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The response to the psalm this weekend is “Lord show me your way”.  At this time to give His word time and attention is about the only thing we can do, and obviously the best also.

Last week in our very difficult circumstances, inspiration and encouragement came to me from our local paper at home.  Following all the scandals with the clergy, another shocking revelation has its focus upon mothers and their babies.  This has to be acknowledged as a great darkness for our nation of Ireland.  I was very much in need of the very welcome surprise when the local newspaper highlighted this message “Pope Francis, a new year message of Hope”, and what a message.

So please God, it will carry me along for the next couple of weeks:-

“You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world.  Only you can stop it from going bust.

Many appreciate you, admire you and love you.  Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments.  To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord.

It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness.  It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures.  It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity”.

To be continued ………….

4 Weeks of Guided Prayer  – Online Event

Sundays at 5:30pm beginning 17th January

· An opportunity to deepen your relationship with God through prayer.

· Learn new ways of praying, enjoy some input on prayer, discernment and spirituality.

Speak with a prayer guide each week for the four weeks.

More information: [email protected] or follow us on Facebook

You are still able to donate non-perishable food and money to the foodbanks over the coming months.  There are opportunities to donate online, or our website to make this easier for people.  Immediate food needs will probably change week to week.  For more updates visit www.hailsham.foodbank.org.uk or www.eastbourne.foodbank.org.uk.  Thank you.

In last Sunday’s gospel about the Baptism of Jesus, we hear that a voice from heaven says ‘You are my son, the Beloved”. These words should remind us of one of the most important truths in the whole of the Christian message. In the words of Saint Augustine: “God loves each and every one of us”. 

William Barclay summed this up when he wrote: “The gospels tell us of the width of the love of God. It was the world that God so loved. It was not a nation, it was not the good people, it was not only the people who loved him, it was the world. The unlovable and the unlovely, the lonely who have no one else to love them, the person who loves God, and the person who never thinks of God, the person who rests in the love of God, and the person who spurns it, all are included in the vast inclusive love of God.”

Tessa and I wish to say a sincere thank you for the cards and gifts received this Christmas and New Year. We wish you all a Happy 2021. May you keep safe and you and your family keep well.. We are sure that we all hope that it will be a better year than 2020. God bless you all. 

With our love and prayers. DJ & T

“Every day as long as this today lasts, keep encouraging one another” Heb 3.13 from the divine office.

Last Sunday was the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus who was baptised in the river Jordan, by John the Baptist.  This highlights an idea, “that actions speak louder than words”.  But words are so important, as they give meaning to the events.  In this case, no sooner has Jesus come up out of the water, then He saw the heavens torn apart, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on Him, and a voice came from heaven “you are my son, the beloved, my favour rests on you”.  This gives us a clear picture of the Life in the Holy Trinity of God, which is at the heart of our faith.

Largely, because of the coronavirus, I have spent a lot of hours here in the church.  At the moment, when life is dark and difficult for all of us, for me it is one of the silver linings in the dark clouds of the moment.   Here in the church the sanctuary lamp stands out in the coming darkness.  It is there as a powerful expression of what we hold to be true.  The living presence of Jesus is the Holy Eucharist through His promise “The bread that I shall give you is my flesh for the life of the world”.  The sanctuary lamp and the stations of the cross have a very special memory for me.  Brian Winter was so involved with the decision to bring them forward from the old church, they contribute to the beautiful atmosphere that is in the new church.  A Sister who comes to holiday with us for a week each year, mentioned so firmly that she could spend the rest of her life here in this church.  We are truly blest with it.  So a thank you to Brian, Billy O’Rourke and the team that was with them – a lovely legacy.

A Christmas card made a strong memorable and lasting impression on me this year.  It was a picture of Mary with her child sitting on an ass when Joseph as the scripture tells us “to escape, Herod had to take them down to Egypt”.  This grounds us in real life when there are so many refugees having to leave their homes.  The idea that life is a journey of faith for everybody helps us with our present circumstances.  When we were in the seminary, we were full of hope after the Second Vatican Council that a great  opportunity was in store for us.  Now I draw a lot of consolation from that Christmas card, and the nature of journeys.   They tend to be down to earth.  But inspiration and consolations are important, and highlights again and again that primarily we are a community of faith, and like Joseph and Mary, willing witnesses to our faith in the Christ child.

Mass at St George’s church.  It is our hope to re-open for Mass on Sunday, the 17th January at the  normal time of 9.00 am.  To do this we need more help from people under the age of 70 years  to be our stewards.  Several wonderful people have already come     forward to undertake this important task, but we do need more help. Please contact Margaret Piegrome 01323870990, email  –       [email protected] if you can help us celebrate Mass together again.

I noticed a headline on the internet about a Swedish Artist – Geert van der Vossen. He has created a floral tribute to Sweden’s coronavirus patients. He has ‘planted’ over 6000 metal ‘flowers’, which he has created himself, in a field as a memorial to the victims of the virus in the area in which he lives. This has obviously given him a lot of personal satisfaction and a feeling that he is really doing something to remember those who have died.

