https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/stonebridge/

Five Precious Wounds Catholic Church, Stonebridge, London (2026)

26/07/2026

TRUST GOD TO PUT ALL THINGS RIGHT
One of the best-selling books of the twentieth century was called The Power of Positive Thinking. It was on the New York Times bestseller list for over three years and taught that a positive outlook has a deep impact on the way we experience life.

There’s a lot that’s true and helpful in positive thinking. A positive attitude can help us face life with resilience and optimism rather than despair. But the Bible says that the hope we have as followers of Jesus is something deeper than positive thinking. Positive thinking says, "I believe things will work out." Our Christian faith says, "I trust God to put all things right, even when I can’t see how."

That’s the invitation from today’s readings: to trust God to put all things right.

In our second reading today, St Paul says with great confidence: "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good." He doesn’t try to convince us that everything that happens is good, because we know that’s not true. We all experience disappointments, losses, illnesses, and changes we’d never have chosen.

Paul isn't asking us to pretend all these things are fine. But he is telling us that nothing that happens to us is beyond God's power to transform. God doesn’t waste any experience. There’s nothing in our lives that God can’t turn towards his own purposes.

Paul can speak with such confidence because he knows the future doesn’t ultimately depend on us, but on God’s faithfulness. Listen to what Paul says about God: those God foreknew, he predestined; those God predestined, he called; those God called, he justified; those God justified, he glorified. God is the one acting every time. From beginning to end, salvation, forgiveness, renewal, the growth of the Church – it’s all God's work before it’s ours.

God is plotting the whole story. That’s why followers of Jesus can face the future with confidence. Not because we know what’s going to come next, but because we know that God is in charge. And that’s why we can trust God to put all things right.

As we come here today, some of us have worries about our health. Some are concerned about children or grandchildren. Some are wondering what the future holds for our parish. We all have questions we'd love God to answer. Today's readings don't promise us all the answers. They promise us something even better: the faithfulness of God.

In our first reading, Solomon is at the beginning of a completely new chapter in his life. He’s got every reason to feel uncertain and overwhelmed. But Solomon doesn't ask God for a detailed plan of the future. Instead, he asks for "an understanding mind". Solomon knows that the greatest gift isn’t knowing everything in advance, but recognising what God’s doing as it unfolds.

That’s a prayer all of us need. So often we pray to know how things will turn out. Today's readings invite us to ask for something different: the wisdom to trust God, even when the future is unclear. Faith isn’t certainty about what comes next, but confidence in God's steadfast love.

Then, in the Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, or a pearl of great value. Once someone has found that treasure, everything else finds its proper place. Jesus is our treasure. His Kingdom is our treasure. If we’ve found Jesus, then whatever else changes in life, we possess the one thing that can never be taken away.

Jesus finishes the Gospel with a verse that has stayed with me this week. He says that every disciple is like the master of a house "who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." The follower of Jesus doesn’t cling to the old, nor fear the new. Instead, he treasures both.

As I come to the end of my time here, I think that’s a beautiful image for this parish. We should treasure what God has done among us. We should give thanks for our friendships, for times of celebration, and most of all for those moments when we’ve been touched by God's grace. Those are treasures that can’t be taken away.

But Jesus also tells us to bring out what is new. The God who has been faithful in the past isn’t finished with us yet. He’s still at work, with new treasures to reveal. He still has lives to transform and blessings to give.

Over the coming weeks there will be changes. Some of us may feel uncertain, perhaps even a little sad. That's natural. But today's Gospel reminds us that the treasure of this parish is Jesus Christ. He is the one who has sustained this community in the past, he is the one sustaining it today, and he is the one who will continue to lead it into the future.

And that brings us back to the message of today’s readings. They leave us not with positive thinking, but with Christian hope. Positive thinking depends on us; Christian hope depends on God. It’s the confidence that the God who has been faithful in the past will remain faithful in the future.

So let’s give thanks for all God has done among us. Let’s have confidence in all he’s doing today. And whatever the future holds, let us trust God to put all things right.

Because the God who called us is faithful. Jesus, our true treasure, remains with us. And the Holy Spirit is still leading his Church, one faithful step at a time.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for all you have done among us.
Give us grateful hearts for the past, trusting hearts for the present, and hopeful hearts for the future.
Keep our eyes fixed on you, Jesus, our true treasure, until the day we see you face to face. Amen.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

19/07/2026

DON'T GIVE UP TOO SOON
We live in a world that gives up on people very quickly.

Think about politics. Prime Ministers come and go with increasing frequency; this week, we’ll have our seventh PM in ten years! The same is often true in football. Thomas Tuchel may be keeping his job after the World Cup, but many managers are sacked after only a few bad results.

