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Showing posts from October, 2012

What is faith?

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This word faith is a very interesting word. It is a word that is often banded around in many different areas of life. Let us look and see how we might use it. We have faith in other people, faith in our football or Rugby team that they might actually win this may be classed as blind faith, We have faith in the chair that we sit that it will take our weight and will not full from underneath us. But is this real faith or is it something different? At the moment we are engaged in the year of faith. It is a year of deepening our relationship with the person of Jesus. It is a year where we can learn a little more about our own faith. There are maybe many different things that in our Catholic faith we do not agree with. We find hard to follow.  This is where we can see the Gospel message today. Bartimaeus a blind man was scolded by the people around him. But, he was asked to have “ Courage .” This then is the first thing that we need to have courage is an important attribute to hav

What it means to be a servant! A reflection on Canon Fogarty R.I.P

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In the early hours of Monday Morning a great friend of both the diocese and this parish died Canon Fogarty. After over 60 years of dedicated service to the diocese and this local area he will be sadly missed. I have spent some of the week as the news filtered out listening to people remember him and with my reflection on the Gospel this weekend have been able to see why people have remembered him so fondly. The Gospel readings speak of being a servant to others. To be great in the Kingdom of heaven means to be a servant to others. The word servant has many negative connotations to it. We may think of the servants in the programmes such as Downton abbey or Upstairs downstairs but the Christian servant is more than this idea of being a paid servant for a Lord or Lady. To be a servant in the Christian sense is a privilege and also a responsibility it means to be with people through both good and bad times. Jesus wanted to stress that it was not about having power and pos

What do I do with my wealth?

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For many years I spent time working in a big department store: Topshop in Oxford Street.  I used to work in the exchange and refund department but every day we would be gathered for a meeting by the floor managers. In this meeting we were told how much money we had to make in the store that day. We were expected to sell and suggest things even if you knew that the person did not really want it.  In one such meeting we were told that we had to try making a million pounds in one weekend and so the shop opened one day at 9am and closed at 11pm. Basically the object of the exercise was to extract as much money from the public as possible. We made our million by Saturday evening. I was not selling most of the time but giving money back I was always amazed at people’s need for things. Therefore I was never really surprised to see that we have a huge debt in this country and a world economic crisis. I don’t think that you can just blame this crisis on the banks although they have a part

Musical musings 1

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When I was at school I had a great interest in music, even in so far as studying it in GCSE and A level, and so after the popularity of the Blog on Fashion I thought that I would look into the practice of good/bad/awful music.  Of course the word music covers a lot of different ideas and styles so this will be the first of a few musings on music. So, therefore, this blog is only the start of my exploration.   Don't worry I have plans for a special Christmas Blog on Fashion come and have a look soon. So where do I start with music. Lets start with the word awful. There have been many bad attempts by many different TV personalities to make and I use the word loosely " Music" Do you remember this excuse of a song.  It reached the staggering heights of number one for  three weeks that well know musical act Mr Blobby. God help us all. There is no accounting for taste just look at the other weeks number one that lasted just one week. Just in case you missed this cultu

History made in Rome

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To be fair I took this from another blog but I thought that it was too good not to share with others.  " To Be Fully Human": At the Synod, Rowan and Benedict, One Last Time In the final act of an official relationship that's come to be marked by an  exceptional degree  of mutual respect, even personal closeness, for the first time a Vatican Synod was addressed earlier today by the archbishop of Canterbury as – on the eve of his retirement as head of the Anglican Communion – Rowan Williams took to the dais on the invitation of the Pope. Slated to be present for tomorrow morning's outdoor Mass marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, Williams' turn in the Aula came after a private audience with the pontiff, billed by the Holy See as a "farewell visit." After a turbulent decade-long tenure, the English primate  will stand down  come year's end to take up a teaching post at Cambridge. In a statement last week, the Crown N

Pastoral letter plus Homily by Pope

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Dear people of Arundel & Brighton, If you go onto Wikipedia and put in the date October 11, 1962, just one event is listed for that day. It says that Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council. This was the meeting of bishops from all over the world who met to find ways of bringing the Church up to date in the 20 th century. That was just fifty years ago, in case you haven’t already done your sums, and on October 11 this year we begin the celebration of what Pope Benedict is calling a Year of Faith, to mark the 50 th anniversary of the Council. I wrote to you in June and told you of our plans to celebrate our diocesan Golden Jubilee in 2015; the diocese of Arundel & Brighton will be fifty years old on May 28. What we have planned is a four year programme or project in which we will look at the four most important documents to emerge from the Vatican Council. They are the documents that deal with the liturgy (which means more than the Mass

Guardian Angels

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Yesterday was the feast of the Guardian angels and here is the prayer that I used at Mass on that day. O Holy Guardian Angel, my dear friend and solicitous guide on the dangerous way to life, to thee be heartfelt thanks for the numberless benefits which have been granted me through thy love and goodness and for the powerful help by which thou hast preserved me from so many dangers and temptations. I beg of thee, let me further experience thy love and care. Avert from me all danger, increase in me horror for sin and love for all that is good. Be a counselor and consoler to me in all the affairs of my life, and when my life draws to a close, conduct my soul through the valley of death into the kingdom of eternal peace, so that in eternity we may together praise God and  rejoice in His glory. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen O Angel of God, make me worthy of thy tender love, thy celestial companionship and thy never-failing protection!