Pastoral Letter

New Year Pastoral Letter of Bishop Alan Williams, sm 

on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Dear brothers and sisters,

I hope that the celebration of Christmas and our entering into the New Year bring you God's peace and many blessings.

In today's Gospel Saint Luke tells us how the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem brought astonishment and joy to the shepherds and to all who witnessed the coming of the Infant Saviour.  In the midst of this, 'Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart'.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Mary the Mother of God - a human being just like ourselves but uniquely filled with the grace of God.  Mary is our mother but also someone who shows us what Christians can become by the grace of God.

Pope Saint John Paul II called Mary The First Disciple of the Lord - the first to believe in the Gospel; Emeritus Pope Benedict calls her The Great Believer.  

Saint Augustine was so astonished at the grace of God revealed in the perfection of Mary's life that he said-

'The blessed Mary certainly did the Father’s will, and so it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ’s disciple than to have been his mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb Him whom she would obey as her Lord'.

Mary gives birth to the Redeemer at Bethlehem; at Pentecost she is in the midst of the apostles as the Church comes to birth.  When we witness to the Gospel as faithful disciples of Christ we also imitate Mary.  In Saint Augustine's words, 'By bringing others to birth in the same way, you have it in your power to become mothers of Christ'.

If we want to make progress as disciples of The Lord we can look confidently to Mary our Mother and Companion.  St Augustine tells us that we should imitate Mary in her discipleship and her Motherhood.

Mary gave birth to the Word of God; throughout her life she lived and breathed that same Word - 'Blessed are they who hear and do the Word of God' (Luke 11.28).  She continues to share this treasure in all ages and amongst all peoples.  

Mary, 'The Star of the New Evangelization', remains the model and inspiration for all of us.  Pope Saint John Paul II in his encyclical The Mission of the Redeemer, reminded us that evangelisation will always be, 'the first task of the Church'.  Likewise, in the 'Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium) Pope Francis insists that missionary outreach must be at the centre of all the Church's activities.

Next year we celebrate our Centenary as the diocese of Brentwood.  We can look back with great gratitude at the grace of God but we also need to dare to be brothers, sisters and, yes, mothers of Christ in the world in which we live.

We must seek new and creative ways of sharing the great treasure of our Catholic Christian faith in a world hungry for the justice and peace of God's Kingdom.  Every parish should now have a Steward of the Gospel and during the past year our Stewards have been praying and undergoing training for the great mission ahead.  Like Mary, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, we are called to be like Christ, think like Christ, feel like Christ and act like Christ in all that we do.

May The Lord give us many blessings in the Year ahead- for our families, our parishes, our diocese and our world.

Yours in Christ and Mary,

+Alan Williams, sm

Bishop of Brentwood

Christmas

May the Peace and loving kindness of God be with you in this season of grace, and uphold you throughout the coming year.We wish you and your family the blessings of peace and happiness this Christmastide.

invitation

We started new prayer group in our parish.  Come and worship every Wednesday at 7.30pm 

Advent

Pastoral Letter of Bishop Alan Williams, sm

For the First Sunday of Advent

(Please read and/or make available at all Masses on the weekend of the 26/27th November 2016)

My Dear People, 

Last Sunday the Holy Year of Mercy ended and this Sunday we enter into the season of Advent as we prepare for the great Feast of the Incarnation at Christmas.

In visits to parishes, schools and communities throughout the diocese I have been aware of the amazing impact of the Year of Mercy-  this “extraordinary moment of grace and spiritual renewal” in the life of the Church- we have much to thank God for.

When Pope Francis summoned us to the Year of Mercy he suggested that we “allow God to surprise us”.  Most of our Sunday Gospels through the year have been from the Gospel of St Luke.  It is Luke who presents us with the astonishing parables of the Prodigal Son and the Lost Sheep and records the transforming encounter of Jesus with Zaccheus the tax collector.

What will be the legacy of the Year of Mercy?  As the Holy Father closed the Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica he encouraged us to ask for the grace of never closing the doors of reconciliation and pardon in our own lives.

Today's Gospel urges us to stay awake and stand ready to welcome Christ into our lives.  In the words of the Holy Father we need constantly “to contemplate the mystery of mercy, to gaze even more attentively on mercy”.

We can gaze on Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and in the Word of God.  We also see Christ in the poor.  In words that continue to shock, our Lord identifies himself with the least of our brothers and sisters- 

“I was hungry and you gave me food,

 I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

 I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

For the last 14 months many of our parishes have joined the parish of Basildon in bringing relief to the refugees at Calais.  As Father Dominic Howarth reminded us in his recent Catholic Universe article- this “particular chapter has closed, but-sadly- this story is far from ended for hundreds of thousands now in Europe and millions across the world fleeing violence and terror”.

Refugees, migrants and the victims of human trafficking are our sisters and brothers wherever and whenever we meet them.

In the Magnificat Mary reminds us that the mercy of God is needed in every age -  “Beneath the Cross, she saw the good thief receive pardon, and she took Jesus’ disciple as her son.  She is the Mother of Mercy, to whom we entrust ourselves: every situation we are in, every prayer we make, when lifted up to his merciful eyes, will find an answer” (Pope Francis- homily for the ending of the Year of Mercy).

