Pastoral Letter from Bishop Richard
Webmaster • April 30, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
On the Wednesday of Holy Week, at the Mass of Chrism, the priests of the Diocese renewed their priestly promises and those present in the Cathedral, representing all the faithful of the Diocese, confirmed the commitment to prayer for our priests and to work with them in the mission the Lord has given to His Church.
Today – Good Shepherd Sunday, the entire Church focuses once more on prayer and reflection for priests and, specifically, for vocations to the Priesthood.
Every one of us has a vocation, a calling, given to us by God so that we can take our rightful place in the life of the Church and the world, bringing the message of the Gospel to those around us in accordance with God’s will for us as individuals and for all his people. This is a consequence of our Baptism – life lived in the love that exists in the Blessed Trinity.
Those called to the Ordained Priesthood commit themselves to the service of Christ and His people. The priest celebrates the Sacraments with and for the whole Church, specifically for those he is sent to serve. He preaches the Word in accordance with the teachings of Christ and His Church. He is a leader in the community – a leader through service. The promises of the Priesthood – prayer, obedience, celibacy – enable him to truly give his life in service and to be a sign of the Kingdom of God for the world.
To say that this is, for those called to it, the most wonderful vocation is an understatement. We become the people God calls us to be when we truly respond to his call. Every vocation brings challenges along the way, but also the greatest joy. For those called to Priesthood, this response enables them to find the fulfilment that God Himself desires for them. It is fulfilment found in the Eucharist, in prayer and in the service of all.
Those who have attended Masses of Induction for our parish priests will have heard me ask for prayer for our priests every day. I ask you today to pray for our priests every day, asking the Lord to strengthen and sustain them in service to all.
I ask you also to pray that those in our Diocese whom the Lord calls will be open to listen to His call and answer with complete generosity of heart. Pray for our five seminary students, for those in earlier stages of discernment and for those who have yet to experience the first stirrings of the call to Priesthood. For some – like myself – such reflections can begin at an early age, as a grace flowing from the Sacrament of Confirmation. For others, the awareness of God’s call comes a little later in life. The example of a priest, living Priesthood with joy and commitment is an almost universal element in the discernment of a priestly vocation. Like so many priests, I give thanks to God for the example of a priest deeply committed to the service of those in his pastoral care. When the thought of Priesthood is shared with others, it needs to
be met with gentle encouragement and prayerful support, especially from parents.
This Good Shepherd Sunday, I invite you to join me in a time of prayer for Vocations to Priesthood in our Diocese, leading up to Pentecost Day.
To assist us in this time of prayer, a leaflet has been produced, outlining an intention for each of the coming weeks and providing a ‘prayer itinerary’ for this journey to Pentecost. I am grateful to Fr Tristan Cranfield, our Vocations Director, for putting this together and I know that the prayers of all in the Diocese will bear fruit.
I ask also that, in every parish, a Mass for Vocations to the Priesthood is offered each week. This is already the practice in many places, as are times of Eucharistic Adoration especially for this important intention.
The Good Shepherd calls us to Himself and our priests, through their proclamation of the Word, through being the Lord’s instruments in the celebration of the Eucharist and other Sacraments and through their leadership and guidance, hold a necessary place in the mission of the Church that all may come to the sheepfold of Christ Himself.
May this Good Shepherd Sunday and the time that follows to our celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Our Lady and the Apostles, be a period of fervent and fruitful prayer for us all.
With every blessing,
+R
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).