Worthing Deanery Justice and Peace Group are having a Mass for Peace to highlight the conflicts going round on around the world. It will be held at St Michael's, Hayling Rise BN13 3AL on Thurs 24th April at 6.30pm. There will be a display and refreshments in the parish centre afterwards.  All are welcome to join us. The service will be live streamed for those not able to attend. Lifts can be shared - please speak to Robin Olivier or Carolyn Fuhrmann.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This Sunday, as we gather for the Palm Sunday celebration, our Holy Week begins. The joyous message that greets the Messiah as he enters Jerusalem must, surely, bring hope to a world in which so many of our brothers and sisters are suffering the effects of conflict, injustice and the impact of natural disasters. As we enter Jerusalem in the celebration of the Palm Sunday Liturgy, let us take with us in prayer our brothers and sisters across the world. In our prayer, in our lives, let us seek to walk with them in their suffering as, in the coming days, we spend time with the One who is the Suffering Servant. As the Passion is read this Sunday, let us make every effort to walk with Jesus in every step that he takes. In the days to come this week, I invite you to take parts of the Passion account and make use of them for Lectio Divina. This prayerful reflection on the sacred text will bring the words of the Gospel to a place in the heart, where we listen in faith to the One who calls us to be His. The more we dwell in the Gospel, the more we dwell in Christ, in the One who suffered, died and rose again for us. May God bless you all, + Richard

Shoreham churches are having a Walk of Witness on Good Friday; we will be meeting as usual on the footbridge at 10.50, and then going on to St. Mary’s for a short service at 11.15. I suggest St. Peter’s walkers meet outside the church, and leave at 10.20. If you have any questions please contact me robinolivier86@gmail.com / 07732 707311

The flowering of the cross is a Western Christian tradition. Dating from the Sixth Century, it is practised at the arrival of Easter, in which worshippers place flowers on the bare wooden cross. The barren cross, a reminder of Jesus’ death, is transformed into an Easter symbol representing the new life that emerges from Jesus’ death on Good Friday. We would like to invite you to bring a flower on Easter Sunday, to place onto the cross, while saying a silent prayer (prayer cards available).

Divine Mercy Novena: starting on Good Friday We will begin The Divine Mercy Novena on Good Friday, nine days of prayer in preparation for the feast on Sunday 27th April. You can follow the Divine Mercy Novena using the leaflets we have in the church porch, or a good online resource is PrayMoreNovenas.com to get a daily novena prayer sent to your inbox or ask Patsy at patsydaniels@gmail.com to send you details. What is Divine Mercy Sunday? Jesus made a promise to us via St Faustina that the person who receives the Eucharist in a state of grace on the 8th day of the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter) now known as Divine Mercy Sunday will have all sins and punishment forgiven, if he asks for It. This equates to a second baptism, as stated by Fr Chris Alar a Marian father at the Divine Mercy shrine in Massachusetts in this 3.5 minute video . He suggests we say the following words or something similar when we return to our bench after receiving Holy Communion: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, You promised St Faustina that the soul that has been to Confession [I have] and the soul that receives Holy Communion with trust in Divine Mercy [I have] will receive complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment. Lord, please give me this grace. Jesus I trust in You.” This feast incorporating this most generous of gifts was inaugurated by St John Paul Il in the year 2000 when he instituted Divine Mercy Sunday.

Please note the times below:

Our parish is coming together, with people from all over Adur Valley volunteering to help with the services. Thank you to all who have offered lifts to people coming from Steyning and Upper Beeding. Please sign up (at CTK) or let the office know if you need a lift. I urge any parishioners from Shoreham who are able to, to please not park in our car park, so we can save the spaces for those that need them. I am looking forward to celebrating as a united parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace. All are welcome. Office contact details: Email: adurvalley@abdiocese.org.uk / Telephone: 01273 452654 (please leave a message on the answer machine).

