REDEMPTORIST GIFT AID:

Many of you, taxpayers, generously ensure that what you contribute financially to the parish is increased by 25% through the Gift Aid Scheme. May I draw your attention to the fact that you may also Gift Aid anything you contribute to the Redemptorists (especially in relation to Mass stipends, donations and Project Zimbabwe). Forms are available for this as you leave Mass today (Sunday 3rd November 2024) 

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY:

Once again, next Sunday we recall with gratitude those men and women who gave their lives that we might live in freedom. We will have our usual ceremonies of laying the wreaths at our memorials, after the 10.00am Mass at Bishop Eton and before the 11.00am at St Mary’s. I suggest that this year, with the mounting international and political crises that seem to be threatening our freedom, we redouble our prayers for PEACE.

You may wish to note that an Ecumenical Service for Peace in the Holy Land, led by Archbishop Malcolm, will take place at Our Lady of the Assumption, Belle Vale, this coming Wednesday (6 November) at 7.00pm.

SUPPORTING MINISTRIES:

I am greatly encouraged by the upsurge of goodwill and the number of people offering to help where they can with the various ministries and the organisation of the day-to-day practicalities of parish life. I realise that we have not yet had our parish meeting at St Mary’s, but hopefully we will be able to arrange that in the near future. In the meantime, I am working with the administrative team to try and ensure that we appoint a competent person to the new Maintenance Role, agreed with the Archdiocese. St Mary’s is a complicated site with all the grounds and buildings, including the sizeable cemetery, requiring constant care and attention. My hope is that with this appointment, some of the enormous strain on the parish office will be eased.

PROGRESS: THE PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS:

For certain, we are making good progress on a number of fronts.

Firstly, we now have the upgraded public address systems in both churches and all the feed-back has been positive and complimentary, indicating that there is no feed-back from the wrong quarters!

THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS (FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER):

Vigil Mass (Thursday evening): 7.00pm at St Mary’s.

Noon Masses in both churches

and

7.00pm at Bishop Eton.

HALF TERM:

I hope all our staff and pupils enjoy a good break so that we can return refreshed and ready for all that awaits us in the run-up to Christmas.

THE NEW PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS:

St Mary’s now has the improved system installed and I know it will be a great improvement, but please be patient: we are having one or two teething problems. Bishop Eton, where we have not had the same difficulties, will also be upgraded in the near future. I think it is important that we make use of the best technology to ensure that everyone can participate in the liturgies.

COPING WITH THE UNCERTAINTY:

In recent times I have become more and more conscious of how difficult it is to cope with what seems to me to be the mounting uncertainty surrounding every sphere of life. The international crises weigh heavily on all of us, and they become exacerbated by the unstable political situations in many countries, most notably the United States of America, where the forthcoming election is revealing the deep divisions that threaten people all over the world. When it comes to Church politics, sadly, the situation is comparable. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St Paul does not mince his words, and I love the old translation: “I hear there are factions among you, and I half believe it.” I can’t help feeling that he would confront the delegates at the Synod in Rome or indeed any gathering of Christians across the world with the same challenge. The newly nominated Cardinal,  Fr Timothy Radcliffe, did not shy away from recognising the divisions in his retreat at the beginning of the Synod. However, as always, he gently suggested ways in which we can live with disagreements and still stay united and at peace. Above all, he stressed the need for us to listen to one another so that we can understand one another: it is so easy to allow our prejudices and preconceptions to hold sway.

One of the most enriching experiences in my life has been embracing the call of the Second Vatican Council to embrace the ecumenical movement and work for reconciliation among the different Christian traditions. My friendship with the ministers in our neighbouring church communities is a great blessing and reached a new level of co-operation when the Salvation Army Team from Strawberry Field came to Bishop Eton for a Day of Recollection on Thursday. The experience brought to mind that wonderful message in the Acts of the Apostles, when we are told that Paul and Barnabas went from town to town “putting fresh heart into the disciples” (Acts 14:22). However, shortly afterwards Paul and Barnabas had a row and went their separate ways, so let’s not despair. The Lord can turn everything to good eventually!

 HARVEST FESTIVAL:

The tradition of celebrating Harvest Festivals is not something that has been an integral part of the Catholic tradition in this country. That said, I have valued the involvement of Much Woolton School in a special Harvest Mass at St Mary’s over the years, and this year, I am taking part in an Ecumenical Harvest Service at Hope University. I think the focus is particularly significant in the broader context of our duty to redouble our efforts to care for the planet and prepare a better world for the generations to come. There are times when, despite our best efforts, it may seem that we are swimming against an unstoppable tide in the opposite direction, but I would like to offer a word of hope and encouragement. I do take heart from the fact that our children and the younger generation in general are much savvier about the need to redress the destructive forces at work in our world than I was at their age. Add to that the assurance of St Paul that “by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Indeed, it was that chapter of St Paul which become the focus of our reflection at the meeting we had in Bishop Eton with our fellow religious from the different Orders and Congregations last week. Earlier in the chapter you hear Paul wrestle with the same cosmic struggles: “From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.” Paul then encourages us to live in hope and with patience. Let’s do as he says.

OCTOBER: THE MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY:

In my recorded message this week, I drew attention to a heartrending letter from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

I am grateful to the Friends of the Holy Land for sharing this with me, and, in turn, I would like to share the heart of the message with you. Certainly, for most of us, the news of what is happening in the Middle East virtually reduces our own problems to insignificance. The Patriarch writes: “Violence, which has caused and is causing thousands of innocent victims, has also found its way into political and social language and actions. It has struck a profound blow to the common feeling of belonging to the Holy Land, to the consciousness of being part of a plan of Providence that wanted us here to build together his Kingdom of peace and justice, not to make it instead a reservoir of hatred and contempt, of mutual rejection and annihilation.” The 7th of October is the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. At the same time, it also marks the anniversary of that dreadful massacre a year ago, which was the touchpaper for the conflict that now seems to be spiralling out of control. Accordingly, A DAY OF PRAYER, FASTING AND PENANCE is being called for this Monday and I encourage everyone to unite in responding to the invitation. It is surely worth recalling that in her apparitions, Our Blessed Lady has repeatedly encouraged us to pray the Rosary for PEACE in the world.

It will be good if we all resolve to pray part of the Rosary each day with renewed fervour. Finally, I also suggest that we pray this powerful PRAYER FOR PEACE, which was attached to the Patriarch’s letter:

Lord our God, Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Father of all humankind, who in the cross of your Son and through the gift of his own life, at great cost, you wished to destroy the wall of enmity and hostility that separates peoples and makes us enemies…Send into our hearts the gift of the Holy Spirit, who may purify us from every feeling of violence, hatred and revenge, Enlighten us to understand the irrepressible dignity of every human person and inflame us to the point of consumption for a peaceful and reconciled world in truth and justice, love and freedom. Almighty and eternal God, in your hands, are the hopes of men and women and the rights of all peoples. Assist with your wisdom those who govern us, so that, with your help, they will become sensitive to the sufferings of the poor and of those who suffer the consequences of violence and war; may they promote the common good and lasting peace in the region and throughout the earth. Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, obtain the gift of peace for the Holy Land that gave birth to you, as well as peace for the whole world. Amen.