Church Papers Archive

A&B News History

Newspaper for the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton

Jun 2019 edition of the A&B News - Page

Page 1

To read A&B NEWS on line please visit www.abdiocese.org.uk/publications The Catholic Newspaper for the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton JUNE 2019 - No.341 A&B News FREE Woking peace vigil remembers Christchurch tragedy - Page 2 New Interreligious Priest Adviser Fr Martin McGee - Page 6 A&B gathers in Arundel for Canon Tim’s Silver Jubilee of Priestly Ordination - Page 3 O NE OF THE MOST important occasions in the Diocese’s diary took place at Arundel Cathedral on Wednesday 17 April. It was the annual Chrism Mass, where the three Oils are blessed and consecrated and priests renew their priestly promises. Long before the ceremony started, the congregation was be- ginning to arrive along with parish priests and the religious of the Diocese. As the time grew closer to six o’clock, there was a distinct buzz of expectation that something important was about to happen. More chairs were called for to accommodate the latecomers - eventually over 500 made up the congrega- tion. Quite suddenly and spontaneously, the Cathedral fell quiet as the time came to commence the ceremony. Maybe this silence only lasted a few seconds – but they were important seconds. Before the procession of the 98 Diocesan priests and 29 dea- cons, Catherine Christmas, Diocesan Advisor for Liturgy, led the congregation in the Gathering Hymn. What was it like being involved in the stirring music and singing? What was it like being a bearer of the Oils? The A&B News went to ﬁnd out... (continued on page 8) Holy Oils Blessed and Distributed Bishop Richard breathes over the Oil of Chrism, symbolising the Holy Spirit coming down to consecrate it Hand in Hand Presents a Passionate Cantata! S OMETIMES THE SIMPLER the delivery, the clearer the message. This was certainly the case when Hand-in-Hand presented their version of the story of Holy Week at St Wilfrid’s Church Hall, Burgess Hill on Saturday 13 April, the day before Palm Sunday. Over 60 attended their performance of the cantata ‘Hosanna!’ which included audience participation as the story unfolded from the tri- umphant entry into Jerusalem ( pictured above ) through the devastating cruciﬁxion on Good Friday to the glorious Resurrection. (continued on page 9) Oil of the Sick is processed out out of the Cathedral

Page 2

2 A&B NEWS June 2019 Live Simply Award S T CLEMENTS PARISH CHURCH became the third Parish in the diocese to re- ceive the Live Simply award on 6 April 2019. Pictured with the award are the Live Simply Assessors with the parish team and Fr Graham Bamford, parish priest. The parish started to work towards achieving the award in 2017 and were inspired by reﬂecting on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si . They contemplated how they could best respond to the Pope’s prophetic words and decided that they wanted to do something practical - and the Live Simply Steering Group was born. Jonathan Inns, coordinator of the group, explained that working towards the award has brought the whole parish together. Both young and old have taken part and all of the parish has been able to share in the achievement of receiving the award. The process has raised awareness of green issues and highlighted the beneﬁt of living simply so that others can simply live. The parish has established a veg- etable garden, implemented a recycling scheme and developed a tree planting scheme for newly baptized children. Jonathan would encourage other parishes to get involved. He explained that it has been a very rewarding, faith-afﬁrming process. Story: Live Simply National Ofﬁce Picture, by Robin Hannan FOLLOWING THE SHOOTING of 50 Muslims in the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March, the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking invited people from all over the local Borough, with just a week’s notice, to a Peace Vigil at the Mosque in the afternoon of 23 March 2019. Estimates vary, but at least 600 people - Christians, those of other faiths, those of none - removed their shoes and respectfully joined with those of our local Muslim community, to remember the victims of the atroc- ity: as so many said, in solidarity with ‘our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world’. Imam Haﬁz Hashmi of the Shah Jahan Mosque, who led the Vigil, welcomed and thanked everyone very warmly for attending. The event was attended by leading dignitaries, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond; Woking’s MP Jonathan Lord; the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux; and Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, David Munro. Local churches were also represented including Fr Peter from St Dunstan’s Catholic Church. Fr Peter spoke to the whole congregation about the love that we share in coming together, in our sympathy for the victims and their families and how love is the most important virtue for us all to show to each other in our world. Other church leaders also spoke as did a number of the dignitaries who attended. Recitation from the Qur’an and chanted traditional prayers were also woven into the Peace Vigil. The picture, taken out- side, shows, from the left: Dr Syed Naqvi, Chair, Surrey Muslim Associa- tion, Fr Peter, Imam Haﬁz Hashmi of the Shah Jahan Mosque who led the Peace Vigil, and PCC David Munro. Dr Syed Naqvi is also the Imam at the only Shia Mosque in Surrey: Al Asr Education and Community Centre, Woking. In the picture you may also be able to see prayer mats laid out on the grass, one for each victim of the shoot- ings. Everyone was in- vited to share in refreshments after the formality of the Vigil and all reﬂected on what a beautiful,peaceful, uniting and appropriate occasion it had been. Story: Mark Potter Picture: John Sexton Peace Vigil in Woking WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SCHOOLS ON THIS PAGE FOR SUPPORTING THE PAPER T e r m T i m e N u r s e r y The Towers Upper Beeding, Steyning BN44 3TF 01903 812185 admin@thetowersschool.org www:thetowersschool.org Visit our website: St. Joseph’s Specialist Trust & click on ‘Recruitment’ St. Joseph’s Specialist Trust SUNDAY TIMES TOP 100 PREP SCHOOLS PERSONAL TOURS Please call to arrange a visit Independent Catholic primary school and nursery welcoming boys and girls aged 2 - 11. ISI rated ‘Excellent’ in all areas with small classes and affordable fees. Scholarship and 11+ success. 01892 783414 www.sacredheartwadhurst.org.uk ‘ Pupils appreciate that family spirit and unity, rather than difference, is the key to tolerance.’ ISI Report 2018 Leading girls’ Catholic school Global Healing R EADERS MAY BE AWARE of the Global Healing initiative, which the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has produced with the aid of CaFE – Catholic Faith Exploration. This is in response to Pope Francis’ Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’, in which the Pope calls for dialogue and action concerning ‘our com- mon home’ planet earth. He is extremely concerned about how our lifestyles are destroying the planet. Our bishops have begun the process of healing by producing the Global Healing ﬁlm and telling our parish priests about it. It consists of two ﬁlms. The main ﬁlm shows how human activity is destroying the planet, and how we need an ecologi- cal conversion to make the right ethical choices to begin to reverse the destruc- tion. The second ﬁlm prompts us to consider what we can do, as individuals, to educate ourselves on the issues, and to change our lifestyles so as to reduce our carbon footprint and lessen our abuse of animals. Why not arrange for a Global Healing event in your parish. You can make a dif- ference. This is the website:- www.ourcommonhome.co.uk Story: Virginia Bell

Page 3

A&B NEWS June 2019 3 A &B Diocese Celebrates Canon Tim Madeley’s Silver Jubilee A RUNDEL CATHERDRAL was packed on Tuesday 30 April to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of priestly ordination of the Dean of the Cathedral, Canon Tim Madeley. There to celebrate with him was Bishop Richard, who presided at the Mass, Bishop Paul Hendricks from Southwark, and over 40 fellow priests - not only from Arundel & Brighton Dio- cese but also from Portsmouth, South- wark and Brentwood dioceses. There was also his parish deacon, Rev David Clifton and half a dozen deacons from the deanery and beyond. Parish- ioners from his home parish of Horsham included Clema his mother. Arundel represenatives included the Duke of Norfolk and the Mayor of Arun- del and her consort, and attendees from parishes in which Canon Tim had served over the years ﬁlled the rest of the cathedral. The music for the Mass was led by the Cathedral Choir who brought the pro- cession into the church with a resound- ing rendition of Jerusalem the Golden . The preacher was good friend and fellow priest ordained in the same year, Canon Dominic Golding. He spoke of Canon Tim`s great love of Black Cabs which he had owned throughout his ministry and in all of which Canon Do- minic had been a passenger. Yet, Canon Dominic said that whatever his friend’s passions- from Black Cabs to photogra- phy and dogs - he lived above all as a passenger of the Church, driven by the Lord to live out the Gospel. At the end of Mass Deacon David Clifton thanked Canon Tim for his won- derful service to the people of Arundel and the Cathedral Parish and was pleased to give him the gift of a cheque collected in the parish as a thank you for his 25 years of priesthood and ser- vice in the Cathedral. The Bishop also added his thanks for Canon Tim`s years of priesthood. The Bishop and Canon Tim are pictured with Canon Tim’s mother Clema on his right and other family members. Everyone then moved from the celebration in the Cathedral to the Cathedral Centre for a reception prepared and served by parishioners and all were able to wish Canon Tim congratulations as he cut the celebra- tion cake (pictured) - Ad multos annos! Other gifts presented to Canon Tim at the reception included a painting of Canon Tim’s dog Sybil (pictured) from members of the Cathedral Choir. Story : Rev Mark Woods Pictures: Rev Mark Wood, David White The Diocese of Arundel & Brighton Formation Team Marriage & Family Life Commission Diocesan G rand p arents ’ P ilgrimage 2019 t o the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, West Grinstead, RH13 8LT.13 8LT, On Wednesday, 12 th June, 10 .3 0 to 3 p m - Adoration and Reconciliation - O pp ortunity to Visit Secret Cha p el - Mass with Bisho p Richard - Retiring Collection for U p kee p of Shrine - Meet and share with other G rand p arents Parking Limited - car sharing advisable. I nfo and Bookings at Rosie.Read@abdiocese.org.uk 01293 651161 Diocese of Westminster English Martyrs School St. Mark Street London E1 8DJ Tel: 0207 709 0182 www.englishmartyrs.towerhamlets.sch.uk Headteacher – Miss B Nugent Email: admin@englishmartyrs.towerhamlets.sch.uk www.englishmartyrs.towerhamlets.sch.uk Mission Statement “We are special people on a journey, growing and learning together in search of excellence, as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.” EYFS/Key Stage 1/2 Teacher - Permanent Full Time Required for September 2019 Ofsted 2017: “The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Pupils say they are happy, safe and know they can turn to a member of staff at any time if they have any worries.” We offer: • a welcoming and supportive staff who work collaboratively to enable all pupils to achieve their full potential • the excitement of working with pupils from a range of social and cultural backgrounds • pupils who are well behaved and keen to learn We would like to welcome a teacher who: • supports the ethos and vision of our Catholic Primary school • has excellent subject knowledge of the EYFS/KS1/KS2 curriculum • will have high expectations of pupils’ learning and behaviour • shows creativity and initiative in introducing tasks and monitoring pupils’ learning and progress • will form excellent partnerships with colleagues and the wider community. English Martyrs School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will require an enhanced DBS check. Visits are highly recommended, please contact the school to make an appointment. Visits welcome week beginning 3rd June. All applications must be made on the CES application form. The application pack is available to download from the school website at www.englishmartyrs.towerhamlets.sch.uk – and must be returned to school by Wednesday 12th June 2019. Interviews will be held the week beginning Monday 17th June 2019.

