Dear friends in Christ

The Gospel of this Sunday follows directly from what we heard at Mass last weekend: after Peter professes his faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God, Jesus reveals that He and His followers will go to Jerusalem where He will be rejected, suffer and be put to death. This was anathema to the Apostles, who had a dreaded fear of pain and suffering. We now know, that the Christian path and calling, is one that goes by the way of the Cross. If we want to rise with Christ in glory, then He has told us that we must do this by the road that goes via Calvary. In a word, only the love of God that is rooted in generosity and sacrifice will enable the human person to obtain the eternal destiny of Heaven.

This will be an exciting, and also anxious time, as our Schools return to work for a new year. Let us pray for our young people and their teachers, that they will be safe, secure and fruitful in these coming months. It has been lovely to see more families and individuals returning to Mass gradually. We should all feel reassured that we are doing all we can to ensure that parishioners feel safe when they come into the church. We have had many months of this strange regime and it is time for us to be courageous and try to continue with our lives within the framework that we now have. First Confessions and Holy Communions will begin in this coming month and go through to the end of October. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be administered on 11th October and those preparing for Reception into the Church will be Received and Confirmed on 11th September. Please keep all of these candidates for the Sacraments in your prayers. I thank them for their patience as we know this has been an extra-ordinary year and far from what we could have planned or expected. As we go forward, slowly and prudently, let us do so with complete trust in Divine Providence.

May God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale