“The awesome tremendous power of God, the greatest release of power in the universe, is released in our lives through simple, faith-filled prayer. Because we can pray, we are ordinary people with extraordinary power: we are natural people who can live supernatural lives. We can overcome problems we thought we could never overcome; we can do things people do not believe we can do; we can make brilliant decisions; we can walk in victory over the big challenges in our lives & over the everyday hassles, as long as we are connected to the power of God, which is only possible through prayer.
We know that Jesus prayed for us. He says to Peter “but I have prayed especially for you…” (Lk22:32) He says concerning His disciples “I pray for them” (Jn17:9) St Paul teaches us that Jesus is at the right hand of God, pleading for us as He intercedes. (Romans 8:34) As our intercessor what does Jesus do? He stands in the gap between God & ourselves. We are not as holy as He is: we are not as perfect as He is: we are not as wise as He is; but Jesus is right there standing in that gap, bringing God & you, together so that we can have fellowship with Him & He can answer our prayers. It is awesome to know that as long as our hearts are right & as long as we believe in Jesus, He will intercept, make right & take care of every imperfect thing we do. All of our prayers filter through Jesus’ intersession. He is always interceding for us, making our prayers acceptable to God,  & when our prayers are acceptable to God, He hears them & he releases divine power on our behalf.  
                                                                                                                     (The Power of Simple Prayer: Joyce Meyer)
 
Lent continues to go well for us: a time of gentle reflection, prayerful self-examination, simple good works, & profound thanksgiving for the gift of our faith, in God & in each other. Each week of Lent we are meeting with the parishioners from St Hilda’s for a Lenten Pause a half hour of silent prayer & reflection (waiting for the kingfisher). Dates each week vary to try to include as many of you as possible. Mon 1st April OL&SB: Tues 9th April St Hilda’s. All at 5.15pm until 5.45pm. There are usually 7 or 8 of us representing the faith in the Village.
Caroline Dollard’s Lent Course, based on her new book “Seeking God Together”, continues on Wednesdays. Each person there receives a copy of the book courtesy of the Parish, as a commitment to our ongoing spiritual formation so vital for each of us. The course is helping us to look at how we accompany families of all shapes, sizes & make up, at every stage of their existence as part of our belonging together & our community responsibility. Last week we looked at the Later Years. Caroline’s presentation began with the story of The Prodigal Son (providentially this weekend’s Gospel.) the section began with Pope Francis’ in “The Joy of Love” in which he says “we must reawaken the collective sense of gratitude, of appreciation, of hospitality, which makes the elderly feel like a living part of the community. Our elderly men & women, fathers & mothers, who came before us on our own road, in our own house, in our daily battle for a worthy life.”
It fits well for us this weekend as we say farewell to Sylvia & James Howard, as they move south to live closer to their family. They have been very much “a living part of our community” for many years, serving us in a number of ways both in our Church & our outreach. James has been a faithful member of our weekday congregation, regularly reading at Mass, & ever ready to offer gentle & wise counsel with military precision! They will be deeply missed, not least for their watchfulness of the Church from across the road in the Old School House. In my time here, it has always been reassuring on a dark evening as I have locked the Church, to see the lights on at Sylvia & James’ home, as they kept watch on our behalf both in presence & prayer.
On Sun 14th April (Palm Sunday) there will be an ecumenical Stations of the Cross & Palm Procession at Byland Abbey probably at 3.45pm. More details to follow.     
Fittingly Laetare Sunday coincides with Mother’s Day, a moment to offer our appreciation to all mothers of families (especially our own) for all they have done & continue to do for us into their later years. In all of our servant ministries in the Parish, they take a leading & loving role, often in the background, but regular consistent & faithful. It is interesting to note that, conspicuous by her apparent absence, there is no mention of her in the gospel of The Prodigal Son. She was undoubtedly present, involved & influential. On one of my retreats some years ago, she was wonderfully described as the glue in the family. Thanks be to God!                                                                                                                                                                                                            with love & my prayers. Fr Bede
                                                                                                
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