Category: Fr Rory Writes

              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.

Let us now live and learn.

Learning to please God is very important  as we begin to get accustomed to our Mass times with their new norms.  Social distancing and wearing our face masks, which have become necessary parts of our participation in the Mass, whilst also being aware that for some persons the wearing of a mask may not be possible for medical reasons.  There is always some underlying level of fear, so let us now recognise this and make it part of our prayer; so that our time at Mass may bear real fruit.  This is at the heart of our faith, and the witness of our Mass is the foundation upon which we will build for the future of our parish.

The meeting of our parish finance committee successfully attended to the need to oversee our financial circumstances, health and safety, child protection and our other responsibilities.  An overview of provision for the future was also discussed and fully documented in the minutes.  Any decisions made will be communicated widely when we can clarify requirements for such activities.  Please God, the dreadfully difficult  circumstances created by the virus will be at an end and important questions about our future can be addressed.  The question of skyping and providing the necessary technology were uppermost in our minds.

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption.  This was a great event when I was growing up and for many years one of the more major celebrations in the churches year.  It highlighted the end of the summer holidays and marked the preparation about to begin to return to school.  It was the highlight of many social events, so it celebrated much of the joys of life.  This has always been a helpful aspect to our Catholic faith and is especially true this year as we  survive the casualty brought about by coronavirus. It is important for us to be clear that this will not go on for ever, but that even now we can begin to prepare for life when we can happily recall it as something from our past experience.

Through the weeks to come we will be more at ease with the tensions, which for the moment have a negative effect on our lives.  With God’s help we will learn to live with these anxiety’s and though sometimes life is cruel, these are the things through which we triumph, by the power of Him who loves us.  Christ Jesus our Lord..

Gone before us marked with the sign of faith.

From time to time we can be very much reminded of those who have died and gone before us.  Recently we had the first anniversary of Billy O’Rourke and Patrick Burke, also remembered Chris Browne and now Margaret Westcar who has died recently.  They bring home to us what a rich legacy of faith that can be left behind, and at this time I have received a lot of strength and consolation from this knowledge.

It may be a good reminder that the fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom, and then as we give more time and thought to the fruits of wisdom we can come to a better place in ourselves.  The words “at ease with” come home to me with the celebration of Mass.  In the beginning of lockdown I am sure I shared with you all the same sense of feeling of dislocation, of something very different happening in my life, indeed for all of us.

Concentrating upon having to live and deal with this became very important.  My first focus was to locate, and then the need to respond to the words “isolate”.  Taking this process into action, suddenly I found I was very much helped by the life of the church.  Two things I often say.  1) This time we were fortunate with the weather, and 2) The season is the life of the church.    The end of Lent, giving way to Holy Week, and using the wisdom that comes from God to respond to my human situation.  Skyping became something new that I could do and was well rewarded.  Not having this facility for our parish and the responsibility for it, gave me an opportunity to focus greatly upon the liturgy of the Mass and the Divine Office.  Rich experience, emphasising the importance of nourishment for both body and spirit.

This experience of spiritual nourishment, the celebration of the Great Feast, Lent giving way to Holy Week, the Lighting of the Paschal Candle.  Christ is Risen from the dead – Our faith will never be in vain.  Then turning my attention to the Ascension of our Divine Lord into heaven, and above all Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the faithful.  All of this so essential to our lives of faith at this time, a time of great challenge.

So far now, the first words are “at ease with”.  For the foreseeable future each Mass with our very restricted numbers will be like our Sunday Mass.   Returning to it is everything.  This includes unfortunately our human experience, for the moment it appears to be embraced by fear, and so with it  a need for spirit of discernment that is necessary to confront the work of the enemy, that always wants to destroy our peace.  So please God, the gift of the Holy Spirit with wisdom, will bring good things to those who believe and guided and blessed by those who have gone before us, we too will leave a rich legacy of faith.

With the help of God:                                                                      Yes, please God:

As we move forward after lockdown; yes, to keep safe is a very important priority, but not the only one.  The words “By their fruits you shall know them” comes from the mouth of Jesus.  One of the great fruits of lockdown for me was “Spring Watch” and its offshoots, a carbon freer world, less plastic in the rivers and seas, a litany could be underway, with please God, a better outlook for the future of the planet.

