Category: Deacon Tony reflects

[Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 63; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13]

This Sunday, and again next Wednesday, our country will fall silent for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving our Nation. As I watched the news this morning, I saw a veteran who is now 102 years old, who had survived a ship being sunk in World War 2. He spoke about the comrades he had lost and of how he had to keep going to the Remembrance Parade; to keep their memory alive. His fear was that when he and the rest of the World War 2 veterans are no longer with us that we, as a society, will collectively forget the sacrifices they had made.

November is a month when we as Catholics remember our dead. We are encouraged to pray for them at this time, although the reality is that we should be praying for them at all times of the year. Praying for the living and the dead is one of the seven Spiritual Works of Mercy.[1] At this time in particular, we remember those who have gone before us. The November tradition goes back a thousand years and is traced to St Odilo, who was the Abbot of Cluny. He instructed his monasteries to observe a day of prayer for all the deceased each year on November 2^nd, immediately following All Saints Day. This custom spread throughout the Western Church over the following centuries. In turn this was taken up by the laity devoting the whole month to prayer for the dead. The Church then attached specific plenary indulgencies to those who visit to a cemetery between the 1^st and 8^th of November to reinforce the importance of setting aside a time to pray for the dead.[2]

Mother Nature seems to reflect a more sombre time too, as in our Northern Hemisphere, we have shorter days, the leaves are falling to the ground, the days are colder and there is less sunshine. Our Scripture readings today also encourage us to think of those who have gone before us, as well as the end of our own life. Saint Paul writing to the Thessalonians reminds them that as Christians we have hope. Death is not the end for us. His letter describes his thoughts on the end of time, how the dead will rise again with Christ and the faithful who are still alive at that time will be called up alongside those who are Risen; so that we can always be with the Lord.

In the Gospel we have from St Matthew, we hear Jesus telling the disciples the parable of the ten virgins. In this parable Jesus is the bridegroom coming at the end of time. The virgins represent the church. The oil represents what will count at the day of judgement; deeds of love and mercy. The virgins with no oil represent those who talked the talk but nevertheless put off good deeds until later. The ones with oil represent those who have obeyed the great commandment to love God and to love their neighbour. When the foolish virgins asked for oil, the other virgins were unable to share their oil, as the love and acts of mercy were associated with their actions. The futile attempt of the foolish virgins to buy oil when the bridegroom arrived demonstrates the futility of trying to prepare when it is too late. Their cry of ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ Had already been answered earlier in Matthew’s Gospel in Chapter 7 verse 21 where he recorded Jesus saying ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.’[3] [4]

As Jesus said at the end of today’s Gospel, ‘Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’ This is another reason to pray for the souls of the dead. If our deceased relatives were ill-prepared prior to dying, they will need the prayers of those left behind to help them. The Church teaches that those who die in God’s friendship but are not yet fully purified undergo a final purification, called purgatory before entering the joy of heaven, and that the prayers and good works of the living can be applied on their behalf within the communion of saints (CCC §§1030-1032).

The November devotion does not add new doctrine to this teaching; it is a devotional intensification in time, encouraging Catholics to set aside a season for something the Church actually asks of the faithful throughout the year — remembering the dead in prayer — much as Lent intensifies practices of penance that remain proper to every season.[5] When I pray for the dead, I add to my prayers, those who have no-one left to pray for them.

On Sunday afternoon, this weekend, we will have the Blessing of the Graves at Worting Road Cemetery, in Basingstoke. Even if you have no loved ones buried there, you can still come along and pray with those of us who do. It is the last day of the All Saints Octave, where a Plenary Indulgence is available for all who are properly disposed and who ‘devoutly visit a cemetery and pray for the dead’.[6] I look forward to seeing those who will gather with us at 2pm.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 671-672: we wait for all to be made subject to Christ
CCC 988-991: the just will live forever with the risen Christ
CCC 1036, 2612: vigilant waiting for the Lord’s return^[7]

November Devotion to the Holy Souls

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The continued success of the Alpha courses taking place in our Pastoral Area.
• The continued success of the Sycamore Programme taking place in Tadley on Tuesday evenings
• Those who work to keep us safe, those who have given their life to keep us safe and the families left behind.

Deacon Tony,

7^th November 2026

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[1] What are the corporal and spiritual works of mercy? – EWTN Great Britain

[2] November Devotion to the Holy Souls

[3] Arthur E. Zannoni, Telle Me |Your Story -The Parables of Jesus, [Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago IL, 1989] 58-9.

[4] Bible quote from NRSV XL Catholic Edition, [Catholic Bible Press, HarperCollins Christian Publishers, 1989]

[5] November Devotion to the Holy Souls

[6] Here’s how Catholics can get 8 plenary indulgences during the first week of November – EWTN Great Britain

[7] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 24; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a]

As we celebrate this Solemnity of All Saints, we remember all those who have been officially recognised as Saints by the Church and also all of the less well-known saints, those we may have known; people who have lived out their faith quietly and who are counted among the saints of heaven. Our scripture readings today ask us to look at both. Some of these lesser-known saints may well have passed on the faith to us, and we remember that we are all called to be saints. St Paul in his letters often addressed the baptised as ‘saints’, indicating the role which we should all aspire to.

