The Feast of St Joachim and St Anne
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Celebrated on Friday this is a maybe less well known  and quieter feast celebrated in honour of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the the earthly grandparents of Jesus. 
As existing information about Saints Anne​ and Joachim comes from the Gospel of James and Catholic legend, ​there is debate over the details of their lives. But regardless, it can be agreed that to be the parents of Jesus’s earthly mother, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim must have been faithful, devoted parents indeed. The patronage of Saint Anne includes grandparents, couples without children, women in labour, and women unable to conceive. Likewise, Saint Joachim is considered the patron of grandfathers, fathers, and grandparents. 
Anne, in Hebrew, means “God has given grace.” According to existing accounts, she was barren for much of her life. One day in her advanced years, she conceived Mary, the mother of Jesus. Saint Anne dedicated the life of her child to the service of God when she was only three – a decision that was undoubtedly formative in the shaping of the future Mother of God. 
As we reflect on the legacy of Saints Anne and Joachim, we are also invited to reflect on the vital role played by all grandparents in completing the loving family unit and nurturing the faith of future generations. Grandparents can take a vital part in the training of their grandchildren, teaching them to love the ways of the Lord and honour his commandments. It was Saints Anne and Joachim who cultivated in the young Mary a love for God, preparing her for her role in the story of divine redemption. 
Pope Francis remarked of Saints Anne and Joachim:
In their home, Mary came into the world, accompanied by the extraordinary mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Mary grew up in the home of Joachim and Anne; she was surrounded by their love and faith: in their home she learned to listen to the Lord and to follow his will. Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us. How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith! 
 
There is also something to be said for grandparents’ roles as repositories of wisdom and history. Their experience in faith and life has enriched their judgment, rendering them invaluable counsels for the generations that follow. They remember the heritage of the family and share it with future generations. 
 
As Pope Francis has also written: How important grandparents are for family life, for passing on the human and religious heritage which is so essential for each and every society! How important it is to have intergenerational exchanges and dialogue, especially within the context of the family. The Aparecida Document says, “Children and the elderly build the future of peoples: children because they lead history forward, the elderly because they transmit the experience and wisdom of their lives. This relationship and this dialogue between generations is a treasure to be preserved and strengthened!”  
 
Devotion to their memory is particularly strong in the Eastern Catholic churches, where their intercession is invoked by the priest at the end of each Divine Liturgy. The Eastern churches, however, celebrate Sts. Joachim and Anne on a different date, Sept. 9.
During the Jubilee Year 2025 the Jubilee of Families, Grandparents and the Elderly will be from the 30th of May until the 1st of June 

​St Joseph Statue
You may have noticed that the Statue of St Joseph as moved from its “temporary” home to its original location at the back of the Church by the door to the Hall.   It was moved after it got damaged but now has been replaced in its original spot.  The plan is, once funds permit, to get a proper small embroidered cloth made for the table and also to add a light to the track above it.  
 
St Joseph is an important figure in the life of the Church.  Though no words of his are recorded in scripture St. Joseph is the foster father of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He is the patron saint of fathers. Joseph is also the protector of the Church. He is one of the patrons of refugees, because he took Mary and Jesus, when Jesus was a baby, to safety in Egypt, to flee the wrath of the tyrannical King Herod. Joseph is also the patron saint of labourers, because he was a working man, a carpenter. He’s the patron saint of families and he is the patron saint of those who are dying.
 
Pope Francis has written “While Jerusalem was “the city loved by the Lord, the ‘holy city’,” it was Bethlehem and Nazareth, both outlying villages, far from the clamour of the news and the powers of the time  that are most associated with Saint Joseph. The choice of Bethlehem and Nazareth tells us that the periphery and marginality are preferred by God, and failure to take this fact seriously is equivalent to not taking seriously the Gospel and the work of God.”
Pope Francis also has a statue of the Sleeping Saint Joseph, an unusual statue for Europeans but very famous among the faithful from South America.
Many times Pope Francis has spoken about his habit of putting underneath the Sleeping St Joseph statue some little notes with requests for grace and prayers of the faithful, trying to invite the Saint to sleep on it and put it a good word with God.
The Pontiff himself declared in 2015 he particularly loves Saint Joseph, as he is such a strong and silent man, the man of the dreams, that protects and helps everyone even in his sleep. 
There is a small statue of the Sleeping St Joseph on a stand near the big statue and if you also wish to put an intention or a prayer there then Mass will be offered for these once a month.

