Dear Parishioners,

It’s remarkable how scripture, the Word of God, speaks to us at every moment in our lives.  This weekend as we prepare to say farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, we hear the words of St Paul to Timothy: “My advice is that first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving and especially for kings (and queens) and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet …”

We have seen the outpouring of respect and reverence over those past days and especially with the queues leading up to Westminster Hall.  Today, we continue that prayer and gratitude to our departed Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace. (Prayer cards are available.)

In our first reading from the Prophet Amos, the great champion of Justice, we see him castigating those who ‘trample’ on the poor people.  He depicts the greed of the wealthy (who want to get even wealthier) as they tamper with the weighing scales and the value of money, in order to “buy the poor for a penny”.  The poor have no power to bargain about the value of the goods they produce.  This is what’s been happening with Multi-National Companies, making great profits at the expense of poor people.  This is what FairTrade is about – seeking that those who produce goods, especially in developing countries, would get a fair return for their produce.

This same theme is taken in the Gospel.  Jesus tells the story about the unjust, unreliable and dishonest steward. He gets away with it for a long time but the day of judgement came. But he didn’t learn, he went on with the same dishonesty, abusing his master’s property.  We don’t know that happened to him in the end.

The message from Jesus is clear. “We cannot be the slave of two masters …” our first allegiance is to God, and serving him alone.  All our worldly matters will then fall into their proper place.

During this Season of Creation, we continue to pray and reflect on what it means to be ‘good stewards of God’s creation’.  It means that we try to value and protect all of God’s gifts to us – one another and the human resources which make up our world.

We say farewell to Fr Marcel today. We thank him for being with us during the summer and wish him well as he returns to Rome on Tuesday to continue his studies.

We welcome Archbishop Brian Udaigwe. Papal Nuncio to Sri Lanka, we are honoured with his visit and wish him well as he visits his family members in London.

Have a blessed week, Fr Joe.