We celebrate Corpus Christi this Sunday by gathering as an international Community to share a meal. How fitting to have an international meal of sharing in these fragile times. The meal will take place in the Jubilee Room immediately after the 10.30 Mass at St Joseph’s.  The celebration of Corpus Christi will also be celebrated with the annual Corpus Christi procession at Ushaw College.

Our Youth Group invited the Durham Gospel Choir to their gathering last Saturday evening, and the Choir were marvellous. The members are all university students from around the globe, and all students here in Durham. My regret was that the parish weren’t present, and so we hope to do something about that in the future. A special thank you to our parish group for organising.

My sympathies to Emma Turnbull on the sudden death of her Dad. And sympathies also to the Bethapudi brothers, Sam, Sed and Raj, on the death of their Mother in India.  Our parish Camino pilgrims head off again on Monday to walk the Portuguese Camino. We (Chris Brennan, Dennis Bradley and myself) will remember you all as we walk from Porto to Compostela. Your prayers please that we get back in one piece.

Our BOP group were joined by Barbara Reilly O’Donnell to discuss ways of improving links between the schools and Parish. It was a really positive meeting with good suggestions for moving forward. We had our first meeting of the Parish Grants Committee. This is a small group looking into ways of accessing funding for our buildings. Community outreach is an essential for accessing any financial resources. If you have any suggestions, please let me, or Marjorie,  know, and we’ll pass on to the Committee. Our congratulations to our children from St. Godric’s School receiving their First Holy Communion this Saturday, and to St. Joseph’s and St. Thomas More’s next Saturday.

Plans for our big celebration at St Leonard’s on 12th July are in full swing. We will be celebrating not only a new school, but an opportunity for us to gather as one worshipping parish community. Thank you all for your encouragement in this endeavour. Lovely hearing how so many of you have missed our Christmas and Easter gatherings. Staff and students are looking forward to welcoming us.

“The only cure for sagging of fainting faith is Communion. Though always Itself, perfect and complete and inviolate, the Blessed Sacrament does not operate completely and once for all in any of us. Like the act of Faith it must be continuous and grow by exercise. Frequency is of the highest effect. Seven times a week is more nourishing than seven times at intervals.”

J.R.R. Tolkien