In the Beatitudes which we hear in today’s Gospel, we are given 9 categories of people whom Jesus called Blessed. I’d like to look at each of them and suggest a saint who may personify this role.

Firstly, Jesus promises the kingdom of heaven to those who are ‘poor in spirit’, but what does this mean? We all have an appreciation of what poor can mean; a poor person will have little time to think about anything else apart from where their next meal will come from, or where they will get the means to pay for the next bill which comes in. To be poor in spirit could mean someone who has adopted poverty to be closer to God Spiritually, or someone who recognises that they need God more than the trappings of wealth or consumerism. One notable example of this is St Francis of Assisi, who sold all he had to help the poor, even finding himself disinherited publicly by his wealthy father.

St Elizabeth Ann Seton exemplifies the next Beatitude, ‘Blessed are those who mourn’. St Elizabeth lost her husband and two daughters but turned her grief into a movement; which became the Sisters of Charity of St Joseph’s, who sought out the poor, widows and orphans and ministered to them. Eventually the movement she started spread throughout the United States of America and beyond. She was the first native born American to be Canonised.

Jesus’ next promise was that the ‘meek shall inherit the earth’, St Francis De Sales was known as a gentle saint, however he had to moderate his natural behaviour to achieve this.

Pope Pius XI wrote in his document Rerum Omnium Perturbationem –            “One would err, however, if he imagined that such a character as St. Francis de Sales possessed was a gift of nature, bestowed on him by the grace of God “with the blessing of meekness.” On the contrary, Francis naturally was hot-tempered and easily aroused to anger. Since he had vowed to take as his model Jesus Who has said, “Learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart” (Mt. 11:29) so, by means of constant watchfulness over himself and of violence to his own will, he succeeded in learning how to curb and to control to such an extent the promptings of nature that he became a living likeness of the God of Peace and Meekness.”[1] Something which we could all aspire to, no doubt.

A saint whom I admired when I was a child was St Damien. He ministered to lepers on a leper colony giving up his own life fighting for justice for these men, women and children who had been discarded by society, for me this exemplifies the fourth beatitude of ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’.

When I think of a saint who was merciful, I think of St Teresa of Calcutta, who ministered to the weakest in society in countries which were particularly poor. She encouraged us all to find our own Calcutta and urged us to treat every individual as we would treat Jesus. Her encouragement for us to put the corporal works of mercy into action continue today, it is important for us to put our faith into action; otherwise, what we profess as our faith each week is just a set of empty words.

Next Jesus promised that ‘the pure in heart’ shall see God. St Augustine taught that the pure heart is one freed from disordered attachments that prevent loving God above all things.[2] The greatest examples of this are surely found in the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

We now turn to the ‘peacemakers’, for they shall be called sons of God. For me, the pope I grew up with St John Paul II, is a great role model for this. He is credited with being influential in the collapse of Communism, and he also brought together people of all faiths and religions to pray together for peace 40 years ago, at Assisi. Surely his efforts for world peace will make him be known as a son of God.

When I think of the next Beatitude of those who are ‘persecuted for righteousness’ sake, I look towards Oscar Romero, a carpenter, who became an Archbishop and who spoke out against the corruption and injustice of a government who were torturing and killing their own people. For speaking up for his flock, this kindly shepherd, lost his life.

For the final Beatitude of being ‘reviled and persecuted’ and other atrocities and for staying true to the Faith, there are many examples who were martyred during the Reformation in these Islands. The one who stands out for me most is St John Ogilvie; he was a Jesuit priest who was martyred for exercising his Ministry in Glasgow in 1615 and Canonised when I was a boy. At his execution he threw his Rosary beads to one of his accusers; who is said to have converted later in life.

All of these saints are inspirational to us and to the many unknown saints who have the Beatitudes as a road map on the journey to sainthood. They listened carefully to the words of Jesus; who after all is ‘The Word made Flesh’; and they obeyed those words. Their rewards are listed in the Beatitudes. For us, we must strive to live out those words and try harder each day to be more saintly in what we do and what we say.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

November 1: The Solemnity of All Saints

CCC 61, 946-962, 1090, 1137-1139, 1370: the Church, a communion of saints
CCC 956, 2683: the intercession of the saints
CCC 828, 867, 1173, 2030, 2683-2684: the saints, examples of holiness^[3]

What Does It Mean to Be Poor in Spirit? | Catholic Answers Magazine

The Life of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Battling for Meekness with St. Francis de Sales – Catholic Exchange

3 Saints Who Confronted Injustice Head-On – Busted Halo

Saintly Examples of Mercy in Motion – EWTN Great Britain

“Blessed Are the Pure in Heart”: The Forgotten Secret to Seeing God in a World of Impurity, Noise, and Confusion – Catholicus.eu English

5 Saints Who Advocated For Peace – Catholic-Link

St. Oscar Romero, Martyr – Information on the Saint of the Day – Vatican News

Saint John Ogilvie – The Society of Jesus

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The continued success of the Alpha courses taking place in our Pastoral Area.
• The continued success of the Sycamore Programme taking place in Tadley on Tuesday evenings
• The continued success of the Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching sessions, which concludes next Thursday in St Bede’s Church Hall.

