From Bishop Richard : 19th February 2023
Webmaster • February 18, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters,
The recent tragedy in Syria and Turkey is much in our minds and hearts at this time. I know the victims of the
earthquake and the families who mourn their loss are much in our prayers, and the focus of more practical efforts too.
On Ash Wednesday, at the Ukrainian Cathedral in London, there will be a special service of prayer for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Please do join in the event if you are able – and remember this intention very specially in prayer this week.
Ash Wednesday brings the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent – an old English word for Spring – points us in the direction of the new life of Easter, for it is a reminder that the natural world is waking up again after Winter. Days lengthen, the first flowers of the new season appear and the trees will soon display their green canopy of leaves.
In other parts of the world, this season is more directly referred to in terms of its 40 days – Quadragesima. Lent is the season in which we spend time with the Lord in the desert, a time which reflects the 40 years spent in the desert by the Chosen People of Israel. This is the journey to salvation, the journey that
leads to Calvary and then to the empty tomb.
The Gospel reading of Ash Wednesday provides us with the ‘three pillars’ of Lent: prayer, fasting and
almsgiving. These should feature always in the life of the Christian – but the accent on these three practices during Lent enables us to draw ever closer to Christ and heightens our awareness of our reliance on God. Prayer is that conversation with God that is a living relationship. Fasting reminds us that - as
Jesus expresses it in the Gospel – we do not live on bread alone.
Our almsgiving provides a practical way to share what we have with those who are in need. The self-denial involved in all of these things, in terms of time, food and drink, money, draw us out of ourselves. We become less inward looking and more aware of the Lord’s presence and the presence of our brothers and sisters, whom we are called to serve.
Let us enter this season with renewed vigour, that we may draw ever closer to the One who has saved us from sin and death and who calls us to share the new life of Easter.
With every blessing, + Richard
The annual blessing of the graves will take place this Sunday, 2nd November (see diary in ’Events & Notices’ for details) and throughout November, we will have the Books of Remembrance in the church. Please come and write in names of loved ones who have died in the past year (no need to rewrite names from previous years). On 22nd November, please join us for a special Memorial Mass to pray in particular for loved ones who have died this year, and all those who are bereaved. All are welcome.
For five consecutive first Saturdays of the month, with the intention of making reparation for the offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we are asked to: 1 – Go to Confession (may be 8 days before or after, if you are in a state of grace) 2 – Receive Holy Communion (can be received at a Saturday evening anticipatory Mass) 3 – Pray five decades of the Rosary 4 – Keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes while meditating on one or more of the mysteries of the Rosary. The Promise Our Lady promised to assist all those who will practice the devotion of the first Saturday on five consecutive months with the graces necessary for salvation at the hour of their death
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This Sunday we celebrate the beautiful feast of All Saints. This day reflects the full wonder of the family of the Church. Throughout the year, we celebrate the feasts of those who, through canonization, are set before us as examples, teachers and guides – those who through their martyrdom, their teaching, the witness of their lives inspire us on our pilgrim journey. We seek their intercession in our need. Today we remember the countless numbers of people - “a huge number, impossible to count, from every nation, race tribe and language” as St John described them in today’s first reading, who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. They are our family members, our friends, fellow parishioners, people we have known and loved, people we have never known. They too, like the canonized saints, pray for us. They have attained the destiny that the Lord won for us through His passion, death and resurrection – that live in the love of God in its completeness for all eternity. In the second reading, the same John who wrote the Apocalypse – this time in his first letter – offers us this wonderful hope: “What we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he really is.” To know God in his fullness, to be LIKE Him – this is the hope of a love beyond anything we could possibly know in this life, for it is completeness, wholeness, peace and utter joy. St John also reminds us in the letter that we must, in this life, prepare ourselves for this destiny-beyond-description. The beatitudes of today’s Gospel provide a sure guide for our pilgrim journey. Reflect on these words of Jesus: poverty of spirit, gentleness, acceptance of sadness, desire for all that is right, mercy, purity, striving for peace, acceptance of persecution and difficulty on account of our following of Him. This the way we are called to follow. Let us rejoice, then, in all those who share the wonder of heaven and, enriched by the gift of hope, follow the way that leads to life. Let us become a community of saints. With every blessing, + Richard
Please consider supporting our Christmas campaign, providing care parcels to local families in need. We will be collecting toiletries during November. Please donate soap, shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, baby products, sanitary products etc. If you would prefer to make a financial contribution, you can donate via our card machines. More details next week.
Forms are available from Father Graham. Please return by Monday 3rd November, thank you. The first meeting for parents and children is on Tuesday 25th November, 7.30pm. Further dates to follow soon. The First Holy Communion masses will be in June 2026.
Tickets are on sale for our Winter Afternoon Tea on Saturday 15th November, from 2.30 to 4.30pm in the Parish Room at St Peter’s. Tickets £15. Enjoy a selection of savoury and sweet treats, including homemade scones with jam and cream. A lovely chance to spend time with fellow parishioners and friends. All are welcome Please book by Sunday 9th November. Telephone Ann on 07743 093765.
Arundel Cathedral is hosting the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima and relics of Saints Jacinta and Francisco. The day includes the celebration of Mass, a procession and enthronement of the statue and opportunities to venerate the saints’ relics, with the rosary and a number of talks. For a timetable of the day, visit the A&B website and WAF https://abdiocese.churchsuite.com/events/udvkxhjw If anyone is able to offer lifts to other parishioners, please contact the office: adurvalley@abdiocese.org.uk
Some say "happy" and some say "blessed". These are the different words used to translate the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes. Our new lectionary uses the probably more accurate term "blessed". The beatitude describes the state of those who seek and desire the kingdom of God - heaven. Heaven is to be with God. It is there where "we shall see God as He is". We will see His face. Through this life we are constantly seeking His face because we know that in finding God we will be blessed and at peace. The saints are with God, all of them. The known and unknown. More than we can count. On this feast of All saints we receive the merits of ALL the saints and we have so many intercessors praying for us. Get to know them. Learn about some of their lives and how they can help us in particular situations. In this present time, before we see God's face we long for their company. Saint Bernard also voices our yearning when he says, "that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory." There is no reason why we cannot join them and share in heaven. Christ, Himself, appears to us as He appeared to them: the same sacraments, the same prayer, the same faith, the same Holy Spirit and the same Church. Their merits spur us on to finish the race and persevere through all trials to the glory that awaits the blessed. Then we will be truly happy. With my prayer for you all and our deceased parishioners. God bless you. Fr Graham
(from Catholic Answers www.catholic.com) What are the requirements for first Saturday devotions? The Five First Saturdays Devotion is a request made by Our Lady of Fatima. The Blessed Mother promised to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all who, as an act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the first five Saturdays of consecutive months: • Go to confession • Receive Holy Communion • Say five decades of the rosary • Keep Mary company for fifteen minutes meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the rosary The sacramental confession can be received within twenty days either before or after the reception of Communion, as the Holy See’s Apostolic Penitentiary has decreed, provided the communicant is in a state of grace for Communion. Reception of Holy Communion must take place within twenty-four hours of the first Saturday. The reception of Communion need not be part of participating in a Mass. The fifteen minutes of meditation are in addition to the recitation of the Rosary.
Saint John Henry Newman (Feast on Thursday) prayed… All who follow the truth are on the side of the truth, and the truth will prevail. Few in number, but strong in spirit, despised by the world, the twelve apostles made their way, and while they suffered, they overwhelmed the power of darkness and built the Christian church. The Vatican has announced that the proclamation of St John Henry Newman (1801-1890) as a Doctor of the Church will take place on 1 November, the Solemnity of All Saints, in St Peter's Square, during celebrations for the Jubilee of the World of Education. St John Henry Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 and canonised in 2019 by Pope Francis, who explained that St John Henry had chosen as his motto "Cor ad cor loquitur"—“Heart speaks to heart” because the Lord saves us by speaking from His heart to ours: “This realisation", Pope Francis said, "led him, the distinguished intellectual, to recognise that his deepest encounter with himself and with the Lord came not from his reading or reflection, but from his prayerful dialogue, heart to heart, with Christ, alive and present. It was in the Eucharist that Newman encountered the living heart of Jesus, capable of setting us free, giving meaning to each moment of our lives, and bestowing true peace.” St John Henry Newman will become only the second British Doctor of the Church, after St Bede the Venerable (672-735).