Summer Pilgrimage 2014

in the footsteps of Saint John Paul II ...

few facts from our pilgrimage: 

After a tiring but prayerful coach journey to Poland we began our pilgrimage with mass in Zakopane. This is the mountain region of Poland which John Paul II visited often throughout his life and even during his time as Pope. On our first day we made a five hour walk to Morskie Oko which is a mountain lake that the Pope visited. The second day was another hike, but this time we took a road through the Koscieliska valley which is part of a national park. That night we had the opportunity to visit a tourist attraction in Zakopane which was an upside down house. The coming week had many highlights, these included a two hour rafting trip down the Dunajec River on the third day, as well as the opportunity for us to catch our own lunch of mountain trout.

After three days we left Zakopane and made the journey to Krakow. Our first point of call was to visit the Shrine of Divine Mercy which is a part of the convent that St. Faustina lived in. We had mass in a new basilica which St John Paul II consecrated. This was a very moving experience for all of the pilgrims and the sister who gave us the tour spoke very well about the life of St. Faustina, her special relationship which Jesus Christ and her mission to proclaim the message of divine mercy for all.

The next day was a truly spectacular experience. We had the privilege of visiting Wieliczka Salt Mine. We followed the pilgrims route through the salt mine which had many religious symbols as well as underground chapels used by the miners. There was also a statue of St. John Paul II made entirely of salt and a relic also. We finished our stay in the mine with mass in one of these very old underground chapels.

Following our journey to the salt mine and in keeping with the theme of St John Paul II's life, our final day brought us to Wadowice which was his hometown. We prayed at the church which he was baptised in and received his first holy communion. We also visited the house where John Paul II was born and the new high-tech museum which is attached to the house and showcases his life from his childhood to his death. This was a stunning and inspiring experience and we gained an in depth knowledge of the man who became pope and is now a saint. After this we had mass at the basilica he used to attend and served at as an altar server. This was a fitting end to a pilgrimage which was centred around his life and taught us much about the call to sainthood. Before leaving Krakow we had a guided tour of the city and its main attractions as well as the old Jewish quarter known as Kazimerz.

it was really blessed time... :-)

Holiday

Heavenly Father,

we thank you for making this beautiful

world and for calling us to be your people.

Help us to enjoy these days of holiday.

Let them be a time of refreshment and joy

And bring us rest after our work.

Give us your grace to serve you each day

And to grow in your love.

Though Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pastoral Letter

Pastoral Letter of Bishop Alan Williams

Please read and/or make available at all Masses on the weekend of the 19th/20th July 2014

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

This is my first pastoral letter to you as the new Bishop of Brentwood and I immediately want to thank the whole diocese for the unfailing welcome and support I have received. The diocese is an exciting mix of Essex and East London, full of challenges and opportunities. I look forward to working with you and for you.

When I worked as a University Chaplain some years ago one of my tasks was to welcome students, of all faiths and none, to their new life and the work of the chaplaincy. Odd though it may sound, I spoke first not of God, but of sin and human imperfection. People may or may not believe in God; sadly all human beings are confronted with the effects of human sin.

In today’s Gospel parable Jesus talks of the wheat and the weeds that are always with us - we do not live in a perfect world yet the kingdom of heaven is being established despite our weaknesses. By faith we know that it is God who truly defines our world rather than human inadequacy.

At the ordination ceremony in the Cathedral - still very fresh in my mind- Cardinal Vincent Nichols quoted Pope Francis,

“From the lips of the church comes the cry: Give us a bishop, one who will lift us up, who will watch over us with the fullness of the heart of God. Don’t send a manager, an administrator, a delegate from the agency… We need someone who knows how to reach up towards the gaze of God and who can guide us towards Him for only in His gaze is our future to be found.”

Today’s reading from the Old Testament speaks with authority of the ‘fullness of the heart of God’. There is infinite strength but also a depth of compassion in God - our God is ‘mild in judgement’, he governs us ‘with great lenience’.

Because of this we can be supremely confident in God despite our sin and weakness which pull us downwards to despair.

Cardinal Vincent also reminded us that Pope Francis has given bishops clear guidelines for ministry. My first work is to be prayer; I am mandated to stay close to the people and to be the servant of the Word of God and of His people.

When I hear these challenges, like Saint Paul, I know that the Holy Spirit helps me in my weakness. I also believe that the Holy Father’s words are not directed to me alone. I ask that all the people of the diocese will respond to the Holy Father’s invitation to prayer, communion and service.

Life in Christ will transform our parishes, schools and diocesan communities. By the grace of God, the closer we are to Christ, the more Christ-like we become.