Bishop of Arundel & Brighton Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of England & Wales on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 5/6 April 2025 Fifth Sunday of Lent My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I wish to speak with you today about the process in which our Parliament is currently considering legalising assisted suicide through the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. As I have made clear earlier in this debate, as Catholics we have maintained a principled objection to this change in law recognising that every human life is sacred, coming as a gift of God and bearing a God-given dignity. We are, therefore, clearly opposed to this Bill in principle, elevating, as it does, the autonomy of the individual above all other considerations. The passage of the Bill through Parliament will lead to a vote in late April on whether it progresses further. This will be a crucial moment and I, together with all the Bishops of England and Wales, am writing to ask your support in urging your MP to vote against this Bill at that time. There are serious reasons for doing so. At this point we wish not simply to restate our objections in principle, but to emphasise the deeply flawed process undergone in Parliament thus far. We wish to remind you that it is a fundamental duty of every MP to ensure that legislation is not imposed on our society which has not been properly scrutinised and which will bring about damaging consequences. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will fundamentally change many of the key relationships in our way of life: within the family, between doctor and patient, within the health service. Yet there has been no Royal Commission or independent inquiry ahead of its presentation. It is a Private Member’s Bill. The Bill itself is long and complex and was published just days before MPs voted on it, giving them inadequate time to consult or reflect upon it. The time for debate was minimal. The Committee examining the Bill took only three days of evidence: not all voices were heard, and it comprises an undue number of supporters of the Bill. In short, this is no way to legislate on such an important and morally complex issue. One consequence of this flawed process is that many vital questions remain unanswered. Can MPs guarantee that the scope of the Bill will not be extended? In almost every country where assisted suicide has been introduced the current scope is wider than was originally intended. What role, if any, will the judiciary have in the process? We were told that judicial oversight was a necessary and vital part of the process; now we are told it isn’t needed at all. What will protect the vulnerable from coercion, or from feeling a burden on family? Can the National Health Service cope with assisted suicide or will it, as the Health Secretary has warned, cause cuts elsewhere in the NHS? Can MPs guarantee that no medical practitioner or care worker would be compelled to take part in assisted suicide? Would this mean the establishment of a ‘national death service’? In contrast to the provisions of this Bill, what is needed is first-class, compassionate palliative care at the end of our lives. This is already provided to many in our society but, tragically, is in short supply and underfunded. No-one should be dispatched as a burden to others. Instead, a good society would prioritise care for the elderly, the vulnerable, and the weak. The lives of our families are richer for cherishing their presence. It is a sad reflection on Parliament’s priorities that the House of Commons spent far more time debating the ban on fox hunting than it is spending debating bringing in assisted suicide. I am sure that you will share these concerns. It is now clear that this measure is being rushed without proper scrutiny and without fundamental questions surrounding safeguards being answered. This is a deeply flawed Bill with untold unintended consequences. Every MP, and Government, has a solemn duty to prevent such legislation reaching the statute book. This, tragically, is what may happen. So I appeal to you: even if you have written before, please make contact now with your MP and ask them to vote against this Bill not only on grounds of principle but because of the failure of Parliament to approach this issue in an adequate and responsible manner. In his Letter to the Philippians, from which we heard in the Second Reading, St Paul reflects on the difficulties and responsibilities of life. He speaks of ‘pressing on’ and ‘striving’ for the fulness of life promised in Christ Jesus. Yet he is totally confident in his struggles because, as he says, ‘Christ Jesus has made me his own’. We too have many struggles. We too know that Christ Jesus has made us his own. So we too press on with this struggle, so important in our times. May God bless you all,

We would be pleased to see you all come and assist us at the Triduum services at St Peters this year. Please let Cuthbert (SP), Mike Mercer (CTK) or Fr Graham know your availability. Please plan to arrive half an hour before the services so that we can go through the particular tasks needed for those not familiar with them. New volunteers are also welcome. Full training and support will be given.