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Deacon John Writes:

If you travel around in Jordan you will see shepherds  everywhere. They are part of the landscape. The Bedouins who tend the sheep sleep on hillsides under tents; they stand watch in large empty fields while the sheep graze on weeds and dust and sand. Your vehicle is sure to come to a halt in the middle of the road while a shepherd leads his flock across the road. One shepherd is Mohammed. He is in his early 20s, shy. He was asked how long he’d been a shepherd.

“Four years,” he said and added: “its alright, but it’s boring.” It’s not that exciting for the sheep, either. They aren’t pure lambs with “fleece as white as snow.” They all look as white as mud—hardly the image one gets from the nursery rhyme. Mr Google on the Internet, informed me about a shepherd in Italy named Fabrizio Innocenzi who oversees about 60 sheep in the hills of Roviano, 40 miles east of Rome. He said that sheep actually need a shepherd, because they have no natural hierarchy, no leader of the flock. “The sheep learn to trust the shepherd”, Innocenzi said, “as they hear and understand the voice, the smell, the behaviour of the person who is looking after them every day”. He said “a shepherd needs to be someone who is in tune with nature, decisive and willing to bear the long hours, inclement weather, hard work and sacrifice—and do it out of devotion to his flock.  A good shepherd should not be afraid of anything.” Doesn’t that describe Christ? 

In the gospel for this Sunday Jesus says to us “I am the good shepherd, a good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” This Easter season, with the fragrance of Easter flowers still in the air and multiple alleluias we cannot forget the hard wood of Calvary. We cannot forget how this good shepherd laid down his life for us. He didn’t do it because we have “fleece as white as snow.” Far from it. We are as muddy and as ordinary and as unclean as those sheep in Jordan. We aren’t always beautiful.

But the Good Shepherd, who is Christ, loves us anyway. He calls us to love one another as the shepherd does his sheep. This is our challenge. If we are to be imitators of Christ, we must be willing to be more than sheep. We must also be shepherds—good shepherds to each other and good shepherds of our faith. We must be unafraid, devoted, steadfast. We need to support those who are frail…nurture those who are weak…lead back those who are lost…comfort those who are afraid…love those who are covered with dust from the journey.

This is what a good shepherd does.

This is what Christ has done for us.

This is what we must do for each other. 

Special Moments From The World of Isolation

It would help our website greatly, if you have any special memories and other comments that can help us to share this special time, when we find ourselves isolated and cut off from our everyday life.   If you have any photos that you would like to share on our website, please send them in the format of  jpg or png to [email protected]  When you send your photos to us, please can you write a message stating that you are happy for the photos that you have provided us with, to be displayed on our Church website.  Thank you.

Deacon John Writes:

The Scripture readings for this Sunday have one common, encouraging theme: No matter what happens in our lives, the risen Jesus is always with us. God is always near to those who seek Him and who want to live in His presence, doing His will. 

Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton, in his book Horns and Halos in Human Nature, tells of one of the weirdest auctions in history. It was held in the city of Washington, D.C. It was an auction of designs, actually patent models of old inventions that did not make it in the world at large. These 150,000 old inventions were declared obsolete and put up for auction. Prospective buyers and on-lookers chuckled as item after item was put up for bid, such as a bed-bug buster or an illuminated cat that was designed to scare away mice. Then there was a device to prevent snoring. It consisted of a trumpet that reached from the mouth to the ear and was designed to awaken the snorer and not the neighbours. One person designed a tube to reach from his mouth to his feet so that his breath would keep his feet warm as he slept. There was an adjustable pulpit which could be raised or lowered. You could hit a button and make the pulpit descend or ascend to illustrate a point dramatically. Obviously, at one time somebody had high hopes for each of those designs which did not make it. Some died in poverty, having spent all of their money trying to sell their dream. They represented a mountain of disappointments. One hundred fifty thousand broken dreams! Is there anything sadder? Today’s Gospel describes the shattered dreams of two of Jesus’ disciples at the tragic and unexpected death of their Master whom they trusted as their promised Messiah. 

As Jesus met them on the road to Emmaus so he meets us on our Emmaus Road, both in the ordinary experiences of our lives, and in the places to which we retreat when life is too much for us.  We, too, have hopes and dreams about better health, healing, financial security and better family relationships.  These often shatter.  The story promises us, however, that Jesus will come to us in unfamiliar ways to support and strengthen us when we least expect the risen Lord.  Emmaus moments come to us when we meet the risen Christ on our life’s journey through rough times like the present lockdown due to the virus.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Phyllis Diller, the American actress, said: Cleaning your house while the kids are still growing, is like shovelling the walk before it stops snowing.