Please pray for me in the weeks and months ahead as I will certainly pray for you.

In Christ and Mary,

+ Alan, sm

15th Sunday

And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow.

 Matthew 13: 3

14th Sunday

Episcopal Ordination of the Bishop of Brentwood from Paul Desmond on Vimeo.

ss Peter&Paul

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. 

Matthew 16:18

after Confirmation

invitation

Next Saturday - race night

The Holy Trinity

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

John 3:16

Pentecost

 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 

John 20:22

Football Cup

Last weekend 30th  May to 1st June we played International Football Cup for altar servers in Poland.
without cup this year, but boys played very good football

We played in the middle age category together with altar servers from St. Cedd's Polish Community.

It was an amazing time.

6th Sunday of Easter

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:15

from pilgrims...

Some members of our parish community were part of the group on the pilgrimage to Croatia with fathers Stan, Bogdan and Mariusz. 

blessed time, amazing places and people 

5th Sunday of Easter

 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.

John 14: 6

4th Easter Sunday

 So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

John 10:7

3rd Sunday of Easter

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.  And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. 

Luke 24:30-31

27-04-2014 two saints

Pope Francis declared Popes John XXIII and John Paul II saints before some 800,000 people on Sunday in an unprecedented ceremony made even more historic by the presence of emeritus Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square.

Alleluia

He is among the living 

He is Risen

Pastoral Message

Pastoral Message 

To be read at all Masses this coming weekend

19/20 April 2014

On behalf of the whole Diocese, I very much welcome the appointment of Fr Alan Williams as my successor. He is a member of the Religious Order known as the Marist Fathers and is currently the Director of the National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. Those who have met him in that role – including many from our own Diocese - have always been deeply impressed by the outstanding hospitality, thoughtfulness and care for pilgrims that he has shown there. He now brings these pastoral gifts – so important in today’s Church and especially under the present pontificate – to a new and wider role as our next Bishop. 

The Marists have the explicit focus of ‘mission’ at the heart of their ministry and this is seen particularly through their work in the fields of evangelisation and education. Furthermore, Bishop-elect Alan brings wide-ranging skills to our Diocese having had a significant leadership role in his Order, pastoral experience in a parish and also experience in the field of education. 

His ordination as bishop will take place in the Cathedral on 1^st July.  

My own resignation as Bishop has now been accepted, although I will serve as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese until my successor is ordained. 

I know that every member of our Diocese will join with me in offering the most warm and heartfelt welcome to our Bishop-elect Alan and that we will guarantee him a special place in our thoughts and prayers not only as he prepares to take up his new ministry among us but equally for the years to come.

+Thomas McMahon

Apostolic Administrator

New Bishop of Brentwood

Pope Francis has appointed Father Alan Williams SM, currently the Director of the National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, as the seventh Bishop of Brentwood.

His episcopal ordination will take place at Brentwood Cathedral on 1^st July 2014 at 12 noon.

The bishop-elect was born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1951.  He took final vows in the Society of Mary [Marist Fathers] in 1981 and was ordained priest in St Anne’s Whitechapel in 1983.

Father Alan holds degrees in theology, psychology and religious education and has served in a number of pastoral roles.  He has worked as a teacher and chaplain in secondary schools.  He also served as Catholic Chaplain at Sheffield Hallam University and taught Christian Spirituality at postgraduate level.

He is a former major superior of the Marist Fathers in England and has worked as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Southwark.  At Walsingham he has had overall responsibility for pilgrimage and retreat work.

Father Alan Williams said:

“I am both surprised and humbled to have been appointed by Pope Francis as the new Bishop of Brentwood.  There is indeed a God of surprises and in my life as a priest and religious I have learned to trust ever more in the grace of God for whatever task has been assigned to me.

“The Diocese of Brentwood embraces many and diverse communities in city and rural locations.  I look forward to getting to know the people and clergy of the Diocese; I am aware that I will have a lot of learning and listening to do.

“Emeritus Pope Benedict encouraged Shrine Directors to have a special regard for those on the margins of the Church, ‘of weak ecclesial affiliation’.  Great numbers of those on the margins make their way to England’s National Shrine at Walsingham.  I believe that the pilgrim journey is an invitation to everyone; Pope Francis reminds us that those who accept the gospel are set free - ‘With Christ joy is constantly born anew’.

“There are many parishes, educational and other communities in Brentwood Diocese and my previous ministries as parish priest, teacher and school and university chaplain, have made me eager to share Christ’s joy with all whom I meet.

“I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor Bishop Thomas McMahon for his faithful and long service to the Diocese.  I have worked in a number of different dioceses in England and I know that I can count on the generous support of the priests and deacons of Brentwood.  

