Sheep or Goat
Webmaster • November 21, 2020
Like climbing to the top of Mt. Everest, our gospel this weekend is the pinnacle of Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. This is not a parable, but instead the interpretative key to Jesus’ teachings earlier in the gospel. Now what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (7:21-23), that ‘not all who call Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven,’ becomes clear. This story also foreshadows his resurrection appearance and promise in the closing line of the gospel, ‘And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age’ (28:20).
In the gospel story, we are two days from Passover when Jesus will be handed over to be crucified (26:1-2). All that remains between this teaching and the Passover meal Jesus will celebrate with his disciples is his anointing at Bethany by the woman with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil (26:6-13). So this teaching about how we will be judged is the crescendo of Jesus’ message.
Jesus’ promise to be with us always is fulfilled in that he is present in the hungry, thirsty, naked, ill, imprisoned, and in the stranger. Though some who claim to know Jesus are surprised that they did not see him in the face of the poor, this is to their own perdition. Even more, those who did not or do not know Jesus receive their heavenly reward precisely because they did the will of God; they fed the hungry and in so doing they were feeding Jesus. They gave drink to the thirsty and in so doing they were giving drink to Jesus.
Jesus doers not say that it is as though he is present in these people. No, he is them: ‘I was hungry and you gave me no food.’ ‘What you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ Again, Jesus does not say, ‘It’s as though you did not do for me.’ He identifies with the poor and the lowly, for he is them.
There are no excuses on the part of those who claim to have known Jesus. They cannot say that the poor were not working, or they deserved to be poor, or they should get a job. Those who claim to know Jesus but have not acted on behalf of the poor are sent off to eternal punishment. ‘Depart from me, you accursed.’ We now see clearly how not everyone who cries Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom, but only those who do the will of my father (7:21-23). Indeed, this chapter and this particular teaching is at the root of the Catholic Church’s ‘social gospel.’ It is why the Church established hospitals, schools, food banks, social services, and so many other ministries. Faith in action, rather than faith alone, is the Church’s credo. And it is not enough to rely upon others, the Church at large, to perform this ministry. It is the obligation of anyone who dares to call himself or herself a disciple of Christ. Indeed, those who do not know Christ but still perform these actions will inherit eternal life. These sober words conclude Jesus’ teaching ministry and are a clarion call to all who would seek to follow him.
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Not unexpectedly, a very busy week around The Presbytery, with Fr D and Sarah racing about to get the final pieces into place for our Easter celebrations . . . . This week was also one of those during the year when they also had to prepare a second newsletter for whilst Fr D was in Lourdes. This year not with special needs children as usual because Easter’s dates meant that the children were back at school, so he’s going as a chaplain to an ‘Old & Bold’ Group. These are those who have spent many trips looking after the children but now are of an age when they cannot do this any more - but they still come to Lourdes to join in with the children’s celebrations without the responsibility of looking after them! Fr D will be travelling out on Easter Monday and return the following Sunday evening. Easter Sunday, of course, is not the end of our celebration of Easter. After forty days in preparation with Lent, and the celebration of the Easter Triduum (from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday) it is easy to miss looking ahead in the Church’s liturgical calendar. This is, after all, the climax of the Christian year with the celebration of the Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Catechism calls Easter the ‘Feast of feasts’ and the ‘Solemnity of solemnities.’ Yet, Easter Sunday is actually just the first day of the Easter Octave, the eight-day festal period, in which we continue to celebrate the momentous conclusion to the Paschal mystery and the economy of salvation played out in liturgical time. The eight days of the Easter Octave are a special time to celebrate the Risen Lord and to more deeply contemplate its mysteries. The Church punctuates the special importance of this feast by assigning it the highest liturgical ranking, that is, as a Privileged Octave of the First Order. This means that each of the eight days is counted as a solemnity, the highest raking feast day, in which no other feast can be celebrated. It also begins the fifty days of celebration to the feast of Pentecost (known as Eastertide), but these first eight days of the Easter Octave culminates with the Second Sunday of Easter.
PALM SUNDAY - 13th April 18.00(Sat), 9.30 & 11.00 HOLY THURSDAY MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER - 17th April 20.30 CHILDREN’S GOOD FRIDAY WAY OF THE CROSS - 18th April 10.00 SOLEMN LITURGY OF THE LORD’S PASSION - 18th April 15.00 EASTER VIGIL OF THE RESURRECTION - 19th April 20.30 EASTER SUNDAY MASSES - 20th April 09.00 & 11.00
Wednesday 16th April, 18.00, Arundel Cathedral. People from across our diocesan family of faith are invited to join Bishop Richard and members of clergy at the annual Chrism Mass – one of the most beautiful Masses of the Church’s year. It is during this Mass that the new oils of ‘Chrism,’ ‘Catechumens,’ and ‘Infirmorum’ are blessed for use in the sacraments throughout the diocese for the next year. These same oils will be received into the Sacred Heart at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper (20.30 on Thursday 17th April).
Our local Christian communities will be holding their annual act of witness around the Cross in the pedestrian precinct between the Holly Hedge car park and the High Street on Good Friday (18th April) and invite ALL to stop if only for a few minutes between 09.30 and 11.30.
JUBILEE YEAR PILGRIMAGE TO ROME - 5 - 10 November (Cost £1,220 inc. travel, accommodation & half board; single supp. £188). Join two of our diocesan priests Fr Gus Campanello & Fr Nick Harden on pilgrimage to Rome. To find out more and book:- sarah@tangney-tours.com or 01732 886666
The collections taken over the Easter weekend provides income to the Parish specifically for the support of the clergy and may be Gift Aided. Any cheques should be made payable to the ‘Sacred Heart Parish, Cobham’ (any cheques made out personally to Fr D are direct gifts and cannot be received into Parish funds or Gift Aided). You will find a supply of Gift Aid envelopes (blue) for this collection in the narthex.