Deacon Tony,

31^st October 2026

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[1] Battling for Meekness with St. Francis de Sales – Catholic Exchange

[2] “Blessed Are the Pure in Heart”: The Forgotten Secret to Seeing God in a World of Impurity, Noise, and Confusion – Catholicus.eu English

[3] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Exodus 22:21-27; Psalm 18; Thessalonians 1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40]

When I was growing up, one of my uncles was a great fan of Marvel Comics where there are Superheroes who all have a superpower. In recent years these have developed into a massive movie franchise bringing these super-heroes to wider and younger audiences. Our Scripture readings today reveal a greater ‘superpower’ one which we have all been born with but need to know Jesus, to activate it.

In the first reading the human race are being given instructions on how to interact with others; both strangers and neighbours. We are told to treat them in a way we would want to be treated. But not only that, we are told that if we do not treat people fairly or with kindness, that there will be penalties for us which will affect not only us, but our whole family. The final words from the Lord in the reading we hear today, are ‘for I am compassionate’. Surely this is a message to us who are made in the image and likeness of God that we too, must be compassionate.

We hear in the psalm where our superpower comes from. It tells us that the lord is our strength, He is our rock, our fortress, our saviour, He is our shield, our saving strength and our stronghold. Staying close to God gives us comfort, it reassures us; it is where we belong.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, St Paul tells them that they became imitators of Christians and of Christ, because they received the Word during much affliction. He emphasised that this was due to the Holy Spirit. Their superpower was their faith, as they allowed the Lord to enter them and fill them with grace.

In the Gospel we hear, yet again, another branch of the Jewish officials attempting to test Jesus. They asked which is the greatest commandment? Jesus said ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” This is our superpower – LOVE. We were born to love, we exist to love and love is far more powerful than hatred.

But how can we love God with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our mind?

This tells me that we need to have God at the centre of everything we do. For our heart and our soul this involves prayer. Prayer keeps us in touch with God; we speak to God and listen for replies. It also gives us hope. Hope is essential for life, giving us purpose. Our greatest hope is that we can be with God in eternity, our Baptism was the first step on this journey. How do we love God with all of our mind. For this we need to be discerning in what we watch, what we read and who we interact with.

Spending time every day reading Scripture will help us get to know God better, through this we may form a personal relationship with God. Getting involved with the activities involved in our Pastoral Area or further afield in our Diocese, help us to be better informed of our faith and how we should live out our life. Doing this also helps us to spend more time with likeminded people.

Loving our neighbour as ourself is a call to put our faith into action. This is how we demonstrate our love of God through our love of other people and the world God created. Just coming to Mass on a Sunday is not enough to call our self a Christian. We need to live out the word we hear at Mass in our everyday lives.

So, what can that look like in the week ahead?

We can use our superpower by choosing to love more. Maybe we could spend more time reading Scripture instead of time on social media. Maybe we could call a family member who lives alone instead of reading the newspaper. Maybe we could visit a neighbour and check how they are bearing up following the stormy weather. Maybe we could be more discerning about what we watch on television. Maybe we could spend more time in prayer.

Whatever we choose to do, may we become more like the compassionate God who made us, and may it be another positive step on our journey back home to be with Him.

 Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 2052-2074: the Ten Commandments interpreted through twofold love
CCC 2061-2063: moral life a response to the Lord’s initiative of love^[1]

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The continued success of the Alpha courses taking place in our Pastoral Area.
• The continued success of the Sycamore Programme taking place in Tadley on Tuesday evenings
• Ace, Sienna and Alanna who will be baptised at St Bede’s this weekend.
• The continued success of the Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching sessions, which take place on Thursdays in St Bede’s Church Hall.

Deacon Tony,

24^th October 2026

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[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; Psalm 96; Thessalonians 1:1-5b; Matthew 22:15-21]

As a child I used to go along to the local Community Centre and watch cartoons on a big screen. This was in the days when we only had 3 TV stations and children’s programmes were mostly restricted to the couple of hours after school until the early evening news came on. In many cartoons when a new idea or a moment of revelation occurred a light bulb would appear on the screen and suddenly everything became bright. We have a couple of those lightbulb moments in today’s Scriptures.

