Fr. Aaron Writes: 30th April 2021
Webmaster • April 30, 2021
Dear Friends,
Remaining – our Lord calls us to remain in Him, when a branch remains part of the vine, it bears much fruit. Separated, cut off from the Lord, the Vine, we can do nothing. When we forge our own path, thinking of self and not the wellbeing of the other; we will stumble and fall and cause others to do so. Our Lord says Gethsemane to “stay here, keep watch with me”. It is from a deep sense of closeness to the Lord in prayer and strengthened by the Sacraments that we can continue on.
St Paul’s conversion seems to be in doubt for many apostles, who can not believe that this man who relentlessly sought out the persecution of Christians, now is one himself. I think we draw two things from this: that anyone can experience such a conversion of life, that God’s love and mercy have no limits or sell by date; and that we must be allowed to be surprised by God in whom he chooses to be His instrument of evangelisation. We are all Pauls, where the Lord wants to interrupt our lives and direct us to greatness, mercy, restoration and redemption. Paul was always aware of his shortcomings, his ‘thorn in the flesh’, but nonetheless threw himself into the work God calls him to do and as he was grafted onto the vine, Paul bore much fruit.
In May, the month of Mary, we pay particular devotion to the Mother of God, the fruit of whose womb was Jesus our Saviour. I hope we can perhaps say at least a decade of the Holy Rosary a day, praying with Pope Francis and together with all the Marian Shrines around the world for so many different intentions and concerns in our world.
Weekday Mass – on Tuesday Holy Mass will be at 10am as there is a Deanery meeting that I and Deacon Tom are to attend.
First Confession and First Holy Communion – I would now like to look at ways of preparing our children for these sacraments. Thank you to those who have managed to register their interest. Depending on coming out of lockdown as planned by the Prime Minister, I would envisage First Communions to take place in the Autumn and First Confessions before the Summer Holidays. Currently I am looking at ways in which I can hold preparation classes for the children according to current guidelines. I will have more concrete plans in the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your patience. If you have not yet registered your interest, I would encourage you to do so by emailing the parish office.
Altar Servers – Many thanks to those who have donated. It’s very kind of you and greatly appreciated by our servers. If any parishioner would still like to sponsor a new cassock or cotta for the growing servers – would you please leave a donation with the parish office clearly marking ‘Donation for Servers’ Vestments’. Cassocks start at around £55 for little kids and £68 for taller ones and Cottas are around £19 for small and £29.
In Memoriam:
Paschal Radford RIP – Paschal sadly died last Wednesday evening. We keep Suzanne and the family in our prayers at this difficult time.
Teresa O’Donnell RIP – Teresa sadly died last Thursday afternoon. We keep all the family in our prayers at this sad time. Teresa’s Requiem Mass will take place on Monday 17th May at 10am here at St John’s.
Tom Daniels RIP – We keep his family in our prayers. His Requiem Mass is this Friday at 12 Noon. We pray for Bonita his daughter and for all who mourn.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory.
Social Media: Check out our parish social media pages for the latest news, last minute changes and items of interest:
@catholichorsham (Twitter)
St John the Evangelist, Horsham (Facebook page)
Catholic Horsham (Instagram)
With every prayer and good wish for the coming week.
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