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| Vision Statement That the Parish of SS Alban & Stephen will become a community identified by · The welcome that they extend to others · The love and support they provide for all its members · Liturgies that are relevant to all · Opportunities for spiritual development for members · Cooperation with others to promote unity in the church and a just society · Commitment to the Diocese of Westminster and the MSC Mission Statement We, the parishioners of SS Alban and Stephen Catholic Church, are blessed with responsibilities to ourselves and to others. Sharing our faith through witness, actions, ministries and prayers, we will love value and support each other and our community. New parishioners You are very welcome to our parish. Please pick up a Parish Directory, fill out a card available at the back of Church and make yourself known to a priest or a member of the Pastoral Parish Council. |
 Holy Week ServicesPalm Sunday, 4th April: Palms blessed at all Sunday Masses Monday 5th/Tuesday 6th/Wednesday 7th : Masses as usual. Wednesday, 7th April: 8.00pm - Reconciliation Service (Mass as usual at 7.30pm). Holy Thursday, 8th April: (No 9.15 am Mass at Maryland) (No 10.00 am Mass in the Church) 8.00pm - Mass of the Last Supper Until Midnight Come in adoration and silent prayer before the Altar of Repose in the Church
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 Welcome BeaconWelcome to the first edition of “New Beacon”, the new parish magazine that we hope to publish four times a year. It aims to contain items of local parish news and events, as well as some articles of interest to all about our Catholic faith and heritage. As we intend this to be published before Easter, we have tried to give it a Lenten/Easter theme. We anticipate that it will help us all to know more about, and feel part of, this parish family. We share some thoughts from Fr Jerry on “Marriage Preparation”. A recent visit by parishioners to Rome including a papal audience is described with great enthusiasm. Some positive thoughts about the Marshalswick Mass Centre will resonate with a number of you. A short article on St Anselm gives us some spiritual food for thought as we reach the end of Lent. It is always amazing that when you read the thoughts and prayers of the fathers of the Church, they always seem so relevant to our own day, yet are often very different in their style and conception. We have included a report on the Bishop’s parish visitation which makes interesting reading, particularly if you weren’t able to be there. Perhaps you have some other perspective on this meeting which you would like to share? In what we hope will be a regular feature, we are profiling two of our parishioners based on their responses to a questionnaire sent out to those who had given us their e-mail addresses. Anyone who has not received these questions, can obtain them by contacting newbeacon@albanstephen.com or write to “New Beacon” c/o the presbytery. No-one’s responses will be published without their permission! We have also included times of the Easter services, and a children’s quiz for the young and young at heart. Will the scientific questions tax the adults? If you do have something that you would like published, please contact the editorial team either by e-mail or via the presbytery. In addition, letters to the editor would be welcome on any subject – what sort of topics would you like to see covered in this magazine, or other snippets of interest to all the parish. This magazine depends on your involvement. We hope that there will be something for everyone in future issues, reflecting the life of the parish. Why not think about writing a short article for it? We hope you enjoy this issue.
