Fr Graham Writes: 15th August 2020
Webmaster • August 15, 2020
What part of pre-COVID life do you miss the most or find most difficult post lockdown? Social contact, handshakes, hugs, face masks, freedom of movement, alcohol sanitiser, social distancing, queuing outside shops? What about the changes in how we celebrate Mass? The lack of singing, no exchange of peace, Holy Communion in one kind and having to stand? Strangely, the most difficult for me has been giving you Holy Communion (behind a mask) and NOT saying anything. No, “The Body of Christ”. I simply hold the host up to you and place Jesus in your hand. I have to say the words in my head because, even though I have said it to you all earlier, we receive Jesus individually. You, however, instinctively know this because even when you can’t hear me say it, almost all of you reply “Amen”. This is an amazing word and one which Mary said many times. She said, “So be it” at the Annunciation, Cana, Calvary, Ascension and even her own body and soul Assumption into heaven. Her “Amen” changed things and, if it didn’t involve going up a hill, it always involved lifting her heart to heaven. Even in the Visitation to Elizabeth, Mary went as quickly as she could to a “town in the hill country of Judah”. At the foot of each hill she gives her “Amen” to God and to her Master and son, Jesus. The secret is saying it at the foot of the hill or the foot of the cross, at the lowest place, for she is “his lowly handmaid”. Mary is assumed into heaven by God, through the grace of her own son’s death and resurrection, because she is humble, lowly and let her “Amen” count. We can do that too. Let our amen be from the heart, so be it Lord, so be it.
With my prayers for you each day. God bless you. Fr Graham
We welcome Fr John Boles, Regional Director of Columban Missionaries Britain, chosen as this year’s Diocesan annual Mission Appeal. There will be a second collection for their work. To read more, see their website: www.columbans.co.uk .
In a week when we remember the anniversary of the Shoreham air crash we are confronted with the tragic deaths of three members of one family in the sea off Shoreham Fort: Hassan, Zeina and Sara. Life is fragile and a gift to be treasured. Every moment is precious. It can all change so quickly. God is the giver of the gift. It is to Him that we look for strength, mercy, help and love. The life of faith is no less vulnerable and fragile. One moment Saint Peter gets it right and then he gets it wrong. In the gospel for this week Peter speaks with insight and with a revelation of knowledge from the Father that Jesus "is the Christ, the Son of the living God". The following verses (next week), with Peter basking in the elation of this spiritual gift, he plunders from the height of presumption after accusing Jesus that God has got it wrong! Jesus gives Peter and us the reason for his downfall: setting his mind of the "things of man" not of God. Jesus does not avoid suffering as He knows we cannot avoid it. In fact, Jesus uses suffering as a means to save us. He is not a remote or impervious God. He shares the fullness of our humanity that we might share in His divinity and have a life beyond death. We are not untouched by another's pain either. So we do more than remember or say empty phrases - we pray. We pray for all who suffer and have died. That is what God would have us do. With my prayer for you all. God bless you. Fr Graham
Do you have an old mobile phone surplus to your needs? If so, please consider donating it to a parish in Ghana. My close friend Fr. Gregory from Ghana is in the UK supplying holiday cover. He re-purposes mobile phones, giving them to people in remote parts of Ghana so they can make contact in an emergency, (spiritual or physical). Battery condition does not matter but they should have the sim card removed and be reset to factory default which wipes them clean, (I can help with this). I can collect them from St. Peters Shoreham, Christ the King Steyning or The Towers between now and August 30th (please note change of date). Many thanks Deacon Simon
26 September, 10am-6.30pm, St Wilfrid’s Church, Burgess Hill, RH15 9EN (Cost: £20). Young Adults (18-35) are invited to a jam-packed day of prayer, formation, friendship, and fun - praying to discover true peace within ourselves, to become peacemakers in the world around us, and to be renewed with an apostolic fire burning brightly within our hearts. Young Adults' Retreat Day (26-Sep-2026) · ChurchSuite Events
Calling all mothers, including spiritual mothers, godmothers and grandmothers. You are invited to come and pray for our children. First Friday of the Month, 10.00-11.00am, in the Parish Room at St Peter’s.
There will be two opportunities to attend the Deanery Marriage Preparation Course for those intending to be married in a Catholic Church in 2027 as follows. The first opportunity will be in November 2026, the first four Thursday evenings, 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th starting at 7pm - locations to be finalised in September. The second opportunity will be two consecutive Saturdays in 2027, 30th Jan, 6 th Feb. A morning session 10am-12 noon, and an afternoon session, 1pm-3pm on both days; locations to be finalised in September. Full attendance, at the four sessions that constitute each individual course, is required before permission to marry can be granted. Application forms will be made available in September when the locations have been finalised. Deacon Simon Wright, Worthing Deanery Marriage Preparation Coordinator.
Back in May we celebrated the ascension of Jesus bodily into heaven whereas today we celebrate the assumption of His mother bodily into heaven. The “assumption” is completely different to the “ascension” because one is passive (i.e. one is assumed) and the other is active (i.e. one ascends). But it is the same power that is involved, it is by the power of God that Mary was assumed into heaven, and it is by His own power, the power of God, that Jesus ascended to heaven. Hence Mary’s assumption points directly to the divine power of her Son. So why did God assume Mary into heaven? There are several reasons but for me her Assumption is closely connected with her Immaculate Conception. Mary’s soul was preserved from original sin, hence and her body was spared physical corruption or decay. In addition, it serves as a sign of hope for believers. It foreshadows the ultimate bodily resurrection promised to all followers of Christ at the end of time. Blessings, Deacon Simon
Please save the dates. We will welcome the Relics Tour and Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition of Blessed Carlo Acutis, in the Parish Room at St Peter’s this autumn. More details soon.
Many thanks to everyone who has donated items to our summer campaign. All the final donations will be delivered this week. We always have a box in the porch, so please continue to donate when you can. You can find their up-to-date wishlist on their Facebook page.
Bishop-elect Stephen shared this message for diocesan parishes on 2 July 2026: Dear friends in the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton, dear brothers and sisters, I’m so happy to be appointed as your new bishop, and I am really looking forward to meeting you and getting to know the Diocese – the priests and deacons, those in consecrated life, all the lay faithful, and so many others. I’m really looking forward to visiting our parishes and schools, and all the other communities that make up our Diocese. I’m just sorry that I can’t get back to be with you at this time because we have our diaconal ordination in Rome this weekend. As you can imagine, the news came as a complete surprise to me. The first thing I did after being told on Tuesday morning was to visit St Peter’s Basilica. I prayed at the tombs of St Peter and St John Paul II for you all and offered Mass for the Diocese. There are many challenges ahead, but I am full of hope. I’ve seen so many times what God can do when people pray and work together, and when they put their trust in him. If we listen to one another, and to the Lord, then he will show us the way forward. You have been very blessed to have Archbishop Richard with you over these years. I keep being told what a wonderful diocese it is and how lucky I am to be going there! Which I certainly am. I want to thank Canon Jonathan Martin as well, for looking after things so well in this interim period. Let’s pray for each other, and for our Diocese. Please pray for me and for my intentions. I put all my trust in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in his Church, and in his mother Mary. His love is so powerful. There is so much to be grateful for, and so much to do. I pray that we can grow in holiness together, be of service to those around us, and help all people to know the love and mercy of Jesus Christ and the message of the Gospel. With every blessing, Fr Stephen Fr Stephen’s Biography Fr Stephen Wang was born in London in 1966 and grew up in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. He read Theology and Religious Studies at Cambridge University from 1986 to 1989, before undertaking priestly formation at the Venerable English College in Rome from 1992 to 1997. Ordained on 3 January 1998, he worked in parish ministry in Dollis Hill, London, from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2005 he studied for a PhD on the subject of human happiness at Cambridge University, assisting at Fisher House Chaplaincy, based at the University, for two years. He lectured in Philosophy and Theology at Allen Hall seminary in Chelsea from 2005 to 2013 and was Dean of Studies from 2009 to 2013. During this time, he was also a visiting priest at Wormwood Scrubs Prison, White City, and a confessor at Notting Hill Carmel, a cloistered convent of Carmelite nuns located in St Charles Square. From 2013 to 2021, Fr Stephen served as Senior University Chaplain in the Diocese of Westminster and was Catholic Chaplain at The London School of Economics. In 2014, a group of young people led by Fr Stephen developed ‘Sycamore’, a video-based Catholic faith formation programme that explores the Christian faith through short films and guided discussion. Designed to make Christianity more accessible, Sycamore is now used by Catholic parishes, schools, and university chaplaincies across the world. Following three years as Vocations Director for Westminster Diocese, Fr Stephen was appointed Rector of the Venerable English College in 2021, where he served for five years.