Last Friday we celebrated the feast of St Boniface. He was born in Devon, and became a monk. He travelled to Germany to preach the Gospel to pagans. He founded the diocese of Mainz, and other dioceses across south and west Germany. He was martyred preaching the Gospel to the people of north Holland. In one of his letters, he wrote: The Church is like a great ship sailing the sea of the world and tossed by the waves of temptation in this life. But it is not to be abandoned – it is to be brought under control.’
That is a wonderful picture of our experience through the past months of lockdown. We have been battered by isolation, by fear, by anxiety about our loved ones, and by the seemingly unknown qualities of an invisible virus. St Boniface reminds us that as Christians we are to confront and to master our fears and the dangers which surround us. This can seem challengingly, sometimes impossibly, difficult. By our baptism, we are united with God and become children of God in a powerful spiritual way. Every human being is a child of God, loved and desired and intended by God to live in his service and to his glory. That is why the killing of any human being, especially the casual and thoughtless murder of an innocent man like George Floyd by a police officer, is so offensive to Catholic beliefs about the value and dignity of every human being in their relationship with God. That relationship is rooted in God’s gracious invitation to all of us to share his own life. God himself is a community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, united in love and equal in power and dignity. By baptism God invites us to share in that life, that community, that love. In prayer God invites us to open our hearts and minds in a conversation with his threefold community. In the Eucharist God feeds us with the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is in that community we are not abandoned. It is in that community we bring under control the evil in the world. It is in that community we live in faith, in hope, in love.
0 Comments
The feast of Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. It is the moment when the Holy Spirit comes down in wind ad flame on the disciples to equip them to be Christ’s witnesses to the world. Every time we baptize, every time we confirm, every time we ordain, we pray the Holy Spirit to come on us in our generation with the same power to equip us to be Christ’s witnesses in our generation.
But this year it is – as it has been for so many ordinary people with ordinary birthdays over the past weeks – a birthday without a party. Our brothers and sisters in France will rejoice with great joy as they come together to celebrate the Mass for the first time since their Lockdown ended. We remain separate, apart, isolated. We need to be patient for a little longer. There are definite plans for reopening Churches for private individual prayer. Soon we will once more be able to come and adore Our Lord present to us in the Tabernacle. Soon we will be able again to come to the saints to ask their prayers and light our candles as a sign of our devotion. To do this, we will need to behave in Church as we do in any public place. We need to sanitize our hands before we come into the building. You will need to carry your own sanitizer and use it before you come in. We will leave the doors open so you do not need to touch the handles. All the books will be put away. If you need a book, you must bring your own and take it home again with you. If you take one of the prayer sheets, take it with you. Do not leave it in Church. Most difficult of all, we must still observe social distancing. So do not touch the statues. Do not go near the Tabernacle. Keep your distance from anyone else in Church with you. The public celebration of Mass is still some time off. That comes in stage 3 of the government’s plans, possibly in July. We will again have to think carefully about how to do that safely, especially on Sundays when the number of places in Church will be limited. I will let you know my thinking when I’ve had more time to work out what we should do. It was a huge joy to hear from Cardinal Vincent that discussions are taking place about reopening places of worship. The Government naturally thinks it can deal with all religious groups under one heading. This seriously misses the role that Churches play in Catholic practice and religious life. The Cardinal has clearly tried to get this across to the Government, but has not yet been heard.
So why is an open Church so important to Catholics? Many Catholics pop into church in the course of the day to say a quick prayer and to light a candle as a sign of their continuing prayer with Blessed Mary and all the saints. It is one of the most powerful ways in which Catholics link their daily lives and concerns with their faith. One slightly older lady once told me, ‘I’m popping into church so that if I die on the way home God doesn’t look at me, and say, “Who are you? I haven’t seen you for ages.”’ Why then do Catholics do this? Basically because the Christian faith is rooted in worship both of mind and of body. When we pray we pray much better if our bodies are in the best posture, our knees bent, our eyes closed, our hands at rest. Then focusing our mind and our heart on God becomes much easier. At the same time, all this is easier if we have a particular place where we pray. At home this may be a corner of our own room. In a church we have a place where generations of Christians have prayed and hallowed it. All Catholic churches are solemnly consecrated by a Bishop using the Oil of Chrism to dedicate the space both for public worship, the celebration of Mass and the other Sacraments – and for personal, private prayer when somebody unites themselves consciously with the whole Christian community through time and space. This is what St Paul calls the Body of Christ. By baptism all Christians are united in Jesus Christ. They become his Body. He is their head. This is not just a spiritual truth, but also a physical one. When we kneel in prayer we remind ourselves of this truth. When we kneel in church we feel that much more intensely and powerfully. Most wonderfully a Catholic who prays in church prays in the presence of Jesus Christ in the Tabernacle. There in front of the tabernacle, I, a member of Christ’s Body, meet my Head so close to me that I am filled with adoration and joy. But isn’t religion actually about the spiritual inner me? Isn’t this all too physical? Christianity begins with God the Son becoming a human being through the Blessed Virgin Mary in his birth at Bethlehem. Christians are taught by a human voice telling us about God’s will and love. We are saved by an all-too physical death on the cross. Our hope is a risen transformed body that appears to his disciples to reveal the marvellous new stage in our knowledge of God. Christianity without the physical is only half a faith. That’s why Catholics need Churches open for prayer. Fr Patrick What do I feel after weeks of lockdown and the loss of public celebrations of the Mass?
First a great sense of privilege that – unlike Anglican clergy – I am required by the bishops to go into Church to celebrate Mass every day. Celebrating Mass is always a privilege and a joy. Celebrating Mass now, when lay people are deprived of being there physically, is an extraordinary combination of joy and grief. I can receive Jesus in the Eucharist every day and renew his sacrificial presence. At the same time, I look round an empty Church and visualise those who in normal times would unfailingly and faithfully be present. Second a sense of keeping things going as much as we can. We have candles burning permanently in front of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary altars. They focus and support parishioners’ prayers while they are themselves away. On the one Sunday when public celebration of Mass was suspended, but the Church open for private individual prayer, an immense number of candles were lit by faithful Christians coming to the Lord. Third a great thankfulness for the Internet and the telephone. We cannot livestream, but so many Churches can and provide my people with a possibility of sharing in the Mass, in Adoration and in the Rosary. The Cardinal and the Bishops’ Conference weekly update me on how things are going and what is happening. The Vatican website allowed me to put Pope Francis earnest exhortation to say the Rosary during Mary’s month of May, and his new prayers, on our own website. And my telephone is my primary tool for pastoral contact and support. Fourth – and most importantly – a renewed realisation at my life and the life of every human being comes from God, depends on God, is loved by God, and is in his hands. All our life is rooted in faith, filled with love, and made great by hope. Best wishes, Fr Patrick Updated advice for parishes (version 2) has been issued by the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales regarding coronavirus, as of 27th February 2020. See below:
At the time of writing, there are few cases in the UK and no evidence of a person to person transmitted outbreak within England and Wales. This may change. The guidance below is intended to be stepped up in case you may need it as the situation changes. At the time of writing we are not in a pandemic. Efforts in England and Wales are focused on containment of the virus and this advice is written for those circumstances. If this situation changes, detailed guidance will be produced. The guidance is kept under continuous review. More detailed guidance can be found on the Bishops' Conference website here. What is Coronavirus? A coronavirus, one of the family of viruses which caused the SARS (Serious Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2002-2003 across the world, though it is less severe than SARS. The virus is now called COVID-19. As a family of viruses, these viruses are fairly common, and can range from mild to very severe in effect. Typical symptoms of coronavirus include fever and a cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Most people who get coronavirus will have mild to moderate illness, a bit like flu. Generally coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. The death rate is low, typically at present around 2%, which is a little above the death rate for flu. But it has understandably caused concern because of the lack of information and because of myth. Some of the most important things Catholics can do would be to restate the facts accurately, reassure, counter prejudice against Chinese and other communities. Steps Local Parishes Can Take: Stage 1: Current status (very few cases in UK, no cases in local parishes) The key things for parishes to do are: 1. Ensure everyone maintains good hygiene especially at Mass and parish gatherings. The best way of protecting us from spread is for everyone to use universal good hygiene, which will effectively disrupt spread of the virus. Remember to:
Ensure good regular cleaning of surfaces lots of people touch regularly. 3. Ask everyone attending Mass to sanitise their hands as they come into church. 4. Ensure ministers of the Eucharist sanitise their hands before and after distributing communion (we should be doing this anyway as a matter of course.) This can be done by washing hands discreetly before proceeding to the sanctuary or using good quality hand gel discreetly. 5. There is no need as things stand for the Chalice to be withdrawn or sign of peace suspended, such as was advised during the 2009 ‘flu pandemic. This advice would only come if we had a very serious epidemic in the UK and at the time of writing this is unlikely. People with cold and flu-like symptoms should refrain from the sign of peace if they are present. 6. When visiting parishioners at home, wash hands before giving the sacraments. No pastoral visits to people who are self-isolating until isolation ends. However do offer phone support. 7. Visitors to people in care homes or hospitals should follow advice from the staff on infection control. Stage 2: A number of cases in local communities or a case specifically linked to a parish community The key things for parishes in these circumstances are: 1. It is likely you will need to suspend distribution under both kinds (the host to be given on the hand only).
3. Remove holy water stoups. 4. Public veneration of relics and the Cross on Good Friday should NOT be by kissing or physically touching them. 5. Advise those most vulnerable (elderly, people with weakened immune systems and long-term conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease) to refrain from large parish gatherings and stay at home. 6. Cease use of shared hymn books and missals which could help transmit the virus. 7. Ask everyone attending Mass to sanitise their hands as they come into church. 8. Ensure everyone maintains good hygiene especially at Mass and parish gatherings. The best way of protecting us from spread is still for everyone to use universal good hygiene, which will effectively disrupt spread of the virus. So, display the public information poster, which states:
10. Ensure very regular cleaning of surfaces lots of people touch regularly (i.e., ideally clean door handles before and after every Mass). 11. Do not pass the collection plate around. 12. Ensure Ministers of the Eucharist sanitise their hands before and after distributing Communion (we should be doing this anyway as a matter of course). This can be done by washing hands discreetly before proceeding to the sanctuary or using good quality hand gel discreetly. 13. When visiting parishioners at home, wash hands before giving the sacraments. No pastoral visits to people who are self-isolating until isolation ends. However, do offer phone support. 14. Visitors to people in care homes or hospitals should follow advice from the staff on infection control. 15. Suspend catering (teas, coffees, etc.) at large parish gatherings where multiple people touch mugs, utensils, biscuits, etc. Stage 3: Many cases in local parishes It is currently unlikely, but not impossible, that we will get to this stage. This could either be at deanery, diocesan or national level.
If you have any questions or concerns about the outbreak of the virus, click here |
NewsHere you can find the latest news surrounding our Parish and the Diocese. Archives
August 2020
Categories |