time.

Back to the things of this world…

Something special this week: “Jesus heals”, an offer of physical and spiritual healing that will take place here at St. Mary’s this Tuesday, May 10, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. There will be a “mass of healing”, praise and worship, eucharistic adoration and pray-over. This evening will be presided by Fr. Jilto George, a priest from India. All are welcome. Who knows, there might be some healing in store for you also. This special event is hosted by our Healing Prayer Ministry team, and by our Mission Ablaze prayer group.

The installation of the new playground equipment on the Clive Street parking lot is competed, so it is once again available for parking at this Sunday’s masses.

There will be Holy Land items for sale after every mass this weekend so come with your preferred method of payment. Proceeds go to support Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land.

Finally, an unpleasant warning. My email contact list has been hacked and people are receiving emails and texts that appear to be from me. So this is a heads-up. If you receive a text message that appears to come from me, it most certainly doesn’t, since I don’t text at all. If you receive an email that claims to be from me and is strange or unusual, delete it. If it comes from me, it will be obvious. You can also check the sender’s email address. If it doesn’t contain my last name, it doesn’t come from me.

A safe, pleasant week to us all.

Fr. Guy