Upcoming Activities & Offerings

Sun. Aug 2nd  --  18th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

                              9:00 am Mildenhall, 11:00 am Brandon (and online)

Tues. Aug 4th  --  ST JOHN VIANNEY - 10:00 am Mass - Mildenhall (and online)

Wed. Aug 5th - ST MARTHA -- 10:00 am Mass - Brandon (and online)

Thurs. Aug 6th  --  THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD - 10:00 am Mass - Mildenhall (and online)

Fri. Aug 7th  --  10:00 am Mass - Brandon (and online)

Sun. Aug 9th  --  19th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

                            9:00 am Mildenhall, 11:00 am Brandon (and online)

Please pray for Sophie and Evin who will be married at St Thomas’ Brandon on Saturday!

Remember! To attend Mass in person on Sunday you must book from 1pm on Wednesday for the following weekend.  See Church Services page on this website.             

This day celebrates one of the great mysteries of Christ’s life and mission. He took his three ‘core’ apostles. Peter, James and John, up a mountain (believed to be Mount Tabor) to pray with him. The apostles did what seemed to be a regular thing – they fell asleep while The Lord prayed! They awoke startled to find Jesus in conversation with Moses and Elijah. After the shock of recognising these Patriarchs of Israel, Peter suggested that he build three tents for them and Jesus, no doubt to protect them from the heat of the day. But Moses and Elijah were about to leave. At that point the apostles entered a white cloud and a voice told them who Christ was – the Son of God.

Christ did nothing without a purpose. His intention here was to bolster the apostle’s courage before his passion and execution. By selecting these three apostles he chose a small team whose combined talents would provide strength to all his followers in the dark days to come: Peter, a strong, if hasty, leader, not afraid to speak truth to the power of the Sanhedrin; James, an organiser who would establish the structures and disciplines of the early church; and John, the mystic who would illumine and inspire the early church’s faith and vision of Christ the King.

Between them they would be able to explore and explain this mystery, after Christ’s resurrection; how Moses represented the Law of the Old Testament; how Elijah represented the prophets and, thereby, God’s promises to his people. Most of all, the meeting with Jesus represented the convergence of the Law and the Torah with Christ’s Mission as the Messiah.

Fr Luke writes…”Although I will celebrating Daily Mass this week I will be taking a break from all other pastoral activities whilst my family come and stay (Sun eve- Fri lunchtime) Mass can be booked in the usual way from 1pm Wednesday (Angie will be in the presbytery Wed afternoon taking bookings) and I will check my email on Friday. For all other pastoral concerns please contact me either after Friday, or contact a priest in our neighboring parishes”

My newspaper informs me that we are now a divided nation, between those who comply with the government’s requirement to wear masks and those who don’t. I have never trusted implicitly what the papers or other news media say. They each have their own agendas and I have learned to step carefully between fact and fiction, propositions and prejudices, truth and lies.

Even so, it is worth thinking about what a mask does that is acceptable to some people and intolerable for others.

A mask, of the type we have to wear in close contact, hides the mouth and jaw and the more prominent part of the nose. As such, Masks make it difficult to recognise people and just as difficult for us to project the kind of person we are.

One way of justifying not wearing a mask was summed up in something I overheard. “Well, Jesus never wore a mask, did he?!” True, as far as we know. However, Christ the Man was not facing an epidemic of the sort we face today.

The Son of God was dealing with a much more virulent and deadly disease – sin, the loss of faith in salvation, hope of rescue, and love of our neighbour. His mission to restore and deepen faith, strengthen hope and keep love’s flames burning was rooted in the truth of the psalms that remind us we are “a little less than god” (Ps.8.6) and “sons of the most high” (Ps.81.6). As such we are servants of God (Ps.133 and servants to others.

