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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]

As we hopefully will be returning to normal parish life, there is a need for relevant checks to be carried out, i.e. updating DBS checks and online training. 

We will need more volunteers to help, so these checks will be part of the process of restoring life to our parish after Covid.

Confirmation:  On the Feast of Pentecost we hope to have two candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation.  This is helpful, happy and to be well celebrated.

Continued…..                    

 “With the help of the Stations of the Resurrection”

Church of St Thomas More, Seaford, BN25 1SS

The First Station: Jesus Is Risen.  “We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”.

“Isn’t that providence Maura”.  The number of times I heard these words in our kitchen when growing up was often.  They coincided with a visit from my auntie when she came to stay with us for a while.  They now stay with me as a very positive response to life.  The visit of the early disciples to His tomb, opens the door to great hope and confidence that a new life is open to everyone.  Belief  remains the key to opening that door, and Jesus chastises his disciples for their lack of belief in Him.  Let us try to keep open the doors of faith. 

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

The Second Station: Peter and John arrive at the empty tomb.  “We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”.

Peter finds it hard to keep the doors of faith open, and in his difficulties he returns to his day job which is fishing, we will meet up again with him when he returns to his day job.  Then Jesus will appoint him “thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church”.  Fear of the irrational and unknown is very much a part of the human experience.  It stopped John entering the tomb.  We all know this fear of the irrational, so help us Lord to conquer our fears and anxieties.  Help us to live lives of greater hope and service.

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

The Third Station: The Risen Lord appears to Mary Magdalene.  “We love you Lord Jesus and we trust in you for we know you are risen from the dead and live in us”.

She stood there crying as she looked into the tomb.  The words “Woman why are you crying?” did not make her realise who He was.  But when He said “Mary” her eyes were opened.

We like Mary Magdalene, all suffer grief, shock and sadness when we witness death.  Mary had seen Jesus die.  The risen Lord must have looked very different from the tortured person on the cross, but when Jesus spoke her name, Mary knew Him.

Jesus you speak all our names, you know each and every one of us.  You call us each by your name: help us to recognise your presence.

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

This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Easter and is called Good Shepherd Sunday. It is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood, the Diaconate and to Religious Life. The earliest Christians saw Jesus as the fulfilment of the ancient Jewish dream of a Good Shepherd. 

The late Billy Graham, the televangelist, once said in a TV interview: “Pope John Paul II lived like his Master the Good Shepherd, and he died like his Master the Good Shepherd.”  In today’s Gospel, Jesus claims that he is the Good Shepherd and explains what he does for his sheep. 

The Prayer for Vocations which Tessa and I use, is in the form of a Novena from 16th to 24th each month and originates from a promise I made over 20 years ago to a nun who was making her Final Profession, at which Tessa and I were present. It is “Lord Jesus, Word made flesh, you who said to us that if you do not become like little children you will not enter the Kingdom of God. Teach us to follow in your footsteps, humbly and simply. Send into your Church the Priests, Deacons, Religious and lay people needed to make you better known and loved throughout the world. Amen. 

Please join us in saying this prayer if you can. There may be copies of this prayer in our churches as we have used it in the past and I know some parishioners may have a copy in their handbag, back pocket or prayer book. 

The requiem mass for David will be offered on Friday 23 April at 12 noon.  If you would like to attend, please contact Lulu on 01323 846509 – there are six spaces available.  Burial afterwards at Hailsham Cemetery.

CAFOD:  Thank you for your generous donations to CAFOD’s Family Fast Day during Lent.   We featured Marian and her son Svondo in Zimbabwe in Lent 2018.  The community vegetable garden that your donations helped provide is growing well and during the pandemic the family has survived on the vegetables.  Your support has also helped to provide soap and handwashing stations in the garden and in family homes.  This is just one of many long-term development projects that CAFOD has funded with the money from that Fast Day. Thank you for your steadfast support.

During Divine Mercy Sunday, Father Rory welcomed into St George’s Church three new Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. The Commissioning took place after the Lord’s Prayer, with a lovely ceremony  conducted by Father when he invited them to make their commitment to this important ministry. It was a very appropriate day to make such an undertaking, as we celebrate the risen Christ and are “united, heart and soul”. The beautiful flowers and the Easter arrangements on the sanctuary lent a poignant touch to this important event in the life of our church.