Category: Fr Rory Writes

Here we are again, another lockdown

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

At the beginning of this year when our first experience of lockdown began after Ash Wednesday, we were experiencing the season of Lent.  Then all of a sudden on the horizon was Holy Week, and I was settled into praying the Divine Office, and celebrating Holy Mass on my own.  I was also experiencing the benefits of live streaming Mass and other devotions.  The Sacred Heart church in Hove became a sanctuary.  Holy Week was a very focused fruitful time, with the passion, death and resurrection merging with our experience of lockdown.

The evenings were getting longer and the weather was very kind.  Spring watch was a God send, and a sense of light at the end of the tunnel.  The Feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost are a time of hope and renewal.  Now Remembrance Sunday is particularly appropriate.  Deacon John’s contribution is very helpful.  Like Good Friday, the focus of Remembrance is upon injury, great damage and loss.  At the heart of their experience of affliction, death may have appeared as a welcome escape.  But for us when we give it all the care and attention it deserves, it leaves us with a great sense of the virtue of Hope and the odds that people can overcome through perseverance.

To be continued …………………………..

“Let the love of God find its home in you”

I have received some positive feedback from my piece last week which is always helpful.  There is a consistent theme in the reflections.  Many years ago I received an award as I was leaving a parish, from a person that I valued very much.  It has helped me to keep a positive focus.  Always “so far, so good”.  The alternative being “so far, so bad”, this is to be avoided full stop.

The coronavirus remains a huge influence and affects all our lives.  All that I have written since the beginning of lockdown is in response to provide a way ahead.  It remains a very difficult time with much distress.  Growing up on a farm with some involvement  in the construction industry, has taught me what is most important for the best outcome.  In the building world the foundation and the footings, in farming the preparation of the ground.  The outcome is summed up “by their fruits you shall know them”.

Good trees, bear good fruit.  At this difficult time the words reasonable and responsible are being very tested.  The directions that are given with the best intentions for our health and safety are important.  That is why I try to give them serious consideration.  The “Litmus Test –  “by their fruits you shall know them”.   When we were first in the seminary, with philosophy and theology as corner stones to our study.  One of the early ideas that caught my attention was the importance attached to the phrase “the exception proves the rule”.  Unfortunately some of our rules have been so poor that they do not survive that test.  The fear being that if you make an exception it becomes the new rule.  This has certainly been a great factor in our application of the rules (Dominic Cummings incident, certainly had a great effect on this).

“Responsibility” is a constant consideration.  Reason and reasonableness goes hand and glove with it.  The amount of health and social issues highlight the success or the failure of the rules in place.  This remains a work in progress.  It is helpful to have a point on the horizon to aim for.   Christmas will begin to appear during the coming weeks.  Let us pray very sincerely that this will be a fruitful time and that the love of God finds its home in us, and may the love of God find its home in me. 

To be continued……………

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your divine love. 

Send forth your spirit O Lord and renew the face of the earth

Having commenced the streaming of Sunday Mass from our parish community each Sunday, we value this important development.  Lockdown at the beginning of the year was enforced because of the coronavirus, which introduced to us the possibilities of this technology as being particularly helpful and having a good outcome.  My experience of “lockdown”, especially as it happened as we drew close to Holy Week was very beneficial.  It helped me to be particularly attentive to the divine office, with the celebration of Mass giving great emphasis to the scriptures as we progressed through Holy Week.  This brings God’s salvation, and after Good Friday the focus upon the resurrection, the ascension, and especially Pentecost.

How much we need that outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit.

Two things:

One: Will be the prayerful celebration of our liturgies, with the appropriate themes that emphasise each event in the life of our journey through the Christian year.

Two: Community; communication will help us build up the community life of our parish.  The children’s liturgy has been a good help in this direction.

The coronavirus exposed our weaknesses, and brought home to me my biggest failure as a parish priest.  When I had an episode with a breakdown in my health and the loss of my driver’s licence, some of my failures became particularly glaring to me.  The great amount of help that I have received, emphasised what I always believed; a body made up of many parts working together, is truly important and is always the way forward to a good outcome.

