In your apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, you wrote: “A small step, in the midst of great human limitations, can be more pleasing to God than a life that appears outwardly in order but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties.“ What does that mean?
​
To me it seems quite clear. This is the Catholic doctrine, it is part of the great law of the Church; the law of et et (and and) & not aut aut (either or). For some people, either because of the condition in which they find themselves or because of the human drama they are living, a small step, a small change, means a great deal in the eyes of God. I recall meeting a girl in front of a shrine. She was smiling & pretty. She said to me,” I am happy, Father, I am here to thank the Madonna for receiving grace.” She was the oldest of her siblings, she didn’t have a father, & to help support her family she worked as a prostitute. “There is no other work in my village” she said. She told me how one day a man came to the brothel. He was in her town for work & he came from a big city. They liked each other & eventually he asked her to join him. She had prayed to the Madonna for a long time for a job that would allow her to change her life. She was very happy to stop what she was doing. I asked her two questions. First, I asked her the age of the man whom she had met. I wanted to make sure that it was not an older man who only wanted to take advantage of her. She told me he was young. & then I asked, “Will you get married?” “I would like to,” she replied, “but I don’t dare ask him out of fear. I don’t want to scare him off.” She was so happy to leave the world she had been forced to inhabit in order to provide for her family.
Another example of a gesture that seems small but that really is large in the eyes of God is what a lot of mothers & wives do on Saturdays & Sundays: they line up in front of the jails to bring food & presents to their imprisoned sons or husbands. They undergo the humiliation of being searched. They don’t disown their sons or husbands, even though they have made mistakes; they go & visit them. This seemingly small gesture is great in the eyes of God. It is a gesture of mercy, despite the errors that their dear ones have committed.                    (The Name of God is Mercy; Pope Francis)
 
It has been usual practice in recent years for us to hold a Parish BBQ & a Parish Pilgrimage in September. Each has proved to be an enjoyable & spiritual way of re-engaging after the holidays. We find ourselves this year in a period of transition. I have raised with the Parish Pastoral Council at our last 2 meetings my deepening concern at the lack of help within the Parish to cover the numerous & invaluable ministries in which we serve each other as well as our outreach. Special services & events now require us rightly to meet stringent health & safety & risk management procedures, & one of our key vacancies is currently a Health & Safety representative who can ensure both your safety & our compliance.  
As well as my ongoing Parish & School responsibilities, I have to move both my office at the Monastery, & my own bedroom as part of our move to Bolton House within the next month, so I hope you will be understanding if we don’t go ahead with the BBQ & Pilgrimage this year. I would like to seek your advice on how we might encourage others to take up a Parish ministry when we meet for our Parish Forum in the Autumn.               
​                                                                                                                                                                                                With my love & prayers. Fr Bede.