Dearest friends,
On Tuesday we celebrate St Michael, St Gabriel, and St Raphael. On Friday we remember the Holy Guardian Angels. Two feasts in one week give us a chance to pay attention to something we can easily overlook. The angels are part of the story of God’s care for his people.
We meet Gabriel when he comes to Mary with news that will change her life and the life of the world. Mary has questions. She cannot see how what Gabriel says will happen. The angel gives her God’s promise, and Mary finds the courage to say yes. Later, angels announce Jesus’ birth to shepherds keeping watch at night. At the empty tomb, angels tell frightened disciples that Jesus has risen. They appear at moments when people need help to recognise what God is doing.
Michael reminds us that evil is real, and that it will not have the final word. Raphael, in the book of Tobit, travels alongside a young man who does not know who his companion truly is. His story has a particular tenderness. God’s help is present on the road, long before it is recognised.
That may be why these feasts speak to ordinary life. Most of us will never see an angel. We know what it is to set out without knowing quite how things will turn out, to carry worry for someone we love, or to need courage for the next step.
Scripture tells us that God’s care is greater than we can see. The feast of the Guardian Angels encourages us to trust that no one is too small or too easily forgotten to matter to him. Jesus says that the angels of the little ones behold the face of his Father in heaven.
Angels also teach us something about worship. Their praise runs through Scripture, and at every Mass we join our voices with angels and archangels in the Sanctus. The congregation gathered here is part of something far larger than the people we can see in the pews. Heaven and earth give thanks together for the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
The angels never ask us to stop with them. Gabriel points Mary towards the child she will bear. The angels at the tomb point the disciples towards the risen Lord. This week, we can ask God for Mary’s courage to listen, thank him for the care we cannot always see, and add our voices to that great song of praise. The angels will be doing what they have always done – pointing us to Jesus.
In love,
Fr. Matthew
Sunday 27th September
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
9am – Sung Parish Mass [SJ]
11:15am – Sung Parish Mass [SL]
5pm – NA Benefice Evensong, St Mary’s, Wolborough
Year A(II), Psalm week 2, Trinity 17, Proper 21
Upcoming Dates
Sept
27th – NA Benefice Evensong, St. Mary’s (5pm)
Oct
7th – St. Luke’s Ladies Group [SL]
11th – Harvest Festival [SJ & SL]
17th – Table Top Sale (10am) [WH]
31st – Quiz Night (7pm) [TBC]
Nov
4th – St. Luke’s Ladies Group [SL]
8th – Parish Lunch [SL]
20th – ‘Western’ Class 52 Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotives in
Camera, 1975–1977 (7pm) [SL]
21st – Table Top Sale (10am) [WH]
25th – Last Night of the Proms Concert (7pm) [SL]
26th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 1 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
29th – CTNA Advent Service (4pm) [SL]
Advent Carols by Candlelight (6.30pm) [SJ]
Dec
2nd – St. Luke’s Ladies Group [SL]
3rd – Advent Course on Mary – Week 2 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall 6th – Rowcroft Carol Service (3pm) [SL]
9th – Darby and Joan Club Carol Service (2pm) [SJ]
10th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 3 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
12th – Christmas Fair [WH]
13th – Parish Lunch [SL]
17th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 4 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
20th – Nine Lessons and Carols (6pm) [SJ & SL]
24th – Small Blessings Crib Service (morning, time TBC) [SL]
Live Nativity (4pm) [SJ]
Candlelit Midnight Mass (11.30pm) [SL]
25th – Christmas Day Mass (10am) [SJ & SL]
[SJ] St. John’s | [SL] St. Luke’s | [WH] Wickham Hall
[SC] St. Catherine’s School