Fr. Aaron Writes 28th May 2023

Dear Friends,

Greetings on the great Feast of Pentecost! The continuous and intense prayer of Mary and the Apostles in the Upper Room ends with the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, who appears like tongues of fire. It is the Feast of the birthday of the Church. We, too, celebrate this Feast by praying earnestly and unceasingly for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us individually and as the Body of Christ the Church. We pray for the confidence to witness, for it is in witnessing we tell our story and we become teachers. The mission of making Christ’s name known, the gospel that is lived and shared, needs those who are convinced and convicted by Christ! 

In this month of May, may we continue to pray the powerful prayer of the Holy Rosary; perhaps we can endeavour to offer at least a decade a day for vocations to the priesthood, or for any other intentions we have at this time. Maybe, this week, we could pray for all those affected by abuse, the victims and survivors, and for the work of safeguarding in our diocese, our parish and schools.

First Holy Communion – Congratulations to all the children who have made their First Holy Communion these past two weeks. We look forward to the Feast of Corpus Christi when they shall receive their certificates and participate in our Corpus Christi procession.

Feast of Pentecost  – I encourage everyone to come to Mass this Pentecost Weekend, dressed in something red or wearing a red accessory.

Trinity Sunday – We will celebrate our Parish Shared Lunch; we will also welcome all those who have been recently baptised to the 11:15am Mass and to the Lunch in the Parish Hall as a welcome to the family of the church here in Horsham.

Feast of Corpus Christi – There will be a Eucharistic procession after both Sunday morning Masses on the 11th June. Please could I ask parishioners to bring petals for the First Communion children to use as they precede the Blessed Sacrament in procession.

Sacrament of Confirmation – This year all Confirmations in the diocese will be celebrated at Arundel Cathedral, as our mother church celebrates 150 years. Our parish young people will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit on Saturday 10th of June. Please keep them all in your prayers.

With every prayer and good wish for the coming week.