Fr Tim

Weekly messages from Fr Tim.   When Fr Tim is away Fr Maurice's message will be added to this section.

GAUDETE SUNDAY:

When Andrew and I were students, the priest in charge of the seminary at Hawkstone was a Fr Patrick Meehan. As well as trying to teach us some philosophy, every Sunday, he gave us a conference. I must confess that I do not recall a huge amount of the wisdom he imparted, but I do recall that each year on Gaudete Sunday in Advent and on Laetare Sunday in Lent, he would remind us that the Church was a great psychologist because midway through these seasons of reflection and penance, we are invited to take a breather. In St Mary’s we are able to demonstrate the mood visibly with the wonderful rose vestments, which you may remember I used for the recorded Masses during the lockdown days of Covid. I sincerely hope that your Advent is going well and that this weekend you can calmly take stock and enjoy the run-in to Christmas. For myself, I am surprised at how smooth everything seems to be this year. I have not tried to do everything that I did in the past, not least because I cannot be in two places at once, but also because I have listened to the many people who have suggested that I need to get a better balance to the workload. At the same time, I want to say another big ‘thank you’ to the staff in our schools. The Christmas Story provides us with the great opportunity to teach our children that our belief is not in a God who is far away in the clouds, but who loves us so much that he entered quietly into our world as one of us. We can never fully grasp the mystery, yet if we can begin to treasure the wonder of it all, even at an early age, it shapes the whole of our lives.

Accordingly, I encourage everyone to ensure that amidst all the other Christmas decorations, you find a quiet corner in your home where the crib becomes the focus for some family prayer throughout the Christmas season. I recall with gratitude how many of you took up the invitation to find a sacred space in the home, where we would try to gather for prayer at 7.00pm throughout the pandemic. Certainly, the Redemptorist community was very conscious of that sense of unity with you all at that time. Enjoy the rest of Advent and please take note of all the remaining events as we prepare for the Great Feast, including the fact that the Christmas Mass timetable is the same as it has been for the past few years.

WAITING IN EXPECTATION

I have shared with you before my conviction that the Advent Season perfectly reflects the human condition. We spend our lives striving to understand the mystery of ourselves and the world in which we live, conscious that we can never fully fathom the depths of the mystery. For those of us blessed with the gift of faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world, there is the richness of all that comes to us through the Scriptures and the history of God’s people. His coming two thousand years ago is the cause of our rejoicing as we prepare to celebrate his birth in Bethlehem. That was the first ‘Advent’ or ‘Coming’, but, of course, the story continues to be written, and we now await the second ‘Coming’: then the promise is that Christ will come in glory. You will notice how often this is referred to in the liturgy at this time of the year. Jesus was clear that only his Father in Heaven knows when everything will be resolved and “God will be all in all.” We do live our lives waiting and wondering, hoping and trusting, and it comes home to me every time I celebrate a funeral with you. St Paul assured us that what awaits us is beyond our imagination and yet we hear those prophetic voices in the Scriptures imagining for us, most notably in the Book of Revelation.

PRAYERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED:

We have had news of many who have died in recent days: please pray for the repose of their souls and for their grieving families:

Fr Tom Molloy’s brother, Daniel, died in Ireland last Sunday: his funeral is today, 29 November. Daniel McCaughley died on 18 November: by a remarkable coincidence, he happened to have attended school with Fr Molloy in Belfast. His funeral is next Wednesday (4 December). Joyce McArdle, Nancy O’Hare and Desmond Keogh have also died this week. Nancy’s funeral will be at 11.00am on 13 December, Joyce’s funeral will be on 18 December and Desmond’s is still to be arranged. We also received news of the death of Harry Minahan on 20 November. Many will remember him carrying his bags with him: sadly, he was involved in a traffic accident and will be buried from Christ the King.

LAST SUNDAY:

I was truly impressed with the number of young people who took part in our liturgies last Sunday – The Feast of Christ the King and Youth Sunday. Our First Communion families took part in the liturgies at 10.00am and 11.00am and the Junior Justice and Peace Group were highly involved in the 6.00pm Mass that evening. A huge thank you to our catechists and all who continue to ensure that J&P touches the lives of so many.

HEALTH PROBLEMS:

Many of you may have heard that a rather virulent strain of what is probably a norovirus has hit the monastery in the past couple of weeks. Please keep our wonderful cook, Christine, in your prayers: she has been laid low for over a week. Fortunately, I managed to get through the funerals at the beginning of the week, before being flattened for a couple of days myself. I seem to be through the worst of it, but I am still feeling a trifle fragile. Immense gratitude to   Fr Andrew for keeping everything going, both in the monastery and in the parishes.

PASTORAL LETTER:

Archbishop Malcolm has prepared a Pastoral Letter to be read this Sunday. It is about the forthcoming Jubilee Year, proclaimed by Pope Francis, and reminding us that we are ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. We will share it with you at the Sunday Masses.

THE NEW LECTIONARY:

Next Sunday, following the directive of the Bishops of England and Wales, we introduce the new translation of the Scriptures in our Liturgy. It is the Catholic Edition of the English Standard Version, which has been further revised to try and ensure that the language, as far as possible, is inclusive. Our own Bishop Ralph Heskett has written a forward to the new Sunday Missal, published by Redemptorist Publications, and for which many of you have made an order. Please follow the instructions in the bulletin as to how to collect your ordered copy.

CHRIST THE KING:

The Church’s Year concludes today with this Solemnity. In 1925 Pope Pius XI instituted this Feast as a response to the growing atheism and secularism of the time. It was intended to remind the faithful that Christ reigns as King while governments come and go. Ninety-nine years later, it is a message that surely needs proclaiming from the housetops once more? Originally, it was celebrated on the last Sunday in October, but Pope Paul VI moved the Feast to the last Sunday of the Church’s Year as a fitting way to conclude the annual cycle. Next Sunday we begin again to focus on the Mystery of the Incarnation and the coming of Christmas with the First Sunday of Advent. I hope that we can use this time as a fresh opportunity to touch the minds and hearts of our children and imbue them with the knowledge they are precious and that God loves them with an everlasting love, which can overcome everything.

Fr Tim reports that he has enjoyed his retreat at the Redemptorist Monastery in Perth, Scotland. He has spent the week reflecting, praying, reading, and reminiscing with old friends. He looks forward to returning to us this weekend, feeling quite refreshed and looking forward to the build up to Christmas. We wish Fr Tim a safe journey home. 

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY:

In June we recalled the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day, and, as always on such occasions, statesmen make declarations to the effect that we must learn from history and learn to live in peace. Alas, this weekend, as we give thanks to God for the heroism of those who gave their lives to keep us safe, we look out on our troubled world and fear that what some are already calling a Third World War may not spread and engulf us all.

HOW TO PRAY IN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES

In my recorded message this week, I felt moved to quote Pope Francis. In the book, Pope Francis – LIFE – My Story Through History.

He recalls the occasion on 27 March, 2020, when he entered an empty rain-soaked St Peter’s Square and prayed for an end to the pandemic. I thought his plea to the Lord is a prayer we could imitate. This is some of what he said:

I used an expression we often use in Argentina: “play your part, please.” I went on: “You resolved a situation like this in the 1500s; you know what to do.” I was clinging to prayer myself, looking for a miracle, and I did the same before the icon of the Madonna, entrusting the world to her and asking her to be mother not just to the Roman people but to the whole planet.