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This weekend we have the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. This feast gives us the message of total liberation.  Jesus tells us in the Gospel that everyone who sins is a slave of sin, and St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Galatians, that, since Christ has set us free, we should be slaves of sin no more.  This means that the Assumption encourages us to work with God to be liberated from the bondage of evil: from impure, unjust and uncharitable thoughts and habits, and from the bonds of jealousy, envy and hatred.

It is always an inspiring thought in our moments of temptation and despair to remember that we have a powerful heavenly Mother, constantly interceding for us before her son, Jesus, in Heaven. The feast of Mary’s Assumption challenges us to imitate her self-sacrificing love, her indestructible Faith and her perfect obedience.

Therefore, on this feast day of our heavenly Mother, let us offer ourselves and pray for her special care and loving protection in helping us lead a purer and holier life.‘ Try to perform acts of love for her this week without expectations of praise or a reward. 

Finally there is this story which reminds us to always look for the good in people: God is walking around Heaven one day and notices a number of people on the heavenly streets who shouldn’t be there.  He finds St. Peter at the gate and says to him, “Peter, you’ve been remiss in your duties.  You’re letting in the wrong sort of people.” “Don’t blame me, Lord,” replies Peter.  “I turn them away just like You said to.  Then they go around to the back door and Jesus’ mother lets them in.” 

Let us now live and learn.

Learning to please God is very important  as we begin to get accustomed to our Mass times with their new norms.  Social distancing and wearing our face masks, which have become necessary parts of our participation in the Mass, whilst also being aware that for some persons the wearing of a mask may not be possible for medical reasons.  There is always some underlying level of fear, so let us now recognise this and make it part of our prayer; so that our time at Mass may bear real fruit.  This is at the heart of our faith, and the witness of our Mass is the foundation upon which we will build for the future of our parish.

The meeting of our parish finance committee successfully attended to the need to oversee our financial circumstances, health and safety, child protection and our other responsibilities.  An overview of provision for the future was also discussed and fully documented in the minutes.  Any decisions made will be communicated widely when we can clarify requirements for such activities.  Please God, the dreadfully difficult  circumstances created by the virus will be at an end and important questions about our future can be addressed.  The question of skyping and providing the necessary technology were uppermost in our minds.

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption.  This was a great event when I was growing up and for many years one of the more major celebrations in the churches year.  It highlighted the end of the summer holidays and marked the preparation about to begin to return to school.  It was the highlight of many social events, so it celebrated much of the joys of life.  This has always been a helpful aspect to our Catholic faith and is especially true this year as we  survive the casualty brought about by coronavirus. It is important for us to be clear that this will not go on for ever, but that even now we can begin to prepare for life when we can happily recall it as something from our past experience.

Through the weeks to come we will be more at ease with the tensions, which for the moment have a negative effect on our lives.  With God’s help we will learn to live with these anxiety’s and though sometimes life is cruel, these are the things through which we triumph, by the power of Him who loves us.  Christ Jesus our Lord..

Help Required:   We are looking for volunteers willing to put our knitted squares together to make the blankets we send to poor families in Eastern Europe (via the Mustard Seed). There are usually 36 squares making up one blanket.  You can work in your own time and at your own pace. Please phone Margaret (01323 483504) if you can help. Margaret can bring the squares to you and pick up the completed blankets).  Thank you.

Lost on a rainy Friday night, a priest stumbles into a monastery and requests shelter there.  Fortunately, he’s just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips he’s ever had.

After dinner, he goes into the kitchen to thank the chefs.  He is met by two brothers, “Hello, I’m Brother Michael, and this is Brother Francis”. 

I’m very pleased to meet you.  I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner.  The fish and chips were the best I’ve ever tasted.  Out of curiosity, who cooked what?” 

Brother Michael replied, “Well, I’m the fish friar.”  Father turns to the other brother and says, “Then you must be ……..” “Yes, I’m the chip monk…..”

Have you ever said about something you have been asked to do: ‘What’s the point what difference will it make?’ Well, read the following story think about it, and perhaps take it to your heart!  May we try to bring joy and hope to everyone in need.  Help us to share not only our food and drink but also our joy and compassion.  May we always do what we can, even when we think our efforts add up to so little. One day in the middle of winter a robin and a dove were sheltering from the snow in a fir tree. There had been so much snow that the tree was almost completely covered.  After a while, the robin said to the dove: “Do you know how much a snowflake weighs?” The dove replied: “Almost nothing.” Then the robin said to the dove: “Earlier today, l was sitting on the branch of another fir tree when the snow started to fall. It wasn’t a violent blizzard, just gently falling snow. I had nowhere to go, and nothing better to do, so I decided to count the snowflakes that fell on the twigs and needles of my branch. I had counted up to 3,741,952, and then, when the next snowflake gently landed on the branch, a snowflake that as you say weighs almost nothing the total weight was so much that the branch broke.” Having said that, the robin flew away. The dove thought about this for a while, and then said to herself: “Perhaps there is only one person’s voice lacking for peace to come about in the world.”

Gone before us marked with the sign of faith.

From time to time we can be very much reminded of those who have died and gone before us.  Recently we had the first anniversary of Billy O’Rourke and Patrick Burke, also remembered Chris Browne and now Margaret Westcar who has died recently.  They bring home to us what a rich legacy of faith that can be left behind, and at this time I have received a lot of strength and consolation from this knowledge.

