“The prophecy of Joel contains this verse “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, & your sons & daughters shall prophesy, & your young men shall see visions, & your old men shall dream dreams.” (Joel 3:1) When young & old alike are open to the Holy Spirit, they make a wonderful combination. The old dream dreams, & the young see visions. The elderly have dreams built up of memories & images that bear the mark of their long experience. If young people seek roots into those dreams, they can peer into the future: they can have visions that broaden their horizons & show them new paths. But if the elderly do not dream, young people loose clear sight of the horizon. Perhaps our parents have preserved a memory that can help us imagine the dream our grandparents dreamed for us. All of us, even before our birth, received, as a blessing from our grandparents, a dream filled with love & hope, the dream of a better life. Even if not our grandparents, surely some of our great grandparents had that happy dream as they contemplated their children & then grandchildren in the cradle. The very first dream of all is the creative dream of God our Father which precedes & accompanies the lives of all his children. The memory of this blessing that extends from generation to generation is a precious legacy that we should keep alive so that we too can pass it on. That is why it is a good thing to let older people tell their long stories, which sometimes seem legendary or fanciful – they are the dream of old people – yet are often full of rich experiences, of eloquent symbols, of hidden messages. These stories take time to tell, & we should be prepared to listen patiently & let them sink in, even though they are much longer than what we are used to in social media. We have to realise that the wisdom needed for life bursts the confines of our present-day media resources.” (“Christus Vivit” by Pope Francis)
Fr Gabriel has asked that this announcement be read in all three local Churches this weekend. “Praise the Lord, all you nations” – the response to today’s Psalm reminds us all of our Christian duty to give praise to the God who made us, & todays Gospel mentions those who come “from east & west, from north & south” to come & sit at the feast in the Kingdom of God. These two references from today’s Scripture readings are a timely reminder of our own situation here, in the Ampleforth Parish of Our Lady & St Benedict, with it’s chapels of ease in Gilling East & Oswaldkirk. First of all, may I thank all of those who participated so generously & constructively in the meetings held to discuss the future of the parochial apostolate in this area. The opening word of the Rule of St Benedict is “listen”, & it was a fruitful opportunity to listen to the voices of the priest & people so that the views expressed could be reported to me and the Council. At the heart of those discussions was a desire to examine, in the light of current resources, the most effective way to continue to serve the local church in Ampleforth, to continue to carry on the work of evangelisation begun in the early 1900’s. & so, I & the Council have decided on the following: Fr Bede will continue to offer sacramental & pastoral provision in the Ampleforth parish of Our Lady & St Benedict, & also in the chapel of ease in Gilling East & Oswaldkirk. Fr Edgar will continue to serve the chapel of ease in Oswaldkirk until July 2020, when he celebrates his Golden Jubilee. From Sat 14th Sept, the 6pm Vigil Mass will be celebrated alternately in Ampleforth & Gilling East, beginning in Gilling East . (providentially on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the patronal feast of the Anglican Church in Gilling.) Henceforth there will be no Sunday morning Mass in Gilling East. In the next few months, “social” events will be organised in Ampleforth, Oswaldkirk, & Gilling East with a view to helping the communities to come together & to form a Parish Council which will be in operation from Dec 2019/Jan 2020. As we begin the next stage of our journey of faith together, we give thanks to God for all those who have served in this area since the dedication of the church in Ampleforth on 17th May 1907. We pray that the work of evangelisation may continue today through the work of the priests & people of Ampleforth, Gilling East & Oswaldkirk.” Once the holidays are over, & the majority of our parishioners in the wider locality are back, we can look towards arranging initial meetings in the three localities in September. I hope that, through conversation & prayer, we will come to see this as a tremendous opportunity for us to grow on what has already been caringly & carefully planted & nurtured thus far. With my love & prayers, Fr Bede