St. Thomas & St. John Catholic Parish

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    • Home
    • Church Services
    • About Us
    • Weekly Newsletter
    • Current Parish Activities
    • The Care of Creation
    • Justice & Peace (NJPN)
    • Ukraine
    • CAFOD
    • The Synodal Process
    • Life & the Family
    • The Church in Our Times
    • Prayer
    • Saints from our Tradition
    • National Cycle of Prayer
    • Covid-19 Church Info
    • Fr Luke's Faith Talks
    • Fr Luke's Lent Talks
    • Fr Luke's Advent Talks
    • Bishop's Letters & Info
    • Our Parish Community
    • Charitable Activities
    • Contact Us
    • Links

St. Thomas & St. John Catholic Parish

St. Thomas & St. John Catholic ParishSt. Thomas & St. John Catholic ParishSt. Thomas & St. John Catholic Parish
  • Home
  • Church Services
  • About Us
  • Weekly Newsletter
  • Current Parish Activities
  • The Care of Creation
  • Justice & Peace (NJPN)
  • Ukraine
  • CAFOD
  • The Synodal Process
  • Life & the Family
  • The Church in Our Times
  • Prayer
  • Saints from our Tradition
  • National Cycle of Prayer
  • Covid-19 Church Info
  • Fr Luke's Faith Talks
  • Fr Luke's Lent Talks
  • Fr Luke's Advent Talks
  • Bishop's Letters & Info
  • Our Parish Community
  • Charitable Activities
  • Contact Us
  • Links

The Church in Our Times

“Online conference on Christian responses to migration crisis

“Project Bonhoeffer will be holding a free online conference on Christian responses to the migration crisis, entitled 'Faith and Frontiers' on Saturday 17 September rom 10am to 4pm.


“Speakers will include Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, Dr Ulrich Schmiedel of the University of Edinburgh, an authority on religion and migration, and Rev Dr Keith Clements, a noted Bonhoeffer scholar, who will be joined by people from groups currently working to meet the needs of asylum seekers in Calais, Kent and the north of England.


“The Project, set up in 2011, aims to inform and remind today's Christians - especially the young as well as the not-so-young - of the challenges of discipleship that Dietrich Bonhoeffer addressed in his radical theology and in the Christian witness that led to his execution by the Nazis at the end of the Second World War.


“The project's events seek to enable people to put Christian faith into action in ways that make a positive difference in the world, engaging with the key social and political challenges we face. It encourages and resources theological reflection, conversation and community-building around Bonhoeffer's work and life and its implications for today.


“The goal is not unlike that of the well-worn Pastoral Cycle, providing opportunities for people to think and to act - reflecting on faith … and then doing something about it in the context in which they live and feel called to serve.


“Book at: www.projectbonhoeffer.org.uk/events/ “

 Independent Catholic News, Ben Bano, 17 Aug 2022,  https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45300

“'Hunger is the new war

“[Sister Annie Demerjian of Aleppo, Syria] ministering to persecuted Christians in Syria has warned that "a big bomb" of hunger is exploding across the country. ‘… the country's deteriorating economy had caused a mass exodus.’…


“Spiralling poverty, rising inflation and a stagnant job market have left ordinary Syrians living on the breadline.


“… Western sanctions against the Assad government are making life harder for ordinary Syrians.”

Fionn Shiner, 8 July 2022, Source:  ACN


For more insight, see https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45058 ; with permission, Independent Catholic News

“Pope calls for responsible use of new media

"Although modern means of communication can be ‘a powerful means of fostering communion and dialogue within our human family,’ they can also become ‘places of toxicity, hate speech, and fake news,’ Pope Francis warns in a message to the lay communications network SIGNIS, which is holding its annual World Congress in Seoul from 15 - 19 July.


“Pope Francis says: ‘It is appropriate that, in these days marked by new outbreaks of violence and aggression in our world, you have chosen as the theme of your World Congress “Peace in the Digital World.”’


“He points out: ‘The use of digital media, especially social media, has raised a number of serious ethical issues that call for wise and discerning judgment on the part of communicators, and all those concerned with authenticity and the quality of human relationships...SIGNIS can play an important role’ in meeting this challenge, especially through ‘media education, networking Catholic media, and countering lies and misinformation.’


“In his message, the Pope encourages SIGNIS members to persevere in their efforts by helping people ‘develop a sound critical sense, learning to distinguish truth from falsehood, right from wrong, good from evil, and to appreciate the importance of working for justice, social concord, and respect for our common home.’ At the same time, recognising that many communities have limited access to ‘the digital space,’ he calls on SIGNIS communicators to make ‘digital inclusion a priority’ in their planning.


“The Holy Father also calls attention to the importance of listening ‘as the first and indispensable ingredient of dialogue and good communication,’ an issue he highlighted in his message for World Communication Day 2022.


"’Communication is not just a profession, but a service to dialogue and understanding between individuals and larger communities in the pursuit of a serene and peaceful coexistence.’

"’Listening, is likewise essential to the synodal journey that the whole Church has undertaken in these years,’ he says, recalling the ongoing Synod on Synodality that will culminate at the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023.


“Pope Francis says: ‘It is my hope, that, in your communication, you will contribute to this process by assisting the holy and faithful people of God in our commitment to listen to one another, to the Lord's will, and to grow in the awareness that we participate in a communion that precedes and includes us.’


"’In this way, your efforts to foster “Peace in the Digital World” will help to create an ever more “symphonic” Church, whose unity is expressed in a harmonious and sacred polyphony.’"


Independent Catholic News, Source: Felix Lee, Archdiocese of Seoul/Vatican Media, 18 July 2022,                     https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45115

Ethical Christmas gifts and cards online – a list of links

The Independent Catholic News has published a list of websites that offer a good selection of cards and presents that form a Catholic alternative to other shopping sites.  Visit https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/46096


Used with permission, Independent Catholic News, 11 Dec 2022 (Updated 13 Dec 2022)

“Advent watching includes noticing God at work in daily life, pope says

“Being so distracted that one does not notice God’s presence in daily life is a warning sign that one is not being vigilant enough, Pope Francis cautioned.  Vigilance during Advent is key, Pope Francis said, because Jesus ‘warns us: there is the danger of not realizing his coming and being unprepared for his visit.’…


“’God is hidden in our life,’ Pope Francis explained; ‘he is concealed in the most common and most ordinary situations in our life.’…The truth is that God is present ‘in our daily work, in a chance encounter, in the face of someone in need,’ Pope Francis said. ‘Even when we face days that seem grey and monotonous, it is right there that we find the Lord, who calls to us, speaks to us and inspires our actions.’


“During Advent, Pope Francis said: ‘Let us be shaken out of our torpor and let us awaken from slumber!’ …To help the process, he suggested people ask themselves: “‘Am I aware of what I am doing? Am I alert? Am I awake?'”…


Used with permission from Universe Catholic Weekly, 28 Nov 2022


For a complete version of this article, visit the following web link:   https://universecatholicweekly.co.uk/advent-pope/

“Summer camps help refugee children find a safe home

“On 1 August, Bishop John Sherrington visited the Syria Summer Camp, an educational, fun and therapeutic event for children from refugee backgrounds hosted by Newman Catholic College and supported by Caritas Westminster. Now in its sixth year, it was initiated in 2016 by Amanda Wooster as a summer activity for refugees who came from places such as Syria and Afghanistan. Bishop John shares his experience of the visit.


“I was warmly welcomed by Inayat and Anisa. Inayat, a young man and student at Newman Catholic College, whose name means 'bounty, kindness, favour', enthusiastically introduced me to other groups of young people at the Syrian Summer Camp. Anisa, an older woman, known as Auntie, whose name means 'pleasant companion' was a quiet and comforting presence with us throughout the day. Sister Silvana from Caritas Westminster, a passionate and dedicated promoter of the summer camp, had organised the visit and accompanied us.


“We first met the young lionesses, younger children, being coached by a QPR woman trainer.… They were enthusiastic about football, if a little shy in our presence. The next group were waiting patiently to travel by train to London Zoo. The boys were keen to see the lions which were their favourite animal ….


“Inayat introduced us to a group of boys who were discussing the meaning of culture. With origins in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and other countries, they talked about whether they had grown up in a city or a rural area, the meaning of flags, sport and the culture they had left behind. They said that London was a safe place for them and that was more important than many other things. Learning English to communicate was at the heart of this activity. Football crossed all boundaries.…

“A further group of teenage boys and girls were exploring the meaning of their names. Each told me their meaning which was beautiful and very moving…. They were painting a symbol of their names to express the meaning. Many included light and sun, though some were much darker. I was asked about the meaning of the white collar in my shirt. I explained that it is a sign of being a bishop or priest.

'What does a ring mean,' I asked? They spoke of marriage and love. I said a bishop's ring is a sign of the love of Christ and his Church. Sr Silvana explained the meaning of her ring of consecration as a woman religious. We then discussed some common elements of Christianity and Islam, pilgrimage, prayer times, almsgiving and charity….


“The final visit was to group of very young children exploring sound and movement with a patient teacher. They created a dance with rhythm and movement which they all thoroughly enjoyed ….

“Hospitality is central to Arabic culture and so we enjoyed the blessings of lunch together. Inayat presented me with his Afghani wristband and spoke of his hopes for … the future. Anisa remained the motherly presence throughout the day.


“Driving home from Harlesden made me think about the journeys they had made to be in a safe place in London….”


 Independent Catholic News, Source:  Caritas Westminster, 10 Aug 2022,  https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45259

“Ireland: Archbishop launches 2022 digital Advent Calendar

“Archbishop Eamon Martin has launched this year's interactive digital Advent calendar. … Behind the 28 virtual doors, it offers resources for schools, parishes and the home with short inspirational video messages, some seasonal crafts for children and prayers to help us keep Christ at the centre of our Christmas preparations.


“Archbishop Eamon Martin said: ‘Advent is often described as a journey. Over the next four weeks we will journey towards Christmas while reflecting on the big themes and the personalities of the Advent season….’


"’The Advent calendar invites each of us to make space for God in our lives every day over the next four weeks….’


“… The 2022 Advent Calendar will go live on Sunday 27 November here: www.catholicbishops.ie/ “

Used with permission from Independent Catholic News, Source: Irish Catholic Media Office, 22 Nov 2022


For a complete version of this article, visit the following web link:  https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45962

“Pope Francis sends Platinum Jubilee greetings to Queen Elizabeth

“Pope Francis sent a message to Queen Elizabeth on Thursday, expressing his prayers and good wishes on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee.   


“The Holy Father wrote: ‘On this joyful occasion of your Majesty's birthday, and as you celebrate this Platinum Jubilee year, I send cordial greetings and good wishes, together with the renewed assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will bestow upon you, the members of the Royal Family and all the people of the nation blessings of unity, prosperity and peace.’   


“In a previously-unpublished message sent to Queen Elizabeth on 29 March, the Pope said he joins with those expressing appreciation for her persevering and steadfast service to the good of the nation, ‘the advancement of its people, and the preservation of its illustrious spiritual, cultural and political heritage.’   


“In recognition of the monarch's commitment to the care of God's creation, Pope Francis is donating a Cedar of Lebanon to the Queen's Green Canopy initiative.   


“He expressed the hope that this tree, ‘which in the Bible symbolises the flourishing of fortitude, justice and prosperity, would be a pledge of abundant divine blessings’ upon her realm. “The project invites people from across the United Kingdom to 'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee'.   


“As well as inviting the planting of new trees, The Queen's Green Canopy will dedicate a network of 70 Ancient Woodlands across the United Kingdom and identify 70 Ancient Trees to celebrate Her Majesty's 70 years of service.  Queen Elizabeth II and her late husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, met with Pope Francis in the Vatican in 2014. The meeting marked the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See. Following that meeting, Pope Francis gave the couple a facsimile of Pope Innocent XI's order extending the cult of St Edward the Confessor…. 


“Queen Elizabeth has met four Popes as Queen, five in her lifetime. She ascended to the throne in 1952 at the age of 25, after the death of her father, King George VI.   


“The monarch first visited the Vatican in 1951 as Princess Elizabeth. The Pope at the time was Pius XII. Queen Elizabeth's first visit as Queen took place on 5 May 1961. She and Prince Philip were received in audience by Pope John XXIII. “In 1980, Queen Elizabeth made a state visit to the Vatican and was received in audience by Pope John Paul II. Just two years later he made a pastoral visit to Great Britain.  


“With the dawn of the new millennium, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the Vatican once again, in October 2000. “In September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI visited Great Britain on an Apostolic Journey on the occasion of the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman and met the Queen in Edinburgh.”

            With permission, Independent Catholic News, Source: Vatican News, 2 June 2022,

                                                     https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44822 

“Modern Models of Holiness

“On many occasions the late Pope John Paul II reminded the church of the universal call to holiness. ‘Everyone in the Church,’ he wrote, ‘precisely because they are members, receive and thereby share in the common vocation to holiness.’ The Second Vatican Council put it this way: ‘All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love.’ This holiness, the council said, grows out of giving glory to God, serving others and ‘doing the will of God in everything.’     


“But what is holiness, and how do we respond to the call? Can we do the will of God in everything?


“St. Benedict, the founder of monasticism in Europe, wrote that the keeper of the pots, pans and ‘all utensils and goods of the monastery’ should regard them as ‘sacred vessels of the altar.’ The holiness of pots and pans points to the holiness of everyday life. The things we do in everyday life lead us to holiness if we do them with an awareness of the presence of God.     


Thérèse of Lisieux, Mother Teresa, and Dorothy Day are three modern Catholic women whose lives show us how the path to holiness is a little way. ‘We can do no great things—only small things with great love,’ Mother Teresa said.     


“These words very well describe the way to closeness to God that Thérèse, Mother Teresa and Dorothy followed and offer to us. In littleness we can find beauty and the love of God. Little things, even the least, hold the power of big things, for in them God reveals his presence.   


“We can respond to this presence with devotion to and love for the ordinary activities and encounters of everyday life. Rather than letting our days fly by, mechanically performing our daily tasks in order to get them over and done with, we can see little drops of grace in all the things we do. We can see in them new opportunities to respond to the ocean of God’s love flooding the world.     


“Seeing God in every moment leads us as well to total reliance on God in every moment. This little way to faith and trust can help us accept ourselves for who we are, redefine how we see success and failure and cope with suffering and the sacrifices of daily life….”


  Used with permission from Franciscan Media (www.FranciscanMedia.org); Joel Schorn, May 3, 2022.        https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/modern-models-of-holiness  

“Bishops issue statements on migration, returning to Mass

“The Bishops' Conference of England and Wales held their plenary meeting in Cardiff from 2 - 6 May 2022. The was the first full plenary meeting in Wales since November 2004. At the end of their meeting the Bishops issued statements on migration and on the return to Mass after the pandemic. Other issues discussed were the food crisis and cost of living, the Synodal process, the forthcoming tour of the relics of St Bernadette and the environment. There were also reports on the work of Stella Maris and Missio.     


“During an online press conference today, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: ‘This was the first opportunity we've had in a while to discuss the migrant issue.’ He pointed out that there was a ‘mismatch’ between the generosity shown by the British public in response to the scheme for families to take in Ukrainian refugees - and the slowness with which visa applications are being processed. Afghan refugees are still being kept in hotels, he pointed out. The upcoming Nationalities and Borders Bill could lead to migrants being deported.     


“The Cardinal said: ‘We support a concerted effort against human trafficking, but lets not punish their victims... Those seeking refuge in the UK should be provided with safe routes for travelling, have the opportunity to tell their story, be listened to and have their cases assessed justly. We keep in mind that there is no illegal asylum seeker; to claim asylum is a human right.’     


“’Those seeking refuge in the UK should be provided with safe routes for travelling, have the opportunity to tell their story, be listened to and have their cases assessed justly. We keep in mind that there is no illegal asylum seeker; to claim asylum is a human right.’   


“The Cardinal said Bishop John Arnold, Spokesperson for the Environment for the Bishops' Conference gave reports at each meeting on the progress of the Laudato si' programme. Dioceses are working to lower their carbon footprint. They are developing interdiocesan fuel management for parishes, and particularly focussing schemes linking the Laudato Si platform with RE in schools.     


“Read the Bishops' Spring Plenary Resolution statements on the following links:     


“Returning to Mass at Pentecost - www.cbcew.org.uk/spring-plenary-2022-resolution-returning-to-mass-at-pentecost/     


“Migration - www.cbcew.org.uk/spring-plenary-2022-resolution-migration/ 


                With permission, ICN, Jo Siedlecka, Source:  CBCEW, May 9, 2022.

                                               https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44649  

“Pope Francis' Message for Vocation Sunday 2022

“Pope Francis released a message today for the 59th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, on 8th May - Good Shepherd Sunday - on the theme 'Called to Build the Human Family.'     


“In his Message the Holy Father encourages every person in the Church to give the very best of themselves ‘in this great divine plan!’ He says: ‘when we speak about vocations, we are speaking about making God's dream come true.’…     


“At the time when the cold winds of war and oppression are blowing and when we frequently encounter signs of polarization, we as a Church have undertaken a synodal process: we sense the urgent need to journey together, cultivating the spirit of listening, participation and sharing . Together with all men and women of good will, we want to help build the human family, heal its wounds and guide it to a better future. On this 59th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I would like to reflect with you on the broader meaning of "vocation" within the context of a synodal Church, a Church that listens to God and to the world.    


“Called to be protagonists together of the Church's mission    


"Synodality, journeying together, is a fundamental vocation to the Church. Only against this horizon is it possible to discern and esteem the various vocations, charisms and ministries. We know that the Church exists to evangelize, to go forth and to sow the seed of the Gospel in history….   


“Called to be guardians of one another and of creation     


“The word ‘vocation’ should not be understood restrictively, as referring simply to those who follow the Lord through a life of special consecration. All of us are called to share in Christ's mission to reunite a fragmented humanity and to reconcile it with God….    


“Called to welcome God's gaze    


“Within this great common vocation, God addresses a particular call to each of us. He touches our lives by his love and directs them to our ultimate goal, to a fulfillment that transcends the very threshold of death. That is how God wanted to see our lives and how he sees them still….     


“Called to respond to God's gaze     


“God's loving and creative gaze met us in an entirely unique way in Jesus. The evangelist Mark tells us that, speaking with the rich young man, ‘Jesus looking upon him, loved him’ (10:21). This gaze of Jesus, full of love, rests upon each of us….     


“Called to build a fraternal world     


“As Christians, we do not only receive a vocation individually; we are also called together . We are like the tiles of a mosaic. Each is lovely in itself, but only when they are put together do they form a picture. Each of us shines like a star in the heart of God and in the firmament of the universe….   


“When we speak of "vocation", then, it is not just about choosing this or that way of life, devoting one's life to a certain ministry or being attracted by the charism of a religious family, movement or ecclesial community. It is about making God's dream come true, the great vision of fraternity that Jesus cherished….”   [Emphasis added.]


                             With permission, ICN, Source: Vatican News, May 5, 2022

                                             https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44626 

“Faith and hope wins over fear says Bishop Alan

“In an Easter message, Bishop Alan Hopes says we have watched with horror and fear the war in Ukraine.   


“Some of us will be deeply involved practically and emotionally.  Evil very easily rears its head; we live in a fallen world and the effects of original sin are real, not theoretical.   


“We have seen again the worst examples of human depravity. Christians are always aware of the fragility of human structures and the unreliability of human saviours; our hope cannot be invested in political solutions to that fallen reality.   


“In the midst of tragedy, though, we always find truth and goodness. Human beings have great potential; extremes can bring out that potential.  We have seen courage, generosity, kindness, and love; a desire for the real truth, and a desire to defend what is good and beautiful….   


“In Lent, we look forward to Easter.  At Easter, we do not stop on our journey, but look forward to Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit is constantly at work. He himself is invisible, but we can see his effects. In this war, we can see his gifts of courage and piety shining through the darkness of violence. In the pandemic, we saw the gifts of kindness and understanding through the darkness of confusion.    