Page 4

4 A&B NEWS June 2019 A&B NEWS The official monthly paper of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton E ditor : Harry Robertson De p uty E ditor : David White E ditorial Assistants : J ackie Ballard, Melinda Heathcote, John Lodge, Veronica Peppiatt S p ecial Corres p ondents : Peter Burholt, Pauline Groves Administrati v e Assistant : Ruth Gerun E ditorial Office : St Philip Howard Centre, 4 Southgate Drive, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 6RP Telephone: 01293 513052 E mail : abnews@abdiocese.org.uk We b site : www.abdiocese.org.uk Distri b ution en q uiries : Ruth Gerun, Editorial Office P u b lication date : Last Sunday of the month for the follow- ing month. Opinions expressed by contributors are not nec- essarily those of the Editor or the Diocese. The Arundel and Brighton Diocesan Trust is a registered charity: No. 252878. Ad v ertising : Janet, janett@cathcom.org 01440 730399 or 07931 836907 P u b lishers : Bellcourt Limited, Business Centre, Steeple Bumpstead, Haverhill, Suffolk, CB9 7BN E DITORIAL BOARD of A&B N E WS Canon Kieron O’Brien, Harry Robertson, Dr Kate Williamson, Rev Mark Woods T HE WORLDWIDE MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER movement has been bringing married couples closer to- gether since 1962. So how does the movement bring more joy and ro- mance into relationships? Simple! Through the Marriage Encounter Weekend. From its humble Spanish begin- nings, Marriage Encounter is now a worldwide movement and has success- fully touched the lives of millions and millions of couples and their families. Marriage Encounter does not offer marriage counselling but is intended to enrich your marriage. The aim is also to enrich family life. A Marriage Encounter Weekend offers you and your partner valuable time away together. The Weekend provides a unique way for you to revitalise your marriage away from the distractions, tensions and routines of everyday stressful life. We attended our original Marriage Encounter Weekend at St Clarets, Buckden in 2012. After 15 years, our marriage had lost its spark. On the surface we functioned well as a couple yet we knew something was missing. Paul was apprehensive and wary to attend the Weekend. Bianca was ex- S OMETIMES, we pray to the Saints for, well, less than lofty reasons. While the saints have led lives of heroic virtue and are now in Heaven, we recall their lives and ask for help in a variety of trying circumstances. Examples that spring to mind are St Jude (impossible causes), St Valentine (romantic love), St Christopher (good luck/mo- torists), St Rita (loneliness), St Isidore (computer viruses) and, as the March edition of A&B News reminded us, St Joseph of Cuper- tino for exam success. There is another well-known member of this heavenly ‘emer- gency service,’ St Anthony of Padua. He was born in Lisbon, Portu- gal, in 1195, was baptised ‘Fer- nando’ and was a contemporary of St Francis of Assisi. At age 15 he entered an Augus- tinian monastery and transferred to the Franciscans 11 years later - taking the name Anthony – be- cause he wanted to go to Morocco to preach the Gospel and become another martyr for the faith. Martrydom was not on the cards. He fell seriously ill, never reached Morocco, and instead was nearly shipwrecked, eventually landing in Italy, where he lived a life of seclusion and contempla- tion in a hermitage. That did not last. Reluctantly agreeing to give a sermon to a gathering of monks, his theologi- cal knowledge and holiness hugely impressed everyone, so he was sent to northern Italy and south- ern France as a public preacher. He succeeded beyond everyone’s imagining, drawing large crowds but living an austere, devout life. Age 33, he met and impressed Pope Gregory IX. Assigned to Padua, his preaching brought crowds of up to 30,000 at a time so he was forced to preach in ﬁelds – and even needed a bodyguard as people brought knives and scissors to cut off a sample of this holy man’s tunic. Exhausted and ill, he died just three years later at age 36. The fol- lowing year, impressed by many miracles that happened around his tomb, his friend Pope Gregory pro- claimed him a saint. The tradition of asking Saint Anthony’s help in ﬁnding lost items may begin from when Saint Anthony’s own book of psalms was stolen; he prayed for its return and the thief felt compelled to return it. My own friends and family have successfully prayed to St Anthony for the return of a valuable cake knife, car keys, a purse – and much more. After almost 800 years St An- thony can still be relied upon to re- cover lost or stolen items. Saint of the Month - A Saint for Lost Property Prayer to St Anthony S AINT ANTHONY, perfect imitator of Jesus, who received from God the special power of restoring lost things, grant that I may ﬁnd (mention your petition) which has been lost. At least restore to me peace and tranquility of mind, the loss of which has afﬂicted me even more than my material loss. To this favor I ask another of you: that I may always remain in possession of the true good that is God. Let me rather lose all things than lose God, my supreme good. Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure, eternal life with God. Amen. An Enriched Marriage cited to try anything that might reinvig- orate the marriage. The Weekend was truly a blessing we will always cherish. We were humbled by the openness of the presenting team and were honoured to be part of such a life-giving weekend! We reconnected as a couple and the fam- ily dynamic changed dramatically (for the better). Our relationship with our two daughters beneﬁted and we have ea- gerly shared all the tools with them. The Marriage Encounter experience teaches effective communication between couples in a fun way. The weekend experience is a time to share feelings, joys, hopes, dreams and disil- lusionments. It is a time to rediscover romance and the adventure of being together. The Marriage Encounter Weekend is also open to priests and religious who want to renew their relationship with their community. Although a typical Weekend is presented by three Catholic couples and a priest, all mixed faith couples and those with no faith are welcome to attend. The Weekend is open to unmarried couples in long-standing relation- ships. It is a strictly private experience between each couple and there are no group dynamics or group sharing. Weekends (residential or non resi- dential) are held throughout the year and at venues nationally. Weekends are paid for entirely by donations. Worldwide Marriage Encounter (Eng- land & Wales) is a registered charity. Further information can be ob- tained by visiting the website wwme.org.uk Story: Paul & Bianca Smith I HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL EASTER and will continue to celebrate until Pentecost on Sunday 9th June. As usual, there were some lapses in my own plans for prayer, fasting and almsgiv- ing in the weeks leading to Easter. For some reason I’ve always found fasting dif- ﬁcult, prayer and almsgiving easier. On the other hand, there were also some unplanned but timely opportunities to polish the rough spiritual edges, includ- ing six weeks of ‘Prayer with the Heart’ at St Michael’s, Worthing. On Easter Sunday our church was packed; the pews were full and, although extra chairs had been put in the side aisles, there were still people standing at the back. I suspect that, like me, you may have wondered ‘What would it take to ﬁll the church every Sunday?’ What if we grew in openness to the power of the Holy Spirit, increased in un- derstanding and courage, were truly open to the Lord’s call, while bearing powerful witness to all around us? We might just have to build bigger churches… JUST A THOUGHT MANY PEOPLE ARE AWARE that Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter, but Pentecost seems to have become a little forgotten. Yet for the early church these events were a game-changer. When Jesus appeared to the apostles he told them not to do anything yet; they weren’t ready. Then at Pentecost some astonishing events occurred: ‘ They saw what seemed to be tongues of ﬁre that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were ﬁlled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit en- abled them.’ (Acts 2:3-) The Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to go and spread the Good News, with- out fear. This beg an the remar kably rapid spread of Christianity through- out the region and beyond. Without Pentecost it’s likely we wouldn’t know about Jesus, so our faith is a continua- tion of those events, which deserves to be celebrated. Today it’s easy to focus on our own material wants, and forget about the events and message of Pentecost. But we should be open to inspiration from the Holy Spirit, and remember to spread the Good News in our daily lives. Jesus delivered a message of love and hope for all, and asked us to reject selﬁsh materialism. Pentecost was the start of the spread of this message, and when capitalism and self interest often dominate our society, it’s good to remember what the message was actu- ally about. Ashleigh Hodges Wikipedia Commons: Raphael’s St Anthony of Padua: Google Art Project

