Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks with clarity of the Father, Himself as the Son, and the Holy Spirit. His words express the unity that exists between the three persons of the Blessed Trinity. The Holy Spirit will speak what comes from the Son, who has all that belongs to the Father. We express this in the Creed when we speak about the Holy Spirit coming from the Father and the Son. The mystery of the Trinity is about relationships – the relationships that exist between Father, Son and Spirit, one God. The wonder of God, existing eternally – as we hear in the First Reading this Sunday – pours love into our hearts, as St Paul reminds us. It is truly wonderful for us to reflect that, through our baptism, we are brought to live our lives in the love that exists in the Trinity. We are enabled to live in relationship with a God who is all love and whose love we see and experience as it is lived between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we rejoice in our relationship with the one God, three Persons, let us recall that it is God who gives us life and, in the coming days, pray very especially for respect for life in our own society as those in parliament prepare to vote on the “Assisted Dying Bill”. If you have not written to your MP, there is still time. May I thank all those who have written, for such action is a powerful witness to the wonder of life, given us by God. With every blessing  + Richard

An update from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales about the Assisted Dying Bill ( download here )

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, We rejoice this Sunday as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the young Church - Our Lady and the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room. The coming of the Holy Spirit transforms their lives. No longer do they remain locked in the room together, fearful for the future. They go out to proclaim the message of the Risen Christ. So with us, who have received the Holy Spirit at our baptism and confirmation. We are called to be fearless in announcing the Good News in our present, often darkened, world. Into the difficulties, struggles and sorrows around us, the Lord Himself calls us to take His message, our every step guided by the Spirit, our every word given us by the Spirit. At this particular moment, as MPs prepare to debate the “Assisted Dying Bill”, I renew the call for us to write to our MPs, asking them to vote against this potential legislation. The vote will take place on the 20 June. May the Holy Spirit strengthen us in our prayer and our action to do all we can to promote the dignity of life. At this time, too, so many young people of the Diocese are receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. They do this at an exciting moment for the Church, when we are seeing the green shoots of increased numbers of adults being baptised and more people coming to our churches in search of the gospel message. Please join with me in praying for our young people, that strengthened by the gifts of the Spirit that they receive, they continue their journey of life with Christ, taking their place in the mission of the Church. With every blessing,  + Richard

We have been contacted by the Shoreham & Adur Community Foodbank. Every week they post a wish list on Facebook, of particular items they need. Most weeks they are having to use funds to buy these items that they are lacking. Here is where you can make a real difference: would you be able to donate just one item regularly from this list? We always have a collection box in the church porch, but you can also take donations direct to them on Friday mornings. For more information search Shoreham & Adur Community Foodbank on Facebook.

One of our parishioners is offering free help with IT. Advice on using mobile phones, tablets, laptops etc. as well as problems with apps or online setup and services. It is useful if people bring along details of usernames and passwords. No booking needed. David also volunteers as a Digital Advisor in Shoreham Library every Tuesday 10:00-13:00 (2x 1hr sessions, contact library by phone or in person to book).

Thank you to the team of volunteers who have been working hard to get this project going. Thank you for all the generous donations we have received. Come and spend some time in the new space. All are welcome

Please view the PDF copy of the letter (below) from our Parish Finance Chair, Patrick O’Donoghue. We are appealing to people to review their offertory giving and consider one of these ways of helping the Parish: • Firstly, would your family be able to raise your offertory contribution by 10% or above? We understand that this may not be possible for everyone, and we are conscious that we are bombarded by price increases in many aspects of daily life. • Secondly, do you give via the collection plate or via the dona machine? These are excellent ways of giving. Another way of giving is by standing order. This is particularly helpful because it saves you having to remember your cash or your card, and it helps our parish with budgeting. • Thirdly, if you are a UK taxpayer, please gift aid your donations. By doing this, we can claw back funds for the benefit of the parish. If you have any questions please email the office. Thank you for your support To all OLQP parishioners, from the OLQP Finance Chair, Patrick O’Donoghue ... Read the document here Here is the video version of the message from our Finance Chair, Patrick O’Donoghue https://share.synthesia.io/8015d7a5-372d-48bc-8d3d-9afef4ea685c

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, At this time of the Church’s year, we are in Ascensiontide, having celebrated that feast on Thursday. Jesus has returned to the Father and the Apostles are waiting in expectant hope for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We, of course, have received the Spirit – in our baptism and in our confirmation. Indeed, at present, we rejoice in the great number of our young people who are receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation at this time of year. All are coming to the Cathedral – making a pilgrimage to the mother church of the Diocese in this Holy Year and in our 60th year. Those being confirmed hear the words of the prayer: that the anointing of Confirmation conform them more fully to Christ, the Son of God. The more closely we are conformed to Christ, the more effective we shall be in our witness to Him. St Stephen, whose martyrdom forms the text of the first reading this Sunday, was so closely conformed to Christ that he was ready to shed his blood in witness to Him. The word ‘martyr’ means ‘witness’ – so being a martyr in the broadest sense is the call for every Christian. In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus tell us that through our witness, the world will come to believe in Him. This is the mission the Lord has given to each and every baptised person. Wherever we are – whatever we do – our lives must speak to others of the wonder of the Lord’s love for us and His call to every person, of every age, to life in Him. With every blessing + Richard

Alex Starley’s year as President of Adur Valley Catenians has drawn to a close. Alex chose as his charity fundraising cause our local "Adur Valley SVP". Along with his fellow Catenians, he will present a cheque to Ann Oliver and the SVP team this Sunday 25th May after 9am mass in the parish room. Adur Valley Catenians will be going for a walk afterwards along the beach walk to Lancing and back. The weather is looking fine. All are welcome to join us. Alex and Trish want to take this opportunity to thank the Adur Valley Catenians for their love and support throughout his year as president and always. It was great fun. May God bless you all.