“He is constantly at work, and when we see darkness, rather than despair, we Christian people see faith and hope. We can always lovingly respond with courage, knowing that the Victorious Christ is leading us. He never fails us, and his triumph over evil is certain.


   +Alan S Hopes, Bishop of East Anglia”.


              With Permission, Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 8 April 2022

           https://www.rcdea.org.uk/faith-and-hope-wins-over-fear-says-bishop-alan/ 

“People prefer church to online worship, research finds

“With Easter approaching, an overwhelming majority of people think that churches are still needed, despite the growth of digital worship during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the results of a consultation about the future of the UK's church buildings released by The National Churches Trust.  80% of people agree that digital services have not reduced the need for church buildings, according to the consultation which involved 1,250 people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  Being together with other people was one reason why church buildings were preferred to online services, as a response to the consultation made clear.”


                                              With Permission, ICN, Source: National Churches Trust, 11 Apr 2022

                                                  https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44456  

“Cambridge author takes a more scientific look at God

“Elizabeth Peck, a Catholic author in Cambridge, has recently published a children’s catechetical book called ‘God Is Not a Man in The Sky’.  The book is a narrative of the history of creation, which also serves as a catechism for children, and the accompanying ‘Companion Guide’ explains the theology in more depth for parents, teachers, and catechists. The author has herself served as a secondary-school teacher of Religious Education and a catechist.  


“The book tells the story of existence from both scientific and biblical perspectives through the Franciscan lens. Beginning ‘before’ God’s creation of the universe, the narrative unfolds through the Big Bang, evolution, the development of humanity, and the covenant, culminating in redemption through Jesus Christ.   


“’The principal aim,’ writes the author, ‘is to give Catholic parents and catechists a tool that they can use in their teaching of young children, to prevent particular misconceptions from arising in the first place, and to help children grow up understanding why religious faith, why God, matters….   


“‘God Is Not A Man In The Sky’ would also make a suitable Baptism or First Holy Communion gift. The book has been granted a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur.  The book is priced £19.50,” and can be ordered at this web address https://www.franciscanpublishing.com/books/childrens/god-is-not-a-man-in-the-sky/ 

                                 With Permission, Diocese of East Anglia, Eldred Willey, 1st March 2022

                                 https://www.rcdea.org.uk/cambridge-author-takes-a-more-scientific-look-at-god/ 

The Day of Prayer for the Unemployed ...

was organised by Church Action on Poverty.   


Recently renamed as Poverty Action Sunday.  Caritas­Social Action is the agency in the Catholic Church which acts as an umbrella for many diocesan and local organisations concerned with poverty and other social issues.  


Prayer   

O God, the source of human dignity, in your image every person is fashioned and by your Son all people are redeemed. 

Make us honour the work of your hands, that we may reverence you in those whom the world considers least and serve you in all whom society neglects. 

“Allow Jesus to bring us his light says Bishop Alan

“In his pastoral letter for the start of January, Bishop Alan Hopes writes, let us truly allow Jesus Christ to bring his light into our dark winter nights and into the dark winter nights of those around us by our sharing of the God-given gifts of love, hope and peace….  


“God made each one of us.  God loves each one of us.  God fills us with hope. 


“At the moment of the Incarnation, God pledges that there will be peace on earth to men of goodwill.  As we begin the new civic year, we pray fervently with the whole Church that the gift of peace may become a reality for all peoples – all those who are caught up in war and conflict, for all who daily face persecution because of their faith, and all those who do not know real freedom or human dignity in their lives.  


“Because of the Incarnation our prayer must lead to action: 

  • We must be prepared to support those who are actively working for peace in our world; 
  • to work for reconciliation and peace in our own communities and families; 
  • to be prepared to welcome all who are refugees and who come to live among us. 
  • The Incarnation declares that peace is a gift from God himself – a peace that passes all human understanding.  


“As we continue to turn aside to contemplate and to worship the Incarnate Son of God …, let us truly allow Jesus Christ to bring his light into our dark winter nights and into the dark winter nights of those around us by our sharing of these God-given gifts of love, hope and peace.”


                        (With permission) Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, January 4, 2022

               https://www.rcdea.org.uk/allow-jesus-to-bring-us-his-light-says-bishop-alan/

This Lent Let us Pray for …

The Needy and Hungry of the World - especially on Lenten Fast Day   

Prayer:   

All powerful Father, God of goodness, you provide for all your creation.  Give us an effective love for our brothers and sisters who suffer from lack of food. Help us do all we can to relieve their hunger, that they may serve you with carefree hearts.                            (The Roman Missal)   


Candidates for the Sacraments:

For those preparing to be initiated into the Church at Easter, Lent marks the final stage of preparation, the period of Purification and Enlightenment.    

Prayer:   

Father of love and power, it is your will to establish everything in Christ and to draw us into his all‐ embracing love.  Guide the elect of your Church, strengthen them in their vocation, build them into the kingdom of your Son, and seal them with the Spirit of your promise.

                                                               (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)   


Penitents and Wanderers: 

The twin themes of Lent are baptism and penance. Lent is a time of reflection and preparation for Easter.   

Prayer:   

God of power and might, we praise you through your Son, Jesus Christ, who comes in your name. He is the Word that brings salvation.  He is the hand you stretch out to sinners. He is the way that leads to your peace.  God our Father, we had wandered far from you, but through your Son you have brought us back. You gave him up to death so that we might turn again to you and find our way to one another. 

                                      (Roman Missal: Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation II) 

“An opportunity to support a child in foster care

“Charlotte Valori … is encouraging Catholics in Norfolk to support a child through the Independent Visitor Service….     


“It is the young people themselves who choose whether to have an Independent Visitor and they could be a child or teenager when they are matched up….     


“Independent Visitors (IVs) normally meet with their child once a month. They have to commit for at least two years, but often it works out much longer. ‘Children change foster home and social workers move on,’ said Charlotte. ‘So you are often the only person who has known the child for most of their life. You see them as a person, not a problem.’…     


“In Norfolk the scheme is managed by a national health and social care charity called Change Grow Live. In other counties it will be Barnardo’s or Action for Children which oversees the projects.”


                     With Permission, The Diocese of East Anglia, Eldred Wiley, 9th Feb 2022

                   https://www.rcdea.org.uk/an-opportunity-to-support-a-child-in-foster-care/ 

Racial Justice Sunday 2022

“Racial Justice: What's it got to do with me?     


“This is very much a call for all Christians to engage in the righteous struggle for racial justice because racial justice is everyone's business….     


“[T]he Bible has a lot to say about justice because as God's Word it reflects God's heart for justice. It can be argued that we should love justice because God does! Racism and racial discrimination are justice issues because they deny basic justice and human dignity to women and men who are made in the image of God. Equally, they are sinful because, among other issues, they assume all are not equal before God and are not part of God's family.     


“[This] is an opportunity for all Churches to focus on the three 'R's of 'Remembering', 'Reflecting' and 'Responding':   

  • Remembering the importance of racial justice.   
  • Reflecting on human diversity and thanking God for it.   
  • Responding by working to end injustice, racism and ignorance through prayer and action.”


               With Permission, Independent Catholic News, Ellen Teague, 27th Jan 2022

                                                            https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43948 

“Psalm 23 Garden

“Sarah Eberle’s Psalm 23 Garden is a garden for our time, a garden for a pandemic. The famous psalm speaks of God’s presence with us in all moments of life. Sarah’s garden, designed for Bible Society, takes us on a journey through the psalm to a restful destination. We hope it will resonate with you, and that you’ll be inspired to create your own Psalm 23 community garden….    


"Find out more about the garden and its inspiration, and how you can create something based on it in your community. Meet people whose lives have been touched by Psalm 23, churches who’ve made their outdoor space a haven for both people and wildlife, and find out what Psalm 23 really means.”

       The Garden  https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/psalm-23/the-garden/

            Get Active      https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/psalm-23/get-active/

               Be Inspired     https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/psalm-23/be-inspired/


                             With permission, The Bible Society, https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/psalm-23/  

“Bruce Kent: Let us support the Agenda of Peace of Pope Francis …

“Pope Francis serves the whole world by making sense of the connections between issues that might seem separate: refugees, poverty, war, the arms trade, climate change, the Covid crisis, our indifference to each other and the rest of creation. Perhaps we could join forces behind the Holy Father's 'agenda for peace'? If this inspires you but you're not too sure where to start, put Sunday 16 January 2022 in your diary. That's 'Peace Sunday', and he has given us a rich topic to explore: 'Education, work and dialogue between generations: tools for building lasting peace'. That's something we could all contribute to in our families, parishes, schools, justice and peace groups, and other networks. Let's make connections across generations and get going!”


                                       ICN, 9th Dec 2021 https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43610

“St Louis Catholic Academy in Newmarket …

…is looking to create a pool of committed volunteers who would be happy to come into the school in the afternoon, on a regular basis, and listen to the children read. 


…is looking for people to join our friendly Midday Supervisors team, helping the children during their lunchtime break. And  


…is looking for someone to help children with the completion of their homework 2 evenings per week (4pm to 5.30pm days can be flexible).  


If you can help, please contact Antoinette Jones at antoinettejones@stlouisacademy.co.uk .

"Pope Francis: Catechesis is the echo of the Word of God ...

“Emphasizing the relationship between catechesis and kerygma, the proclamation of the Word of God, [Pope Francis] said: ‘Catechesis is the echo of the Word of God.’


“At the heart of the kerygma is a Person, Jesus Christ; catechesis, therefore, ‘is a privileged space for a personal encounter with Him.’ And so, the Pope said, catechesis ‘must be interwoven with personal relationships.’ Catechists are witnesses who have themselves encountered Jesus, and wish to lead others to encounter Him. Pope Francis emphasized that catechesis must be given in the language of the people, ‘in dialect, that is the language that comes from the heart.’


“To do so, he said, we must remember the elements of catechesis that are most needed today: expressing God's saving love, appealing to freedom, marked by joy. Similarly, this demands ‘certain attitudes’ on the part of catechists, including approachability, openness to dialogue, patience, warmth, and welcome.”


          With Permission, Independent Catholic News, Source:  Vatican News, 31 January 2021

                          https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/41448


Prayer:

Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.                        Book of Common Prayer


Prayer: 

All‐wise God, as you have granted us to drink with delight from the Word that leads us to know you, in your goodness grant us also to come at length to you, source of all wisdom and stand for ever before your face.

                                    Based on a prayer of the Venerable Bede

“Beijing Winter Olympics: Let's give Uyghurs hope, says Jewish human rights charity…

"’Will the bright spotlight on Beijing throw Uyghur suffering into the dark? Or can we ensure that some residual light reveals the true horrors of China's repression? It is up to us all.   


"’Sport can be a thrilling exemplar of the best of humanity - excellence, endeavour and friendship. But the sentiment encapsulated in the games' motto -   

'Together for a shared future' [italics added]- will ring very hollow to all those suffering the brutality meted out by the host nation. It is up to us all to use this moment to demand that the Uyghurs and other minorities can begin to share hope for the future.’   


“Ethnically Turkic and Muslim by faith, the Uyghurs are a Chinese minority population, concentrated in Xinjiang Province, which Uyghurs call East Turkestan. In recent years, there has been growing evidence of systematic and widespread human rights abuses by the Chinese state against Uyghurs - including mass internment, forced labour, organ harvesting, forced sterilisation, and cultural and religious repression. On 9 December 2021 in London, the Uyghur Tribunal concluded that the Chinese government was guilty of genocide.”

                              With Permission, ICN, Feb 3rd 2022, Source: Rene Cassin - www.renecassin.org 

                              https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43995 

“Pope Francis: Dreaming of a 'completely missionary Church'…

“This year's theme is 'You shall be my witnesses' (Acts 1:8). Pope Francis described Christ's words in the Acts of the Apostles as 'the heart of Jesus' teaching to the disciples'.


“'You shall be my witnesses'


“In his message, Pope Francis emphasised that every member of the Church has a shared responsibility to witness to Christ. He drew on Pope Paul VI's 1975 document Evangelii Nuntiandi, which sought to give a new momentum to evangelisation.


“Describing the Apostolic Exhortation as 'a document dear to my heart,' he cited its much-quoted line: 'Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses'.


“Pope Francis wrote in his letter that: 'In evangelisation, then, the example of a Christian life and the proclamation of Christ are inseparable. One is at the service of the other. They are the two lungs with which any community must breathe, if it is to be missionary... This kind of complete, consistent, and joyful witness to Christ will surely be a force of attraction also for the growth of the Church in the third millennium'.


“Welcoming and caring for migrants


“The Holy Father recalled that St Paul VI underlined the responsibility of immigrants to evangelise the countries that receive them. He explained: 'More and more, we are seeing how the presence of faithful of various nationalities enriches the face of parishes and makes them more universal, more Catholic. Consequently, the pastoral care of migrants should be valued as an important missionary activity that can also help the local faithful to rediscover the joy of the Christian faith they have received'.


    With Permission, Independent Catholic News, Source:  article in ACI Africa, 19 January 2022

                                          https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43893

“Women who changed the church online series

“The Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge is hosting a fascinating eight-week online lecture series entitled “Women Who Changed the Church” starting on January 20.


“The lecture series explores inspirational women whose lives and actions have been transformational within the Catholic Church.  This series is designed to celebrate, uncover, and critique the contributions of women … throughout Church history.


“Speakers include: 


Dr Sue Price of MBIT on Mary Mother of God and More (January 20); Prof Charlotte Methuen of Glasgow University on Women in the German Reformation (January 27); 


“Dr Sr Jo Robson OCD on St Teresa of Avila (February 3); 


Dr Carmen M Mangion of the University of London on Women Religious, Charitable Ministries, and the Welfare State (February 10); 


Sr Pavlína Kašparová on Female Self Understanding and the Idea of Religious Femininity (February 17); 


Dr Phyllis Zagano, an internationally acclaimed Catholic scholar and lecturer on contemporary spirituality and women’s issues, on Women Deacons and the Synod (February 24); 


“Prof Jeana Del Rosso of Notre Dame of Maryland University on Unruly Catholic Nuns (March 3); 


Prof Shannen Dee Williams of University of Dayton (Mary Ward Lecture 2022) on Experience of Black Religious in the African American Freedom Struggle (Free) (March 10).


“You can register online on Eventbrite for the thought-provoking Thursday afternoon (2 to 3.30pm) series on, from January 20 until March 10. Each lecture only costs £10.  For more details visit: www.mbit.cam.ac.uk/events/ “


                       With permission, Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, January 19, 2022

                        https://www.rcdea.org.uk/women-who-changed-the-church-online-series/

“Peace Sunday 2022

“Peace Sunday follows the international World Day of Peace and will be celebrated in the parishes of England and Wales on the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time. In 2022 this falls on 16 January.


“The theme is taken from Pope Francis' message for the 55th World Day of Peace: Dialogue between Generations, Education, Work and Dialogue: Tools for Building Lasting Peace.


“Pax Christi[‘s]… National President, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool, says: ‘This year has been one of unprecedented and continuing challenges. We are all conscious of the need to restore and rebuild our communities here and around the world, accepting that we need new ways of working and relating to each other.


“‘The Christian message of peace, through reconciliation, justice and nonviolence, can offer hope and direction in these times.’…  Visit the Pax Christi website for more.”


“Prayer
“O God of peace, who are peace itself and whom a spirit of discord cannot grasp, nor a violent mind receive, grant that those who are one in heart may persevere in what is good and that those in conflict may forget evil and so be healed.
Amen


“Prayer of the Faithful …

“For peace between nations, a lasting peace with justice.

“For individuals, groups or movements that promote war and conflict,
that Christ, the Prince of Peace, might turn hearts to a culture of life.

“See more on: www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/Cycle/WinterCP.shtml#Peace“    [emphasis added] 


                     ICN 7 Jan 22,  https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43810

“The Jesuit Refugee Service UK

"...is looking for donations of old mobile phones and technology to provide refugees with the means to stay connected during this difficult time. This technology helps refugees access vital support, legal advice and stay connected with loved ones. If you have an old phone or tablet sitting in a draw, do get in touch with JRS! For more information visit: www.jrsuk.net/news/donate-your-smartphone-and-make-a-difference/ "


                             (With permission) Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, January 9, 2022

                        https://www.rcdea.org.uk/peace-sunday-refugee-phone-plea-carers-survey

Sunday Obligation

From this Sunday, the Obligation for Catholics to attend Sunday Mass has been reinstated, however, the Bishop’s write: “When the Church speaks of the Sunday Obligation, it reminds us that attending Mass is a personal response to the selfless offering of Christ’s love. At this time, we recognize that for some people there may be certain factors which hinder attendance at Mass. The pandemic is clearly not over. The risk of infection is still present. For some, there is legitimate fear in gathering together. As your bishops, we recognize that these prevailing circumstances suggest that not everyone is yet in the position to fulfil the absolute duty attend freely Sunday Mass.” “We now encourage all Catholics to look again at the patterns which they have formed in recent months with regard to going to Mass on Sundays” 


Read the full statement here.


“Bishops speak about importance of honouring Sunday…


“We now encourage all Catholics to look again at the patterns which they have formed in recent months with regard to going to Mass on Sundays….


“The Sunday Mass is the very heartbeat of the Church and of our personal life of faith.  We gather on the ‘first day of the week,’ and devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).  The Eucharist sustains us and spurs us on, renewing our gratitude and our hope.  When we say ‘Amen’ to Christ in receiving his Body and Blood, we express the love of God which is deep within us, and at the end of Mass, when we are sent forth, we express our love for our neighbour, especially those in need. These two dimensions reveal the full meaning of our faith.  We are gathered together and sent out, we pray and are fed, we worship and we adore; these are intrinsic to our lives as those baptised into Christ.”    

                       With permission, Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 19th Nov. 2021

https://www.rcdea.org.uk/bishops-speak-about-importance-of-honouring-sunday/

“The Ancestors of Jesus Christ

“(Lk 3.23–38)
“1 This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, who was a descendant of Abraham.


“2-6a From Abraham to King David, the following ancestors are listed: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers; then Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.


“6b-11 From David to the time when the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon, the following ancestors are listed: David, Solomon (his mother was the woman who had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.


“12-16 From the time after the exile in Babylon to the birth of Jesus, the following ancestors are listed: Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, who married Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was called the Messiah.


“17 So then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from then to the birth of the Messiah.”

                                                        (With Permission). The Bible Society.

https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/explore-the-bible/read/eng/GNB/Matt/1/#MAT.1.6b-MAT.1.11!x.1

“Green Christian New Year Resolutions

“Have you considered adopting a vegan lifestyle?


“This is one of the suggestions in a list of New Year resolutions offered by Green Christian.


“Carbon emissions caused by the farming of animals, poultry and fish for food are calculated as contributing at least 14.5% of world-wide CO2 total. Being vegan is a way of living which seeks to exclude as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. Vegans avoid meat, fish, shellfish, insects, dairy, eggs and honey as well as products tested on animals, and products such as leather which is only available because an animal has been killed.


“Or what about resolving to divest your bank, savings and pension funds from fossil fuels?


“Questions around how we use, share and act justly with money are found throughout the Bible. Resources are available to help make connections between money, faith and a transition to sustainable development.


“What about supporting the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill?


“The Bill calls for the UK to make and enact a serious plan. This means dealing with the UK's real fair share of emissions so that the UK's entire carbon footprint - in the UK and overseas - is taken into account when calculating the carbon footprint. It also calls for the protection and conservation of nature at home and overseas along supply chains, recognising the damage caused through the goods we consume in the UK.


“Or work with your MP on Climate Change.


“Meeting net zero targets is fundamentally about transitioning to low carbon infrastructure. Many decisions around new and existing infrastructure - such as buildings, roads and utilities - are made at the local level. If targets are to be met it is essential that the public holds local politicians accountable, as well as providing them with a mandate to take decisive action.


“Meeting an MP can sound intimidating, but it can be as simple as sending a letter and having a 20-minute meeting. 