To be children of God, His servants and of service to one another, it seems to me at least, to justify a small act – wearing a face mask to protect those whom we meet and to avoid the plague so that we can continue to do His work.                                  TC

(Please see the Church Services page for updates as we transition back to public Mass in our churches at Brandon and Mildenhall beginning 5th July 2020.)

Mass is now celebrated with a congregation in both of our churches and is also available to view and follow online live on this website and on Facebook.

With the return of public Masses, both churches need to be cleaned after every Mass. Stewards are also needed for both churches to help with seating and moving around the church for Holy Communion. Please do volunteer (we cannot do this without you) to help by cleaning or stewarding. Special disinfectant spray has been ordered so cleaning between Masses will only really entail spraying seats and surfaces and wiping door handles. (PPE can be provided.)

Altar Servers: whilst restrictions are in place no Altar servers are allowed at this time.

Our churches are now open for Mass, although heavily restricted. Full details are on the Church Services page on this website. Please keep them as a reminder of what to do to book and attend a mass within the Parish.

Masses will still be available online.

Can’t find Mass on Facebook? Don’t worry you can now just visit this website!

The Facebook live-stream in now integrated with our parish website, this means you can view a live stream of the Mass here.

The video will appear in a screen below the main logo. (on some devices it can take up to a minute to connect) If it doesn’t appear after a few minutes refresh the page. For those of you who are using Facebook and commenting please continue to do so as you can only interact with the page through Facebook.

Please note that at this time, our buildings will only be used for public Mass; no other groups will meet in the Churches. Anyone accessing the building other than for Mass or to clean must clear this with Fr Luke first.

Sacristy: Sacristies are strictly out of bounds to all people, without exception (Fr Luke will act as his own sacristan for the time being) (Mildenhall parishioners must not use back door to enter church.)

Toilets: If necessary one toilet will be available for everyone to use in each of our churches.

Time in buildings: Please arrive just before Mass and leave shortly after (unless you are cleaning).

Your copy of the Summer Mission Today is in the post. If you have asked not to receive your usual set of magazines this time, you should still receive your own personal copy.

If you have not received your magazines by Monday, 6 July, please email redbox@missio.org.uk?subject=Mission%20Today%3A%20Impact%20Report or call the London office on 020 7821 9755.

7-Night stay and Airport Shuttle from Dubrovnik or Split for €266 per person sharing. Book any flight – any time and we provide guaranteed airport shuttle service. 

Call us for further information and book the dates that suit you. Tel. 020 3239 8662 or email reservations@med-irishcentre.com

If you or someone you know has a child in year 8 or above at school who would like to be confirmed this academic year, please contact Fr Luke, speak to him after Mass or email bmrcparishpriest@outlook.com .

The first series of talks have finished for the time being, but the full catalogue is available below.

Missed a talk? The full series is available to ‘watch again’ both here on our Faith Talks page and on Facebook. 

Topics covered thus far: 

• Faith for our Times: God's call on our lives - Fr Luke's Vocation Story
• Faith and Reason (Science and Faith) 
• Genesis, Evolution and the Big Bang!
• The Resurrection in scripture and Tradition 
• The Eucharist: Real Presence 
• The Eucharist: Source and Summit
• The Eucharist: Meal and Sacrifice
• The Church
• The Problem of Evil
• Spiritual Warfare
• There is something about Mary

FOOD BANK

Although we still cannot use our churches as a collection centre for the Food Bank, people’s needs remain. You don’t have to be unemployed to get help from a Food Bank. Those in low paid jobs, including those still furloughed, struggle to provide themselves and their families with the basic essentials of daily living, from food to hygiene and health products.

Our next collection would have taken place on August 3rd . Please use this date to put together your next donation and take it to the King’s Project in Mildenhall. They are open from 10.00 am to Noon on Mondays and Fridays and will welcome your contribution.

