St. Wilfrid, pray for us

Another stage of the refurbishment of our lovely church is now complete. Today the new glass went into the Confessional so it is now ready to be used. Huzzah! It will certainly be wonderful after the last few months having to use various parts of the Church as a substitute. For those of you who haven't seen it yet here's afew pics I snapped earlier today...

 The statue of St. Wilfrid used to be in the sacristy but it seems fitting that he, known as the 'apostle of Sussex', should be on display in the Church itself.

The text on the glass (which you can just about see here) reads, "Saint Wilfrid, Pray for us." The glass has been specially made so that you can see in (to ensure the safety of the penitent and the priest) but can't make out what the person is saying. Another new feature is that whilst there are still two doors there won't now be any confusion about who's in where. The interior has been re-jigged so that the penitent enters through the first door (nearest the back of the church) and has the option to either kneel behind the grille or sit on a seat, facing the priest through a hole in the wall. Rest assured though if you, like me, prefer anonymity when going to Confession the priest will not be able to see who's coming in unless they sit on the seat.

The seat is by the statue of St. Wilfrid

One of the things I always thought would be difficult for me once I became a Catholic was going to Confession. The media tend to hype it up something rotten and paint a rather ridiculous picture when the truth, in fact, is far more gentle and beautiful and it has fast become my favourite sacrament (after the Eucharist, of course). And why not? In this we come before God, acutely aware of our sin and our need of his mercy and forgiveness, we come to the foot of the cross and ask for his forgiveness and place all of our hope and confidence in his love. Fr. Aaron spoke powerfully about this back in March, you can read his excellent thoughts here. In the absolution we are assured that we have been washed clean of our sin and can start afresh. It is a beautiful and humbling encounter with God, something that helps us to stay on the right track with our lives ever focused on Jesus. The prayers and advice of the priest aid us too in avoiding sin again. Since we now have our shiny good-as-new confessional why not come and try it out? It doesn't matter how long it has been (the priest will guide you through if you've forgotten what to do or say), God will welcome you with open arms! Confessions are available in the church after Mass on Friday and Saturday mornings and from 5:15pm to 5:45pm on Saturday evening or by appointment. You really won't regret going!

Prayers for the priesthood

Last weekend we were given the sad announcement that at the end of next month Fr. Aaron will be leaving Horsham after only 14 months in the parish. As both he and Fr. Richard said at all of the Sunday Masses Bishop Kieran did not do this lightly and another priest is urgently needed in Redhill which is made up of three parishes and also covers East Surrey Hospital. Fr. Aaron has been a fantastic and invaluable part of the clergy team here in Horsham, a great support to many and he will, I'm sure, be sorely missed.

As hard as it is when priests are moved on a situation like this highlights how much we need to pray for vocations to the priesthood. It is easy to think that someone else is doing it or to look at young men like Tom and think that there are plenty of people responding to this calling. The fact is that we do urgently need more priests. The Mass and the sacraments are an essential part of our lives as Catholics, they bring us into an ever deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ, give us a foretaste of heaven and help us to centre ourselves on God and God alone. As Christians we should all be actively trying to discern what God is asking us to do each day, what his will is for us each day. Just as every Catholic woman should take the time and space to open herself up to God and see if he is calling her to some special vocation (like the religious or consecrated for example) so should every young man see if he is called to serve God and the Church as a priest. We have been very blessed in this parish to have such easy access to the sacraments for so long but in so many places in this diocese and around the world this is simply not the case. Why not commit to praying once a day for vocations to the priesthood as well as praying for our seminarians, our priests and our bishop too. Prayer always works, prayer always helps...even if we don't see the result with our own eyes.

Prayer for Vocations

Father of all,
in the  name of Jesus Christ
who came not to be served but to serve,
grant us the grace of many new vocations
to the priesthood in our diocese.
Give us men after your own heart who,
following the example of the Good Shepherd,
are willing to joyfully lay down their lives
in your service and for your glory.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Our Father.  Hail Mary.  Glory be.

Holy Mary, our hope, pray for us.
St Philip Howard, pray for us.
St John Vianney, pray for us.
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.

For more information on the priesthood visit the vocations blog by clicking here, the vocations website here, or Facebook page here.