“More ideas at: https://greenchristian.org.uk/new-year-resolutions-2022/ “

                           With Permission, ICN, Ellen Teague, Dec 28th 2021 

                              https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43758

“Three New Year's resolutions with a difference - CAFOD

“With your help, 2021 was a year of real change. Together we resolved to stand alongside the world’s most vulnerable communities. Here’s how!  


“Walk for Water 

“Last year we asked you to help give the boot to water poverty by joining our Walk for Water challenge… during Lent…. 

“This year we're asking you to help stamp out hunger, one step at a time. 

“There are 200 million children in the world whose lives are at risk from malnutrition. So, this Lent, challenge yourself to conquer 200k (5k a day for 40 days!) and help give hunger its marching orders. “Inspired …? Take on this year’s Walk against Hunger!  


“Campaign against the climate crisis 

“In 2021, with the eyes of the world on the UK as hosts of COP26, we asked you to help reclaim our common home. … 

“This year, it's time to tackle corporate abuse of human and environmental rights. We're calling on the UK government to introduce a new Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to hold business to account when it fails to prevent human rights abuses and environmental harm. 

“Keen to join … in the fight for our rights? Join our new campaign to protect people and our common home!  


“Make your will and make a difference 

“We also invited you to tackle the to-do list and take advantage of our New Year will-writing offer. … many of you took us up on the invitation, enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing the people and causes you love will be taken care of…. 

“Fancy taking up our New Year will-writing offer in 2022? You can make your free will in person, over the phone or online.

                               (With permission), CAFOD, 1 Jan 2022.

                                https://cafod.org.uk/News/UK-news/New-Year-s-resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions? Why don’t you listen to the whole bible in a year?

In The Bible in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz walks you through the entire Bible in 365 episodes, providing commentary, reflection, and prayer along the way. Unlike any other Bible podcast, Ascension’s Bible in a Year podcast follows a reading plan inspired by The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, a ground-breaking approach to understanding salvation history developed by renowned Catholic Bible scholar Jeff Cavins. For each period in the timeline, Jeff will join Fr. Mike for a special episode that will help you understand the context of each reading.   


To listen and for full details go to https://bibleinayear.fireside.fm/ , alternatively, if you have an android phone (Samsung etc) you can download the ‘Bible in a Year App (Ascension Press, Fr Mike Schmitz) directly to your phone. if you have an iPhone go to podcasts on iTunes and subscribe to Bible in Year daily podcast

“Alive in Faith December newsletter

“The December 2021 Alive in Faith newsletter has been published online and contains details of the amount raised so far and how the money is being spent.  [Click on the link below.] “This includes updates on parish projects, retired clergy, seminarians and social outreach grants.”

  https://www.rcdea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AliveInFaithNewsletterDec21.pdf ]


                       (With permission) Diocese of East Anglia

                      https://www.rcdea.org.uk/alive-in-faith-december-newsletter-is-out-now/

“Never Waste a Good Crisis

 – Franciscan Spirit Blog, Kyle Kramer, 11 Jan. 2022


“I think it’s fair to say that our modern institutions are in crisis. Our level of trust in our political system is at a record low … social justice and good governance seem largely impossible. It’s becoming clear that our economic system tends to enrich some but impoverish many, including the earth itself.


“As we lose faith in our institutions, I think we’re also beginning to lose faith in the cultural story that undergirds them: the story that drove the Industrial Revolution, a story that celebrates individualism, reason, competition, perpetual economic growth, advanced technology, and control over nature and our bodies. This story tells us that we are fundamentally separate from each other, from the rest of creation, and from a God who seems distant and disinterested.


“It’s no wonder that many of our institutions are failing us, for they were largely built on sand: wrong assumptions about human beings, the nature of reality, and what makes for a good and fulfilling life. If the dominant cultural narrative is one of separateness, there is another story, one of integration, that is struggling to be born. This story, which Pope Francis holds up in his encyclical “Laudato Si’,” tells us we belong intimately to each other and to all of creation.


“This story doesn’t aim us in a straight line of progress and economic growth, but instead it helps us embrace the circular, Trinitarian dance of communion and connection, in which we grow in an exquisite spiral toward a more loving, gentle, inclusive, and cooperative society.


“It’s a story of grace and mutual generosity and simple pleasures, of not eschewing technology but always staying rooted in, and taking our cues from, the God-given abundance of natural systems. In this story, human beings and all of creation thrive together as a single, sacred community—which is, of course, the only way we will survive.


“The crumbling of our institutions offers us a wonderful, if challenging, opportunity to adopt this new story of integration—of human self-understanding, of social and economic systems, of the ecological integrity of our planet….


“And how do we Catholics take on this challenge faithfully…?  Fortunately … Catholic tradition … offers a trove of resources that can help us believers do our part to heal the world—and even the institutional Church itself.


“One is our belief that we human beings are made in the image of God. Like God, our very nature is communion, creativity, and loving care for the dignity of all living things…. The great work to which we’re called may be daunting, but with God’s grace, we’re up for it….


“Another gift of our tradition is our Mother Mary.  In a culture … so formed by masculine assumptions, Mary invites us to discover and integrate archetypal feminine energy as a necessary complement and corrective.  And the Madonna is not only a model; she intercedes for us and strengthens us along the way.


“Finally, Catholic tradition is (at its best) one of inclusion and synthesis: both/and, not either/or.  Building a better world will mean jettisoning much that has been unhelpful up to now, but there’s much we need to keep, even when that means holding together many truths that seem paradoxical. It’s true that we face unprecedented challenges right now. If it’s also true that we are indeed made for such times, let’s not allow this crisis to go to waste.”


This “Franciscan Spirit Blog” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

“Notes from a Friar: Offering up our Suffering

– Franciscan Spirit Blog, Jim Van Vurst, OFM, 13 Jan. 2022


“I suspect that most of us have heard of the expression ‘offering it up.’ Someone asked me just what it means. It was a good question. There is a fundamental truth that helps us understand this expression. In all of God’s creation, there is a single word that describes who and how we are: relationship. The whole of creation: the universe, all the galaxies, stars, and planets (including our own), are in relationship with each other.


“The basic laws of the universe, such as gravity, tell us that we all affect one another. But when it comes to God’s creation of humankind, the idea of relationship takes on unimaginable proportions. We are all created out of love: we are made in God’s image and likeness. And we are related to one another in ways we cannot comprehend. We are more deeply linked together in an interpersonal relationship with God and with each other.


“That interpersonal relationship can be seen in the lives of moms and dads who feel hurt when their children are injured or experience rejection: their children’s pain becomes their own. That’s why the word interpersonal describes such a powerful aspect of our human experience—in times of joy and sadness.


“God's Family


“Offering it up means doing something for those we love. It is the basis for Jesus’ own suffering on the cross. Sometimes we mistakenly think that Jesus died for the sins of humankind. Jesus did not die for something. He died for us all—his brothers and sisters. And in that, we were redeemed. In other words, we did not do anything ourselves to accomplish that. It was only Jesus who could perform such an act of love. Imagine if God had told us to do that on our own. Not a chance!


“Offering up something means that, as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, we can help one another. We don’t know how it all works or what effect it has on others. That is where faith comes in. We don’t look at ourselves as martyrs in these situations, but as helpers in the lives of others.

“It really is a magnificent understanding of how closely we are linked to each other as God’s family. Offering it up can be placed in the same category as prayer. Offering up our own inconvenience, pain, or struggle becomes part of our Christian faith and love for others. It is exactly what Jesus did on the cross. What a privilege that can be for us, too.”


This “Franciscan Spirit Blog” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

Sign up for CAFOD daily Advent reflections

These reflections have been very popular and offer an opportunity to pause and reflect, pray and take action as we prepare for Christmas. Visit our Interactive online Advent calendar | CAFOD for more details. There are also free Advent children’s liturgy resources that parish catechists may find useful. Children's Liturgy | CAFOD

“Sr Wendy Beckett gives a voice to Julian of Norwich

“A recording of Sr Wendy Beckett reading Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love has been released to the public 28 years after it was first made….  


“Sr Wendy said …: ‘When I was at Oxford, I studied Julian in the original and it made a great impression on me. My copy was a very small leather-bound book, and it had the lovely smell of sandalwood that old books sometimes have. Julian is forever associated in my mind with sandalwood and I hope that a sandalwood smell comes across in the recording.’  


“Sister Wendy Beckett (1930-2018) became a household name when she presented a series of television programmes for the BBC on Art History. She is the author of over 15 books. She spent the latter part of her life living in seclusion in a Carmelite Monastery in Norfolk.  


“Revelations of Divine Love by Dame Julian of Norwich (1343-after 1416) is the earliest surviving book in English written by a woman and is considered a devotional classic….  


“Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich read by Sister Wendy Beckett Audio CD (ISBN 9781527281189) is available … from the Friends of Julian of Norwich (https://www.stjohnstimberhill.org/friends-of-julian), [in Jarrolds in Norwich for £16.99] and from Waterstones.”                                

                           (With permission) Eldred Willey, Dec 8th 2021, Diocese of East Anglia  

                  https://www.rcdea.org.uk/sr-wendy-beckett-gives-a-voice-to-julian-of-norwich/

"Congratulations to Radio Maria England

“…who celebrated their second birthday recently.


“Radio Maria England is a 24-hour Christian station. It is part of a worldwide network of more than 80 radio stations around the world. They offer a voice of hope and encouragement. Responding to Jesus' invitation: 'Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature' (Mk 16,15) they say: "We try to embrace all the charisms that the Holy Spirit is bestowing upon the local and universal Church in our time. Interaction is essential to Radio Maria. We invite our listeners to share their concerns and joys, and we reach out to those who are among the poorest and the most marginalised. Creating a family spirit, also by involving volunteers and listeners, Radio Maria accompanies every person who hungers for God on their journey of faith.


“The programme of Radio Maria England is based on three pillars: prayer, catechesis and human formation. The daily schedule includes Mass and spiritual content, as well as social programmes and worldwide news….


“Find the full schedule and more detailed programme information here: https://radiomariaengland.uk/ “

 

                                  With permission, Independent Catholic News, 17th Nov. 2021

                                                          https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43486

“Remembrance Sunday ...

"...is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held at 11am on the second Sunday in November (the Sunday nearest to 11 November, Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War in 1918). … It is marked by ceremonies at local war memorials in most cities, towns and villages,… Wreaths of remembrance poppies are laid on the memorials and two minutes' silence is held at 11am. Church bells are usually rung half-muffled, creating a sombre effect.”                                                               Wikipedia

World Youth Day - this November 2021!

As well as International World Youth Days, Pope Francis has asked that ‘Youth Sunday’ is now known as ‘World Youth Day’ with each diocese throughout the world running a special event! 


All young people Year 7 upwards are invited to ‘World Youth Day East Anglia’ held at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Saturday 20th November, 12pm – 8pm. 


There will be live Music, inspiring talks, powerful prayer times and a vigil Mass with the Bishop to welcome in World Youth Day. Places are limited - to book a place and for more information, please see www.rcdea.org.uk/youth

All Saints Day & All Souls Day

All Saints Day, Solemnity – (Holy Day - Commemorated 1st Nov. – transposed to Sunday, 31st Oct.)

Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown. From the 4th century, feasts commemorating all Christian martyrs were held in various places on various dates near Easter and Pentecost. In the 9th century, some churches in the British Isles began holding the commemoration of all saints on 1 November, and [also] in the 9th century this was extended to the whole Catholic church by Pope Gregory IV. 


All Souls Day – (Commemorated 2nd November)

 … is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of those who have died, which is observed by Latin Catholics and other Christian denominations annually on November 2.… Beliefs and practices associated with All Souls' Day vary widely among Christian denominations.

                                                                                                              Wikipedia

Book of the Dead

November is the month when we remember and pray for the dead, particularly our loved ones and those of this community. 


Through November, Masses will be offered for Holy Souls. If you would like to include your loved ones in these intentions, please add the names to the “Book of the Dead” found in both Churches.

“Pope calls for prayer and fasting for Afghanistan

"…Pope Francis called Christians to show solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, especially women and children, the victims of violent attacks in recent days. ‘Let us continue to assist those in need,’ he says, ‘and pray that dialogue and solidarity may lead to peaceful and fraternal coexistence.’…


“Pope Francis said: ‘in historical moments like this we cannot remained indifferent,’ and for Christians it is a duty to respond.  ‘For this reason, I appeal to everyone to intensify prayer and practise fasting: prayer and fasting, prayer and penance. Now is the time to do it.’


“He concluded: ‘I'm serious: Intensify prayer and practice fasting, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.’"

                          (With permission) Aug 31st 2021, Independent Catholic News  [Source: Vatican News]

                                          https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42943

Masses for Infertility

... were celebrated by Bishop Alan, at OLISE Church in Newmarket. For more information https://www.rcdea.org.uk/couples-with-miscarriages-or-infertility-are-not-alone/ 


A Mass for those affected by infertility (Saturday 6th November 2021, 11 am.) Followed by a talk on treatment options for Catholic couples with infertility by Dr Phil Boyle, President of the International Institute of Restorative Reproductive Medicine and founder of NeoFertility. 

THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA, Feast – Commemorated 9th November

“…the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome in the city of Rome, and serves as the seat of the bishop of Rome, the pope. … Originally founded in 324, the church is the oldest and highest ranking of the four papal major basilicas, holding the unique title of "archbasilica". It is the oldest public church in the city of Rome, and the oldest basilica of the Western world.  It houses the cathedra of the Roman bishop, and has the title of ecumenical mother churchof theRoman Catholic faithful.” 

                                                                                           Wikipedia

“Pope Francis calls getting Covid jab ‘an act of love’

“… Pope Francis praised the work of researchers and scientists in producing safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines.


“’Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from Covid-19,’ he said ….


“He added that vaccines ‘bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another.’ [italics added]


“Vaccination is an act of love
“… Helping other do the same, he said, is also an act of love. “Love for oneself, love for our families and friends, and love for all peoples. Love is also social and political.”


“The Pope noted that social and political love is built up through ’small, individual gestures capable of transforming and improving societies.’


“’Getting vaccinated is a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable,’ he said.


“Pope Francis then prayed to God that ‘each one of us can make his or her own small gesture of love.’“’No matter how small, love is always grand,’ he said. ‘Small gestures for a better future.’”


                (With permission) Keith Morris, August 20th , 2021, The Diocese of East Anglia                   

                                                                                                               [Source: Vaticannews.va] 

                     https://www.rcdea.org.uk/pope-francis-calls-getting-covid-jab-an-act-of-love/ 

“Bishops call for Universal Credit lifeline to remain

“The Rt Rev Terence Drainey, Catholic Bishop of Middlesbrough, has joined 14 senior North East church and faith leaders in an open letter calling on the Government to make the £20 uplift in Universal Credit permanent.


“In response to the pandemic, the Government 'temporarily' increased Universal Credit by £20 in April 2020, and extended the uplift by six months in the 2021 spring Budget. The Chancellor is moving forward with plans to end the uplift in October.


“Bishop Paul and the other signatories of the open letter have joined a growing coalition of secular and faith groups urging the Government to reconsider.” 

                                                                  (With permission), Aug 17th 2021, Independent Catholic News

                                                                   https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42853

Virtual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

“The Lay Community of St. Benedict is hosting a Virtual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, with different guides, starting on Monday, 6 September and every Monday until 1 November at 7.30 pm for 40 minutes. Each session will include: a Pilgrim Prayer. Scripture Reading for the specific place. Verbal introduction with visuals. Feedback from fellow pilgrims. Prayers or short Liturgies and a Pilgrim Blessing.


“Pilgrims will be visiting the following Holy Sites: -

6 September Ein Kerem-Nazareth with Fr Tom Grufferty

13 September Nazareth-Bethlehem with Jacky Chong.

20 September Baptism/Galilee with Sue & Walter Essex

27 September - Bethsaida: Mt Tabor/Cana with Bridie Stringer

4 October Jericho/Masada/Good Samaritan with Chris Bryden

11 October Bethany/Jerusalem - Sara Oliver.

18 October Passover Supper/Agony in the Garden/Trial of Jesus - Margo Price

25 October - The Way of the Cross. Crucifixion and Death with Vivienne McCabe

1 November Holy Sepulchre/The Garden Tomb/Ascension with Jacky Chong/Tom Grufferty.


Join the Virtual Pilgrimage here: www.lcsb.uk/pilgrimage “Recordings are available on the website a day or two after each session.  

                         (With permission) Fr Tom Grufferty, Aug 29th 2021, Independent Catholic News

                          https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42926

“’World Mission Sunday

'We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard'

“World Mission Sunday - the one day in the year when the entire global Church comes together in support of mission – [is today]. Coordinated by Missio, this special day is celebrated in every Catholic community in the world. It is a moment of grace to express solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are living in situations of poverty, violence and oppression.


“The theme the Holy Father has chosen this year is: 'We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard' (Acts 4:20). In his message for World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis says: ‘Once we experience the power of God's love we cannot help but proclaim and share what we have seen and heard. Jesus' relationship with his disciples and his humanity shows us the extent to which God loves our humanity and makes his own our joys and sufferings, our hopes and our concerns.’


“Fr Anthony Chantry, Missio's National Director in England and Wales said: ‘Celebrating World Mission Sunday is so important and relevant in these times. If we are to emerge from all our present global problems stronger in our commitment to Jesus and the coming of his Kingdom of peace and justice, we must work together, helping and supporting each other across the world. World Mission Sunday is about expressing the solidarity that comes from being the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.’"

                            With permission, Independent Catholic News, Source: Missio, Oct. 15th 2021

                             https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43257



"... is vital to the growth of the Church and the spread of the Gospel in predominately impoverished and remote areas overseas. Masses and collections will happen in every diocese across the world, and every single donation supports churches, hospitals, schools and vocations in countries where the Church is new, young or poor.’”

                                With permission, Keith Morris, Oct. 4th 2021, Diocese of East Anglia

                                https://www.rcdea.org.uk/world-mission-sunday-october-24-save-the-date/

A Guide for Readers

“Rev Fr Henry Longbottom of Leeds Diocese has put together this good practice Guide to help Readers at Mass “This good practice Guide includes a general list of the role and responsibilities of Readers, their Biblical mandate, important information on the Lectionary and some good practice tips.”


Available for download from our website: https://stthomas-stjohnparish.com/church-services


The God Who Speaks, 12 Jan 2021, https://www.godwhospeaks.uk/the-god-who-speaks/our-dioceses/a-guide-for-readers/

School Resources

[from] The God Who Speaks website [useful at home too]


“The Diocese of Westminster’s Education Service have shared their excellent PowerPoints on the Bible for primary and secondary schools. [emphasis added] 


“You can download their full series of Old Testament PowerPoints on their website: education.rcdow.org.uk 


“Their current series is on the Women in the Bible and they … continue to add a new PowerPoint to their website each week.” [Also New Testament PowerPoints]

                                                                                  With permission, The God Who Speaks, 5th May 2021

                           https://www.godwhospeaks.uk/the-god-who-speaks/our-dioceses/school-resources/

HUMILITY

Following Christ’s journey through Lent, we should be amazed at His generosity in teaching, healing and loving all he met: and we should experience our own humility that we can share these gifts too. But what is this humility?


“Taking the knee” has become a widespread symbol of opposition to racism. It is a genuflection with the specific purpose of committing oneself to a particular cause, to act in solidarity with others of like minds. The same action has been, and still is, used for a variety of purposes. People kneel to show respect for others and to acknowledge they are, in some way, higher in status to us (e.g. they have authority over us). We may kneel in making a commitment to others (as when someone is knighted). We kneel to ask someone to marry us, an act of commitment to loving that person.


We are used to genuflecting. At Mass, we “take the knee” before the tabernacle. When we do, we are signalling three very important things about the nature and depth of our faith:

  • As an act of submission, we acknowledge God’s authority, in Jesus who is in the tabernacle;
  • As an act of service, we are saying to Jesus that we are willing to serve him in fulfilling his mission;
  • As an act of love; we are asking him to accept our love for Him, just as He offers his love to us. 


Humility is something that gets a bad press in these days of so-called self-dependence. Fortunately, one blessing of the Covid 19 disease has been the way in which most people have moved away from such selfishness to help one another. That, though heartening, is not what is meant by christian humility. 


