Category: Latest News

Continued…..               

The Seventh Station: Jesus gives the apostles the power to forgive sins.

It is after the resurrection and the apostles are together, the doors are locked for fear.  As the coronavirus has brought home to us, the implications and indeed the power of fear; that is why a good inquiry would be very rewarding and help to bear good fruit for our future.  The greeting of Jesus when He enters the room that is locked,  “Peace be with you” this is at the heart of God’s mission in Christ Jesus.  The ministry of reconciliation could be a great gift to the church in our future.

“We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”. 

Peace be with you, is at the heart of confession, and when I was first ordained I spent hours in the confessional.  A great source of grace, but even there, the enemy evil can penetrate.  One of its fruits is scrupulosity, creating a disturbing barrier to God’s grace.  Another one which I experienced is the fear of having made a  bad confession which confused my early life.  I am not the only one.  The grace is to be reconciled to God, becoming more aware that His power lives in us.

Alleluia, Alleluia.  Give thanks to the risen Lord.  Give praise to his name

The Eighth Station: “My Lord and my God”.  Thomas professes his faith in Jesus.

Thomas was not with them when Jesus came.  What a loss, and yet what compensation for all of us.  It remains a comfort for us “doubting Thomas’s”.  In fact the words of Jesus “Happy are those who have not seen and believe” is a good emphasis.

“We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”. 

We are all a work in progress and where we are on this journey of life is always part of God’s plan of salvation.  The people we live among are always a part of God’s providence.  Salvation begins when we place all our hope and trust in Him.  Then His power begins “to take root in our lives” so the reality is, these are the trials through which we triumph  by the power of Him who loves us.  This truth is our road through life, which often can have real difficulties and hardship – but again the words of Jesus “pray constantly and never lose heart”.  God’s salvation will be great far and wide and a spirit of judgement and condemnation will be lifted off our shoulders.

Alleluia, Alleluia.  Give thanks to the risen Lord.  Give praise to his name

The Ninth Station: The Risen Lord Jesus meets His disciples on the shore of Tiberias. 

And again they do not recognise Him.  “Have you caught anything friends?” he asks.  And what is our answer?  “We are on planet earth and work is in progress”.  A need for great patience, each life has a particular good purpose, all part of God’s plan – the great mystery that is life.  An aspect of this mystery from me is to be born as Siamese Twins, to blame someone, is a constant feature of life.  Who’s to blame?.  So best to turn to prayer.

“We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”. 

Jesus continues to be there, waiting whenever our lives seem to be so unproductive; the place where I find myself so often.  So the last word will be Stations from St Thomas More, Seaford – Stations of the Resurrection.

Once more Jesus is not recognised by the apostles, for they are out fishing.  However he performs a last miracle for them by filling their nets with fish.  Let us remember that although we cannot see Him, Jesus is always there to help, whenever our efforts seem unproductive.

Dear Jesus help us to call on you, and to put our trust in you, whenever we have difficulties or disappointments.

Thursday, 13th May – at St George’s Church we will be celebrating the Ascension of our Lord at 10.00 a.m.  Booking is still essential, so please contact Margaret on 870990, [email protected]. to book. 

Thursday, 13th May – at St Wilfrid’s Church we will be celebrating the Ascension of our Lord at 10.00 a.m.  Booking is still essential, so please either book online through our website or contact Jackie on 841504.  Thank you.

We look forward to worshipping  with you on this important day in the church’s calendar – remember to spread the good news to all our parishioners.

On behalf of us all, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the faithful souls who make it possible for us to safely attend Mass during this epidemic. The stewards, cleaners, recorders of our Masses, so that everyone can attend Mass in their own homes. They all know who they are and we really appreciate what they do, so that we can take part in our Masses whether at Church or at home. Of course the person who stands out is our very own Father Rory, without him none of this would be possible. He is our Holy Ordained Priest  given to us by God. He is always here for us and helping us through troubled times. He has faults like us all, and humbly admits to them, but they fade into insignificance when he so ably does the job he was ordained to do and more. Thank you Father from the bottom of our hearts. One other person who must be mentioned is Jackie our secretary who has helped us in many things, she more than fulfils her job.  Fr Rory would agree, along with the rest of us that she is a Godsend. No fuss, just gets on with any job in hand very efficiently with a smile. What a treasure she is for us.

St Wilfrid’s:  Our Indian community.  I expect you have been watching on tv or reading in papers about the terrible plight India faces. We have been in contact with Jincy who looks after our Indian community at St Wilfrid’s. Up till now she says all their relatives in India are safe.  Please keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers

Adrian Powell who recently died after an 11 year battle with motor neurone disease.  Also, please pray for Nick Paul and his family.

