19 May: Pentecost

This window is in Saint Aloysius’ church, near Euston station in London. If you are passing around Mass time you can drop in and see the windows and also the street outside. The Church is not separate from the city!

Looking at the gathering, there are twelve tongues of fire above the disciples and Mary when there were actually about 120 people in the Upper Room, including, surely, the women who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday – the two Marys, Salome and Johannah.

We can add to that number the passers-by who are also part of the picture. If this was our parish we would probably know a few of them by name!

There are people from all over the world in London today as there were two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. Let us pray that the fire of God’s love will be kindled in each one of them so that peace will reign in all hearts and communities in the city.

16 May: St Augustine’s day service in his abbey

Saint Augustine was the reluctant missionary sent to the Kingdom of Kent by Pope Gregory the Great. He arrived here in 597 and began by holding services in the ancient church of Saint Martin’s until he could establish his Cathedral on land given by King Ethelbert. There were also two monasteries that soon became centres of learning, the Cathedral’s Christ Church Priory and what became St Augustine’s Abbey. Saint Augustine’s feast day is 23rd May, next Thursday.

Starting at St Martin’s Church at 17:00, we shall process to St Augustine’s Abbey for the main service, then to the Cathedral Chapter House. This service is powerful, as it is the only time in the year that the altar in the ruined crypt of the abbey is still used.
This service will replace the usual 17:30 evening service at the Cathedral. All are welcome.
Organized by Canterbury Christ Church University.

11 May: Safe at Anchor

Safe at anchor, now at rest,
With the many of our fleet,
But once again we will set sail
Our Saviour Christ to meet.

This verse is inscribed on the grave of William Marsh, one of at least three master mariners in Saint John’s churchyard, Woodbridge, Suffolk. He was in his 80th year, so surely he did not drown at sea, but died safe at anchor in his own house in the town.

One last time he set sail to meet Christ; the One he would have met more than once on the ‘lonely sea and the sky’ of Masefield’s poem, Sea Fever. Or as Psalm 107 has it:

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

Let’s pray for all seafarers, and thank God for their hard work and the good things they bring us. Let’s remember, too, the port chaplains of Stella Maris, ministering to sailors and their families often far away.

HMS Vale, in the upper photo, saw service with the Swedish Navy before becoming a Royal Navy training vessel and finally a cafe on the River Deben near Woodbridge. There you can sit in peace, watching the birds and the constantly changing light over the water.

8 May: Witnesses of Faith

Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of Christ’s Ascension. Just before he went up to Heaven, he instructed his disciples to preach the Good News to the ends of the earth. Many of those early followers were killed for their faith. Last year, 20 Catholic missionaries met violent deaths worldwide: one Bishop, eight Priests, two Religious Brothers, one Seminarian, one Novice, and seven Lay people were killed.

Sadly, the past year saw many missionaries and pastoral workers become victims of violence as they were going about their everyday lives and activities. Many of them were killed in places and situations marked by conflict – by soldiers, militia, terrorist groups, or individuals wielding weapons.

In the mystery which unites them to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, these witnesses of faith also share in the pain of Christ for all the innocent who suffer unjustly. The gift of their lives reflects Christ’s salvation offered to all humanity, and manifests God’s love for all.

Pope Francis said: ‘There are many in our world who suffer and die to bear witness to Jesus… the seed of their sacrifices, which seems to die, germinates and bears fruit, because God, through them, continues to work miracles (cf. Acts 18:9-10), changing hearts and saving humankind.’ ‘Let us ask ourselves, then: do I care about and pray for those who, in various parts of the world, still suffer and die for the faith today? And in turn, do I try to bear witness to the Gospel consistently, with gentleness and confidence? Do I believe that the seed of goodness will bear fruit even if I do not see the immediate results?’