True humility includes helping those who need it: however, it can lead us into self-gratification and a swift stroll down the path taken by Dickens’ Uriah Heap, who was proud of saying the he was “very ‘umble”, although all the while being a hypocrite. 


For christians, humility is a fundamental act of giving – giving not just material things, but surrendering to Jesus everything – all of us. In the words of the old song, we act with humility when we can say to Our Lord “All of me, just take all of me.”                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                     TC

MANAGING THE UNEXPECTED

Whatever Mary was planning for her life with Joseph, it did not include becoming pregnant outside that relationship. An unexpected word interrupts the routine of ordinary time and proposes a ground-breaking diversion from what is planned; nothing less than a startling new future is proposed. Will Mary stay with her own domestic plans or risk an uncharted adventure as God’s collaborator? Mary’s annunciation to the angel enshrines her response in consenting to the word of God happening to her. “I am the handmaid of the Lord … let what you have said be done to me.” (Luke 1:38). Mary gives up her own wishes an adopts God’s desire; she gives up personal control of her life in favour of God’s promise; in her response she pledges her body and spirit to the purposes of God. Mary welcomes the unforeseen and adjusts her life to this new adventure. [Mary] …… is the one who, when hearing the word of God, gladly allows that word to form her life. Later, her son will say during his public ministry: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice (Luke 8:21). Mary is now presented as the perfect disciple who is the bearer of the word and a doer of the word. With that response the angel takes his leave. Thus, Mary becomes the literal embodiment of the promise of God: she conceives the promise, she becomes pregnant with the promise and she will give birth to the promise. The choice she makes and honours will earn her the first title she was accorded by the Church: theotikos, God-bearer. The promise will be called “Holy, the Son of God.  


“Mary showed complete trust in God by agreeing to be used as an instrument in spite of her nothingness because she knew that he who is mighty could do great things in her and through her. Once she said ‘yes’ to him, she never doubted. She was just a young woman, but she belonged to God and nothing nor anyone could separate her from him.”                                        Sr Teresa of Calcutta                                       

                                               From Throughout the Year with Mary • Denis McBride C.Ss.R. Diary 2021

FRIENDSHIP

“Friendship …. Should be a wonderful kind of togetherness where each of the friends encourages and liberates each other into the fulness of their own potential. Friends very often become habitual with each other and they limit the potential of their friendship. If you feel with your friend that you are called to the outer frontiers, then the friendship is in growth, and it also has a bit of danger in it, and risk; and without risk in the world of the soul, nothing really grows.”
Walking on the Pastures of Wonder John O’Donohue • Veritas 2015

Do not fall into the trap that, because we are physically distanced from our friends, whether by yards, miles or continents, we fear that friendship will languish. I don’t need to list the variety of ways though which we can keep in touch with others. Even if we have to adopt a holding position during this period of lockdown, we now have some strong indicators of when we will be hugging them again. First among these friends, and unaffected by lockdown, should be Jesus. Now is the time to begin preparing for that closer re-union:think about what you can do to take friendship further to the “outer frontiers”.
                                                                                                             TC

SILENCE

“Silence is something sacred. It ought to be greatly respected and avidly cultivated, for God abides in eternal silence. It is in that eternal silence that the Father uttered a Word. And the Word became flesh to communicate to us the meaning, the mystery of that divine silence. It is our duty, therefore, to keep a silent space within our hearts, so that we may be able to hear the Word.

In spiritual life, the practice of exterior silence and that of interior silence have always been intimately connected. One does not exist without the other. When the heart, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, … [is[ …truly silent and pacified , the divine life hidden within is revealed. …… an ancient monk used to encourage in his disciples the practice and necessity of silence by telling them ‘The love of silence ultimately leads to the silence of love.’ “
                                                            Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette • Blessings of the Daily

Whatever trials and tribulations the Covid 19 Pneumonia and government regulations and advice may bring us, one gift is the opportunity to be silent. This is important. Many lead isolated lives at present: all of us may fear those times when we have no-one to talk too, or when others are too absorbed in their own fears and worries to listen to us or to express their anxieties. Yet for us, it is a golden opportunity to ask for the support of the Holy Spirit in adopting the silence that leads to peace of heart and the recognition of God’s love.

You might start with reading the Gospel of the day in your missal, or silently praying the Lord’s Prayer or saying a Hail Mary to seek her intercession. Think about the words of these prayers. Don’t try to analyse them but allow them to float around in your head, until they fade into silence. You are now on your way to the spiritual silence that, by leading to peace of soul, brings with it peace of mind and body.                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                              TC

ON PATIENCE

Walking from Mildenhall to Eriswell the other day, I was reflecting on the fact that I have slowed down. I used to be able to walk four miles an hour; I now can only do a little over three miles. Age is catching up on me, I thought; then realised that was silly. Ageing is a good, though not always accurate, indicator of what we can do or no longer take for granted, a reminder that nothing stands still and that change is a persistent and personal experience.

As we realise that there are some things we can no longer do, or do as often or as frequently or as competently, we need to face up to the importance and difficulty of being patient. This is a Christian issue. Jesus practised patience each minute of his life – in loving his parents and disciples and waiting for their slowly growing grasp of who he was and what he was doing. He needed patience to deal with the tricks of scribes and pharisees who tried to trip him up regularly. His love of the sick and poor made him patient in coping with the not necessarily grateful demands of those who came for his help; the fatigue and tiredness he experienced day by day in pursuing his mission required patience as did his suffering during his Passion.

Our commitment, our responsibility, our burden and joy, as Christians, is to follow him. As St Polycarp often said to his disciples “let us be imitators of his patience.” St john Chrysostom wrote: “Patience means that we should endure as Christ endured ……. Also, we should wait for him, that is, we should be prepared …... For this is to love God, to endure and not to be troubled”

Today as we prepare for Lent and continue to cope with the challenges and demands of living with a deadly virus amongst us, let us practice patience: patience to wait for the decline of Covid 19 and its effects; and patience to follow Jesus to his death and resurrection knowing that such loyalty will bring the joy of redemption.
                                                                                          TC

St Edmund's Catholic Primary school ...

Bury St Edmunds, has been selected by Suffolk County Council to provide education for children with moderate learning difficulties. This means a purpose-built unit of three classrooms will be built on site. This is a wonderful opportunity to develop education for the most vulnerable within our community and live our mission as a Catholic school. It will be the first unit in the Diocese. We hope the parish community will add their support to this exciting venture by going to the planning application and leaving a comment.

 http://suffolk.planningregister.co.uk/Planning/Display?applicationNumber=SCC%2F0013%2F21B

“Pope: UN Food summit an opportunity to build a more just world

“Pope Francis sent a message to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on the occasion of the UN Pre-Summit on Food Systems, which [took] place in Rome from 26-28 July.


“Pope Francis [said] this important meeting ‘highlights how one of our greatest challenges today is to overcome hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in the era of Covid-19.’


“This pandemic, he adds, ‘has confronted us with the systemic injustices that undermine our unity as a human family,’ while the poorest and the Earth itself ‘cries out for the damage we inflict on it through irresponsible use and abuse of the goods God has placed in it.’ …


“He denounces the ‘scandal’ of hunger in a world that produces enough food for all people, adding that it is a ‘crime that violates basic human rights.’


“Pope Francis underlines that it is everyone's duty to combat ‘this injustice through concrete actions and good practices, and through bold local and international policies.’ …


“Pope Francis notes, ‘If we want to maintain a fruitful multilateralism and a food system based on responsibility, justice, peace and unity of the human family is paramount.’…


“Concluding his message, the Pope underlines that …, ‘we have a responsibility to realise the dream of a world where bread, water, medicine and work flow in abundance and reach the poorest first."


“Finally, Pope Francis expresses the hope this meeting for the regeneration of food systems will ‘set us on the path to build a peaceful and prosperous society, and sow the seeds of peace that will allow us to walk in true fraternity.’"


                         (With permission), 27 July 2021 in Independent Catholic News, [Source: Vatican News]    

                                                                                               https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42709

“Room for God

“Wherever we live, we can choose to make time and space for the sacred. We can make room for God. “Room for God is a new resource for you and your home – to help you find God in every one of your rooms.


“One room at a time, and at your own pace, you can:

– listen to how God is with you throughout the day

– reflect on your concerns more freely

– discern some decisions more clearly

– try out a variety of spiritual practices

– value the power of silent meditation

– experience God everywhere and not just in church


“Take a look at [excerpts from a] sample chapter on the Kitchen … .


“God in our Kitchen 

“’One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’(Matthew 4.4) 


“Our kitchens are central to our existence, since they are where we prepare all our food. For many people the kitchen is also where they eat their meals. Kitchens are where we chat by the oven or at the fridge door, and catch up on the day while cooking or washing up. Kitchens are where we make our children’s treats, pour a glass of wine or stir the late-night hot chocolate. Kitchens are our compass for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and all the snacks in between.


“’Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart.’ (Ecclesiastes 9.7) 


“The Bible has much to say about food and fellowship, as these are what build communities. Both the Old and New Testaments frequently describe the physical food we need to eat and the spiritual food we need to live. Our bodies are an intrinsic part of our faith and relationship with God. Jesus regularly ate with his followers, even after his death and resurrection. And it was through Christ’s Last Supper with his chosen disciples that he modelled the ultimate meal that we would repeat for evermore in our church communities – the Eucharist.”

                                                                              With permission, The God Who Speaks, 29 th July 2021, 

                   https://www.godwhospeaks.uk/the-god-who-speaks/focus/sacred-space/room-for-god/


More information on the rich contents reaching each room in your house is available in the paperback Room for God. 


Visit the Bible Society webpage at https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/products/room-for-god/. The book is available for purchase via that webpage for £3.99 and forms part of the Bible Society’s August focus on ‘Sacred spaces and places’.

“The God who speaks through the voices of women

“Talks by Sr Gemma Simmonds from Cambridge and a new series on women of the Bible are part of this summer’s offering from the God Who Speaks.


“Sr Gemma Simmonds is from the Congregation of Jesus in Cambridge will be one of the speakers at a summer school organised by the Society of St Gregory.


“The event, which focuses on liturgy and music, will run from August 4-6, via Zoom. This year’s theme is ‘The God Who Speaks: Celebrating, living and sharing God’s Word’.


“Sr Gemma, who is part of Our Lady and the English Martyrs parish, will be joined by Sr Margaret Atkins, Fleur Dorrell, Bob Hurd, Nicholas King SJ, David McLoughlin and Dan Schutte. The speakers will explore all the different ways that God speaks to us.


“Bishop Peter Brignall, the initiator of ‘The God Who Speaks’, will introduce the two days of prayer, contemplation, discussion and debate, and there will be liturgies with music.


“Further details, and online booking, are available on https://www.ssg.org.uk/summer-school-2021/

“Meanwhile Natalie Orefice, Advisor on Parish Evangelisation in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has begun a monthly podcast series on Women in Scripture. To learn what biblical heroines have to teach us about faith, doubt, love, betrayal, birth, death, wealth, famine, hope, families, infertility, peace, war, joy, poverty, leadership, power and prayer, you can listen in on birminghamdiocese.org.uk/women-in-scripture.


“This month’s general focus for the God Who Speaks is the family, and you can find more resources on godwhospeaks.uk/focus/year-of-the-family.”

                                              (With permission) Eldred Willey, 20 July 2021 in The Diocese of East Anglia

                                           https://www.rcdea.org.uk/the-god-who-speaks-through-the-voices-of-women/

Pope Francis: Jesus heals hearts wounded from lack of love

“Pope Francis [recently] reflected on the … Gospel (Mk 5:21-42) which shows that Jesus goes beyond our sins and prejudices to heal our heart from the wounds and mistakes of the past.


“‘Jesus lets Himself be touched by our suffering and our death,’ [Pope Francis] said, …


“The Pope pointed out that the ‘most serious illness in life is a lack of love, and not being able to love.’” [italics added]


“The Pope lamented that we … seek useless remedies for our lack of love, throwing ourselves into vain searches for success and money, even looking online.


“Pope Francis encouraged everyone to "let Jesus look at and heal your heart." …


“If we have already experienced His gaze, then we should turn to those around us who may feel wounded and alone to show them love.


"’Jesus asks you for a gaze that does not stop at the outward appearance, but that goes to the heart: a gaze not judgmental, but welcoming,’ he said, ‘Because love alone heals life.’"


                                          Independent Catholic News, https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42513 

                                                                                                                       27th June 2021 (With permission)

The Holy Father says: Friendship…

“is one of the great gifts that life gives us. Being able to count on friends, during good times as well as bad, is a gift from God…. Let us extend a hand and listen to others so we can work together for the common good.  Share this message of Francis … with friends … and people who aren't friends yet.”

                                                 With permission, ICN, 30 Jun 2021 from Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network.

“Pope Francis calls on us to keep our eyes and hearts free of prejudice

… and closed mindedness that comes from habit. Be open to being amazed at God's surprises, he says, and God's "humble and hidden presence in daily life."...


Reflecting on last week’s gospel message, “(t)he Pope warned that if we let the ease of habit take over in us, it can lead to a ‘dictatorship of prejudice’ where we close ourselves to novelty and the possibility of being amazed. We see this in our daily lives when we gravitate toward experiences or people who only conform to our ideas and world view, he noted. This can affect us in our faith life as well, where we can think we know everything about Jesus and have it all figured out. The Pope warned, however, that ‘without openness to what is new and to God's surprises, without amazement, faith becomes a tiring litany that slowly dies out’. (Italics added)  He stressed the importance of allowing ourselves to be amazed, which is the natural reaction to a true encounter with the Lord.”

                         With permission, ICN, https://www.indcatholicnews.com/ 4 Jul 2021 from Vatican News.

“Radio Maria wins grant to explore science and faith

“Cambridge-based Radio Maria England has been awarded a grant to look at the relationship between science and faith through the Scientists in Congregations programme.


“The programme is run by Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS). Radio Maria England is among one of 22 churches and organisations in England and Wales to receive grants totalling £400,000, to be used over the next 18 months on a creative, public-facing project….“Radio Maria England will be rebroadcasting the first season of Science and Faith on Saturdays at 13:30 and Thursdays at 16:00 through the summer. The show is also available as a podcast.


“You can listen to Radio Maria England on radiomariaengland.uk/how-tolisten-to-us, on the Radio Maria World Family app for smartphones and tablets and on DAB/DAB+ radio in the Cambridge and London areas. Podcasts are available through Anchor, Spotify, Apple podcasts, Overcast and other podcast providers.” 

                                            (With permission) Eldred Willey, July 24, 2021, The Diocese of East Anglia         

                                     https://www.rcdea.org.uk/radio-maria-wins-grant-to-explore-science-and-faith/

Happiness

“Happiness is hard to define precisely. …… [Happiness] is not something that we can make with our own hands; it is not at our service. It can only be embraced when it appears at the most unexpected moment. … Aristotle identified happiness with contemplation because, in this activity, we participate in the life that is proper to God. … ‘Such a life will be superior to the human condition: in fact, it is not in as much as we are human that we will live this way, but in as much as that which is divine is present in us.’ Every activity is a way of reaching this fullness, the true motor that constantly accompanies us and allows us to feel alive, fulfilled. Ignatius of Loyola called this final destination “the feeling and enjoyment of things interiorly” (Spiritual Exercises, n.2). … …


The modern mind has sought to make happiness a right available to everyone; in this way, it has progressively grown further away from its horizon, even speculative, to the point of disappearing. ….. Take, for example the novel, “Brave New World” by A. Huxley. In this novel, the writer imagines a world where technology allows the realization of any desire, an extraordinary abundance of goods, capable of guaranteeing wellbeing. Nevertheless, there has not been a growth in happiness: the increased tenor of life is paid for by the suppression of variety in personal characteristics, bringing about a dictatorship of technology. …..


The more one seeks to own happiness, the more it escapes and becomes unreachable. It is the parable of our times: we are too worried about ourselves and our own wellbeing, discovering ourselves to be ever sadder and less capable of living. As in the conquering of Jericho (see Joshua 6:1–22), happiness comes when we are busy doing other things that capture the heart; happiness overtakes us, as an added extra, as a free gift.”

       Giovanni Cucci ‘Happiness: A delightful foretaste of Eternity” La Civilta Cattolica 15 June 2021


This free gift is the product of love that is unconditional, the Love that God offers us, through Christ. See below for Part 2 of this reflection.

                                                                                                                                        TC

MORE ABOUT HAPPINESS

You may have forgotten this: the Church’s Catechism opens with a declaration that the desire for happiness is within each of us, central to our human nature:


“The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God, and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for,”


Catechism of the Catholic Church • Pocket Edition • Geoffrey Chapman pub.


Happiness, then completes us when we participate in the life that is “proper for God” and where “that
which is divine is present in us.” (Aristotle) as we read last week.


To shape the life we lead in order to pursue and achieve happiness, God has given us the Commandments. I suppose most of us grow up to regard the Commandments as the sort of thing our grannies would say to us when we were small and irritating “Don’t do that! Don’t go there! Don’t … Don’t …” In truth, the Commandments are much more positive, in their way, and much more respectful of humanity and kind in their intent than they may seem. In effect, they tell us to follow the path they describe – obeying and serving God and avoiding the traps and pitfalls that face us when pursuing happiness.


When Psalm 22 says “He guides me along the right path”, it could be referring to the purpose of the Commandments as a guide to finding and following God. Jesus, in his mission on earth, has provided detailed directions that support and work alongside the Commandments. These are the Beatitudes*, the eight ways of filling our lives with love derived from the love God offers us, each day. Together they provide practical guidance on meeting the Commandments’ requirements positively. Happiness, Jesus is saying, can be experienced in this life if our pursuit of it is from the heart, and is shaped by the Commandments and, in this world, filled with the actions and behaviour envisaged in the Beatitudes. Such can be for each of us a life that is “proper for God” and where “that which is divine is present in us.                                                                                                           TC


THE BEATITUDES
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.


Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Faith journeys inspire young people on YouTube

“The Ignite Team have posted a series of First Fridays chat shows which share the inspirational stories of Catholics from around the Diocese and beyond.


“Each episode features the faith journey of a different guest as well as a musical segment and a time of prayer. Interviewees have included Sr Theresa Weight from the Dereham-based Community of Our Lady of Walsingham, Fr Simon Davies from St John’s Cathedral in Norwich, lay missionary Shelina Guedes from Peterborough and many others all sharing their diverse and unique experiences.


“’We’ve had quite a variety of people on the show,’ remarked show presenter and Ignite Team Leader Ciaran Losasso. ‘The stories they’ve shared have ranged from fighting poverty to trying seminary to teaching others about sex and relationships and everything in-between.’


“’It’s been a real privilege to hear each of their stories and quite enriching for me personally. I found that each guest gave me something to think about afterwards and there is always something powerful about hearing how God has worked in someone’s life.’


“The musical segments of the shows are also varied and have included contributions from local teenagers as well as from accomplished artists. The latest episode even includes a song from Great Yarmouth priest Fr Alvan Ibeh. 


“The full series, which is now completed, is now available on Ignite’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/igniteyea along with a selection of other content for young people, and including highlights from the recent Ignite Festival Online. A podcast of selected First Fridays interviews is also available on Spotify and other major podcast platforms under the name First Fridays with Ignite.


                                          (With permission) Eldred Willey, 19 July 2021 in The Diocese of East Anglia, 

https://www.rcdea.org.uk/faith-journeys-inspire-young-people-on-youtube/.


JOIN THE IGNITE TEAM

“The Ignite Team is the Youth Mission Team for the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia and was established in 2014. Full-time members of the team join for a year at a time.” Youth, 18-29, join in Sep 2021, Jan or Sep 2022. 

