The 28th Sunday of the Year
14th October 2007

Mon - St Teresa of Jesus
Thur - St Luke the Evangelist

---

A VISIT FROM
CARDINAL MURPHY-O'CONNOR

The Cardinal is coming to offer mass next Saturday Evening at 6.30 to mark the 80th Anniversary of the parish's founding, 20 years since the Church was built and to meet the parishioners. Fathers Steven Beale and David Palmer will join us. There will be a reception afterwards in the Parish Centre.

Because of commitments we have made to the visit I do not intend to celebrate a mass at 5.00pm on Sunday. Everyone is most welcome to come to greet Cardinal Cormac who, as you know, recently came to that time (75yrs.) when it is customary for bishops to offer their resignation and await the Holy Father's decision on a successor.
Fr. Bernard

---

Gospel Reflection:
Living In Wholeness

You must have met people who blame God when bad things happen. Today's gospel reading is a lesson on living in gratitude and wholeness to God.

Jesus cures ten lepers and nine of them hurry off without a word of thanks. Presumably they can't wait to get back to their families and loved ones. They can't wait to get back to where they left off. They can't wait to get back to 'normality'. To the nine lepers Jesus must have seemed nothing more
than a biblical paramedic. How often do we fall into the same trap?

The one leper who returned to thank Jesus recognised that his life would never be 'normal' again. Something extraordinary had happened; his life had been touched by God. The nine lepers who returned to normality knew they had been made well, but the one who returned to thank Jesus recognised that not only had he been made well ..... he had been made whole. The leper who returned was not about to forget what God had done for him.

The leper who retuned was bubbling over with gratitude. We all have reasons to bubble over with gratitude to God. The key to living in wholeness is to appreciate when God lifts us from 'normality' and 'ordinariness'.

---

WORLD MISSION SUNDAY APF (October 21st.)

The work of the Pontifical Mission Societies is remembered next week in our prayers and charity. There are over 1000 dioceses around the world that depend on the charity of churches like ours.

---

St. Luke - 18th October

Luke wrote as a Gentile for Gentile Christians, and this gives his Gospel a distinctive slant. Material found in Luke's Gospel and not elsewhere includes much of the account of Our Lord's birth and infancy and boyhood, and some of the most moving parables, such as that of the Good Samaritan and that of the Prodigal Son. In Luke's account of the Gospel, we find an emphasis on the human love of Christ, on His compassion for sinners and for suffering The role of women in Christ's ministry is more emphasized in Luke than in the other Gospel writings.

---

THE CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

Saturday 10th. November 11-3pm in the Parish Centre.
We are now appealing for goods for the various stalls. We need items of jewellery, cosmetics, stationery, tombola, candles, crafts and homemade preserves. Please leave donations in the Church Porch.

Please note that due to lack of space we are unable to take books, clothing, toys and bric-a-brac

Stallholders - Please add your name to the list in the porch if you are able to help run a stall.

Sponsorship of prizes - If you willing to sponsor one of our prizes please write your name on the list. Thank you. K Wren

---

PLANNED GIVING

The new planned-giving boxes of envelopes start 4th November and will be available for collection shortly. If anyone would like to join the scheme, which is of great benefit to St. Theodore's, would you please contact Ross Gibbs ( 020 8979 4090)

The envelopes can be used for cash or cheques but we can also set up a standing order and, of course, Gift Aid, if you are a tax payer when the parish claims a further 28% of your donation to charity from Inland Revenue!