St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Stephen Harding 53 Great Hales Street, Market Drayton TF9 1JL E-mail: [email protected] www.ss-thomas-stephen.org.uk Priest: Father Anthony Wild Tel: 01952 811299 Deacon: David Hill Tel: 01952 813004 Priest: Father Anthony Wild Tel: 01952 811299 Deacon: David Hill Tel: 01952 813004 PASSION SUNDAY (PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD) First Gospel Matthew 21: 1-11. Ent antiphon Six days before the solemn Passover the Lord came to Jerusalem, and children waving palm branches ran out to welcome him. They loudly praised the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. Blessed are you who have come to us so rich in love and mercy. 1st reading Isaiah 50: 4-7. Psalm Psalm 21 Response My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 2nd reading Philippians 2: 6-11. Acclamation Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! Christ was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. But God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all names. Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! Gospel Matthew 26: 14 – 27: 66. (shorter form: 27: 11-54) Comm ant Father, if this cup may not pass, but I must drink it, then your will be done.

Do you still have last year’s Palm? Place it somewhere different so that you notice it this week!

Today’s Gospels This Sunday we have two Gospels, the first during the Solemn Entrance, and the main Gospel, the full account of the Passion according to Luke, too long to reproduce here, but easy to find in the Missal or the Bible. Matthew 21: Say to the daughter of Zion Look, your king comes to you: He is humble, he rides on a donkey, And on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heavens.

Reflection: We remember the death of Jesus, not as an arbitrary, heedless act of violence; rather, we honour his death as the supreme act of love, The love of one who ‘did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself’ to become as we all are; and by being as we are, to show that, in spite of our sin and our stupidities, God loves us. That is the heart of the passion story. Fr Denis McBride CSsR

Act of Spiritual Communion “My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already there and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.”

HOLY WEEK Services at which will all be streamed online https://www.shrewsburycathedral.org Monday - Wednesday 1145 Rosary 1215 Mass 1700 Adoration Maundy Thursday 10am Morning Prayer 9pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper followed by Watching concluding with Night Prayer Good Friday Day of Fasting and Abstinence 8am Morning Prayer 10am Stations of the Cross 3pm Solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion Holy Saturday 8am Morning Prayer 8.15pm Easter Vigil Easter Sunday 8am Morning Prayer 8.30am Mass 10.45am Mass 5pm Adoration 5.45pm Evening Prayer concluding with Benediction for the Sick Please pray for the happy repose of the soul of Michael Francis Brown and for his family and friends. Michael’s Requiem Mass was celebrated on Friday 27th March.

Please remember in your prayers: Josephine Moorhouse, John McGrath, Doreen Dodd, Mary Colgan, Faye Hargreaves, Mary Goodwin, Beryl Dutton, Julian & Dawn Huxley, Sheila Minnery, Emmie Justice, Shane McGroggan, Doreen Warrilow, Sylvia Mary Stanworth, and all the sick & housebound of the Parish.

Sacrament of Reconciliation This is a time for Confession. We are asked to make a perfect Act of Contrition. Maybe an alternative wording would help us. Lord God, our loving Father You know all my sins and failures My weaknesses and temptations. I come to you with deep sorrow in my heart for the wrong I have done And for the good I have failed to do. Forgive me, accept me, strengthen me, Now and always Amen

Saint Roch or Rocco c. 1348 –1378 lived during the time of the Black Death, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August; he is specially invoked against the plague. Sailors brought the plague to Messina, from where it spread to every part of Europe, as far as Iceland. In Italy Roch worked as a nurse, until he himself developed symptoms, and went to die alone in the woods. A dog brought him bread (see picture), and miraculously, he recovered. He may also be called Rock in English, and has the designation of St Rollox in Glasgow, Scotland, said to be a corruption of St Roch's Loch, which referred to a small loch once near a chapel dedicated to St. Roch in 1506. He is a patron saint of plague, dogs, invalids, of falsely accused people, and bachelors, and several Italian towns. St Roch, pray for us.

Do you have a Missal? You can buy online at RPbooks (Redemptorists). Alternatively ALL readings for Mass and the Office can be found on the Universalis.com App. This costs £20 for a LIFETIME subscription, and the readings of the day pop up automatically.

St Chad’s Cathedral B’ham has just installed streaming. The Vatican has a live stream. https://www.stchadscathedral.org.uk http://www.vatican.va/ Radio: Radio 3 Wednesday of Holy Week at 1530, Choral Vespers from

Foodbank The Foodbank has great need of donations, especially as people are losing jobs and the schoolchildren are at home. For further information https://marketdrayton.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/ Goods can be dropped off at St Mary’s Parish Rooms 0900-1100 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (with the exception of Good Friday this week). Use the side door, & leave on the table, labelled with your name or the Church’s name. Thank you!