                 (With permission) The Diocese of East Anglia, https://www.rcdea.org.uk/youth/igniteteam/

The Challenge to LOVE

“How often is the intimate encounter of two persons an expression of their total freedom? Many people are driven into each other’s arms in fear and trembling. They embrace each other in despair and loneliness. They cling to each other to prevent worse things happening. ……”


However:

'Something which has existed since the beginning, that we have heard and have seen with our own eyes that we have watched and touched with our hands … this is our subject … God is light…. If we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another … (1 John 1:17)


“Suddenly everything is converted into its opposite. …. With irresistible strength the voice breaks through the vicious circle of our existence saying:


“Let us love one another since love comes from God … (1 John 4:7). In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love; because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love (1 John 4:18). (But) God is greater than our heart (1 John 3:20). We have to love, because he loved us first (1 John 4:19).”

                                                               Henri Nouwen Making All Things New Fount/Harper/Collins 2000

WHAT WE HAVE LOST, CHRIST RESTORES

It is, perhaps, too easy to treat Lent as a period of gloom as we follow the road to Jesus’ earthly death. True, it is a time for reflecting on Christ’s mission and sacrifice, together with our own relationship with God. But it is not a season for wearing sackcloth and ashes for 24 hours a day. It is a time for refreshing and developing our understanding of God’s love for us and for our role in His creation. Thomas Merton’s reflections on Life are helpful in increasing our knowledge of and faith in the world Christ came to save:   


“[Our] creation in the image and likeness of God proclaims that the creation was indeed a triumph of life. When God breathed into the face of Adam, everything in man came alive: not only his body, not only his mind, but also his spirit in which the image of God was hidden. And the image of God was live with likeness to God, that is to say with contemplation. …… God lived in him and he lived in God. ……. 


When we say that the creation of the first son of God was a triumph of life, we mean that every aspect of human living was exalted and sanctified at the dawn of man’s history. Man’s whole existence, not only in his relations with his own kind (Eve) and with the rest of the created world, were transfigured by divine insights and by an awareness of the inmost reality and value of everything that had come from the hand of God.” 

                                                                                The New Man Thomas Merton Burns & Oates 1962  


Lent can be a time when we mourn how Adam and Eve lost this divinity; but, much more important, we can reflect on how Jesus offers to restore these gifts of God. In his mission amongst us, in his suffering on the Cross, in his death and resurrection and his ascension, Jesus invites us to follow him to a life in paradise. This is the joy we can take from Lent. This is how we can mourn death and, at the same time, celebrate life, as we put our lives in the service of our beloved Saviour.

                                                                                                                                           TC

LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFE

“What does it mean to live a spiritual life?


…… This life becomes a possibility when, by disciplines of solitude and community, we slowly create some free inner space in our filled lives and so allow God’s Spirit to become manifest to us.


“We live in a worry-filled world. we find ourselves occupied and preoccupied with many things, while at the same time feeling bored, resentful, depressed and very lonely. In the midst of this world the Son of God, Jesus Christ, appears and offers us new life of the Spirit of God. We desire this life, but we also realise it is so radically different from what we are used to. …. A hard struggle is required. It is a struggle to allow God’s Spirit to work in us and recreate us. But this struggle is not beyond our strength. It calls for some very specific, well planned steps. It calls for a few moments in the day in the presence of God when we can listen to His voice precisely in the middle of our many concerns. It also calls for persistent endeavour to be with others in a new way by seeing them not as people to whom we can cling in fear, but as fellow human beings with whom we can create new space for God.” 

                                                                                          Henri J M Nouwen “Making All Things New” 1991

“The Assumption of Mary into heaven - August 15th

“Mary’s Assumption into heaven has been a common belief since ancient times and musicians, artists and poets have always celebrated the Assumption of our Lady through their work. This belief was declared a dogma ex Cathedra in 1950 by Pope Pius the XII. And so Catholics around the world celebrate The Assumption of our Lady into heaven every year on August the 15th. The Assumption is a source of hope for all of us as we are all called to share in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

                                                                       With permission, The God Who Speaks, 29th July 2021, https://www.godwhospeaks.uk/the-god-who-speaks/focus/sacred-space/the-feast-of-the-assumption-a-reflection/

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

“In the Roman Catholic Church, the Transfiguration was once celebrated locally in various parts of the Catholic world on different days, including August 6, but was not universally recognized. In 1456, the Kingdom of Hungary repulsed an Ottoman invasion of the Balkans by breaking the siege of Belgrade. News of the victory arrived in Rome on August 6. Given the importance to international politics at that time of such battles between Christian and Muslim nations, in celebration of the victory Pope Callixtus III elevated the Transfiguration to a Feast day to be celebrated in the entire Roman rite.


“In 2002, Pope John Paul II selected the Transfiguration as one of the five Luminous Mysteries of the rosary.” 

                                                                                                                                       Wikipedia

                                                                                                         (Celebrated on 6th August)

A DIFFERENT MATHS

At the end of Eastertide, we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity. We also call for the Trinity whenever we pray “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”. We are perhaps, so used to calling on the Trinity that we can forget that this is the most mysterious and difficult part of our Faith to comprehend. We believe in One God and that God is three persons – the Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit. If you don’t believe in the Trinity, you cannot be a Christian.


In his book “The White Tiger”, Aravinda Adiga’s main character boasts that “These christians only have three gods. We Hindus have millions!” This is an error that many non-believers make. We believe in one God and only one. That God is three persons – not different gods. But, others object, “That is mathematically impossible. Three into one won’t go, unless each is a third of what you call God.” “No,” Christians reply, “Each are equal in being the one God. Otherwise, Jesus would only be 33.333% of God. What would the rest of him be? And what about God the Father? As for the Holy Spirit, would his spare two thirds be spent in a walk-on part in Ghost Busters? So, this 3 in 1 must be wrong. After all, 1 + 1 + 1 =3!!!”


These objections fall over, because the wrong mathematics is being used. Instead think about 1 x 1 x 1 = 1! So, our belief in 3 persons in One God is not an impossibility. This, however does not take us very far in understanding the nature of God. We could never have a complete understanding, but we can get a sense of it by following Jesus, reading the Gospels and recognising that the Church has held, developed and proclaimed the truth about the Trinity since the fourth century.


The Bible tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). As a Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love one another completely and entirely. Love is truly the essence of God’s inner life. Jesus showed us this truth about who God is to reveal God’s inner life to us. God loves us and wants us to know him. God created us out of love, and we are created for love.


Faith in the Trinity, therefore, is not merely a doctrine but a dogma that shows us who God is and who we are as creatures made in his image.                                                            TC

PENTECOST

On the Feast of Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit on Christ’s followers, as they huddled, frightened and confused in the Upper Room. Pentecost is best known for the fire that struck the followers’ heads and for the Holy Spirits gift of tongues which gave them the ability to communicate with others, no matter what language they spoke. Jerusalem and the cities of the Holy Land at that times were market centres, where trade was conducted in goods from around the Mediterranean. The Spirit had not turned the Room into a Berlitz Language course! Christ had a much deeper reason for the gift of tongues, as this poem imagines it: 


A Gift of Tongues


In that room the world turned upside down. This was no gift of Greek or Latin nor any patois of the world then known, These were words familiar but forgotten, grammar and syntax learnt at mother’s breast, cast off, life’s first lessons unlearnt. New understanding burst into flame, excised crisp cynicism and terror’s fear, the dull language of despair and death displaced by a lexicon of love: -


a language to talk peace, abandon war; to join, in reconciliation, minds and bodies once used to slaughter; to win what’s worth the winning for all; to deploy the strong subtle syntax of forgiving; to give and accept clemency with humble compassion; to slough despair, put on hope; to put up with, and not to put down; to proffer a hand, withhold the fist; to offer words for unity, not croak apartheid; to sing love, drown out hate.                                                                                                        TC

Pope's prayer initiative for May

See the announcement from the Vatican about the Pope's prayer initiative for May and a list of the shrines and intentions on the Prayer page, fourth section, of this website.  Click here.

Ascension

Praise God in his kingdoms,

extol him in his honours

acclaim him in his splendour.

Make every effort to praise him justly 

when with assembled choirs

you sing to his honour!


Thus commences Johann Sebastian Bach’s Ascension Oratorio, a wonderful and devout piece of choral music, full of joy in Christ’s return to his Father and earnest, excited hope of meeting Him again. In this way it encompasses the whole meaning of the Ascension: it is not about mournful farewell, but the happy knowledge that Jesus does not leave us high and dry, but is both with the Father and us and will fulfil his promise to send the ‘Counsellor’ - the Holy Spirit – to advise and guide us.


Many remarkable things have been said about the Ascension, not least by those who deny it ever happened. It’s not surprising that there are doubters: the act of ascension sounds dubious and there are some myths about what happened. I remember being in Jerusalem many years ago and being shown the exact spot where Christ ascended. You knew it was the ‘lift off’ point, because he left his footprint on the ground. What I was shown was a hole in the shape of a 30” long foot and several inches deep, indicating that Jesus must have been 20’ high, at least.

Concern for proof that the Ascension happened is, in a sense, beside the point. If you accept what the Gospels say about it, that is sufficient. Why? Because it is a question of faith; that is, confidence and trust that something is true. Faith can be supported by our observations of the world about us and whatever evidence that can be got from the past. But it is no substitute for faith. When our confidence and trust rests in Jesus, our belief in what the Gospels say follows. Jesus’ size may be used as a metaphor for his greatness. The words of Bach’s Oratorio are the expression of feelings about the Ascension, not a historical account: but we can join in the joy and hope it expresses.                              

                                                                                                                  TC

GRACE

Did you know that you can buy Grace from John Lewis for £34?


Of course, when we talk about grace, or include it in our prayers, we are not usually talking about perfume. We can name children as Grace, talk about someone walking ‘gracefully’, tut-tut at ‘disgraceful behaviour’ and regret someone’s ungracefulness. But it is entirely different when we pray Hail Mary full of grace. As Catholics, then, what do we mean by ‘grace’ in praying to Our Lady or in talking about the Grace of God? 


The Catechism is direct and transparent in explaining this to us. Here are the headlines:  

  • “……. Grace is favour, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.
  • Grace is a participation in the life of God. …… by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an "adopted son" he can henceforth call God "Father," in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.
  • Grace is a participation in the life of God. …… by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an "adopted son" he can henceforth call God "Father," in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.
  • The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. ……
  • Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.”

                                                                     Catechism of the Catholic Church paras.1996 -1999 


Grace is given to us through baptism, reconciliation, communion and all the sacraments. It is a gift freely given. Why? Not because it is free, but, because of God’s love, we are worth it.

                                                                                                    TC

LENTEN PRACTICES

Lent is a pilgrimage and a partnership we embark on with God. He takes the initiative, we follow. …… Through the centuries, the Church tradition ……. [has] encouraged certain practices to encourage us along the Lenten Journey. They include:

1. Attendance at Lenten Services. These may be fewer this year because of Covid restrictions. However, we continue to have opportunities to attend Mass either in actual presence or virtually. The Liturgy of the hours is also helpful, especially because you can follow them on your own.

2. Making sufficient time for private prayer in conversation and partnership with God.

3. Daily reading of the Sacred Scriptures. If you have a missal, you have the daily readings and excerpts from the Bible in each mass.

4. Examination of conscience is extremely helpful for spiritual progress. Here, the daily reading of God’s Word is not just for hearing or reading – it must find application to our lives.

5. Works of Mercy cover almsgiving and action to help others in practical ways, from keeping company with those who are lonely to shopping for others, from praying for others to enabling others to keep in contact with family and friends. Small acts of kindness are do-able by everyone.

6. Self-control. Lent encourages us to practice control over our appetites. Traditionally this was focused on fasting and abstinence from meat. Fasting is still encouraged, but the modern era gives other and new ways of exercising control, such abstaining from watching TV, or tweeting and other distractions that the digital world offers. We can instead cultivate more time for God and helping others.

7. Silence – as we wrote last week

8. Daily ask for Jesus’ help in following Lent’s path to Easter; for example: St Ephrem’s prayer:

O LORD, Master of my life, grant that I may not be infected with the spirit of slothfulness and inquisitiveness, with the spirit of ambition and vain talking. Grant instead to me, your servant, the spirit of purity and of humility, the spirit of patience and neighbourly love. O Lord and King, grant me the grace of being aware of my sins and of not thinking evil of those of my brethren. For you are blessed, now and ever, and forever. Amen

9. Listening to Lent Music, such as the Passions by J S Bach, Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater, Handel’s Messiah, John Stainer’s The Crucifixion, James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross, the many recordings of Gregorian Chant, or Russian Chants (apex), Rachmaninov’s Vespers, The Carmelite Friars’ Timeless Echo. The capacity to make music is one of God’s most grace-filled and loving gifts to us. As a means of reflection or discernment, music forms a background and a source of contemplation.
                              Source: Blessings of the Daily Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourette
                                                                                                    TC

Soup

BEAUTIFUL SOUP, SO RICH AND GREEN  

WAITING IN A HOT TUREEN! 

WHO FOR SUCH DAINTIES WOULD NOT STOOP?  

SOUP OF THE EVENING, BEAUTIFUL SOUP!

                                                                       Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland 


Soup is simple. That’s what makes its appeal timeless. When young, the remembered fragrance of a warming soup on my way home from school made winter days that much more tolerable. the journey home that much more urgent, and anticipation of hunger sated that much more relishing. It was usually a soup rich in the flavour of winter vegetables, herbs and spices, or, on rarer occasions, a single vegetable, such as tomato or pea; rarer still was a meat soup.  


It’s no wonder that soup is an ever popular dish. Easy to make (yes, I know you can have really complicated concoctions, but let’s leave that to the Sunday Supplements), it has a virtue not present in every food – it is classless. Soup is welcomed by the richest and poorest of our communities, from castle dwellers to the homeless. Soup is the one dish which you rely on to unite a people and bring a community together.  


We now approach a season of the Church where soup comes into its own. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 17th . What better way of following the stages of Lent than a regular Soup meal on Fridays. It can fulfil obligations to fast, its promise can bring the family together (Covid restrictions allowing) and help with your response to CAFOD’s Family Fast Day. 


 Even if you can’t get the family (or friends) together at the moment, it would still be possible to share a virtual soup meal either digitally, via FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom or similar, or by simply agreeing that on a particular Friday you will have the same soup recipe at the same time. Soup unites and supports community, a worthy companion to real or spiritual communion.  

                                                                                                                         TC

TWO SOUPS FOR LENT

PEA & MINT SOUP 

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4) 

50 g/2 oz/4 tbsp Butter 

4 spring onions, chopped 

450 g/1 lb peas 

600 ml/1 pint vegetable stock 

Salt and black pepper 

Small sprigs of fresh mint 

1 pint milk 


PREPARATION

  1. Heat the butter, add the spring onions and cook on a low heat until softened – not browned.
  2. Stir the peas into the pan; add the stock and mint. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently until the peas are tender. Remove 3 tbsp of peas and set aside for garnishing.
  3. Pour the soup into a blender, add the milk and puree until smooth, seasoning to taste.
  4. Leave to cool, then chill lightly in the fridge.
  5. When serving, garnish with mint and reserved peas.


-------------------  


SPICY CARROT SOUP 

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 6) 

1 tbsp Olive Oil 

1 large onion chopped

1.5 lb Carrots, sliced 

Spices:  1 tsp each coriander, cumin and chili powder

1.5 pints vegetable stock

Salt and black pepper to taste 

Sprig of coriander to garnish  


PREPARATION

  1. Heat the oil, add the onion and carrots and cook gently, stirring occasionally. Add the spices, and cook gently for 1 minute, continuing to stir.
  2. Stir in the stock, bring to the boil, then cover and cook gently for 45 minutes until the carrots are tender.
  3. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Season to taste.
  4. Return to the rinsed-out pan and reheat gently.
  5. When serving garnish with the coriander sprig.

AN INVITATION TO THE DANCE

On May 31, the last day of Mary’s Month, we celebrate Our Lady’s Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Both are pregnant, one with Jesus and the other with John, who would become John the Baptist and prepare the way for Jesus. Mary’s joy is well known through the Magnificat. This poem reflects on what Elizabeth might have been thinking. 


Rehearsal


“It wasn’t enough for God to bless us, after many barren years waiting, with a child: nor to stop my husband’s tongue, though the blight on his priestly duties brought some respite as I went about my tasks without his pernickety instructions.


No. The joy of having John inside me was magnified (if I can put it thus) by Mary bearing here into our house the promised Lord. And, you know, I did not delight alone – in joy, the babe danced too.”  At Hebron, on a high hill in Judah God greets his prophet: Jesus invites John to join the dance, a pas de deux to shake the world and challenge Narcissan selfish greed with selfless love, ransom for mankind’s perjured soul. The Long Awaited One dancing with his Pathfinder on salvation’s road?  Not yet. These souls’ dance is a foretelling of what’s to come. Now is just a try-out, testing the eternal embrace twixt God and man, foregoing its price, future pain.

                                                                                                                                 TC

THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD (2nd Feb.)

“As an upright Jewish family, Mary and Joseph want to honour the Law and consecrate their first-born son to the Lord. The family’s destination is to the Temple where they are welcomed by two ancient figures, the prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna. In spite of being an old man, Simeon looks forward, not backwards; he looks ahead to the consolation of Israel. He is not captivated by the past, the world that populates his memory, but is attentive to the present moment and what is yet to happen.  


So, we have the meeting between youth an old age: between the young mother and the old venerables: between promise and fulfilment, between waiting and completion. You watch Simeon take the child into his arms; you watch old age reach out for the flesh of a promise fulfilled, gathering this assurance into his quieting arms, as he breaks into the poetry of the Nunc Dimittis.  


And Anna: she is the attentive woman who prays and waits and watches. Anna is always around the Temple night and day: she makes herself God’s neighbourhood watch. An inquisitive woman of faith, she is on permanent lookout: this valiant eighty-four-year old woman now carries her story to all who have been looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.  


As Mary fostered this chid within her, so she now shares him with a waiting world. This child is given, as Simeon prophesied, as a light to enlighten all peoples. That is why we celebrate Mary as a model for all Christians: we are challenged to carry Christ, not in wombs, but in hearts and minds, to carry him to those who have spent their lives waiting for the day when they can, at last, sense that good news is within their reach.”                

                  Denis McBride C.Ss.R. Diary 2021 • Through the Year with Mary • Redemptorist Publications

Nunc Dimittis

Now, Lord, you have kept your word: 

let your servant go in peace. 

With my own eyes I have seen the salvation  

which you have prepared in the sight of every people:  

a light to reveal you to the nations  

and the glory of your people Israel.

NAZARETH: JESUS’ HIDDEN LIFE

They returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favour of God was upon him. LUKE 2:39-40  


Jesus’ mission became public when he was thirty. We know little about his life during this earlier period, but Charles de Foucauld has described vividly his idea of what it must have been like:  


“Yours was the life of a model Son with your humble working parents. … This was the visible half. The other invisible half was your life in God which was perpetual contemplation. You worked and helped your parents and had holy tender exchange with them and prayed with them during the day, but in the solitude and shadow of night your soul poured itself out in silence.  


Always, continually, you prayed, for praying is to be with God and you are God. But your human soul continued this contemplation through the night, as, all through the day, it was united to your divinity. Your life was a constant outpouring before God, your soul looked always upon God, always contemplating him. What then was this prayer that was the half of your life in Nazareth? Before and above all things, it was adoration, contemplation, silent adoration which is the most eloquent of all praise – a silence that expresses the most passionate declaration of love.” 

                                                                                   Charles de Foucauld • Meditations of a Hermit • 1930  


As children of God we can, each day, follow Christ in our way of life. Being “a little less than gods” we cannot hope to replicate his life in detail, but we can imitate it in leading a prayerful life. This means more than following a cycle of formal prayers, spiritually nourishing though that can be. ‘Silent adoration’, especially, can be a practice throughout the day, as we silently devote each of our actions to God’s glory, deliberately seeking God’s help and love in all we do.                                      TC  


-----------------------------  


Following Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord is the first week in Ordinary Time -- the period between the Church’s great festivals, Christmastide and Eastertide. In our everyday lives, of course, current circumstances make our time far from ordinary. Indeed, there’s much speculation about what the ‘new normal’ would or should involve.  