When I came to the parish, I introduced Leaven Groups for each community, and please God, after the virus is contained we will be able to return to this.  I had been in the process of establishing “The Missing Link” when we lost some great leaders within our communities, but now please God, is the time to return to this.   I am asking three persons from each church to link together to get us off to a good start.

“You are my disciples”                         

                        Fact                                  Faith                                Feelings

The words of Jesus are alive and true as they came down to us through the ages.  So we can acknowledge that fact. 

Faith then is one of the essential ingredients that can bridge the great gap that at a time exists between this fact and our feelings.  This episode with the coronavirus highlights in a very distinct way the drama that is the life of faith.  As the churches have returned to their lockdown in Ireland, the statement by our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, sets the scene for the drama to unfold for us.  Our situation at the moment allows for “steady as you go”.  Streaming our Masses on Sunday is a God sent blessing, and can be a channel of grace as we develop our faith and grow as a community.

When we were first given the challenge to return to church for mass, because I did not have my car the people from St George’s were very active and helpful to me in arranging meetings in the garden and getting the ball rolling.  Margaret Piegrome has also been very pro-active in getting our parish list up-to-date, this is a work in progress.

This sets the scene for us now to grow as a community of faith.  The age profile with the implied complications of being over seventy sets the scene for a new generation.  Streaming of Mass and preparing for our Christmas celebration may be very helpful with this.  Some time ago as we were trying to develop our parish structure.   We established what we called the “Missing Link” as a first step in developing a plan for our way ahead.  We need to renew this link, with me having oversight for, to bring about plans to help us to work together.

This is working for God – Belief in the One He has sent.

As we have now launched the streaming of our Mass, rather abruptly, maybe not sufficiently prepared, but this could be providential, and a great opportunity to work together.  On alternate weekends we will stream the Mass from one of our churches.  So the Sunday time will vary.  It will be 9am from St George’s and 10.30am from St Wilfrid’s; weekday Masses remain at the same time and will not be streamed.  Our website will be the central point, and used well, will be a beacon for us in our communities of faith to bear witness to the life of Him who loves us.  He in turn sends us out to bear witness to Him.

Two things: 1) I belong, 2) I am nourished. 

The first is the relationship with Jesus through the church and our faith.  At the heart of all this is preparation for Baptism and the First Holy Communion.  So again one is to belong, to be part of, and two to be nourished.  Belonging is central to baptism, and is rightly a title to a very good catechetical programme that we use for First Holy Communion preparation.  The strength of this foundation is extremely important.

The second one – nourishment.

How we nourish our physical bodies determine our health and well-being.  This is equally vital to our spiritual lives, and deserves all the care and attention that we can bring to it.  Vital to all of this is ministry and please God, as life in our churches continue we will highlight our ministries.

Important ones are Readers and Ministers of the Eucharist, but these times of trial have highlighted the value of cleaners and stewards and we are deeply grateful to all those who have stepped up to the plate and are serving us so well.  Thank you and bless you always.

Our website is the central point and, please God, will be a beacon for us to bear witness together as communities of faith.  We had a very good meeting at St George’s church on Tuesday morning, and please God, it has done me a lot of good, hopefully I can do much better.  A big thank you for all the work that has been done since we returned to church from lockdown 10 weeks ago.  With earnest and deep and constant prayer, let us face the future and let our two churches be united in solidarity  and support for each other.

So after our pause, a time to move on:

When I made the decision to pause and take stock, the way ahead seemed to be what is now called “new normal”.  Our children are back at school and many are very pleased to be back.  As my niece, a teacher, said “they were over the moon” when they heard that there was no homework for September.  As might be expected, going back to school has certain consequences with a rise in the number of people catching Covid 19.  Opening the pubs was another way for coronavirus figures to increase.  How all this is managed is truly important and emphasises the risks that are taken even with social distancing.  A clear hold on the words “being responsible” needs to be taken by everyone, which should then protect the very many over 70s.  Many do come to church with a conscious, reasoned assessment of the risks they are undertaking.  The need for their protection should be considered when rules are made and thought given to adhering to them.

