Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and thus concludes Christmas time. Unlike our Baptism, Jesus’ was not one of forgiveness and conversion, he did not need it. Jesus, who appeared and was acclaimed light of the world, is shown today as the Son of God. The baptism of Jesus is also the beginning of his public mission which will take him to the events of Easter.
As it were, we are invited to accompany Jesus in his journey and by coming to mass on Sunday we will accomplish that mission. Our next step is the feast of Easter, which we will celebrate from Thursday 18th April to Sunday 21st. There are many events already beginning in our parish. The pre-confirmation programme began last Thursday and will take place every first Thursday of the month till the summer. The final goal is to have a celebration of confirmation in our parish during the celebrations of the 150th anniversary. These meetings are open to any parishioner in year 9 and above. My predecessors have been informed of the plans the parish has for the 150th anniversary and they have been invited to some of those celebrations.
At the beginning of February we will start a marriage course for engaged couples. There will be eight sessions and already we have 15 couples registered. Whereas the course is intended for couples from St Catherine and Guardian Angels (who are providing one of the couples of catechists), others might be able to join us.
We will soon also begin thinking of Lent which begins on 6th March. Our parish Lenten project will be to support the work of the Jesuit Refugee Service. We hope also to have talks to raise awareness of such a sensitive topic and perhaps have some fundraising events.
These are some of the areas of our parish which show our commitment to our baptism. There are many more such as the Bow Food Bank and the preparation for other Sacraments. However so much more could be done. Perhaps you have ideas or suggestions, please let me know and let your talent come to the fore for the good of the community and the greater glory of God.
Fr. Javier