Celebrating marriage and family life
Bishop Bosco is looking forward to celebrating Mass in the Cathedral on Saturday 17 May (12 noon) and is inviting all families to join him to acknowledge the joys and challenges of family life.
In addition, we will celebrate those couples with significant anniversaries this year.
**If you are, or know of a couple, celebrating a special anniversary during 2025 please do let us know.**
You just need to send the names to our email address:
adult.education@cliftondiocese.com
with an address so that a personal invitation can be sent out from the bishop, including the number of years celebrating.
It is always a wonderful Mass at the Cathedral, and it is always good to see so many of you there.
Emergency appeal for Myanmar
We will hold a special collection this weekend for anyone wishing to donate towards the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) emergency appeal, with whom CAFOD is a member, to help with the efforts in Myanmar.
Please donate online using this link or as you leave Mass this weekend, if you are able to.
Latest Parish Social Committee Calendar
Did you know we have a Parish Social Committee...?
Did you know there is a suggestions envelope as you enter church where you can pop a note in to us...?
Did you know we would love new members...?!
Our small team try to make big things happen for our parish. We meet about every 6-8 weeks to plan events & new ideas, then we go out to find help to run them!
We thought you might like to see our calendar 'working document', in case useful for putting possible dates in your diary and seeing what we do - we also have our latest meeting notes on the website (Go to 'Parish Groups & Links' tab and look for 'Parish Social Committee' to see the latest notes from the March meeting.)
This committee is here to map out parish led, social gatherings to help provide a thriving social life as well as spiritual life for parishioners, plus fundraising opportunities or just a social for the heck of it!
Current members are Tim Johnston (chair), Bernadette Thomson, Petra Jordan, Myra Woods and Martyn Poole.
Please come and talk to any of us if any ideas or for more information (or to join us!)
SEND Together Parent Group
Please see the details for St. Augustine's Primary School SEND Together Parent Group Fundraiser.
"We are thrilled to welcome Pete Wharmby—autistic/ADHD bestselling author, trainer, and consultant—for an inspiring talk followed by a Q&A session. Pete will also be selling and signing his books.
This special event is kindly hosted by Claire Philips, SEND Adviser (Autism & Neurodiversity) for South Glos.
Join us for an evening of connection and community, bringing together SEND parents, carers, and anyone eager to learn more about SEND, all while raising funds for the school's SEND provision.
We are proud to have SGPC and Bristol Autism Support joining us for the evening, offering guidance, information, and signposting. Additionally, the school SENCO, Parent Link, and members of St. Augustine’s SEND Together Parent Group will be in attendance.
Your support makes a difference! Come along, enjoy a fantastic evening, and contribute to a great cause. We can’t wait to see you there!"
Children's Stations of the Cross
We welcome you all to enjoy the story of Holy Week through the eyes of the children on Good Friday.
Come to the church at 11am when we will look at the Way of the Cross together and learn about what it means for us all.
All ages welcome - all ages encouraged!
Then we can enjoy a hot cross bun together in the hall afterwards.
Please see details of an advert for a new job in Clifton Diocese.
Clifton Diocese is seeking to recruit a Diocesan Director of the National Schools Singing Programme (NSSP) for our diocese, which will also combine the role of Junior Choir Director at Clifton Cathedral. The NSSP scheme is a national scheme that seeks to encourage singing in schools and cathedrals in the UK, especially in Catholic state schools. The successful applicant would be expected to initiate the NSSP in schools across the diocese and be committed to both schools and church choral music. More information available at: music@cliftondiocese.comhttps://cliftoncathedral.org/
Reflections
for Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C
1st Reading from the Prophet
Isaiah43: 16-21.
This is from the Second Isaiah, which covers the end
of their exile in Babylon and the decree of Cyrus in 538BC permitting the
return of the Israelites to Jerusalem. This passage is where Isaiah proclaims
from God that a new Exodus is coming whereby they will be assisted across the
desert by God to allow his people to return home again. This is a proclamation
of great joy, whereby God is doing a “New Thing”. This is the restoration of
the Covenant; the people will once again be the people of the Covenant with God
and sing God’s praises in the restored Temple. God is always doing something
New, we need to be patient when dealing with God for his time frame extends
from one end of time to the other, whilst we are very finite and impatient.
Psalm 126(125): 1-6.
A song of great joy at the peoples’ return from Exile.
There are echoes of Mary’s Magnificat here, “The Lord has done great things for
us.” The sheer joy of being free again and able to live in your own land and
worship God according to the Covenant shines out of this song. God is
wonderful.
2nd Reading from the Letter of
St. Paul to the Philippians 3: 8-14.
Paul is using a type of accounting metaphor of profit
and loss to describe what he has lost and gained by knowing Christ. Paul speaks
of God’s righteousness and Paul’s hope to share in Christ’s resurrection and
sufferings. Then Paul moves on to a sporting metaphor describing in the athletic
term of straining to obtain one’s goal at the finishing line which comes from
the call of God through Christ Jesus to go higher. Paul’s whole life is wrapped
around Christ Jesus in straining to reach God. We should study Paul’s approach
to Jesus and the way he fits himself into Jesus teachings and the effect that
should have on our life.
The Holy Gospel according to John 8: 1-11.
This wonderful story might well have been added to
John’s Gospel from Luke, but whatever, it is a beautifully crafted story and
fits with Jesus’ behaviour. We have an entrapment for Jesus as the Scribes and
Pharisees bring a woman caught in the act of adultery and challenge Jesus to
obey the Law of Moses, which meant stoning the woman. However, they are cunning
in that it should have been both the man and the woman, not just the woman, so
there is slight of hand here by Jesus’ tempters. They do not address her as a
person but as an object to be used to discredit Jesus. Jesus, however,
outflanks the accusers by not disagreeing with the Law but challenging the
first one, without sin, to cast the first stone. No one dare claim themselves
to be sinless so gradually leave the scene. Jesus then addresses the woman as a
discerning adult. “Has no one condemned you?” “No one Lord.” Then we have this
beautiful speech from Jesus that we all hope to hear one day. “Neither do I
condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” Jesus is the only one who
regards her as a person rather than a thing. It just illustrates the striking
differences between good and evil. Evil uses people as tools or things to
disrupt other people who they regard as a threat. We are shown the true nature
of God in Jesus as a person who wants the best for us not our destruction.
Grace us to always remember that “God is Good.” Deacon Vincent.
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