A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning - the cold bites even deeper!

This cold weather is a good excuse for staying in by the fire, even if it’s only in the evening. As an alternative to ‘zooming’ or watching TV you might want to think and pray - to ponder the things that really matter.

And so …. some thoughts from Pope Francis:

‘This crisis has called forth the sense that we need each other, that ‘the people’ still exists. Now is the time for … a new humanism that can harness this eruption of fraternity, to put an end to the globalisation of indifference and the hyperinflation of the individual. We need to feel again that we need each other, that we have a responsibility for others, including those not yet born and for those not deemed to be citizens.
‘We can reorganise the way we live together in order better to choose what matters. We can work together to achieve it. We can learn what takes us forward, and what takes us back. We can choose.’
(Let us Dream pp. 46/47)

Pope Francis can seem like a ‘voice crying in the wilderness’ but we can choose not to be part of that wilderness, can’t we? The choices we make about who we reach out to, who we respect - or who we ignore or exclude. The first readings at Mass this week are from the first chapters of the Book of Genesis which teach us about the intimate relationship between God the Creator and the world of creation and all God’s creatures. I think it is an invitation for us to think and pray, to give thanks and make choices.

St Joseph, pray for us and help us put our dreams into practice

Every blessing

Fr John

Please keep Ruth, Carol and Joanne in your prayers today