The life of our church, this too cries out for a response in our time.  Here personally I feel a real affliction as I recall the early stages of my journey and the hope that was there at the beginning.  The time of lockdown has given me plenty of time to reflect, and it has brought home to me deep rooted failures and weaknesses, which will not disappear from me by any magic thinking.  So, back to the beginning with the help of God, I will change and grow up.

With our two churches we have many a great challenge before us.  Our first response it that we are two communities, and please God, we will become two sides to the same coin.  I have always tried to help this, with an awareness that a body is best when made up of many parts working together for the good of all.  When the virus sprung we were struck with the same weakness of  most.  Our age profile meant that there was a great shortage of help, and so many of the old reliable’ s were rendered out of action.  A great thank you to those who are stepping up to the mark as we return to church.  This is just one small step in the right direction.

It is now very important to establish these small steps.  Many of our elderly parishioners are refraining from returning to our church at the moment, as they receive nourishment for their faith in many ways, especially Mass on T.V. and Skype.  If we had young ministers of Holy Communion to take them communion, this would be one of the steps in the right direction.  I also want to encourage them to make arrangements with me, so that I could take Holy Communion to them.

A suggestion some time ago now, when garden centres were first opening, was a visit to our Garden of Remembrance.   This had some very special moment of grace.  Our First Holy Communion preparation has been among the casualties and needs special attention.  A meeting of our  Parish Finance Committee will take place, please God, next Thursday evening, and please lots of prayers for this very important event.  With the help of God we may have a fresh lease of life.

Fr Rory Writes:

Truly important is social distancing.  Whether we express this as the new normal, it is an essential part of keeping safe.  While the virus is a constant threat, we must be on our guard and carefully adhere to safety.   Be alert, or as I would prefer, be responsible.  For me to be responsible addresses the situation better.  The great gift, the great good is our faith.  A very important moment within this is – “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom”.  Note the beginning because fear can be a great gift.  But it is also important to acknowledge and recognise evil.  Evil can use fear and then truly abuse it.  Lives can be destroyed by fear, and fear can create situations which cause great suffering, affliction and sometimes death.

We have reached an important moment in living with the coronavirus.  Please God, there may be light appearing at the end of the tunnel, with the gift of a vaccine that would be a great help.  There is no guarantee of this, so living with the present situation is now a great priority and may be a great opportunity.  Lockdown was such an experience for me and for all of us.  It will certainly influence, please God, in a good way for the remainder of life.  The memory of spring watch; thank God for its blessing and please God, it will have a good influence in the future of our planet.

This is a time of great challenge for our church and please God, a great opportunity, or the church will grind to a halt.  The last deanery meetings, the aged profile of the clergy, the funding of the Diocese, are real causes for concern.  What will be the future for our church?

For it to be bright and good, first it is not the church but our church.  For a long time now there has been a crying need for a new generation in the life of the church.  In the coming months and years we will provide a new generation.  As we celebrate the liturgy and as we continue to skype and locate other sources of nurture for our faith we are beginning to build.  Our website is a very important instrument and please God, with care and attention it will become very fit for purpose.  A very special thank you to Sophie for all that she is doing to lead the way.  The life of the children’s liturgy is also an important new beginning that needs to develop to grow and blossom.

Fr Rory Writes:

Happily,  we can now plan for the opening our churches for Mass.  We are working out how we can do this with safety concerns in mind. We hope to open for the first time the weekend of 18th/19th July.  

Masses will be offered during the week.   If you are not at work during the week, you are strongly encouraged to attend a weekday Mass to allow those who are working to attend on Sundays.

You will need to apply to attend on your chosen day. (Please see attached posters)

Times of Masses during the week are:

St. George’s Church – 10am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.     Sundays, 9.00am

St. Wilfrid’s Church – 10am on Wednesdays and Fridays.       Sundays, 10.30am

Our Mass time experiences will be very different.

Restrictions are imposed as follows:-

Numbers are restricted to ensure social distancing

If you are at all unwell, please DO NOT attend church

It is recommended that small children and babies are not brought into the church

You will be met at the door, you must give your name and contact details to the usher

Sanitise your hand and wear a mask (this is compulsory)

The usher will guide you to a marked bench at appropriate distance from anyone not in your household. There are arrows on the floor, guiding you through the one-way system.

Please do not genuflect to any of the statues, or touch them or any surface unnecessarily

No leaflets or Missals will be provided. If you bring your own you MUST take them home with you.

Please do not converse with anyone outside your own household, to limit the spread of the virus

There may be music, but no singing is allowed

Mass will be shorter to reduce the time spent indoors with other people

The sign of peace will be not be exchanged

The reader, Eucharistic Minister and Priest will always be on the altar

The Priest will remain socially distant at all times

There will be no offertory

Cash offerings must be placed in the boxes provided at the entrance and exit to the church.

Communion under one kind will be distributed at the end of Mass.

An usher will guide you  to communion  when it is safe for you to enter the aisle, always maintaining social distance

There will be a small physical barrier between the recipient and the Minister. The distribution of the Host will be in silence with arms at full stretch, palms upwards, one on top of the other, as flatly as possible. Communion may not be received on the tongue.

You will leave the church immediately after Communion, through the Sacristy door. Take ALL your belongings with you (including your mask) and leave your offering in the box provided. (you may not return to your seat under any circumstances)**

You will be asked to  sanitise your hands before leaving the church

**If you cannot manage the steps leading to the sacristy, please wait to receive communion until all others have left. The usher will escort you and you may leave through the back porch.

There will be NO tea/coffee after any Mass. The hall remains closed

 The lavatories are closed

Please continue to maintain social distancing whilst in the carpark

Please see the above posters for details of how to book for St George’s and St Wilfrid’s.

Fr Rory Writes:

With the help of God we will be able to re-open our churches for Mass.  First and foremost this is to be appreciated for the right reasons, with great care given.  It will be influenced by a) the fact that we do not, while this outbreak of coronavirus continues, have an obligation to go to Mass, b) social distancing and all the other measures required for health and safety purposes will need to be in place.

So there are reasons to have fears and to take these into consideration.  As this is “Fr Rory Writes”  it is not prescriptive and the date have to be changed in order to have all the safety measures in place. Happily, we are hoping to open our churches for Mass on the weekend of the 18th/19th July.  There is still work to be done to achieve this with all safety concerns carefully managed.  Numbers will be greatly reduced because of the need for social distancing.

We have good teams working together and our first meetings were very successful, but they did open my eyes to how difficult it is to ensure the safety of everyone in both churches, whilst matching the requirements of our diocese, who dictate how much preparation is necessary.

Only 36 people may attend at any one time at St George’s.  If you are not at work during the week, you are strongly encouraged to attend a weekday Mass to allow those who are working to attend on Sundays.

You will need to apply for your chosen day, and we ask that you keep to this. (Details as to how to do this will follow)

Times of Masses during the week are:

St. George’s Church – 10am on Tuesdays and Thursdays

St. Wilfrid’s Church – 10am on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Our Mass time experiences will be very different.

Restrictions are imposed as follows:-

Numbers are restricted to a Maximum of 36 people at St George’s to ensure social distancing

If you are at all unwell, please DO NOT attend church

It is recommended that small children and babies are not brought into the church

You will be met at the door, you must give your name and contact details to the usher

Sanitise your hand and wear a mask (this is compulsory)

The usher will guide you to a marked bench/seat at appropriate distance from anyone not in your household. There are arrows on the floor, guiding you through the one-way system.

Please do not genuflect to any of the statues, or touch them or any surface unnecessarily

No leaflets or Missals will be provided. If you bring your own you MUST take them home with you.

Please do not converse with anyone outside your own household, to limit the spread of the virus

There may be music, but no singing is allowed

Mass will be shorter to reduce the time spent indoors with other people

The sign of peace will be not be exchanged

The reader, Eucharistic Minister and Priest will always be on the altar

The Priest will remain socially distant at all times

There will be no offertory

Cash offerings must be placed in the boxes provided at the entrance and exit to the church.

Communion under one kind will be distributed at the end of Mass.

An usher will guide you  to communion  when it is safe for you to enter the aisle, always maintaining social distance

There will be a small physical barrier between the recipient and the Minister. The distribution of the Host will be in silence with arms at full stretch, palms upwards, one on top of the other, as flatly as possible. Communion may not be received on the tongue.

You will leave the church immediately after Communion, through the Sacristy door at St George’s.  Take ALL your belongings with you (including your mask) and leave your offering in the box provided. (you may not return to your seat under any circumstances)**

You will be asked to  sanitise your hands before leaving the church

**If you cannot manage the steps leading to the sacristy, please wait to receive communion until all others have left. The usher will escort you and you may leave through the back porch.

There will be NO tea/coffee after any Mass. The hall remains closed

The lavatories are closed

Please continue to maintain social distancing whilst in the car park

PS. You will need to apply to the Parish Office for your preferred day as the number at each Mass is so strictly limited, either email [email protected] or phone 01323 841504.  

Having plenty of time each day to hear the word of God, and to celebrate the Mass knowing that it is “The Lord’s Supper“, bringing home in a vivid way that “On the night Jesus was betrayed, He carried out this action to be a memorial forever for our salvation”. 

The greeting from the Gospel “Alleluia Alleluia” accepts the message for what it really is, God’s message and not some human thinking “Alleluia”.   From the letter of St Paul to the Romans 5.12-15 – we know sin entered the world and spread through the whole human race.  If it is certain that through one man’s fault, so many have died; it is now more certain that divine grace coming through one man, Jesus Christ came to so many as an abundant free gift.

On Saturday morning, a meeting with one of our parishioners as part of planning preparation for opening our churches, was an expression of our experience of this time on account of the coronavirus.  As in the larger world of business, or for our daily world of life, there are two important elements:

Survive, survive, survive.

To prepare for a fresh start, a new beginning.                                                                                                                       

So first it is important to isolate, to protect, to safeguard, to be responsible.  Secondly, prepare for a future that will be different.  So many things have changed everywhere, and people will have more options and choices.  It will be important to appreciate the great gift that our faith brings.  The opening of our churches for prayer gives us an important focus.  Jesus present in the Holy eucharist in the tabernacle waiting to welcome us back, always present, waiting for us and our attention.  To listen to our prayers and to hear our afflictions.  So please God, this will begin, and as time goes on, we can adapt to our circumstances.  So far anything to do with churches and schools has been slowly, slowly.  By necessity as the business world resumes, yes problems may increase, but the need to return to work is essential.  I have had my first enquiry about a wedding and a baptism and the question of First Holy Communions, a welcome change from funerals.

Fr Rory Writes:

Eternal Father, Loving God

Who made us from the dust of earth

Transform us by the spirit’s grace

Give value to our little worth   

                                                                                   Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

“By His wounds we have been healed”, has been a traditional focus for our spirituality and is a great help to me at this time.  On my way to bed recently, having switched off the TV, from which the only consolation came through Spring Watch and Gardeners’ World.  The almost unescapable, unavoidable news media is an affliction of the highest order.  In its unending search for the worst news that it can get, and with the twist that it constantly brings to the coronavirus is trying to take hold of me.

The stress that we are living with, the implication of the lockdown means that the days and weeks are simply disappearing.  While this, for me, helps the passing of time, its loss to our lives is very real and needs the best and most positive attention that we can give.  We are now passing the longest day, and the excellent weather a solid bonus.  If it were not for the virus, 2020 might have been a very special year.

Having acknowledged the difficulties and damage that is being done, it is more important to be aware of God’s help and His promise to turn all things to good.  Truly appreciate moments of grace – spring walks, with people’s generosity and kindness.  With shops, businesses and works opening, there is a need to try to get on with life.  The churches’ opening has brought home to me, “easier said than done”.  We have received all the requirements and the directions for opening our churches, and with our age profile (as indeed with most churches), it presents us with a great challenge as we cannot ask for help from those willing persons who are over seventy.

During the night I was filled with great apprehension for our situation.  As deep awareness of my faults and failings, a powerful thought came to me that I should go home.  A fear was upon me.  Then about 3am I had a great sense of consolation, a deep, deep awareness of God’s grace, and that through the help of God’s grace, Jesus would prepare the way for our churches to be open.  Our need for help in every way, stewarding, cleaning, encouraging our parishioners to come back to church, initially for private prayer, bringing with them an atmosphere of togetherness.  A new generation and a new church need to be in our planning for the future.

Again, thanks to those who are developing our website.   We will be using it with our newsletter to re-establish our parish, please God, bigger and better.  There is a lovely scene with the lambs on our website.  We will now develop into God’s flock flourishing in His Kingdom.