LET’S BE POSITIVE:

It’s alright, it’s not all doom and gloom on the horizon. There are so many signs of hope and growth. There was a wonderful turn-out for the prayer session for our Family of Parishes at St Mary’s last Tuesday: let’s hope we have the same at Bishop Eton Tuesday week. Despite the disappointing weather last Sunday, the organisers made a huge success of the ‘Garden Party’ in the Fisher-More Hall and thereby the continuing support of our Redemptorist mission in Zimbabwe. The plans over the coming months for the Junior Justice and Peace Group are hugely impressive and speak volumes about how that initiative, taken nine years ago as a result of the Awakening Day, has blossomed. Let’s have more and more such enterprise. There will be a chance to explore when we form our parish teams in the coming weeks. I remain immensely privileged to be able to continue to serve the two parishes.

NEW COMMITMENTS:

In the same challenging context, from the beginning of October, the Redemptorists have agreed to try and cover the three Masses per week which Fr Pat O’Brien has been celebrating with the retired Sisters at the Notre Dame Convent next door. Fr Pat is now retiring to Southport. Fr Jim Casey has willingly agreed to take on this commitment, but there will be times when other members of the community will need to cover, and you do not need me to remind you that none of us is getting any younger.

MY HEARTFELT CRUSADE:

I am hoping that this week’s recorded message will be viewed by as many of you as possible, but especially by the parents of our children.

The juxtaposition of two events in this past week – namely, a meeting with the parents of next year’s First Communicants in Bishop Eton and a School Mass the following morning – brought home to me just how challenging the situation has become. The fact that the majority of our children are simply not familiar with the church and cannot respond to the dialogue of the Mass leaves me wondering where is it all leading? I want a conversation about this and so many other issues in the coming weeks. In spite of the adjustments which we have made post-covid, it is highly likely that there will be fewer and fewer Masses in the not-too-distant future and we, as communities of believers, need to be planning accordingly. At the same time it is the Eucharist which binds us together and is at the heart of our worship.

Surely it is incumbent on us to ensure that from an early age our young people learn to treasure it?

BACK TO SCHOOL: 

I hope the first week of term has gone well. As everything begins to swing into action, please take note of all the events in both our parishes which call for your attention, including the early launch of the First Communion Programme in Bishop Eton on Tuesday evening and the events to strengthen support for one another across our Family of Parishes.

THE CATHOLIC PICTORIAL:

Speaking of articles in the Catholic Pictorial, please read the wonderful article on page 16 of this month’s edition: Walking Pilgrimage of the Month: Liverpool City to Woolton, and our thanks to John for writing it. May it inspire many more to have a deep devotion to Our Lady, under the title of Mother of Perpetual Succour.

If you can't get your hands on a physical copy of the Pictorial, you can access the electronic version by clicking here.

A REDEMPTORIST FOCUS ON THE SEASON OF CREATION:

On Thursday I went to Sheffield and had lunch with a former Parish Priest of Bishop Eton, namely Bishop Ralph Heskett. I thought you might be interested in the Pastoral Letter he has written for his Diocese this weekend. The full text is on our websites (click here to read), but here is a flavour of what he wrote:

“In his book, The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ, written in 1768, St Alphonsus, the Founder of the Redemptorists, speaks of four outpourings of God’s love on the world: the Incarnation, the Passion and the Eucharist. However, he says that the first outpouring is the gift of creation.

Alphonsus is no “Eco Warrior”! However, I believe he has something that is both simple and profound to say about our relationship with our Creator and our world.”

The Pastoral Letter goes on to remind us that Alphonsus points to the whole of creation as God’s gift of love to us: the sky, the stars, the planets, the seas, the rivers, the springs, the mountains, the plains, metals, fruits and countless species of animals; all given so that we might be led to love God in return

Well now, we do have our Eco Warriors in the form of Fr Jim Casey and those in both our parishes who continue to help raise our level of consciousness on these matters. Indeed, I believe, in a coming issue of the Catholic Pictorial there will be an article about how our two parishes have been striving to ‘Live Simply’ and how we duly received the CAFOD award for our efforts. I suggest the challenge now is not that we sit back and glory in all that has been achieved but recognise that we are called to live in this way every day of our lives, for there is no doubt that we and our planet are still in dire need of rescue.

THE SEASON OF CREATION:

I am also grateful to those in both our parishes who continue to ensure that we are able to join in this great ecumenical venture that leads up to the Feast of St Francis on 4 October. Let’s make this a daily intention in our prayers and please take note of the various events that are being organised.

A FOCUS ON TENDERNESS:

Last week I mentioned the book, Catholic Discordance. The sub-title, Neoconservatism vs. the Field Hospital Church of Pope Francis, gives the clue as to where the book is leading, and it concludes with the most compelling reflection on Pope Francis’s desire to evangelise by presenting the compassionate face of the Church to the world. As the book draws to a conclusion, the word, Tenderness, is repeated over and over again; for example: “God’s tenderness relates to the fragility of the world. The Father does not break the bruised reed, does not utter recriminations over the violated law, welcomes the returning sinner, embraces the humiliated son.” He suggests that if people are to be brought to the Father, the Church must be like a tender mother. Accordingly, my mind turned to the precious gift of the new icon at Bishop Eton, The Virgin of Tenderness. Originally a gift from our parishioner, John, in thanksgiving for the care of the community during the Covid pandemic, it provided a providential focus for our prayer for peace in Eastern Europe after the invasion of Ukraine. I also want to thank John and his team for ensuring that the Novena Devotions to Our Mother of Perpetual Succour were  re-introduced after the pandemic and for his continuing efforts to develop our Shrine Ministry. Note the magnificent new notice boards and his article in the forthcoming edition of the Catholic Pictorial.

PRAYERS:

I know you all join me in praying for Neil Metcalf, the former Head of Bishop Eton School. We earnestly pray for him and his family that they will be able to rebuild their lives after the sadness of recent events.

SHARING OUR FAITH:

One of the most encouraging experiences for me is seeing the joy of those who come to know the love of Our Lord through their encounters with those of us who strive to live the Christian life, and often this is the result of living through those painful episodes in our lives when we have our share in the Passion. Without going into detail, this is beautifully illustrated for me with the ceremony we will have at the lunchtime Mass at St Mary’s this Tuesday (27^th August). Two young people will be making their First Communion and one of them will be received into the Church and be confirmed. Others will also be sharing in the occasion and looking forward to the time when they too will become part of our community of faith. If you are coming to the Mass that day, be prepared for a slightly longer celebration!