Message from Canon Kristian

Dear brothers and sisters

The main focus of our prayer this weekend is that everyone within the Church will be open and sensitive to the call of the Lord, so that we can fulfil the mission that God has entrusted to each and every one of us from the moment of our baptism and rebirth in Christ.  Without in any way undervaluing or dismissing the vocation of the vast majority of the members of the Church (remember there is no “hierarchy” amongst the charisms or gifts that the Spirit gives to us), we have a particular prayer for those who are being called to the service of God’s people by ordination as priests or deacons and for those who are being called to live out a consecrated life of prayer and service based on the gospel-based vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.  These specific vocations and gifts to the whole Church community can only grow where there is a vibrant culture and sense of being called by God to a particular service amongst all the members of the Church.  It would indeed be a great joy and privilege for our parish if one or more of our young people were to respond to a call to the priesthood or to the religious life.  So let us keep them in our prayers in a special way, asking that they may be given the grace to respond generously and courageously to God’s call.

Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Prayer reminds us that we are still in the Year of St Joseph, and he gives a beautiful reflection on how the vocation of St Joseph can shed light of our own calling from God.  In a striking passage right at the start of his Message, the Holy Father notes that:

“St Joseph is an extraordinary figure, yet at the same time one ‘so close to our own human experience’.  He did not do astonishing things, he had no unique charisms, nor did he appear special in the eyes of those who met him. He was not famous or even noteworthy: the Gospels do not report even a single word of his.  Still, through his ordinary life, he accomplished something extraordinary in the eyes of God”.

Likewise, each of us, through a faithful living out of our vocation in our ordinary life – whatever that vocation might be, will accomplish something extraordinary in the eyes of God. That’s something amazing that we should all spend some time reflecting on often and just on one Sunday of the year!

The other important focus in the Newsletter is on the Church’s mission to care for God’s creation, our common home.  All eyes will be on the UK this year as our country hosts both the G7 Summit in Cornwall in June and the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow in November.  Both of those meetings will be looking at the need to take urgent and decisive steps to slow down the devastating effects of climate change and the commitment of all countries, including the UK, to take concrete and effective action.  We are familiar with Pope Francis’ insistent teaching of the need to care for God’s creation as part of parcel of the living out of our Christian faith and not some side-issue for those who are particularly interested in environmental issues. For us, the care for creation – action to protect and enhance the environment – is primarily an obligation that flows for our Faith not from political doctrine.  However, decisions made by politicians in response to this environmental crisis will clearly impact of our own choices and actions, which will inevitably reflect our own personal political worldview.  Therefore, it is vital that, both as individuals and as a community, we seek to have a deeper understanding of the Social Teaching of the Church – something which is often called the “hidden treasure” of the Church since it is too little known both within and outside the Church.

In this perspective, accompanying the Newsletter this week is the first Environmental Policy for our diocese, recently approved by the Diocesan Trustees, along with a Pastoral Message from Bishop Mark which provides a spiritual and theological context for the document.  The Policy is very much a “first attempt” and certainly not definitive.  In fact, it is foreseen that, due to the nature of the subject matter, the policy will be a dynamic and developing one, to which process every parish and every parishioner is invited to contribute with their views and comments.  As the intent of the Policy is to set out the fundamental principles which will guide the Diocese in its mission to care for God’s creation, it is intentionally brief and succinct.  It is planned to issue further documents to parishes and schools which will give guidance in terms of concrete implementation.  When circumstances allow, this will be an important issue for our parish to come together to reflect upon and to take concrete steps to put those reflections into practice.  In the meantime, please feel free to pass on your comments to the Diocese via Caritas Plymouth, the diocesan department that has been entrusted with oversight of this project.

The Bishops of England and Wales have issued a Reflection, “The Day of the Lord”, to all Catholics following their meeting last week, in which they encourage us to start to take decisive steps to rebuild our physical community life as parishes, particularly regarding the observance of the Lord’s Day and the Sunday Celebration of Mass, as the effects of the pandemic subside. The Bishops invite us to reflect on the impact the pandemic has had on each of us personally and on the parish community, and on how this will guide the way we understand our mission and outreach going forwards, all finding its focus – or its “source and summit” as the Second Vatican Council expressed it – in the Church’s Liturgy, and particularly in the Mass.  Please take some time to reflect on their message and what implications it might have for our parish.

With the easing of the lockdown rules, the number of people wishing to come back to Mass at the weekends has increased significantly.  Though this is without doubt a great blessing for us, it does mean that we are now struggling to accommodate everyone in church on a Sunday, due to the need for the time being to continue to observe social distancing rules.  The 10am Mass in Tiverton and the 11.30am Mass in Cullompton are now usually fully booked by Wednesday each week so, if you request a place after that, it is very likely that there will not be one available.  Therefore, I would encourage you to contact the Parish Office as early as possible in the week, either by email (the preferred way) or by telephone between 10am-1pm.  I apologise in advance if we are not able to find you a place.  This is an unpleasant situation for a parish priest to be in – everyone should be welcome to come to Mass, but it is essential that we keep everyone as safe as possible over these next few weeks, so as not to jeopardise greater freedoms in the months ahead.  We do not want to create conditions because of impatience which might lead to yet another lockdown.

Along with the Newsletter Monika Manser’s weekly aid to imaginative contemplative prayer on this Sunday’s Gospel is available to read online or download under the Resource>Reflections section of the website.  The access details for this week’s Coffee Morning on Zoom on Thursday at 11am, to which all parishioners are invited, are available from the parish office.

I hope you are continuing to have a blessed and fruitful Eastertide.  Let’s pray for each other.

With every blessing

Canon Kristian