Fr Jacques Yaro Zerbo, 67, was killed on 2 January while on his way to carry out pastoral activities in the Boucle du Mouhoun region of Burkina Faso. The unidentified armed men murdered him and drove away in his car.
Fr Isaac Achi, 61, died on 15 January during an attack on his parish in northern Nigeria.
The armed group, unable to access the presbytery, set fire to it. Whilst a fellow Priest, Fr Collins Omeh, was wounded as he fled the house, Fr Isaac was unable to escape the flames.
Diego Valencia, 65, Sacristan of the Parish of Nuestra Señora de La Palma in the province of Cadiz, Spain, was killed on 25 January whilst trying to stop an attack on parishioners by a young man armed with a machete. The perpetrator was later arrested by the police.
Fr Juan Angulo Fonseca, 53, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, was shot and died on 10 February. Sources claim that this well-respected Priest fell victim to a family member over a land dispute.
Monsignor David O’Connell, 69, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles (USA), was shot by his housekeeper’s husband on 18 February. The perpetrator was later arrested and confessed to the crime, possibly motivated by a dispute over money.
Br Moses Simukonde Sens, 35, a Missionary of Africa from Zambia, was killed on 29 March by a stray bullet near a military checkpoint in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital.
Fr Javier García Villafaña, 35, an Augustinian and Parish Priest in the Archdiocese of Morelia, Mexico, was murdered on 22 May when his car was
riddled with bullets as he was on his way to celebrate Mass.
Fr Charles Onomhoale Igechi, a recently ordained Priest of the Archdiocese of Benin City, was killed by gunmen along Agbor Rd, Edo State, Nigeria on 7 June.
Gertrudis Cruz de Jesús and Gliserina Cruz Merino, both young catechists, were killed on 15 June, during a conflict between armed groups while on their way to a Eucharistic procession in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. They belonged to a movement for the recognition of the human rights of their people – the Triquì.
Fr Pamphili Nada died from his injuries on 19 July whilst being taken to hospital. He had been attacked with a blunt object by a mentally unwell man in his parish of Our Lady Queen of Apostles, Arusha, Tanzania.
Seminarian Na’aman Danlami, 25, perished in a fire on 7 September. It was deliberately started by armed bandits after they failed to kidnap the Parish Priest of St Raphael’s Parish of Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Godwin Eze, 31, a Benedictine Novice kidnapped from the monastery in Eruku,
Kwara State, Nigeria, was shot dead and his body thrown into a river by an armed group on 18 October.
Br Cyprian Ngeh, 40, an exemplary Religious nurse of the Congregation of the
Sons of the Immaculate Conception, was attacked and stabbed to death in Bamenda, Cameroon on 7 November whilst walking back to his Congregation’s Health Centre.
Junrey Barbante, 24, and Janine Arenas, 18, students and committed volunteers of the Catholic chaplaincy community of Mindanao’s State University in the
Philippines, were killed on 3 December by a local group retaliating to military
operations. They were among the victims and casualties of the bomb which detonated during the celebration of Mass on the first Sunday of Advent.
Fr Stephen Gutgsell, 65, died on 10 December following a knife attack during an attempted break-in at the church in Fort Cahloun, a small community in Nebraska (USA) that he had led for 11 years. The suspected attacker was arrested by police.
Fr Léopold Feyen, 82, a Salesian of Don Bosco from Belgium, was stabbed to death by an unidentified killer in the parish of St Mary Help of Christians in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on 12 December.
Samar Kamal Anton, and her mother, Nahida Khalil Anton, were killed on 16 December by snipers as they were walking to the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa in the parish complex of the Holy Family in Gaza. One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety. Both belonged to a prayerful group of Catholic and Orthodox women committed to serving poor and disabled people.

Please join us in giving thanks for
the work and witness of these, our
sisters and brothers. May they
rest in peace and rise in glory.
Amen.

All information is supplied by Fides, the Vatican-based news agency of Missio, and by Vatican News.

7 May: All are welcome!

This tree stands just outside the Anglican churchyard in Winchelsea, Sussex. \it was just here that John Wesley preached his very last outdoor sermon. He was not welcome – and neither were his followers – in the church nor even the churchyard, so he preached under the shelter of a tree.

Not this very tree: the original was killed by souvenir hunters cutting into it but this successor is going strong!

Father Peter was talking about trees in this Spring’s Missio magazine, in particular the mustard tree that sheltered the birds of the air in the parable. And some of those birds would have been as unwelcome as John Wesley and his Methodists would have been in Winchelsea hundreds of years later. Let’s listen to Father Peter:

I can imagine Jesus scratching his head as to how to describe the Kingdom of God to the people, and, as we read in the Gospels, in his ‘head scratchings’ he came up with many wonderful images.

On one occasion he likened the Kingdom to a mustard seed (Luke 13) which would grow into a tree which the birds of the air could shelter in. A familiar image which everyone would understand – that the Kingdom of God was for everyone to enter and find shelter.

But Jesus was being a bit controversial here when he talked about the birds of the air and did not distinguish between, according to Jewish purity laws, those birds which were unclean and detestable (Leviticus 11: 13-19). Jesus was, in effect, saying that all the birds of the air were welcome in the tree – clean and unclean!

Of course, what Jesus is saying is that, like a mustard tree,the Kingdom of God was shelter, shade, and rest for everyone. With no distinction between those people that we, or others, might think of as ‘unclean’ or not worthy. Everyone is welcome to rest in the shelter and shade of the love of God.

Father Peter.

