OUR VISITING SEMINARIAN, BARNABAS, WRITES - 28th June

And proclaim as you go, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Liturgically it has certainly been a rather exciting week. Last Sunday we celebrated the solemnity of Corpus Christi, on Friday the solemnity of the Sacred Heart, and indeed I would be remiss without mentioning the memoria of St Barnabas on Thursday! But as we return to the more regular rhythm of the Church’s liturgical calendar in Ordinary Time, perhaps we can pause to reflect on the message in today’s Gospel that the Apostles preached to the lost children of Israel; The kingdom of heaven is at hand. There are many things that one can say about this passage. We know that the kingdom of God is here and yet is not of this world; that it is to be truly experienced in the next life, and yet also fast approaching, as we await the remaking of all things on the last day. In fact, some people have, out of an attempt to appropriate or control what the kingdom of Heaven is all about, either turned it into something worldly and political, or something merely theoretical and metaphorical, thus losing what it really is, a theological reality. Ultimately, the kingdom of God is intimately tied up with Christ’s coming to us. He has come, and He is here, really, truly, substantially, and yet, He shall come again on the last day, and we are told to wait with our lamps full so that we may joyfully enter the coming wedding feast. How are we to readily anticipate the coming of Christ whilst also being in His presence? How do we wait for Christ, whilst in a sense waiting with Him? One of the most profound ways in which we can do this is Eucharistic adoration. In this time in which the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, Christ’s Eucharistic presence is indeed giving miraculous healing and cleansing effects to many. In Lourdes, it is significant that it is in fact during the Blessed Sacrament procession that the most people are healed rather than at the grotto or the baths, and so how wonderful it was for us to process with Our Lord in His Eucharistic presence last Sunday, bringing Him to the people in our local community! What better way to proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand than worshipping Him in our streets!  So let us try to be mindful of Our Lord’s Eucharistic presence, as we spend time with Him in the Blessed Sacrament, and as we receive Him in Holy Communion. Perhaps we can try to spend slightly more time before Him in prayer this week, or perhaps we can try to be especially reverent when receiving Him, and if possible, find an extra moment to be with Him in silence, to allow Him to continue to cleanse and cast out whatever prevents us from being closer to Him in our hearts.

“Last week in my homily I referred to the fact that the one thing that characterises our holy religion more than anything is the sheer amount of celebrations we hold - and they continue to come thick and fast! It was a joy to celebrate the Confirmation Mass this year, where Canon Tim and I confirmed 24 of our young people on Pentecost Sunday (for want of a bishop!) On Tuesday, Barnabas and I attended the 30th Anniversary Mass of the ordination of our Diocesan Administrator, Canon Jonathan Martin and then, the next day: The Jubilee Mass to celebrate the 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of several of our other priests (including our former parish priest, Fr Raglan!) On top of this, I know that many of you are celebrating anniversaries of marriage too (including a Ruby Anniversary last week!) just as this year's wedding season is beginning, with several new couples pledging their lives to Christ in that beautiful sacrament. In a few weeks’ time we will be celebrating the Sacrament of the Sick here in the Church with those who find it difficult to make it often to Mass, which is always a poignant occasion.  In terms of the liturgical year, as well as the Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity today, this month also sees the celebration of the solemnities of Corpus Christ and the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. To this latter devotion, the whole month of June is traditionally dedicated: praying to Jesus, who though divine, chose to live with us with a heart that is truly human - a heart of flesh, pierced on the Cross - able to identify with us. How much this loving, human presence is verified for us through His touch at all these feasts and sacraments, where he celebrates His Death and Resurrection in us and we in Him through the Spirit! What proof of His abiding love!

“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit.” There are many striking aspects to this moment of Jesus sending the Holy Spirit to His disciples. Jesus does not pick a time when they are triumphant and confident to come to them. Instead, He comes to them through locked doors in a time of fear and hiding. It is remarkable that the Resurrected Christ can pass through physical matter to get to His disciples, but it is more remarkable that through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ not only passes through mere physical barriers, but spiritual ones as well, the parts of us that are closed off due to fear and shame. And what does he do once He has entered into that dark place? He shows us His wounds, the very wounds that we have caused, but not to condemn us, but instead to show us that what before brought death is now for God’s glory and victory, and to bring us peace, the peace that only He can give. Finally, having given us the Holy Spirit, He immediately sends us on mission, so that we too may proclaim the Gospel boldly.  Today our young people and Ralph Montilla will receive the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. Assisting to prepare our young people to receive this great sacrament during my time at St John’s has been such a privilege, and I ask you to keep them and Ralph in your prayers, that they may be strengthened to proclaim the gospel boldly wherever the Lord sends them in their daily lives.

‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There has certainly been a noticeable shift in the way people view the message of the Gospel. Perhaps ten years ago the general perceived stance towards organised religion, particularly Catholicism, was one of mild disdain or, perhaps worse, sheer indifference, but now there is a noticeable renewed curiosity. That would already be a positive step in the right direction, but there’s more. In France alone, about 13,000 adults were baptised or received into the Church this Easter, and in the UK the numbers have also grown significantly. This is not only happening in Europe, but in the US, Australia and other parts of the world. Non-Catholics I have spoken to about this have sometimes tried to dismiss it as merely people searching for direction in a directionless world, or trying to make sense of the conflict and austerity we are currently facing. To that my response is simply that these are not unlikely, or invalid, reasons to turn to the Lord. In fact that is the pattern that stretches throughout the Old Testament; the people of Israel are usually reminded of their covenant to the Lord by encountering great hardship, which has usually been a consequence of them turning away from Him in the first place. However, perhaps this isn’t the full story. Trying to pinpoint where human response to circumstance ends and the intervention of grace begins is perhaps a fraught venture, but in any case, something is happening. People want meaning. They want truth. The Lord is working through people’s lives, and that means that, as His disciples, we are called to share in His work. What could it be about us, as God’s chosen people, that may be attractive to others? Perhaps one way of putting it is that, in a world of people who are lost and in search of direction and meaning, we know where we are going. Not in the sense that the world promises, in fact we may be rather lost when it comes to our career, family life or personal circumstances. But, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in our daily struggle to follow the Lord, we know that we are ultimately a pilgrimage people on the journey to (please God) our true homeland: Heaven. So, let’s be welcoming to those who come to our parish, so that we can witness to that truth to them. If we see a new face, let’s go out of our way to make ourselves known to them, and make it clear that they are welcome, and that the Lord desires them to be here. After all, it is He who has brought them here, just as it is He who brought us, one way or another, to His Church. If you who are reading this are new to the Church, and are unsure if you have a place here, be at peace; you have a place here, and Christ has prepared a place for you in His Kingdom. You are welcome. Please introduce yourself to us and keep coming. We want you to be here, but more importantly, the Lord does too; in fact, He wants you more than you can possibly imagine.

“And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice”. This Good Shepherd Sunday, on which we pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, we are reminded of one of its most beautiful aspects. As the Good Shepherd, Christ brings His sheep unto Himself; sheep who are lost, thirsty, or in danger, yet still able to hear the unique authority with which Christ speaks. Christ calls some men to share in His eternal ministerial priesthood to call the lost sheep back to Him, and preach to those outside the fold. This only can happen when these men give themselves over to Christ in total surrender to Him, so that He may increase, and they may decrease. As Christ’s minister, the priest does not preach a message that is his own, nor does he speak with his own voice. This is also true for the whole being of the priest. His hands, anointed with sacred chrism, are not his own, but have been set apart for Christ’s use. His feet, taking him where he has been sent, belong to Christ, who sends him to a place not of his own choosing, but wherever the Church needs him to be. His heart, consecrated to Christ’s Sacred Heart, beats with His wounded love for souls. The priest, though weak and sinful himself, makes Christ present at the altar by the changing of gifts of bread and wine, and, with Christ’s authority, forgives our sins. As St John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests tells us, if the priest truly understood his office, he would die, not out of fear, but out of love. How can we not pray, then, that the Lord may call more men to this most sacred calling? How wonderful it is that Christ takes fallen men and invites them to share in His life in this particular way!  From Good Shepherd Sunday to Pentecost, we will be praying as a diocese for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. This Monday, from 5PM to 8PM, we will have a three hour prayer vigil with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament to pray for vocations to the priesthood in our diocese. I encourage you, if you’re able, to come, even for five minutes, to pray for this intention. Let us also keep in our prayers those who are discerning a vocation to the priesthood, as well as our seminarians, particularly in this parish.