This tendency to give up on people isn’t just found in politics or sport. It can affect the way we look at people close to us, and affect the way we look at ourselves.

A marriage can be written off as soon as things become difficult. We lose hope for a teenage son or daughter who’s drifted away from the Church. We can become frustrated a friend who keeps making the same mistakes.

And perhaps most of all, we can become discouraged by our own weaknesses and failures and begin to think we’re never going to change. We can write ourselves off so easily.

If that sounds like you, then today Jesus says to you: Don’t give up too soon.

In the parable we’ve just heard, Jesus speaks about a farmer who sows good seed in his field. But while everyone’s asleep, an enemy comes along and sows weeds among the wheat. When the servants see what’s happened, their first response is to pull the weeds up.

But the farmer says something surprising: “No. Let both the wheat and the weeds grow together until the harvest.”

Why? Because the farmer sees something the servants don’t. The servants only see a field that’s going wrong. The farmer sees a harvest worth waiting for.

The servants are ready to give up, but the farmer isn’t. Because he knows that growth takes time. He knows that pulling up the weeds too soon could destroy the wheat as well.

In other words, the farmer refuses to give up too soon.

That’s a difference between the way we see people and the way God sees people. We often see only the weeds in our lives: the failures, the mistakes, the weaknesses, the things that frustrate us. But God sees the wheat as well. God sees what’s still growing. He sees not only who we are today, but who we are becoming through his grace.

That’s the Good News today: God does not give up on us too soon.

The psalm today describes God as “slow to anger”. In other words, God is patient with us. Not because he doesn’t care about sin or weakness, but because his patience flows from his unconditional love. As the psalm goes on to say, he is “compassionate and gracious, abundant in mercy and fidelity.”

God knows that growth takes time because he’s still at work in us. He knows that change is often a slow process. And he knows that we are all more than our worst moments.

We all need to hear this message at times. We often look at the weeds in our lives and think we should be doing better. We become frustrated because we still have weaknesses, temptations, and areas where we need to grow.

But God isn’t finished with us yet. Being a follower of Jesus isn’t about becoming perfect overnight. It is about allowing God to change us, step by step, day by day, over time. God’s work is often slow and hidden. We may not see the change happening immediately, but that doesn’t mean he is not at work.

So perhaps today Jesus is saying to you once again: Don’t give up too soon.

Don’t give up on your son or daughter who has drifted away from the Church. Don’t assume that your loved one cannot change. Don’t believe that your marriage or relationship cannot be healed.

And most importantly, don’t give up too soon on yourself. Don’t focus on the weeds; prepare instead for the harvest.

Because if God has not given up on us, then we have no reason to give up on one another, or on ourselves.

Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, thank you for never giving up on me.
When I’m tempted to give up on someone else, help me to see them as you see them.
When I feel like giving up on myself, remind me that you are still at work in my life.
Give me your patience. Give me your hope.
And help me this week not to give up too soon.
Amen.

19/06/2026

SEE YOURSELF CLEARLY
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “The eye is the lamp of the body.” He's speaking about how we see. We often think that we see ourselves clearly, but many of us don't. If we grew up with criticism, rejection, neglect, or difficult relationships with our parents, we can have a distorted image of ourselves. We might see ourselves as unworthy, unloved, or never quite enough. But that isn't how God sees us.

Jesus warns that when our vision is unhealthy, darkness follows. And the greatest darkness isn't around us, but within. If I believe I'm a failure, I'll live like a failure. If I believe I'm unwanted, I'll struggle to receive love. If I can't see myself as God sees me, then my whole view of myself will be false. Our greatest blindness is convincing ourselves that we are the exception to God's love.

The good news is that Jesus heals our vision. He comes to teach us to see ourselves as he sees us. At our baptism, we become God's beloved sons and daughters. That identity goes deeper than our wounds, mistakes, or the messages we've received from others. Today, you might ask: How do I see myself? Then invite Jesus to replace every lie with the truth that you are loved, chosen, and precious in his sight.

26/05/2026

BRENT COMMUNITY HUB AT FIVE PRECIOUS WOUNDS
Join us for our first Community Hub on Thursday 28 May at the Parish Hall of The Five Precious Wounds 📍
Running across May–August, our Community Hubs will alternate between Harlesden and Stonebridge, offering free local support and advice, including:
• NHS health & mental health services
• Housing & benefits advice
• Support from The Shaw Trust
This Thursday, The Shaw Trust will be offering free wellbeing and employment support for people seeking work or needing support to stay in employment.
Please see the flyers below for the full list of Community Hubs.

