“Today, Mary is the Mother who watches over us, her children, on our journey through life, often weary & in need, anxious that the light of hope doesn’t fail. For that is our desire: that the light of hope never fails. Mary our Mother looks to this pilgrim people: a youthful people whom she loves, & who seek her in the silence of their hearts, amid all the noise, the chatter & the distractions of the journey. Under the gaze of our Mother, there is room only for the silence of hope. Thus Mary illumines anew our youth. The heart of the Church is also full of young saints who devoted their lives to Christ, many of them even to dying a martyr’s death. They were precious reflections of the young Christ; their radiant witness encourages us & awakens us from our lethargy. The Synod pointed out that “many young saints have allowed the features of youth to shine forth in all their beauty, & in their day they have been real prophets of change. Their example shows what the young are capable of, when they open themselves up to encounter Christ.” (“Christus Vivit” by Pope Francis)
The Annual Inspirational Day for both Ministers of Holy Communion (MOHC) & Ministers of the Word (MOW) will be held at the Spa Conference Centre in Scarborough on Sat 23rd Nov 2019. The guest speaker will be Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ, with registration at 9.30am, with the day ending at 3pm after Mass. Bishop Terence Patrick encourages everyone commissioned to attend at least one study day each year. Feedback from our Ministers each year is always warm & appreciative of the day. Please contact Kit Dollard (MOHC) or David Cragg-James (MOW) to register by 3rd Nov 2019. The cost of £27 per delegate will be paid by the Parish. This is an opportunity to express our deep appreciation to all these Ministers for their faithful service at our daily Masses.
The Amazon Summit/Synod began in Rome last weekend & continues until 27th Oct 2019. Please pray for its success in bringing to the attention of the Church & the World the urgent need for the action of each & all of us in slowing down Global Warming. I wonder how many of us have begun, & continue, to return the plastic packaging in which most of our food is now purchased, to our shops & supermarkets with a gentle request for such provisions to be sold in less damaging paper. As the Tesco slogan reminds us “every little helps.” You may like to make the following a daily prayer. “May the Holy Spirit inspire the participants at the Synod to strive to fulfil our catholic universal mission, by acting together in defence of God’s planet against the climate change we have caused, responding to “the cry of the poor” & “the cry of the earth.” (Laudato Si) An article on the Synod this week lauded the fact that there were 34 women involved. A small beginning, but like Mother Teresa’s missing drop, the ocean would be incomplete without it. (them)
October is the month Our Lady of the Rosary: some of you pray the rosary religiously each day, often for the needs of others both locally & further afield. Each year we give a set of rosary beads to each of our children in Class 3 & Class 4 in St Benedict’s Primary School, & we teach them how to pray this 15/20 minutes of quiet & gentle servant discipleship. Class 1 & Mrs Lally have this week made a large Rosary out of paper hoops, & you will see a photo of them on the School noticeboard at the back of Church. If you haven’t a set of rosary beads, please be in contact with me.
Following our Health & Safety inspection last month, we have now received our RiskMAP results, & achieved a rating of 94% (82% in 2018). It is a tribute to the Health & Safety culture we have grown in recent years, & to Teresa Briggs who diligently does a number of important necessary checks & records each week. With my love & prayers Fr Bede.