The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Quite a full week around The Presbytery this time as we finish the first month of the New Year (already!) . . . . Over last weekend Fr D met with someone in the process of being prepared to be received into the Church along with baptising her daughter; both have been working towards this for a few months now and we will hopefully accept them as members of our Parish community over Easter this year. Fr D also met with a young couple from the Parish who will be getting married in Sicily later in the year (fortunately both parties are Catholic so it requires the minimum of paperwork for Fr D to undertake!). At our 11.00 Mass on Sunday the Rite of Welcome was celebrated for a baby girl who will be baptised as a member of our community in a few weeks. Following Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday, Fr D went off to the diocesan offices in Crawley to continue his work at the Tribunal. In the evening he again met with the parents of this year’s First Eucharist candidates for their second session; this time they were looking at the first main section of the Mass the ‘Liturgy of the Word,’ ready to help their children on Saturday morning. On Wednesday, once he had celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass, Fr D began work on his parts of the newsletter for this week. In the afternoon he had a meeting with the other priests from the Deanery in response to a request from the Apostolic Nuncio. In the evening Fr D met with our candidates for Confirmation in the Parish Centre, looking at God’s love for us individually shown in Baptism and the other sacraments of the Church. Straight after celebrating Morning Prayer and Mass on Thursday Fr D, once more, went down to the Tribunal to continue his work on marriage cases. He, in fact, had several new applications to look at before deciding to accept them. He also had to inform someone that their annulment had failed to prove invalidity of their marriage. When he got home in the late afternoon Fr D managed to finalise and lodge his income tax (before the deadline!), as well as complete his parts for the newsletter.  Having celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass on Friday, Fr D had a church lighting engineer (just completed renewal of Worth Abbey) come to meet him in the church to look at possible solutions for replacing our obsolete halogen lighting and changing to more modern and cost effective LED lighting . . . . . . .

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . At our 09.00 Mass last Sunday this year’s First Eucharist families were present for the enrolment of this year’s candidates. The candidates renewed their baptismal promises (which were made for them by their parents at their baptisms), before their parents reaffirmed the promise to be ‘the first and best of teachers to their child in the ways of faith.’ The candidates were then presented with the workbook that they will be using over the next few months to prepare for First Eucharist (on 14th June). In the evening Fr D was delighted to see so many parishioners at the annual Christian Unity Week Service at the United Church in Stoke Road - Sacred Heart Parishioners outnumbered any other group! On Monday evening Fr D came home early from his day off in order to attend a meeting of the ‘Shadow Parish Finance Team.’ Although with Bishop Richard having been appointed to Westminster and, therefore, no changes being possible within the diocese, it is possible to carry on with preparatory work and sharing of good practice by this team (none of this will be wasted if the new Bishop does not wish to continue with the new arrangements for our Deanery parishes). After Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday Fr D was off down to the diocesan offices in Crawley. He completed his judgement on one of his cases and started preparing the judgement for the next case. Once he has the two ready he will call a meeting of the judges to finalise the Sentence for both cases. When he returned from Crawley in the evening Fr D was meeting for the first time with the prospective candidates and parents for this year’s Confirmation (9th May). Having celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday morning Fr D spent some time gathering the details that he needs to complete his tax return for last year before starting work on his parts of the newsletter.  After Morning Prayer and Mass on Thursday Fr D was off down to Crawley again where he had a meeting with his opposite numbers in the Marriage Tribunal in Southwark, sharing with them how he deals with Penal Cases when they crop up. When he got back in the late afternoon Fr D was meeting with a young couple who are preparing for the baptism of their young daughter in a few weeks time . . . .