Page 5

A Bi b le to remind us that He is the Liv- ing Word. A small Basket at the foot of the Cross ready to receive the names of our chil- dren written individually on small paper discs as a symbol of our placing them into Jesus’ care. Prayer follows the booklet format but there is time for spontaneous prayer too. Dur- ing the meetings a mother may share her worries with- out the fear of anything being repeated outside of the meeting. The other mothers support her in her prayer and she will feel supported by thousands of mothers around the world who are also part of Mothers’ Prayers. An example of the booklet prayer is: For more information: www.mothersprayers.org Story: Jackie Ballard A&B NEWS June 2019 5 To advertise your Theology, Philosophy and Religious Studies Courses Contact Janet on 01440 730399 or email janett@cathcom.org This is an example of a ¼ page advert 170mm high x 128mm wide Lord Jesus, we come before you as moth- ers, wanting you to bless our children, and all children throughout the world. We thank you for our children - they are a precious gift to us. Help us, always to re- member this, especially when they are in difﬁculties. Lord, they live in a troubled world - a world that does not always acknowledge you - a world that may sometimes cause them to be laughed at if they admit to be- lief in you. Help them to be strong, Lord. Help us to know that you are always with us - sharing in the joys and in the sorrows, joining us in the laughter and weeping, with us in the pain. Please give us all the graces we need, to fulﬁl your plans for our lives and for our duties in our families. You are Almighty God. You can change things. So we turn to you in faith and love know- ing that you will answer our prayers. Lord, let us always remember how much you love us and our children and how you urge us to come to you with our problems. Amen. A Mother’s Love Conquers the World: Mothers Prayer Group `Stop your crying and wipe away your tears. All that you have done for your children will not go unrewarded. They will return from the enemy`s land. There is hope for your future. Your children will come back home. I, the Lord, have spoken`. (Jer 31: 16,17) Good News Bible M OTHERS’ PRAYERS was formed in Novem- ber 1995 to help those moth- ers who wished to pray together in a special way for their children and grandchil- dren and to ﬁnd the support they needed. Started in England by two grandmothers it has spread rapidly throughout the world with prayer groups in over 100 Countries and the prayer booklet trans- lated into more than 40 languages. Today thousands of groups of mothers pray to- gether for their children and grandchil- dren, and many graces have been received. It has the approval, support and blessing of Christian leaders of all de- nominations; and is open to any mother. The founders, Veronica and Sandra, felt that they should bring all the pain and the worries they had for their children to Jesus and to trust in His words `Ask and you will receive`. Through this promise, they understood that the Lord is just waiting to take away pain and to bless and heal them and their children when they come to Him in Faith. The Meetings follow a speciﬁc but sim- ple format, and a booklet is provided to ensure the structure and prayers are consistent and unifying. A prayer group may be started with only two mothers. Members meet every week and obey the strict rule of conﬁden- tiality. A typical meeting will require: A Cross to remind us that Jesus is our Redeemer. A Candle to remind us that He is the Light of the World. Bishop Blesses Beautiful Icons at St Michael’s in Worthing B ISHOP RICHARD MOTH blessed two beautiful Icons, one of the Virgin Mary with the child Jesus and the other of the Archangel St Michael, at the church of St Michael’s, Hayling Rise, Worthing. The two icons were commissioned by the parish to celebrate 50 years since the church was built in 1965. One was of St Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of the parish and the other of the Virgin Mary with Jesus as it reﬂects the impor- tant place in the faith of the Church of Jesus and his Mother. The two icons were commissioned following the visit during a parish pilgrimage in 2015 to the Holy Land to the Bethlehem Icon Centre, which is home to an Icon School and its Icon Workshop. The Centre is dedicated to the renewal of iconography as a living part of the spiri- tual landscape of the Holy Land through a commitment to the highest standards of sacred liturgical art. The Centre, by restoring an essential el- ement of their ancient culture, seeks to renew the dwindling Christian population of the city and of the region. It is the only project of its kind in the Middle East. Bishop Richard during the Mass and blessing emphasized that ‘they are not just beautiful works of art but also works of prayer’. The ancient Christian under- standing is that they are not only things of wonder and beauty but are a window into the divine life of God if we pray with them and through them. Bishop Richard, Fr Chris Ingle and the parish congregation were joined by Mr Ian Knowles ( pictured with Bishop Richard ) who produced the two icons and is director of the Bethlehem Icon Centre. He was in the parish to ﬁnish them off by applying a ﬁnal wax varnish to both Icons to protect them from damage. The parish deacon, Rev Mark Woods said: ‘Thanks to the foresight of our parish priest Fr Chris Ingle and many parishioners, we now have more amazing art in our church to nourish our souls and prayer life’. He continued, ‘it was ap- propriate that they should be blessed just before Holy Week as they help direct us in prayer to the God who became human like us, suffered and died for us but rose to new life at Easter that we might share in God’s divine life which we glimpse here in these icons’. Everybody is welcome to visit the Icons when the church is open and to spend some time there in prayer and contempla- tion. Story and Pictures: Mark Woods

Page 6

6 A&B NEWS June 2019 The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Formation Team Serving the communities of our Diocese F R MARTIN MCGEE of Worth Abbey has been appointed by Bishop Richard as the Interreligious Priest Adviser for the Dialogue and Unity Commission. The Dialogue and Unity Adviser, Catherine Martindale, spoke of the appointment, ‘It is a great boost to the Commission to have such an accom- plished author with us. His presence will help to focus attention on the interreligious engagement of Catholics in the Diocese. I very much look forward to us offering more formation and resourcing opportunities in this area of Church teaching, which is particularly important in our lives today.’ Fr Martin joined Worth Abbey in 1986. Before entering Worth he worked as a teacher of French in Co Louth, Ireland. His interest in interreligious dialogue was ﬁrst kindled on hearing about the assassination by Muslim extremists of seven Trappist monks in Algeria in 1996. His love of France and things French had already aroused in him an interest in Algeria, a country with which France had, and continues to have, a love/hate relationship. This interest was further kindled when he discovered that a former student of Worth School, Fr John MacWilliam, now Bishop of the Sahara, was a White Father in Algeria. All of these apparently fortuitous hap- penings stimulated his interest in Islam and led Fr Martin to make his ﬁrst visit to Algeria. There, he learnt about the love of the monks for their Muslim brothers and sisters and came into con- tact with the work of the Algerian Church, a Church that has worked tirelessly to promote reconcilia- tion and friendship between Christians and Muslims. Fr Martin has written two books about this Christian-Muslim friendship. The ﬁrst, Christian Martyrs for a Muslim People, was published by the Paulist Press and the second, Dialogue of the Heart: Christian-Muslim Stories of Encounter, was published by Veritas and later reprinted by Orbis Books in the States. He thinks that we here in the UK have much to learn from the Tibhirine monks and the witness of the Algerian Church as we seek to strengthen our friendship with people of other faiths. Fr Martin will be presenting at the up- coming Dialogue and Unity Day on Sat- urday 2 8th Se p tem b er , 10-4pm, when we will be exploring the teaching of the Church on our relationship with those of other religions, with a particular focus on Islam. So, save the date, more information will be available soon. P ictured above are, left to right: Catherine Martindale Dialogue and Unity Adviser; Steve Innes, Commission member; Kauser Akthar, Surrey Faith Links Adviser, joint post Surrey County Council and the Diocese of Guildford; Fr Martin McGee, new Interreligious Priest Adviser for the Dialogue and Unity Com- mission; Revd Godfrey Kasari, who is the new Interfaith Adviser for the Diocese of Chichester; Mark Potter, Commission member; Pauline Webber, Commission member and Grace Keal, Surrey Churches Together Coordinator (more about Grace in the next edition). Story: Catherine Martindale Picture: A&B News Team New Interreligious Priest Adviser: Fr Martin McGee of Worth Abbey

Page 7

A&B NEWS June 2019 7 The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Education Service Placing Christ at the centre and empowered by the Spirit, we serve and support our schools in the name of the Bishop, by aspiring to be the very best we can, identifying, encouraging, nurturing and developing excellence in all aspects of Catholic education. As the Diocesan Education Service, inspired by the Gospel, we are committed to serving in partnership with our family of schools to be the visible face of Christ and to promote the Common Good through the ministry of education. MISSION STATEMENT DIOC E S E OF ARUND E L AND BRI G HTON CATHOLIC L E AD E RS ’ DAY OF C E L E BRATION for Headteachers, Senior Leaders, G o v ernors and School Cha p lains Bishop Richard warmly invites all involved in the ministry of Catholic school leadership to a day of clebration and Mass of Thanksgiving hosted by the Eastbourne and St Leonards Deanery at: TH E G RAND HOT E L E ast b ourne on Friday 5th July 2019 For further information, or to book a place, please contact Claire Martin at: claire.martin@abdiocese.org.uk F OLLOWING ON from the highly successful Catholic Leaders’ Conference held last year at Denbies Wine Estate on the theme ‘I am the true Vine’, we will shortly have the opportunity to re- ﬂect together on the central role of prayer, formation and mission in Catholic education, proclaiming and celebrating ‘The Word who is Life’ throughout Arundel and Brighton Diocese. Bishop Richard will once again be welcoming Headteachers, Se- nior Leaders, Governors, school Chaplains and members of staff all involved in the ministry of Catholic school leadership, to a Day of Celebration and Mass of Thanksgiving. The focus of the day will be to celebrate and give thanks for the wonderful contribution our Catholic leaders make to the schools in our diocese. During the Mass of Thanskgiving Bishop Richard will take the opportunity to formally commission recently trained Section 48 Inspectors, welcome recently appointed head- teachers taking up their post in September, bid farewell to col- leagues leaving their posts at the end of the year, and celebrate the efforts and achievement of all involved in Catholic education in A&B. This year’s event will be hosted by the Eastbourne & St Leonards Deanery and will take place at The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne. During the day attendees will gather for Mass with Bishop Richard, reﬂect on ‘The Word who is Life’ with Marie Ryan, Director of the Education Service, and participate in a Coastal Prayer Walk on the theme ‘The Word who is Life’. DIOCESE OF ARUNDEL AND BRIGHTON Cross Phase Catholic Leaders’ Day of Celebration, including a Mass of Thanksgiving with Bishop Richard The Word who is Life

