Dear friends in Christ
The Gospel of this Sunday is referred to as The Cleansing of the Temple. We have become used to our churches being cleaned and sanitised after every liturgy, but this is something altogether different! Jesus has an aversion to anything that leads us away from God. So, finding the sacred Temple in Jerusalem so profaned by the merchants, He reacts with righteous anger. But there is a deeper meaning to this occasion: Jesus comes to cleanse the temple that is our body. When He comes to us, He often finds our hearts and souls so cluttered with the things of this world that there is no room for Him. He wants us to purge ourselves of anything that does not belong to God. The four classical temptations are: wealth, pleasure, honour and power. Lent is the favourable time for this purification: the emptying ourselves of those things that keep God out, those things that make our lives like a market place and which Jesus comes to cleanse.
We are over halfway towards the preparation for Consecration to St Joseph on 19th March. We have been reflecting each day at Mass on one of the invocations in the Litany of St Joseph. Some of you have told me that these virtues of St Joseph have not only been a revelation but also a challenge to us in the way we imitate him and live our Christian calling. There is still time to begin a Novena to St Joseph as we prepare to make a dedication to him, so that he may bring us closer to Him for whom he was privileged to be his Guardian on earth.
Congratulations and prayerful good wishes to Fr Basil Pearson who this Saturday—6th—celebrates his Golden Jubilee of Ordination! Fr Basil grew-up in Leigh and was ordained a priest in this Parish; he retired here and has continued to help-out here and in the neighbouring Parishes whenever he can. Fr Basil is a familiar figure to so many of us and his priestly ministry has included working in the Parishes of Wanstead, Romford, Canning Town & Silvertown, missionary work in Kenya, in our sister Diocese of Dundee, South Africa, and more recently as an Army Chaplain where he served at home and overseas including Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, Kosovo Split, Bulford and Colchester. He was also Director of Pontifical Mission Societies and Chaplain to the Across Trust. Although officially retired he has remained very active, especially during my years as Parish priest here. We give thanks to Almighty God for his long, selfless and fruitful ministry. Ad multos annos!
God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale