Upon hearing the famous story of the Prodigal Son, we may instantly feel a connection with one son or the other. Maybe we have strayed in our lives - or even intentionally walked away from friends, family, and home-and have been welcomed back despite feeling we didn’t deserve to be. Or perhaps we feel like the older son who has been working his tail off to do what he thinks is expected of him and then feels resentful when his wayward brother gets welcomed home. What if instead of focusing on one or the other sons, we focus on the father’s response to both of them in the parable?  The father has generosity and joy enough for both sons. He wants both at the party-not just the sinner or the do-gooder. He throws the party so the younger son knows he is welcomed home wholeheartedly, and he tells the older son “everything I have is yours.” In that society, what the father possessed did not belong to the sons until he died; they had no claim on it until after his death. So it is highly unusual for the father to give the younger son his part of the inheritance prematurely, and just as unusual for the father to tell the older son “It’s already yours.” The father wants to share all he has and celebrate his relationship with both sons equally. It’s not about favourites; it’s an invitation for everyone to join the party. Tax collectors and sinners were joining Jesus “at the party.” Will the Pharisees and scribes too? Questions of the week  Who do you usually relate to in the parable of the Prodigal Son? Why?  Have you ever had an experience of being in the father’s position, either welcoming home a “sinner” or trying to convince a “righteous son” of your love for him too?

The name comes from the first words of the Entrance Antiphon for Mass, “Laetare Jerusalem” - “Rejoice, O Jerusalem.” Lent’s fourth Sunday marks the half-way point of Lent, even though the Thursday before Laetare Sunday is the actual middle day of Lent. Signs of joy are allowed on this day, expressing our belief in the hope of the resurrection and to inspire us as we continue our declared Lenten commitments to prayer, fasting & almsgiving. Symbolizing this joy, rose coloured Mass vestments can be worn instead of purple, to indicate the contrast between Laetare and the other Sundays of Lent. According to the Roman Missal, the altar may be decorated with flowers. The tradition of using the colour rose is thought to come from the tradition of the Golden Rose; at one time popes sent golden roses to Catholic heads of state in Europe on this Sunday. At one time he Fourth Sunday of Lent was known as Refreshment Sunday.’ The Fourth Sunday of Lent is also known as Mothering Sunday, in reference to St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, where the faithful are called “sons and daughters of God.” Families visited the church where they were baptised on this Sunday.  In the middle ages this was also the Sunday that young apprentices could return home to see their mothers.

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . A much quieter week this time around The Presbytery, enforced on Fr D by the events of last Sunday morning . . . . At our Sunday morning 09.00 Mass we welcomed our Confirmation Candidates among our community as they celebrated the Rite of Inscription; the candidates have taken part in several sessions now and this was their opportunity to decide to go ahead and present themselves before Bishop Richard in May to celebrate the sacrament. Just as they had completed this rite with Fr D, stepping backwards, Fr D caught his alb under his feet and fell over backwards, hitting his head on the marble base of the altar. Fortunately two medics from among the parishioners were present and came up to attend to him. Whilst they were doing this Fr D had deacon Paul lead the Prayers of Intercession and the reader continue as normal; during this Fr D went off with the medics into the sacristy where they were able to ‘tidy him up.’ Deacon Paul managed to set the music running for the Offertory Hymn and by the time this ended Fr D was able to get to the altar and continue Mass (though communion under both kinds had to be abandoned) and Fr D sat through the distribution of holy communion. At the end of Mass Deacon Paul took the newsletters to the back along with the server and Fr D retreated to the sacristy where the medics worked on stopping the bleeding. Fr D arranged for Fr Tony Churchill to celebrate the 11.00 Mass as he went off to Epsom hospital where he ended up with eight stitches into the back of his head! On Monday, with a ringing headache Fr D was taken out for a pre-arranged lunch by a couple of parishioners from one of his old parishes. Later in the afternoon he prepared a homily for the following day (Annunciation of the Lord), before having a sandwich and taking himself off to bed. Going to bed early seemed to become the pattern for the week as his headache continued, being particularly bad when he woke up in the morning (the doctor at A & E had told him that the concussion could take two to three weeks to disappear). On Tuesday evening Fr D went across to St Michael’s, Ashtead, to take part in the Deanery Adult Lenten Reconciliation Service which Bishop Richard was leading.  As the week progressed Fr D was managing to get over the shock of the fall but the headache was very definitely still with him . . . . .