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Normal service is now resumed around The Presbytery and Parish . . . . . . With the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord last weekend Christmastide came to an end, the crib, wreath, tree, and decorations were removed and packed away until next year, and the Church entered into the first section of what is called Ordinary Time. During Ordinary Time green is the prevailing colour of the season up until Ash Wednesday which this year falls on 18th February - slightly earlier than last year. On Tuesday, having celebrated Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition, Fr D was off down to Crawley in the car ‘on a mission’ to prepare another judgement for next month. When he came back home in the late afternoon he was preparing for the launch meeting, with parents, of this year’s First Eucharist Programme. Having celebrated their First Reconciliation at the beginning of Advent our candidates and their parents are now embarking on preparations for the reception of the Eucharist (on June 14th this year). After Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D was dealing with some letters and then started work on this week’s newsletter before going off for lunch with Fr Ruslan (Walton-onThames). They do this once a month generally as a support to one another. When he got back in the afternoon Fr D was able to catch up on some reading that he has got behind on, before going upstairs for an early night. Thursday morning, after celebrating Morning Prayer and Mass, Fr D was back down to the diocesan offices at Crawley once more where he had a few queries to answer before continuing to finish one of his judgements for next month and doing the reading before beginning another. On the way home Fr D stopped off at one of the nursing homes in the Parish where he was able to anoint a parishioner. In the evening he finished ‘his parts’ of the newsletter so that Sarah could have them in the Parish Office on Friday morning to complete ‘her parts!’  Getting up a little earlier on Friday Fr D started the Notices and Universal Prayers for the weekend Masses before he had his breakfast. After celebrating Morning Prayer and Mass he went back to these to finish them and hand them over to Sarah to complete and print off along with the newsletter . . . . .

24th January, 11.00-16.00 at St Michael’s Church, Worthing, BN13 3AL. Led by Bishop Richard and Catherine Christmas (diocesan Liturgy & Music Adviser) this day will include talks on the Scriptures, the Lectionary and its use in the Liturgy, the Liturgy of the Word, and preparing to minister as a reader. Register your free place: https://abdiocese.churchsuite.com/events/

Trying to understand the true significance of an event like Christmas can not be done in a single day. Much like the epic natural beauty of the Grand Canyon, or the Baroque majesty and splendour of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, we need multiple visits to take the whole thing in. So it is with the mystery of the Nativity. For Catholics, Christmas is not just over and done with on December 25th. It’s only just begun! At a time when many are taking down their decorations and throwing their Christmas Trees to the kerbside, Catholics should still be celebrating. Christmastide is the name given to the Christmas season in the liturgical calendar. This begins with the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve and ends on the Sunday celebrating the Baptism of the Lord (11th January). This usually results in a Christmas season of around twenty days or so. Of special note is that the Christmas season licks off with a gift - seven special days other than December 25th, designed to extend our focus on the mystery of Christ’s birth. During these days, we’re to take in all the joys and graces associated with such a momentous event. These days are called the ‘Octave of Christmas,’ and you can remember their timing because the Octave starts and ends with a solemnity - the Nativity of the Lord on December 25th, and Mary, Mother of God on January 1st . At one time there were actually fifteen feast days in the Church that included Octaves, but since 1969, only Christmas and Easter are extended by these special days of celebration.  Ultimately, while all these details of the season can get a little confusing at times, the major conclusion to draw is this: our Christmas celebrations are often way too short, and end far too early! So do not miss out on the opportunity to stay in a holy, holiday spirit, by celebrating for the entire Christmas season this year

Epiphany means manifestation. so, as we honour this moment in time when the Christ Child was made manifest to the world, we should look into our own hearts. It is there, we discover Christ’s ongoing manifestation to us so that we can worship the One who has also chosen to be born within our hearts. We ought to diligently seek out this manifestation of God within us and respond to it in the same ways that the Magi responded. Firstly, the Magi determined when they saw a sign from the heavens that pointed to a new King, they stopped everything and departed in haste to find Him. When God speaks to you and manifests Himself to you in some way, nothing could be more important than to be attentive to His voice. The Magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. God was honoured and glorified by the giving of these gifts. God created gold to manifest His beauty and dignity. It was a gift that symbolised kingship. When we ponder the natural gift of gold given to the Christ Child, we are inspired to give Him our own gift of symbolic gold, prayerfully acknowledging Him as our own King to whom we pledge our complete submission.  Made from the sap of trees frankincense and myrrh are also fruits of God’s creation. Used in worship to symbolise prayers rising to heaven, frankincense symbolises the Christ Child’s divinity. We offer frankincense to Christ when we acknowledge His divine nature, since He is God in the flesh. Often used in burial, myrrh honours the Christ Child Who came to give His life as a sacrifice for many. We offer myrrh to profess our belief in the saving power of Christ’s death on the Cross and our need for that gift of salvation.