​Feast of St Benedict Thurs 11th of July
Patron Saint of Europe
 
St. Benedict was born c. 480AD in Nursia and was the founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and father of Western monasticism.  The Monastic he Rule that he established became the norm for monastic living throughout Europe. St. Gregory the Great – who wrote the only ancient biography of St. Benedict that we have – called St. Benedict “a bright light” in an age marked by the most serious crisis.
The Rule which St Benedict composed AD 530 is essentially a manual, a code for monastic life. Written in a familiar style, Benedict throughout the prologue and 73 chapters of the Rule exhorts his monks to listen with “the ear of the heart” to “never despair of the mercy of God”: “Listen carefully, my child, to your master's precepts, and incline the ear of your heart (Prov. 4:20). “Receive willingly and carry out effectively your loving father’s advice”.
In 1964, in view of the work of monks following the Benedictine Rule in the evangelization and civilization of so many European countries in the Middle Ages, Pope Paul VI proclaimed him the patron saint of all Europe. 

Second Collection 30th June
30th June is a special day of prayer for Pope Francis and there is a second collection called Peters Pence. This appeal, which goes back to Medieval times, supports Pope Francis’ mission from the proclamation of the Gospel to the promotion of integral human development, education and peace.  Peter’s Pence also aims to support a range of charities which bring aid and comfort to the poor, children, families, the elderly, the marginalised, victims of war and natural disasters, refugees and migrants.  Pope Francis said in a message for Peter’s Pence “The hope that we have been given never divides us from others. Instead, it is an extraordinary gift of which we are called to make ourselves ‘channels’, with humility and simplicity, for everyone. So our boastfulness is because we have as Father a God who opens his house to all human beings, beginning with the least and the most distant, so that as his children we may learn to console and support one another.” 


Exposition, Rosary, and Benediction
There will be Exposition during which we will pray the Rosary in the evening of 30th June at 1700

​St John the Baptist
Monday is the Feast of the birth of St John the Baptist.  The church celebrates the birthday of only three people; Jesus, Mary and St. John the Baptist.
 
Pope Benedict wrote that “John the Baptist had the profound humility to hold up Jesus as the One sent by God, drawing back so that Jesus might take the lead, and be heard and followed. As his last act the Baptist witnessed with his blood to faithfulness to God’s commandments, without giving in or withdrawing, carrying out his mission to the very end.
 
In one of his Homilies the Venerable Bede says: “St John gave his life for Christ. He was not ordered to deny Jesus Christ, but was ordered to keep silent about the truth” And he did not keep silent about the truth and thus died for Christ who is the Truth. Precisely for love of the truth he did not stoop to compromises and did not fear to address strong words to anyone who had strayed from God’s path.”

​History of St Alphege Church
 
Last week I had the privilege to meet Eddie Hayward on the week of his 100th birthday. Eddie came to the Church to receive a blessing but also to revisit the Church he had helped to build during the 1950s. After leaving Naval Service Eddie worked as a stone mason with Longs the Builders and worked on The Manor Hospital now RUH, Bath Fire station, as well as on St Alphege Church.  He was able to point out some of the areas he had worked on and the stone he had dressed.  He bought with him his stone hammer which was worn down from the work he had done. I have put a picture of Eddie with his stone hammer on the notice board by the statue of Our Lady. 
 
Obviously, very many congratulations to Eddie on his 100th birthday. But also let us give thanks for all those whose skill, dedication, and generosity enable us to be here and worship today.

You might like to make one of the suggested Bidding Prayers for this Sunday part of your daily prayers:

For policy makers and those in government: that they may come to discern more clearly that the infinite dignity of every person can never be lost even in what seem to be hopeless situations, and that however short a person’s life may be, that person is unconditionally precious.

​From ‘Ortodoxy’ by G K Chesterton
 
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

Rosary and Benediction Feast of The Most Holy Trinity – Evening on Sunday the 26th of May at 5 pm / 1700, there will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Rosary and Benediction in St Alphege Church.  

First Holy Communion
Please do pray for Abigail, Audrey, Chimbudike, Eloy, Holly, Isabelle, Mabel and Sofia
who make their First Confession and who will receive our Lord in Holy Communion for the first time today on the Feast of Pentecost