The Gift Aid boxes for this new tax year are at the back of the church for collection. Please don’t use any of your current envelopes for future collections, as a number of the box numbers have been changed. There are special, thinner, boxes of envelopes for those of you who normally donate by monthly standing order and only use envelopes for the second collections, and for Easter and Christmas. If you have any queries, please contact the Parish Office. Thank you for your generous support.

We warmly invite you to our Silent Prayer gatherings, now moving to a monthly meet-up. We will continue to gather in the same gentle rhythm and format: arriving at 3.30pm in the hall, upstairs, for refreshments, followed by a short reflection on Silent Prayer and the Carmelite Saints. We will then move into the church for a time of Silent Prayer, finishing at around 5.00pm. Our next date is Saturday 25th April and then Saturday 23rd May , keep an eye on the newsletter for future dates. Whether you are new to silent prayer or have been walking this path for some time, you are most welcome to join us. Please feel free to come along at any point.

And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And he vanished from their sight. At the breaking of the Bread, the disciples finally recognise Jesus, who has been with them throughout their walk on the road to Emmaus. As if to confirm their realisation, Jesus vanishes the moment their eyes are opened. In some ways it seems strange; having spoken to them at great length before they recognised Him, Jesus slips away the moment they realise that they had Him with them all along. Perhaps we too have, in some way, experienced this. There can be moments where, quite suddenly, Christ’s presence is so unambiguously obvious to us; whether that be whilst reading the scriptures, praying before bed, or indeed during Adoration or Mass. For a brief moment all the specific details of our fears and anxieties that weigh us down are simply not in the picture when we behold Being, Truth, Love Himself, who has not merely entered the scene just now, but has been with us the whole time, though we may not have known it. And then, perhaps as suddenly as it began, the moment passes.  However, the disciples not only realise that they had Christ in their midst the whole time, but that they had been given a sign of His presence throughout; “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”. This burning within our hearts, be it a great furnace, or just the tiniest flicker of a candle, is the sign of the peace that only Christ can give, the consolation of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, when we chase the spiritual consolations that God gives us for their own sake, it can be frustrating when they are fleeting. But if we search our hearts, even in the midst of turmoil so great that prayer feels impossible, we can know, as long as we acknowledge that Christ is Lord and that we trust in Him, that Christ is there with us, walking alongside us on the road, and wants to listen to our troubles and sorrows. So let us this week be particularly mindful of Christ’s presence to us, beside us, and within us, as we continue to celebrate His conquering of sin and death this Eastertide.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” This Sunday we find ourselves between various significant points in the Church’s liturgical calendar; last week we celebrated Laetare Sunday, in which we rejoiced in anticipation of the coming celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. This week, we celebrated the feast of St Patrick and the solemnity of St Joseph. Next Sunday, we will process with palm branches in our hands as we begin that solemn journey to Calvary with Our Lord in Holy Week. And this week, the Church gives us one of the most moving Gospel readings in the lectionary; the bringing of Lazarus back from the dead. Something that has always struck me in this passage is the unapologetic way in which Jesus shows us His humanity, whilst also showing us so clearly His Divinity. In the midst of the death of His friend Lazarus, after Jesus testifies that He is the Resurrection and the life, we read one of the most awe-inspiring passages in scripture; that “Jesus wept”. Why are we told this? For what reason does Jesus let us in on this little secret, this brief glimpse into His emotions, His frailty, His pain? How are we to respond to Jesus’s tears? Perhaps one reason among many is so that we may be consoled. If Jesus had merely brought Lazarus back to life, of course, that would be enough. But how generous it is of Him to share with us not only His power, but also His sorrow. Jesus’s moving display of emotion emphasises to us a simple fact of life that He does not ask us to deny; death is tragic, and it is painful when we lose someone we love. And yet, God’s glory shines through all the same. Jesus weeps, yet He does not let death have the last word. Instead, He makes them open the tomb, not so that He can say a last farewell to his friend, but instead so that He can confidently call him out of the sleep of death. And so, as God’s children who await the glory of the Resurrection, we may also weep when faced with life’s tragedies, but we can do so not just with the comforting knowledge that Christ has wept with us, but also with the joyful hope that, at the end of all things, He will stand before the tombs of all His friends and say, this time without tears, ‘ come forth ’.