CAFOD

CORONAVIRUS INITIATIVE:  CAFOD has joined with the UK Disasters Emergencies Committee to help millions of people whose lives are at risk, as coronavirus spreads across refugee camps and countries suffering conflict. You can donate at www.cafod.org.uk/coronavirus to help CAFOD scale up its coronavirus response through our Global Church family. Or use CAFOD’s Summer of Hope fundraising ideas with your family and friends to transform lockdown and raise money for the appeal: for more information go to www.cafod.org.uk/summerofhope .

CAFOD’S REACH. Last week we gave details of CAFOD’s Coronavirus Campaign. That’s not all CAFOD do! Here’s a short list of their campaigns. Click on each to get an up-to-date report.

• Syria crisis: Millions of refugees face new threat from coronavirus

• Rohingya Crisis: Reaching vulnerable families

• Yemen crisis explained

• Cyclone Amphan brings double crisis to Bangladesh and India

• Cyclone Idai: how your donations are helping people rebuild their lives

• The humanitarian challenges that lie ahead in 2020

• CAFOD launches urgent appeal for millions of families facing hunger in Zimbabwe and Zambia

• Over 200,000 evacuated as Typhoon Kammuri makes landfall in the Philippines

Fr Luke has a new Daily Radio Show on Catholic Radio Station, Radio Maria!

‘Heroes of Faith’ profiles heroic and saintly Christians from throughout history in the
hope that we can draw some inspiration from their lives.

The show is on Mon – Friday at 3:10 pm and repeated at 10:25 pm each evening.
The station is available on DAB Radio* and online at https://radiomariaengland.uk/
you can also download their app (Radio Maria World family) from the app store –
you will need to select Radio Maria England from the list.

*Likely that DAB coverage in our area won’t get Radio Maria

Don’t worry you can now just visit our website!

The Facebook live steam in now integrated with our parish website, this means you can simply go to the parish website and see the live stream. The video will appear in a screen below the main logo (active while services are being streamed live). If it doesn’t appear after a few minutes refresh the page.  If still having problems, click on the link in the box below the live stream place holder.

For those of you who are using Facebook and commenting, please continue to do so as you can only interact with the page through Facebook.

Customers have questions, you have ansThe Irish station Radio RTE, which is based in Dublin, is broadcasting to the UK on long wave 252kHz. Every other Sunday they broadcast Mass at 11am.  The next one will be on Sunday, May 3 and fortnightly thereafter.

Radio Maria England, which is based in Cambridge, broadcasts on DAB+ in Greater London and on DAB (Band 11C 220.352 MHz) in Cambridgeshire and the surrounding areas.  You can also listen to it from across East Anglia online at https://radiomariaengland.uk  Broadcasts include Masses, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and morning and evening prayer.

EWTN, which has a base in Walsingham, Norfolk, produces a wide range of radio programmes and can be reached on https://www.ewtn.com/radio

Premier Christian Radio is on DAB, Internet and can be also accessed via TV Freeview 725wers. Display the most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits.

At this time, it will not be possible for people to receive Holy Communion. Everyone is invited, however, to join in the ancient practice of making regular spiritual communions, this can be particularly fruitful when following the daily Mass in your Missals on online via the live feed.

Prayer of St Alphonsus:  My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this Holy Sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. Amen.

Struggling with the coronavirus and social distancing measures? Scared? Need to talk? Struggling to get shopping or basic groceries?

Pick up the phone!  Your parish is your family and we are here for you, in the first instance feel free to call Fr Luke on 01842 812200 and he will do his best to help you, support you and put you in contact with others who may be able to help. If you don’t get an answer.  Leave a message and your number (Clearly) and he will get back to you. We may be socially isolating -but we are not on our own!

(especially if you are having trouble live-streaming Online)

Radio Stations: DAB (Digital) Radio: Radio Maria England, Premier Christian Radio (available on TV Radio as well and has Sunday Morning Worship) Radio 4 Has Sunday Worship on Sunday Morning at 8:10 am on FM and a Daily Service at 9:45 am on Long Wave (not FM).