In the first Reading from Isaiah, we have the Jews in exile realising that their God was not just the God of Israel, but of the whole world. The Jews were coming to the end of their exile in Babylon, and they had experienced the alien and materialistic gods of Babylon. Cyrus mentioned at the start of the reading was the King of Persia, he was preparing to conquer the city of Babylon and decreed that all captives, Jews and other nations were to be deported back to their own countries. The Jews saw Cyrus as a gift from God. This lightbulb moment for them gave them an insight into the sheer immensity of God.

We also see in the Gospel, when yet again the Pharisees aided by the Herodians try to trap Jesus. Jesus turns their trap upon themselves by answering their cunning question with a more probing question. By asking the question about paying taxes to Rome, they were trying to trap Jesus; if he said they should not pay taxes, then they could accuse Jesus of being a rebel to the Romans, if Jesus said they should pay taxes, then they could tell the Jewish people that He was not from God because He recognised the emperor and not God. Jesus trapped them with their own words. He asked to see a coin; this forced the accusers to recognise Rome as their overlord by carrying the coin embossed with the emperor’s head in the first place. Next, He asked them what they thought was due to Ceasar? Finally, He goes beyond the question, questioning their ultimate loyalty, stating that just as they must pay their dues to Ceasar, that they also have an obligation to God.[1]

This last statement is not only for the people of ancient times, it holds true for us today. As we, as citizens are bound to pay taxes for the upkeep of our society, we also have a deeper, more intimate duty to pay our dues to God. As Christians, we call God our Father, we acknowledge Him as our Creator, and yet many of us sometimes relegate God to being a bit part player in our lives. Just as last week in the parable of those originally invited to the banquet, we often find other things to do than answer the invitation from God.

We hear in the second reading how impressed St Paul was of the way the people in Thessalonica responded to that call. This letter; which was one of the earliest letters written by Paul and still in use today; commended the Thessalonians for the way they responded; other communities received letters which urged them to change their ways as they had stumbled on the road to salvation and needed a little jolt to help them recover.

If St Paul was writing to us today in our Pastoral Area, what kind of letter would he be writing? Would he be commending us for our practice of the Faith, or would he be trying to persuade us to step up our efforts as a community? If God was writing a personal letter to us as individuals today, what would He be saying to us? He, who can see all we do in secret, who knows the reason behind all of our decisions, what would He be saying? Only we and God know the answer to that question.

If the question leaves us feeling uncomfortable then we need to change our ways, repent of our wrong doings and start giving more to God of what belongs to God. Following the teachings of Jesus, loving God and our neighbour by what we say and what we do.

When we profess the Creed, do we take in what we are saying? Do we live out the profession we are making and would those we meet know we are Christians [professing those words every week] by how they encounter us?

‘Render to Ceasar the things that are to Ceasar, and to God, the things that are God’s’

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 1897-1917: participation in the social sphere
CCC 2238-2244: duties of citizens^[2]

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The continued success of the Alpha courses taking place in our Pastoral Area.
• The continued success of the Sycamore Programme which taking place in Tadley on Tuesday evenings.
• All those attending the Baptism Preparation course which concludes this Sunday at St Bede’s.
• The continued success of the Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching sessions, taking place in St Bede’s Church Hall.

Deacon Tony, 17^th October 2026

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[1] HW, Readings of the Day, available from www. universalis.com.

[2] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Isaiah 25:6-10a; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14]

Every time I have heard today’s Gospel, I have been left puzzled as to why the man with no wedding garment had been excluded. The answer I have come to realise, is that although he has been invited in, he has failed to be converted; and to turn away from his previous behaviours.

The parable we hear today, is yet another aimed at the chief priests and the elders of the people; those who had influence and who were actively plotting against Jesus. They were the leaders of the original chosen people, those in the parable who were the initial invitees to the wedding feast. As we hear in the parable, they would not come, making excuses, with some even assaulting or killing some of the servants who had been sent to invite them. Those killed can be looked upon as the prophets who came before Jesus, to try and encourage the Jewish people to keep the faith. The king then decided to find other people to attend the wedding feast, so sent more servants out to find people who could appreciate what they were being invited to.   We are those people. We have been chosen as the people of the New Covenant; we have been given Wedding Garments for the eternal banquet through our Baptism. The guest without the garment, was soemone who failed to fully commit to the Faith.

Do we appreciate what we have been offered? Or are we complacent like the Chief Priests and scribes?

We are called to live out our faith; we have now become the servants to go and seek others to come to the banquet. It is not enough to sit back and be content that we have been promised eternal life and have been redeemed through Jesus; we need to live out what Jesus taught, every day, that is how we keep our wedding garment.

In the first reading we have an insight into what the banquet will be like; remember, the Chief priests and the scribes had access to this reading too, and they failed to recognise the One who could guide them to it. We are told the feast will be lavish, with only the best food and wine served. It will mean an end to death, there will be no more tears, and we will be in the presence of God. The Jewish leaders were in the presence of God and failed to recognise Him.

