All Categories

Autumn

29/9/2012

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…)

0 Comments

Year of Faith

8/9/2012

0 Comments

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.

0 Comments

John the Baptist

23/6/2012

0 Comments

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?

0 Comments

Ascension

26/5/2012

0 Comments

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.

0 Comments

Notice the Holy Spirit in our lives

5/5/2012

0 Comments

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?

0 Comments

Parish Review

22/4/2012

0 Comments

It has been more than 6 months since I began as your Priest. In that time a number of developments have happened. There are more Altar Servers, a website, a day for Extra Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, fortnightly coffee after 11am Mass and most of our Primary Schools classes visiting the church. t may be useful for us all to review how things are going and to look forward. May I invite you to make your thoughts known by either coming to a meeting on Saturday 23rd June at 4pm or Sunday 24th June at 12.30pm (with a bring a plate of food to share lunch). Both meetings will take place in our Hall. If you are unable to make these dates you may like to make your thoughts known via our website. There is a new page 'Review Questionnaire' for your convenience. Maybe some questions to start off your thinking might be, “What is going well?”, “What would you be prepared to get involved with in the future?”, “Which are your favourite hymns?”.

0 Comments

VOCATIONS SUNDAY (29th April)

20/4/2012

0 Comments

VOCATIONS SUNDAY (29th April) is a day when, as a diocese, we pray particularly for vocations to the priesthood. The life of the priest is immensely fulfilling. It is a calling which brings great joy and blessing. Please pray hard for vocations to the priesthood. Your sons and grandsons are those whom God may be calling to this radical way of life ... Every young Catholic single man needs to ask himself the question, at some stage in his life, 'Is God calling me to be a priest?'.Please consider how best you might help single men of all ages to consider the calling of Christ in their lives. Do you pray for vocations to the priesthood? Could you start a parish prayer group to support vocations to the priesthood? Do you invite the young men of your parish or your family to seriously consider the priesthood? Could you be a link person with the Vocations Director for your parish? Could you organise a monthly Holy Hour for vocations in your parish? Are there other things that you could do? Please feel free to use this prayer again and again as we ask the Lord to send us many many priestly vocations for our diocese: Father of all, in the name of Jesus Christwho came not to be served but to serve,grant us the grace of many new vocations to the priesthoodin our diocese.Give us men after your own heart who,following the example of the Good Shepherd himself,are willing to joyfully lay down their lives in your serviceand for your glory.We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be ...The Diocesan Vocation Director is Fr Terry Martin who may be contacted at: [email protected]"
Fr Terry

0 Comments

Thank you

15/4/2012

0 Comments

May I say how pleased I was with the Holy Week and Easter Sunday services. We had standing room only on Easter Sunday! Thank you for your offering to me.

I am going to take a few days away from Tuesday April 24th until Saturday April 28th.
Father Dominic

0 Comments

Experience the Holy Land

3/4/2012

1 Comment

A new website has just been launched direct from the Holy Land. Details of the new website and link below:
The Holy Land Custody’s Franciscan Media Center has launched a new multi-lingual website to visually tell the story of the Holy Land and to give “voice and visibility” to the local Church and sacred places of Jesus’ homeland.
The center aims to tell “an altogether different story” in contrast to news reports that speak only of “fear, division and conflict.”
The new website, www.fmc-terrasanta.org, is “yet one more way” to bring the Holy Land to “the far corners of the world,” the Franciscan Media Center said March 31.
Among the website’s offerings are news stories, cultural pieces and information about events, pilgrimages, and interreligious dialogue. It contains interviews, documentaries and spirituality columns.
The center offers direct video transmissions of celebrations from the most important sanctuaries in the Holy Land.
Its website will publish video news daily, as well as episodes from the the weekly news program Terra Santa News.
Visitors to the website may read it in Italian, Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. An Arabic-language version will be available soon.

1 Comment

Travelling East

3/3/2012

1 Comment

I am travelling East on Monday March 5th to visit an Oratorian Community of Priests in Tarnow, Poland and then on into Ukraine to visit a Boy's Orphanage run by Miles Jesu, a Religious Community.

The eastern parts of Europe have only recently been available to us since the historic collapse of what seemed so solid, Communism.

Throughout these countries Christianity and indeed all forms of Religious Belief were persecuted. But now there is a tremendous revival of education and faith.

Here in Littlehampton we have Christian people from Latvia and Lithuania as well as Russia in our Church. Pope John Paul II said that the Church needs to breathe with both "lungs", meaning with the Orthodox as well as the Latin Rite.

I hope that we can welcome people from the East and please keep the Boy's in your Prayer.

I shall be back on Saturday 17th March.

1 Comment

<<Previous

Forward>>

Autumn

Year of Faith

John the Baptist

Ascension

Notice the Holy Spirit in our lives

Parish Review

VOCATIONS SUNDAY (29th April)

Thank you

Experience the Holy Land

Travelling East

Fr. Dominic's Blog

Archives

Categories