It may be a good reminder that the fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom, and then as we give more time and thought to the fruits of wisdom we can come to a better place in ourselves.  The words “at ease with” come home to me with the celebration of Mass.  In the beginning of lockdown I am sure I shared with you all the same sense of feeling of dislocation, of something very different happening in my life, indeed for all of us.

Concentrating upon having to live and deal with this became very important.  My first focus was to locate, and then the need to respond to the words “isolate”.  Taking this process into action, suddenly I found I was very much helped by the life of the church.  Two things I often say.  1) This time we were fortunate with the weather, and 2) The season is the life of the church.    The end of Lent, giving way to Holy Week, and using the wisdom that comes from God to respond to my human situation.  Skyping became something new that I could do and was well rewarded.  Not having this facility for our parish and the responsibility for it, gave me an opportunity to focus greatly upon the liturgy of the Mass and the Divine Office.  Rich experience, emphasising the importance of nourishment for both body and spirit.

This experience of spiritual nourishment, the celebration of the Great Feast, Lent giving way to Holy Week, the Lighting of the Paschal Candle.  Christ is Risen from the dead – Our faith will never be in vain.  Then turning my attention to the Ascension of our Divine Lord into heaven, and above all Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the faithful.  All of this so essential to our lives of faith at this time, a time of great challenge.

So far now, the first words are “at ease with”.  For the foreseeable future each Mass with our very restricted numbers will be like our Sunday Mass.   Returning to it is everything.  This includes unfortunately our human experience, for the moment it appears to be embraced by fear, and so with it  a need for spirit of discernment that is necessary to confront the work of the enemy, that always wants to destroy our peace.  So please God, the gift of the Holy Spirit with wisdom, will bring good things to those who believe and guided and blessed by those who have gone before us, we too will leave a rich legacy of faith.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the foodbank team in Hailsham.  The role is part-time (15 hours a week) looking after the operations side of the foodbank.  If you would like to find out more please find the application pack on our website https://hailsham.foodbank.org.uk/news/

News

Saint George’s church is open now for masses to be said, (Weeks of planning had occurred before this went ahead !)

Let’s hope parishioners realise the work by parish teams.  To get the church open again (not as easy as it seems)

Please listen to the ushers then and hope we’ll all keep clear.  Advice and sense should help us all, the VIRUS maybe near!!

So let us thank the volunteers who’ve kept the church on track,  and maybe soon with Gods dear help ,the FAMILY will be back

Rosalie Burke

Poet Laureate Polegate!

Recently we have had several readings from the prophet Jeremiah. On Tuesday he talked about the destruction around him including dead bodies, starving people and sin. We see plenty of this nowadays in the world and like us he weeps but at the same time he does not despair. He turns to God. The psalm on Tuesday when the psalmist sings “O Lord, deliver us” must be our prayer too. We have all seen the news and heard our friends describing one tragedy or sad story from their world. These cause much pain and distress to us and to others and we should all heed Jeremiah’s advice and turn to God. In doing this we are accepting in ourselves our need for God. If we listen we might get a message from Him telling us not to cry tears but instead to carry out some acts of love and kindness to someone in need.

The next day we were reminded in Luke’s story of Martha and Mary to keep things in balance, to play our part in what we do and not look down on those who don’t appear to be doing anything. On Friday we heard of three stories of rejection, which was appropriate for the feast of St.Ignatius of Loyola as he repeatedly told those around him to “find God in all things“ – In beauty as well as in loss and rejection. Let us pray that we will listen to God speaking to us through everything we do and say, thereby speaking His word to all. Next Sunday we hear Paul answer the question “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” The answer is, of course – “Nothing”. The same statement that is, of course, true for everyone – saint and sinner alike – and we must love them all.

With my love for you all.

With the help of God:                                                                      Yes, please God:

As we move forward after lockdown; yes, to keep safe is a very important priority, but not the only one.  The words “By their fruits you shall know them” comes from the mouth of Jesus.  One of the great fruits of lockdown for me was “Spring Watch” and its offshoots, a carbon freer world, less plastic in the rivers and seas, a litany could be underway, with please God, a better outlook for the future of the planet.

The life of our church, this too cries out for a response in our time.  Here personally I feel a real affliction as I recall the early stages of my journey and the hope that was there at the beginning.  The time of lockdown has given me plenty of time to reflect, and it has brought home to me deep rooted failures and weaknesses, which will not disappear from me by any magic thinking.  So, back to the beginning with the help of God, I will change and grow up.

With our two churches we have many a great challenge before us.  Our first response it that we are two communities, and please God, we will become two sides to the same coin.  I have always tried to help this, with an awareness that a body is best when made up of many parts working together for the good of all.  When the virus sprung we were struck with the same weakness of  most.  Our age profile meant that there was a great shortage of help, and so many of the old reliable’ s were rendered out of action.  A great thank you to those who are stepping up to the mark as we return to church.  This is just one small step in the right direction.

It is now very important to establish these small steps.  Many of our elderly parishioners are refraining from returning to our church at the moment, as they receive nourishment for their faith in many ways, especially Mass on T.V. and Skype.  If we had young ministers of Holy Communion to take them communion, this would be one of the steps in the right direction.  I also want to encourage them to make arrangements with me, so that I could take Holy Communion to them.

A suggestion some time ago now, when garden centres were first opening, was a visit to our Garden of Remembrance.   This had some very special moment of grace.  Our First Holy Communion preparation has been among the casualties and needs special attention.  A meeting of our  Parish Finance Committee will take place, please God, next Thursday evening, and please lots of prayers for this very important event.  With the help of God we may have a fresh lease of life.