Every time we come to church, we are in the presence of God, because Jesus lives inside the tabernacle. Do we appreciate this? Do we understand this? When Adoration is offered, we are being invited to bask in the presence of God, like a preview of the banquet; do we accept the invitation? Or are we like those in the parable who make excuses? I know I can be guilty of this sometimes.

The good news is that it is not too late. We can change our ways, repent, seek forgiveness and try again. Jesus has given us so many opportunities to be saved. He demonstrated His love for us by coming into the world as one of us, He experienced life, with everything that goes with it, except He was able to resist temptation. He experienced a horribly cruel death to demonstrate His love for us and through rising from the dead, He has shown us the way back to be with Him; and live with Him in His presence. He has even left us with the Sacraments to help us to be filled with grace and to be able to recognise the love He has for us through those Sacraments. We just need to respond to His invitation. He never stops inviting, it is us who stop responding.

I have recently returned from Medjugorje, where many people have experienced reconciliation through the messages received and how that Parish in Bosnia Herzegovina has responded. This little Parish on the edge of Europe has welcomed the world to come and experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation, time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, a renewed call to pray the Rosary and to pray earnestly for peace. This is a place on earth where we can get a glimpse of what heaven could be like. One day while coming down from one of the hills we even encountered a good shepherd, who waited patiently for a sheep who had been left behind. He didn’t allow the rest of the flock to enter the sheepfold until the one who had lagged behind was able to catch up. Like the Good Shepherd, he didn’t want to lose one of his flock. That is how Jesus loves us, He doesn’t want to lose any of us, He is patient, kind and watchful for each one of us.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 543-546: Jesus invites sinners, but demands conversion
CCC 1402-1405, 2837: the Eucharist is the foretaste of the Messianic Banquet^[1]

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The continued success of the Alpha courses taking place in our Pastoral Area.
• The continued success of the Sycamore Programme which started in Tadley last Tuesday.
• All those attending the Baptism Preparation course which starts this Sunday at St Bede’s.
• The success of the Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching sessions, which begin on Thursday 15^th October in St Bede’s Church Hall.

Deacon Tony

9^th October 2026

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[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145; Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20:1-16]

When I was preparing for this reflection/homily, I really enjoyed reading the scriptures for this Sunday. I can see a great deal of hope for all of us in these readings.

Straight away in the first reading we see that if we change our ways, God will have compassion on us. This fills me with hope as I can see that God doesn’t change, but we must change and follow God’s ways.

Next, I read the Psalm and the response we all have is “The Lord is close to all who call him”, whether we are close to God or not everyone at some time; even non-believers; will call out for God if we are in trouble. I once heard a Humanist celebrant at a funeral call upon God. But the message here is that it is not just believers who can call God to be closer to them, the psalm tells us that God is close to all who call him.

In St Paul’s letter to the Philippians the hope is maybe not as obvious, but it is there. St Paul is telling us to trust in God, accept from God the mission He has for us and follow him. If you like, its like going back to the psalm and to call upon God, stay close to God allowing Him to stay close to us by praying.

Unsurprisingly, the main source for hope comes in the Gospel, since Jesus walked on the earth we have become a people of hope. This parable tells us that if we respond positively to the call of the Lord when we hear the call, then we will receive the promised reward.

At our Baptism when we are freed from original sin we are all given the hope of being resurrected with Christ. In baptism we go down into the grave with Christ and rise up again as He is resurrected. As new creations, we will be judged on the life we live following our Baptism

This Gospel is telling us that we have all been given the same promise, whether we joined at the beginning of our life or at the eleventh hour of our life. This means that none of us are better Christians than any other Christian; it is not based on how long we have been part of the Church. I have heard on more than one occasion of someone who has gone through RCIA saying that they will never be as good as someone who is a ‘cradle Catholic’. I usually say this is nonsense, and point out to them that I, as a cradle Catholic received most of my Faith formation at primary school, I then received some more formation through Marriage preparation and then during my formation for the Diaconate. But the majority of my formation actually stopped at around 8 years old. If I hadn’t sought out further development, my formation would have remained that of a child. However, those who have chosen to come into the Church as an adult, can apply more mature understanding to the knowledge they are given, so in some ways they have an advantage over people like me.

This is one of the reasons I am delighted that we have so many ways of increasing our knowledge of the Faith available to us within our Pastoral Area. There are RCIA classes available at all of our churches, there are Alpha sessions at St Joseph’s and St Bede’s, I think people can still sign up for them. These are for people who would like to learn about the Catholic Church and for those who would like to learn more, to top up the formation we had when we were younger.

If we truly want to build up our Church; as Christ has asked us to do; we need to make sure that we are as informed as we possibly can be, before we start to call others to join. These sessions are what we all need; we need to evangelise ourselves before we can evangelise others.

If you think that evangelising is not my job, or it is only for the priests and the deacons; then you are mistaken. Every single person, who has been Baptised is called to share the Good News with those they meet. We do this first of all, by how we live our life; loving God and our neighbour, sharing the news of Jesus Christ by what we do and what we say. Like it or not, we are role models; I’ll leave you to judge if you have a positive or negative impact on others., as Christians we are set apart, we do not belong to the world, we belong to Jesus. We are the ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world’, we need to let our light shine so that we attract other people to Jesus and build the Church brick by brick.

So, cradle catholic or an 11th hour catholic, we ALL have the same opportunity to be saved and to live an eternal life with God, our Father; what a wonderful and reassuring thought. I wish you a holy and evangelising week ahead.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 210-211: God of mercy and piety
CCC 588-589: Jesus identifies his compassion to sinners with God’s^[1]

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
• The success of the Sycamore Programme which starts this Autumn in St Michael’s.
• All those preparing to go on pilgrimage.
• The young people who started their Confirmation programme this week.

Deacon Tony

19^th September 2026

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[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Sirach 27:30-28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35]

“Forgive usour trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  These words we probably say every single day, but do we fully appreciate what they mean? Every time we say these words, we are asking God to forgive us in the same way that we forgive those who have offended us. If we hold onto a grudge against someone then we are failing to forgive them and in effect saying to God, I don’t need your forgiveness. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t need God’s forgiveness. We are all sinners, that’s why we come to Church and take part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; because we need to be reconciled to God and our Community.

Forgiveness can be difficult to give, what we have to remember is that it is crucial for us to forgive; in order for us to have peace of mind. I once heard it said that if we fail to forgive someone, it is like allowing them to live rent free in our head. When we forgive, we benefit; sometimes even more than the person being forgiven. In fact, we can forgive someone without them even knowing, because sometimes they may not be aware that they have offended us.

In today’s readings we hear that vengeance belongs to God. We are not to record when someone offends us; there is to be no tit-for-tat.  We are not to harbour a grudge against anyone. This can be incredibly difficult. When we are hurt, we may feel obliged to repay or seek justice for that hurt, but God is telling us not to. We are to leave the punishments to him. If we do take revenge, then we ourselves are sinning.

St Paul tells us that we belong to the Lord, whether we live or die as Christ is Lord of both the living and the dead. When a loved one dies, they still belong to the Lord. We who are living pray for them that they may be with the Lord; and when they are with the Lord, they pray for us that we may join them. Our best hope of joining them is to love and to forgive. Forgiveness is a way of loving. To love is a decision, love is not a feeling, we need to decide to love someone. Like love, forgiveness means making a decision to do it. We can either forgive and be reconciled or live with hurt and anger in our heads; which can be frustrating and exhausting.

When Jesus tells Peter that he needs to forgive ‘seventy times seven’ he wasn’t asking Peter to count all of the times and then stop when he got to 490 times. He was telling Peter that God’s love is infinite and that we should aim to love and forgive the way that God does. If we truly believe that our Baptism makes us a brother or sister of Christ, then we are called to act as a member of His family. Forgive instead of accusing, love instead of hating.

Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourself. I know there have been times in my life when I have hurt people close to me and I have received their forgiveness; but I then struggle to forgive myself. I accept they have forgiven me, but I get angry and frustrated at myself that I hurt them in the first place. At these times I am called to accept the forgiveness in the spirit it has been offered and not to dwell on my actions; with the exception of trying not to repeat those actions and causing further hurt.

Some questions to reflect upon –

Is there anyone in my life that I need to forgive today?

Do I accept forgiveness when I receive it from a friend or in the Confessional?

Is there anyone in my life that I need to ask for forgiveness from today?

The parable Jesus used to demonstrate forgiveness, also give a practical example of the Our Father; our family prayer. When we say those words; which are often rushed and said without appreciating the meaning; may we focus in on the meaning of the words and learn to live out that prayer in our daily lives.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 218-221: God is love
CCC 294: God manifests his glory by sharing his goodness
CCC 2838-2845: “forgive us our trespasses”^[1]

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
• The success of the Sycamore Programme which starts this Autumn in St Michael’s.
• All those preparing to go on pilgrimage.
• Anyone who has offended us.

Deacon Tony

11^th September 2026

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[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm 95; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20]

There are times when the Church speaks up on certain matters that we are told not to get involved or the Church is portrayed as being out of step with current thinking. Some of these issues such as abortion, assisted suicide and same sex marriage, have involved the Church Hierarchy encouraging all of us to write to our MP or to get involved in organised protests. These are important issues, not only for Christians, but for our whole society and there are some politicians or journalists who would encourage us to ‘stay in our lane’ or accuse us of trying to force our beliefs onto others. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Two of our Scripture readings today tell us why we need to continue to point out when things are wrong. It is what God expects us to do! In the reading from Ezekiel, we are told that if we see someone erring, then we must point it out to them, if we fail to do so, then we will be liable to the punishment they would have received. If, however, we tell them and they choose to ignore us, then they will own their punishment.