Once again I turn to the Venerable Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy for a blessing of mercy-

“May God preserve you and bless you and grant you all the graces and precious gifts reserved for this holy time".

I wish you a joyful and blessed Advent with Christ and Mary,

+Alan, sm

Bishop of Brentwood

new altar servers

13 New recruits were enrolled into the Guild of St Stephen today at 11.00am Mass. 

We congratulate and wish them outstanding ministry at the altar. 

Remembrance Sunday

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Christmas bazaar 2016

Many thanks to all who supported our Christmas Bazaar, 

special thanks to all helpers who worked very hard on the day. 

invitation

come and have fun ...

...few memories from last year

Rehearsal

a short film from a polish musicians rehearsing before Mass

Aid

Visible (Heavenly) Aid in October.

Queen of the Holy Rosary - pray for us. 

Feast Day

 Feast day of Our Lady o La Salette with the Principal Celebrant Fr Martin Boland, Parish Priest of Brentwood Cathedral

19.09

WYD 2016

A short presentation after our pilgrimage to Poland for World Youth Day in Kraków. 

We really enjoyed time and had an amazing spiritual experience meeting so many people and getting closer to God and our faith. 

People of World Youth Day

Before a film from our parish pilgrimage is ready, something to take us back to WYD...

Pentecost

Congratulations to all the young people who made their Confirmation on Pentecost.
Thank you to our catechists and all those who worked to make the day so special. 

Come Holy Spirit. 

Procession

Together with First Holly Communion children we processed to Our Lady. 

After children had an amazing party and celebration in our parish hall. 

so sunny and beautiful day...

The Ascension

The feast of the Ascension: the Church, our Mother, gently reminds us that we are on a pilgrimage back to the Father’s house, where, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we will enjoy his risen and glorified life.

1st Holy Communion

We congratulate all the Children who are receiving

the Body & Blood of Christ for the First time this weekend. 

May they always walk with the Lord in their lives, willingly partaking in the Sacraments that are available to them.

Good Shepherd Sunday

In the garden of Gethsemane on the night he was arrested it is recorded that Our Lord was in agony or agonia in Greek. The word agonia describes the conflict Olympians would undergo to win the Olympic games. In that garden Our Lord Jesus Christ came to be in conflict and was fighting for a victory and was a struggling combatant striving with all his might to win. This is the evidence of the scriptures of what the completely unique word agonia means. And this battle, this conflict, this struggle was against an adversary, namely the adversary himself Satan. Satan didn’t want Jesus to undergo the cross for he knew that if Jesus completed his mission he would save the world, so he did his best to convince Jesus that there was a way out. Imagine the choice Jesus faced in that garden. We are told in the scriptures that his sweat fell like drops of blood, such was his agony, the agony of the choice between life and death. One can imagine that many of us would have made the choice to live rather than die. Yet our Lord made the right choice after praying that fantastically honest prayer “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will but Yours be done.” This prayer may easily have been said by the former parish priest of Ongar, Fr. Thomas Byles on the 15thApril 1912 on the Titanic. When the Titanic started to sink we are told that Fr. Byles was offered lifeboats at least twice to save his own life. Imagine that moment when he saw a way out, this was Fr. Byles’ agonia, his agony in the garden, would he choose life or death? Fr. Byles refused twice when offered a place on a lifeboat preferring to let others be saved. Indeed eyewitnesses saw him go down to the very bottom of the ship to help those less able to get to safety. He made a choice to stay with those who had no hope of rescue, praying with them, forgiving their sins and singing hymns. Fr. Byles is an example of a heroic priest. A man who would not give up on his sheep. Jesus said “The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.” Fr. Byles did not run away but instead followed Jesus’ example of The Good Shepherd who “lays down his life for his sheep”. Our hope in the diocese of Brentwood is that Fr. Thomas Byles will one day be recognised as a saint. Please pray that his choice to save others will inspire others to lay down their lives in the priesthood. A priest in the UK will probably never have to make the same choice as Fr. Byles did but his example of selfless giving as a priest is a wonderful role model of priesthood. In Fr. Byles’ last mass he preached that the sacraments are lifeboats back to God. The priest is ordained to give these lifeboats to the people so that they may find a way back to God. In this year of Mercy these lifeboats are being offered especially to those in peril and those on the margins. It takes a special person to be a priest like Fr. Byles so if you think you are being called to the priesthood then pray that Fr. Byles will help you be generous in your response as he was, and say “not My will but Yours be done”

Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated on the Octave of Easter, Sunday after Easter Sunday, is a relatively new addition to the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. Celebrating the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ, as revealed by Christ Himself to St.  Faustina , this feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day that he canonized Saint Faustina. A plenary indulgence (the forgiveness of all temporal punishment resulting from sins that have already been confessed) is granted on the Feast of Divine Mercy if to all the faithful who go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, and "in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus and recite a chaplet to Divine Mercy

Easter

We congratulate to our catechumens who were received into the full Communion with Catholic Church at Easter Vigil. Special thanks to Jackie, Margaret and Derek for helping in RCIA programme.

Alleluia

He is risen !

(painting from the Tomb of Jesus, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)