Welcome to Our Parish Community of St Joseph & St Margaret Clitherow Bracknell

THE YEAR OF MARK:
​Eating With The Bridegroom.
Fr Danny's Blog
Mass Times
Sat Vigil: 6:00pm
Sunday: 8.30am,10.30am
Weekdays: Times in the newsletter
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Office Hours: Mon - Fri: 9.30am-2.30pm.
Tel: 01344 425729
Email: stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk 
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The parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.   Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust registered charity 246871  
Universalis
Reflection Upon the Sunday Readings

​A Hymn To The Creator

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Some people from Greece have arrived for the festival and have asked to 'see' Jesus.  But this is more than a casual meeting. To 'see' Jesus is to enter into a profound revelation.  In Saint John's Gospel, Jesus must be 'lifted up', (Jn, 3.14) crucified in order to be seen.  For Jesus, the arrival of these Greeks is a sign that the time of universal revelation is at hand.  The Beloved Son of God has come for all people.   Yet, the way that He shows himself is paradoxical.  The image of the single grain of wheat  that  falls  on  the  ground  and  dies  in  order  to  grow  into  'much  fruit'  (v.24)  provides  the  key  to  understanding  this paradox.  For Jesus, death is never seen as a loss.  It is only the beginning of a time of change that will yield greater results than an individual life. 
 
Jesus  will  become  more  through  death,  not  less.   In  death  he  will 
become  universally  available.   Closer  to  us  than  we  are  to ourselves.   This  revelation  contains  crucial  instructions  for  His 
disciples.  It illuminates a universal spiritual process.  They are asked 
to see it and embrace it.  If we identify ourselves as individuals with 
separate lives, we will lose that life. Death will eventually take it from 
us. But if we do not identify as individuals with separate lives, the death of that life becomes a gateway into transformation. There is no real loss here, only a crossing over to eternity.  The death, resurrection and 
ascension  of  Jesus  will  make  this  truth  clear.   But  still  He  has  to navigate the anxiety which precedes loss.  He does this by turning to His Abba in prayer.  His prayer is answered immediately because it is 
aligned with the Fathers will.  It is to the glory of the Father to bring 
greater  life  out  of  lesser  death.   This  is  what  God  has  always done.   This  is  what  God  has  been  doing  through  His  Beloved Son.  This is what God will continue to do through His disciples.  Death has held sway until now but now it's reign of terror is ended.  Jesus' death will not entail the universal fate of going down into the earth.  In His death He will be 'lifted up from the earth'. (v.32). It is this kind of dying, as a transforming process, that will attract people to Jesus.  Death as extinction will bow to death as exaltation.  This will be the kind of death Jesus will die and thus will draw all people to Himself. 
 
Wheat  falls,  acorns  crack,  and  cocoons  split,  bringing  bread,  oak  trees  and  butterflies.   Seeing  death  as  a  transition  is essential for any disciple of Jesus.  In his poem, 'Holy Longing', Goethe has written, 
 
As long as you haven't experienced 
this: to die and so to grow, 
You are only a troubled guest 
On the dark earth. 
 
If this is true, perhaps we should be practicing how to die to ourselves on a regular basis!  Here is a little story in this theme. 
 
Once upon a time, a rich and generous man would freely give gold coins to various groups of people.  One day it would be widows, another day the less able, another day poor students.  The only request he made was that they should wait in silence for the gift to be given. 
 
When it was the day for lawyers, one pleaded his cause with gusto.  The rich man simply passed by.  The next day was the turn of the lame, so the lawyer put splints on his legs and posed as such.  The rich man recognised him and passed by.  The next day, the lawyer disguised himself as a widow, but he didn't fool the rich man who just passed him by. 
 
So the lawyer found an undertaker and concocted a plan that he would be wrapped in a shroud and placed in the path of the rich man.  Surely he would throw some gold coins on the shroud for a proper burial.  Afterwards, the lawyer and the undertaker would split the proceeds. 
 
The rich man did throw gold coins on the shroud.  The lawyers hand shot out and grabbed the coins. Then he jumped up and triumphantly proclaimed that he had deceived and beaten the rich man. "Do you see how, at last, I have received from your kindness?'   'Yes', said the rich man, 'but first you had to die'. 
 
