Sunday 11 October 2026: Parish Mass for Generosity Sunday & Week.
Join us in person this Sunday at 10am for our Parish Mass as we celebrate Generosity Sunday, bringing our Generosity Week reflections together and exploring what it means to live as generous disciples.
The Liturgy & Service Booklet for our Parish Mass, including Readings, Hymns, Psalm & Parish Notices, can be found here:
Sunday 11 October 2026: Parish Mass for Generosity Sunday & Week
You are warmly invited to join us for our Parish Mass at 10.00am as we celebrate Generosity Sunday, bringing together the themes of Generosity Week and reflecting on the generous life to which God calls us.
As we turn to Generosity Week, we reflect on generosity as something much wider than financial giving. It begins with recognising that all things come from God and receiving his gifts with gratitude. From that gratitude flows a life of generous discipleship: sharing what we have, caring for creation, offering our gifts and abilities, practising hospitality and friendship, serving others, supporting the mission of the Church and, ultimately, offering ourselves to God.
At the heart of the week is an invitation to see generosity as an act of love, worship and thanksgiving. We are encouraged to discover the joy of giving, to loosen our hold on material possessions, to trust God more deeply and to allow the blessings we have received to become a blessing to others. Our generosity is not simply about what we give, but about the kind of people God is calling us to become.
Our Scriptures help us to explore these themes more deeply. In Genesis, Cain and Abel each bring an offering to God from what they have received: Cain from the fruit of the ground and Abel from the firstlings of his flock. Their story invites us to think not simply about what we offer to God, but about our relationship with God and the spirit in which our gifts are offered.
The Psalm turns our attention to the source of every gift. Again and again comes the call to give thanks to the Lord, whose mercy endures for ever. God is praised as the creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who remembers his people in trouble, delivers them and gives food to all flesh. Generosity begins here: in gratitude, recognising the goodness and abundance of God and remembering that everything we have ultimately comes from him.
In St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, we hear that generosity cannot be separated from love. We may possess extraordinary gifts, great faith and knowledge, and even give away all that we possess, but without love we gain nothing. Christian generosity is therefore more than giving things away: it is an expression of the patient, kind and self-giving love to which Christ calls us.
Finally, in St John’s Gospel, we come to the house at Bethany. Mary takes costly perfume, anoints the feet of Jesus and wipes them with her hair, until the whole house is filled with its fragrance. Judas calculates what the perfume is worth; Mary simply gives. Her extravagant act of devotion shows us a generosity born of love — something precious offered freely and wholeheartedly to Christ.
Together, these Scriptures remind us that generosity is a way of discipleship. It begins in thanksgiving for the generosity of God, takes shape in love and service, and finds its fullest expression when we offer not only our possessions but our whole lives to God. As we pray during Generosity Week, we ask for grace to grow in wonder and gratitude, to “dream generous dreams”, and graciously to offer ourselves to accomplish what God wills.
Whether you are a regular member of our congregation, visiting for the first time, or simply curious to discover more about the Christian faith and what it means to live generously as a disciple of Christ, you will receive a very warm welcome.
We look forward to welcoming you.