Deacon John Writes:

This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday and the readings for this Sunday are about God’s Divine Mercy given to us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, our need for trusting faith, and our need for the forgiveness of our sins. The opening prayer for today’s Mass addresses the Father as “God of everlasting Mercy.” 

There is a short story in Reader’s Digest told by Jim Williams of Montana, who wrote: “I was driving too fast late one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rear-view mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down my window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my haste. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shined his flashlight in my face, then on my seven-month-old in his car seat, then on our three other children, who were asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam of light to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘you can’t afford a ticket. Slow down.’ And with that, he returned to his car and drove away.” Sometimes mercy triumphs over law. So it is for sinners who call out to Jesus.” 

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Charlie Chaplin, an English comic actor, helped to write a song called “Smile”.
Among the lines are these: You’ll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile.

Churches Together in Cornwall have asked that all Christians join together in praying the Lord’s Prayer at 11.00 am each Sunday throughout the crisis.  I think it is a lovely thing to do, and somehow enhances and deepens the clapping for the NHS every Thursday.  Please do join the prayer chain if you can.

Thank you:  to everyone who is continuing to contribute to the church, this is very much appreciated at this difficult time.  All monies received will be banked when we are able to resume life.

EASTER GREETINGS TO YOU ALL.

The Triduum- three of the most Holy days- Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Holy Thursday is a glorious Feast Day on which we celebrate the Eucharist, express our gratitude for our ministries and is the day for foot washing. Of course foot washing is only the start. There are other similar examples in the scriptures: how Jesus cried on hearing of the death of his friend Lazarus, how he blessed children when tired, how he witnessed forgiveness in everyday life. in the Gospel for today Jesus said “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should do also.” Let us remember this as we manage our lives in this present time of our struggle with our daily lives and try to become a living Eucharist so as to be like him, making our lives a gift, grace and blessing.

Why do we call Good Friday Good, after all it is the day Jesus was treated as a criminal and tortured and crucified. It has been called Good Friday for centuries. Possibly it was originally called God’s Friday implying that it was a very sacred day. It may have been given the name Good as the crucifixion led to the resurrection and salvation of the world. A Scripture professor said “When we look at Jesus hanging on the cross we should say not only ‘Look how much he suffered’, but, more importantly, ‘Look how much he loved.’” We should surely be asking ourselves every day, not just on Good Friday, how we can make this day good through my Christ-like love for others?

On Holy Saturday we hear that those who followed Jesus became fearful after the loss of their friend and teacher through the crucifixion. Much of that fear is surrounding us today as we think about the virus that is in our world at present. It is a negative influence on our lives as we forget that we have the risen Christ to help us endure whatever comes our way. He is “hiding in plain sight”, waiting for us to look for him. He is always there. We have only to turn our heads to find him standing next to us, bringing peace to all who seek him. The next day, Easter Sunday, we know that Jesus is risen and he has conquered sin and death for ever. So my message for Easter is that whatever trial may be afflicting you, be assured Jesus is risen! It is not fake news, it is the real news, and it is Good News!

May God give you gladness by his blessing. May he make you heirs to an eternal inheritance. May the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit come down on you all and remain with you for ever.

Fr Rory and Deacon John

Deacon John Writes:                                                                                 

Well, Easter has arrived. We should remember that Easter is not a one day wonder! Easter is a whole season and we are an Easter people! Alleluia. Alleluia. In these disturbing times we may well have some extra time on our hands but they need not be idle hands. We may feel the weight of the world upon us but we have Scripture to help us and there are a variety of resources on offer through radio, television and the internet. This last week, for instance, Tessa and I enjoyed watching Joseph and his Technicolour Dream Coat on the internet. This was put on as a special due to the virus and there are many other ‘specials’ there for us. I know there are daily masses on the internet from Sacred Heart Church, Hove and from St. Mary of the Angels in Worthing. Various radio stations carry Sunday Mass from Ireland. We can all remember that, no matter what the trials of this virus bring to us, Jesus secured victory for us and we must live our lives with Easter joy in our hearts and deepen our relationship with God and with one another. Alleluia! Happy Eastertide to you all.