As the community enters into the final week of preparation for Easter Sunday, often called Holy Week, Catholics begin to start talking about Triduum. Taken from a Latin root that mean “three days,” it is that period of time tracing the final days of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection from the dead. Starting on the Thursday each day is traditionally marked with a particular liturgy. On Holy Thursday there is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that marks the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples, wherein he showed them what it means to serve by washing their feet. It is also marks the establishment of the Eucharist. Good Friday is marked with fasting and prayer, a way to remember Jesus’ suffering and death. The Good Friday liturgy involves a reading of Jesus’ passion and death from the Gospel of John as well as an opportunity to venerate a cross – the instrument of Jesus’ death, and our salvation. Holy Saturday is a quiet day, remembering the empty space that was present for the disciples after Jesus’ death and before his resurrection. They did not expect the resurrection and so were left in deep grief. After sundown, the Easter Vigil is celebrated. It is one of the longest Catholic liturgies, involving several readings from scripture tracing God’s care, the baptism and reception of new members of the Church, the Eucharist, and a great many joy-filled songs. It was the night when Jesus rose from the dead. It is that great victory over sin and death which the community celebrates.
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Although our schools are now on holiday for Easter the pace around The Presbytery has been picking up all week as we move into Holy Week . . . On Monday Fr D went off down to Worthing for his monthly Ministry to Priests Support Group Meeting. Having spent an hour before the Blessed Sacrament in one of his two previous churches the group retired to a local hostelry where they had lunch before going to the retirement bungalow of one of the group. Having spent some while looking back over the past month one of the members of the group (who is also retired and ill) ‘rang in’ to join the others over the telephone. By the time that Fr D got home again it was 21.30 and he just had a cup of tea, a sandwich, and went off to bed. On Tuesday, during breakfast, the Air Source Heat Pump engineer arrived to carry out the annual service of the pump that supplies the heating and hot water for the house. Fr D thought that he recognised the engineer and discovered that when the pump was fitted three years ago the engineer was an apprentice on his first job, now he is fully qualified and still with the company. After Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition Fr D was finalising his Triduum homilies and checking through the various ceremonies, making sure that he had everything he needed. There was no Morning Prayer on Wednesday as there was a Requiem Mass for one of our long-term parishioners, followed by a burial at Cobham Cemetery. Fr D then went off up to Brooklands to do some shopping ready for Easter. On the way back home he went into Sainsburys to pick up his new glasses. Following Morning Prayer and Mass on Thursday Fr D was down to the diocesan offices in Crawley for the last time before Easter where there was quite a bit that had built up in his tray since last week! When he got home in the late afternoon he set about his parts of the newsletter ready for Sarah to finish, print, and set up the email distribution on Friday. After Morning Prayer and Mass on Friday Fr D completed his parts of the newsletter and sorted out the Prayers of Intercession for the weekend, along with the music for the Saturday evening and 09.00 Mass on Sunday. At 12.30 the last of this Lent’s Way of the Cross devotion took place followed by the last Fast Lunch for CAFOD in the Parish Centre. On Saturday Fr D had a young couple coming to see him about getting married next year . . . .
We have likely all had times when we have in some way escaped - or attempted to escape - the pain and suffering of ourselves or loved ones. Who wants to feel pain when you can become absorbed in technology, take drugs, or self-medicate with food or alco hol? Who wants to watch another suffer when you can leave the side of the hospital bed or avoid visiting in the first place? The disciples couldn’t stay awake for their closest friend whom they knew was filled with fear and sadness after their last meal together. Like them, we may have failed loved ones in their time of need too because it was just too painful to be with them in their pain. Jesus still suffers when people suffer today. He said, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me.” So when humans torture other humans, we are torturing Christ. When others are dying of old age, alone in a nursing home, Jesus is dying alone. We may run away from the pain and suffering of others, just as the disciples slept through Jesus’ agony. However, we will always have more chances to stay awake and be present to Jesus by making ourselves present and available to others who suffer. Questions of the week When have you “fallen asleep” instead of staying awake to someone’s pain? Think of someone in your life now who is suffering. How might you make yourself available so that person will know he or she is not alone?
Are you in the same boat again? We are halfway through Lent and you still haven’t made any choices to enter into the Lenten season? Might as well wait until next year, too late now, right? Wrong!!! It’s never too late to hop on the Lent wagon and receive some special graces and deepen your relationship with Christ. Need some inspiration? What about the good thief crucified next to Jesus? Was it too late for him to repent and be welcomed into paradise by Christ? It was pretty last minute, but not too late. Lent is not just a sad floppy Filet-O -Fish from McDonalds on Fridays, it’s so much more. Lent is about PSI (not air in tires) Prayer, Sacrifice and Intercession. Start by setting some small goals for yourself; perhaps add 10 minutes a day to your personal prayer, maybe fast for one extra meal a week, or intercede for a sick friend or family member. The absolute best place, however, to start on the right path is by making a good confession. I can’t tell you how important it is to receive God’s forgiveness prior to entering into a fruitful Lent, dare I say almost impossible to enter a fruitful Lent without first being in a state of grace. These small steps can make the transition into Lent both easy and fruitful. Be motivated, last minute or not, because we all want to end up like the good thief.