A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning

I hope you’re well and staying safe - please continue to wear face masks whenever necessary

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki; we cannot let it go by without remembering the 72,000 people who died and the many, many more who carried the mental and physical scars for years. We pray that humankind will never, ever descend to such measures again.

Japan entered the war on 8th December 1940 - the feast of the immaculate Conception, the war with Japan was concluded on 15th August 1945 - the feast of the Assumption. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was 500 metres from designated target for the bomb and all that was left of the cathedral was the wooden head of the statue of Our Lady. 10,000 Catholics died that day but the resilience of the survivors was such that within months a new temporary church had been built.

In the late 16th century there about 500,000 catholics in Nagasaki, brought to the faith by St Francis Xavier and his Jesuit companions; the Franciscans followed soon afterwards. However because of a change in the political climate in Japan the Church was suppressed and the practice of the faith forbidden. In 1597 26 Catholics, priests and lay, were martyred by crucifixion; over the next 20 years about 2,000 more were executed, and many others tortured in unspeakable ways.

Obviously many people left the practice of the faith but others never forgot; they practiced in great secrecy, losing touch with the universal church and much of its teaching but not the essentials. So much so that 200 years later when the first French missionaries were allowed back into the country, the first question the ‘hidden Catholics’ asked was, ‘Where is the statue of Our Lady?’.

What faith! What an example of patient endurance! And we think we have it hard….. I think they are precisely the example of faith that we need today when ordinary worship is not yet possible.
St Paul Miki and companions, pray for us (their feast is 6th February)

Can we please remember in our prayers all our parish family, especially those who are part of the frontline, doctors, nurses, carers and essential workers of all kinds:
Joseph, Lisa, Patrick, Chris, Catherine, Anne, Terry, Mark, Theo, Clare, Richard, Anthony, Jane, James, Andrew, Mary, Francis, Ruth, Tony, Sue, Dan, Fiona, Katy. Ian & Bethany - and so many others working in our Care Homes

Thank you for all you are doing to support he vulnerable and isolated during these times. Please remember our support for the Food Bank - even more essential during these summer months.

On behalf of the Parish Finance Committee, I am grateful to those who have managed to find ways of supporting the parish finances these days.

Our ‘bubbles’ have been restricted again. Please stay safe.

St Joseph, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John