Page 8

8 A&B NEWS June 2019 Magical Music and Sensational Singing No doubt one’s expectations with re- spect to the standard of music and singing on entering a cathedral would be high. However, what was delivered at the Chrism Mass led one member of the congregation to say ‘Where better could we have experienced such wonderful sounds?’ Pictured is Catherine Christmas leading the congregation in the Gathering Hymn Naturally, this does not happen by chance. With over 50 singers from throughout the Diocese in the choir, re- hearsals began on 6 April starting with rehearsing the common psalms of the Lectionary, followed by the music for the Chrism Mass. Anyone fortunate enough to have arrived early at the Cathedral would have been treated to more re- hearsals before the service started. Anne Ward, who led the music and conducted on the day, reﬂected on the situation. ‘We are so fortunate to have such talent in the Diocese, people who give their time so generously. Two singers to mention are teenagers Anne Sharp and Henry Byrne from Storring- ton, who were happy to sing verses over some of the chant style pieces that were sung in the service. Other soloists included Marylou Cocksfoot from East- bourne and Stephen Bloy. Catherine Christmas did a wonderful job at being the cantor for the psalms and leading the congregation.’ The occasion was further enhanced by Paul Inwood, the celebrated composer and musician, playing the organ. Added to the mix, James Johnson from South- wick played the trumpet. Why James and why no other instruments? ‘James trained as a military trumpeter so play- ing at a higher pitch was well within his capabilities. Why no other instruments? The organ also has a higher pitch than most and some years ago we tried a vio- lin and cello with the organ. We broke three cello strings, so gave that idea up!’ Chrism Oils and their Procession A central part of the Chrism Mass is the processing of the Oils to be blessed and consecrated by Bishop Richard. But what are the three Oils and what are they used for? Oil of the Sick – to anoint those who are gravely ill; Oil of the Catechumens – to anoint adults and children as part of the service of Baptism; Oil of Chrism – to anoint the baptised and in the Sacrament of Conﬁrmation; to anoint a priest’s hands and a bishop’s head and hands; to anoint the altar, sacred vessels and walls of the Church. As in the past, members of the Diocese were the bearers of the Oils. So, what was it like to be bearing the Oils in front of all these hundreds of the laity and re- ligious? Here we have an idea of their feelings. Oil of the Sick – Marie Jackson from the Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage Ofﬁce and Jane Pateman, Chief Medical Ofﬁcer for the Pilgrimage. Marie: ‘I had been excited all week think- ing about processing the Oil of the Sick. My excitement did turn to nerves as I began the procession and I worried about dropping the urn! But, as I got nearer to the sanctuary, I started to relax. It was a great honour, especially as I was repre- senting those who may be anointed dur- ing the Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage this year. ’ Jane: ‘ I felt very honoured to be part of an occasion so central to the Diocese and to the Church’s ministry. ’ Oil of the Catechumens. – Pamela We- ston and David Moss from Knaphill ( pic- tured below). Pamela: ‘ It was a privilege to be part of the beautiful liturgy. Being chosen as one of the bearers came completely out of the blue and I was delighted that St Hugh of Lincoln Parish, Knaphill was chosen .’ David: ‘I t was a joyous occasion, particu- larly because it demonstrated the unity of the diocese, bringing together all the priests and also because the Oils are dis- tributed to every parish for use during the coming 12 months. ’ Oil of Chrism – Chris Rooke, Managing Chaplain HMP Lewes and Diocesan Coordinating Chaplain for Prison Chaplains. ‘ I was quite humbled to be chosen as an Oil bearer, representing all the Catholic Chaplains and volunteers working in diocesan prisons. As I processed with the Oil, I contemplated the recently baptised and conﬁrmed residents in our prisons and those who will receive these Sacra- ments over the coming year.’ The Renewal Commitment After the Gospel Acclamation, the renewal of the Priestly Promises took place. This may appear to be a routine renewal, but to witness all the diocesan priests present stand and face their Bishop in answering the question: ‘Are you resolved to renew, in the presence of your Bishop and God’s holy people, the promises you once made?’ was in- spiring. There was a uniﬁed and re- sounding response of ‘I am’. Bishop Richard put to them two more questions on renewal, both of which had the same unhesitating response. Then it was the turn of the congregation to stand and make their promises of re- newal, so at this point both priests and laity came together as one, true dioce- san family. Bishop Richard had, before the re- newal, given his thought provoking homily – which is included in full on page 9. In it he asks the question: ‘Can I really set the world alight?’ He calls on every person in our diocese – people and priests alike – to join with him in a renewed commitment on this journey to holiness. We will leave you to contem- plate the answer in his homily. And ﬁnally... In his closing words of thanks, the Bishop made particular mention of the trumpet playing, exclaiming ‘The Bishop does like a trumpet!’ On that note, a very contented and fulﬁlled con- gregation and clergy went on their way to spread the Good News to the rest of the diocesan family and to the world. Story: Peter Burholt Pictures: A & B News Team Chrism Mass continued from page 1

Page 9

Written in 1980 by Anne Ward during her ﬁrst year as Music Teacher at St Richard’s Catholic College, Bexhill, ‘Hosanna!’ has been performed in all the Catholic schools where she has taught. As she says, ‘Too many to list!’ The role of Narrator was added especially for this performance. What is a cantata? According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is ‘a short narra- tive or descriptive composition with vocal solos and usually with a chorus accompanied by an orchestral accompa- niment.’ All very grand – but how did Hand-in-Hand interpret this deﬁnition with limited resources? Anne takes up the story. ‘There were 21 involved in the mime and Karen Gold- smith was the Narrator throughout the performance, supported by four voice-overs. We kept to the original script from 1980 as it gave such a simple message. Although not members of the Hand-in-Hand group, we had four in- strumentalists and six singers from Burgess Hill and Keymer who all gave generously of their time and talents.’ This performance was so simple – using only a cross, a sheet, some bread and green palm leaves. As simple as that! What gave it a special meaning was the narration and voice overs, leaving the audience the chance to concentrate on the story unfolding in front of them. The mime artists portrayed all the emo- tions of Holy Week, from ecstacy to anger, from complete despair to joy. The focus of Lauren White in portray- ing Jesus through all these emotions (see picture) was so sincere and touching with all the performers clearly showing their love for the Lord. The singing and the music were both uplifting and, of course, the audience’s eager participa- tion in playing the crowd was to be com- mended. This set out to be a simple production and it succeeded in its visual approach to keep all the audience en- thralled throughout its duration – even the youngest were kept alert. Great applause and thanks came at the joyous ﬁnale (below) which gave rise to many enthusiastic bows and, if there had been curtains, repeated curtain calls. Fr Rick from St Wilfrid’s was given due thanks as, without a hall, the performance would never have hap- pened. Finally, the teas, coffees and cakes went down a treat – thanks to Anne Barry and Sarah Sturman from Bexhill-on-Sea. And, of course, where would we be without the talent of Anne Ward? ( pictured left) Story: Peter Burholt Pictures: A & B News Team A&B NEWS June 2019 9 ‘Hosanna!’ Cantata continued from page 1 Homily delivered at Chrism Mass on Wednesday 17 April 2019 Dear brothers and sisters, Looking back into the history of the Church, there are some very signiﬁcant moments in the development of the teaching of the Church on the theme of Holiness. One might reﬂect on the lives of the early martyrs: women, men, lay faithful and clerics; or the lives of the Desert Fathers and Mothers; on the writings of St Francis de Sales, who, in The Introduction to the Devout Life, afﬁrmed the possibility of sanctity for all; on the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium on the Church of the Second Vatican Council and its chapter entitled The Universal Call to Holiness; on the writings of many Popes. Pope Francis, in his recent Apostolic Exhorta- tion, Christus vivit, in the wake of the last Synod, reminds young people that all are called to be holy. Today’s celebration is a response to that Call to Holiness and also a fruit of that Call. Our minds and hearts are focused on the Ministerial Priesthood as those of us called to share in the Priesthood of Christ Himself renew our promises. We give thanks to God for the response of each and every one of our priests to the call they have received. I invite all the people of our Diocese to share in this thanksgiving. Pray every day for your priests, for they live their lives in service to you. Pray for voca- tions to Priesthood, that more men will hear and respond to the Lord’s call to them. We focus also today on other Sacraments that are great moments of Grace in the life of the Church – those moments when, through our encounter with Grace, the love of God Himself, we become ever more closely His. We do all this in the context of the Eucharist – when, through Grace, through love, we become more closely conformed to the One who died and rose from the dead for us. We truly ‘share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.’ It is our response to this call to holi- ness – to conformity to Christ – that is so very necessary in the life of the Church. The Church has never been without per- secution. I have mentioned the martyrs of the early Church and here in our own Cathedral we have the relics of St. Philip Howard. However, in recent years, we have been living with what one might describe as a ‘persecution from within’. The scandals that have been so in the news in recent times have affected the whole Church. On Friday last, we prayed for those who have been the Victims, the Survivors of Abuse. This is the right response of the Church, for without heartfelt prayer and penance, no real restitution, no real healing can take place. There is, surely, but one effective path to true healing, to new life for the Church. It is the path of Holiness. This path will always call us to see the presence of God in every person, from the earliest moment of existence and at every moment of life – however long that may be. Seeing God in the other will, surely, bring us all to honour the other, regardless of age or capacity. This will, in turn, bring us to call them to ho- liness, to walk with them on the pilgrim way that brings us to the Kingdom of the Father, to give to others the example of Christian, Catholic life that enables us to be the people God calls us to be. This will be lived out in the small things as well as the great. When we are truly the people God calls us to be we shall, as Catherine of Siena put it, ‘set the world alight.’ We may be daunted by the prospect of Holiness. Can I really be called to ‘set the world alight?’ you may ask. Surely, not me! Not one of us in this Cathedral, in this Diocese, is worthy – yet the Lord calls us, through our Baptism. Every Priest renewing promises today is un- worthy to be called by Him. Every time we join in the celebration of Mass we all, people and priests, say: ‘Lord, I am not worthy’. The whole life and mission of the Church is dependent upon our taking this path. It is the strength of the Eucharist and the Sacraments on which we reﬂect in a particular way today that we encounter the Grace that comes to us through Jesus Christ. It is in these encounters that we are enabled to take signiﬁcant steps on the path of Holiness; it is through these encounters that we are enabled to bring Christ into our world – the Christ who transforms, who heals, who brings life. Today, then, I call on every person in our Diocese – Priests and People – to join with me in a renewed commitment on this journey to Holiness. Surely, at this moment in the life of the Church, we cannot but say ‘Yes’ to the Lord who calls. Hand-in-Hand Who Are They? NOT EVERYONE in the diocese would know about Hand-in-Hand. The group - evolved from residential retreats started by Julia Fitzsimons - was one of the activities supported by her from joint funds she received from the Diocese and The Catholic Children’s Society. It was set up in 1994 with the aim of developing particularly the gifts for mime and movement as a contempla- tive way of praying for people with learning difﬁculties. It was originally supported by the previous Fountains Centre in Bexhill-on-Sea. Julia Harvey, who had a special role in choreographing the meditations that were developed by the group, became the co-ordinator for Hand-in-Hand. The membership of the organisa- tion, an integrated group for adults with and without learning difﬁculties, spread throughout the diocese. Importantly, Hand-in-Hand prays together and supports each other very much as a group of friends. It is inter- denominational. Past involvement has included cele- brations in Aylesford, Roehampton, Walsingham and the Diocesan pil- grimage in Lourdes. Perhaps the title of their DVD says it all - ‘Take Me as I am Lord.’ For more information go to: www.handinhandab.co.uk or contact the group co-ordinator Denise Adam- son: dadamson@btopenworld.com

Page 10

10 A&B NEWS June 2019 FAMILIAS FRIENDS’ EVENTS 2019 “The church is called to be alwa ys the open house of the Father . … No closed doors! No closed doors!” Pope Francis, August 5 th 2015 Restored Lives -recovery from divo rce and separation- Familias is delighted to offer 3 workshops to equip individuals and teams to run the Restored Lives course in their parishes. Founder and presenter Erik Castenskiold has been running the Restored Lives programme for over ten years. The course helps those who have experienced separation and divorce to recover from the trauma of relationship breakdown and rebuild their self-confidence, offering them the tools and skills needed to live a restored, happy and fulfilled life . For further information see below for your local contact. Restored Lives (developing pastoral care for separated and divorced Catholics) Price of Workshop, including materials: £35 per person FAMILIAS Members £25 Group Booking Rates Available Booking for all venues is essential via : fammflew@gmail.com 10.00am-4.00pm (coffee from 9.45am & sandwich lunch provided) Tuesday 6 th June Diocese of Hallam Pastoral Centre Sheffield St Charles Street, Sheffield, S9 3WU Local contact: Sue Tym stym@hallam-diocese.com Tel: 0114 2566407 Thursday 20 th June Vaughan House, London 46 Francis Street, London, SW1P 1QN Local contact: Roger Carr- Jones family@rcdow.org.uk Tel: 020 7798 9363 ex 2363 Tuesday 2 nd July Maryvale Institute, Birmingham Maryvale House, Old Oscott Hill, B44 9AG Local contact: Lianne Pap lianne.pap@rc-birmingham.org Tel: 0121 360 8118 ex 166 Further information available on websites: Restored Lives www.restoredlives.org Familias www.catholicfamily.org.uk CRE National 2019 – Sandown Park, Surrey 15–17 October 2019 www.creonline.co.uk Your one-stop shop for church supplies, resources and ideas. IN CRE ASE GROWTH IMPACT EFFICIENCY

Page 11

A&B NEWS June 2019 11 Polish Sisters attend Divine Mercy Celebrations THE FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY was cele- brated at St Richard`s Chichester, Our Lady of the Assumption Bosham, and St Peter`s in East Wittering. The parish was honoured to host Sr Mary- Claire and Sr Miwiana, members of St Faustyna`s order in Kraków, who visited for the weekend and spoke at all the Sunday Masses and led the praying of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy after each Mass. The weekend`s devotions culminated at St Peter`s on Sunday afternoon with a celebration including the Blessing and Veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy, Confessions, Adoration, the Litany of Divine Mercy and Holy Mass. Sister Mary-Claire and Sr Miwiana spoke with great passion about the work of Divine Mercy in our lives. They reminded us that the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the single greatest event in history, changing everything in our world. They described the miracle that takes place every time we go to Confession, when our souls are wiped clean of every sin. Finally, they talked of Jesus` great, burning desire to pour out on us all the love and mercy in His heart, if we will only ask for it. Story: Becky Sleven, Pictures: Marysia Dembinski (Becky and Marysia are pictured above, with their Polish guest) T HIS TIME LAST YEAR, John Lawson was teaching at one of America’s top Catholic high schools. Now, he lives in Bognor Regis, and is on a mission to teach students the secrets of how to study. He shares tips gained over twenty-six years in the classroom in his book The Successful (Less Stressful) Student , which he has written under the pseudonym Coach L. ‘It was hard to leave behind so many students and friends that I love dearly, but I needed to be closer to my 89-year-old mum’ he said. John taught theology for 17 years at St Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. ‘ ‘My Principal entrusted me to create a new programme for Catholic ethics, my specialist subject. I scrapped tedious text- books and worksheets and started show- ing great movies, motivational YouTube stories, generating lively discussions, and encouraging students to make their own documentaries and dramas about ethical topics. I gradually realised that teenagers aren’t bored with God, but they are bored with the ways in which Jesus and religion are presented to them. So, I sexed things up a little, gave Jesus a makeover, and showed how amazing He is.’ John grew up in south London. After school he spent a short while with the Grenadier Guards. A succession of jobs followed. An incident on a building site turned out to be a Damascus moment for him. ‘One afternoon while working on the 18th ﬂoor of a skyscraper I slipped through the scaffolding boards. I desper- ately clung on for life until some of the guys pulled me to safety. I was convinced that the surge of superhuman strength that enabled me to hang on came from God. (Although I hadn’t been to church for ten years, I still believed in God). Once res- cued I walked straight off that site and into a church where I lit a candle to Mary.’ Feeling called to the priesthood, he spent two years at the former Campion House College in Osterley and two further years at Allen Hall seminary in Chelsea. ‘I enjoyed seminary, but I gradually discerned that I might be better suited to teaching than preaching.’ After studying theology, philoso- phy, and political science at the University of Kent, he trained as a teacher. ‘By now I was truly, madly, deeply in love with teach- ing. I wasn’t always good at it, but I learned quickly. Since moving to Bognor, he has become involved in the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows. ‘I never made it my intention to get in- volved. I simply went to Mass every day as I have tried to do since Campion Days and I was asked if I would consider being a server. For many years I have tried not to say ‘No’ as simple invitations are often divine invitations. Since I am now better known in the parish, I have been asked to be a lector and an usher whenever the reg- ular person doesn`t show up.’ He’s now working as a freelance aca- demic coach and mentor. ‘What still ex- cites me is helping students to achieve far more than they ever thought possible. After 26 years at the chalk face I have learned a few priceless secrets about suc- cess in education. That’s why I decided to write The Successful (Less Stressful) Stu- dent . Most students struggle with study, and many parents are at a loss how to help them. I believe my methods will help any student to be more successful academically.’ John can be contacted at prep4success2016@gmail.com Story: Greg Watts Teacher with the Secret to Success

Page 12

T R A V E L I N S U R A N C E arranged for readers of A B News A N N U A L T R A V E L I N S U R A N C E AVAILABLE TO ANYONE UP TO 85 YEARS OF AGE. MOST PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS ACCEPTED T O P Q U A L I T Y C O V E R With a 24 hour helpline and an air ambulance get-you-home service. Mention this advert to get a Special A B News discount. Don’t forget we also offer SINGLE-TRIP COVER, with no maximum age limit and up to £20,000 cancellation cover per couple. CALL FOR DETAILS AND PRICES 0116 272 0500 Real people - not nachines! Authorised and regulated by the FCA FT Travel Insurance UK based St Joseph`s Nursing home East Street, Littlehampton, West Sussex. BN17 6AU Contact: Home Manager Sarah Etherington 01903 - 711325 All denominations welcome. Mass everyday . Within view of the town centre. Caring and supportive environment. House of Prayer 35 Seymour Road, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 0PB We hold a space of silence and solitude which will support and deepen a developing life of prayer and relationship with God. We welcome individuals and groups for day and residential retreats. To find out more please contact us: T: 020 8941 2313 E: admin@christian-retreat.org www.christian-retreat.org St Martha’s St Martha’s Convent Convent House of Welcome and Peace in the charming historic village of Rottingdean by the Sea for holidays, quiet breaks, private retreats. En-suite rooms, home cooking, private chapel, 5 minutes from church. Minimum stay 2 nights. S.A.E. for brochure to St Martha’s Convent, Rottingdean, East Sussex BN2 7HA Tel: 01273 302354 12 A&B NEWS June 2019 BISHOP’S DIARY BISHOP’S DIARY MAY/JUNE May Sat 25 11.30am Brighton Deanery Confirmations at St Peter’s Hove 3pm Brighton Deanery Confirmations at St Mary’s Preston Park Sun 26 11am Confirmations and blessing of hall at Holy Family, Heath End Tue 28 1pm Clergy In-service. De Vere Horsley Estate, East Horsley Wed 29 1pm Clergy In-service, De Vere Horsley Estate, East Horsley 2pm Episcopal Council, East Horsley Thu 30 8pm Mass of the Ascension, Arundel Cathedral Fri 31 10.30am Deans’ Meeting at St Philip Howard Centre, Crawley 4.30pm Visit to Sisters Hospitallers, Addlestone June Sat 1 11am Woking Deanery Confirmations at St Dunstan’s, Woking Sun 2 3pm St Leonard’s Deanery, Mass and Confirmations Tue 4 7.30am Mass at Gossops Green Convent, Crawley 8.30am Meeting at High Oaks 1pm Adoremus Meeting Wed 5 10.30am Education Committee Meeting, St Philip Howard Centre, Crawley 4pm Bishops’ Staff Meeting, St John’s Semi- nary, Wonersh Thu 6 10am Churches Together in Surrey Meeting, Willow Grange 7pm School Chaplaincy Taster Evening, Sacred Heart, Cobham Fri 7 1pm South of England Show, Ardingly Sat 8 3pm Neophytes’ Mass, Arundel Cathedral Sun 9 8.45am Mass at Rotherfield 1pm Families’ Day, St John’s Seminary, Wonersh Tue 11 7.30am Mass at Gossops Green Convent, Crawley 10.30am Council of Priests’ Meeting, St Philip Howard Centre, Crawley Wed 12 11am Grandparents’ Pilgrimage, West Grinstead 7pm School Chaplaincy Taster Evening, Holy Cross, Priory, Heathfield Thu 13 12 noon Jubilarians’ Mass, Arundel Cathedral 3.30pm Meeting at Arundel Cathedral 4pm Episcopal Council Meeting, Arundel Cathedral 7pm School Chaplaincy Taster Evening, St John the Evangelist, Horsham Fri 14 7.30pm Confirmations at St Theresa of Lisieux, Southwick Sat 15 10am Praise in the Park, Banstead 3pm Deacons’ Mass, Arundel Cathedral Sun 16 11.30am Confirmations at Mayfield School, Mayfield Mon 17-19 Prison Chaplains’ Retreat, Douai Abbey Tue 18 7.30am Mass at Gossops Green Convent, Crawley Wed 19 11am Good Shepherd Mass, Worth Abbey 5.30pm Vespers with Dominican Novices, Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel Thu 20 5pm Corpus Christi Mass, Arundel Cathedral Fri 21 9am Mass and Worthing Deanery Staff Day, Chatsmore School, Goring Sat 22 pm Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Investitures, Liverpool Sun 23 3pm Cathedral Deanery Confirmations, Arundel Cathedral Mon 24 2pm Mass at St John’s Primary Scho ol, Brighto n 7pm Jubilee Mass for Canon Tom Treherne’s 40th Anniversary, St Richards Chichester Tue 25 11am Mass and visit to Whiteley Village Wed 26 9am Secondary Schools’ Pilgrimage, Arundel Thu 27 9am Renew Blessing of Tower House, Brighton 1pm 50th Anniversary Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Rottingdean Fri 28th 12 noon National Celebration of Priesthood Mass at Westminster Cathedral Sat 29 11am Confirmations at Christ the Redeemer of Mankind, Cranleigh 3pm Confirmations at St Joseph’s Guildford NOTICE BOARD Arundel Cathedral FESTIVAL OF CORPUS CHRISTI & THE WORLD FAMOUS CARPET OF FLOWERS Wednesday 19 June 2019 9.30am to 8.00pm Thursday 20 June 2019 9.30am to 5.30pm followed by SOLEMN MASS AND PROCESSION TO CASTLE at 5.30PM FREE ENTRY AND REFRESHMENTS IN THE CATHEDRAL CENTRE ON BOTH DAYS PROTECTING OUR COMMON HOME A GROUND-BREAKING agreement on climate change, signed in Paris in 2015 by 196 countries (including the UK), came into force in November 2016. This was a recognition that climate change is by far the most serious dan- ger facing mankind and all life on earth. The effects of climate change being felt now include increased extreme weather patterns - droughts, ﬂooding, stronger and more frequent hurricanes. In the UK we are ex- periencing hotter summers and wetter winters. Sea levels are rising as the result of polar ice melting and the water is expanding as it warms up. The warmer water absorbs more carbon dioxide resulting in it becoming more acidic. The impact of this is falling most heavily on people in the developing countries – those who have done least to cause it and who also have the least resources to cope. We need to ensure that our politicians do take the actions they know are necessary. To enable us to do this, CAFOD is launching a new campaign “Our Common Home”, named after Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ – On Care for Our Common Home. We need to tell the government to embed in law that the UK will reach zero net carbon emis- sions by 2045 – that is, the emissions we produce will be no more than the carbon that is being absorbed e.g. by trees. We all need to play our part in putting pressure on our Govern- ment. CAFOD will b e joining other organisations in a mass lo bb y of P arliament on Wednesday 2 6 June, where thousands of p eo p le will b e discussing climate change with their M P s. A coach will b e running from Ho v e v ia Crawley. Sign up today. If not, we will have no answer when, as Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenage climate activist said: ‘Our grandchildren ask us why we knew, but did nothing’. Sign our petition and ﬁnd out more about the lobby today: cafod.org.uk/climatelobby Roger Morton CAFOD Campaign Volunteer Coordinator FAIRTRADE NEWS..... T RADECRAFT hopes that you like their Spring/Summer 19 catalogue with its interesting array of products from food to crafts. Robin Roth, CEO, tells stories of his travels too, of meeting Vandana Shiva, who runs a small model farm North of Delhi. On the farm she encourages farmers to take seeds from her seed bank, use them for free, sell the crop and return a certain percentage for storage and use the following year. Vandana says the most important thing for a small farmer to ensure survival is ‘healthy soil’. She sells GMO-free rice. See more stories at www.traidcraftshop.co.uk. Michael Gidney, CEO of Fairtrade Foundation, has been invited to join the Government’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group representing the voice of NGOs and the millions of farmers that the UK relies on across the world for our pro- duce. He said: ‘ At Fairtrade, we know that decisions about trade policy can have a dramatic impact on developing coun- try farmers and workers, and their access to our market. Par- ticipation in the UK government’s Strategic Advisory Group is a valuable opportunity to ensure that their voices are heard at the highest level and I welcome the opportunity to engage at this critical juncture .’ Masses for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Held at St John the Evangelist, Springfield Road, Horsham RH12 2PJ on the first Saturday of the month at 1.00pm Next Mass 1 June PENTECOST VIGIL MASS with new Catholics Bishop Richard invites you ALL to join him in celebrating the great Pentecost Vigil Mass with new Catholics - adults who have recently been baptised or received into the Church - and their families and friends, Godparents, sponsors, catechists, clergy and parishioners Saturday 8 June 5.00pm Arundel Cathedral New Catholics are also invited to an afternoon of prayer and reflection with Bishop Richard preceding the Mass. If you have not yet received your invitation, please contact ruth.gerun@abdiocese.org.uk or call 01293 651164 MASS FOR JUBILARIANS Priests of the Diocese who are celebrating a significant anniversary of ordination to the priesthood this year - Mass will be celebrated on Thursday 13 June at 12 noon in Arundel Cathedral

Page 13

ABN101 To book a marriage preparation course or for a local appointment with a relationship counsellor call 0800 389 3801 or visit www.marriagecare.org.uk For healthy couple relationships – and support when they are not www.bordehill.co.uk 01444 450326 RH16 1XP SCULPTURE EXHIBITION Daily until 30 Sept A diverse collection of sculpture to excite and delight, displayed within a historic Garden setting. Included in admission Sponsored by: A&B NEWS June 2019 13 Please support ourAdvertisers T HE NEWLY FORMED SVP had many social challenges. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 was written after investigation by a Royal Commis- sion in 1832 into the operation of exist- ing Poor Law procedure. They believed that too much money was being spent on the Poor. The subsequent Act curbed the cost of poor relief and made provision for workhouses, which the Government claimed ensured that the poor were housed, clothed and fed and the children educated. However, many believed that the workhouses were ‘pris- ons for the poor,’ taking away their dignity, and riots broke out in some northern towns. Orhan P atronage Committee The SVP always sought to address the needs of the times and for that reason managed to sustain its viability and credibility. In early English reports we read about the SVP`s work of ‘Patron- age’, meaning help given to delinquent, orphaned and working youth in need of moral, social and ﬁnancial assistance. When children needed to work away from home, the Patronage Committee found suitable accommodation. Conference members were appointed to visit and supervise individual boys. The Orphan Patronage Committee (OPC) was established in 1850. At ﬁrst the OPC looked after 50 orphans, mostly taken from asylums or from Poor Law Guardians. The SVP paid 4 shillings per week for each orphan but received an allowance of about a third of that amount from the Poor Law Guardians, for each child taken from Union Work- houses. Catholic Shoe Black Brigade A notable form of youth employment was the Catholic Shoe Black Brigade formed by the SVP in 1854. The scheme was approved by the London Police who allocated 50 separate pitches for chil- dren between 9 and 13 years of age. According to SVP Annual Reports, these children were the poorest of the poor. In addition, the SVP organised schooling for these boys and religious instruction, leading to First Confession and First Holy Communion. S p reading the Word Just as Frederic Ozanam had helped to organise libraries both in Paris and Lyon for workmen and soldiers, follow- ing this example the SVP in Bristol formed a Lending Li b rary in 1849. Five hundred volumes were collected and there were 54 subscribers. In the 1850`s, Cardinal Wiseman asked the SVP to provide a cheap Catholic newspaper accessible to poor people. The P enny Uni v erse went on sale for the ﬁrst time in 1860 and Archibald Dunn, an SVP member, became the ﬁrst editor while George Wigley, who had returned to France in 1848, became the foreign correspondent. At about the same time, the Clifton Tracts were published by SVP members in Bristol, the ﬁrst such Catholic pamphlets to be published since the Reformation. Seen as a forerunner of the later Catholic Truth Society, the pur- pose of the ‘Tracts’ was to expound Catholic beliefs and practices and the history of the Church. One particular theme was about keeping the Sabbath holy. In 1852, Charles Pagliano, who always regarded himself as a temporary ﬁrst President, stepped down in favour of George Blount, a 33 year old founder member and the son of Edward Blount of Belamore, who was educated at Downside. This congenial gentleman stayed in ofﬁce until his death in 1899. A signiﬁcant work which was down to George Blount was the establishment in 1859 of St Vincent ’ s Home for Destitute Boys in Hammersmith ( pic- tured above. ) This was managed by a separate committee of Provincial and London SVP Councils presided over by George Blount. This evolved into the Westminster Diocese Crusade of Rescue in 1899. The Peter Pence Association, other- wise known as ‘ P eter`s P ence ’ , was an ancient custom, revived by none other than George Wigley, which gave valuable ﬁnancial help to Pope Pius IX in 1859/60 and is still funded by second collections in our parishes today. SV P E xtends its Reach There were many other works carried out in the second half of the 19th Cen- tury, including the opening of a branch of the Yorkshire P enny Bank in 1872, a forerunner of Credit Unions. In 1873 the THE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL IN ENGLAND & WALES - Part 2 ﬁrst Catholic Rescue Society home was set up. In 1879, the SVP opened an evening school in Shefﬁeld, while in 1881 members in Manchester paid one-third of Catholic pupils’ school fees. Attendance at Funerals Funeral attendance by the SVP became a tradition because before the 1880 Burial Amendment Act, cemeteries were almost entirely owned by the Church of England. No Catholic Priest was allowed to ofﬁciate. When a Catholic died, the burial service was conducted at the home of the deceased, by a Priest if available and often by SVP members. The cofﬁn was then taken to the ceme- tery, where the Anglican service was read. Irish Famine During the Famine Years of the 1850s, when many Irish immigrants came to England, the Vincentian Daughters of Charity helped them to settle, not only in a material way but also providing reli- gious instruction for the children. As Catholics were in the minority, poor Irish immigrants were subject to much discrimination . Reaching the P oorest of the P oor A report from Hull in 1876 states that during that year, Brothers distributed among the poor of their parish 132 stones of potatoes, 45 stones of ﬂour, 8.5 stones of oatmeal, 80 stones of sugar, 53 pounds of meat, 22 pounds of bread and various amounts of butter, tea, milk, rice, boots, clothing and carts of coal. Forty carts of coke were delivered during the year 1878. By the end of the Victorian era, the number of Conferences had passed the 200 mark with 3,000 Brothers. In 1962 ladies were admitted to the Society for the ﬁrst time, and what an incredible difference they have made to the lives of those in need! With the motto of: ‘ No act of charity is foreign to the Society ’, the ﬁrst gentlemen members took on many chal- lenges from the outset in 1844, addressing the needs of the times and laying the foundations of a strong world- wide, lay, voluntary, Catholic organisation which has now extended to 153 countries, working to a logo that reads: ‘ Turning Concern into Action ’. Story: Peter Wells and pictures: SVP In last month’s article on the estab- lishment of the SVP in England & Wales, Peter Wells (Member Trainer for Arundel & Brighton SVP) fo- cused on the early days and the prominent personalities who were involved in setting it up in 1844. This month he looks at some of the ways the SVP met the challenges of poverty in Victorian England and how the Society grew. ` WANT TO KNOW MORE OR INTERESTED IN JOINING? https://www.svp.org.uk/ Don`t Don`t miss out miss out on on Book your Book your advert now advert now Please note the Please note the deadline for deadline for advertising is the 10th of advertising is the 10th of each month each month Telephone Telephone 01440 730399 Advertising