The feast of the Annunciation, recognized as a solemnity, was first celebrated in the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. As Luke 1:26-38 tells us, the decision is being realised. The God-Man embraces all humanity, indeed all creation, to bring it to God in one great act of love. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and an agonizing death: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” ( John 15:13 ). Mary has an important role to play in God’s plan. From all eternity, God destined her to be the mother of Jesus and closely related to him in the creation and redemption of the world. We could say that God’s decrees of creation and redemption are joined in the decree of Incarnation. Mary is the virgin-mother who fulfils Isaiah 7:14 in a way that Isaiah could not have imagined. She is united with her son in carrying out the will of God ( Psalm 40:8-9; Hebrews 10:7-9; Luke 1:38 ). Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence.

The first reading from Exodus takes place with Moses standing at the burning bush. It is when God reveals himself to Moses and declares that he will lead them out of slavery into their own land. We can imagine Moses’ puzzlement when God reveals his name as the cryptic “I am who I am.” The phrase in Hebrew, which gets translated into “Yahweh,” is a mystery to translators. The thrust of it seems to be that God is who God is, not who humans say God is. Also, there is a sense that God is in the present, not the past or future, but always present. In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares several times “I AM,” using the exact same words that God used in speaking to Moses. All of his listeners understood then that he was equating himself with God. In the Gospel, John the Baptist and Jesus both had a sense of urgency about them. They were serious about spreading their message quickly: “Repent! The Kingdom of God is near!” They seemed to understand there was no time to waste. There were hungry people to be fed, people in need of healing, people suffering discrimination be cause of their culture or religion, people trapped in sin, and people used as pawns in unjust economic and military systems. There wasn’t time to stand around and wait for God to swoop in and make everything right in the world. Jesus came ready to do God’s work in the world, and he was eager for others to begin doing it with him “right now!” Was Jesus impatient like the owner of the fig tree? Does he want results now? Or was he like the gardener, ready to demonstrate more trust and patience and give people more time to bear fruit?  Maybe Jesus was both. He has little time for laziness or excuses. But he also knows that as humans we take time to grow and mature. The point seems to be that Jesus wants to see movement. We all have a gardener tending to us and advocating for us, but will we allow ourselves to fruit? We don’t have unlimited time. Let’s start growing. Questions of the week • What do you think Jesus feels most urgent about in the world today? • How do you need to begin bearing fruit in your life now?

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on 5th March

The Parish of Effingham & Fetcham have arranged for Fr John Seddon OSB, one of the monks at St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth, to present five talks during Lent. Fr John will cover topics including The Existence of God, the Problem of Evil, the Resurrection, Life after Death and Objective Truth. They will help to broaden our knowledge of he Faith and assist us in deepening our spiritual journey through Lent. Each talk will be about 35 minutes and will be followed with an opportunity to ask questions. The talks will be on Wednesdays 19th and 26th March, 2 nd and 9 th April at 19.30 in St Alphege’s Hall, Effingham

CAFOD LENTEN FAST DAY – Last Friday (14th March) was the occasion of the annual CAFOD Lenten Fast Day. Our Retiring Collection today(16th March) is the opportunity to donate the results of your self-denial, and to be a ‘pilgrim of hope’ with CAFOD this Jubilee Year. You’ll be supporting communities suffering the impacts of war, poverty, and climate change to find solutions and hope. To make your donation tax efficient please use the CAFOD envelope in the church narthex.

St Patrick is one of the world’s most popular saints. He was born in Roman Britain and when he was fourteen, he was captured by Irish pirates during a raid and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. At the time, Ireland was a land of Druids and pagans but Patrick turned to God and wrote a memoir, The Confession. Patrick’s captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain and he was reunited with his family. A few years after returning home, Patrick saw a vision which prompted his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years, and was later ordained a bishop and sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. Patrick arrived in Slane, Ireland on March 25, 433. There, after an intervention from God, Patrick was able to convert the chieftain and preach the Gospel throughout Ireland. He converted many people - eventually thousands - and he began building churches across the country.  Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461.