Fr Xavier Writes 28th April 2024

IMPORTANT: Saturday 26th April 2025  Due to Pope Francis’ funeral Mass taking place at 9:00am BST this coming Saturday, morning Mass at St John’s will be celebrated at 8:00am, with no Adoration, Benediction or Confession.

FRIDAY 25th April 2025 6.15pm – 8:00PM Please join us for a Requiem Mass for His Holiness Pope Francis , starting at 6:15pm , followed by a Prayer Vigil with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, on the eve of Pope Francis’ funeral.

Please view our full schedule of Holy Week and Easter Services - download HERE (PDF) Copies are also available from the back of the Church. Please take one home with you and encourage family and friends to join us as we celebrate Holy Week and Easter.

If you do not usually attend Mass on Maundy Thursday or Holy Saturday, or the Passion on Good Friday, I would definitely encourage you to try it this year. The celebrations are long and take our time and effort, but they are irreplaceable, rich, beautiful. The importance of Holy Week is summed up by the little phrase the priest uses at the start of the Palm Sunday liturgy: "Let us commemorate the Lord's entry into the city for our salvation, following in his footsteps, so that being made by his grace partakers of the Cross we may have a share also in his Resurrection and in his life". 'Partakers' is the mot juste. Holy Week is not just any old festival, it is a sacramental participation in the life and death of the Lord Jesus Himself. We "follow in his foosteps" in two ways that are interconnected. The first way is by really celebrating the Word of God in a very serious manner. Throughout the different liturgies, we eat a veritable banquet of the Scripture, comprising all the greatest mysteries of our life, from the creation of the world to the last hours of Jesus' earthly life, His death, and His rising. At the same time, we enact those mysteries through liturgical action engaging our senses: the waving of palms, the washing of feet, the veneration of the Cross, the lighting of the Paschal Candle, and so on. Secondly, we "follow in his footsteps" by letting this Word change our hearts. For example, spending time in meditation before the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday is not just remembering Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, but it is really joining with Him there, praying for the whole world and asking for the strength to die to sin with Him. Celebrating the blessing of the font at the Easter Vigil is not just a recalling of baptism, but a real refreshing of our baptismal grace that flows from the life of the Rising Christ Himself. Holy Week marks and shapes our Christan life entirely. On Easter Sunday, we will all renew our commitment to God as Christians, and the Holy Spirit will mark one of our number in the Sacrament of Confirmation, making him a full member of the Church's family. He will receive the Lord who was crucified and became our food for the first time in the Eucharist, just as we celebrate Christ, the New Passover, who is sacrificed. Holy Week is not just thinking about salvation -it is actually about being saved.  At the end of the Easter Vigil, the priest blesses the people saying: "Now that the days of the Lord's Passion have drawn to a close, may you who celebrate the gladness of the Paschal Feast come with Christ's help and exulting in spirit, to those feasts that are celebrated in eternal joy." We pray that, with Christians around the world, we will celebrate this week as fully as we can - and that we will celebrate it one day, not in sacraments, but in the presence of the Holy Trinity itself, with the saints in heaven. We pray especially this year for Christians in the Holy Land, and in our parish for Gregory Cooper, as he is received into the universal Church.

BISHOP OF ARUNDEL & BRIGHTON Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I wish to speak with you today about the process in which our Parliament is currently considering legalising assisted suicide through the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. As I have made clear earlier in this debate, as Catholics we have maintained a principled objection to this change in law recognising that every human life is sacred, coming as a gift of God and bearing a God-given dignity. We are, therefore, clearly opposed to this Bill in principle, elevating, as it does, the autonomy of the individual above all other considerations. The passage of the Bill through Parliament will lead to a vote in late April on whether it progresses further. This will be a crucial moment and I, together with all the Bishops of England and Wales, am writing to ask your support in urging your MP to vote against this Bill at that time. There are serious reasons for doing so. At this point we wish not simply to restate our objections in principle, but to emphasise the deeply flawed process undergone in Parliament thus far. We wish to remind you that it is a fundamental duty of every MP to ensure that legislation is not imposed on our society which has not been properly scrutinised and which will bring about damaging consequences. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will fundamentally change many of the key relationships in our way of life: within the family, between doctor and patient, within the health service. Yet there has been no Royal Commission or independent inquiry ahead of its presentation. It is a Private Member’s Bill. The Bill itself is long and complex and was published just days before MPs voted on it, giving them inadequate time to consult or reflect upon it. The time for debate was minimal. The Committee examining the Bill took only three days of evidence: not all voices were heard, and it comprises an undue number of supporters of the Bill. In short, this is no way to legislate on such an important and morally complex issue. One consequence of this flawed process is that many vital questions remain unanswered. Can MPs guarantee that the scope of the Bill will not be extended? In almost every country where assisted suicide has been introduced the current scope is wider than was originally intended. What role, if any, will the judiciary have in the process? We were told that judicial oversight was a necessary and vital part of the process; now we are told it isn’t needed at all. What will protect the vulnerable from coercion, or from feeling a burden on family? Can the National Health Service cope with assisted suicide or will it, as the Health Secretary has warned, cause cuts elsewhere in the NHS? Can MPs guarantee that no medical practitioner or care worker would be compelled to take part in assisted suicide? Would this mean the establishment of a ‘national death service’? In contrast to the provisions of this Bill, what is needed is first-class, compassionate palliative care at the end of our lives. This is already provided to many in our society but, tragically, is in short supply and underfunded. No-one should be dispatched as a burden to others. Instead, a good society would prioritise care for the elderly, the vulnerable, and the weak. The lives of our families are richer for cherishing their presence. It is a sad reflection on Parliament’s priorities that the House of Commons spent far more time debating the ban on fox hunting than it is spending debating bringing in assisted suicide. I am sure that you will share these concerns. It is now clear that this measure is being rushed without proper scrutiny and without fundamental questions surrounding safeguards being answered. This is a deeply flawed Bill with untold unintended consequences. Every MP, and Government, has a solemn duty to prevent such legislation reaching the statute book. This, tragically, is what may happen. So I appeal to you: even if you have written before, please make contact now with your MP and ask them to vote against this Bill not only on grounds of principle but because of the failure of Parliament to approach this issue in an adequate and responsible manner. In his Letter to the Philippians, from which we heard in the Second Reading, St Paul reflects on the difficulties and responsibilities of life. He speaks of ‘pressing on’ and ‘striving’ for the fulness of life promised in Christ Jesus. Yet he is totally confident in his struggles because, as he says, ‘Christ Jesus has made me his own’. We too have many struggles. We too know that Christ Jesus has made us his own. So we too press on with this struggle, so important in our times. May God bless you all,