TV: Sky TV 588 is ETWN (Catholic Channel) and has Daily Mass broadcast as well as other prayers and devotions.

Websites: https://pray-as-you-go.org/ https://shalem.org/programs/online/holy-interruptions/
https://stpaulcenter.com/hub/

Coloring prayer resources: If you would like adult-coloring sheets, to help with
prayer/mindfulness/meditation please contact Fr Luke and he will try and source them for you.

Having a Mass offered for someone’s intention is a good and holy thing to do. It is important to remember, however, that Mass is always offered in the first instance for all people. (For For God’s Glory and our sanctification) No one buys or owns a Mass. A Mass is always ‘our Mass’ - even if offered for a particular individual. Please also remember that in our parish only one Sunday Mass can be offered for an intention that someone has asked for. 

There can be a bit of a back log with Mass intentions:

• If you would like Mass offered for a particular intention on or near a specific day, (and at a specific location) please give as much notice as possible – some people book days a year in advance. 
• If the date that you would like is unavailable. Mass will be offered at the requested location, on the next available free-day. However, this means that it could be as long as six weeks after the proposed date. 
• If you are not too-concerned about where Mass will be offered (Brandon or Mildenhall) then it is often possible to fit a Mass in sooner than this. 

Want to know more about the Church?  Perhaps you are a Catholic but missed out on making your confirmation as a youngster.

If this is you, please consider joining our RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) programme. Please write to Fr Luke expressing your interest.

Free e-book (with church imprimatur) for your computer/tablet/phone:

The new Liturgical Year begins on the First Sunday of Advent. This e-book may be downloaded free of charge to any computer/tablet/phone. It offers the Gospel for every day of the coming Liturgical Year A-2 (Sundays Year A, weekdays Year 2), together with a reflection of some 750 words on each daily Gospel. 

The e-book may be passed on for downloading to friends or acquaintances as desired, and may be accessed at the following URL address:  www.catholic-thoughts.info/ebook/

As a parish, we are dedicated to working for fair treatment of growers and suppliers in the Third World. 

Because of lack of support, we no longer have a Traidcraft stall at Mildenhall, but we are still obliged to use Fairly Traded tea and coffee. If these cannot be purchased from shops and supermarkets locally, Gillian Caple can order it from Traidcraft. Please ask her. 

Locally, Sainsbury’s have opted out of using the Fair Trade logo and, therefore, there is uncertainty about the status of their products. Non-fair trade brands such as Nescafe, Lavazza, etc. should not be used in St John’s. Please inspect purchases carefully for the Fairtrade logo. 

We have a number of ways of recording people for whom prayers are said, including, books at each church and this section of our weekly Newsletter. 

In the Newsletter we record the names of those whose anniversaries occur each month and sometimes those for whom special requests have been made. These names will, of course, re-appear the same time next year. Because of limited space, the anniversaries are for those who have died since 2010. 

Do you want to share our faith in everyday life here in the parish?

This autumn we have started a Proclaim! Group focusing on evangelisation. We are reading Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples together over six weeks and then we support each other to proclaim God’s Good News.  

Following the first presentation on Wednesday 25th September at St Thomas’ Brandon, it was thought that it would be good to share our prayers with the whole parish.  So a prayer pamphlet was enclosed in your newsletter on 29th Sep.

Please add these prayers to your own prayers at home. 

Pray for yourself; and for the group who are estabilishing the programme on Wednesdays; and for the whole parish: that we will have the desire and confidence to share the beauty of God’s love with others.  

Fr Luke writes:  Many thanks for all who have contributed to keeping a respectful silence before mass. This is a joyful practice and creates the appropriate atmosphere for the celebration. 

Please also respect others, who may be trying to pray before and after Mass, by keeping talking to a minimum in and around the main body of the Church. (This does not apply so much to Mildenhall after Mass as we have a Blessed Sacrament chapel for people to pray in whilst teas and coffee continue at the back of the Church.) Silent and prayerful preparation is something that Pope Francis asks us to take seriously.

The Pope says: “Mass is the highest form of prayer and not an appropriate moment for small talk. At church, Catholics should spend their time in silence before Mass, preparing to meet with Jesus instead of engaging in "chitchat,”. Silence is so important…we are not going to a show. Silence prepares us and accompanies us." –           

                                                General audience Nov 15th 2017 

       IF SILENCE IS GOLDEN, PLEASE GIVE JESUS A LITTLE OF YOUR GOLD 

Pax Christi (The Peace of Christ) works for:

• Peace – based on justice. A world where human rights are respected, basic needs are met and people feel safe and valued in their communities.
• Reconciliation –a process which begins when people try to mend relationships –between individuals or whole countries after times of violence or dispute.
• Nonviolence –a way of living and making choices that respects others, challenges what is not fair or unjust, and offers alternatives to violence and war.

To do this Pax Christi works to:

• Support teachers, chaplains and youth workers in promoting a culture of peace in schools and amongst young people.
• Develop solidarity between people who are working non-violently for justice and peace. Pax Christi does this through joint actions for peace in Israel-Palestine, through events to encourage international efforts to abolish nuclear weapons and by celebrating the life and witness of peacemakers.
• Promote an understanding of sustainable security where human needs are met and the environment is protected, rather than seeking security through weapons and warfare. Pax Christi campaigns against military spending, the arms trade and nuclear weapons.

                                                                                                    TC

Your local J&P Group brings together Brandon, Mildenhall and Newmarket as our two parishes work together to promote practical action in support Catholic Teaching. We: 

• Arrange exhibitions & displays;
• Organise peace vigils;
• Provide resources to celebrate church festivals (from Easter chicks to Peace Poppies);
• Run campaigns (e.g. “Share the Journey”) to support people in need in the UK and elsewhere round the world;
• Raise funds for specific projects;
• Keep people informed about J&P Matters.

We always welcome new members to the group. You don’t have to come to meetings! You can join by using Skype of Face Time or just receive and respond to our monthly Update. 

The Justice & Peace Group usually meet on the first Monday of each month. All are welcome.

Talk to Tom or Gill Caple for more information: 01638 716474 

Prayer 

O Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, full of compassion and maker of peace, you lived in poverty and suffered persecution for the cause of justice. 

You chose the Cross as the path to glory to show us the way of salvation. May we receive the word of the Gospel joyfully and live by Your example as heirs and citizens of Your kingdom. Amen. 

On Sunday, July 7th, the Justice & Peace Group facilitated a shared lunch and discussion on what a parish might do to counteract or reduce the effects of climate change. Here are some of the ideas that emerged: 

A. Become a Live Simply Parish 

B. Use Solar Panels/Raise money for Solar Panels 

C. Become a plastic-free parish? 

D. Educate the kids in the Children’s Liturgy 

E. Make a commitment as a parish to: 

     • Turn off lights when not in use 

     • Make sure all our lights are LED bulbs 

     • Check the lights 

F. Have a walk/cycle to mass Sunday (for those who can) 

G. Share cars to get to Church using less fuel.

Many other suggestions were made as well, some of which are already in place. There’s no doubting that more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of local action, and not just waiting for world leaders to solve the problem. 

If you have suggestions about practical actions we can take, please contact Gill or Tom Caple 

Ten years ago the UK Government took a global lead and passed the pioneering Climate Change Act committing us to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Recent research by climate scientists has stressed that this is no longer enough. We need to go further, faster. Unless we make dramatic changes, the damage caused by climate change will be irreversible. We need to reach ‘net zero’ emissions by 2045 at the latest. This is based on the science behind keeping global temperature rise below 1.5C. Several countries have already committed to reach this target. The UK as a global leader on climate change must join them to ‘revive’ our common home. So what can we do? 

