Author: Jacky

Fr Rory Writes

“For the Love of God”

For the love of God.  These five words provide a great focus for this moment.  At this time the word “dreadful” so often fits the scene; people battling with bad health, loss of loved ones, the constant crisis that has been the coronavirus, and now the crisis in the Ukraine.

Last week’s focus was on six words.  Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  The life of God in heaven and the light of God’s family life on earth, the family home in Nazareth.  It is only light that can dispel darkness, and because there is no magic in God, one of the most frequent signs that I turn to is the crucifixion ……. and to be honest, still remains for me a great mystery… hope remains in the words “no cross, no crown”.

Rightly there is a great outpouring of sympathy for the victims with a constant cry for help for the people from Ukraine.  Pope Francis leads the appeal from our church with requests for novenas, fasting and prayer.  Please God, we will make a good response.

Following up on last weeks expression “Lent means Spring”, at the core of our parish there is a great need for our response for Spring.  As the contingences that were put in place for the pandemic are being lifted, a return to life is now very possible ….. but it is a very different situation.  Age has certainly taken its toll, so unless we have a new generation, there is no magic, we will be at a great loss.  I return to something important that I will continue to say.  The only thing that we can rely upon for the future from the fruits of the harvest, is the seeds that we sow.  A great thanks to those who are sowing new seeds.  I am truly grateful, particularly those at work with our children’s liturgy. 

Also a great significance is the work that is being done for the Synod, and the hope that new core groups will begin to take shape.  To develop and grow must become a real desire.  The great emphasis on convenience and being able to go to mass has had its day.  The realization that all the seminaries were closing , the amount of Catholic teachers that are available from our Catholic schools are very few, with the amount of children making First Holy Communion, but it is also their last time.  We have a great ray of sunshine from St George’s church with a very good programme of preparation for confirmation getting underway, a ray of hope, with the return of our communities to our Sunday Mass.

Climate Change

Together with Dr Larch Maxey, a prominent climate speaker and activists Rev Sue Parfitt and Rev Mark Coleman, we are hosting a zoom meeting on Sunday 27th February 3pm-4.30pm.  This will give Christians who are aware of the awful reality of the climate crisis and care about everything on God’s earth, the opportunity to learn and ask questions about the forthcoming ‘Just Stop Oil’ campaign.  Register using this link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/our-responsibilities-as-christians-at-this-time-online-tickets-268091507917

Polegate Town Council

Polegate Town Council are using our hall at St George’s on Saturday 5th March from 2-4 pm to talk about land they have bought in Polegate and wish to turn into a wildlife haven. It is a fantastic community project which will benefit schools, wellbeing and mental health. PTC are open to ideas and offers of support so if you love wildlife, nature and being outdoors this will be of interest to you.

Stations of the Cross (family friendly)

On Saturday 12th March at 11am a family friendly Stations of the Cross will take place in St George’s Church.  All parishioners are encouraged to join us, and especially our younger ones (any age).  Following the Stations we will enjoy a Lent soup lunch in the hall.  There will be three soup options to choose from and plenty of bread and butter.  The lunch will be to help the children raise money for Tiny Tickers, our chosen Lent charity.  To help with catering please can you message Sandra on 07791627368 confirming your name and both adult and child numbers attending or email [email protected],  We very much look forward to this event.  All Welcome.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis said that his ‘heart ached’ in response to the situation in Ukraine, with the Pope encouraging people across the world to observe Ash Wednesday, 2 March, as a day of fasting and prayer for Ukraine. 

A “Webinar” with Bishop Richard

A “webinar” with Bishop Richard, Wednesday 9 March at 7.30pm.

      Hopefully you all know that a two-year synodal process is taking place across the Catholic Church and our Parish has already sent its responses to the Diocese. That was the first stage.
The second stage is for Bishop Richard to prayerfully engage with the responses submitted and to discern, with the help of the Holy Spirit, how he will compile this into a document to be sent to the Bishops Conference of England and Wales for the next step in the journey.                                                                                                                                                                       It was decided that, in the spirit of dialogue, it is really important for participants to hear what is being forwarded onto the national level, and have the opportunity to provide feedback.
To enable this to happen, the Diocese will be hosting a live webinar, where Bishop Richard will present the document.  This will be    recorded for those unable to see it on a computer, and, afterwards, the Parish will arrange to show it locally.  Details later.

If you would like to watch the live webinar then you should register your interest by visiting the Diocesan website https://www.abdiocese.org.uk/synod and click on the words indicated.

Deacon John Writes

This Sunday we are encouraged as to how we are to live in our daily lives to ensure that we take life, joy and hope to all we meet.

Further we are told to share our Christian life by watching what we say, especially about others. We must avoid gossip and rash judgments about others. It is made obvious that we should leave all judgment to God and practise mercy and forgiveness, remembering the advice of saints: “When you point one finger of accusation at another, three of your fingers point at you.” Let us pay attention to the Jewish rabbi’s advice: “He who judges others favourably will be judged favourably by God.”

Some food for thought: C.S. Lewis wrote, “There is someone I love, even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is me.”

Finally I offer you this bit of humour: There’s the story of the conscientious wife who tried very hard to please her ultra-critical husband but failed regularly. He always seemed the most cantankerous at breakfast. If the eggs were scrambled, he wanted them poached; if the eggs were poached, he wanted them scrambled. One morning, with what she thought was a stroke of genius, the wife poached one egg and scrambled the other and placed the plate before him. Anxiously she awaited what surely this time would be his unqualified approval. He peered down at the plate and snorted, “Can’t you do anything right, woman? You’ve scrambled the wrong one!”