Category: Fr Rory Writes

I received a star quality letter that I believe is right to share

Dear Fr Rory

Thank you for inviting us to the Bereavement Mass on Sunday 15th at St Wilfrid’s.  Unfortunately we shall still be away on that date, so regretfully cannot be present.

The children’s liturgists are doing sterling work with our young people, but the lack of adult formation courses has   resulted in a lack of knowledge in our grown up population, an area for our Bishop to address.

And yes, an area for me to address with the parish council who have taken this onboard.  In fact they had brilliantly     attended to this at their first parish council, which I could not attend because I was in Ireland.

I have full confidence and gratefully thankful to them.  They have established a response to our  journey; building up all the ministries, that will establish a body made up of many parts working  together.  Beginning with welcomers and referring to the fact that the Knights of St Columba had years of experience.  Turning to the readers and drawing our attention to the legion of Mary who gave active witness to the implications of this ministry.  The St Vincent de Paul could bring a depth of riches to how this ministry of the eucharist could be effected.  The children’s liturgy gives us a great example of the progress that can be made.  I continually return my attention to lighting the first advent candle, the candle of hope.  Please God, these ministries will revive my drooping spirits unlike all the deanery meetings that I attend. 

Second meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council with Fr Rory present

Following up on the first parish meeting which laid down excellent foundations; Fr Rory continued by placing a clear focus on the word “Synod” and the hopes that are placed in the forthcoming Rome Synod, with the focus “for accountability” will be taken seriously.  We will be keeping our attention focus on this.

Then very important; the Bereavement Mass on Sunday at 3pm.  We are trying to establish the most important of our treasured memories, especially the contributions that were made by those who are gone before us.  Knowledge     concerning the Altar, Statues, Stations of the Cross, the new Crucifix, and all that is important that is to be remembered to pass on to future generations.  This is so that they continue to build upon the legacy that these good people left behind them.  Hopefully we will all continue to make our own contributions.  The stories and the contributions of the priests would also be helpful.

With great cruelty the war in the Ukraine continues. 

We must continue to keep this constantly in our prayers. 

With real hope we begin a new year in the life of our parish.   So to be willing to contribute to and support all the efforts to be a vibrant living community is essential.  The harvest celebration and our contribution to Cafod and    Foodbank were very worthwhile.  This week our parish council with plans to develop and share our responsibilities is the way ahead.  Streaming and developing communication facilities are key.  I saw Sophie making preparations to  resource our website; the maintenance committee and the fundraising breakfast after mass at St George’s, all initial steps in the right direction.

Please God, our Womble Day has been a positive experience and a great help for our future.

Again

Our ‘confirmands’ going forth mass made an excellent start to our new year, and it is important to build on it.  This item from our parish confirmation catechists below concerning this coming year helps to build upon their good start.  We need to widen the windows and make it more flexible for all our young people to share in our faith.

“Those who have gone before us” have always been a blessing and a source of strength …. Sometimes just survived.  We have two very special occasions to look forward to.  The first one, please God, will be at St Wilfrid’s on Sunday 15th October at 3pm and the second will be at St George’s on Sunday 5th November at 3pm, when we always remember the Holy Souls.  During the pandemic we lost so many and this gives us an opportunity to remember then again and the treasured memories they left us with.

With grateful thanks to Bob Waters for bring to our attention the Synod of Bishops with the words:-

Many parishioners took part in the local synod consultations in 2021 & 2022 which are leading to the Synod which opens in Rome on 4 October, and will now benefit from our prayers.
Pope Francis has said that without Prayer there will be no Synod. Everyone is invited to pray that the bishops and   others who take part in the Synod will listen to the Holy Spirit so that proposals will spring forth to enable the entire People of God to feel that they are truly participating in the life of the Church, and be witnesses to the newness of the Gospel in our world.

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.