For further information about the national campaign go to www.cafod.org.uk/climate 

Working with Adult Faith Formation (AFF) 

AFF is a group that has come together to work together in their spiritual development. They meet monthly on Thursday evenings and Tuesday lunchtimes for prayer, talks by invited speakers and study sessions. 

In February the J&P led an event on Intercessions.  AFF members took part in an interactive session involving discussion, practice in composing intentions and reflection.  The papers supporting the session can be obtained from Tom Caple.  Participants said that the session was helpful.

The session was repeated (with suitable adjustments) for the Tuesday Lunch Club.  It also got a positive response.

Stations of the Cross 

We led a poetry-based Station service at OLISE on Palm Sunday.   Each participant read a relevant poem at each station. Across the echoing church, each reading draped us with insights and reverence for Christ’s gift of sacrifice. It proved a very moving way of remembering Jesus’s journey. 

Nonviolence Works is a network of Christian Peace Organisations, including Pax Christi, committed to furthering peace in communities. The network has evidence that there are ways other than violent intervention to resolve differences and bring an end to wars. It publishes cases that show how nonviolent approaches can and do work. We will publish examples from time to time. Here are three: 

Norway 1942 

Teachers refused to co-operate with the pro-Nazi Quisling regime and, although many endured prison, the obligation to teach Nazi doctrines had to be withdrawn. 

Mozambique 1989-92 

The Rome-based Community of Sant” Egidio brokered an agreement between RENAMO and FRELIMO forces, ending ten years of war. 

Guatemala 2007 

Young stilt walkers used circus acts and carnival in the streets to transform the climate of violence spread by brutal youth gangs. 

Fr Luke writes: I have decided to produce regular (or semi-regular depending on commitments!) articles which I shall include with the newsletter from time to time as a supplement entitled ‘what we believe’. I hope to explore with you some aspects of our faith that perhaps, we haven’t always (or at least recently) thought about too deeply. It is not always possible and not really the right forum to explore these themes in depth in homilies so I have decided to explore them in written form with the hope that we can go a bit deeper and, if you wish, read at your own pace and re-read as necessary. I may also in time have these available online as well.   

The third reflection on the Creed: ‘Creator of Heaven and Earth’.  

The fourth reflection: ‘Of all things visible and invisible’. 

The fifth reflection:  ‘I believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son, Our Lord.’ 

The sixth reflection: "He was conceived by the Holy spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. "

This is a programme of weekly sessions exploring understanding of our faith and spiritual development, held at Our Lady Immaculate & St Etheldreda after 7 pm Mass each Thursday.  All are welcome. Tom & Gill Caple have details. 

For a full programme see the OLiSE website - www.olise.co.uk. 

Fr Luke writes: In order to help me run our parish I am looking to appoint a group of advisors from both the Mildenhall and Brandon Community. I am going to spend some time next week praying over the mission and ministry of our parish and planning the way forward. A constitutive part of this team will be a new safeguarding rep as our current rep, Andy Watts has decided to step down. I am grateful to Andy for the work he has done. If I approach you over the next few weeks, please be generous in giving of yourself in service of our parish community. If you have any ideas or suggestions about how things are done in our parish please feel free to email me or to talk to personally, I want to hear your views. 

An anonymous donor has given the parish 10 copies of this Redemptorist booklet, which can be used by children (with or without their parents, depending on age) to follow and learn about the Mass. Users can colour in and wipe off again and again. 

Five of the copies will be available in each church. You may use it, but please clean and return it after Mass. If you want to take it home for study between masses, please do so, but return it the following week. Thank you. 

A new series of day-retreats entitled 'Discipleship Days' aimed at those aged 16 - 35, are now being launched around the Diocese of East Anglia. These days are for those who wish to grow in their faith through a day of fellowship, formation and prayer. The first one took place on the 23rd of February in Brandon. These events are free of charge. If you are under 18, please go to www.rcdea.org.uk/youth for a parental consent form.