We must die to the schemer and become the receiver.  It is the posture of contemplative silence which allows us to receive the gold that the rich and generous man is giving.  As Rumi says,      
 
" The mystery of die before you die is this: 
that the gifts come after your dying and not before. 
Except for dying, you artful schemer, 
no other skill impresses God". ​

Let Us Pray Together

Loving Father, you so loved the world that you sent us your only Son, that we might believe in him and have eternal life. May we encounter Jesus Christ anew this day and live the Good News with joy. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to “go out to the whole world and proclaim” our faith with confidence. Give us the courage to witness to the Joy of the Gospel by our words and actions. Help our parish to become more welcoming and missionary, so that you may be known and loved by all people. We make this prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever, Amen.
Our Lady, Star of the New Evangelisation. Pray for us.
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for us.
St Thérèse of Lisieux. Pray for us


God of compassion, You sent Jesus to proclaim a time of mercy reaching out to those who had no voice, releasing those trapped by their own shame, and welcoming those scorned by society.
Make us ambassadors of peace and reconciliation.
Open our ears that we may listen with respect and understanding.
Touch our lips that we may speak your words of peace and forgiveness. Warm our hearts that we may bring wholeness to
the broken-hearted and dissolve the barriers of division.
Guide the work of your Church and renew us with the Spirit of your love. Help us and all people shape a world where all will have a place, where the flames of hatred are quenched, and where all can grow together as one.
Forgive, restore and strengthen us through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen

WHAT'S NEW?

CHOIR PRACTICE
Everyone is welcome to our choir practice every Thursday in the Church from 7.30pm to 8.30pm with our wonderful organist John Weeks. Just come along, you will be warmly welcomed.   
“To sing is praying twice”.
BAPTISM PREPARATION FOR PARENTS - We are looking for volunteers to join our Baptism  Preparation  team.   If  you  have  a  heart  for  this  most  beautiful  and rewarding ministry and would like to find out more about what is involved, please contact the parish office 01344 425729 or email stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk .

DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET

​Sunday April 8th, 2018, 2.30pm at St Joseph Bracknell
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Justice, Peace and Social Responsibility. This is a group that meets to discuss a whole range of issues that are effecting people in Bracknell from homelessness and poverty to disability, abuse, dementia, autism and the challenges of being a single parent. The mission of the group is to stimulate a real passion for social justice within the parish and the town. Passion, energy and commitment was certainly present. Over the coming months we hope to share more of our plans and aspirations with you. If you would like to know more or maybe even get involved please contact the parish office.

Some of the Community Pictures.

Salvation Geography, the Diocesan Pilgrimage to the Holy Land led by Bishop Philip,on the theme of the Sacraments, was a wonderful unforgettable experience. Here is the link to an account together with the pictures from there. 

Pope's Corner

News from Vatican..... 
Mercy and commitment

​Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
The Jubilee of Mercy is a true opportunity to enter deeply into the mystery of the goodness and love of God. In this Season of Lent, the Church invites us to learn to know the Lord Jesus ever better, and to live the faith in a consistent way with a lifestyle that expresses the mercy of the Father. It is a commitment that we are called to take on in order to offer to those we meet the concrete sign of God’s closeness. My life, my attitude, the way of going through life, must really be a concrete sign of the fact that God is close to us. Small gestures of love, of tenderness, of care, that make people feel that the Lord is with us, is close to us. This is how the door of mercy opens.
Today I would like to pause briefly to reflect with you on the theme of this expression I used: the theme of commitment. What is a commitment? What does it mean to be committed? When I commit myself, it means that I assume a responsibility, a task, for someone; it also means the way, the attitude of faithfulness and dedication, the particular care with which I carry out this task. Each day we are asked to put our heart and soul into what we do: prayer, work, study, but also in sport and recreation.... Committing ourselves, in other words, means making every effort to do our best in order to improve life....
​                     to read further....
SICK AND HOUSEBOUND – If you would like prayers for anyone who is sick, housebound or in hospital and those who care for them, please contact the Parish Office on 01344 425729 or speak to Fr. Danny.