Page 14

14 A&B NEWS June 2019 FROM THE PARISHES ADUR VALLEY THE 33-DAY GROUP Retreat for the Consecration to Divine Mercy was com- pleted and on Good Friday we started the Divine Mercy Novena celebrating the feast of Divine Mercy on 28 April. After much hard work both churches and The Towers were all looking mag- niﬁcent for Easter when we were happy to see really full churches. On Good Friday a soup lunch was provided at St Peter’s and their regular Thursday lunch club is being well attended. Gerald Taylor gave an organ recital at The Towers in memory of our deceased parishioner Gerald Vann. We have a new art group starting at the end of this month so I hope to show some of their work in a later edition of this paper. Penny Richardson BRIGHTON St Mary’s Preston Park THE SOCIAL CONCERNS GROUP held a coffee morning, bring and buy stall and cake sale on 27 January raising £105 for St Anne’s Day Centre for The Home- less. The Mary’s Meals Group held a porridge party and coffee morning on 24 February raising £350 for the charity - which will be doubled via the UK Aid Match programme. The Bethlehem Nativity Group visited the parish in February, selling beautiful olive wood carvings and soap from The Holy Land. They raised £758.60 from purchases to support needy families. The Social Concerns Group ran a quiz night on 22 March with proceeds going to Christian Aid. It was an enjoyable evening and we raised £205. This Easter we said good bye to Fr Bruno who has been our parish priest for 5 ½ years. We thank him for his devoted service and wish him every blessing for the future. Fr Rafal Majew- ski will be taking over from him. Claire Shelton-Jones CATERHAM THE EASTER SERVICES were well attended and much appreciated in their solemnity, especially given the bombing in Sri Lanka where some members of our Parish come from. The Parish Day of Prayer and Reﬂec- tion on Saturday 13 April, led by Peter Lovat, related to the Mass, the source and summit of our faith. St Francis school supported the Youth choir by allowing their premises to be used for practising for the Easter services. After the Easter period and the end of school holidays life in the Parish is back to normal: lots of activities and fund raising. The SVP society is very active and helpful. Tracey Mangan is leading the Toddler group on Tuesdays. Many children’s books have been collected for KwaZuluNatal and will soon be shipped. Nicholas from the Bethlehem Nativity group talked about the Holy Land on Sunday 28 April and made an appeal for support of the poor Christians by purchasing religious articles made out of the olive wood grown locally. Peter Patterson CRAWLEY FR LOUIS CELEBRATED our Passion Sunday Mass on Saturday 13 April at Christ the Lord with Fr Francis assisted by Deacon Andrew. Fr Francis is visit- ing us this week to assist in Holy Week celebrations in Crawley, while taking a break from his studies in Rome. Many thanks, Fr Francis for celebrat- ing our Easter Sunday morning Mass at Christ the Lord, assisted by Deacon An- drew. The church was full and our cele- bration joyful, thanks to all who helped with the music, the beautiful ﬂower ar- rangements, and refreshments afterwards in the foyer. Barbara Winstanley EAST GRINSTEAD and LINGFIELD ON GOOD FRIDAY, parishioners from Our Lady and St Peter’s, and from seven other churches in the town, attended an interdenominational ser- vice held in East Grinstead High Street. Lingﬁeld parishioners once again generously provided the parish spring lunch at St Bernard’s hall on Sunday 28 April. Also on 28 April, parishioner Aidan Cantwell ran in the London Marathon to raise money for the Jesuit Relief Service (JRS), an international organisation. JRS’s London centre provides shelter for destitute asylum seekers. Clive Carpenter GODALMING Sing Lee celebrated her baptism and conﬁmation at the Easter Vigil, where she was warmly welcomed into our parish family. Sarah Stilwell PETWORTH BISHOP RICHARD has formally amalgamated the parishes of Midhurst with Duncton & Petworth. Our AGM was held on 27 April at Midhurst. Fr Peter had produced a paper copy of his Report before the meeting to allow parishioners to ‘have the chance to talk about some of the is- sues raised’. One of the main topics is the amalga- mation of the two parishes. This will ease ﬁnancial matters and any church events will be simply Parish Events’ . Fr Peter outlined the matters for dis- cussion: Engaging with and encourag- ing children; Communication - knowing the structure of the parish, and who to approach; Deeping a sense of commu- nity; Adult education and Formation ; Prayer; Challenges for the future. It was a lively meeting but one of the serious topics was the decline in Sunday Mass attendance. Midhurst had the most dra- matic decline. In the year 2003 there were 194, but last year the number was 97. There was much discussion of how to attract the youth and encourage the Easter and Christmas attenders to come the rest of the year. Fr Peter wanted to encourage prayer, though others men- tioned the Alpha Course as a faith experience. It was agreed that Deanery Adult Formation would be encouraged via the newsletter. For the youth, it was thought that the idea of a weekend’s Fes- tival might prove popular - an activity weekend with prayers! Although the numbers attending were relatively small, there was lots of posi- tive participation. YEAR SIX at St Edmund’s Catholic Pri- mary School performed the Passion play to parents, family and parishioners be- fore closing for the Easter break. Chil- dren’s liturgy continued at Masses through the holidays and Easter eggs were distributed to the delight of both children and parents at Masses on Easter Sunday. Next month sees the start of ‘Break- fast Alpha’ at a venue near the school on Friday mornings from 9.15am to enable parents of school children to attend after the start of the school day. This initiative runs alongside the ‘Sunday Alpha’ course which also starts in May. During Lent we welcomed the FMDM sisters from Ladywell Convent to talk after Mass about the mission in Kasanka – the parish in Zambia which our parish has been linked with since 2000 – and update us on the projects in health and education for children and adults, and once again this year’s Lenten Appeal for Kasanka raised much-needed funds. And, ﬁnally, following the Scrutinies during Lent, and after attending both RCIA and Alpha, our catechumen Please support our Advertisers

Page 15

A&B NEWS June 2019 15 FROM THE PARISHES HENFIELD CORPUS CHRISTI, Henﬁeld held a talent show in April to raise funds for CAFOD. Some 60 or so parishioners saw a display of wonderful talent from both young and not so young members of the parish and the fun event, organised by Dominic Dring and the Youth raised £962 for this hard working organisation. Later in the month we celebrated when we welcomed Harry, Amelia and Benie into our church commu- nity. Never before have we had two Baptisms and three First Communions on the same day. The wel- come was witnessed by a full church of family, friends and parishioners. Celebrations continued after Mass in the Parish Hall where the three youngsters jointly cut the cake with Parish Priest Fr Hugh Flower ( pictured right). Neville de Moraes PETWORTH (continued) DURING THE LAST WEEKEND in March a Bible Study Weekend was held in the parish led by a team from the Catholic Bible School. On Friday evening there was Mass in Petworth and, after a short social break, an inspirational presentation of the Kerygma and Salvation History. Saturday began with breakfast in the parish room in Midhurst followed by a Play and Pray time for younger children and then a fun exploration of the whole Bible through drama and storytelling for 7-11 year-olds. During the morning there was also Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Mass in the church. Saturday afternoon and evening ses- sions were in Petworth, focussing ﬁrstly on Lectio Divina and then The Story of Salvation, highlighting the saving action of Jesus, the divine love of the Father and the dynamic action of the Holy Spirit. The evening presentation was based on the parable of the Sower, with time for prayer and reﬂection. After Mass in Midhurst on Sunday morning there was a social gathering followed by a ﬁnal presentation with the theme of stepping out in Faith, which included a dramatic storytelling of Peter walking on water. This was a really successful weekend with many people taking part and, en- curagingly, there has been much posi- tive feed-back. Sally Bohane WEST BYFLEET OUR HOLY WEEK activities included joining other local churches in the Walk of Witness through the centre of West Byﬂeet, starting with prayers at Our Lady’s and pausing at various points for hymns and Gospel Readings, ﬁnishing with a further short service at the St John’s Anglican Church. On Holy Saturday there was a ser- vice of “Swiecone” (the Blessing of the Easter Food Baskets), a Polish/Eastern Eu- ropean tradition, followed by refresh- ments and egg deco- rating activities for the children. At the Easter Vigil, seven persons received the Sacrament of Initia- tion ( see picture on right). For early risers, we participated in the Ecumenical Easter Dawn Service at the ruins of Newark Pri- ory, Ripley. Paul Tipple The Newman Association Promoting open discussion and greater bunderstanding in today’s Church Eastbourne & Bexhill Newman Circle Presentation on Can Faith and Science be Reconciled by Fr Andrew Pinsent Tuesday 4 June 7.30pm to 9pm St Martha’s Church Hall,Cooden Sea Road, Little Common, Bexhill TN39 4SP Fr Andrew Pinsent is a priest of our diocese and Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at The Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford All welcome For further information contact Alex (079 5763 2208) or Dr Edward & Barbara Echlin (01424 219778) 155 Lewes Road, Brighton 01273 626 326 56 Goring Road, Goring-by-sea 01903 505 757 38 Blatchington Road, Hove 01273 771 332 217 South Coast Road, Peacehaven 01273 585 818 68 High Street, Shoreham-by-sea 01273 464 647 72 Newland Road, Worthing 01903 215 255 The greatest care down to the ﬁnest detail from your local caring funeral director We’re right by your side. www.caringlady.co.uk B a l l a r d & S h o r t a l l F u n e r a l D i r e c t o r s C . P . J . F i e l d . More than a funeral director since 1690. Because every life is unique Crawley 01293 520 011 | East Grinstead 01342 323 092 Forest Row 01342 822 120 | Horley 01293 820 377 Horsham 01403 257 243 | Lingfield 01342 834 925 www.cpjfield.co.uk