Sunday, Jan 10th, is the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and reminds us of our identity. The liturgical season of Christmas is concluded with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. By Baptism, we become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of Heaven, and temples of the Holy Spirit. It is a day to thank God for the graces we have received in Baptism, to renew our Baptismal promises and to preach Christ’s “Good News” by our transparent Christian lives of love, mercy, service and forgiveness.

The Gospel today describes Jesus’ baptism, and identifies with God’s chosen people who in their turn became aware of their sinful lives and their need for God’s forgiveness. The Baptism of the Lord Jesus is the great event celebrated by the Eastern churches on the feast of Epiphany because it is the occasion of the first public revelation of all the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity, and the official revelation of Jesus as the Son of God to the world by God the Father. Today marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.  

Fr.Kadavil is a recently retired priest and is now chaplain of the Sacred Heart Nursing Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor in the USA. He writes: “It is worth noting that neither John nor Jesus invented baptism.  It had been practiced for centuries among the Jews as a ritual equivalent to our Confession.  Until the fall of the Temple in 70 A.D., it was common for Jewish people to use a special pool called a Mikveh — literally a “collection of water” – as a means of spiritual cleansing, to remove spiritual impurity and sin.  Men took this bath weekly on the eve of the Sabbath, women, monthly.  Converts were also expected to take this bath before entering Judaism.  The Orthodox Jews still retain the rite. John preached that such a bath was a necessary preparation for the cataclysm that would be wrought by the coming Messiah.  Jesus transformed this continuing ritual into the one single, definitive act (receiving Baptism),  by which we begin our life of faith.

Here we go again, a New Year.  In my homily on Sunday I presented what I thought were two powerful images.  The darkest night following the shortest day, followed by the image when the tide has gone out to its furthest distance.  Since then I was introduced by a friend to a more pertinent and purposeful image when he spoke of his garden.  This has been very much confirmed with proper care and attention; already even in the harshest cold, new signs of life are ready to break forth.  Even now the occasional flower is scattered throughout the emerging bulbs.  Life is always getting ready for its opportunity to come to life and to bear fruit.

The Prime Minister spelt out the reality of the moment, with the virus and the numbers affected by it spiralling, with the instruction, stay safe and stay at home.  That is central to our attention.  At the same time we have essential needs, and shopping for food expresses one of our needs.  Other needs surface as life has a multi purpose agenda to it, part of it work.  For us in our Catholic faith there is also a wider agenda and spiritual nourishment is a true reality.

Unlike the spring lockdown, churches can remain open for worship and prayer.  This has its risks and responsibilities, and a reality for me was having to isolate just when we were ready to celebrate our Christmas Masses.  I really know what it is to be in the dark.  Indeed  quite a difficult dark year –  but also receiving a lot of kindness, help and support.  A last moment opportunity to stream a Christmas morning mass, and like the new buds, signs of life to come.

First, the challenge.  We are very short of stewards and cleaners, and we have to really, really appeal for help.  For us to return to our masses will not be easy, but with fresh help, like the buds, life gets ready to begin. 

Please God, days lengthening, tides turning and new life in abundance will come again.

Today I want to tell you a story about the Christmas story. I expect all of us know the Christmas story, but do you ever stop to think about how that story got to us? I think you probably know some of the words of of the song “Do You Hear What I Hear?” The song starts with the wind whispering to a lamb:

“Do you see what I see Way up in the sky little lamb Do you see what I see A star, a star Dancing in the night With a tail as big as a kite.”

The lamb then tells the shepherd, the shepherd tells the king and the king tells everyone!  His message is that Christ is born! 

            Mary and Joseph know what’s going on because an angel told them – that’s rather like the wind whispering to you.  The angels also told the shepherds who came to see.  Later on there were thee wise men, or maybe kings who heard about Jesus somehow and came following the light of a star!

            You see there is only this handful of people who knew what was really happening in that little stable in Bethlehem. We don’t really hear much about Jesus as a child, but then Jesus’ story gets interesting! More people hear about Jesus as a teacher and healer, they tell their friends and neighbours, who tell their friends and their neighbours.  The word of God is spread all over the world now, churches spring up everywhere, books are written, songs are written, there are paintings and sculptures made, plays are performed, people are fed, baptised, blessed with God’s Word all over the world and this has been happening for about 2000 years. 

            How did it all start? It all started with an angel telling people to “Come and see.” Jesus, give us the courage to tell the story, and to invite others to “come and see”! 

            May God richly bless you all. May your celebration of His Holy Birth inspire and unite us into one family of Faith!

            May the Light that is Christ shine upon you, and the peace of the Christ Child be yours this Christmas. Fr.Rory and I, wish you all a happy and holy Christmas, and may God bless everyone here, your families and your friends. Amen.

I recently found this prayer from Saint John Henry Newman which speaks of the real grace we receive in the miracle of Christmas.

              “Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine. It will be you, shining on others through me. Let me thus praise you the way you love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you. Amen.”

May the Light that is Christ shine upon you, and the peace of the Christ Child be yours this Christmas.  Fr Rory and I, wish you all a happy and holy Christmas, and may God bless everyone, your families and your friends. Amen.