Newsletter - 11th July 2021
Summer: The Lesson of the Fig Tree
Learn the lesson of the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. – Mt 24:32
After a long winter, summer has come. Many would hasten to add “and none too soon.” Winter and Covid restrictions have taken their toll. We hope summer will bring regeneration and blossoming of new fruits, not only in nature but in our own lives as well. For obvious reasons, our desire for summer rest and renewal is especially strong this year.
But summer passes quickly and the opportunity for much needed rest can easily be lost. It may help to ask “what really gives rest for me and my family?” And then be sure to leave time and space for these things during this precious summer season.
Consider the statement, real rest restores. Or we could say it renews, relaxes, refreshes – all manner of words beginning with the prefix re-. These words point to returning to a previous or original condition. Rest brings you back to being who you really are, the person God created you to be and to become.
Real rest restores the whole of our being body, soul, and spirit. We should include summer activities that will restore us at all three levels of our being. We look forward to long walks, swimming, or cycling to revitalize our bodies. We anticipate some good summer reading to feed our hungry souls. We relish time for quiet reflection and prayer to reconnect with the spirit within. Think also of relaxing time with family and friends, or of travel (called the “geographic cure”), especially to places of great beauty. We look forward to time outdoors - sunshine and blue skies, sandy beaches and shaded forest paths, flower gardens in full bloom, all creation so abundantly alive and ready to welcome us -body, soul, and spirit - into its embrace.
Summer is a season of great hope and promise. Here is a prayer from the July issue of Magnificat for a restful summer. Note the number of words with the prefix re- Loving Father, during the time of rest and relaxation, please repair in me whatever is weary or broken, and revive my drooping spirit. Let this vacation be a graced time of recollection and rejuvenation, of deeper self-awareness and self-giving. May it be an occasion for refreshment and reinvigoration – a time to reclaim my friendship with Jesus, who is our Lord now and forever. - Father Peter John Cameron
Deacon Ted Wood, ccn
Focus of the week
Parish Celebration & Giulia’s Farewell
Saturday 18th September 2021
This will be an opportunity for all those who have known Giulia over the years to come along and wish her well. Save the date!
BT Club Sharing Project
Share an International Recipe
Parishioners are invited to share a recipe that they enjoy making or eating that originates from a particular country.
Please send the recipe to the Parish Office at cockfosters@rcdow.org.uk
Thank you!