Parish of Hoyland Saint Andrew
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Shine a Light(s)

2/28/2019

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The upgrade to our lighting has now been completed. The effects are quite dramatic,please see the slideshow. .
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And the message is....

2/25/2019

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​On Thursday I visited Specsavers.  As I expected, my eyesight is just a little bit worse than last time.  At the same time I was offered a free hearing test and this at least was good news: nothing wrong with my hearing.  My wife Susan’s theory was proved right: that I have selective hearing, or at least I only hear properly if I am not focusing my attention elsewhere.  I think it may be an inherited tendency.  My Dad and my uncle sometimes used to have parallel conversations with each other about quite different subjects without either of them seeming to notice.  Yes, sometimes the problem can be that we hear what we choose to hear.  Perhaps that selective hearing applies also to the way in which we approach the message of the Gospel.  I’m not talking about physical hearing now, but the internal, spiritual kind.  Even when we are reading rather than listening, do we perhaps linger on those messages that seem easy and comforting and skip over the ones that we find hard and challenging? I would guess that I am not alone in finding something hard and challenging about today’s gospel passage from St Luke.  I quote:
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.”
So it continues.  It seems to go against the received wisdom that tells us to avoid people we don’t like and to retaliate against those who do us harm, either physically or emotionally.  We get much more satisfaction surely from a well-aimed barb than we do from turning the other cheek.  Or do we?  The problem with resentment, hatred and violence is that it is never really satisfied.  It just sets up a cycle of actions and reactions.  When we nurse feelings of resentment and the desire for revenge, it may or may not hurt the target of our feelings, but one thing is sure: it hurts us, and it goes on hurting us.  Hatred and violence can never be cured by more hatred and violence.  We only have to look at the Middle East and its many long-running conflicts to see how that works out.
Jesus often spoke about the kingdom of God through parables.  These were stories that had a sort of slow-release effect.  If he had not done this then he probably wouldn’t have had even three years of ministry.  But to his disciples he often spelt his message out plainly.  So that they could continue his ministry they needed to understand.  Last week we heard Jesus speaking about the Beatitudes as he taught about the nature of the kingdom of God.  Now he seems to cut right to the chase, telling us things that we might not want to hear.  This is very radical teaching.  Is Jesus advising us to be doormats?  Is he wanting us to allow those who abuse us to get away with it?
Surely not.  But what he does do is show us another way of resolving conflict and breaking open a cycle of hatred.  It is a very risky way, because it is one which led to Jesus losing his life.  When he spoke of being struck on the cheek and turning the other, he did not just talk the talk.  He was struck, he was stripped of his garments, he was insulted.  In return he chose not to retaliate.  He prayed that those who wronged him might be forgiven.  In all of this, Jesus is praying for a new and better state of affairs; he is praying for the coming of the kingdom.
In the end retribution does not bring conflicts to an end, but peace-making does.  The discrimination and hatred that was seen in South Africa under apartheid came to an end not because one group crushed another.  It was through the invitation to share experiences and to listen to those experiences; to identify with people who had been seen as the enemy and to find a common humanity and a desire for a better future.  I’m sure that at the heart of this was the prayers of those who had glimpsed that better future.  The same was true of the situation in Northern Ireland; somewhere along the line the desire for peace and cooperation overcame the desire for revenge.  If those lessons are forgotten the old ways can return.  So can our old ways too.  The gospel invites us to consider how God has been generous, compassionate and merciful towards us, even when we have not been generous, compassionate and merciful ourselves.  It invites us in return to find ways of showing that generous love through our own lives.
Our world, our country, our community are in great need of that generous and reconciling love.  If we wait until other people deserve it before making a move, then we shall be waiting a very long time.  God has not waited until we deserve it before showing his mercy and unconditional love.  If we find it hard to forgive and hard to move on, then the place to begin is with prayer, because prayer changes things and first of all it changes our heart.  God wants us to work with him for the coming of the kingdom.  Let’s not allow our selective hearing to put limits on that calling.  We can’t do it alone, but we can do it together.  What really makes the difference is that we do it together in the power of God’s love.
                                                     Father Richard

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This week in brief... w/c 24/02/19

2/24/2019

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Sundays Best - A Pick of the Readings
First Reading: 1 Samuel 26:2. 7-9. 12-13. 22-23
A reading from the first book of Samuel.
Saul set off and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand men chosen from Israel to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. So in the dark David and Abishai made their way towards the force, where they found Saul asleep inside the camp, his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, with Abner and the troops lying round him. Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has put your enemy in your power; so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke! I will not need to strike him twice.” David answered Abishai, “Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt?” David took the spear and the pitcher of water from beside Saul’s head, and they made off. No one saw, no one knew, no one woke up; they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. David crossed to the other side and halted on the top of the mountain a long way off; there was a wide space between them. David then called out, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the soldiers come across and take it. The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty. Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”
 


Diary Dates
Coffee Mornings: 
From 10.00am every Tuesday throughout February ) 

Services: 
Thu 28th Feb 9.30am Feria
Sun 3rd Mar 9.30am (last before Lent) Parish Mass
Wed 6th Mar 9.30am Imposition of Ashes -
 (Ash Wednesday)
10th Mar 9.30am Parish Mass (1st Sunday in Lent)

Meetings:
Parochial Church Council Mon 11th March
Future Events
Bishops Visit 
​Wednesday 27th March Bishop Pete is visiting the Deanery between 10.30am & 2.30pm. The event will be hosted by Penistone St Johns but there will be an opportunity for all Parishes to make presentation of their work.
Concerts
WW2 Brass: Thur 5th September. Themed Concert to coincide with the start of the Second World War. Will also include a pictorial presentation. More details to follow. 
Xmas Brass: Thur 12th December. Usual mix of seasonal and contemporary music.
Both concerts will feature Worsbrough Brass.
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This week in brief....w/c 10th February

2/13/2019

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Sundays Best - A Pick of the Readings
​Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 137
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart,
you have heard the words of my mouth.
Before the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.
Response: Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.
Response: Before the angels I will....

All earth’s kings shall thank you
when they hear the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the Lord’s ways:
“How great is the glory of the Lord!”
Response: Before the angels I will....
You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hand.
Response: Before the angels I will....

     **see full newsletter attachment below**
190210_newsletter.pub
File Size: 147 kb
File Type: pub
Download File


February Calendar
Coffee Mornings: 
From 10.00am every Tuesday throughout February ) 

Services: 
Thur 14th Feb 9.30am Ss Cyril & Methodius
Sun 17th Feb 9.30am Parish Mass
Thu 21st Feb 9.30am Feria

Sun 24th Feb 9.30am Parish Mass
Thu 28th Feb 9.30am Feria
Meetings:
Mission Action Sub-Group Mon 18th Feb 
Parochial Church Council Mon 11th March
Future Events
Bishops Visit 
​Wednesday 27th March Bishop Pete is visiting the Deanery between 10.30am & 2.30pm. The event will be hosted by Penistone St Johns but there will be an opportunity for all Parishes to make presentation of their work.
Concerts
WW2 Brass: Thur 5th September. Themed Concert to coincide with the start of the Second World War. Will also include a pictorial presentation. More details to follow. 
Xmas Brass: Thur 12th December. Usual mix of seasonal and contemporary music.
Both concerts will feature Worsbrough Brass.
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