02/05/2026

SHARED MISSION, SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
A number of years ago, a man called Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow visited a family in Malawi. They lived in poverty and owned virtually nothing. He asked the mother, “What hopes do you have for your children?” She didn’t have big dreams. She simply said, “I hope they have enough to eat, and can go to school.”

That answer lit a fire in him. So Magnus did something. He began providing meals in a local school. This mission was small at first, but it didn’t stay that way. It grew and grew, until it became far more than he, or a few people, could carry.

At that point, Magnus could have kept the mission small and manageable, or let it grow by sharing it with others. He chose to share it. More people got involved. Today, the charity he founded – Mary’s Meals – feeds millions of children, because the mission belongs to many.

When a mission comes alive, it has to be shared.

In today’s first reading, the early Church hits the exactly the same moment. The message of Jesus is spreading. Lives are being changed. The Christian community is growing.

But then a problem arises. Caring for the poor is central to the Church’s mission, yet some widows are missing out on their daily allowance of food. Not through neglect, but because things are moving faster than the apostles can handle on their own.

They could have tried to push harder, to do more, to carry everything themselves. But they don’t. They pause. They pray. And they recognise something important: this is a good problem. It means the mission is alive – but it’s now too big to be carried by a few.

So they share it. Others are entrusted with real responsibility. They’re appointed to care for practical needs, while the apostles focus on prayer and teaching. The result? The mission doesn’t shrink – it flourishes.

We hear the same thing in the second reading. St Peter says to a group of ordinary Christians – people like us: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood.”

He’s reminding them of something real and important: that through baptism, every Christian shares in the priesthood of Christ.

Of course, the Church has ordained priests, like me. That’s essential. Priests celebrate the Mass and offer the sacraments. We need that, but it’s not the whole picture.

There’s also the priesthood of all the baptised. What Jesus does – his love, his mission in the world – becomes our life too. Through baptism, our lives become part of Jesus’ mission.

This means that the mission of Jesus isn’t carried by a few specialists. It’s shared by all of us – the whole Church. And because the mission is shared, the responsibility is shared too.

That matters for us now. In many places, including this diocese, there are fewer priests. That’s a real challenge, and it may over time change how parishes are organised.

But it’s not the whole story. It may also be a moment of invitation. A wake-up call to the dignity, the calling, the excitement of the mission we all share. The Church was never meant to be run by a small group doing everything. It comes alive when the whole people of God step into the responsibility we’ve been given.

So what does that mean, in practice?

First, we pray for vocations to the ordained priesthood. The Church needs more priests. But we don’t pray as if everything depends on them alone. We pray out of love – for the Eucharist, for the sacraments – while trusting that God is at work in all his people.

Second, we ask a simple question: what gifts has God already given me? Gifts, perhaps, of hospitality, teaching, service, or sharing the faith. We don’t just focus on roles that need to be filled in the parish, but notice the unique skills and talents each of us has been given.

Finally, we remember this: that the work of the Church isn’t limited to ordained priests alone. It belongs to all who belong to Christ. When St Peter speaks of a royal priesthood, he means that every baptised person shares in Christ’s mission, here and now.

Maybe that’s the invitation in today’s readings: not to fear change, not to think everything rests on a few, but to see that Jesus has entrusted his work to all his people.

Like Mary’s Meals, the Church grows not when a few people do everything, but when everyone realises: this mission belongs to me too.

So, let’s pray: Lord Jesus,
you have called each of us by name and drawn us into your mission.
Raise up men to serve your Church as priests, to bring your people the Eucharist and the sacraments.
And help each of us to recognise the gifts you have given us,
and give us the courage and joy to use them,
as we take our place in your mission together.
We ask this through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

25/04/2026

MASS OF THANKSGIVING
On 26th June, I will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving to mark ten years of priestly ministry. It will be a chance to give thanks to God for his call, and for the wonderful people and parishes that I have been privileged to serve during these years.

There will be a simple reception in the hall afterwards. Please join us if you can!
Fr Tony.

21/04/2026

THANK YOU, FR PATRICK
On Sunday, we celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving for Fr Patrick McLoughlin, former parish priest of St Patrick's Neasden, on his retirement. The church was overflowing and it was a beautiful occasion. Fr Patrick - thank you for your many years of dedicated priestly ministry, and all the best in your well-earned retirement. May God bless you!

Five Precious Wounds Catholic Church, Stonebridge

26/07/2026

19/07/2026

19/06/2026

26/05/2026

02/05/2026

25/04/2026

21/04/2026

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