OUR VISITING SEMINARIAN, BARNABAS, WRITES - 15th March

How is your Lent going? If you are anything like me, it may be not be 'spectacular'! I don't think I've succumbed to any massive temptations yet (at the time of writing this!) but, at the same time, I certainly don't think I've been living the season as intensely as I could do. The main way to do this, of course, is to spend time pondering the Scriptures that the Church gives us in the liturgy. But it's very easy to put this off and to miss hearing the Word of God with fresh ears. And this is more than a shame, because, as we remember from last week's narrative of Christ tempted by the devil to make bread from stones, in fact the Word of God is our true food. But Lent has only just begun. It is never worth putting off our conversion to Christ, just because we feel we have already dragged our feet. On Ash Wednesday, we heard the words of St Paul saying 'Behold now is the favourable time; behold now is the day of salvation.' (2 Cor 5:20-6:2) 'NOW' is the crucial word. Jesus, revealing Himself as the Son to the apostles in the dazzling sight of His Transfiguration, shows us that He, although truly a man, as a divine person, will lift that which is human, limited, temporal into the life of eternity. He is always "NOW" - as the Letter to the Hebrews puts it: "Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb 13:8). He is speaking to us in every moment, waiting for our hearts to return to Him, and working hearts that accept Him. As we also have heard in the previous week: "I have set before you life and death" (Deut 30:19). We must choose at every moment to follow Him or not: to spend eternity with Him, or not. We should not believe we can put off that choice indefinitely.  In the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John receive a 'sneak preview' (or 'foretaste') of the beauty, glory and majesty of the Risen Lord, dwelling in the eternal day of the Resurrection. Now is the time to choose that day, and not the night of our own self-absorption. The thought of Jesus's eternal divine love can spur us on in the here and now, even when that here and now is troubled.... and it already brings us back to life in the 'NOW' when we are struck and transformed by the sweetness of His grace. In particular, do not delay to respond to His call to experience Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where His Word washes us clean. Hear the Father's voice calling us in the now: 'This is my Son the Beloved: listen to Him!'

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.

Preparing for the important Lenten journey. Activities at St John's Horsham.

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.