Parish Priest

FR ANTHONY JOHNSON CSsR RIP

FR ANTHONY JOHNSON CSsR died peacefully on Friday morning (26^th June) in the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

Fr Tony was born in December 1933 and did his National Service with the RAF in the military police. He was professed as a Redemptorist in 1957 and ordained to the priesthood in 1964. He was part of a vibrant School Mission Team based in Bishop Eton during the 1960s and then was appointed Novice Master in 1970. Unfortunately, he was involved in a very serious road accident in 1971 and was in a coma for over a week. He recovered sufficiently to be able fulfil supportive roles in different communities and in later years worked among the homeless in our Centre in Clapham, the Ace of Clubs.

He has enjoyed his final years in retirement here at Bishop Eton. We are greatly indebted to the staff of the Royal Liverpool Hospital and Church View Care Home, where he has received loving care and attention during the past few months. In spite of many health issues, he remained amiable and uncomplaining and he will be greatly missed. May he now rest in peace.

BROTHER ROYSTON C.SS.R

Please remember in your prayers

Bro Royston Price CSsR,

who took his Final Vows as a Redemptorist on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.  (Video below)

THE REDEMPTORIST COMMUNITY:

Firstly, I would like to welcome Fr Beverley Ahern to the Redemptorist Community.

He has joined us from Clapham, where a major renovation of the monastery is about to take place. At 90 he is the oldest member of the Province and continues to manage extremely well in spite of the serious deterioration of his sight.

In a sense he is returning home because he was born and bred in Liverpool.

Many of you will know his brother, Raymond, and his sister-in-law, Evelyn.

Homily at Fr Barrie's funeral

Fr Tim preached the homily at Fr Barrie's funeral on Tuesday 21st May.  He has kindly made it available and it can be found on the Province website click here to read it

Comings and Goings: Fr Andrew is now in Madrid and Fr Charles is away for a couple of days until Tuesday evening.

Homily preached at Fr John Milcz's funeral...

FUNERAL HOMILY FOR FR JAN MILCZ, CSsR

BISHOP ETON, WEDNESDAY 11 JULY 2018 at NOON

“As  a man lives, so shall he die” is a phrase that will resonate with all Redemptorists of a certain vintage: the vintage mainly represented on the sanctuary today. These were the words at the beginning of one of those classic mission sermons that, as students, we were expected to learn by heart and use to hone our skills as preachers. No doubt Fr Jan himself, as a young man, proclaimed them to the assembled brethren at one of those mission academies in Hawkstone back in the 1960s. Of course, these sermons were all designed to stir the so-called lapsed and wayward to mend their ways, but today I would like you to reflect that those words – as a man lives so shall he die – can very aptly be applied in the best possible way to this good and holy man. Jan died a very peaceful death in the Marie Curie Hospice on Tuesday evening last week. When I saw him for the last time on the Sunday morning before I left for Hampshire there was a wonderful serenity about him. In the final weeks of his life, I have rarely met anyone who so continually expressed his gratitude for any little kindness. This natural courtesy was much appreciated by the staff at Marie Curie as well as the carers and nurses who tended to him in the monastery and the staff at Christopher Grange, where he spent a short time a few weeks ago. To them all and to our own wonderful resident team, we, as a Redemptorist family are immensely grateful, as we are to his family and his many friends in this congregation today: he treasured your love and support.

By what seems to me an act of divine providence, a couple of years ago Jan and others among our older confrères had to stay in Hawkstone Hall while the lift was being repaired in Bishop Eton. During that time as the result of a chance conversation with the wonderful Sr Jackie Smith we have a unique record of Jan’s early life. She was so fascinated by what he told her that she spent hours with him during those days and the result of their conversations was published in the Lent Extra of 2016. Redemptorist Publications have kindly furnished us with the text so that copies have been made available at the back of the church today. If we have not produced enough, just put in your order and we will duly respond. As many of you know, not long afterwards, Sr Jackie herself was suddenly struck down with a serious cancer and died. Please God, she and Jan are now reunited in that home where Jesus promised he was going ahead to prepare places for us all.

Read more: Homily preached at the funeral of Fr Jan Milcz C.Ss.R

FR JAN MILCZ, CSsR died peacefully at Marie Curie at around 9.00pm last Tuesday evening (3rd July 2018)

Fr Charles and Bro Michael Taylor were with him.

When I (Fr Tim) took him Holy Communion last Sunday morning, I sensed that this would probably be the last time I would see him. To say that John had an eventful life would be something of an understatement.

Having been taken prisoner as a boy during the Second World War, he was later to serve in both the Polish and British Armies. His deep faith led him to try his vocation for the priesthood and he joined the Redemptorists in 1958, was professed in 1959 and ordained in 1966. He was a good and holy man and we will miss him, but we are grateful that the final struggle is over. 

We, the Redemptorists, are immensely grateful for all the love, friendship and support you have given him over the years and especially for your prayers in these last months of his life. We are also very grateful to Philip Sergeant (who is now coordinating the nursing care of our sick confrères), the carers and nurses who came to the monastery and the staff of Marie Curie during these final weeks. May he rest in peace. 

His funeral will be on Wednesday 11 July 2018 at Noon.

COMINGS AND GOINGS: 

I have finally returned to base. The days with the military chaplains proved another rewarding experience. I do admire their challenging vocation, witnessing to the faith often in less than ideal circumstances.

Fr Charles is taking part in a vocations meeting in Clapham this weekend.

Fr Andrew leaves us next Friday for a ten-day Marriage Encounter Meeting in Madrid. When he returns the schools will have broken up for the summer holidays, England will have won the World Cup and hopefully we can all relax for a few days!

COMINGS AND GOINGS:

Over the next ten days Fr Andrew Burns will also be away, attending a European  Council meeting for Marriage Encounter in Italy.

Please give Fr Charles Randall all your support as he tries to ensure the smooth running of the Novena and the parishes.

Fr Tony Hunt has been in and out of hospital again and Fr John Milcz continues to need a fair amount of support.

On the happier side of things, please note that Fr Kevin Callaghan is soon to celebrate his Diamond Jubilee of Priesthood.

Life Day: This Sunday has been especially designated as a Day of Prayer for Life, with the emphasis this year on the tragedy of human trafficking. Leaflets available in the porch. Listen to the below to hear of some of the work Caritas is doing to help those trafficked.

AN EVENTFUL WEEK:

On Monday evening Fr Tony Hunt showed all the signs of sepsis and indeed had to be rushed into the Royal that evening. The medics are still trying to determine the cause of the problem and we are hoping and praying that his other leg is not the source of the infection.

On Wednesday morning, Fr John Milcz was very unwell and also had to be taken to the Royal, but he has come home and we are trying to organise a more thorough care package for him.

Fr Barrie O’Toole will remain with his sister in Ripon for the foreseeable future and his notes have been transferred to the medics in Yorkshire. Please pray for our confrères who are sick: it is a further reminder of just how fragile our situation is becoming.

Fr Provincial visited overnight on Thursday/Friday. Fr Burns returns this evening and I will be away on Monday and Tuesday, planning a few away days for the military chaplains, which I will be giving in early July.