Handwashing The Lord’s Prayer works just as well as Happy Birthday – it might even work better!

Prayers of Hope - every Sunday at 7.00 pm During the Coronavirus crisis thousands of Christians across Britain are praying together at 7.00 pm every Sunday evening. This began on Sunday 22 March after the Presidents of Churches Together in issued a joint call to prayer. The response was phenomenal. St Paul tells us to pray continually. However, it helps to know that others are also praying at a specific time, so we encourage you to pray at 7.00 pm on Sunday evening. If you want to join in online prayer, there are two options of which we are aware: Premier radio: Prayers of Hope service at 7.00 pm on Sundays Baptists Together are broadcasting at 7.00 pm on Sundays (and Wednesdays) To keep prayer going, Churches Together in England is offering a poster which can be downloaded from their website. WEEKLY OFFERINGS These are worrying times, financially for so many of us. Many of you will want to know how you can still support the parish and the church. This would be an ideal opportunity to change from envelope or offering plate to Standing Order. Please see the form attached and contact Helen McSherry on 01630 638177 if you have any queries. Thank you for your support. A Message from Fr Anthony for Holy Week 2020 Dear Parishioners,

In the midst of the tragedy of the Coronavirus pandemic afflicting the world and devastating so many families with bereavement and hardship, we arrive at Holy Week and the celebration of the institution of the Holy Eucharist, our Lord’s sacred passion and Cross, and His glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Who could have imagined that circumstances would prevent the Christian community from gathering in Church to celebrate the saving mysteries of our Redemption? Even in wartime, when it was safe to do so, one could still participate in mass at Church. Even in concentration camps ways and means were often found to celebrate mass in extraordinary circumstances! However, the restrictions which have led Church doors to be closed does not mean that the offering of mass is discontinued. Just the opposite, the celebration of the Church’s Liturgy continues in our Parish churches and without a congregation and will do so in Holy Week with some necessary adaptations.

Our present situation reminds us somewhat of the experience of the early Christian community 2000 years ago, before churches could be built, which met in peoples’ homes. These were house churches, yet one same faith in Christ, in the unity of his body the Church, bound Christians together wherever they were. We still speak of the domestic church, the tangible presence of faith and Christian living in our homes and families. In every crisis there is also opportunity, and in this our present situation we have the opportunity to celebrate our Catholic faith at home, but in union with the universal Church which is what Catholic means. There are some practical ways of doing so.

To participate in mass and the Holy Week services via mass that is streamed. A daily programme of Prayer and Liturgy is available from our own Shrewsbury Cathedral.https://www.shrewsburycathedral.org and many other Catholic church websites, including the Vatican with the Holy Father http://www.vatican.va/

On Holy Thursday Evening the national focus for watching at the of Repose will be St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham https://www.stchadscathedral.org.uk

To make a spiritual Holy Communion. Although we are unable to actually receive Communion, we can still unite ourselves to the Lord Jesus by expressing the desire to do so in prayer, as above.

If we do have a missal, to pray the mass from it and to reflect on the Sunday Readings. It is important that we set aside some time in prayer on Sundays, and especially on Easter Sunday, to join ourselves in spirit with the celebration of mass and to worship and thank God Our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

In this way, we are not isolated in faith, but joined to the whole body of the Church, which is Christ’s body. Daily mass and the celebration of the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday leading to Easter Sunday is celebrated in SS Peter & Paul Church in Newport.

GOOD FRIDAY Good Friday is still a day of fast and abstinence from meat. It would be good if we could make the Stations of the Cross on this day.

CONFESSION One can confess one’s sins to Almighty God, privately, acknowledge our offence to those we have offended, make a perfect Act of Contrition and go to sacramental confession when circumstances return to normal.

THE DIVINE MERCY The Sunday after Easter Sunday in known as Divine Mercy Sunday. The novena of preparation begins on Good Friday.

SUNDAY COLLECTION Please kindly remember your Sunday Offering to God and His Church. Churches can only remain permanently open with your generous support. One way to do so is by means of a Standing Order which is sent to the bank. (Details below)

FUNERALS The present restrictions require that services are graveside services or services at the crematorium for a small number of immediate family. The first of the funerals I have conducted in recent days was a graveside service for my own late father. In some cases, memorial services will be celebrated at a later date.

CONTACTING THE PRESBYTERY Please contact me on 01952 811299 for any needs, leaving a message with your phone number if you reach the answering machine.

AS we journey through Holy Week, all our parishioners and their needs are remembered in the celebration of mass and the sacred liturgy, together with those who have died and bereaved families. We offer our prayers and profound thanks to all those on the front line, often putting their own lives at risk. In faith we know the cross leads to the Resurrection and this our faith and hope is not in vain.

Wishing all our parishioners God’s blessing, Fr Anthony