St Joseph’s Cowdenbeath Road, Burntisland, KY3 0LJ   01592 872207 Parish Priest:  Fr James G. Tracey Email : parishpriest@stjosephsburntisland.co.uk      website: www.stjosephsburntisland.co.uk   6th Sunday of the Year (Year A) 16th February 2020

Services this week:
Saturday 15th	5.00pm Mass	Eddie Pinkman
Sunday 16th	10.00am Mass	People of the Parish
Monday 17th	No Service
Tuesday 18th	7.00pm Mass	Giovanni Paoli
Wednesday 19th	10.00am Mass	Margaret Sharp
Thursday 20th	9.30am Adoration 10.00am Mass	Robert Smith
Friday 21st	10.00am Mass	Tom Mullen
Saturday 22nd (Chair of St Peter)	10.00am Mass 5.00pm Mass	Special Intention Eileen Mughrabi
Sunday 16th	10.00am Mass	Oonagh McCaughey
Confession: On request.   Thank you for your offerings last week: Offertory  £395; Building Fund  £220; Teas £65; Candles £120. Contributions by Standing Order £297. Attendance170.   Teas/Coffee in the Church Hall after Mass on Sunday and Thursday. All welcome

 

Parish Pilgrimage to Lindisfarne:  The bus is now full. Names can be added to a reserve list.

 

Save the Date! St Patrick’s Night, Friday 13 March, Church Hall. More details to follow. Tickets available shortly.

 

SCIAF Lent Campaign 2020 – Hear Their Cry, Respond in Love: Please collect your Lent Pack, containing the Wee Box, from the porch.

 

Ash Wednesday falls this year on 26^th February.

 

Lourdes 2020: Young adults (16-30) are invited to travel to Lourdes as part of the helper team for the annual Archdiocesan pilgrimage this summer, 10-17th July. Find out more at a meeting after Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, 3pm on Sunday 16th February at St Cuthbert’s, Slateford Road, Edinburgh (meeting to begin circa 4:15pm). The pilgrimage is open to people of all ages – find out more at https://www.edinburgh-lourdes.com/volunteer/

 

Fiona McElhinney is taking part in Alzheimer Research UK's 'Cycling Down Dementia' fundraiser. For more information, or to make a donation, please go to: https://cyclingdowndementia2019.everydayhero.com/uk/fiona-3

 

Today’s Liturgy: Matthew continues the Sermon on the Mount with a three part instruction by Jesus on the Way of Life in the kingdom of heaven. Today’s reading is part one and deals with the Law. Part two deals with worship and religious practice and contains the Lord’s Prayer. Part three deals with trusting God and deeds of loving service to our neighbour.

When Matthew speaks of “the Law and the prophets” he means the whole Scripture. When the Messiah brings the fullness of the kingdom none of scripture will be done away with. Instead it will be fulfilled. Matthew’s Jesus does not overturn the Law of Moses, nor does he set his followers free from the Law. He requires his followers to go beyond the Law by doing more than the Law requires.

The Law condemned murder. Jesus condemns anger. The Law condemned adultery. Jesus condemns even lustful looks. As Jewish Christians who had always been faithful to the Law Matthew’s community need a way to understand the difference Jesus and the kingdom he brings have made. They affirmed that God had always been at work in history through “the Law and the prophets.” But God’s work goes beyond that to be embodied by the Messiah who reveals the definitive will of God. The written scriptures and their interpretation in tradition are surpassed by Jesus whose life and teaching are the definitive revelation of the will of God.