Fr Tristan Writes 22nd February 2026
Webmaster • February 21, 2026
Today's Gospel reminds us of the importance of fasting and abstinence in the face of temptation. In the first of his annual Messages for Lent, Pope Leo XIV reminds us: "Fasting is a concrete way to prepare ourselves to receive the word of God. Abstaining from food is an ancient ascetic practice that is essential on the path of conversion. Precisely because it involves the body, fasting makes it easier to recognize what we “hunger” for and what we deem necessary for our sustenance. Moreover, it helps us to identify and order our “appetites,” keeping our hunger and thirst for justice alive and freeing us from complacency. Thus, it teaches us to pray and act responsibly towards our neighbor. [...] In this regard, I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace."
On Wednesday, Lent begins: forty days where the Church invites us to return, with all our heart, to Christ, in preparation to celebrate the mysteries of our redemption in Holy Week. When we receive ashes on our forehead we hear the words, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." It is a beautiful phrase: not really a comment on our sinfulness, so much as a reminder of our fragility. We are creatures, made in God's image; we are utterly dependent on Him! It is the illusion of independence that is what so often leads us astray, and it is this illusion which the disciplines of Lent - prayer, fasting and almsgiving - seek to put right, by putting our relationship with God and with others first. Each action of Lent is a chance to "remember" our dependence on the Father. In recalling our dust, which He gave life to, He fills us again with the breath of His mouth, the everlasting life of the crucified Son so that we may not die in sin, but rise as He did on Easter Sunday. Together, we walk as a community through Lent, in reconciliation with the Father and one another, like the people of Israel on their forty years wandering towards the Promised Land. Last year, you may remember that I recorded a short podcast each day entitled "A Lenten Alphabet"; these are still available on YouTube, should you wish to use them. This year, on Mondays, I will be giving a live catechesis on the meaning of the Lenten liturgies and the Triduum to prepare us to celebrate the Easter Mysteries together. And on Fridays, Barnabas will be leading in-person sessions on the beauty of St Matthew's Gospel (together with video material from renowned biblical scholar and Catholic convert Scott Hahn). Along with extra time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Stations of the Cross, there is plenty for us in the parish to help kick start a time of spiritual renewal, and to walk more closely with Christ; to die to self and live for others: to live for Him, who died for us.
It feels like only yesterday that we celebrated the Nativity, and it’s been wonderful to be able to pray before the infant Jesus at the crib during this time leading up to Candlemas. But now the year is already marching on with great force, and the holy season of Lent is but a mere week and a half away! Those of us who find the beginning of Lent at times a bit daunting are, I dare say, in good company. It is certainly tempting to enter into this period in which the Church invites us to practice an increase of prayer, fasting and almsgiving feeling a bit unprepared. However, we can use this time to ask the Lord what it is we can do to make more space in our lives for Him and our neighbour. At St John the Evangelist, we have various things on our parish calendar to be aware of to help us along the way. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available daily (except Wednesdays). On Fridays we will pray The Stations of the Cross in the morning and evening. Fr Tristan will give an online catechesis course on the Triduum on Mondays, and I will be giving a course on the Gospel of Matthew with the assistance of Dr Scott Hahn’s St Paul's Institute online course on Fridays. If you’re interested to find out more, the parish website has more information about our Lenten schedule, as well as some informative posters and flyers that are being put up and distributed around the parish. Concerning our outreach to our neighbour, there will be plenty of opportunities to support the SVP and our other charities during this season as well. If we respond well to the Church’s invitation to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection in this season of Lent, we will find ourselves able to rejoice all the more joyfully in the Easter season. “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1- 2). Now, let us prepare well for this favourable time to grow closer in our love of the Lord, our charity to our neighbour, and sorrow for our sins, that we may receive whatever graces our Lord has in store for us in this approaching Lenten season!
