Pentecost

The glorious day of Pentecost was celebrated with care and reverence here at St John’s. We asked for the Holy Spirit to descend on us as that action which started in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost after the Resurrection continues in us.
We welcomed new people today and during refreshments many of the congregation took a try into guessing the number of sweets in the jar – all in aid of the servers’ robes of course, while in another part of the hall the Edmeads were busy selling plants in aid of our Walsingham Cell funds.
After lunch, I enjoyed visiting Fr Dawson, speaking to parents asking for baptism, doing some work in connection with Confirmation, seeing shots of the Papal Mass from this morning in Rome while saying a prayer or two for our cricket team. (Prayers were not answered!) At 5pm we had Rosary in church, and today because of the solemnity of the day and the end of the month of Mary we recited the Rosary in front of the Most Blessed exposed “ad ostium” which ended with Benediction.
Immediately after Benediction Fr Mark, the Sacristan and I moved the Paschal Candle from the High Altar to the Font and removed the May decorations around the statue of Blessed Mary. Easter and May come to an end together, what a great blessing both of them were. Breviaries are all set up and marked as we enter into Ordinary Time.
If you can, during this week, could you please pray for our Confirmands who will receive this Sacrament from the hands of John our Bishop on Trinity Sunday. They are: Phoebe, Victoria, Joan, Jason, Domenico and Maria-Pia.

The image below is the icon of Our Lady of Divine Love, venerated in a lovely shrine just outside Rome. As the Holy Spirit features so prominently in the icon the feast day of the Madonna dell Divino Amore is celebrated on Pentecost. This icon was taken to St Peter's today for the celebration of the Papal Mass.