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 
New to our Parish? Welcome!
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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
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The running man is eager and respectful.  He is a true seeker.  He calls Jesus 'Good Teacher' and he is right!  But Jesus needs him to shift his focus elsewhere -  to the goodness of God.  Eternal life is God's gift to us.  It flows from the heart of love.  In this Sunday's Gospel, both seeker and disciple will receive a masterclass in how to understand God and the goodness of God.
 
The seeker has a problem or two! He is focused on being good in order to get the best.  He lives in a world of action and reward. He has kept the commandments from his youth.  He has a young person’s spirituality, all
eagerness, energy and EGO!  Before Jesus takes him to the next level, He looks at him and loves him.  All he has done has brought him to Jesus.  He has completed step one and now step two beckons him.  What Jesus is about to say is not a criticism but a leg up to the answer to his question. How does someone receive the life that flows from the goodness of God?
 
Suddenly Jesus starts talking about 'treasure in heaven' v.21. The thing we must prize more than anything else is our relationship with God.  The path to this 'God centredness' is to let go of all that now possesses him and give it to  the  poor.   The  seeker  understands  but  cannot  believe  what  he  is hearing!  In shock and grief he turns away.  Jesus sweeps a penetrating gaze towards his disciples and suggests that all who are weighed down by wealth will find it difficult to enter the kingdom of God.  His disciples are first puzzled and  then  astonished  by  this.   Then  Jesus  escalates  the  situation  from 'difficult' to 'impossible'.  Now His disciples are in shock.  The Teacher waits, then  makes  His  final  thrust.   He  must  lift  them  out  of  conventional consciousness  to  illumination.   What  is  impossible  for  human  beings  is possible for God!  This is the karate chop which will dismantle the obstruction and open their hearts to another Way.
 
The good God wants to give them eternal life and they must look to Heaven as Jesus does so often.  Humans are  addicted  to  looking  everywhere  else.   No  earthly  treasure  will  be  a  ticket  to  eternal  life.   Owning  and accumulating does not work in the world of the Spirit.  If the heart longs for 'eternal life' it is wrongheaded in the
extreme if the heart thinks it can do this by accumulating good deeds.   
 
Peter jumps in. "Okay, let’s not talk about this guy or other rich people. We haven’t walked away.  What's in it for us?"  Peter is still playing 'quid pro quo' with God.  In return for his sacrifice he expects a reward.  Peter is fearful of  being  cheated.   He  may  have  left  everything  but  his  mind  has  not.   Jesus  addresses  his  fear  with  comic exaggeration.  All you have given will be returned with interest - the good God is not stingy.  But the spiritual law still applies - If you want to be first, you will be last.  But if you are last, thereby opening yourself to the goodness of God, you will be first.  Every blessing has to be received as a free gift.
 
The drive to assuage insecurity can be ruthless.  It can make us extremely self-absorbed and, worse still, it leads to terrible injustices.  Even worse, we may tolerate injustice and cruelty as long as we benefit from them!  Couple the moral defects which come with the drive to accumulate, with spiritual ignorance, and the whole project is doomed to failure.  Accumulation is futile in the face of death.  Temporal life is insecure by its very nature.  No strategy within time will ever change that.
 
In Anthony de Mellos' 'The Song of the Bird', there is a great little Parable about holding onto life with an open hand.
 
In the 19th century an American tourist visited the famous Polish Rabbi Hafez Hayyim.  He was astonished to see that the Rabbis' home was only a simple room filled with books.  The only furniture, a table and a bench. 'Rabbi, where is your furniture?' asked the tourist. 'Where is yours?' Replied Hafez. 'Mine? But I'm only a visitor here'.
'So am I," said the Rabbi.
 
As someone who dances to the rhythms of time and eternity, we must live in time but have our eyes fixed on heaven.  This will turn our lives around,  we will instantly cure ourselves of anxiety and the desire to have power over others.  We must not delude ourselves.  Even while we have possessions, we must disown them.  We cannot allow them to own us in such a way that they close our hearts to the suffering of others or to the astonishing generosity and goodness of 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?

CAR PARK PROPOSAL
As a parish we are extremely fortunate to have a dedicated church car park, especially in such a busy town centre. However, as our wonderful community continues to grow, this space is often filled well beyond capacity and particularly at the weekend. Read more...
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 .
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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.