Ordinary Time in the daily life of the Church should come as something of a relief, in that it doesn’t change. True, we live with restrictions in important areas of our lives, but at least we can still enjoy Mass in our churches, on Sundays and through the week. Otherwise our routines of prayer, christian acts of care, helping others, friendship and love for others, especially within our families, can continue.  


To understand more about ordinary life in Ordinary Time, consider Christ’s life in Nazareth. He spent the first 30 years as infant, youth and young man mostly in Nazareth, living with Mary, Joseph and other relatives and neighbours.  


“The Gospels record little about this time in Nazareth, but it is extremely important to Jesus’ subsequent ministry. Those quiet years in the company of his parents and friends who so deeply loved him were the best preparation for his announcement of the Kingdom of God and the redemptive sacrifice that followed. Jesus even chose to begin his ministry in Nazareth (Lk 16-21). Jesus’ life in Nazareth was one of silence, study, prayer, friendship, work and obedience to his parents …. forever growing “in wisdom and stature and in grace with God and men.” 

                                                          Blessings of the Daily • Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette  


Here then is a clear recipe for fighting off the negatives of living with the threat of Covid Pneumonia through following Jesus and enriching our Ordinary Time and, for everyone, making it the new normal.                                                                                TC

THE EPIPHANY

The Epiphany is one of the oldest feasts of the Church, celebrating the revelation that Jesus was and is the Son of God. As a Feast Day it predates the celebration of Christmas as December 25th .   Before then, January 6th commemorated the Nativity, Visitation of the Magi, Baptism of Christ and the Wedding of Cana all in one feast of the Epiphany. At the Council of Tours in 567, the Church set both Christmas day and Epiphany as feast days on the Dec. 25th and Jan. 6th, respectively, and named the twelve days between the feasts the Christmas season. Over time, the Western Church separated the remaining feasts into their own celebrations, leaving the celebration of the Epiphany to commemorate primarily the Visitation of the Magi.

In the modern Calendar Epiphany is celebrated on different dates as its often transferred to the second Sunday after Christmas. This year, however, the bishops of England and Wales have moved the Epiphany back to its original day of the 6th January. (where it will remain for the foreseeable future) This important feast would typically be a Holy Day of Obligation, but given the current Covid-19 restrictions, Holy days of obligation have temporarily been suspended. Therefore, there will only be the usual 10:00 am Mass on Wednesday 6th Jan at Brandon, which will be streamed and recorded (allowing people to follow online later, should they wish)   

The Christmas season culminates in the feast of the Baptism of the Lord next weekend. Following ancient tradition, however, the nativity scenes in both our Churches shall remain in place until the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemass) on 2nd February.

RESOLUTIONS

Now is the time when we are encouraged to make New Year Resolutions. We are expected to plan improvements and reforms in the way we live. Unfortunately, these avowals come with two common risks:that we will focus on irrelevant, too easy or trivial things; and that we will give up on them sooner rather than later. In short New Year Resolutions are short-lived and not to be taken seriously. So, if you are thinking about them, don’t bother, you have better uses for your breath! This not to say that we have no hope of improvement. But the hope we should have and use to set and achieve worthwhile resolutions should spring from the reality of our faith and the urgent needs of others. Pope Francis has pointed out why it is important to think this way: “What the Lord asks of you today is a culture of service, not a throwaway culture……. You have to open your eyes and let the suffering around you touch you, so that you hear the Spirit of God speaking to you …” 

                                                                         (Pope Francis “Let us Dream” Simon and Shuster 2020)    


The Pope here calls each of us resolve to improve our lives by focusing completely on helping others to improve their lives, whether that means selfless love for neighbours, acts of charity, support for agencies that bring relief and hope to people in this country and in others, taking care of those in need, and so on. This may not be as big a challenge as it appears:    


“In this past year of change and crisis, my mind and heart have overflowed with people. People I think of and pray for, and sometimes cry with; people with names and faces, people who have died without saying goodbye to those they loved, families in difficulty, even going hungry, because there’s no work. 


“… I find it helps to focus on concrete situations: you see faces looking for life and love in the reality of each person, each people. You see hope written in the story of every nation … So rather than overwhelm you, it invites you to ponder, and to respond with hope.”

                                                                                            (Pope Francis ibid)

                                                                                                                                      TC

Two Poems for Christmas

Waiting 

In the darkness, a sleeping lion cub stirs,  

familiar smell of sheep a new kind  

of dream, not of eating but couching lamb.  

Startled, the cub wakes, crawls to its mother,  

lick and growl assure, life’s back to normal.  


Above Bethlehem, three sleep-robbed shepherds  

wait for dawn to unlock their watch. The psalms  

they sing thank God for starlight that lays bare  

feared predators’ lairs and plots. They know well  

their future’s in their flock. Could they know it,  

the flock they’re in is in God’s waiting hand. 

The eastern sky brightens, their relief grows,  

not yet knowing, more than day approaches.  


Under that same sky, three foreigners,  

travellers from the far east, though whether  

kings, rogues or refugees could not be told,  

plod on, forgoing sleep, Jerusalem  

bound, planning what tale would gain admittance,  

waiting for dawn to announce their entrance.   



Into an Untrusting world 

Into an untrusting world  

Faith is born,  

Into a world of cynicism  

Hope is born,  

In the midst of hate  

Charity is born.  


This three-times gifted child  

Is come to die that we may live,  

Stewards of God’s world of love  

Lived through Christ’s beatitudes.

BRINGING CHRISTMAS HOME

Halket Street was built in 1832 as part of a larger scheme to house the increasing number of Irish people coming to build docks and railways, work in Iron foundries and engineering factories and build properties of all types in the growing city. It quickly obtained a reputation as a slum and as a place no ‘decent’ person would go near. By 1890 it was a place of desperate poverty, unemployment and low-level crime. Over the course of a hundred years its name was changed to White Street and Avon Street – feeble and failing attempts to improve its respectability. It was a place of degradation that never shook off its reputation, even after repairs and re-construction.

Christmas 1954 was a difficult time for everyone in the street. Autumn flooding – a regular occurrence – had damaged most of the houses. Snow now covered the ground, pretty but unwelcome to most families who had little coal to keep the house warm. In the 40 households, 23 had lost their men: 8 were in prison, 7 at sea, and 8 had run away. Money was tight and few could afford more than cheap meat for Christmas dinner. Of the 61 children in the street, only 22 would have a Christmas present, other than a small chocolate bar. Halket/Avon Street was demolished in the 1970s, to be replaced by a Medical Centre and large Shoppers’ Car Park. The Street is gone. But poverty, ignorance, child abuse, malnutrition, racism and all human failings are still around us here and across the country.

Now is the hour to make amends for the way Christmas was (not) celebrated in the past. Now is the time to take something extra to the food bank, to help out where comfort – even at a distance – can be offered to the needy, to pick up the phone and speak to someone (they may be in your family) who is isolated, lonely and alone, and to share the love that Christ has for you with others.
                                                                                                     TC

HOPE

Advent is a time of hope when we should be completely intent upon the joy to come. It invites us to look towards the fulfilment of God’s promise, as envisioned by the Prophets especially Isaiah.  


“Hope is an ‘insignificant little girl’ besides her two big sisters, faith and charity … nevertheless, it is she ‘who moves the others’. If we did not expect a great good, if we did not believe it possible, we would not be capable of any effort.” [From Advent to Pentecost: Carthusian Novice Conferences (CNC) 1999}  


The confidence and joy hope gives us are crucial. As St Francis de Sales said, it is not enough to do good; one must do it cheerfully. God loves the one who gives with joy. This joy springs from our confidence that what we hope for will be granted - that is, God giving himself to us with all that he is and all that he has. “God gives himself as God… God is simple … [and] each of us receives this infinite gift …” (CNC)  


Advent begins on November 29th , 3 days before the end of the current lockdown period. Let us prepare for Advent and the relaxing of coronavirus restrictions with intense hope, as we await the Christmas Miracle by reflecting on God’s goodness and our own fragility. Let us review the hope we have and rejoice that Christ’s coming will soon overwhelm our weaknesses with divine love. Let us hope that this year’s Nativity will renew our joy of, and commitment to, spreading the Good News in our community.                                                               TC

HEROES OF ADVENT

In the first Advent a large crowd must have been making their way to Jerusalem and its neighbouring towns because of the census imposed by the Roman authorities. Amongst these, either as part of a group or on their own - we don’t know which – were a young pregnant woman and her husband. This pair were ordinary people, he a carpenter, she a new housewife, young, inexperienced, but carrying with her baby a secret of awesome significance for the whole world.

Being a carpenter in those days was to be recognised and honoured as a man of skill. Joseph, this carpenter, had proved himself both skilful and courageous. He had accepted responsibility for adding to his skills those of fatherhood for a child not his. It would have taken courage to do this in the face of gossip and raised eyebrows in the close-knit village of Nazareth. Possibly with some reservations lingering, he had accepted his wife’s explanation that she bore the child of God.

Mary herself had been through an experience at first terrifying and then uplifting, as she was told that she had been selected to bear the Messiah. What courage, as well as humility, that required!

God had chosen a child to bear His Child, in the most difficult circumstances: - amongst the poor of the world, in a country conquered by a cruel empire, whose puppet kings exploited and harried the people, in a culture where religious orthodoxy and materialism fought tooth and nail.

This is the mission both were charged with: these were the challenges they faced. Mary and Joseph, beloved of God, too often forgotten as the greatest of heroes.

Catholic Church welcomes IICSA report into abuse

The Catholic Church in England and Wales has welcomed the report, published 10 h Nov from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, relating to the institutional response of the Church in its duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.


Read more and access full statement here: https://www.rcdea.org.uk/catholic-churchwelcomes-iicsa-report-into-abuse/

FEAR NOT

Covid-19 disease is having many negative impacts on our society, over and above the suffering of those who have contracted it, and grief over those who have died from it. Anxiety and fear are everywhere. How do we cope with it, especially since we are urged by shops and social media to spook one another on Halloween and after? I listened recently to an audiobook version of the late John O’Donohue’s Walking in Wonder. That night I dreamt I had a conversation with him about Fear and Death. A wise advisor, this poem records what he had to say:

Dark Companion
A dreamt conversation with the late John O’Donohue

A dark companion waiting at our birth, you said, lifelong at our side, Death’s mantle hides insistent fear’s root and source, as we tread across the years on roads we fool ourselves will lead in time to finding him.

For our pretence is twofold: to assume we walk to death, when he’s hand in hand with us; and to think fear’s a thing that’s ours to suffer, own, command and overcome. Fear, you say, is death’s tenacious sister, working to enable death’s triumph.

Fear is the Dark side of wonder.  Wonder’s Light hosts the means to fend off fear, exchange obsessive gaze on darkness’ entrancing secrets, to bathe in the Light’s greater truth:  “Could we but see through eternity’s dark glass, discern the form of everlasting life, death’s hollow valedictory as we pass could no longer wound as with a knife.”

The Light, of course, is God’s Love.                                         TC

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Remembered especially in January on the first Sunday after the Christmas period.

St Agnes

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Patron saint of virgins, chastity, and gardeners. Remembered especially on January 21st.

St Francis de Sales

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Conversion of St Paul

Patron saint of writers and journalists. Remembered especially on January 24th.

Conversion of St Paul

Conversion of St Paul

Conversion of St Paul

Remembered especially on January 26th.

St Thomas Aquinas

Conversion of St Paul

St Thomas Aquinas

Doctor of the Church Remembered especially on January 28th.

St John Bosco

Conversion of St Paul

St Thomas Aquinas

A man who dedicated his life to the service of abandoned young people.  Founder of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Remembered especially on January 31st.

St Patrick

St Patrick

St Patrick

Patron saint of Ireland
Remembered especially on March 17th.

SERVING GOD AMIDST SHOPPING’S FRENZY

I was talking the other day to a friend who had just finished a bout of shopping. He was quite agitated and it soon emerged that he had had a very mixed experience of customer service. In one place, the person serving him had been extremely helpful and he was impressed. In contrast, in other stores he experienced what he described as rudeness, indifference or patronising behaviour (he’s 82) and was furious about it. “I hate people like that and the shops who employ them!” he proclaimed. This friend is an ordinary man, even-tempered, friendly and kind. It must have taken some severely negative behaviour to make him so angry.  


After we had parted, I thought about the way anger and hatred seem to be too common a part of daily life. It seems, and is, natural to react to insults by responding in kind. But if we stand back and think, we should recognise the encounter as a message from God, asking us to show the other person the christian way of dealing with people. Turning the other cheek is a good thing, though not always the best. On these occasions God offers us a blessing, an opportunity to demonstrate our faithfulness to Jesus, our own freedom from hate or resentment, from self-pity, freedom to show goodness and kindness to our adversary.  


“To live by faith means to put ourselves in the hands of God, especially in our most difficult moments” Pope Francis  


What better time to show our love for God than in the hurry-scurry of the lead-in to Christmas? What better time to show our joy in our faith and the meaning of Advent in the way we respect and honour those around us, especially those toiling with the stress of coping all that consumerism AND fear of coronavirus, who maybe vent their frustrations on us?                                                                                             

                                                                                              TC

NOVEMBER 11TH - REMEMBRANCE DAY

Remembering those – military and civilian - who have died in war and because of its consequences, pray the Beatitudes:  

  • Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
  • Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land
  • Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
  • Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill
  • Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
  • Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God
  • Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God
  • Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’s sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

NOVEMBER 1ST: ALL SAINTS

Although millions, or even billions of people may already be saints, All Saints' Day tends to focus on known saints -- that is, those recognized in the canon of the saints by the Catholic Church. All Saints' Day is also commemorated by members of the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as Lutheran and Anglican churches.  


Generally, All Saints' Day is for us a Holy Day of Obligation. Other countries have different rules according to their national bishop's conferences. The bishops of each conference have the authority to amend the rules surrounding the obligation of the day.  


The practice of commemorating the Saints grew in the early days of the Church and was celebrated on the Sunday After Pentecost. All Saints' Day was formally instituted by Pope Boniface IV, who consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs on May 13 in 609 AD. Boniface IV also established All Souls' Day, which follows All Saints. The feast remained on May 13 until Pope Gregory III (731 – 741) changed it to November 1st.

Waiting

There are two meanings to “waiting”, depending on which preposition you use: “waiting for” means allowing time to go by until something happens: “waiting on” means serving someone, usually with food and drink.  


I have experience, supported by what others have told me, of the habits of Parisian waiters. At a typical café, one can wait for the waiter to wait on you. They will then wait for you to pay and give them a suitable tip. Typically, this experience is spiced up by the waiter waiting for you to get his attention and decide to wait on you. All Parisian waiters go through a rigorous training programme to qualify for their jobs, though I’m not sure ‘Making the (foreign) Customer Wait’ is part of it. If not, they learn the art very quickly: - it is clearly an entertainment which they value as a diversion from the ennui of their daily work. I wonder sometimes whether it is actually a gift of the Holy Spirit God’s reminder to us that we have to be patient wait for things. We wait for blessings, we wait for love to come along, we wait for a pay rise, we wait for death and salvation, and so on. Also Parisian practice is a good reminder that though some may serve us, none are less than us, and, in fact, we are all servants – of God and of one another.  


At this moment we wait for the ‘end’ of the Covid 19 disease, and a return to ‘normality’, even though the signs are that we face creating a new ‘normality, if only because Covid 19 is not going to go away. Our new ‘normality’ will include learning how to live side-by-side with it waiting for outbreaks which, hopefully, will be better managed as we learn more and more about its treatment.  


Becoming more patient and more resilient, then, is a big challenge for generations brought up to expect instant gratification who will be in a time when ‘waiting for’ becomes both important and critical. Except in one respect. No, Parisian waiters have not been blessed by the Holy Spirit. Their practice cannot be God-given, since God does not want to place us in contexts where impatience (from ‘waiting for’) and resentment (for ‘waiting on’) breed sins of intemperance and anger. God is Love. A love we need not wait for, since it is available to us all the time. All we have to do is to stretch our hands out to grasp it, and our souls will be filled with His Love. Simple!  

                                                                                          TC                                                                                         

Attending Mass

Last week I wrote about ‘waiting’ and its two meanings. This week is about ‘attend’ and its derivative, ‘attention’. Fear not! This is not the start of weekly lessons about words and their etymology. ‘Attention’, “attending’ and “attend” are all linked to the idea of waiting in a way that is crucial for anyone trying to meet God, especially through the Mass. To “attend” is derived from the Old French ‘atendre’ meaning ‘to wait for’, ‘to expect”, (Modern French ‘attendre)’. In turn this is from the Latin for ‘give heed to, stretch toward’: in other words “stretching one’s mind toward something’ or ‘concentrating’.  


‘Waiting’ and ‘attending’ share the idea of’ expecting something to happen. However, waiting is passive, and comes to an end when something expected happens. Attending is the opposite: it is active and the person who ‘attends’ does more than letting time pass by. To attend they must ‘stretch’ their mind towards what is happening. For example, we may wait for the priest to enter, come to the altar and begin the Mass. From that point onward, we should engage in its celebration. It is unfortunate that nowadays “attend” carries with it the meaning “be there and watch”. We might ‘attend’ a wedding, or a wrestling match (there is a difference!) or the opening of parliament or the placing of wreaths on Remembrance Day. We are there, but not expected to take part, just to observe. Perhaps we sometimes think like this about going to Mass. “Oh I’ll think about it on Sunday, after I’ve been to Mass.”  


Equating ‘attending mass’ to no more than “going to mass” or “being at mass” is understandable, but disappointing. Mass is the opportunity to meet and embrace Christ, experience His love for us and commit ourselves to his service. We cannot do this unless we plunge ourselves into the liturgy of the Mass, paying attention to each of its elements and taking an active part, not only in prayers, hymns and responses but also in concentrating on what is said, sung and preached – “stretching our minds to grasp their meaning” and hearing – not just listening to – God’s Word. Really, we should leave church after Mass exhausted by the effort we’ve put into it – tired but joyful that once again we have encountered God through his Son.

                                                                                        TC

LIVE SIMPLY, BUT WHAT IS SIMPLICITY?

“Authentic simplicity implies both detachment and renunciation. The Desert Ascetics …. Deliberately withdrew from a society and a church that had been corrupted by power and materialism. In the desert, these athletae Dei, or ‘athletes of God’ gave themselves fully to ascetic practices and continual prayer, both of which paved the way that leads to union with God. ……  


In contrast to the questions we might ask of ourselves today, they asked themselves instead: How much more can I renounce? What can I do without? How can I learn to love as Christ did, with true compassion and without judging others? And, ultimately, How can I truly love my God?  


Seeing all things through the ‘prism’ of simplicity inspired the early ascetics to become living embodiments of the truth emanating from the Gospel. This view is antithetical to the falsehood of the ways of the world. While Society, then and now, stressed the accumulation of possessions, the manipulation of others, the glorification of the individual, and the exaltation of the self, the desert ascetics found perfect contentment in the practice of …. simplicity, humility and frugality. Such practices made ample space within for God’s love and his Kingdom.”

                                   Blessings of the Daily • Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourette  


‘Turn off the lights’, ‘Don’t put the heating on, put on more clothing.’ ‘Walk, don’t use the car’ – these are some of the many ways in which we are encouraged to live simply. They are laudable and practical steps we can take. However, they scarcely touch the simplicity, humility and frugality Brother Victor-Antione describes. the present restrictions because of the pandemic does give us an opportunity to review that value of what we (used to) do in ‘normal life’. How much have we done without and what real difference has it made? What more could we do without? How much more could we give up? How can we make amends with the people we have fallen out with? How can we stop grumbling? And what would we have instead? Hopefully, more time for chatting with God. More time for listening to God. More opportunity to experience and share His love.                              TC

Creation - God’s Masterwork

“We are God’s work of art”     Ephesians 2:10


A Message from SPUC – The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
‘On 24 June 2020, MPs voted by a huge majority in favour of Dr Rupa Huq MP’s Ten Minute Rule Bill “to restrict demonstrations in the vicinity of abortion clinics”. The Bill comes up for a Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday 25 September.
Sarah Olney MP is also introducing a similar bill on Friday October 30. …..
….. We are launching a petition calling upon the Home Secretary to uphold the right of peaceful, law-abiding pro-life citizens to save the lives of unborn children and to offer help to pregnant women directly outside abortion clinics…..’

