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St Wilfrid’s Community Lunch at the Treacle Mine

St Wilfrid’s Community Lunch at the Treacle Mine – 12 noon on the 5th August:

After our very successful meal together in June, we have decided to have another on Thursday the 5th August at 12 noon at the Treacle Mine. If you are interested, please contact Joan tel: 07873390944.  We invite all our friends from St George’s and St Wilfrid’s and look forward to seeing you there. This Sunday is the very last date you can book a place at this social event.  If you would like to get to know other members of our community then this is a good opportunity to do so.  We look forward to meeting you.  “BON APPETITE” to all of you.

Deacon John Writes

In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus speaks about food. The two biggest sellers in any bookstore, according to Andy Rooney, are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food, and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it! Orson Wells once said, “My doctor has advised me to give up those intimate little dinners for four — unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me.” Champion archer Rick McKinney confesses that he regularly eats chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. He refers to “the basic four food groups” as a Big Mac, fries, a shake and a lemon tart. A California scientist has computed that the average human being eats 16 times his or her own weight in an average year, while a horse eats only eight times its weight. This all seems to prove that if you want to lose weight, you should eat like a horse. (Sunshine Magazine). — That’s a subject most of us know too much about. A recent survey found that 41% of men and 55% of women consider themselves overweight. In one way or another, many of us are obsessed with earthly food. Think what a difference it would make in our lives if we were equally obsessed with Heavenly Food, the Food that Christ gives us!

Fr Rory Writes

It was a time of hope; indeed one of great hope when I entered the seminary with many others over fifty years ago.  May be as my mum might say “we were all young then”.  The war was long over and indeed in time the same will be said of the coronavirus.

The important thing then was good Pope John and the 2nd Vatican Council that he had set in place.  Pope John said “to let some light and fresh air into the church”, which was certainly called for.  In our seminary we were truly blessed with a professor, Fr Seamus Ryan, a great teacher but above all one who inspired.

His focus was the presence of Christ in the life of the church.  He was very good at setting out his subject, particularly when it applied to Scripture and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Highlighting the different ways that Christ is present, beginning with His presence in the assemble of the faithful.  This was tackled in depth, creating a platform for the renewal of the liturgy, and indeed the people of God.  It highlighted the background to the different ministries, that needed to be developed in order to express the life of the church.

When lockdown happened, it revealed what little progress had been made in building a “new generation” and what a poor job we had made of this great window of opportunity.  The question of stewarding arose;  the age requirement being under seventy exposed a lack of parishioners able to meet that demand.  I had to face up to the poor job that had been done to encourage new growth in my parish with the same situation being true of most parish priests.

Now as the window of opportunity returns for a fresh start, with the help of God, we can set sail once again for the future.  It is a time to live and learn, a new generation is needed.  A fresh structure, with greater flexibility and encouragement, in one word “inspiration” is now called for.  We must work together to share, encourage and develop lives of faith, that give witness to our Christian lives which we receive at baptism.  The celebration of the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation this year gave us a tangible sense of this when the ceremonies took place using the candidates baptismal candles.  At our baptism this light symbolizing the light of Christ was entrusted to us to be kept burning brightly.  Please God, may this be at the heart of our resolve as we return to church with hope and fresh motivation.

May the Lord bless and complete our work, the work of God’s salvation for all.

Diocesan Youth Service

Diocesan Youth Service – 40th Anniversary Celebration – 4 September 2021 – Arundel Cathedral – We are delighted to be able to celebrate our Youth Service, which has impacted many people in the last four decades and we want to invite anyone who has ever attended an event hosted by the service to come along and join the festivities.  Whether it was a Maryvale Retreat, a World Youth Day Pilgrimage, Youthgather, Lourdes Redshirts, or you are a member of our new online community BeCome, or one of our other virtual networks, everyone will be welcome to give thanks for all that has been done and to pray for the success of the Youth Service in the future. Reminisce with old friends, and meet new friends in person (not just on a screen!). A thanksgiving Mass will be said by Bishop Richard, followed by a chance to chat over refreshments. Please click here for more information and to register.  