Being aware of the above and that there is a natural, cautious factor, or even a fearful one, which highlights the correctness of the pause and thus taking stock.  I have received positive comments from people who have not yet returned to church but are in touch, and they very much commend our website and the regulations that are in place for attending Mass.  Now the question is, how to move on?  By being more relaxed, and that does not mean being any less responsible.  I have mentioned the experience of one of our lady’s 90th Birthday, being helped by modern technology and the value of streaming.  This please God, will be our next objective.  We will be able to stream our Masses on alternative Sundays.  This is my intention and with the help of our parish, will bear fruit that will last.

I acknowledge that I fail to give clear leadership as Parish Priest, and aspects of pastoral care, but please God, I am like everybody else “a work in progress”.  Through our website, and by working together, we will have a good outcome.  For me the outcome is what is truly important, and working together is the best way to achieve this.

It is good to pause: ………….   The new announcement from our Prime Minister leaves us with a lot to think about …….. and to hope and pray for. 

The nature of the virus does call for a lot of isolation, but life, is very much designed for the opposite, to be lived together and shared.  This is passing us by.   Yes, there is a need for a grieving process, particularly for the many elderly and vulnerable who have been so badly affected, because their care cut them off from family members which is particularly appreciated.   It is essential to keep in close contact with our friends, old and new.

Fruits of pausing:  After our pause, we look forward to bearing more fruit., fruit that will last.

Stewardship:  We are coming to realise the value that this brings to the church, and so we are most grateful to those who have stepped forward.  Because of their work, we appreciate the value of welcomers, which we have experienced in the past and hope for the future. This is very much a valuable service.

Cleaning:  Not the most appealing task, but certainly one of the most beneficial, caring for people is at the heart of the service that we bring, so we are very much in the need of help – yes – Help.  We look forward to developing all our ministries, strengthening our sense of community, working better together so we may enrich our shared experiences.

Fr Kieran is looking after our Masses this weekend and we are glad and grateful to have him.

I am looking forward to an outing co-ordinated by the Children’s Liturgy at St George’s, I have very much benefited by and enjoyed outings with them in the past.

Our Way Ahead

Providence provided me with this prayer for it::-

Heavenly Father, give us the bravery of St George, to stand up for the truth and the glory of God

that we have seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

Give us the strength to overcome, in our lives and in the world,

all that is contrary to your rule of justice and love.

Help us to be good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind; Let the oppressed go free, and proclaim the good news of God’s favour and Jubilee

Amen

The RCIA:  Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.  Many years ago there was some initiative to place this at the heart of Catholic Life in our parishes.  Professor Fr Seamus Ryan was a great proponent of this when we were in our seminary, and in my early years as a priest this was a key focus for me; something very worthwhile to bring to the parish.

After my early years as a curate I was happy to be appointed to a parish team ministry in St Pauls Parish, Haywards Heath.  But within a couple of years of that appointment, the diocese introduced the Renew Programme, which also clashed with a newly introduced endeavour to have a structured process in place to develop ecumenical dialogue, and to improve working relationships between the churches.  Unfortunately the Renew Programme and process was very patchy at best.  After a number of years it became very clear that we did not have the support of our Bishop, and so the team ministry sadly came to an end.

Please God, the coronavirus will come to an end and the situation that we will be left with will be very challenging indeed.  In the wider context there is reason for real anxiety about how many will return to church, and at this time, there is an expectation that it will not be in the same numbers.  I also believe in other situations the numbers will be larger..

Our way ahead is now what we might call “the new normal”.  Our children are back at school and many are very pleased to be back.  The next horizon I would normally highlight  is the Feast of Christ our King;  the end of the church’s year.  In time I believe this will become a great Feast Day, but certainly not this year.  So our next highlight will be Christmas.  I do not expect that  things will have recovered enough by then so that we will be able to gather together to celebrate Christmas.  But I do think it presents us with an important opportunity to develop our liturgies so that they will become a greater blessing and help us to grow as communities of faith.  In fact, please God, a real bonus, a fresh life line that may bring us great blessings in the future.  The reality of the coronavirus guidelines has given great emphasis to being over seventy.  This calls for a true sense of discernment and this must get mature positive consideration.  The fruits of this discernment process, like all others is in the outcome.  So with gratitude for all that the over seventies have contributed, which calls for a new generation, let us all bear great fruits; fruits that will last.

Returning to the sadness of the end of our priests’ team ministry, which I had hoped would lead to great development in the life of our parish then, through a focus being placed upon eucharistic communities.  As priests we had particular responsibilities.  One of my responsibilities was for baptism.  I visited the families who requested to have their child baptised.  It soon became clear that for some their motive was to get their child into catholic schools.   I tried to make clear the true nature of baptism with its need to nurture the life of the spirit, the life of faith, explaining that this was parallel with the natural daily nourishment that is needed for our physical bodies to develop and grow.  This always raised the question of belief and the challenge that is brings.  This remains at the heart of our life of faith.

I recently visited a lady who has just celebrated her 90th Birthday.  Still with some lockdown limitations, it was the best birthday celebration of her life.  Her more immediate family were able to gather, and one niece had made special arrangements so that family members from all over the world were able to greet her. They could all join together in singing Happy Birthday and sharing great greetings with one another.  This is indicative of just a moment of inspiration that can be shared together for the future.  Forty year ago; when I was a curate, I was given the responsibility for an outside church.  We had developed preparation for the weekend Mass.  We were especially blessed with a young mum who had a great gift to be a cantor.  This helped greatly, and also the use of the new ministries of the eucharist and the word was very fruitful.  Unfortunately I had to move on as a curate and the priests brought this preparation to an end.  Four years after this, my next experience was the team ministry, so options and choices were getting scarce.  Providence provided that I spent the next 10 years on an ecumenical project.   Please God, we may all share a new project, that is very fit for purpose.   For our time each Parish needs to become a “Community of faith”.

Now we will pause with the question “How?”

              Moving On

With plans in place for our children to return to school, for the need to improve the economy and indeed the needs of daily life, there is  an important need to develop a sense of returning to life. There is still a long way to go, so care and caution are the order of the day, but The power of the positive is truly important.

We need to get back to a normal way of life. 

Our return to Mass is, please God, beginning to settle down and hopefully falling into a pattern. Like most parishes we have an important  requirement for persons under seventy years of age to meet the criteria for stewarding and cleaning. We are therefore asking younger people to offer their services to help our parish.

As Students are returning to their studies and others returning to work, this is now a very urgent need.  Our desire and our blessing to celebrate Mass has its own importance, and with so many elderly people (which includes me) who are careful, responsible persons, there is a call for  greater support from the younger generation. Then we can be more at ease knowing that we can continue to gather to celebrate Mass.

We must turn to the future with hope, but reality is now making its presence felt.  The fact is that the church is in a very weak state of being. The wonderful opportunity that was presented to the church was not availed of and the closure of  so many  seminaries   – ignored by those in authority –  has left us with a very critical situation to respond to.  I hear it said, and by priests, that after the coronavirus there will not be a major return to church, and that we will have to develop a different approach  to life in our churches. Mass will always be at the heart of it, but how and in what way it will be celebrated will make a truly important difference to the future of our lives.

So consistently two things.  The first is a relationship with Jesus through the church and our faith.  At the heart of this is in preparation for Baptism and First Holy Communion, “I belong”, this is the most important book and is the foundation.  The strength of this foundation is everything.  And the second is Nourishment.   How we nourish our physical bodies determines our health and our wellbeing.  This is equally vital to our spiritual lives, so it deserves all the care and attention we can bring to it. 

Most appropriately Deacon John introduces the theme “power Sunday” with the important emphasis upon the power of God.  Last Sunday I made a focus upon Live and Learn with the intention of developing the themes of ministry and service.  Deacon John provides the platform upon which is the future we need to build.  The ministry of the eucharist has a special importance.