THE DIOCESAN PASTORAL PLAN - which will see all the parishes in our current Crawley Deanery become one parish in the next few years should be a great opportunity for us to think how we can pool our resources and get creative as the people of God; worshipping Jesus ("Prayer"), deepening our understanding of the faith to become better disciples ("Formation") and sharing the Gospel ("Mission") better in our area. Fr Tristan would be interested to hear your ideas as to how the areas you are engaged in as volunteers could benefit from linking with our neighbouring communities, or any other advantages we are likely to gain from the amalgamation. Please submit your positive ideas by e-mail to the Parish Office ( horsham@abdiocese.org.uk ). Please use the headings "Prayer", "Formation" and Mission" to structure your thoughts. You won't receive a reply to your message (this is merely about listening and gathering ideas) but your contributions will be collated, appreciated and read. Thank you!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This Sunday we celebrate Laetare Sunday - the Latin word from the beginning of this Sunday’s Entrance Antiphon at Mass - Rejoice, Jerusalem. Our rejoicing is marked by the use of rose coloured vestments at Mass, highlighting the midway point of our Lenten journey. In this Jubilee Year, we are called to reflect on our lives as Pilgrims of Hope and this Sunday’s readings will assist us in that reflection, for they speak of journeys. The Old Testament reading celebrates the end of the 40 years in the desert for the people of Israel. It has not been an easy journey, but the Chosen People find the fulfilment of their hope in the Promised Land. No longer will they eat the manna in the desert – their journey is over; they are home. The Gospel – the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which we know so well – finds the son returning home, greeted by his father who loves him, who has been looking out for him and who welcomes him home with open arms and a great feast of celebration. To say that the son’s journey was a difficult one would be an understatement. He left safety and the love of his father, travelled to the very depths and, only then, was he able to find his real direction. His Pilgrimage of Hope began - hope that he would be welcomed home - and his hope was fulfilled.  St Paul speaks of the fulfilment of hope in his second letter to the Corinthians: “For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation.” As Jesus’ followers, we are the people of that new creation. We are recipients of the gift of hope that is our pilgrimage to the Kingdom. As we make this pilgrimage, this journey, we are called to be the Lord’s presence for our brothers and sisters. With every blessing,

Pope Francis, explaining today's Gospel back in Lent 2019, wisely noted that it is a season in which we can discover our spiritual procrastination when it comes to turning back to God in Lent. God's mercy is boundless and He is patient with us; but all the more reason for us not to delay repentance of life, as the Holy Father explained in no uncertain terms! He said: "The fig tree, which the master of the parable wants to uproot, represents a barren existence incapable of giving, of doing good. It’s the symbol of one who lives for himself, satiated and tranquil, couched in his own comfort, incapable of turning his look and heart to those around him who are in a condition of suffering, of poverty, of hardship. Opposed to this attitude of egoism and spiritual sterility, is the great love of the vinedresser for the fig tree: he makes the master wait, he has patience; he knows how to wait, he dedicates his time and work to it. He promises the master to take particular care of that unhappy tree. And this similitude of the vinedresser manifests the mercy of God, who gives us time for conversion.  We all need to convert, to take a step forward, and God’s patience and mercy accompany us in this. Despite the sterility that sometimes marks our existence, God has patience and He offers us the possibility to change and to progress on the path of goodness. However, the delay implored and granted in the expectation that the tree will finally bear fruit indicates also the urgency of conversion. The vinedresser says to the master: “Let it alone this year also” (v. 8). The possibility of conversion isn’t unlimited, hence, it’s necessary to seize it immediately; otherwise, it will be lost forever. In this Lent, we can think: what must I do to get closer to the Lord, to convert, to “cut” those things that aren’t right? “No, no, I’ll wait for next Lent.” However, will you be alive next Lent?"

Please view the Lent Litur gies below: