Category: Fr Rory Writes

Help ……… and with the help of God that help is on its way.

We always have that assurance from God.

The harvest is ready but the labourers are few.  For the past couple of years some of our parishioners have worked very hard to prepare a foundation for the future life of our parish.

Now is the time to begin, because the reality is urgent.  Again, a body is made up of many parts working together.  As we begin a new year in our life of faith.  The beginning is called the time of enquiry.

We see in the newsletter who needs to be prepared for the Sacraments, First Holy Communion, Confession, Reconciliation and Confirmation.  This needs to be extended to the ministries and to all the needs that are essential and vital to the future of our parish.  Please God, in the weeks to come we will really address those needs.

“Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee,

blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”.

There is a kingdom of darkness that flails its way through our world, and Putin is one small example.  Above all, there is a kingdom of light that has come into our world: Christ the Lord.  Let us make sure that prayer has an essential place in our lives.  If God is for us who can be against; the trials and tribulations of life reveals that quite a lot of things can be against us.

Putting our best foot forward, these are the trials through which we triumph by the power of Him who loves us.  First and foremost, God holds all things together, so that an acknowledgement of our needs is important and the sure hope that this brings into our life is simply helpful.

Then as we move forward together in the life of our church, the parish council, our young peoples liturgy, the various ministries, the care for our churches, and especially a real life of faith shared together.  The question of Sunday     masses will not go away.  They need not put too much of a shadow if Christ is our life.  Our light will shine.

Because I am human, the fact that my church at home in Ireland does not have Sunday morning mass, makes the    challenge very real for me and I hope for all of us.

Remaining with grace and peace

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

As we continue with the holiday season, our hopes and prayers are that we may all benefit from this time.  There are real signs that the worst of the pandemic has passed, but there will continue to be different variants and outbreaks.

So to remain cautious and careful is important, but to be positive and to be looking forward to a more normal and beneficial lifestyle is important.

Returning from a long stay in Ireland, lots of rain and some opportunities to catch up with, and benefit from meeting with family and friends with the future more hopeful and at ease.  I attended a second funeral of priests who were truly inspirational when they were teaching us in the seminary.  I always look back to a time of great hope, so their funeral brought great sadness.  So many seminaries closed and hopes not realised.   This time the priest Fr  Denis    Talbot got a good send off, acknowledging his life of service.

We are on our way to our Father in heaven.  Jesus left us with all the guidance that we need; and the assurance that in my Fathers house there are many mansions.

As we have our summer break shortly, it is very timely.  The summer BBQ may be magical I hope, but there is nothing magical about the preparation.  So please God, it will get the support that is needed.  A great big thank you to the   social committee.  Our prayers are with Joan and all who are convalescing at this time. 

So wishing you all grace and peace,

truly grateful for the most generous support that I have received. 

God bless and keep you all.

“Following the synodal path”

We have been following the synodal path that Pope Francis has proposed so that the church may be able to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.  I am confident that our work has been fit for purpose.  Returning to my constant sources of reference; in the building, the greatest work is done while outlining the plans and building the foundations, with the least to show for the work that is done.  It’s the same way with farming or gardening.  So please God, there are good signs that progress is being made and we can have confidence that things will continue to develop.

The first meeting of our parish council has been arranged and with it initial discussions of our way ahead. The role of ministries will be very important, also an awareness of how to work with surrounding parishes.  An appreciation of progress made by children’s liturgy and particularly the sacrament of confirmation and how we reach out to youth.  As we go on we can be more attentive to other responsibilities that will help our church to develop and grow.

Looking forward to my next trip home.

With our activities for the year coming to an end, a certain “thanks be to God”.  This time last year our focus was on our preparations to celebrate our centenary year at St Wilfrid’s, which worked out very good.  Hard to credit that was a year ago.  Our focus this year is our parish council and the options and opportunities it presents.

Deacon John has been a constant source of help  and I am sure it will remain a great help.  He raised the question, while Fr Rory is away, who should write his piece?  he suggested that the parish council could do this, this time.  This is very much in keeping with the preparation of our prayers of the faithful, which provided us with a distinct blessing over the months and years.

‘Beautiful Food’

Our outing on Monday morning to Staverton Nursery.  I really enjoyed their food, and I was very impressed by the way they run this enterprise.  What is on offer is excellent, top of the range with an almost limitless supply of trees, shrubs and flowers; although all quite expensive, so it is only those who are serious about their shopping are catered for.  There was not a lot of seats for lounging about, hence I was impressed with the food, I even had some left over for my supper.  If you wanted to socialise you would be better going to a restaurant.  So obviously when the fire destroyed the building they have re-scheduled it very purposefully.  We reduced our allocated time, and I truly      appreciated and enjoyed our outing.  Sincere thanks; as Annette did her mum proud by looking after us in the way that only Joan can do.

How about our own affairs, how fares our parish communities?  Two outstanding events.  First our Corpus Christi, sponsored walk, and then last week our young people who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation at the       Cathedral.   Signed by the Holy Spirit, to rise as a new generation; backed up by all the hard work that has taken place over the last couple of years.  Our parish council is beginning to emerge, we can truly look forward to the work that they will do for our future.  My Sister Mary’s book “Love Speaks” provides more beautiful food, divine nourishment.

Margaret Nevill, when she returned the book she said “Thanks so much, Father; so well researched and beautifully written”.

A moment of special inspiration and grace from Deacon John’s Homily Sunday last,  ‘The Feast of Corpus Christi’.

Apollo 11 landed on the moon on Sunday, July 20, 1969.  Most people remember astronaut Neil Armstrong’s first words as he stepped onto the moon’s surface: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.  But few know about the first meal eaten on the moon.  Buzz Aldrin, the NASA Astronaut had taken aboard the spacecraft a tiny pyx provided by his Catholic priest.  Aldrin sent a radio broadcast to Earth asking listeners to contemplate the events of the day and give thanks.  Then, blacking out the broadcast for privacy, Aldrin read, “I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit”.  Then, silently, he gave thanks for their successful journey to the moon and received Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, surrendering moon to Jesus.  Next, he descended on the surface of the moon and walked on it with Neil Armstrong.  Aldrin’s actions remind us that in the Lord’s Supper, God’s children can share the life of Jesus from any place on Earth, even from the moon.  God is everywhere, and our worship should reflect this reality.  Buzz Aldrin celebrated that experience on the surface of the moon.  Thousands of miles from earth, he took time to commune with the One who created, redeemed, and established fellowship with him.

A very updated, well fit for purpose replacement for the Corpus Christi procession was our sponsored walk with our shared beneficiary, Foodbank.  The great turn out from the candidates for confirmation which takes place this Sunday at Arundel Cathedral was their energy and gift for life.  A new generation for our future is required.

Our Sponsored Walk Today

With the help of God, our walk will do me and indeed all of us some good.  My ability to ask for sponsorship money does not bode well for its financial outcome; but its social value is of great importance.  Quite a number of key        persons for our cause are away, but hopefully it presents an important opportunity for our parish communities to reach out.

I am always impressed by Mary’s Meals.  As well as reaching more than 2.4 million hungry children every school day with our life-changing meals, we do everything we can to help in emergency situations.  It is thanks to your kindness that Mary’s Meals is a shining beacon of hope in dangerous and desperate times.  Already this year we have responded with urgency to the earthquake in Syria and the cyclone in Malawi.  We are also providing emergency aid to people in Tigray, a region in Ethiopia that was locked in brutal civil war for two years from November 2020.

Our Mary’s Meals family longs for the day that it is safe for classrooms to reopen so that we can return to serving our school meals to children as they learn.  In the meantime, your donations to our Crisis in Ethiopia Appeal will enable us to keep doing all we can to bring hope to the people of Tigray as they try to rebuild their lives. 

Thank you for all you do for the world’s poorest children.

‘Our Sponsored Walk’

Is coming at a most opportune time.  I have to confess I really need the exercise, and must benefit from it.  At the   moment the amount of exercise that I take is pathetic.  I could say that at one time I made a real effort to keep fit enough.  Now my car provides too much of my comfort zone.   This is a chance to get back into my stride.  The walk will provide a good challenge and become a real marker for my future exercise endeavours.  Getting sponsorship is more of a challenge.  I am being encouraged to get sponsorship, but  I also know that many are constantly giving in support of the activities that are taking place at this time.

Finance is becoming more of a challenge and careful decisions are very important.  Maintenance, health and safety requirements, child and vulnerable adult protection are going to be a heavy essential expense in parishes in the      future.  So it is important, like our kindred cause “Foodbank” similar charitable causes must remain a constant on our horizon.