  • Please go to www.spuc.org,uk/SaveTheRightToSaveLives and sign the petition.
  • Please share the petition with friends and family via email and social media.

---------------------------


“St Paul says that we are all the work of God. If we truly believe this and try to live by the apostle’s statement, it means defying all our preconceived notions about others and, above all, about ourselves. St Paul gives us a new way of looking at reality, a reality that now appears to our eyes as transfigured by the light of God and renewed in Christ.
Each element of creation is, therefore, changed and made different. We can no longer “act as usual”, as if nothing has happened. We are now in Christ, and each of us is a new creation bearing the image of God. Therefore, we must show utmost respect to one another and to ourselves, because we are all God’s handiwork.
This is not always easy to do. We are weak, and often struggle and fail. We must pray for the sort of faith that strengthens our resolution, so that the grace of God may act in each of us, according to God’s wishes. It is said of St Seraphim of Sarov that he addressed each person he met with the salutation, “Christ is risen, my joy.” He called each and everyone “my joy” because he saw in them the work of God. This is another saint who has much to teach us.”      

                                                                    Br Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourette: Blessings of the Daily


Pope Francis says:
“I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life. In the same way, however, I can and must [state] that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father.” (Apostolic Letter, 2016)
“Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good... Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.”

A hidden disability of a different kind

A few days ago a friend, who volunteers in a care home, told me that she had been asked to become a fulltime member of the home’s staff. “Some jobs are not filled and we have sick leave and holidays to contend with, so we really are short-staffed at the moment,” she explained.

“The thing is, I love the residents, and get on well with colleagues. But,” she continued, “the truth is. I really don’t want to do it. Not fulltime. I only volunteered until I could go back to work in my ‘proper’ job, once it’s safe to do so…. At the same time, I couldn’t let them down. So, in the end, I said I’d do it.” She paused then said, “I didn’t sign up for it, but I guess he has better plans than mine.”

‘He’ is not her manager (who’s a woman), nor her husband or partner (she has neither). It’s God. Her faith is such that she always prays to discern what God’s intentions may be before taking any major decision. This humility and ability to put aside one’s own wants and listen for our Saviour’s wishes are not necessarily easy to see, including in ourselves– a kind of hidden ability.

This was on my mind when I watched a TV news item about the way some people have been abused and insulted for not wearing face masks in shops. The victims here are people with hidden disabilities conditions that have no physical appearance, but which mean that wearing a mask can prove impossible or harmful. It struck me that these incidents indicated another hidden disability – a spiritual one, when people, possibly out of fear, cast aside the tolerance, generosity of spirit and willingness to help others that they might normally offer.

Hidden spiritual abilities and disabilities characterise every one of us, whether we are aware of them or not. Let us fight our fears through repentance, humility and prayer that discerns God’s will, and our hidden spiritual disabilities shall be vanquished, as we rejoice, like my friend, in serving Him.
                                                                                  TC

His Divine Majesty is Truly in All Things

“They should practice the seeing of God’s presence in all things, in their conversations, their walks, in all that they see, taste, hear, understand, in all their actions, since His Divine Majesty is truly in all things by His presence, power and essence. This kind of meditation, which finds God our Lord in all things is easier than raising oneself to the consideration of divine truths which are more abstract.”
                                                      ‘St Ignatius Loyola, The Letters of St Ignatius Loyola’ William J Young

This is a classic expression of one of the foundational themes of Ignation spirituality – that God is to be found in all things. Note the practical element of this theme - that it is easier to understand and more useful than more abstract prayer.

Today, we could pay particular attention to finding God in two places that Ignatius mentions – in conversations with others (e,g. after Mass) and in walking from place to place (e.g. from home to the shops or in the garden).
                                                       Source: “An Ignatian book of days” Jim Manney • Loyola Press 2014

SEPTEMBER 1ST : CREATION: WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

Pope Francis has established 1 September as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, encouraging the Catholic community around the world to pray for our common home.

The day is inspired by Pope Francis' landmark encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls on "every person living on this planet" to care for our shared Earth.

He calls us all to celebrate this opportune moment to “reaffirm [our] personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation, as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.”

The World Day of Prayer is another opportunity for us to connect with our creator God and allow the Lord to redefine our relationship with the environment: from one of consumption and control to one of care and protection.

There are many ways to respond to Pope Francis’ call to care for the gift of God’s creation – why not take some time out of your day on 1 September to walk in your local park or take a few moments to thank God for the flowers growing in your garden? For more ideas go to https://cafod.org.uk/News/UKnews/Celebrate-World-Day-of-Prayer

August 15: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

August 15th is the usual day for celebrating Our Lady’s Assumption, a Holy Day of Obligation.

There are some who still scratch their heads over the veracity of this event, although it was made dogmatic by Pope Pius XII in 1950 in the bull Munificentissimus Deus. As dogma, we are obliged to believe in it.

What does it mean for us on our daily journey towards God?

According to Pope Benedict XVI:

“By contemplating Mary in heavenly glory, we understand that the earth is not the definitive homeland for us either, and that if we live with our gaze fixed on eternal goods we will one day share in this same glory and the earth will become more beautiful.

Consequently, we must not lose our serenity and peace even amid the thousands of daily difficulties. The luminous sign of Our Lady taken up into Heaven shines out even more brightly when sad shadows of suffering and violence seem to loom on the horizon.

We may be sure of it: from on high, Mary follows our footsteps with gentle concern, dispels the gloom in moments of darkness and distress, reassures us with her motherly hand.

Supported by awareness of this, let us continue confidently on our path of Christian commitment wherever Providence may lead us. Let us forge ahead in our lives under Mary's guidance.”
                                                                                [General Audience, August 16, 2006].
                                                                                                                             TC.

The Transfiguration of the Lord - August 6

This day celebrates one of the great mysteries of Christ’s life and mission. He took his three ‘core’ apostles. Peter, James and John, up a mountain (believed to be Mount Tabor) to pray with him. The apostles did what seemed to be a regular thing – they fell asleep while The Lord prayed! They awoke startled to find Jesus in conversation with Moses and Elijah. After the shock of recognising these Patriarchs of Israel, Peter suggested that he build three tents for them and Jesus, no doubt to protect them from the heat of the day. But Moses and Elijah were about to leave. At that point the apostles entered a white cloud and a voice told them who Christ was – the Son of God.

Christ did nothing without a purpose. His intention here was to bolster the apostle’s courage before his passion and execution. By selecting these three apostles he chose a small team whose combined talents would provide strength to all his followers in the dark days to come: Peter, a strong, if hasty, leader, not afraid to speak truth to the power of the Sanhedrin; James, an organiser who would establish the structures and disciplines of the early church; and John, the mystic who would illumine and inspire the early church’s faith and vision of Christ the King.

Between them they would be able to explore and explain this mystery, after Christ’s resurrection; how Moses represented the Law of the Old Testament; how Elijah represented the prophets and, thereby, God’s promises to his people. Most of all, the meeting with Jesus represented the convergence of the Law and the Torah with Christ’s Mission as the Messiah.

Reasons to Rejoice

Sea Sunday – our annual celebration of the work of the Mission to Sea Farers. Seafarers need our help because they are often working in dangerous conditions, with no one else to turn to. The Mission’s chaplains support both men and women they support in 200 ports, and tailor their help to each and every one of them.


The Mission provides:

  • Ship visiting
  • Transport run
  • Seafarers’ Centres
  • Justice and welfare cases
  • Christian services
  • Christian materials


As you can see, the Mission undertakes massive amounts of work to support seafarers. It depends on donations to continue and expand this effort. You can help with a donation. Do this by sending $5 or to our Parish Treasurer who will forward it to the Mission. For details of how to send, use the same method as for your weekly offertory donations. See overleaf for details.  


For more information about the Mission to Sea Farers go to https://www.missiontoseafarers.org/sea-sunday 


Latest Statistics

  • Ship Visits 70,600, meeting 353,000 seafarers
  • Centres 673,000 visits to 121 Centres
  • Transport 439,000 used Mission vans

ORDINARY TIME

There is something desperately dull about the prospect of week after week of green vestments stretching into the future. But then, all human life is like that. After the party, or the holiday, or the exam success, we come back in the end to the old routine of putting out the rubbish and making sure there will be milk for breakfast tomorrow.  Ordinary Time is repetitive for a purpose and the green vestments signify something immensely important to us. The colour green symbolises hope, just as the burning fire of love is symbolised by red. Green is the colour of growing things, and hope, like all that grows, is always new and always fresh. 


Liturgically, green is the colour of Ordinary Time because it is the season in which we are being neither especially penitent (in purple) nor overwhelmingly joyful (in white). Instead, the Spirit, having come down on us, is now living in us and acting through us. This offers a different kind of excitement from that of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost – not so much one of bustling about arranging celebrations, but quiet and thoughtful actions to grow our faith and allow the Spirit’s presence within us to give us a sense of God’s enduring love for us. It is a time too to look around and take time to savour the wonders and beauties of creation, now when Spring becomes Summer and the countryside flourishes in all its God-made glory.  


As Gerald Manley Hopkins put it in Pied Beauty:  


Glory be to God for dappled things -
  

For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow;
 

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
  

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
  

Landscape plotted and pieced-
fold, fallow, and plough;  

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.  


All things counter, original, spare, strange;
  

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
  

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
  

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
      


Praise him.  


Also it is an opportunity to reflect that: 


Now joy-filled Easter                                     

                           and Pentecost are done,  

we hear, question and once more                                      

                           learn who truly is this Son,  

remembered, made real, honoured                                      

                           through the unvarying rite  

of Ordinary Time, whose                                      

                          constancy shapes, guides our sight  

towards Advent, Nativity and                                      

                          Lenten eager expectation. 

This plain Time’s virtue lies not                                      

                          in tedious repetition: 

its rituals reveal threefold God’s                                      

                         eternal dance of loving care  

through which we, ordinary folk,                                      

                         everlasting joy may share.

                                            From ‘Ordinary Time’ • Tom Caple 2018

Good Grief

Now is Ordinary Time in the Church’s Calendar, at a point in which, in our daily lives, things are anything but ordinary!  This period of loss and deprivation is a time of grief. Many grieve for the loss of loved ones and close friends; others grieve that they cannot be with or touch relatives; others grieve for the loss of ‘liberty’ under current rules; yet others grieve because the dangers of covid-19 remain a hidden threat .  


Grief, in short, is not confined to deaths and funerals. Now is the time to show how we can cope with grief by our faith in God’s love. Here are some steps in controlling grief and transforming it into a gift of love.  


1. Practising humility Opportunities to grow in humility tend to come by letting others into our grieving lives; such as unexpected weeping to a compassionate stranger or permitting a neighbour to clean our house.  


2. Surrendering to God willingly all our needs Having a heart and mind that is open and willing to hand over our wants and needs into God’s hands.  


3. Listening for and accepting God’s answer It does not mean we no longer care about our circumstances, only that we surrender our needs, cares, and concerns without expecting a specific outcome to our prayer.  


4. Coping with the apparent absence of God When feeling as if God has forsaken or abandoned you; feeling spiritually dry or alone, you persevere courageously in trusting God’s love.  


5. Showing Confidence in God’s Timing When you are feeling empty, exhausted, possibly abandoned by God and others – cultivate gratitude. Think of all the ways God has blessed you. Then, thank Him for what He is doing in your life. In this way we make everything a holy gift that He, in turn, moulds into healing, strength, and peace for us.  


6. Preparing to accept what the future may bring When we pray without expectation of a certain outcome, then we will accept that our pain may not be taken away from us. Instead, it may be transformed into deeper love for Jesus, whose deep love in turn is given to us.  Suffering and loss do not define us; they teach us how to love in a deeper and more meaningful way.                                                                                         

                                                                           TC

Happy Birthday, Church!

The Church celebrates Pentecost, one of the most important feast days of the year; it brings the Easter season to a close and celebrates the beginnings of the Church. This day is the Church’s birthday.  Pentecost is the celebration of the person of the Holy Spirit coming upon the Apostles, Mary, and the first followers of Jesus, who were gathered together in the Upper Room. A “strong, driving” wind filled the room where they were gathered, and tongues of fire came to rest on their heads, allowing them to speak in different languages so that they could understand each other. It was such a strange phenomenon that some people thought the Christians were just drunk - but Peter pointed out that it was only the morning, and that the phenomenon was caused by the Holy Spirit.  


People have scratched their heads over the gift of tongues that were bestowed to those in the Upper Room. However, gifts from God are have a subtlety beyond their appearance. This gift was more than the capacity to communicate with others. Those who were there were from many lands within the Roman Empire and outside, so the presence of people speaking different languages, as well as the common languages of Latin and Greek (and, for many, Hebrew) should have been no surprise. What did surprise, especially those not directly involved, was what was being said and understood.  


Here is a mystery. What was said? One clue is that these were followers of Jesus, some well-established, others new converts. What the Holy Spirit must have made clear to them was the language they should use in Jesus’ name and therefore in God’s name. God is love and Jesus offered his love to all, freely and fully. The Spirit filled the apostles and followers with understanding of what and how to speak the language of love – Christ’s mission. And this is a new language, one rarely heard before in the pagan world. Live not in fear, captives of greed and oppression, but in the  knowledge of the freedom Jesus has won for mankind: “God asks only that we return his love. “  


No wonder the stupefied observers thought the apostles and followers were drunk. They were: but with the new understanding of what their beloved Christ was asking of them.                                                                                                                     

                                                                                  TC.

World Communications Day

What is it?
World Communications Day was established by Pope Paul VI in 1967 as an annual celebration that encourages us to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that the modern means of social communication (the press, motion pictures, radio, television and the internet) afford the Church to communicate the gospel message.  

Where did it come from?
The celebration followed the Second Vatican Council, which realised it must engage fully with the modern world.   

Why it is celebrated every year?
In setting it up on Sunday 7th May 1967, less than two years after the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI wanted to draw attention to the communications media and the enormous power they have for cultural transformation.  

Engaging with the communications world
Increasingly aware of the world as a global village and the power of the media as a free market place for philosophies and values, the Church has sought to be in there with its message and to use the media to proclaim the values it sees are beneficial for human development and for the eternal welfare of people.  

Analysis and action
Two important documents of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications – Communio et Progressio (1971) and Aetatis Novae (1992) have presented an analysis of the world of the communications media and made recommendations for the Church’s action.

This year Pope Frances has a special message:  “I would like to devote this year’s Message to the theme of storytelling, because I believe that, so as not to lose our bearings, we need to make our own the truth contained in good stories. Stories that build up, not tear down; stories that help us rediscover our roots and the strength needed to move forward together. Amid the cacophony of voices and messages that surround us, we need a human story that can speak of ourselves and of the beauty all around us. A narrative that can regard our world and its happenings with a tender gaze. A narrative that can tell us that we are part of a living and interconnected tapestry. A narrative that can reveal the interweaving of the threads which  connect us to one another.:                                     
                                                                    Message from His Holiness Pope Francis  

Get the whole of Pope Francis’ Message from http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/communications/documents/papa-francesco_20200124_messaggio-comunicazioni-sociali.html - it’s a good read!

The Ascension

Those who have visited the Holy Land and seen the Shrines and other holy places will probably have been to Bethany on the Mount of Olives and seen the place from where Christ is said to have ascended into heaven. This place of wondrous joy is also remarkable because one can see, it is claimed, the print of Our Lord’s foot in the ground. I can’t remember whether it was the right or left foot. What was remarkable was that it was about 20 inches long!  It is things like this that can undermine religion and the faith on which it is built. It can disillusion those who have a literal  view of the events described in the Bible. It can confirm the scepticism of those who reject Christianity or, indeed, all religions. It can encourage a pick-your-own attitude to belief, making it adapted to individuals’’ preferences, rather than embracing the whole rich and rewarding scope of faith, and the teaching of the Church.  

I doubt there are many people who believe that Jesus had 20” feet. Equally it would be no surprise to find that the majority of Christians dismiss the ‘relic’ as, at best, a misunderstanding, and, at worst, a trick to squeeze a bit more money from tourists. Both reactions miss the point, because this is a symbol, rather than a true representation of our saviour’s anatomy. Whist we can be aware of symbols (such as road signs) we are used to interpreting them for their relationship to the ‘real’ world. We think we see a representation of an outsize foot and respond by reference to our understanding of foot sizes that humans have. That’s understandable, but irrelevant. In terms of faith and what we believe, we need to ask what it could mean to have such an image before us. Perhaps it is meant show, not how big, but how great God is, or how powerful Jesus was – or both.  

This time of the year celebrates five great events and mysteries of our Faith: Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, The Most Holy Trinity and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The truth of each lies in what we are asked to believe and the strength of our belief is to be found in what the Church teaches, and our reflections on the meaning of these events. For example, why should God visit the apostles in the person of the Holy Spirit to ensure they understood their missionary role? What is the significance of the fire at Pentecost? Reflecting on these things and reading about them can help us understand both their actual and symbolic roles in our Faith.                                                                                                      
                                                                                    TC

God and the Plague

  • “Some Christians seem to have a very limited image of the Holy Trinity: nasty God the Father in heaven, lovely Jesus … and the bird! While the creeds teach that there is one God in three persons, they act as one in creating, saving and inspiring.” [Richard Leonard The Tablet 25 April 2020]


This is important if we are to understand plagues and other disasters and what they might mean. In ancient times, plagues, floods, earthquakes and other unexpected catastrophes were often interpreted to mean that God was saying something, usually by way of warning or punishment. That belief has lasted, so that, for example, people took the Black Death (a fourteenth century pestilence) as God punishing the world for its sins. This belief in God the Awesome Avenger lingers today in some communities, and in some people’s beliefs.


Such vindictive action is nothing to do with the Christian God. As Richard Leonard points out in his article, “Jesus never sends a plague, a natural disaster, or turns anyone into a pillar of salt. If Jesus isn’t into murderous retribution, nor …… is God the Father. Jesus is the incarnate correction to false views of how God works in the world.”


It makes sense doesn’t it? If God is Love, and loves us so much that he asks his Son to take human form to guide us to a better understanding of that love and to sacrifice himself for the sake of that love, it makes no sense whatsoever to believe that the same God would act so punitively towards us.  God did not send us COVID-19, whatever its origins. It is in great part the result of poor human practices and bad decisions.


“Spiritual sanity in these difficult days rests in seeing that every moment of the day God does what he did on Good Friday: not intervening to prevent humanity killing Jesus, but not allowing evil and despair to have the last word.”   [Richard Leonard ibid.]                                                                                                    

                                                                     TC

Our Lifelong Companion

As the lockdown continues, the stress of having very limited freedom of movement and action is affecting people differently. Each of us, I guess, can get low and fret for an end to the restrictions. That end seems as far away as ever. This is particularly the case if we get bad news. For example, I have just heard that a very good friend has tested positive for the virus.  Shocking and painful though this news is, I find some help in the writings of Blessings of the Daily:  


“There are moments when one arrives at a point of despair and senselessness. But those moments are always God’s hour. It is then that he is most at work in us. It is out of sheer despair that I gaze at Jesus, both Crucified and Risen. I see the marks of his passion, the wounds he endured during his crucifixion, and, suddenly, I see this human body that endured so much suffering being transformed by the power of God into the glory of the Resurrection. He …. is rewarded precisely because of his immense sufferings…. It is this that gives me hope to look beyond my own struggles, my limitations, my own sense of despair …... As Christ’s disciples, we are called to follow him through his death into his Resurrection…. It is through faith that I can see light at the end oi the tunnel.”                                                                

                                                      Blessings of the Daily Brother Victoire-Antione d’Avila-Latourette  


We are never alone on our journey. Even at the darkest times. Jesus is with us, just as he was with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, as we hear in today’s Gospel. Like them we may not always recognise his presence, but our faith tells us he is there, with crook and staff, the inspiration of our courage, the guardian of our hopes, the shepherd of our souls.                                                                                  

                                                                      TC

The God Who Speaks

The Bishops of England & Wales have declared this year a Year of the Word called ‘The God Who Speaks”. During this year we are encouraged to re-discover the Word of God in our Bibles and renew our love for Scripture. To help us do this I will make available each week a resource sheet called ‘The Wednesday Word’. The sheet contains the following: Sunday’s readings and guidance for a prayerful reading of scripture in order to prepare more fully for the. coming Sunday’s Mass.  

