Dear Parishioner,
Lent is all about reconciliation, getting ourselves completely at peace with Almighty God, so that we may celebrate worthily the central Christian Festival of Easter.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation took a hard knock after the Council when people, misunderstanding what the council was really teaching, started saying that Confession wasn’t all that necessary.
The only flaw in this argument is that Jesus taught otherwise. He made it very plain that our reconciliation with God is the most important thing in the world and that it is through Him that forgiveness comes to us. When he rose from the dead, He gave the Church that power of forgiveness which was in himself, and told the Apostles to carry on his work reconciling people to God, forgiving their sins in his power and in his name. It is Christ who continues his ministry by being present in the priest, meeting penitents personally, freeing them from sin, and sending them away with his own words ringing in their ears, “Your sins are forgiven; go in peace”.
You may have forgotten what you were told as a child about going to Confession; all you need to remember is that Christ himself is there for you. Don’t worry if you have forgotten what to say. Just come. You will find it is as easy as falling off a wall—but without the hurt!
I worry about so many of my parishioners not making full use of this gift of the Risen Christ; indeed, about many of my parishioners not making any use of this Sacrament at all.
This week is our Lenten Penitential Week. Every evening, in one church of the deanery or other, there will be a very short service of Reconciliation. All the priests of the Deanery will be there, so if you wish to discuss anything with any one of them, you may stay on after the service.
Remember we now have the extra hour of Confessions on a Saturday afternoon from 415pm to 515pm
Next Saturday, is First Confession Day for the children—a fine conclusion to our Penitential Week. The service will start at 10am prompt and I encourage the parents to take advantage of this opportunity and to receive the Sacrament themselves. There is no better lesson on Confession than for the children to see their parents using it.
The new initiatives I spoke to you about in a recent newsletter have all begun very well. I am delighted with the BAPTISM TEAM who had their first encounter with parents last Sunday. I hear, both from themselves and from the parents, how beneficial and enjoyable it was.
Also the OPEN HOUSE for the Parish and the COFFEE BREAK for the young mothers. Both started off with a really good feel to them, giving me confidence that they will go from strength to strength. Actually, that is precisely what is happening. The Open House has grown considerably in the two weeks it has been operating. Already there are offers of Italian lessons and bridge lessons; while the Coffee Break has acquired a goodly set of toys for the children and comfy rubber matting for them to sit on, as the increasing number of mothers gets on with the important business of talking.
Today (Sat 28th) four of our parishioners, Keith Motram, John-Barry Murphy, Alan Williams and Stephen Watson will be spending the day at Loreto attending a course on sharing the Faith, given by CASE, a course that will be repeated county-wide. These four will be the nucleus of our future parish Evangelisation Team, which will expand in time and will be represented on our Parish Council.
And while on this subject, let me tell you that at the Easter Vigil this year there will be five new members received into the Church at the end of their year’s Catechumenate. We have greatly enjoyed our year together.
The next Catechumenate begins on Tuesday 2 June. I keep telling you that you can do nothing greater for Christ than to bring someone to Him and to his Church. Who is that person waiting for you to introduce to Christ and his Church? There is certainly somebody. And you will enjoy the Catechumenate yourself, that’s a promise!
God bless you, Fr Antony Jones