“I ask for your continued prayers as I undertake my new ministry.  Over the years many pilgrims from Brentwood Diocese have made their way to Walsingham; my own pilgrimage now takes me to Brentwood under the patronage of Mary the mother of Jesus and all the saints of the Diocese.”

Outgoing Bishop Thomas McMahon said: “I have been hugely privileged to be Bishop of this diocese for 34 years and now it is time to look to the future.

“I very much welcome the appointment of Fr Alan Williams SM as my successor. Those who have met him in his role at Walsingham – including many from our diocese – have always been deeply impressed by the outstanding hospitality, thoughtfulness and care for pilgrims that he has shown there. He now brings these pastoral gifts – so important in today’s Church and especially under the present pontificate – to a new and wider role as our next Bishop.

“Part of his charism is that focus on mission which is particularly to do with the fields of evangelisation and education.  His skills are wide-ranging: as a former Major Superior to the Marist Communities in Britain, he has leadership experience; he has the pastoral experience of working in a parish; and his work in education is particularly apt for a diocese with nearly 100 schools.”

We've done it

Walk and pray together with youth from our parish 

Palm Sunday

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"  And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" 11 And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee."

Matthew 21:9-10

5th Sunday of Lent

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Laz'arus, come out."  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. 

 John 11:43-44

4th Sunday of Lent

"Go, wash in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

John 9:7

3rd Sunday of Lent

Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again,  but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

John 4:13n

2nd Sunday of Lent

RCIA in Brentwood

Last Sunday - Brentwood Cathedral with Bishop Thomas 

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) - rite of election 

1st Sunday of Lent

PASTORAL LETTER

on

A PERSONAL JOURNEY OF FAITH

My Dear People,

“What are you doing for Lent?”  We’ve all been asked that question at one time or another and, by and large, our answers will range from the routine to the heroic.  I want to suggest in these few thoughts that it is perhaps the wrong question to ask anyhow.

Simply doing something for Lent can mean that we’re running away from the important challenge of this wonderful season of the Church’s year.  Lent isn’t just about doing things, it’s about a) looking at the face of Christ, knowing that when we find it, we will discover there an immense love for us b) Looking into our own lives and discerning what it is that keeps us from an ever deepening relationship with the Lord.  Any form of penance, almsgiving and fasting that we embrace is meant to assist us in overcoming those inner drives that keep us from Him.

Asking about doing is putting the same question that the rich young man asked of Jesus in the Gospel. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  I think he already knew the answer and was just seeking reassurance that he was alright.  And if you read the story (Mark 10: 17-22) you’ll see that Jesus tells him what to do – He lists the commandments for him.  But that wasn’t enough – more was needed. Jesus was trying to reach the young man’s heart, not just hear what he was doing.  We know this because the Gospel goes on to say that “Jesus looked steadily at him and was filled with love for him”.  The tragedy was that he wasn’t ready to experience that face to face encounter with Jesus and the overwhelming love that flowed from it.  He was unable to respond fully to what Jesus asked and “his face fell and he went away sad”.

Lent is very much a time when Jesus looks steadily at us and loves us.  He’s not so much interested in what we do but in who we are.  He wants to hold our eyes with His and lead us into the experience of His unconditional love for us.

Through today’s Gospel He makes similar demands of us as He did to the rich young man to put aside the temptation to wealth, power, deception.  Are we able to enter into ourselves and do battle with such things and make our lives what they could be, in the eyes of the one who created us?  Or do we, too, go away sad and take refuge in something less demanding?

Through our journey of faith during Lent, may we come to the joy of the Easter celebrations and rejoice together in the great gift of God, which is the new life of the Risen Christ.

+Thomas McMahon

Bishop of Brentwood

CWL coffee morning

Catholic Women’s League - National Coffee Morning in our hall together with Superior General Fr Silvano Marisa MS and Fr Joseph Bachand MS (General Councilor) as our guests during their general visitation. 

Our General

Superior General - Fr  Silvano Marisa MS and Fr Joseph Bachand MS (General Councilor) celebrating Eucharist at 11am during general visitation.

8th Sunday

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more  value than they? 

Matthew 6:26

7th Sunday

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 

Matthew 5:44-45

5th Sunday

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything  except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.  Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

 Matthew 5:13-16

Presentation of the Lord

And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Luke 2:22

3rd Sunday

[...]  the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death  light has dawned.

Matthew 4:16

2nd Sunday A

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

Baptism of the Lord

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heavensaid, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

  Matthew 3:16-17

The Epiphany

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1-2