Page 16

16 A&B NEWS June 2019 2-in-1 Crossword by Axe You can use both sets of clues to solve the puzzle: the solutions are the same. So, if you want to try the CRYPTIC puzzle, for instance, but are unsure, use the QUICK clues to help you work out the solution. Similarly, if you try the QUICK clues, use the CRYPTIC clues to help you prove the solution SOLUTION TAXING TERMS (EXPLAINED) ‘ IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ This religious expression book- marks so many of our prayers and when we bless ourselves or others. It is possibly one of the most frequent phrases we use in our prayer lives. But why, when we wish to address God, do we choose to speak to Him using these three names? And what does this form of address tell us about our understanding of God? Clearly, we are showing we feel it is important to acknowledge the triune nature of G od (tri=three; unus=one); it is after all as the Cate- chism of the Catholic Church states, the foundation of our faith. But where do we learn about these three persons in one God? Not sur- prisingly we ﬁnd that there are many instances in which Holy Scripture identiﬁes all three persons of the Godhead. When Jesus was baptised by John in the river Jordan, for instance, the Gospel tells us that the heavens were opened and that the Spirit of God descended on Jesus as a dove and a voice out of the heavens proclaimed that, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’ And, signiﬁcantly, after the resurrection Jesus com- mands his apostles to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So, the existence of the three persons in God is clearly established. However, one of the challenges of the early Church was to deepen her understanding of this triune God or three persons in one God. And, gradually, over several Councils, the Church was able to declare that: • The Trinity is one. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three per- sons. • The divine persons are distinct from one another. • The divine persons are relative to each other; the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both . These truths are not easy to under- stand, and analogies have been used in the past to help the faithful under- stand the triune God. St Patrick is sometimes credited with using the simple shamrock as an instance. One legend has it that Patrick in his travels happened upon some Irish chieftains in a meadow. The tribal leaders were puzzled about the doctrine of the Trinity, and so Patrick bent down and plucked a shamrock. ‘The three leaves,’ said Patrick, ‘are still one plant, just as the three Persons of the Trinity are one God.’ Another popular and simple illus- tration of the Trinity is the egg. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. The three parts create a uniﬁed whole. The use of analogies in this way is a noble goal but ultimately a futile exercise since the Trinity is a mystery way beyond our comprehension. Ultimately, it is God’s purpose that all his creatures enter into perfect unity with the Holy Trinity. ‘If anyone loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.’ And so, each time we make the sign of the cross we are acknowledging this di- vine presence in us and dedicating our prayer or activity to His glory. One reason, perhaps, why we take such care to cross ourselves reverentially. F R BINOY, of the Syro-Malabar Mis- sion of St Clare, which is based in Merstham, gave a fascinating talk to our Union of Catholic Mothers. He began by telling us his name means ‘stubborn’. However, in view of all he does, including celebrating our 5.30pm Mass on Sundays, usually con- celebrating on Monday morning, as well as ministering to Syro-Malabar Rite Catholics in the diocese, and being part of the chaplaincy team at Gatwick - resilience seems a better description. His family name, which, according to him, is unpronounceable for us, in- cludes ‘Thomas’ for his father. He spoke of his parents and his two brothers. He is the middle one and loved serving at The Holy Qurbana (Eucharist). A server at the Holy Qurbana has a more signiﬁcant part to play than servers at the Roman Rite Mass. When he told his parents that he wanted to be a priest he discovered his mother had been praying that one of her sons would become a priest. We learned that St Thomas, the apos- tle, founded the Syro-Malabar Church, having travelled east to India. He was martyred around 72 AD and his relics are in Chennai (Madras). When Roman Rite missionaries arrived in India they tried to suppress the Holy Qurbana and replace it with the Roman Rite but did not succeed. It is very different today. Fr Binoy quoted Vatican II statements on the Eastern Rite Churches. They are men- tioned speciﬁcally in The Constitution of the Church which refers to ‘ the an- cient patriarchal churches ….. which demonstrate with great clarity the catholicity of the undivided church .’ The Decree on Eastern Churches refers to ‘ their venerable antiquity (which) shines forth a tradition which constitutes part of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the whole church.’ And again, ‘t hat variety within the church does no harm to its unity but rather makes it manifest .’ The Syro-Malabar Eparchy (Diocese) of Great Britain covers England, Scot- land and Wales. The Cathedral of St Alphonsa (formerly St Ignatius Church) is in Preston. Fr Binoy is incardinated in the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar where he worked for two years. He recalled visit- ing a Catholic in prison, to whom he had taken books. Overwhelmed with grati- tude the prisoner said he was sorry he had no gift to give in return, but prayed for him. He also told us how special he ﬁnds celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Story and Picture: Ann Lardeur The Syro-Malabar Mission of St Clare CRYPTIC Across 1 Lovely lass from the outset left key within to visit (4,2) 4 `Fake place`? That`s low even for a disgusting rag to get involved (6) 9 Biblical site to trumpet about? (7) 10 It`s up to peacekeepers to prepare the ground, mostly (5) 11 State of 22 that`s randomly taken on board (7) 12 Circumference defined using retro heavy trigonometry (5) 13 Tom and Jerry: no act amused better! (3,3,5) 18 Philistine`s suit tailor only partially fits (5) 20 Sailor, an Irishman, is announced as David`s third mate (7) 22 Some stars like Lugosi lost heart with support in the end (5) 23 Mary`s boy is in your school (3,4) 24 With London band regularly coming back, golf around Home Counties fits in, it`s true (6) 25 Idiot`s admitted to changing due to being married (6) CRYPTIC Down 1 Dupe a king to entrap a knave (6) 2 Saul`s daughter married bachelor, about to retire (5) 3 Tic Arab gets, uncommon where the camels come from (7) 5 Fleeced, stomach`s upset with number taken in (5) 6 One that works to make Greek god the brightest star in the firmament (7) 7 Oracle ushered back Greek character (6) 8 Couple in the Bible fiddle a good man out of three grand (3,3,5) 14 Riviera resort`s against elite contracting (7) 15 Greek`s letter to explore parts of volcano, Micronesian section (7) 16 Place Amalekites burned in Zion, including killing Levites and Gideon`s leaders (6) 17 Ran around, sure getting whipped (6) 19 Fancy motorway trip`s a long time coming (5) 21 One huge hold on ship, they say (5) QUICK Across 1 Obtain: pop in (4,2) 4 Heavenly dwelling of the Norse gods (6) 9 Strategic oasis town near the Dead Sea taken by Joshua (7) 10 As far as time allows (5) 11 Africa`s oldest republic (1847) (7) 12 Belt put around a horse to secure a saddle (5) 13 Game of battle or other contests where first one side, then the other, has the upper hand (3,3,5) 18 Philistine who stood by David against Absalom... (5) 20 ...and David`s third wife (7) 22 Seventh sign of the zodiac (5) 23 Another designation for the Blessed Virgin Mary (3,4) 24 One of several narratives of the life of Christ, and the principles laid down therein (6) 25 ------ Reformed Church: merger of the Congregationalists and English Presbyterian Churches in 1972 (6) QUICK Down 1 Coax, persuade (6) 2 Saul`s elder daughter who married Adriel (5) 3 Ancient Central Asian land which gave its name to the two-humped camel (7) 5 Conned: shocked (5) 6 Important star in Scorpius (7) 7 Oracle site in Asia Minor (6) 8 In Revelation two nations under the dominion of Satan (3,3,5) 14 French Riviera resort, originally a Greek port (7) 15 15th letter of the Greek alphabet (7) 16 Place Achish of Gath gave to David to live (6) 17 Scourged; excoriated (6) 19 Persona: idol (5) 21 Hold, stop (nautical/archaic) (5) Across: 1 Come by, 4 Asgard, 9 Jericho, 10 Until, 11 Liberia, 12 Girth, 13 Cat And Mouse, 18 Ittai, 20 Abigail, 22 Libra, 23 Our Lady, 24 Gospel, 25 United. Down: 1 Cajole, 2 Merab, 3 Bactria, 5 Stung, 6 Antares, 7 Delphi, 8 Gog and Magog, 14 Antibes, 15 Omicron, 16 Ziklag, 17 Flayed, 19 Image, 21 Avast.

Find your local Catholic Historical Church newspaper. Scroll to find yours.

Contact Us
Current Catholic Papers
Church Advertising
www.CatholicDirectory.org

© CathCom 1997 - 2024