Sheets are at the back of the church and available at the website http//www.wednesdayword.org/

Please watch this space for news of other initiatives throughout the year. A deanery retreat day on the Bible is also planned for later this year.

Naming

In Western Europe, it has been customary for many centuries to include the name of a saint when naming a child– usually as the first personal name, and again after Confirmation. In the UK, there is a wide variety of first names given to boys and girls, but the most popular names seem to remain constant.

For example, the ten most popular name for girls in 2000 were, in order  of  popularity:  -Chloe,  Emily,  Megan,  Charlotte,  Jessica,  Lauren,  Sophie,  Olivia, Hannah, and Lucy.
18 years later the ten most popular girls’ names were: Olivia, Amelia, Ava, Isla, Emily, Mia, Isabella, Sophia, Ella, and Grace.

What seem to be significant changes are not so revolutionary, since all these names were in the top 50 list for both years. We may be in for some startling changes next year, if you accept Harper’s Bazaar’s forecast that the top ten will be Adah, Reese, Mika, Paisley, Amina, Teagan, Nova, Aura, Pearl, and Billie, completely different from what went before.

So what is happening to the convention of naming children after saints? It seems that parents now resist pressures to name their children after their parents or relatives. Instead, a growing habit is to find attractive, or interesting, or ‘celebrity,’ names. This is a pity. The use of saints’ names has a purpose over and above carrying on a ‘family name’. By naming a girl Elizabeth, or a boy John, one is seeking a spiritual ‘sponsor’ and role model for the child. (That is not to suggest that choosing ‘Catherine’ brings with it a wish for the child to be martyred! Rather it offers St Catherine’s depth of faith as a model.) Getting to know about one’s patron saint is a splendid – and often exciting – way of learning about how Christians put their faith into practice and the spiritual strengths they have to support their actions. In a community where multiple faiths (and none at all) flourish, using a Christian name is a way of declaring our identity as children of God. Getting to know more about our patron saints can also lead to more reflection about whom we name when we say In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there. Among the celebrations she describes is the gala procession in honour of his Presentation in the Temple 40 days later—February 15.

This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple.

The observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days after Christmas. At the beginning of the eighth century, Pope Sergius inaugurated a candlelight procession, which has become part of the celebration, giving the feast its popular name: Candlemas.

After celebrating the Nativity of our Lord, with its splendour in both the Church and the popular culture, it would be easy to overlook the significance of this feast. Yet Joseph and Mary’s presentation of the baby was no pro forma event. They did this to conform with the Law and in doing so God enters the Temple. The words of the prophet Malachi are fulfilled in the poor parents presenting their firstborn son along with their humble sacrifice of two turtledoves.

Simeon and Anna, having spent their lives in prayer and waiting in the Temple for the Messiah, have their ‘moment’ with the glorious Nunc Dimittis of Simeon. With Candlemas we celebrate the coming of the Light of the World. But a shadow also passes. Simeon not only proclaimed that he had seen his salvation, but also told the Mother of our Lord that her share would include a sorrow-pierced heart.
                                                          TC 

Epiphany: A Mystery Ever New

“The feast of the Epiphany, one of the most beautiful of the liturgical year is rich in content and meaning. We let its glow shine forth to penetrate our hearts, as we continue to contemplate the mystery of Emmanuel, who came to dwell among us.

“Though [Christ’s} birth is the focal point of our Christmas celebration, there is another birth, more intimate and personal, of which the Fathers of the Church often spoke. It is the spiritual birth of the Son of God in the hearts of those who desire and welcome Him. ……..

“The mystery of Bethlehem is renewed each year, each Christmas, each day, in the innermost parcels of our hearts where Jesus seeks comfort and shelter. It is in our hearts that he seeks to make a permanent dwelling, revealing to us the meaning of His words in the Gospel. There, He teaches us how to pray and call upon His name. It is also in our innermost hearts that He shows us the Father’s face, for ‘he who sees me, sees the Father.’  Finally, He comes to this innermost part of ourselves, the most intimate of sanctuaries, when we receive Him in the Eucharist. It is there that He remains, as he did in the crib in Bethlehem, and in the arms of his Mother, waiting for our silent love and adoration.”
                                 Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourette OSB

“In its genuine simplicity, the nativity scene reminds us it is not the quantity of things that counts in life, but the quality of relationships. Drawing our gaze to God, who is poor in possessions and rich in love, it recalls us to what is essential.”
                                  Pope Francis 30 December 2019

Baptising Jesus

“John had done a great job of preparing the people for the coming of Jesus. St. Matthew records that “Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him, and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins,” (3.6) In the harsh solitude of the desert John had made the people ready for what would be a life-changing encounter with Jesus.

“The Baptist was such a success story that in order to deflect celebrity status away from himself he had to tell the crowd there at that very moment and in their very midst was one “who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit to carry his sandals,” (3.11).

“Never for a moment did John expect that Jesus would join the crowd in seeking to be baptized by him! John vehemently objected, “It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!” The reply of Jesus was even more emphatic, “Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.” For Jesus it would have been utterly wrong for Him to stand as an aloof spectator to what was most obviously a God-inspired dramatic occurrence.

“John, therefore, went ahead in baptizing Jesus. Righteousness had demanded this. In so doing the Baptist had been given a glimpse of what it meant for the Son of God to become the Son of Mary - one of us, a member of the human family, a child of Adam. In this John had received a hint of how it would be throughout the ministry of Jesus.

“Ordinary people would realize that whatever Jesus had done for them and for others, whatever Jesus had said to them in his inspiring sermons and in his kindly chatting to them, had come from ‘one of them.’”
                                                                           Extract from a homily by Fr Peter Clarke OP

Laetare Sunday -- Latin, Looking Forward, and Mothering Sunday

Laetare is the Latin for Rejoice and comes from the first words of the Introit at Mass - Isaiah 66:10-11, which begins "Rejoice, O Jerusalem" and continues "Rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow". 


Today, the Fourth Sunday, has been viewed traditionally as a day of celebration tinged with sadness, coming in the middle of Lent when Easter is in sight and Lenten austerity can be lessened briefly to encourage people to continue with the discipline of penance. So the purple of Lent is put aside and rose vestments are used instead. 


In fact ‘Rose Sunday’ is another traditional name for this day, although by far the most recognisable name is ‘Mothering Sunday’ - not, note, “Mother’s Day”, which is a modern commercial invention.

Mothering Sunday got its name during the Middle Ages, when people were expected, at this time in Lent, to go to mass at their ‘Mother’ church; i.e. where they were baptised, or their parish church or their cathedral (a cathedral being the ‘mother’ of all the parish churches in a diocese).
In later times, Mothering Sunday became a day when domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother church, usually with other family members. It was often the only time that whole families could gather together, since on other days they were prevented from doing so by conflicting working hours. Today is not much different. 


As for “Mother’s Day”, my mother got it right: she would always say
”Why one Mother’s Day? Every Day should be Mother’s Day!!”
                                                         TC

Easter – A Reflection

Easter is the greatest and the most important feast in the Church. It marks the birthday of our eternal hope. "Easter" literally means "the feast of fresh flowers." We celebrate it with pride and jubilation for three reasons:

  1. The resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian Faith.
  2. Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection.
  3. Easter is a feast which gives us hope and encouragement.


Why do we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus ? 

  1. Jesus himself testified to his Resurrection from the dead (Mark 8:31; Matthew 17:22; Luke 9:22).
  2. The tomb was empty on Easter Sunday (Luke 24:3).
  3. The initial disbelief of Jesus’ own disciples in His Resurrection, in spite of His repeated apparitions, serves as a strong proof of His Resurrection. Their initial disbelief explains why the Apostles started preaching the Risen Christ only after receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
  4. Neither the Jews nor the Romans could disprove Jesus’ Resurrection by presenting the dead body of Jesus. The persistence of belief in the resurrection amongst Christians over more than two millennia, despite persecution and heresies, shows that the evidence that the Resurrection is convincing enough for many different peoples, in many different cultures and circumstances. Other beliefs and assumptions have come and gone, but not this, the reason why Jesus, Son of God, suffered for us.

From Ascension to Pentecost

Jesus has just ascended to rejoin his heavenly Father. Christ, of course, was not abandoning his followers. He went to fulfil his promise to send the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide and inspire us in the mission Jesus has set us - to bring all to Him and to the path to heaven.

The Holy Spirit is not an “add-on”, a worthwhile bonus to the wonders of Jesus. St Basil the Great wrote:

“All living things turn to the Holy Spirit in their need for holiness. … The Holy Spirit … extends his own light to every mind to help in its search for the truth.”

This is what those in the upper room that day experienced - not just a capacity to communicate with their world, but the insight, wisdom and language to bring forth the Good News. And the Holy Spirit offers us the same gift - not a Berlitz course in a foreign language, but a far more exotic tongue - the language of love and salvation. 

Pentecost: A Time of Fulness

Today we complete the days of the Easter cycle - exactly fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus. Today we experience the descent of the Holy Spirit into our lives Today, he comes to reveal to each of us the hidden meaning of all that Jesus taught during his earthly years. “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.” John 14: 25-26)

Today, the Holy Spirit is given to us as he was once given to the Apostles: to understand with greater clarity and depth the teachings of Jesus. The gift of understanding is essential if we are to continue, in our own small way, the work of Jesus. The Holy Spirit descends upon the entire universe. We realise that he descends upon people of different places, races, cultures, tongues and times. He fills all things with the gift of himself.

Thus, today, both creation and the Church are renewed by the Holy Spirit who sustains all life.

Saint Seraphim of Saros never ceased to remind his disciples that, “The only purpose of Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.”
                                         From Blessings of the Daily: Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourette

The Holy Trinity ...

is the mystery of God within himself. A mystery in theology does not mean that something is unknowable, it refers to something beyond reason that is revealed by God.  This is an important point: We can talk and write about the Holy Trinity and we can say some reasoned and necessary things–things that are true, but as true as they are, they are always going to be an incomplete truth about God. A good image for this might be a beach: Imagine a sandy beach with the sand representing the whole mystery of God. One person could pick up a few grains of sand in his or her hands and in holding those few grains they would be holding true grains of sand. In other words, part of the mystery literally could be grasped. As hard as one might try, however, it would be impossible for one person to grasp all of grains of sand in his or her hands. Basically, we can grasp something of the truth, but not all of it – and that’s okay!  Humans are finite beings and trying to grasp the fullness of infinite truths is, quite simply, beyond us.

So, what can actually be said about the Holy Trinity?

Well, from all eternity God existed both as one being but three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The masculine terms Father and Son are used, not because God is male or female but because they express the nature of a relationship between these two persons. Before there is anything there is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: The Father loves the Son with a perfect love and the Son loves the Father with a perfect love and the love which goes from the Father and Son is a perfect person: the Holy Spirit. The Greeks used a special word: ‘Perichoresis’ to describe this relationship. A good translation in English is ‘dancing’ From all eternity God exists as a perfect dance of love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To believe in God the Father, is to believe in God the Son and the God the Holy Spirit. It is to believe in a God who is communion of persons caught up in an eternal dance of love – and as Christians we called to share in that divine dance!
                                                                               Fr Luke

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

We celebrated this event on August 6th. In the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, we see the explicit desire on the part of the eternal Father to glorify his Son before he undergoes the sufferings of his Passion. For the moment the veil covering his divinity is lifted and, suddenly, Jesus appears clothed in unsurpassed beauty. He is luminous, translucent with the Father’s glory. The disciples present at the event instantly recognise the glory of God shining from that human face. From the mysterious, enveloping cloud, they hear the solemn declaration: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Mt 17:5) This is the Father speaking, with nearly the exact words he spoke from on high at the baptism of Jesus. He bears witness to the fact that Jesus is the only Son of God, true God from true God, as we believe and assent in the Credo.

                                         From Blessing of the Daily Br. Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Laturette 

Mary’s Month

May -- Mary’s Month

The Lord knows full well how His children have limited the time they have for each of the many tasks they put upon themselves to the point of exhaustion. This seems especially true today when life seems lived at breakneck speed.

So, in May we have the chance to slow a little, take time out from the daily hustle. This is because May is the Month of Mary, Christ’s Mother and, thus, the Mother of the Church.

She is the example, as well as the guide and inspiration, of everyone who, in and through the Church, seeks to be the servant of God and our sisters and brothers, and the obedient agent of the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

We have no evidence that Mary rushed about trying to do an impossible number of things all at once; nor that she scolded anyone; nor that she gossiped, argued or nagged to get her way. She took Time and did not let Time take her.

For Mary, God’s way determined her way (as in the Annunciation): she also knew that what she could not do, her Son would (Cana). Most of all, she understood that love - not the overbearing pressure of time - is the foundation and framework of a satisfied life,. Love springs from Faith and Mary lived a life of faith and piety. Piety is the virtue that protects us from reducing faith to unfeeling, loveless dogma and mindless praying.

So May is the time to renew our acquaintance of and love for God’s Mother. Saying one Hail Mary thoughtfully, or the Litany of Mary, are simple ways of renewing our reverence for her and reminding ourselves of the selfless, patient and faithful way she responded to God’s plan for her.

May this be the example we can follow in peace, freed from stress, now that the earth yields its fruits for us once more.

Our Lady of Walsingham

According to tradition, in an apparition to Lady Richeldis, the Blessed Virgin Mary fetched Richeldis’ soul from England to Nazareth during a religious ecstasy to show the house where the Holy Family once lived and in which the Annunciation of Archangel Gabriel occurred. Richeldis was given the task of building a replica house in her village, in England. The building came to be known as the "Holy House", and later became both a shrine and a focus of pilgrimage to Walsingham.

In passing on his guardianship of the Holy House, Richeldis' son Geoffrey left instructions for the building of a priory in Walsingham. The priory passed into the care of the Canons Regular of S Augustine, sometime between 1146 and 1174.

An immensely popular place of pilgrimage during the middle ages, the shrine was destroyed during the Reformation and restored in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Slipper Chapel is now the centre of what has become the Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady and is regularly visited by people from the English dioceses and beyond. In mediaeval times this was the last staging post, where pilgrims began a 1 mile barefoot walk to the Shrine in the village. (Hence ‘Slipper’)

Our Lady of Carfin

Carfin Lourdes Grotto, is a shrine in Scotland dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, and was created in the early twentieth century. The "Carfin Grotto", as the shrine is locally referred to, was the brainchild of Father, later Canon, Thomas N. Taylor (died 1963), parish priest of St. Francis Xavier's Parish in the small, mining village of Carfin, two miles east of Motherwell.

Following a trip to Lourdes, Canon Taylor's vision was to build a religious memorial in honour of Our Blessed Lady. Since its opening in the early 1920s, the "grotto" has attracted pilgrims in the hundreds of thousands. For the past 90 plus years, the grotto shrine has offered a pilgrimage season with Sunday processions, rosaries, outdoor masses and dedicated Feast Day events which runs annually from early May until late September. 

Our Lady of Knock

The evening of Thursday, 21 August 1879, was a very wet night. At about 8 o'clock the rain beat down in driving sheets when Mary Beirne, a girl of the village, accompanying the priest's housekeeper, Mary McLoughlin, home, stopped suddenly as she came in sight of the gable of the little church. There she saw standing a little out from the gable, were three life-size figures. She ran home to tell her parents and soon others from the village had gathered.

The witnesses stated they saw an apparition of Our Lady, Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist at the south gable end of the local small parish church, the Church of Saint John the Baptist. Behind them and a little to the left of Saint John was a plain altar. On the altar was a cross and a lamb (a traditional image of Jesus), with adoring angels

This is now Ireland’s National Marian Shrine, and is a popular pilgrimage centre, especially for those with illnesses or disabilities. 

Our Lady of the Taper

Legend tells how, in the Middle Ages, a beautiful statue of Our Lady, her Son on her lap, and a burning taper in her hand, appeared on the banks of the River Teifi in Cardiganshire. Any attempt to move the statue to the parish church in Cardigan resulted in its reappearing at the spot where it first appeared. It became a place of pilgrimage and St Mary’s church was built on that spot in 1158. The original statue was destroyed in the Reformation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, monks from Brittany gave their abbey church the name of Our Lady of Cardigan and revived the devotion. They made the same dedication to the small church they built in Cardigan in 1912 The monks left in 1916 and the devotion lapsed.

In 1952, Bishop Petit learned that there had once been a shrine in Cardigan and decided to restore it. He commissioned a new statue, which was blessed in Westminster Cathedral in 1956.

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper is now the national shrine for Wales and parish for the people of Cardigan and surrounding areas. 

Happenings in our Church at Large

Canonisation of Bl. John Henry Newman

John Henry Newman (1801 – 1890) was one of the foremost churchmen and theologians of his day. He studied and then taught at Oxford University, and became the Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, the University Church; he was known for his intellect, his pastoral care, and his preaching.

A leading light of the Oxford Movement, which was seeking to move the Church of England in a Catholic direction, Newman left his considerable prospects and many friends behind when he converted to Catholicism in 1845, at a time when there was still widespread prejudice against Catholics in Britain.

Founding the first Oratorian community of priests in Birmingham in the late 1840s, he continued to write major works of theology and philosophy as a Catholic. He founded a university for Catholics in Ireland and, in 1859, The Oratory School in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

He was made a Cardinal in 1879 and he died in 1890.

Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in 2010.
Cardinal John Henry Newman is to be canonised after a second miracle in his name was confirmed by the Pope in February 2019. The canonisation (which has been welcomed by the Church of England) took place on October 13th 2019. It will make Newman the first English person who has lived since the 17th century to be officially recognised as a saint by the Church. 

Pope Francis ... on Prisoners and Prisons

"I think to myself, 'I, too, could be here.’ That is, none of us can be sure that we would never commit a crime, something for which we'd be put in prison."

"We all make mistakes in life.  And we all must ask forgiveness and make a journey of rehabilitation so we don't make them again."

“It must be kept in mind that penal sanctions have the aim of rehabilitation, while national laws should consider the possibility of establishing other penalties than incarceration. In this context, I would like once more to appeal to governmental authorities to abolish the death penalty where it is still in force, and to consider the possibility of an amnesty."

"Losing our freedom is not the same thing as losing our dignity.  That is why we need to reject all those petty clichés that tell us we can't change, that it's not worth trying, that nothing will make a difference."

“Prisoners who are re-entering civic society ought not be punished anew by neglect, indifference or, worse, contempt.” 

Pope Francis ... on our Catholic Church's Mission

If one’s work as a Catholic is not united to Christ Jesus, it is no longer the “mission” to which the Church is called, Pope Francis told a group of religious brothers on Monday 29tth October [2019].

“Let us not forget that the condition of every mission in the Church is that we are united to the Risen Christ as branches to the vine. Otherwise what we do is social activism,” the pope said Oct. 29.

“This is why I repeat to you the exhortation to remain in [Christ],” he continued. “First of all, we need to let ourselves be renewed in faith and hope by Jesus alive in the Word and in the Eucharist, but also in sacramental forgiveness. We need to be with him in silent adoration, in lectio divina, in the Rosary of the Virgin Mary.” 

Pope Saint Paul

On October 14th [2019] Pope Francis canonised Pope Paul VI (1963-78). Pope Saint Paul oversaw the Vatican Council, making numerous reforms. 

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The Roman Catholic Parish of Brandon and Mildenhall is part of the Diocese of East Anglia covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the Unitary Authority of Peterborough within the Province of Westminster, part of the Catholic Church of England and Wales in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.