Llandudno -
Our Lady Star of
the Sea
Parish
Priest: Fr Antony Jones STL - Telephone: 01492 860546 [Email]
Sunday May
28th
2006
Dear Parishioner,
Down the ages, people have always found the question of race something
difficult to handle. There is a natural tendency to fear what we
do not fully understand and to align ourselves with what we do; a
tendency to be afraid and suspicious of different cultures and to act
accordingly. Many wars have been the result of this; much
persecution and misery in people’s lives.
But while Christians have been as guilty as anyone else in this regard,
and sometimes more guilty, the shame is on them and not on the Faith
itself. Such attitudes that go into the making of racism are
totally and utterly alien to the heart and soul of the Catholic
Church.
The very fact that the earliest name the Christians gave their church
was Catholic is evidence of this.
The Jews were God’s chosen people, chosen from all the tribes on earth
to be God’s instrument for bringing his love and redemption to the
entire world. But in the course of their history, so privileged
with regard to God’s grace, their leaders lost sight of their mission
and began to think that they were the only people who mattered in God’s
eyes.
But the Church, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, quickly spread
beyond the boundaries of Israel and embraced men and women of every
nation, language and culture. Central to the Christian faith is
that all men and women are equal in God’s eyes and the death of Jesus
Christ has redeemed us all. His death made all men and women
brothers and sisters, no matter their colour or culture, children of
one heavenly Father. So they called their Church Catholic, a word
which means all-embracing. It follows that only the Catholic
Church has the ability and the wherewithal to gather the nations of the
world together into the one family God intends them to be. What a
mission the Church has inherited from ancient Israel!
Recent political developments have resulted in a large number of people
from different cultures coming to live and work among us. This,
for some, is a recipe for strife. But for us Catholics it is
cause for celebration, as their presence brings vividly home to us the
true catholicity of our Church. Next Sunday, the feast of
Pentecost when the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostles to speak in
everyone’s language, we will celebrate by a special Mass this wonderful
unity in Christ which we share as Catholics. Members of our
parish family whose origins are in different cultures and languages
will take part in the Mass, making this particular celebration a
kaleidoscope of language and culture, a genuine reflection of our
worldwide, all embracing Church. It will be followed by coffee in
Stella Maris accompanied by sweetmeats from the different
countries. I look forward to it and hope you will too.
God bless you,
Fr Antony Jones