News Items
CATHOLIC BIBLICAL FEDERATION:
FIRST COMMUNIONS 2021
A few photos from this week's First Holy Communions
ICON OF THE VIRGIN OF TENDERNESS
The Icon of the Virgin of Tenderness has been placed in the lady chapel.
Fr Tim's Tablet Article
Some week's back Fr Tim had an article published in the Tablet with the title 'The Catholic Marriage Maze'. You can access a copy of the issue it was published in by clicking here.
Thank you for the Tablet for permission to share it
JULY'S POEM FROM OUR RESIDENT POET
PIPE DREAMS
Who can resist the charms
Of a sunlit garden,
Particularly after the boring routine
Of the daily household chores!
Even the struggle with lethal, folding chairs
Fails to diminish the desire
To relax in the delight of unexpected Summer.
All too soon, irrespective of locality,
The sun exercises its might.
I fly on magical wings -
Completely unconnected with airports -
To familiar, faraway destination.
The burning sand speeds the feet
Towards blissful immersion in azure - mirror sea.
We're back celebrating twenty - one years of delight.
The clear, warm water occludes the cloudless sky.
How we've missed you, beautiful Porto!
And all the friends and staff
Who have made the last twenty years so memorable.
Surfacing, I swim towards
The distant, Kolokitha peninsula.
The trauma of the long, weary Covid months
Are washed away.
I smile contentedly.
“What were you dreaming about?”
I open my eyes.
No Cretan Paradise embraces me.
No fear of Greeks bearing gifts,
Just one faithful, ancient warrior
Holding frosted, ice - filled glass of….
An unnamed elixir,
To console for the disappointment
Of the return to normality.
Let's drink to that!
Eileen Murray © June 2121
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
Life’s many pathways
Cross, diverge, re-cross.
With every meeting
(Short or long)
Must come a parting.
Sorrow may blear
Those golden memories.
Yet, one day,
Parting is no more –
Eternal Re-union.
So much to share,
With those who go before!
Eileen Murray © 2021
FUNERAL OF DEACON JOHN KEELEY RIP
The funeral of our deacon John Keeley took place on Friday the 30th April 2021 at 10.30am. Bishop Ralph was the lead celebrant. Fr Tim again expressed condolences and promises of prayer to the family and remembered with great warmth all that John had done for the parish and community. If you were unable to attend the funeral you can watch the video below.
EASTER POEM FROM OUR RESIDENT POET
Christus Vincit
This Easter creeps in,
Alike only in name
From the thousands of joyous occasions
Which have preceded it.
Who would have believed
That this year's preparations,
For "The Jewel in our Crown",
Would bear little resemblance
To our loved, sometimes austere, rituals?
How fortunate our flock has been,
Under the aegis of Our Blessed Lady,
Whose mantle tenderly enfolds
Our perpetually motivated, loving Shepherd!
Despite innumerable, recent traumas,
With dedication, affection and humour,
He has kept our flock
Interested, aware and hopeful,
Along the tortuous path
Which leads to
The Wonder and Glory of the Resurrection.
Eileen Murray © April 2021
REDEMPTORISTS IN ZIMBABWE
“Family mission” series is a part of the ForWorld project, led by the Redemptorists and their lay co-workers. In this episode Brother Benjamin Temba speaks about the work of the Redemptorists in Zimbabwe
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
If you missed the online talk from the Rev Dr John Bell, you can watch it on Youtube
A POEM INSPIRED BY CAPTAIN SIR THOMAS MORE RIP
"To Thine Own Self Be True"
Greatness lies not in
Appearance, stature,
Deeds of derring-do.
Neither in flamboyance
Nor self-seeking public acclaim.
Unsurprisingly, it is in traumatic times
When all the world
Seems alien and bent on
Catastrophic destruction -
Which we are powerless to prevent -
That, as if by sleight of hand,
The impenetrable void is pierced
By shaft of incandescent light.
One soon-to-be centenarian,
Against all odds,
Inspires the locked-down, depressed population.
His simple but arduous project,
In gratitude for dedicated medical care,
Moves our communities
To an inconceivable outcome.
We are inspired!
Here in our midst, a miracle unfolds.
The rest is history.
Thank you Dear Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Your simple love and dedication
Will live on in our memories.
Walk on, in Glory!
Eileen Murray © 2 February 2021
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