5 May: A big pilgrimage

We – or wild creatures – were snuggled together for warmth in yesterday’s post. Today we are invited to get walking together. Since we enjoy a pilgrimage, big or small, we are happy to pass on this message from CAFOD.

We are delighted to invite you to come and be part of The Big Pilgrimage, the local pilgrimage experience where you decide where you go and how far you walk. Choose from one of our three hospitality hubs and whether to walk as part of a group or on your own customisable pilgrimage journey, then sign up and join us on the day. Our venues include: Saturday 1 June: St George’s Cathedral, Southwark, SE1 6HR Saturday 22 June: Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire, YO62 4EN Saturday 6 July: Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate and St Thomas of Canterbury, Northampton, NN2 6AG  Find out more At each pilgrimage, you will find: 🙏 Quiet spaces for prayer and reflection ☕ A warm welcome with hospitality and refreshments 💚 Activities for people of all ages reflecting our values of justice, hope and peace 👋🏼 A chance to meet fellow pilgrims  Choose your venue If this sounds like the perfect way for you to re-ignite your faith, either as an individual, family, or as part of a group, book your free space or visit our website to find out more.  Your pilgrimage awaits. We look forward to welcoming you soon at a venue near you. Blessings,  Dom DeBoo Community Fundraising Team

To ensure your email newsletter reaches you every time, add news@email.cafod.org.uk to your address book or contacts list. We protect your privacy and don’t share personal data with third parties. Read our privacy notice here. The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and part of Caritas International. Charity no 1160384 and company no 09387398. © CAFOD 2024 If you don’t wish to hear from us any more, we’re sorry to see you go, but you can unsubscribe. Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7JB

1 May: Echoes in Lichfield Cathedral

A queue for vaccinations at Lichfield Cathedral during the pandemic. Photo JB.

Echoes in Lichfield Cathedral

‘Echoes’ is a dramatic event marking the end of restoration work at Lichfield Cathedral. It will run from 11 May 2024 19:30 to 12 May 2024 20:30.

As the scaffolding is removed and the spire is revealed, we are celebrating the history of the Cathedral and its people with an exciting new production. Travel through the ages in a time machine performance created by a vibrant community cast. This exciting piece of promenade theatre takes its audience on a journey around the glorious Lichfield Cathedral with tales from this historic site told through, dance and music. Admission is by ticket only for this after-hours performance.

What can you expect to see? The audience will be taken on an intimate journey through time, and around the Cathedral. Coming face to face with Saints, Stonemasons, Victorians, Roundheads, Royalists, and more, with pop up performances from a number of community groups, (we don’t want to give too much away)! ECHOES promises to be an immersive experience full of secrets, history, heart, and hope. We’re very proud of it. Don’t miss out!

Tickets are FREE, with donations encouraged to support the upkeep of Lichfield Cathedral. For more information and to book, click here.

30 April: The impact of L’Arche.

Today we are happy to share L’Arche UK’s annual Impact Report. This colourful leaflet (with plenty of links to other stories of our members) will give you a taste of who and what we are in this jubilee year – 50 years of L’Arche UK, 60 years of L’Arche internationally – and what we hope to achieve in the next 5 or 50 years. Click the link and read on!

29 April: New pilgrimage celebrates royal Kentish women

Here at Agnellus’ Mirror we are pleased to see Kentish women saints remembered in a pilgrimage between places associated with them: Saints Bertha, Ethelburga and Eanswythe. We look forward to setting foot on this journey and finishing with fish and chips at the harbour in Folkestone.

It’s disappointing that Saint Mildred – another princess of the same family – was not included with her relatives. Saint Mildred’s church is just across the city from Saint Martin’s, and a peaceful spot it is.

What follows is from the Canterbury diocese website.

A new pilgrimage route, launching on Saturday 27 April 2024, has been developed linking churches in Canterbury, Lyminge, and Folkestone. The project aims to highlight the achievements of royal Kentish women who were crucial to the development of Christianity in England and who were long side-lined in history.
 
The start of the pilgrimage is at St Martin’s Church in Canterbury, and celebrates Bertha who prayed with St Augustine in her private chapel on the site, laying the foundation for the conversion of Kent to Christianity. Bertha was pivotal to her pagan husband King Ethelbert accepting Christianity and together they established the first Christian royal family in England. 

St Martin’s Church, Canterbury

Midway along the route is St Mary & St Ethelburga Church, Lyminge, where recent excavations uncovered the remains of a church, dated to the time of Queen Ethelburga, daughter of Bertha. These stone foundations are evidence for what is acknowledged as one of the first Christian communities in this country. Ethelburga is celebrated for beginning, with her husband King Edwin, the conversion of the North of England to Christianity. She later returned to Kent to live at Lyminge after Edwin was killed in battle.