In the Gospel we hear Jesus telling us not to hold onto hurst silently. If someone offends us, we are encouraged to point it out to them, if they ignore us we are to get involved in the discussions around the available evidence and take action based on the outcome of the discussions which ensue. Jesus is not telling us to reject people; He is encouraging us to give even those who offend us, every possible chance to change their ways.

When our bishops encourage us to get involved in the public debate on moral issues, it is not so that we alienate ourselves or to put distance between ourselves and those in favour of the issues; it is to ensure that all possible views are taken account of. For example, in the Assisted dying [aka assisted suicide] debate the Church are pointing out that life is sacred from conception until natural death. We are highlighting the flaws in the legislation which could see, and in fact has seen in other jurisdictions, vulnerable people being encouraged to end their life prematurely. The debate resulted in the previous attempt to introduce this legislation being talked out of parliament, when legislators realised there was an unseemly rush to bring through what was obviously, flawed legislation.

For centuries, the Church has spoken out on moral grounds and continues to do so. The reason for this is also in the Gospel today. Jesus said, ‘whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ There are certain things which the Church will never loose on earth and one of them is the sanctity of life. This is fundamental to Church teaching, the law or commandment to not kill, is central to our faith. We have no power to change that. St Augustine is attributed as saying ‘right is right, even if no-one is doing it, wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it.’

Next Friday 11^th September sees the return of the Terminally Ill Adults Bill [End of Life], this time it is being introduced by Lauren Edwards MP, and is due to have its Second Reading. This is another opportunity for us to write to our MP and express our thoughts, The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children [SPUC] have information available on their website of how to contact our MP; I have placed the link below.

There is a message which gives us great comfort within today’s Gospel message. It is when Jesus said, ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’ This message is so powerful and tells us that we are not alone. I first became aware of it as a teenager when I attended a Charismatic House Group at a small convent in the area I grew up in. That evening there were around a dozen of us and when that phrase was said, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Knowing Jesus is with us, accompanying us and inspiring us to always do better.

Our second reading, which has been taken from St Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us that the commandment to love our neighbour as our self is the fulfilment of the law. By challenging behaviours or intentions which are morally wrong we are loving our neighbour.

Our Scripture readings today sum up the greatest commandments; we are to love God and love our neighbour. These commandments should form our every action and knowing that Jesus is beside us while we try and live out these commandments is humbling and inspiring at the same time.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 2055: the Decalogue summed up in one command to love
CCC 1443-1445: reconciliation with the Church
CCC 2842-2845: “as we forgive those who trespass against us”^[1]

Fight the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – SPUC

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
• The rescue efforts in Nepal and Tibet following the flash floods.
• Those working to defeat the Assisted Suicide Bill and for God to inspire MPs to vote against it.
• Theodore, who will be baptised at St Michael’s this weekend.

Deacon Tony

5^th September 2026

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[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27]

Last week, we heard Jesus say to Peter that it was not ‘flesh and blood that had revealed these things to you, but my Father in heaven.’ This week Jesus tells Peter that he is not speaking with divine revelation when Peter protests about how Jesus would need to suffer. Jesus knew that in order to save mankind from eternal death, that He would have to suffer and die a horrible death. Peter was unable to accept that at that time. Jesus went on to explain that we who follow him, must deny our own wishes and carry out the will of the Father. Jesus, by dying as a man, would then rise from the dead, conquering death to reveal his true Glory as God.

This is a theme which St Paul continues in the extract from the letter to the Romans, we hear today. Paul asks us to present our ‘bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,’ he asks us to do this as a form of worship. So, when we deny ourselves pleasure, we are making an offering to God. We can see this when we fast, by denying ourselves some food and offering this to God; we can become closer to God, knowing that Jesus fasted to prepare Himself for his public ministry and at other key times during his ministry.

One look at me and you can see that I struggle with fasting. I like my food, probably enjoy it too much. For me it is a battle to lose weight. But God sends me helpers. My wife is often very good at challenging me when I go for a late-night snack. When I volunteer at the Foodbank, there is another volunteer who raises her eyebrows when I reach for a biscuit. I have stopped buying a chocolate bar to accompany my lunch due to her gentle challenging. In a few weeks’ time I will be going to Medjugorje again, and there we are encouraged to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Again, I will take up the challenge and try to bring it home with me. If I am to present my body as a living sacrifice, I must get it into better shape physically and also spiritually. In his letter to the Romans, St Paul tells us ‘Do not be conformed to this world,’ he encourages us to allow God to transform us.

Today, is another day when we hear that God’s ways are different to man’s ways. If we are to understand God’s ways better, we need to work on our relationship with Him. We need to spend time in prayer, in reading Sacred Scripture, spend more time in the presence of God, spend more time serving God by loving our neighbour.

