Newsletter for Sunday 26 November 2017

24 Nov

Long Live Christ the King!

The Solemnity of Christ the King we are celebrating today was instituted by Pope Pius XI as recently as 1925 – the reason – to respond to the needs of the time. The world was still recovering from the First World War. The Bolshevik Revolution had only recently taken place and Atheistic Communism was spreading fast. Everywhere seemed to be abandoning Christ and Christian values. In instituting this feast, Pius XI wanted to remind the world that without Christ we have no hope, and to reject Him is to reject our only hope of salvation.

Blessed Miguel Pro (1891-1927) was a priest in Mexico where the Church after the Mexican Revolution was suffering greatly and was being blamed for all society’s ills, and as a result Catholicism was outlawed. A secret underground Church quickly developed. Fr Pro went under-cover using disguises to avoid being arrested while celebrating Masses secretly, baptising and hearing confessions in private houses. He was finally caught and although there was no evidence against him, the President sought to make an example of him by having him shot. He was put in front of a firing squad, knelt in prayer and put out his arms in the form of a cross while saying, “Viva Cristo Rey” which means, “Long live Christ the King.” Then he was executed.

Like Blessed Miguel Pro, we cannot allow anything to silence the truth of Christ. He is the only Way. He is God, He is King and He is Lord of all. We have to fight for Christ and His Kingdom. By virtue of our Confirmation we are His soldiers and therefore must fight His battles.  Remember, earthly kingdoms and governments come and go, but Christ’s Kingdom is forever.   So we keep our hearts and homes pure for Him. In the world, in the workplace, in our schools we proclaim His truth. So study your Faith, so that whenever God gives you the opportunity, you may proclaim it. It might not always make you popular, but nevertheless it is what we are all called to do. The errors of Atheism and Communism are rampant in society today. So let us renew our commitment to spread Christ’s Kingdom. Our futures depend on it and YOU could be the one to make a difference. Viva Cristo Rey!

Fr Paul Gillham IC

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Newsletter for Sunday 19 November 2017

18 Nov

Purgatory is the Great Love of God

The existence of Purgatory is an article of our holy Faith and the Church has always taught it. It is where those who die in God’s grace, who, if at the time of death are not yet perfectly purified, undergo purification so as to be holy and pure enough to be able to stand in God’s presence (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030).

So Purgatory exists out of God’s love, and it is His love that purifies and cleanses us. “The Lord your God is a devouring fire” (Deut 4:24). It is not so much a place of punishment. We, by our prayers and sacrifices, and above all the Masses we have said for the Holy Souls, hasten their purification. And of course, November is the month when we particularly step up our efforts in this regard. There is a story relating to this which rather struck me and which I would like to share with you.

The great St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) encountered many souls from Purgatory whom God allowed to come and ask him for his prayers. In this particular story, a doctor who was a close friend of the Padre had been given a letter for him by a woman to pray for the recovery of her daughter who was seriously ill. Several days had passed before the doctor had the chance to give it to him. But Padre Pio on being handed the letter simply replied, “Let it be done!” The doctor was very mystified by his response since the girl had been at death’s door for several days. But Padre Pio explained by giving this example.  He said that even now he could pray for the happy death of his great-grandfather who had died years earlier. He continued that supposing when we die we have to spend 100 years in Purgatory. During this time nobody prays for us or has a Mass offered for us. Then after 100 years somebody suddenly thinks of us and has Masses said for us.  Now with Our Lord there is no past or future. He is outside of time and everything is in the eternal present to Him. Those prayers had already been taken into account so Padre Pio could pray for the happy death of his great-grandfather!

So the point is we should always pray for the departed, even those who died many years ago, because with God there is no past or future – only the eternal present.

Fr Paul Gillham IC

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Newsletter for Sunday 12 November 2017

10 Nov

Red Poppies remind us of our Christian Mission

Around my village, on the lamp posts down the main street, there appeared last weekend large red poppies and at either end of that main street yellow signs appeared too, telling motorists that the road would be closed on Sunday 12th from 12.30 – 3pm for the Village Remembrance Parade and service. There will be a brass band, flags and uniformed groups and many villagers and we will stand silently as the names of those who have died in the World Wars and subsequent conflicts are read out and commemorated.

In this season of the Dead, November, we rejoice at the triumph of the Saints in glory, those in whom the victory of the Cross is completed. We pray for the Holy Souls making their way through the purification of Purgatory into the eternal Presence of God. We stand before the cenotaphs and war memorials of the fallen in high streets, village greens and churches, remembering those whose lives were offered for the defeat of tyranny, and who have paid the price of the sins of the nations.

We Christians mourn because we are human. We are affected by the love of those we see no longer.  BUT ‘we do not mourn as those without hope.’

If our season of prayer for and with the dead ends simply in tears and despair, then we haven’t heard the Gospel of Jesus. We though stand foursquare in Christ, in His death and Resurrection. We stand at the foot of the Cross and see the cost of our sins and the shattering fragility of life in the face of death. We stand in the light of the Resurrection, inheritors, through grace and faith, of the miracle and mystery of the Third Day and Our Lord’s promise, heard today, of His return.

We weep at the grave, we stand in solemn silence at the Memorials, yet we people of faith know that, as the dawn rises on the farther shoreline we will meet again in the eternal life of the Risen Christ.  In this Season of Remembrance and of the Holy Souls, we the dying, must redouble our prayers for those who have gone before and more especially for our fellow mortals who, as yet without Christ, will die without hope.

The Mission goes on!!  Sharing and living our Catholic Faith!

It’s not an optional extra.         It’s truly a matter of life and death.

Deacon David OLW

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Newsletter for Sunday 5 November 2017

3 Nov

The Month of the Holy Souls

As the weather grows colder and the leaves fall, Remembrance time comes round and so it is natural that our thoughts turn to those whom we loved who are no longer with us.

How appropriate, then, that our Catholic Church offers us November, which began with All Saints Day and All Souls Day, as the Month of Holy Souls in Purgatory – those who have died in grace, yet who failed in this life to make satisfaction for all their sins. In recent times, perhaps no Catholic doctrine has been more misunderstood by Catholics themselves than the doctrine of Purgatory.  Consequently, we can tend to downplay it, even seem a little embarrassed by it, and it is the Holy Souls who suffer because of our discomfort.

Purgatory is not, as many people think, one last trial; all of those who make it to Purgatory will one day be in Heaven.  Purgatory is where those who have died in grace, but who have not fully atoned for the temporal punishments resulting from their sins, go to finish their atonement before entering Heaven. This is an expression of God’s love as He desires to cleanse our souls so that they may experience the fullness of joy with Him.

As Christians, we don’t travel through life alone but within the community of the Church. We are to support and help each other, and this is true of the Holy Souls as well. They can pray for us and we should pray for them, that they may soon be freed from their punishments for their sins and enter Heaven.

We should pray for the dead throughout the year, but especially in this Month of the Holy Souls. Let’s devote some time each day to pray for them, starting with those closest to us – such as our parents, but including always those in greatest need and those most forsaken.

Rest eternal grant unto them O Lord. Let Light perpetual shine upon them.

Deacon David OLW

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