This Sunday's Gospel tells the story of the call of Simon Peter and Andrew, the fishermen, to leave their nets behind on the sea-shore and to follow the Lord. In that moment, they are given a new vocation. It would have been impossible at that moment to say what their time with Jesus would entail: walking with the Word Incarnate, experiencing His loving power to heal the world, witnessing His fulfillment of the prophecies, sacrificing Himself for mankind.... Nor can they have imagined to what end it would lead them: becoming, along with the other apostles, the foundation stones of the New Israel, the Church, abandoning Christ in His hour of need; being restored to His friendship and forgiveness at Easter when He appeared to them Risen in the flesh; receiving His Spirit poured out on them at Pentecost; preaching Him and celebrating His sacraments as leaders of the churches of Rome and Constantinople, converting both Jews and Gentiles, and finally experiencing a death like His, both crucified like their Master. We do not know what wonderful graces we will receive nor the trials we will suffer when we follow Jesus: all we can do is leave our nets and go after Him! With this in mind, we pray especially this week for Archbishop-elect Richard Moth, who will celebrate his final Mass at our Cathedral this Friday. We pray that having served us here in Arundel & Brighton, he will be filled with great courage and zeal to follow the Lord to new pastures in the Archdiocese of Westminster. For him, it wil surely be a moment needing great humility and strength from the Lord as he faces a new mission, not knowing what it might entail. We give thanks for his faithful ministry to us here in our diocese, and pray that the Lord will give him peace and joy and he continues to follow Him, and lead His flock in a new way. And we pray, too, for a new shepherd to be appointed soon to lead us. "Let us pray. O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, look favourably on your servant whom you will set at the head of your Church of Westminster as her shepherd; grant, we pray, that by word and example, he may be of service to those over whom he presides, so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may come to eternal life. Through Christ our
We invite you to join Horsham Churches Together for the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from 18th to 25th January 2026. This year, we are guided by the ancient, prayerful traditions of the Armenian Church and St. Paul’s timeless call to be ‘one body and one Spirit’ in Ephesians 4. There will be daily prayer meetings and a United Service at St Mary’s, The Causeway, Horsham RH12 1HE at 6pm on Sunday 25th January 2026 – this will be led by Fr Tristan and he would love to see as many St John’s parishioners there as possible! Other events taking place during the week are as follows: Sunday 18th Jan, 6:30pm – Prayer Meeting at Horsham United Reform Church, RH12 2RG. Monday 19th Jan, 1pm – Prayer Meeting with Horsham Eco Church @ St Marks, Holbrook, RH12 5PU. Tuesday 20th Jan, 7:30pm – Prayer Meeting at Cornerstone Methodist Church St Andrew’s, Roffey, RH12 4DX. Wednesday 21st Jan, 7:30pm – Turn the Battle Encounter Night at Kingdom Faith Church, Horsham, RH13 5PX. Thursday 22nd Jan, 7:30pm – Prayer Meeting at Brighton Road Baptist Church, Horsham, RH13 5BD. Friday 23rd Jan, 1:30pm – Prayer Meeting at Trafalgar Road Baptist Church, Horsham, RH12 2QL. Saturday 24th Jan, 10am – Prayer Meeting at St Margaret’s Church, Warnham, RH12 3QW.
Demonstrations against the Iranian regime, which have spread to many of the country’s provinces, have been violently suppressed by security forces in Iran, with widespread fighting in Syria between the army and Kurdish forces in the northern city of Aleppo. “I pray for those who are suffering," he said, "and I renew my call for an end to violence and for intensified efforts to achieve peace." On Monday, the Pope met Venezuelan Nobel Prize winner, politician, and activist, Maria Corina Machado, at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. The meeting took place about 10 days after the capture of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores during a United States military operation in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Speaking during his Angelus address the day after Maduro’s capture (during which about 80 people, including civilians, were killed) Pope Leo said he was following developments in Venezuela “with deep concern” and called for the respect of “the human and civil rights of each and every person.” The Pope reiterated his appeal during the 9 January meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. Referring to Venezuela, he urged efforts to build “a society founded on justice, truth, freedom and fraternity, and thus enable the nation to rise from the grave crisis that has afflicted it for so many years.” He also invited all parties to “respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all, ensuring a future of stability and concord.”
With the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, another major milestone is reached in what we might call the 'Christmas half' of the Liturgical Year. Centuries ago, this feast used to be one celebration commemorating three events in the Lord's life: the coming of the three Magi, the Baptism, and the miracle at Cana, and there are traces of this fact even in the liturgy of today. Jesus's Baptism in the Jordan is an important moment in His earthly life, because it again is a moment where His true identity as both man and God is 'manifested': that is, displayed to the peoples of the world. The Father's voice is heard proclaiming Him to be the Son, the Beloved, and through faith, as He rises from the water, we come to believe, just as the Magi believed when they saw him manifested to the world in the manger. The light of faith, which thanks to Jesus's baptism, is also conveyed to us through sacramental washing with water, is greater than the light of the Epiphany star that shone so brightly all those years ago in Bethlehem. It inspires us from within, and shines not in one particular place, but everywhere the Church is present; it shines with the light of the Holy Spirit Himself who comes from the Father, and from the Son, teaching us not only who Jesus is, but how to manifest Him to others. Through this light which changes the direction of our lives, illuminates our conscience, and beautifies our actions, Christ is made visible here. Thus, when we are faithful to the promises of our baptism, we somehow show people the presence and reality of Jesus, God-with-us, and teach the true meaning of Christmas.
A SAVIOUR IS BORN TO US - CHRIST THE LORD! As Advent draws to a close, we hear how St Joseph welcomed the news of the birth of the Saviour and accepted, with courage and faith, to take Mary for his wife, to look after her and her precious burden. Into his heart, Joseph - Guardian of the Blessed Virgin and Patron of the Church - picks up and carries the mystery of the Word, and ponders its weight. The message he received is also our responsibility - as fathers, mothers, men and women of faith. We have a role to play in the ongoing Christmas story - to rejoice and embody the joy of receiving a Saviour. We naturally feel joy in human things in this season: gathering with family and friends, to be off work for a little. But the truth of "Christmas spirit" is more profound: a deep and awe-inspiring truth we realise when we gather around the Holy Family in the manger. In the stable of Bethlehem, we see the Word become man ('Emmanuel', God-with-us). Thanks to that same event, we are to become like God, in receiving eternal life. God became part of our human family, and we become part of His Son's Body. Jesus' Advent raises our human nature to an incredible dignity, and with it, a great responsibility: to reject the bad that drags us down, and live with sacrificial love, like His Son. St Leo the Great summed up this mystery like this: "Dearly beloved, today our Saviour is born; let us rejoice… When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvellous work of God’s goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men? […] Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom. Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ." May I take this opportunity, along with Deacon Tom, to offer you all our prayers for a very wonderful celebration of the Christmas mysteries here at St John the Evangelist, and a very blessed New Year to you all!
'Bid the Lord welcome!' Our theme of "Welcome" for this Advent emerges once again in the readings and texts of this Sunday, which is called 'Gaudete Sunday' after the Latin word that begins the Mass's Introit meaning "Rejoice!" After the challenging words of Jesus and St John the Baptist in the first two weeks of Advent, admonishing us to be ready for the Second Coming, in this week that theme continues, but with a new tone or shade shining through: a lightness, a joy, and to signify this the vestments of the Mass change colour on this Sunday from solemn purple to a lighter rose. The readings focus on the signs that accompany the arrival of the Messiah: the blind see, the lame walk, the dead are raised up… The justice of God is to be done! And that in itself, as much as it challenges us, also is a cause for great joy: salvation is at hand for sinners, and Death is to be no more! Joy is an essential effect of the spirit of welcome. When we no longer resist Christ, who knocks at the heart's door and waits for us patiently to open it, anguish is extinguished, and joy begins to suffuse us. The strange thing about this is that this takes place even in the darkness, in painful experience. And when we welcome others, we experience God's welcoming joy in us AND spread it to others in the very same moment. A parish community where people make a genuine effort to love one another - smile, greet, pray, assist one another - is an extraordinary place, and a place of evangelisation that others want to be part of. St James reminds us of this today: "Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters… behold, the Judge is standing at the door." (Jas 5:9) This joy to each other does not always come naturally, but what a difference it makes. The Benedictine spiritual writer Dom Prosper Guéranger noted that joy may require a victory over self, writing that we must: 'make an effort to be cheerful […] Cheerfulness takes courage, as does everything else; and it is for God that we must overcome ourselves in this way. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say Rejoice…! We must pull the ground out from under the feet of that melancholy that is no good for either this world or the next.' One very good reason to be joyful in this season is that we welcome among us Barnabas Mercer, a fourth-year seminarian for our diocese who will be spending the next 6 months with us as part of his formation for the priesthood. It is an amazing joy to see God calling young men into His service and to the service of His people. Please pray for him, welcome him - and pray for the others who will one day follow the same path, if it be God's will. Some of them are here in Horsham too!
ADVENT IS HERE! • Candlelit 'RORATE' MASSES will take place on the first three TUESDAYS of ADVENT starting 2nd December at 7am. Please note the earlier start time . The Mass will take no more than 30 minutes and be followed by breakfast served in Hall, so people have time to get to school and work afterwards. All are welcome to join us for this beautiful way to mark the Advent season. • ADVENT RECONCILIATION - Advent is a good time to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that, as He cleanses from the sin with which we all too often reject Him, we can welcome Him anew to be born into our hearts at Christmas, just as Mary, Joseph and the shepherds welcomed His birth into the world. Canon Tim Madeley will be hearing Confessions here on Saturday 13th December from 10.30am . Additional Advent times in our soon-to-be parish communities are: - HENFIELD – Monday, 8th December at 7.00pm (Fr Hugh) - WEST GRINSTEAD – Friday, 12th December at 7.00pm (Canon Tim & Fr Tristan) - BILLINGSHURST – Saturday, 13th December at 10.00am (Fr Tristan) - CRAWLEY – Friday, 19th December at 6.00pm (Fr Nelson, Fr Anthony, Fr Peter, Fr Joachim, Fr Tristan) - CRAWLEY – Saturday, 20th December at 10.30am (Fr Nelson, Fr Anthony, Fr Peter, Fr Joachim) - WORTH ABBEY – Monday, 22nd December at 7.30pm (Priests of the Benedictine community) • FAMILY COME AND SING CAROLS - As we journey through Advent and prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ at Christmas, we warmly invite you to our Family Come and Sing Carols event on Sunday 7th December at 3pm in the Parish Hall. Gather around the piano to sing favourite carols, with Advent-themed crafts for the children. We’d love it if you could bring a little something festive—like mince pies, cake, or mulled wine—to share. If you play an instrument, you’re welcome to bring it along and join in the music-making. Let us come together as a parish community in joyful anticipation of Christmas. • ‘GAUDETE’ SUNDAY, 14TH DECEMBER – Please remember to bring your crib figures and Nativity sets to Mass on the weekend of 13th and 14th December, when they will be blessed at the end of all Masses. You will also be able to pick up some blessed straw on your way out of Church, for placing in your home Nativity scenes.