Ways of Listening

I find it is always easier to focus on one thing at a time, but life isn’t like that. This weekend is a case in point. We seem to be juggling three themes.

The Church calendar tells me that this Sunday is Peace Day. We are asked to pray especially for Peace on Earth. Pope Francis, in his letter for Peace Sunday, prays:

‘May 2025 be a year in which peace flourishes! A true and lasting peace that goes beyond quibbling over the details of agreements and human compromises. May we seek the true peace that is granted by God to hearts disarmed: hearts not set on calculating what is mine and what is yours; hearts that turn selfishness into readiness to reach out to others; hearts that see themselves as indebted to God and thus prepared to forgive the debts that oppress others; hearts that replace anxiety about the future with the hope that every individual can be a resource for the building of a better world.’

Also, this Sunday is the second day in the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, which began on Saturday 18th January and ends on Saturday 25th January (the feast of the Conversion of St Paul). At the heart of our reflections for this year’s octave of prayer is the question posed by Jesus to Martha: Do you believe this? [John 11:26]. This same question resonated throughout the deliberations of the first Ecumenical Council, meeting in Nicaea in 325 — which gathered Christian communities from around the world to strengthen their relationships as the Church of Jesus Christ. This year we are celebrating the 1700th anniversary of this Council. On this Sunday, Fr Giovanni has been invited to preach in Canterbury Cathedral, at their 11am Anglican Eucharist. And I shall be attending the Unity service at St Nicholas Church, Sturry, on Sunday afternoon.

Finally, our Archbishop has asked that a Pastoral Letter (entitled ‘Called to Bear Fruit’) be read out at all Masses, which explains that our Archdiocese embarked on a process named ‘Called to Bear Fruit’ — a journey of listening, collaboration and renewal in a spirit of synodality. The first part of the process was listening to the hopes and concerns of the clergy. Now the Archbishop would like to hear from the lay people of the diocese:

  • What signs of vitality do you see flourishing in this parish?
  • Where do you perceive the challenges to be?
  • How can we work together as clergy, laity, consecrated people and neighbouring parishes to make the Church’s mission more effective in our local communities?

The Archbishop wants you to engage in this ‘Called to Bear Fruit’ consultation. A booklet is available at all Masses this weekend which outlines six key themes for reflection. He encourages you to gather in small groups (as may work best in our community). He suggests that these groups come together prayerfully to reflect on the themes and to share your insights with the ‘Called to Bear Fruit’ team. Everything is explained in the booklet.

This is your opportunity to help shape the future of our Archdiocese by identifying what the parish needs in order to evangelise, form disciples and inspire witness and how we can grow as communities of missionary disciples. Your responses are asked to be submitted by 6th April 2025. Please do respond.

Canon Father Anthony Charlton
Canon Father Anthony CharltonParish Priest