“We need to make all our Churches better equipped to be more welcoming to young people, since so many have a real sense of being orphaned. Here I am not referring to family problems but to something experienced by boys & girls, young people & adults, parents & children alike. To all these orphans, including perhaps ourselves, communities like a parish or school should offer possibilities for experiencing openness & love, affirmation & growth. Many young people today feel that they have inherited the failed dreams of their parents & grandparents, dreams betrayed by injustice, social violence, selfishness & lack of concern for others. In a word, they feel uprooted. If the young grow up in a world in ashes, it would be hard for them to keep alive the flame of great dreams & projects. If they grow up in a dessert devoid of meaning, where will they develop a desire to devote their lives to sowing seeds? The experience of discontinuity, uprootedness & the collapse of fundamental certainties, fostered by today’s media culture, creates a deep sense of orphanhood to which we must respond by creating an attractive & fraternal environment where others can live with a sense of purpose. In a word, to create a “home” is to create “a family.” It is to learn to feel connected to others by more than merely utilitarian & practical bonds, to be united in such a way as to feel that our life is a bit more human. To create a home is to let prophecy take flesh & make our hours & days less cold less indifferent & anonymous.it is to create bonds by simple, everyday acts that all of us can perform. A home, as we all know, demands that everyone work together. No one can be indifferent or stand apart, since each is a stone needed to build the home. This also involves asking the Lord to grant us the grace to learn how to be patient, to forgive one another, to start again each day. How many times should I forgive & start again? Seventy times seven times, as many times as necessary. To create strong bonds requires confidence & trust, nurtured daily by patience & forgiveness. & that is how the miracle takes place: we feel that here we are reborn, here we are all reborn, because we feel God’s caress that enable us to dream of a more human world, & therefore of a world more divine.” (Soul Brothers: Richard Rohr)
A fledgling choir/music group met for the first time 3 weeks ago after Mass, enjoyed the moment, & are keen to meet again & take a number of possible initiatives forward for trial & experimentation for our Sunday liturgy. Their next meeting will be this Sunday immediately after Mass, & they would warmly encourage others to join them. You don’t have to be skilled either in music or song, & the group will welcome you in offering every joy & encouragement.
I explained 3 wks ago that meetings have been held in Our Lady & the Holy Angels in Gilling (16th April 2019) & in St Aidan’s Oswaldkirk (13th June 2019), to explain our difficulty in providing monk-priests to celebrate weekend Masses in so many neighbouring locations, & to seek the views of those present on how our Community could respond to the resultant opportunity. The feedback from both meetings has gone to Fr Gabriel & his Council. We would like to hold a third meeting here in Our Lady & St Benedict’s, the Mother Church for the locality, in order to inform you of the discussions thus far & to seek your wise counsel on how we might go forward in Mass provision, & in the ongoing faith formation of the wider locality. The meeting will be held in Church this Thurs 11th July, the Feast of St Benedict, at 7pm, finishing by 8pm. I hope as many of you as possible will come & contribute in advance of a decision by Fr Gabriel & his Council. Let us keep all those who will be affected by the changes in our prayers.
Could I welcome back, now that the College academic year has finished, those young people & their parents, as well as some of our academic staff, who have understandably been part of the College Sunday Mass celebrations. You are each & all missed during term, & we feel a restored sense of full unity & belonging at your return to us.
Some interesting information from our website: Visits in the last 30 days: 1,466 Average pages visited 3.53 Last month’s daily visits ranged from 110 per day to 350 per day With my love & prayers, Fr Bede.