“Most important thing for our future.
Sure foundations for what we build”.
This week I present you with a clean sheet. It represents the space in which our future story will or maybe told.
So far so good, but now the most important time is here, and please God, we will have a great story to tell.
Most important, let us work and pray.
“Food for the journey and early guidance.
To fresh pastures to nourish and develop our communities of faith”.
I have collected all the left over newsletters from the past weeks. I believe our two communities have real foundations to build upon as we address the future. Last weeks newsletter addressed this situation by saying:
“A certain parish priest frequently reminds his congregation that our God is community, friendship, love, unity: Three Persons who POPE FRANCIS’ ENCYCLICAL FRATELLI TUTTI are One. The human race is made in His image: made to be community, love, friendship, unity. Because of the fall of Adam and its consequences, this has become a huge challenge, as we see in the war in Ukraine and as we have experienced so often in the past. Yet we do see signs of what should be, when we hear of or see, great acts of generosity or courage on the part of individuals or groups. Our God is not a God far off. As Moses put it, “What great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to Him?” It is something that Our Lord makes clear in today’s Gospel passage: the Spirit of Truth will “guide you into all truth”; and, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine” and the Father’s, “and making it known to you.” “He will guide you.” We are not left alone. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are there for us; invite and call us to put our faith and trust in Them.. They will renew in us, individually and as a people, the image of Themselves.”
Soon we will return to that journey as we again celebrate what we call “the ordinary”, the cycle leading us to our salvation and the fulness of life in God’s Kingdom. It is through the ordinary cycle that we grow in faith and faithfulness; the great challenge . As a priest it will be my fifty first cycle, and while on earth, sadness is part of our experience. In my earliest years I was full of hope and purpose, it was shortly after the Second Vatican Council, and there was a great focus on it. Our Professor of Theology, Fr Seamas Ryan, was truly inspirational, and continues to inspire me and I hope all of us, as we face the new challenges, our emphasis will be on communities of faith.
Trinity Sunday
Celebrates the end of our journey when we will experience the fullness of life in God’s Kingdom.
Having celebrated all the great feasts from the annunciation through the birth of Our Saviour, highlighting the response of the Kingdom of Darkness and the forced journey of the Holy Family into Egypt. Then commencing with His baptism, Jesus begins the process that leads us to salvation and the fulness of life in God’s Kingdom.
Soon we will return to that journey as we again celebrate what we call “the ordinary”, the cycle leading us to our salvation and the fulness of life in God’s Kingdom. It is through the ordinary cycle that we grow in faith and faithfulness; the great challenge . As a priest it will be my fifty first cycle, and while on earth, sadness is part of our experience. In my earliest years I was full of hope and purpose, it was shortly after the Second Vatican Council, and there was a great focus on it. Our Professor of Theology, Fr Seamas Ryan, was truly inspirational, and continues to inspire me and I hope all of us, as we face the new challenges, our emphasis will be on communities of faith.
“When the day of Pentecost came”
When the day of Pentecost came to the early church it had a powerful impact upon the early Christians, giving them strength and inspiration to go out into the world to proclaim the good news. It is equally important to us today and we must be more and more aware of our need, but above all of God’s faithfulness. In the words of Jesus “without me you can do nothing”.
With the power of Him who loves us, we will grow in faith and faithfulness as we respond to the challenges of time.
A life long friend of mine, Fr Dick Kelly, has died. Over fifty years ago he fished me out of a swimming pool in Rome, nearly more dead than alive, and we have faithfully lived on in service to the church in Christ’s glory.
Eternal rest grant unto him O’ Lord and let his soul rest in peace.
“Alleluia, Alleluia”
I will not leave you as orphans, says the Lord.
I am going away and I will come to you and your hearts will rejoice, Alleluia.
The readings this week are incredible, very much fit for purpose. This Sunday, St George’s quarterly meeting takes place after their mass, and we have our regular meetings at St Wilfrid’s. Important communication from Fr Kevin, who is tasked with a large responsibility he is carrying out to the best of his ability, (and very well at that), I am sure it is very stressful for him. He has been in communication with us, and agrees it has become clear we share a common view that July would be too soon to commence the new time schedule. He relies on a sense of urgency and willingness to get it right and has made suggestions that we will engage in.
Please take away the newsletter and get all the nourishment that is offered to us by Jesus at this most important and fruitful time.
