A message from Fr John

Good morning

Following on from yesterday’s talk by Pope Francis on the need for a new ordering of our world and using a little more of Philip Endean’s work, I would like to think about our on-going need for conversion. 

I think it begins with humility, with that sense of knowing that the only things really worth having in this life come to us as a gift from God - that all is grace; and it is that need for God’s grace which unites all humankind, rich and poor alike. All of us need God; we are all children of God; we all share in God’s love, but sometimes it the poor who recognise that need more than the comfortable.

Philip puts it slightly differently:

'Firstly, the need for God which we and the poor have in common lies closer to the truth about ourselves than the talents and resources which they do not. Secondly, only by letting the poor touch our hearts can we find the growth in Christ which we seek.’

‘The marginalised show us that our self-worth cannot ultimately depend on our achievement, but only on what we receive. If we can learn to love the outcasts on that basis, they have evangelised us.’

Thank you all for the many ways you are reaching out to those who feel isolated, those who are struggling mentally, and to the hungry during these times. The Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.

We pray for those who are sick especially 

Adela, Winnie, Sylvia, Joe, Susan, Irene, Paddy, Janet, Maureen and Audrey

For those who have died especially 

Fr Peter, Michael, Roy, Alf, Malcolm, Elsie, Matthew, Anne, Stella, Chris, Kenneth, Carol Ann, Ingeburg, Winnie, Patricia, Eileen, Maureen, Joan, Frank, Robert, Lynda, Cecilia, Lourdes, Dale, John, Eileen, Michael, Graham, Maria, Andrew, Gladys, Ellen, Patrick, Pauline, Michael, Alice, Gordon, Mary, William, Elsie, Lynn, Pauline, Richard, Tom, Paula, Michael, Susan and Denis

St Joseph, protector of the poor, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John