THE HOLY FAMILY

Our church grounds boast a rather striking crucifix. It was hidden away at the back of the garden. As you will see, I have moved it forward, closer to the front of the garden, where it is much more visible and prominent. St Paul says, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the power and the wisdom of God, to save us.” Our Archbishop John asks every parish in the archdiocese of Southwark and every parishioner in every parish, to do everything possible to help the Lord Jesus to be better known and loved especially anyone who doesn’t yet know the Lord. This is called ‘Evangelisation’. Moving the crucifix to the front of our garden means it is very visible to hundreds if not thousands of people every day, passing along Limpsfield Road in cars, vans, trucks, on buses or as pedestrians. When they see the crucifix, many will wonder what it means and that moment of wondering gives the Lord a chance to speak to their hearts! The crucifix isn’t in good condition, at the moment. It has been damaged by the trees and the ground which it has occupied, over the years. I’m hoping that we can properly and fully repair both the image and the cross. Incidentally, the symbol of Jesus actually hanging on a cross, which is the normal symbol used by Catholic and most Orthodox Christian Churches, is called a ‘crucifix.’ The symbol of a cross, without the image of the Lord hanging on the cross, is usually simply called a ‘cross’ by members of Protestant Christian Churches. May the symbol of Our Lord being put to death on a cross, showing the depth of his love for everyone, help people who gaze upon it, to know that the Lord Jesus offers them his saving love.  Jesus says, “Come to me all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you peace, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls.”

It is wise to write a Will so that the resources you have when the time comes for you to leave this world, goes to the people and organisations you wish. May I suggest that you might consider leaving a Bequest in your will to our parish or to our diocese or to our priest as well as to other causes. A gift in your will can enable us to continue to help people to know the Lord Jesus and his saving love. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving behind.

"WHO HAVE YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU?" These are the words of the Lord Jesus to each one of us, every time we come to holy Mass. Please don't be content to come alone or just to come with someone who already comes every week, to holy Mass. Invite and encourage others in your family, those living next door to you, those living down your street, your friends. Do that and the Lord will work through you, probably slowly and bit by bit. Do that, and one day you will hear him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful child of mine. Enter into the joys prepared for you, for all eternity. Thank you to the wonderful people who have the privilege of being Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors and thank you to the wonderful people who act as Hosts and Bakers for our Evangelisation project, 'The Olde Forge Cafe.  We live in a time/space world in which none of us can be in two places at once! We provide rotas to make our commitments as feasible as possible. Often, there are conflicting calls on our time and energy. All we can do in deciding which call to follow, is to listen to the Lord speaking to us and then follow the voice of God in our consciences. Trying to arrange the rotas according to what is convenient for everyone is extremely difficult and results in some people doing a great deal and others doing very little! Instead, we will just publish general rotas and simply ask everyone to please just try to do what the Lord asks of you. So, please, if you don't mind, do not send me or Jim or Kim and Manuel who manage the Cafe, dates and times you are unavailable. If we are unable to bring the Lord in Holy Communion to the Sick and Housebound members of our parish every week, but as often as we can, then that is all we can do. If sometimes we are unable to open our Evangelisation Cafe, but we open it as often as we can, then that is all we can do. We trust in the Lord to send his Holy Spirit into the hearts of us all and we pray that the hearts of us all are open to his call. We go forward doing all we can to build his Kingdom in this world and to bringing his love and truth to others as the Lord's missionary disciples. Thank you to all the very dear friends of the Lord Jesus who so often put his plans before their own - your reward will be great in Heaven.

Every week, a group of international Catholic young people, aged 20 years and older, gather at a central London Catholic Church, St Charles Borromeo, in Ogle Street, for prayer, reflection and social time. They are called ‘Soul Food’. I have had the pleasure of joining them for prayer and reflection, in the past. Next week I hope to join them again. How inspiring it is to glimpse a growing number of young Catholics deeply and joyfully living their Faith, just like St Carlo Acutis.