Stephen from the Parish Council writes:
“In preparation for Pentecost”
As the 50 days of Easter concludes on Sunday 8th June with the feast of Pentecost, this can be seen as an invitation to all people to open their eyes to the mystery of life and love.
In Walking in the light of Christ, we frequently reach out and embrace the Holy Spirit, so who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. God the Father is the First Person, and God the Son (Jesus) is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. It is the Spirit of God which fills all of creation, always present within us, guiding us towards goodness and truth
Pentecost is a celebration of a new beginning, a celebration of God’s New Creation. Pope Francis is the embodiment of how God’s love brings about freshness and newness of life, especially our spiritual life. Pope Francis put great emphasis on what we as individuals can do in order to bring the presence of God into our world
Jesus promised to send an advocate who would be with us always. The Holy Spirit is the fulfilment of that promise. the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the gift of languages, so they were able to proclaim the Good News about Jesus in languages that the people could understand. This Spirit is poured out upon all flesh, and wisdom is given in abundance, helping all to see, hear and understand what is said.
We might ponder about our own personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Asking ourselves, do I carve out special intimate time to share with the Lord, time for prayer, meditation and worship, being in God’s presence? Jesus spoke of having eyes to see and ears to hear.
So, on Pentecost Sunday, let’s give attention not only to the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Church, but likewise give attention to the promptings, the movements, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in each one.
“A powerful moment for the church was when the day of Pentecost came”
As we now move forward with the plans that were presented to the diocese by Bishop Richard, for our future. Fr Kevin is tasked with the responsibility to guide our parish in implementing these plans, so we should constantly intercede with the Holy Spirit for a very successful outcome. At the latest meeting certain tensions were expressed and a true awareness of the need to be at ease with the implications of the decisions. Fr Kevin acknowledged the need for more time to clarify; yet with confidence in the overall plan. So there is a true awareness when there is a need to take time, Fr Kevin has sent a clarifying directive to the team and it is very helpful. So we must be prepared to work together with confidence and hope.
We are all united in one parish of Eastbourne and St Leonards. The key element which Fr Kevin emphasises is that it is made up of communities of faith. These distinct communities grow together. Sandra King and Gerry Palmer have acted as great ambassadors for our community and the members of our parish, and good work is being done by the councils. We have very important relationships in our communities at St George’s and St Wilfrid’s, and we are starting from a very good place with Jackie recognised as a blessing and is much appreciated for the work that she does. So with the help of Gods blessing and the power of Pentecost, let us all hope and soldier on. Special thanks for the events of last weekend.
“Thanks be to God for the life of Pope Francis”
We have a new beginning with Pope Leo XIV. For this I am sure we can be grateful.
Each year we begin by lighting the First Candle; the Candle of Hope, and the new Pope is a great ambassador for Hope. With the help of God, we can build on this and by the help of God, it will bear much fruit, fruit that will last.
Grace and peace.
“Thanks be to God”
For all the prayers, services and experiences
of Holy Week and Easter in our churches.
It was truly good to be here. Special moments from it resonate deep within our being. Yes, there are crosses, trials and deep affliction within life, but these are the trials through which we triumph by the power of Him who loves us. The funeral service for Pope Francis was the icing on the cake.
Another person from our treasured memories, Anne Fielder, now from the long list with her husband Leon, gone before us, marked with the sign of faith. When I came here we were very blessed by members of our congregation who are faithful witnesses. There had been some good ecumenical sharing and one of the good fruits; The Link Centre, a place of caring and sharing and a place of comfort and support for adults in need of extra support and help.
With the help of our parish community:
In a statement issued on Monday morning, Bishop Richard said: “As we mourn the death of Pope Francis, we can also be deeply grateful for his life of service to the Universal Church. Bringing his experience of the Church in South America, informed and enlightened by his life as a member of the Society of Jesus, he called us all to simplicity of life, a renewed openness to the gift of mercy, a deeper understanding of the dignity of the human person and a respect and care for creation. The work of the Synod, that has marked the more recent years of his papacy, is sure to inform to the life and mission of the Church in the proclamation of the Gospel and his faithful dedication, even as he lived with failing health, is an example to us all.”
As we mourn the passing of Pope Francis we remember the holy, humble, ordinary man. He did not enjoy the trappings and riches of his position, he was a simple man. He spoke out for the vulnerable and marginalized.