When we examine our relationship with God, do we see an area we need to strengthen? Is it in our prayer life? Do we spend time reading Scripture? Is it in our fasting or lack of fasting? Are we generous to those in need with our time and our resources? Do we spend time in the presence of the Lord?

Each of us knows ourselves best, each of us can see where we need to strengthen our relationship with God. With the final words in today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us that we will be judged when He says – ‘For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.’

Our judgement will be based on what we have done and on what we have failed to do. Each of us needs to ask ourselves, what do I need to do?

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 618: Christ calls his disciples to take up the Cross and follow him
CCC 555, 1460, 2100: the Cross as the way to Christ’s glory
CCC 2015: way to perfection by way of the Cross
CCC 2427: carrying our cross in daily life^[1]

Please accompany in your prayers

• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• Eliana, Ada, Rian and Tobenna who will be baptised at St Bede’s this weekend.
• The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
• The rescue efforts in Nepal and Tibet following the flash floods
• Those affected by the incident at the Big Church Festival in West Sussex.
• All the staff and pupils starting or returning to schools and colleges in the coming weeks.

Deacon Tony

29^th August 2026

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[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

[Isaiah 22:15,19-23; Psalm 138; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20)
As some of you may know, I recently took part in a Parish pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, it was a wonderful experience. We had the privilege of being able to celebrate Mass in some wonderful buildings, the first of which was in St Peter’s Basilica underneath the main building where several Pope’s are buried, including St Peter.
The same Peter we hear about in today’s Gospel, the rock on which the Church is built. Jesus gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the symbolism of this is seen on the Vatican flag which is prominent around the city; with the keys forming a cross below a tiara. The keys, one gold, representing spiritual power, the other silver, representing worldly power. A red cord is used to connect the keys into a cross. Peter was given the honour because of the profession he made. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to declare Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Through Peter, the other Apostles and the Church Fathers we too declare this same truth every Sunday when we say the Creed. We are declaring Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus also said to Peter, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The Catechism tells us that ‘‘the power of the keys designates the authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: “Feed my sheep”. The power to “bind and loose” connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgements and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of the kingdom.’ [CCC 553].
This ministry has been passed on down through the centuries to our current Pope, Leo XIV, who heard the words ‘Tu es Petrus’ when he entered into the Petrine Ministry [following Peter as the Vicar of Christ]. This same power has been passed down and is exercised today within the Catholic Church, the Church founded by Jesus Christ.
Pope Leo XIV hails from Chicago, Illinois in the United States. His father was a World War II veteran and spent the post war years in education, and his mother was a librarian. He himself, has spent much of his priesthood as a Missionary priest in South America, serving the poor and marginalised. In his first Encyclical Letter MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS, he has written about the dignity of the human being and the necessity for all men and women to have access to work in these days, when technology companies appear to be looking for more ways to reduce the numbers of people that companies need to employ. His message echoes that of his predecessor Pope Leo XIII, who gave a similar message in his days when the ability of men to find work was being threatened by mechanisation. Just as the Keys to the Kingdom meant that St Peter had to speak out and share the Gospel in a hostile world, Pope Leo and his recent predecessors have taken the Gospel message and applied it to our current situations. With the ‘Keys’ comes much responsibility.
In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear of a royal official – Shebna – being replaced by another – Eliakim. This followed the abuse of power and his abject failure to serve the people entrusted to him. We have all heard in recent years of elected officials and senior officials in business, who seem to have enriched themselves at the expense of others; putting their own interests before the interests of those they have been called to serve or protect. Reflecting back to our Gospel, we realise that St Peter was not called to lead the church based on his leadership skills or calm nature. In fact, we have evidence in the Gospel of times when Jesus had to correct him and when he abandoned Jesus at the Passion. Peter was called because of his faith. He believed in Jesus, he was troubled by some of the things Jesus said at times, but he believed in Him. The thing above all that Peter realised, is that he was asked to lead Christ’s Church, it never became Peter’s Church, it was always focussed on Jesus. It is something which every one of us must remember, whether we have been given a leadership role in the Church, or not; we are followers of Christ, we profess our belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Pope may change, the bishop may change, the Parish priest may change and the deacon may change; but the Church will always be Christ’s Church, because we profess our faith the same way that Peter did, by acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
All of us who exercise ministry, do so, based on our faith in Him.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 551-553: the Keys of the Kingdom
CCC 880-887: foundations of unity: the college of bishops with its head, the successor of Peter
Please accompany in your prayers
• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• Those struggling with addiction.
• For Chukwudike who will be baptised at St Bede’s this weekend.
• Firefighters throughout the world battling to keep communities safe.
• The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
• For Aid to the Church in Need, who highlight church persecution worldwide.
• For our young people who have recently received exam results, may the Lord enlighten them for the next stage of their educational journey.

Deacon Tony
22nd August 2026