We would like to thank everyone for the lovely sympathy cards and mass intentions offered for David.  Also, thank you to those who attended the funeral at the church and cemetery, and those who helped; Jean, Judy, Gary, David, Bob, Lawrence and especially Fr Rory for a very beautiful service.  Thank you for everyone’s effort to come in some yellow as requested.  With gratitude, Lulu and Abigail.

Have you ever thought “Wow!” or exclaimed “Thank you, God!” at something you have seen or heard that is full of power or beauty? Such occasions may be rare or more frequent depending on circumstances. If you do have moments like this then treasure them and tuck them away in your memory so that you can recall them for yourselves or tell your friends about them. They are most likely to be of interest to them and possibly help them in their journeys through life.

During lockdown the daily live streamed masses Tessa and I have heard and seen have come from Hove, Sacred Heart Church, with Mgr. Michael Jackson. They have been a great help to both of us and have included several “Wow! “moments. He always starts with a list of people to pray for: the sick, those who have died, and many others who need prayers. The following for these masses is worldwide, ranging from New Zealand to Japan, South Africa, France, Chicago in USA and all over the UK. He has included prayers for a three year old who fell into a pond and has been in a coma for three months but is now starting to recover. This started with some movement when touched and is now able to sit up from time to time. That is just one example of a lockdown “Wow!” for us. Next month we will miss him as their services return to as near normal as possible. If you have found a source of Mass on the Internet or Television I hope it has been of spiritual and mental help for you and given you some “Wow!” moments. I hope we have our own WOW! moments when our masses here return to normal. 

Thursday, May 13th, is Ascension Day. Fr.James McKarns writes about a tour he made to the Holy Land which included a visit to the Mount of Olives from where Jesus had ascended. He commented that the whole party did notice the hilly surroundings, but most just gazed at the sky and the clouds trying to picture for themselves what must have been a truly Wow! moment for those who actually witnessed it. The Psalm for Ascension Day each year starts with this “Wow!” response: 

“God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.”

A lady called Lydia Lopokova wrote: “When I am on the Sussex Downs in the morning I feel that I am having a cocktail with God.” – a real Wow! encounter!

Continued…..               

The Fourth Station: Jesus appears to his disciples on the road to Emmaus.

The one thing that we share with the early disciples after the resurrection is powerlessness, completely without power.  Even going to church when we can highlight all our difficulties.  The two disciples on this road to Emmaus were trying to get away from it all.  Then the fabulous moment of grace.  “Jesus himself came and walked by their side” but they did not recognise Him.  But He opened their eyes to the scriptures.  May He today open our eyes to the scriptures, but also to His presence in our lives.

“We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”. 

One our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

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The Fifth Station: The Risen Lord is recognised in the breaking of bread.

The gift remains the same.  “Now while He was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them”.  What was so different? “Their eyes were opened”.  Please God, with all my heart I pray that my eyes may be truly opened.   I remain with the great body of disciples “I believe, help my unbelief”.

“We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”. 

The disciples failed to recognise Jesus because they had actually seen Him die and knew He had been buried.  For our time we have been buried in the scandals and all too often we have built idols within our ways of worship in the church.  We pray that our hearts may be transformed and brought back to life.

Alleluia, Alleluia.  Give thanks to the risen Lord.  Give praise to his name

One our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

The Sixth Station: Jesus appears to His disciples in Jerusalem in a locked room. 

He rebuked them for their lack of faith but always His gift “My peace be with you”.  “Look at my hands and feet”, and to confirm the reality of His presence “Have you anything here to eat?”  He knows we need to have our faith strengthened and restored.  Let us reveal to Him our wounds and our hurts at this time

“We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”. 

When Jesus shows himself to the apostles, they assumed He was a ghost.  Our assumption is that it cannot happen – so let us sincerely pray.  Dear Jesus, we may find it hard to believe that it was your physical body that came into the room full of apostles.  Please help us to truly believe in this your greatest miracle – that you whom the disciples had seen tortured, crucified and speared to death, really did come back, not only for them, but for all of us.

Alleluia, Alleluia.  Give thanks to the risen Lord.  Give praise to his name

10-16^th May is Marriage week, a time for us to celebrate the joy and  blessings of marriage. Pope Francis reminds us  that “Marriage is like a plant. It is not an armoire, which is placed there, in the room, and it’s enough to dust it every once in a while. A plant is alive, and it needs to be cared for every day: to see how it is doing, to give it water, and so it goes. Marriage is a living reality: the life of a couple should never be taken for granted, in any phase of a family’s journey.” Pope Francis, 21^st December 2015

Why not take some time this week to really  find some time to talk to your spouse  and nurture your marriage.

Scam Emails:  A number of our parishioners have been receiving emails that look like they are coming from Fr Rory Kelly, please do not reply to them as they are a scam.  The email that they are being sent from is [email protected]