Dear Friends in Christ,
We have spent the past nine weeks in lockdown. In this very strange and unusual time we have endeavoured to exercise social distancing, staying at home, and trying to keep ourselves as safe as possible. We have seen courageous witness from all those working on the front-line to keep us safe. Sadly, we all probably know someone who has passed from Covid 19. I was made aware over the past week of parishioners who had lost parents. Our hearts go out to them. Even when the lockdown is lifted, life will never be the same again. What is the ‘New Normal’? None of us really know the answer to that question. The fact that the whole world has experienced this pandemic has certainly made me think seriously about life & death issues. Ultimately, life is the most precious gift we possess, and this is God given. The preservation of life is fundamentally at the heart of our existence. We have experienced a real wakeup call from God. As we approach Pentecost and the giving of the Eternal Spirit of God promised by Jesus to his Apostles; let us echo the words of the Veni Sancte Spiritus: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle within them the fire of your love”.
GOSPEL REFELCTION: In the Gospel today, we hear the beautiful Priestly Prayer of Christ. Jesus prays earnestly for his disciples that Gospel will protect them and give them courage and strength. Jesus knows his own fate, that in his self-sacrifice to the Father, salvation will come to the whole world. His work on earth has been completed, now he entrusts the work of Gospel to those he had chosen. And so, the work of the proclamation of the Good News continues to this day. Twenty-one centuries later we are still gathering around the Table of the Lord; and we still proclaim the triumph of Jesus Christ.
St Edmund of Canterbury 