St Mary and St Ethelburga church, Lyminge

The end of the route is at St Mary & St Eanswythe, Folkestone, the scene of exciting discoveries during the recent Finding Eanswythe project. The church is dedicated to Bertha’s granddaughter, and Ethelburga’s niece, Princess Eanswythe, who is recorded as founding a very early Christian community at Folkestone. Human bones were discovered hidden in the church wall in the 19th century which have been scientifically analysed. They are of a well-nourished young woman and date to the time of St Eanswythe, making them most probably her bones preserved as relics in the church she founded since the time of her death. This is the only church in the British Isles known to have retained the relics of its founding Saint, and her shrine provides a fitting end to this new pilgrimage celebrating the foundational achievements of three generations of royal Kentish women who had once been forgotten.

St Mary and St Eanswythe church, Folkestone

Talking about the Royal Kentish Camino, St Martin’s Senior Visitor Host Jessica Morris said: “This new pilgrimage route is important in uniting three long forgotten Christian Women. Here at St Martin’s, we hope that people will enjoy this Camino whether it be to connect to the centuries of prayer within our walls or to explore the rich history that Kent, and these churches, have to offer”.
 
Also involved is Rob Baldwin, Chair of Lyminge Historical Society, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, who further added: “Our new Camino offers a chance to explore some fabulous countryside while reflecting on the significant achievements of three powerful women who were pioneers of their faith fourteen centuries ago when it was still very new in England. We are delighted to create the opportunity for pilgrims of all faiths and none to follow literally in their footsteps.”
 
Jenny Coleman, treasurer and PCC member at St Mary & St Eanswythe Church stated that the church felt honoured to have in their care the bones of St Eanswythe. Coleman went on to say that “we are looking forward to welcoming pilgrims from everywhere to our beautiful church to learn more about our matronal saint, as well as our sister churches on the Camino”.
 
The pilgrimage launches on Saturday 27 April 2024 and more information can be found on the Lyminge Parish Council Website.

28 April: Hearts on fire, feet on the move.

The start of the pilgrim journey from Canterbury to Rome; the disciples’ starting point was the upper room, where Jesus appeared the evening after showing himself to the two disciples at Emmaus.

In this post Canon Anthony Charlton of Saint Thomas’ Canterbury reflects on Pope Francis’s Message to us all, each one a missionary disciple. Help! Help is at hand.

Pope Francis’s theme for Mission Sunday last October was “Hearts on fire, feet on the move,” which he said was inspired by the story of Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection. We are all familiar with this incident at the end of Luke’s Gospel.

After the crucifixion of Jesus, two of the disciples of Jesus had turned their backs on Jerusalem and were full of sadness and disappointment because they had such high hopes for Jesus. They did not recognise the stranger that joined them as Jesus and they told him the reason they were sad; “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”

They are full of disappointment. Yet their meeting with Christ in the Word and in the breaking of the bread sparked in them the enthusiastic desire to set out once again and go
back to Jerusalem and proclaim that the Lord had truly risen.

The Pope points out that, in this Gospel account, we perceive this change in the disciples through a few revealing images: their hearts burned within them as they heard the Scriptures explained by Jesus, their eyes were opened as they recognised him and, ultimately, their feet set out on the way.

It is easy for us to get disheartened when we hear that we are called to be missionary disciples. We are not sure what is expected of us. We are sometimes more comfortable with quoting the saying attributed to St Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel with your lives, only use words if necessary”. Yet Jesus is calling us to go forth. This is what the two disciples did.
Renewed and encouraged by the encounter with Jesus at Emmaus they returned to Jerusalem.

An evangelist, Roy Fish, made an interesting observation saying that there is a difference between “come and hear” and “go and tell.” The “come and hear model” is when we say to others come and hear the Gospel proclaimed in our church we hope to be yet Jesus is inviting us to “go and tell.” We are like those two disciples, we need to be refreshed by the Word of God, nourished by the Eucharist and so share with others the joy of meeting the Lord.

So, let us set out once more, illumined by our encounter with the risen Lord and prompted by his Spirit.
Let us set out again with burning hearts, with our eyes open and our feet in motion.

Let us set out to make other hearts burn with the Word of God, to open the eyes of others to Jesus in the Eucharist, and to invite everyone to walk together on the path of peace and salvation that God, in Christ, has bestowed upon all humanity.
Our Lady of the Way, Mother of Christ’s missionary disciples and Queen of Missions, pray for us!”

(Pope Francis’s message for World Mission Sunday 2023.)