Called to Bear Fruit
It has been a blessed time for us,this past week, as a parish — as we celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Fr Giovanni and myself give thanks to you all, for taking part and helping organise and celebrate this wonderful feast of Easter at St Thomas of Canterbury. Seven adults were baptised and five people welcomed into full communion. All this past week, at daily Mass in the Octave of Easter, we prayed for the newly baptised. Here is the opening prayer for last Monday: O God, who give constant increase to your Church by new offspring, grant that your servants may hold fast in their lives to the Sacrament they have received in faith.
As the family of God in Canterbury we continue to support, with our prayer and love, those who are taking their first steps as Catholics. In various ways we are all called to support and enable the Spirit to flourish in our hearts and in our families. In the coming months, we will join in prayer with families as their children complete their preparation for receiving Jesus for the first time in Holy Communion. Bishop Paul Hendricks, the area bishop for Kent, will be anointing our young people who are to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. We all have our part to play in enabling people to grow in faith and come to a deeper experience of Jesus.
Next Sunday after the 11am Mass, we will be holding our Parish Annual General Meeting. This is an opportunity for us to reflect on the past year as a pilgrim people; to look ahead to our plans and discern what God is asking of us. We had the first part of the synod on ‘synodality’ last October in Rome, and we are preparing for part two this coming October. Our Archbishop John Wilson is keen that every parish develop a Parish Plan, under the headings of Evangelisation, Catechesis and Formation. And he has also begun an initiative entitled ‘Called to Bear Fruit’ which, he says,
— is a process for renewal in the Archdiocese of Southwark;
— places the Living Lord, Jesus Christ, and his saving Gospel, at the centre of everything we are and all that we do;
— enables us to discern together what it means to be a ‘Missionary Archdiocese’ and to ensure that our parishes are supported as communities that evangelise, form disciples, inspire witness and serve others;
— is an umbrella framework to enable every parish, and all aspects of the life and work of the Archdiocese, to be aligned towards our primary purpose of announcing the Good News as missionary disciples.
As parish priest, both of St Thomas of Canterbury and St Dunstan of Hersden, this is a challenge for me. It is a call for all of us to work together, listen to each other, pray together and grow together.