Redundant iPads and Laptops

Redundant iPads and Laptops are desperately needed by the Gatwick Detainees’ Welfare Group.   An IT company has agreed to ‘clean’ devices to remove any data. These devices can enable a person whether in detention or after release, to help themselves; to access classes for speakers of other languages, to communicate with friends, family, our staff, their volunteer visitor and to access  resources such as Food Banks and to join our post detention services. Contact Josie at: [email protected].   Thank you.

Volunteers are needed at St Wilfrid’s

Volunteers are needed at St Wilfrid`s:  There are forms being handed out after Mass and are available on the table in the church porch, listing the areas where we need your help.  Please consider very carefully as to where you can contribute to the successful running of our church and community, Please return to the presbytery

Deacon John Writes

Are you able to recognise the God-given signs in your lives? One way of doing this is to examine your conscience and try to see God’s presence in yourself and in others. Look for the presence of God’s hand in any of the small and big events in our lives. Look for his care behind some event that has occurred. Open your ears to hear His message which has been sent to you through a stranger or a friend or perhaps through nature. If you read the Bible either regularly or from time to time you should find His message in something you read. Let it sink into your mind and adjust your life in accordance with what you have read.

Let us all try during this coming week to open our hearts to God and be receptive to His Spirit through our active participation in the liturgy, instead of looking for signs in television or our neighbours.

The parable of the sower which we heard in the daily readings this week was intended as a warning to those who were listening to be attentive and to the apostles to be hopeful receivers, living out Jesus’ teachings and ideas. The sower is God, while we, the Church, are the teachers. The seed sown is the word of God, which has a cutting edge like “a sharp sword” and a purifying and strengthening power like “fire and hammer”. The hardened soil on the foot path represents people with minds closed because of laziness, pride, prejudice, or fear. The soil on rock represents emotional types of people who go after novelties without sticking to anything and who are unwilling to “put down roots” surrendering their wills to God. The soil filled with weeds represents people addicted to evil habits and evil tendencies and those whose hearts are filled with hatred, jealousy, and greed. They are interested only in acquiring money by any means and in enjoying life in any way possible.  The good and fertile soil represents well-intentioned people with open minds and clean hearts, earnest in hearing the word and concentrate on putting it into practice.

Let us all try this week to become the good soil and produce hundred-fold yields by hearing, faithfully taking it on board and daily cultivating the word of God we have received, so that the Holy Spirit may produce His fruits in our lives

Fr Rory Writes

Suddenly I am presented with an extra window of opportunity for prayer:  Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Devine Love of God.  It also gives me a window of opportunity to share with thousands of children who have suddenly had to isolate for two weeks when someone in their school bubble is diagnosed to have the COVID virus.  Then to be isolating in a house that you know has someone with the virus make it clear; that obviously I do not want to catch that virus.  So I am regularly testing and keeping as much as possible out of harms way.  It certainly highlights the decisions that are made, and the rules to be enforced.  That is why in the seminary training the amount of time that is given to “The Rule”,  the classic is “The exception proves the rule”.  Unfortunately of late, and particularly to do with the virus, and indeed with quite a lot of other things that the rules are so poor, that the exception opens the way to something else becomes the new rule.  So there can be no exception.

Please God, for His greater fatherly care and a great “thank you” for all the help and support that we get and is given.  This help and support is at the heart of life is love, and for all the love that is expressed and given to me, I am truly grateful.

So to begin with the masses this weekend, and the fact that it coincides with our Children’s First Holy Communion Breakfast is very providential.  To come back to share and to give thanks.  This is greatly important as we relax to church, as efforts are being made to return to normal life, can be an incredible opportunity, lets say it truthfully loud and clear “it will raise the risks and windows of opportunity to get things wrong”, yes maybe some feel we need to say it again.  But it is much more important to see it as a window of opportunity “to get things right”.   Sometimes even in the midst of a pandemic, human dignity becomes important, and to get it right proves how Jesus sums it up.  “Good trees, bear good fruit”.  May our children who have just received their First Holy Communion grow up in Christian communities of faith that gather to celebrate one wonderful gift of the mass with the communities at St George’s and St Wilfrid’s.

Plans are beginning: so we with God’s help can prepare and coordinate our development together, and please God, we will grow from strength to strength.  So please help me to do my job much better, and I am sure you all agree with me “that it can be done”.  We need to reach out again to each other.  Lets do so with the help of God.