A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning

There was an item on the radio in which a learned doctor tried to persuade us that having a cold shower was good for our mood and general well-being. It might well be true but for the moment this wonderful sunshine will keep me going.

However, we must look beyond ourselves; we cannot fail to recognise that we are highly social beings with a commitment to care for each other, for our communities and for our world. And so … I have included a couple of paragraphs from Laudato Si by Pope Francis which encourages us to think, to look, to examine and to reach out to others. There are some perceived limitations these days but they are not excuses!
147. Authentic development includes efforts to bring about an integral improvement in the quality of human life, and this entails considering the setting in which people live their lives. These settings influence the way we think, feel and act. In our rooms, our homes, our workplaces and neighbourhoods, we use our environment as a way of expressing our identity. We make every effort to adapt to our environment, but when it is disorderly, chaotic or saturated with noise and ugliness, such overstimulation makes it difficult to find ourselves integrated and happy.

148. An admirable creativity and generosity is shown by persons and groups who respond to environmental limitations by alleviating the adverse effects of their surroundings and learning to orient their lives amid disorder and uncertainty. For example, in some places, where the façades of buildings are derelict, people show great care for the interior of their homes, or find contentment in the kindness and friendliness of others. A wholesome social life can light up a seemingly undesirable environment. At times a commendable human ecology is practised by the poor despite numerous hardships. The feeling of asphyxiation brought on by densely populated residential areas is countered if close and warm relationships develop, if communities are created, if the limitations of the environment are compensated for in the interior of each person who feels held within a network of solidarity and belonging. In this way, any place can turn from being a hell on earth into the setting for a dignified life.

St Joseph, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John