Fr. Dominic writes:
We are without Our Pope. The Cardinals have the task of discovering a person around whom they can gather "in peace and Unity". Our Lord has said that He will be with us "until the end of days" so we can trust that whoever is chosen will be given the Grace of The Holy Spirit. Please keep The College of Cardinals in your Prayers.
Fr. Dominic writes:
Lent begins on Wednesday 13th February. What, if anything, do you plan to do or stop doing?
The days of Lent are given to us in order to prepare for Easter. In 2013 it is really up to each one of us to decide what we are going to do and why.
You may find that reading a bit of the Gospel helps you think about Jesus.
You may like to come into the Church (which will be open in the daytime) to pray the Stations of the Cross.
You might make the effort to go to a weekday Mass.
You might collect your spare change and put it into a red "Missio" box.
Whatever you decide to do be clear with yourself why you are doing it. No one need know what you are doing. Remember you are doing something extra for the love you have for Jesus. The daily praying of the Rosary is something Our Lady has often asked us to do. Visiting the Sick; there are no ends of things that you could choose.
Father Dominic writes:
Our Parish is developing nicely and I hope that we continue to do so. There remains the need for more people to volunteer to help. Would you consider if you could help with:
Teas/Coffee on a Sunday after 11.00am Mass
Hall Cleaning once a week for 2 hours
Reading at Mass
Serving at Mass
Singing in our Choir
Being an Extra Ordinary Minister of Holy Communion
Over 300 people worship here each weekend and many more come occasionally. How many of these people do YOU know by name?
I hope this year you and your Families and Friends enjoy the Peace of Christ through your faith in Him. May Almighty God bless you all.
Fr. Dominic writes:
Time can be experienced in a number of different ways. Compare a boring task with doing something (or better still being with someone) you like!! As we age we have more memories and experience to contrast with what is happening today (?Wisdom). Our Holy Mother, The Church offers us another way of experiencing time through Daily Mass and The Divine Office. Most days we remember a particular saint or an important event in Our Lord's Life and we can try and apply lessons learnt from them to our own lives here in Littlehampton.
Our Liturgical Year ends soon and then we begin Advent (Sunday December 2nd). It would be good to take a little time to review how your year has been. Almighty God has given you another year of life and within it some good things to be thankful for. Our difficulties are more difficult to understand and appreciate but maybe we have grown in terms of patience, trust and hope.
Fr. Dominic writes:
October is The Month of the Holy Rosary. How are you getting along with yours from Lourdes? Keeping your Rosary with you at all time is a very good reminder of our Faith. As we touch it we can recall "favourite" parts of the Mysteries and we might say a hail Mary for someone we know who is struggling.
November is the Month of the Holy Souls. Those "gone before us with the sign of faith"... who see Almighty God more clearly than we do and who remember us in their prayers.
The Priests will bless your loved ones graves around that time. I hope to do so on Friday 2nd November from 2pm.
Envelopes will be made available for you to request a Mass to be said for the Repose of the Soul of your Loved One. These will take quite some time to be said as I can only pray four Masses a week at St. Catherine's.
Fr Dominic writes:
“Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness…” Autumn has arrived and the summer has gone. Change. You may prefer the cooler weather, someone else is missing the sun’s warmth. We live in a beautiful, created world that at times will challenge our personal preferences. Perhaps these changes are not just irritating but an opportunity for us to ask ourselves “What might I learn from this change and my reaction to it?” St Ignatius of Loyola, the great founder of the Jesuits developed a method of thinking about his reactions to things which led him to Almighty God. Are you able to take a moment out of your busy “Martha’s schedule” to reflect on how you are reacting to circumstances and whether these reactions are leading you towards Almighty God (greater peace, contentment, hope, trust…) or away from him (irritability, sourness, unkindness, sloth…)
Fr. Dominic writes…
The Universal Church begins to celebrate a "Year of Faith" from 11th October until late November 2013. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has called for this to mark the 50th Anniversary of the start of the Second Vatican Council.
He is asking us to consider how our Faith is being developed and carried out in the very changed circumstances of 2012 and beyond. In order to help us to begin this process, I shall lead some Introductory Sessions on The Catechism Of The Catholic Church which is 20 years old now. These will be on Wednesday November 7th at 2pm in the Parish Rooms in Rustington, Tuesday November 13th at 7pm in the Church Hall at Littlehampton, Friday January 25th at 11.30am in the Parish Rooms in Rustington, Saturday January 26th at 10.30am in the Church Hall in Littlehampton. I invite you to come along to one of these sessions where we shall just introduce ourselves as to how to use the Cathechism which is more like a Dictionary than a Novel.
In parallel to The Year Of Faith, our Bishop has announced a 4 year process of preparing for the 50th Anniversary of our Diocese which we shall celebrate in 2015. We are being encouraged to study the first of the Council's Documents called "Sacrosanctum Cocilium" (This Sacred Council) and is all about the ways in which we pray. I hope that there will be a variety of ways of doing this including Small Groups, podcasts, DVD's, website links etc.
The Notice Board in the "inner Porch" will be dedicated to information about THE JUBILEE as well as links on our website.
Saint Augustine points out that the Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist as something sacred and he is in fact the only saint whose day of birth is celebrated.
We celebrate the birth of John and that of Christ. John leaps in Elizabeth's womb because he recognises our Saviour.
John points out The Lord to his own followers " Behold, The Lamb of God".
It was John who baptised Jesus and thereby set baptism as the entry point into God's Holy Church. Do we "leap" at The Consecration and Elevation recognising Our saviour?
Do we encourage others to go to Jesus?
What have we made of our own Baptism?
Is it too early to look forward to the Coming of Christ in 6 months time?
The Ascension of the Lord which we celebrate today reminds us of the “Way to Heaven”.
Jesus returns to His father so that the Holy Spirit can be given to us through the Church and the Sacraments.
Over this week we need to pray especially for what we know we need. “Ask and you shall receive, knock and it will be opened for you”.
The fruits of the Holy Spirit include peace, kindness, self-control, trust, hope and gentleness. Over this next week allow yourself some time to come into our church and pray. I am leaving the church open throughout the day so that it can be used for its proper purpose, the worship of Almighty God.
Quote to think about:
“…everything related to the Eucharist should be marked by beauty”
Benedict XVI
Sacramentum Caritatis.
We continue to try and recognise Our Lord who is risen. In Holy Communion and throughout the Church He makes His presence real.
Our task is to notice each day that we are loved by Him. Soon, on Sunday 20th May we will celebrate his Ascension back to His father. Between that Sunday and Pentecost Sunday (27th May) let us make a daily prayer for the coming of Almighty God’s Holy Spirit in our lives.
The Holy Spirit works gently in our lives and we need to make some time each day to try and notice how we are being helped.
Are we a little more kind or hopeful or generous?
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