All Categories - St Catherine of Alexandria Roman Catholic Church Littlehampton

To Follow Jesus

6/8/2016

"I will follow You wherever You go"(Lk 9:57). Rash statements are easily made, as people usually like to please one another. However, Jesus makes us consider the possible consequences of following Him: "no place to rest His head". The future is unseen and only partly influenced by our limited efforts. Quite where we might be going with Jesus is unknown, but He Himself suggests that it will require perhaps more effort than we think. We may end up in new places facing opposition.

"Go and announce the Kingdom of God". Do we understand what this phrase might mean? It may contain truths that we only partly understand and that we might not even ‘believe’ in, such as trust and hope. Perhaps before we go out we might need to consider how we understand God's Kingdom? Is it a tyranny based on unreason, or might it be the best way for developing human happiness? Am I free to choose?

Part of the problem of quoting from Sacred Scripture (as with any quotation) is that we fail to connect this bit with all the other bits. Jesus invites us to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit "who will lead you into all truth". But if we are not praying and not widely reading from Scripture, we are at risk of inventing our own religion. Our own religion is usually characterised by fitting the scripture in with our own ideas. If we consider our own religion to be correct, then it follows that other people's religion will be, to some extent, incorrect. This leaves little room for a respectful and interested conversation as to how we might travel together to a chosen place. Where are we going, and how do we expect to get there? We may be unclear.

Jesus suggests that if we keep our eyes on Him, He will show us a way. In the Gospels Jesus seems to take great delight in mixing with some very dodgy people: sex workers...tax collectors.....bankers.....beggars. The common thread, He says, is that they are all humans who deserve respect and help.

It is unclear from The Gospels if the person who made such a rash promise to follow Jesus actually continued to make the effort to do so. The Apostles and Disciples did follow Him, however, at great personal cost. To what extent then am I going to follow Him?

Advent

28/11/2015

There is a slogan “Let’s take the waiting out of wanting” which is typical of the way we are manipulated into wanting things that don’t last, although we fool ourselves that we shall be happy if only we have them.

Christianity, along with all other religions, knows the wisdom of waiting for something or someone of true value. The promises made to the Hebrew people that our future is worth waiting for have kept them in hope for more than 5,000 years. The promise stated in the reading of the Holy Quran gives Muslims the daily hope of a relationship with Almighty God.
Advent is that time when Christians wait for the fulfilment of the Promise. This is a promise that we can hardly understand and is dimly echoed by our childhood experiences of “Christmas morning” and the presents under our tree. The love and thoughtfulness that our parents put into preparing Christmas for us is a vague shadow of a much greater experience of Our Father which is to come in the future.

Advent can be a time of preparation for the Coming of Christ into our own lives. What might that mean?
Well it might increase our hope that “things might get better”. This little development should not be overlooked as many people struggle with ill health, money worries or disappointments.

It might mean an increase in kindness – both to others and ourselves. How many of us judge ourselves harshly for being merely human, easily upset, sinful?

It might mean an increase in peace within ourselves. A peace that Almighty God gives us if only we ask Him for it. A peace which helps us carry on even with all our difficulties.

This Advent you might like to use an Advent Calendar to reflect each day on how hope, kindness and peace are as important for us as vitamins and calories. What we truly “need” is given to us each day by a Loving Father.

Of course it is easy for us to complain and gossip. But how does this help? We can worry and get angry. But how does this help? This Advent try and make some time for yourself to notice that Christ has promised us “life” and that He has invited us to ask for what we need. Try it. Instead of writing to Santa Claus for things, write to Jesus and ask Him for Peace, Kindness and Hope.

Christian Comment for May

28/11/2015

At long last everything has become spring green and colourful, even if the temperature is cool. Once again the seasons turn forward and maybe we shall have a warm summer. It is all out of our control. However, it is part of a much bigger system of weather which is both responsive to our planet's condition and also has effects on our world. This is also true for our 'spiritual condition' – our relationship with Almighty God.

The Christian Churches are celebrating the Coming of The Holy Spirit onto the early Christians: Pentecost or Whit Sunday, as many will recall. The action of Almighty God is beyond our direct control, but we can be responsive to it. This occurs either when we pray for a loved one, or when we receive an ' inspiration ' that reminds us to contact someone we have not spoken with for a while and we discover that they are in some kind of need and appreciate our telephone call. Such a gentle action can sometimes seem like a simple thought, but if we take a moment to reflect on it we might wonder "Where did that thought come from?"

Have you ever had such an experience, or indeed been on the other end when someone contacted you and you were really pleased? When a loved one dies or there is a worrying hospital appointment to attend, the action of The Holy Spirit may well send you a moment of comfort that perhaps you hardly notice. A warm memory or an offer of a lift to Hospital. A cup of tea or a card.

Jesus said The Father would send such a 'Comforter ' and that The Holy Spirit would help us both understand and pray. The birth of a grandchild or the exam success of a niece bring with them warm emotions and a store of happy memories for the future. These too are part of the ' Weather System ' of The Holy Spirit. Some of the signs that the season is here are an increase in our hope and trust. A greater kindness to the ones we live with, and a self-control that enables us to take time to notice what is going on for our friend or relative. "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful, and You shall renew the face of the earth".

New Life

28/11/2015

The blossoming of our trees each year can be overlooked, but we would do well to spend a moment thinking about the re-generation of Nature. It represents not only newness but also growth. We have not experienced this Spring before, and our lives are in a different place from last year. What has happened in that last year? How have we grown?

The Christian belief in the Resurrection of Jesus is also an event that can be seen as both new and capable of helping us grow. It remains new, because it is a Divine Event outside of our time and therefore able to touch any of us at any time. His rising from death helps us make sense of the death of our loved ones. It can give us hope that we shall see them again. It gives us a bigger picture to think about than just our ordinary daily lives of work, home and play.
It helps us grow in our trust that Almighty God remains looking after His world even when so much of our "news" is of individuals making a mess of their own lives and other people's.

But for some the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection do not seem believable. And yet if we read them carefully, they are full of the sort of detail that you might want in an eye-witness's account. Two cloths that had wrapped His body, carefully folded and put to one side. The soldiers, unable to account for what happened - or were they embarrassed by being asleep on duty? Thomas not believing until he was able to touch Jesus. Eating sardines for breakfast on the beach at Galilee.
If we are to try and believe in Jesus, we must allow Him to be bigger than our unbelief. We might like to re-read the Gospel accounts and ask ourselves if they are credible. And if they are true, then what might that mean for the way I look at life? Do my loved ones who have died live on with Jesus in some way? Will I have an experience of Jesus when I have died?

The Gospel accounts witness that Jesus showed Himself to people over a forty day period. They speak of thousands of people seeing Him. Bearing in mind that many people had seen Him before, are they likely to have been mistaken in recognising Him after he had risen? The difficulty we might have is in trying to recognise Him today in Littlehampton in 2015. We might make a start by re-reading the Gospels and by looking at the lives of people with faith.

Christian Unity

28/11/2015

This year's Scripture reading for our Service of Christian Unity in Littlehampton this January was John 4: 1-42. Our Lord has to travel through a district where different people live. They pray differently and there is almost no communication between the people.

As I write this I have just been to Latvia and spent a few hours in their capital, Riga. I did not understand their language and they both look and behave differently from the people I am used to. This was not comfortable.

In the Reading Jesus is sitting by the town well as He is hot and thirsty, and at the hottest part of the day a woman comes to draw water. They begin to talk together and they begin to appreciate one another. He suggests that prayer needs to be done "in spirit and truth". What might He mean? I would suggest that we ‘ordinary’ people might not know. We are comfortable thinking and speaking in English (or Latvian or Russian) and we usually do not make much of an effort to meet people from a ‘different’ place. Are we even aware that we might need to make a considerable effort if we are to meet "The Son of God"? In the Gospel He speaks of "a water that He shall give". What is that "water"? Have I received it?

All Christians wish to have a personal relationship with Jesus and we tend to do this in many different ways. Often we are unaware of each other's experience of Him. The effort required to begin to understand another person is considerable and, as in the Gospels, it can often occur during the most ordinary of activities such as Lunch or Supper or a cold drink.

All Christians seek to meet Jesus in Sacred Scripture. We read a passage and either imagine ourselves there or we draw out a ‘lesson’ for ourselves. We meet Him in prolonged periods of silence, even in ‘unanswered’ prayer. We meet Him in other people, not only Believers, but especially people in need.

All Christians are aware of the action of The Holy Spirit who influences us in very subtle ways which can be easily missed. Circumstances, decisions, "the Signs of the Times".

One area in which we are perhaps less good at Meeting Jesus is in the future. Do we look forward to His Coming Again? Are we people of Hope? Or do we tend to live in the past where we have been let down, misunderstood and hurt?

As we come together in Services of Christian Unity let us be interested in meeting someone from another place. Let us be interested in how they do things differently. And let us do something together.. sing.. drink tea.. think about Jesus in Saint John*s Gospel and be silent before Him, The Source of Living Water.

Peace and Unity

1/3/2013

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.

Lent

2/2/2013

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.

New Year Resolutions

6/1/2013

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.

Time

17/11/2012

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.

October is The Month of the Holy Rosary

6/10/2012

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.