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Hopefully everyone has enjoyed a wonderful Christmas amongst their friends, family, and loved ones. This year, due to the timing of Christmas Day, we have a Second Sunday of the Christmas season before we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany on Tuesday (Masses at the Sacred Heart 09.30 and 19.30). It may surprise some people to discover that we are still celebrating Christmas. Although some are still conscious of the tradition of taking down decorations on ‘Twelfth Night,’ for so many others Christmas more or less ends on Boxing Day, and in the shops Christmas decorations disappear rapidly after the 25th to make way for the sales posters. It can seem strange that the nativity scene is such a relatively small element of such displays, but in fact it illustrates an important point: ‘The Word became flesh and lived among us.’ The term translated in most bibles as ‘lived’ – or ‘dwelt’ in some older versions – has the literal meaning ‘pitched tent,’ or perhaps ‘encamped.’ ‘The Word became flesh and encamped among us!’ This reminds us of the tent which the Israelites carried with them in the wilderness, the tent in which the Lord dwelt; but there is a difference too. When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, the tent was at the centre of the community. It was also quite a ‘dangerous’ place, which only the ritually pure could enter. However, in our Christmas story the place where the Word chooses to enter and live among us is almost inconsequential; an animal shelter in a small town. One where lowly shepherds are welcome to enter, indeed are the first to witness this event. Yet though it may seem inconsequential, without it no crib scene would have any significance. The Holy Family in the stable may appear to be a small element, but in fact it is the reason for all the rest of the scene. The image of the tent also suggests the image of a journey. We’ve already mentioned the echoes of the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness, but we might also think of the travels of the Holy Family from Nazareth to Bethlehem, then to Egypt, and then back again to Nazareth. Journeys marked by worry and danger. Saint Luke’s account of the journey to Bethlehem places the Holy Family in a land controlled by an oppressive occupying force. Saint Matthew’s account of the flight into Egypt reminds us perhaps of the plight of contemporary refugees fleeing persecution.  The Word became flesh and encamped among us . . . . .

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (S.P.U.C.) will be holding its annual appeal next weekend . SPUC fights for a world in which abortion is something unthinkable, and raises awareness of the widespread problem of abortion. According to an independent poll, 87% of GP’s are concerned that the government’s continued ‘pills by post’ scheme leaves women vulnerable to coerced abortion. SPUC calls upon the Prime Minister to condemn this abhorrent tragedy. Please be as generous as you can to help SPUC to defend unborn children and their mothers through highlighting this urgent crisis. Every year hundreds of churches across Britain take part in the SPUC ‘White Flower Appeal,’ making it one of our largest and most important educational and fundraising events of the year.  SPUC supporters come from many backgrounds and walks of life. The success of the ‘White Flower Appeal’ is founded upon the compassion and generosity of faithful churchgoers in parishes across the United Kingdom. SPUC is most grateful for the unapologetic defence of unborn children and vulnerable mothers that the teaching of the Catholic Church provides.

The Christmas Season began with the Christmas Vigil Mass (24 th Dec. 18.00) and lasts until the 11.00 Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (11th Jan.). Between these two dates it is customary for parishioners (particularly families) to pay visits to the Crib to pray for their own families and also for those throughout the world who do not have the advantages of a family life like our own