The Editorial Team
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 Marriage PreparationWe are most grateful to our four couples who give the preparation talks every year. The sessions consist of four nights 8pm to 10pm. The main theme of the talks is helping couples to learn the skills of communication in marriage. The most important part of communication is to learn the skills of really listening- not just with our ears but with our heart. To give you an example of the heart-break of a wife who feels she is not listened to, I will give you the following outpouring called LISTEN. LISTEN
When I ask you listen to me and you start giving advice, you have not done what I asked. When I ask you to listen to me and you tell me why I should not feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings. When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem. Listen. All that I asked was that you listen; not talk or do, just hear me. Advice is cheap. And I can DO for myself. I’m not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless. When you do something for me that I can and need to do for myself, you contribute to my fears and weakness. But when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, however irrational, then I can quit trying to convince you and get about the business of understanding what’s behind this irrational feeling. And when that’s clear, the answers are obvious and I don’t need advice. Irrational feelings make sense when we know what is behind them. Perhaps that’s why prayer works, sometimes, for some people because God is mute and does not give advice or try to fix things but just listens and lets you work it out for yourself. So please listen and just hear me; and, if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn and I’ll listen to you. |
 Tropical Easter Maundy Thursday started grey and overcast. Not too surprising, as Far North Queensland was still in the throws of the 'wet' season with its fierce temperatures, sweltering humidity, violent rainstorms and threatened cyclones. The Easter rituals at Cairns Cathedral were to begin with the Sacrament of Reconciliation followed by a Parish supper on the wide veranda surrounding the Cathedral. The tropical rainstorm started soon after I set out on the 15 minute walk to St Helen's. It was already dark as I slithered through the torrent and sludge, finally dripping my way up the Cathedral steps. Squelching into the confessional box I was surprised to find Bishop James Foley there; his dual role as parish priest vying with the duties of a far-flung Diocese. Soon the informal supper began: plates of aromatic lamb, salads and breads. Australians are welcoming and I soon felt at ease, despite my wet attire. On entering the Cathedral for the Eucharistic service, we were surprised to see the front benches rearranged to form a close, approximate circle. Positioned in between were several chairs, including the Bishop's throne. During the liturgy we queued to wash each other's feet, the longest line forming at the throne, which the young altar servers delighted in occupying. After my drenching, it felt heavenly to have my feet washed. Was Christ, I wondered as appreciative of this symbolic gesture in the heat and dust of Judea? It poured again on Good Friday. In the Cathedral, stripped-down apart from its purple banners, the heat and humidity was almost unbearable in spite of all doors flung wide, and the overhead fans whirling. One of the readers, a tall, Aboriginal lady with a slow, resonant voice, made the testament readings seem fresh and new. The choir chanted unaccompanied as we shuffled down the aisle to kiss the Cross. In a moment of yearning for home, it was a comfort to know that this service would be repeated in ten hours time at St Alban and St Stephen's, the other side of the world. Fitfully, the sun appeared on Easter Saturday but the rain returned for the Vigil. By now I was used to its incessant clatter on the Cathedral's roof and the constant twirl of the fans, which did little to alleviate the fierce heat. The intensely moving Easter Vigil proceeded, and I was struck, not for the first time, by the reverence of the Australians, their fervent participation and enthusiastic singing. A parishioner pointed out an elderly bushman who came into the city for Holy Week to be part of the ceremonies. I doubt he was the only one. At the conclusion, the congregation quietly took their leave. At last, Easter morning; but alas no change in the weather. The Cathedral, full to capacity, was decorated with exotic flowers and tall sheathes of palm branches bedecked pew ends making a triumphant path for the Bishop's procession. The choir sang traditional hymns and was augmented by a group of Torres Strait Islanders accompanying themselves with drums and pipes, adding a new dimension to the liturgy. "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" was sung with great fervour as the Bishop processed through the ever-open door. The rain had stopped at last: the heat already drying out the ground. Bishop James greeted his congregation, adding a word of apology to visitors for the lack of air-conditioning. "Come next year" he said "We'll have it then". But in spite of the discomfort, I was rather glad that my tropical Easter had happened this way, storms, humid heat, rain and all. Rosemary Traynor
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Pilgrimage for my Father
We decided to join
the pilgrimage that Nicholas Breakspear School had arranged to Rome for Governors,
teachers, and parents of pupils at the School to coincide with its Fortieth
Anniversary, because the itinerary was so inviting. We would be following
in the footsteps of the man who became the only English Pope, Adrian IV,
who left Hertfordshire and travelled to Rome 800 years ago, in a much more
primitive way than our mode of transport!There was another more personal reason I needed to go to Italy – my father was there during the war. He always spoke fondly of the country, its ancient architecture, and its historic monuments, particularly in Rome, and he longed to return to see it all again in peacetime. Unfortunately he died never fulfilling his greatest dream. He was an unbeliever, he maintained that none of us knew what would happen to us when we die, and as he said, our finite minds would never be able to understand the infinite. After he died I found a note that he had written, which read “All my life I have been searching for something to believe in, and I envy anyone who has found it”. I just had to go and search on his behalf, and I had a feeling I would find it in Italy. We arrived on Saturday evening, and on Sunday we attended Mass at the English College. Afterwards we walked down to St. Peter’s Square, and on to the Coliseum and the Forum. The architecture, statues, and piazzas were beautiful in the noonday sun. Unfortunately that afternoon, whilst on the bus, my husband was “pick-pocketed” and all our money and credit cards were stolen, so we spent the rest of the trip borrowing from our friends. The next day we visited the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. The paintings were magnificent, even if the subject matter was depressing at times. In the afternoon we were shown around St. Peters, where we were lucky enough to be allowed to go down to the crypt to see the tomb of Pope Adrian IV, Nicholas Breakspear himself, where we spent a few moments in quiet prayer. This was the main purpose of making this pilgrimage, and we were so pleased that we had managed to fulfil it. On Tuesday we travelled by coach to Assisi, a town around one hundred miles from Rome. After visiting the basilica, St. Mary of the Angels, we went up to the basilica on the hill in Assisi, where Father Manus said Mass for us, in the beautiful Chapel of St. Catherine. During Mass, as I thought about my father, it suddenly came to me in a flash where I would find the answers to my questions. Not in the past, with its cold white statues and grand cathedrals, not in the present, here right now in this lovely chapel in Assisi, but in the future, in generations yet to come. Dad once said that he believed our spirits lived on in our children, and now suddenly I knew what he meant. Not in reincarnation, but in a much less tangible way, in a way that our finite minds would never be able to understand. I didn’t want to leave Assisi, it was so beautiful. I had come on a personal quest, and as I watched the sunset over the Basilica down in the valley, I thanked God that my search had not been in vain.
When we celebrated our final Mass before returning home, Father Manus said that just like us, Nicholas Breakspear had travelled from Hertfordshire to Rome, and just like some of us, had encountered thieves and robbers. The thought was strangely comforting!
Wendy Lewis |
| The MSC Mission to Russia
There are only two missionaries of the Sacred Heart working in Russia. Father Con Doherty and Father Stephen Rogers. While Father Con was on holiday at the end of last year, his colleague Father Stephen had a terrifying experience which made headlines in The Universe.
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Mission Belize: A Typical Day
Dominic’s day starts with 6am Mass. Sometimes he is lucky and has marmalade for breakfast. Along with honey and cream crackers, marmalade is one of the favourites of the Claretians in Belize but they only occasionally appear in the shops even in the capital. On a quiet day he can stay for community prayers at 7.30 before setting off for his day. The parish is 80 miles long and 30 miles wide; roads, where they exist, are mostly dirt tracks where you either go down a hole or hit a rock straight ahead of you, cambers will be adverse if they have been thought of. During the day he will visit at least three villages each speaking a different language. He will say Mass, talk to the catechists, hear the concerns of the catechists and call in at the school perhaps taking a class. Training and discussion about the liturgy is very important in a country where understanding of the faith is limited. The people’s sense of self worth and self-esteem is low. They themselves say they cannot be trusted and that they need to be treated with care. One morning a visiting nun told the priests that she would be praying for the team, that she knew how difficult it was to work there. ‘You must love the people here, but be careful and don’t trust them because they will steal everything and they will turn on you; like they did with the priests that they killed years ago with machetes out on the Cayes.’ As Fr Paul Smyth says who went out on a visit to them just before Christmas –‘an ominous warning and yet it does reflect the reality facing the team working in Belize. It is clear that the approach that the missionary team is taking of trying to motivate and empower the people to take responsibility for their own growth and the projects they wish to develop is not popular. Money is no longer being handed out as in the past. This does not make them the most popular of people but it is challenging the people of the parish to recognize a different type of church which is not paternalistic in the utter dependence upon Father as has apparently marked the vision of the church that has previously prevailed.’ Resources are still required but they are seldom of the type that provides a ‘Kodak moment the givers like to see! Such money is needed for: an assistant to help Fr Chris Newman better manage the150 teachers, 4,500 pupils and 13 schools, new roofs for schools and churches, chairs and desks, church furniture, books and office equipment to make more resources. At midday Dominic will hope to be able to take a break and rest from the heat before carrying on to the next village. Darkness comes early round five but there is still work to be done. Churches differ from the pew-less, window-less, door-less, candle-lit, to the Sacred Heart Church with windows and doors, rotting pews, crumbling altar and electricity. Much of the damage is done to buildings and furnishings in Belize by termites which, although less than a millimetre in size, eat all woods except mahogany and even devour concrete. When concrete piles are attacked this causes the metal to corrode quickly. With luck Dominic will reach home by 10pm. Home is the upper level of a two storey building. It has three bedrooms and a kitchen/dining/sitting room area off a four foot corridor which has a couple of hammocks and a washing line. They have done much to improve the house but it won’t be much longer before it falls victim to the weather conditions and the termites. Downstairs there is a parish office and a storeroom. Extensive damage has been done to the house through a succession of robberies so that besides the losses the screens and windows are so damaged that they allow the breezes and mosquitoes in, and don’t keep night noises out. Please pray for Fathers Dominic McDonagh, Conn Doherty, Stephen Rogers, and all missionaries. Bryan McDonagh
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A Saint for All, Past and FutureIn the never-ending discussion about the reformation, that sometimes brings us close to the protestant churches and sometimes takes us away there are still those who would claim that the gift of protestantism to the newly enlightened world was spirituality. This can be understood in a whole variety of ways, but chiefly it is taken to mean that the early modern Christian was taught to look inward; to discover his or her soul; to know and repent of his or her sinfulness and find the joy of forgiveness through the loving attention of a personal redeemer. Who could describe that better than George Herbert in his well-known poem; that begins: Love bad me welcome/ but my soul drew back/ Guilty of dust and sin/ But quick-eyed love . - the gentle affection that subsists between the humble Christian and his human God.. So it might seem a far cry to invite you to go back quite a few centuries to look at something written by St Anselm. Anselm was born in France but came to England in 1093 and almost from the moment he touched English soil he was fighting with the king William to gain ecclesiastical freedom from royal control. By 1097 he had to conduct the battle from exile, and eventually achieved - with William’s son Rufus - much of what he set out to do. His legacy was not only in the field of ecclesiastical diplomacy. He was a theologian who brought thought into notions like the nature and origin of the soul. Yet for all his practical and theoretical engagement he knew as well as any suppliant 500 years later that he should seek and hope to find the living responsive person of his God. In words that are reminiscent of Herbert he wrote a long plea to God: Once I have sighed give me something to eat. Lord, turned in to myself as I am I can only look down, so raise me up so that I can look up. "My iniquities heaped on my head" cover me over and weigh me down "like a heavy load" (Ps. 37:5). Dig me out and set me free before "the pit" created by them "shuts its jaws over me" (Ps. 67:16).Let me see your light, even if I see it from afar or from the depths. Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to this seeker. For I cannot seek you unless you teach me how, nor can I find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in desiring you, and desire you in seeking you. Let me find you in loving you and love you in finding you. And then there is his great prayer to God, which paradoxically seems to describe a man who is there where he seeks to be, even while he struggles for the assurance that he is. Defining the needs of his soul is his way of discovering his faith; In describing the gulf that appears to separate him from God, his words make a bridge over it. Come on then, my Lord God, teach my heart where and how to seek you, where and how to find you. Lord, if you are not here, where shall I find you? If, however, you are everywhere, why do I not see you here? But certainly you dwell in inaccessible light. And where is that inaccessible light? Or how do I reach it? Or who will lead me to it and into it, so that I can see you in it? And then by what signs, under what face shall I seek you? I have never seen you, my Lord God, or known your face. What shall I do, Highest Lord, what shall this exile do, banished far from you as he is? What should your servant do, desperate as he is for your love yet cast away from your face? He longs to see you, and yet your face is too far away from him. He wants to come to you, and yet your dwelling place is unreachable. He yearns to discover you, and he does not know where you are. He craves to seek you, and does not know how to recognize you. Lord, you are my Lord and my God, and I have never seen you. You have made me and nurtured me, given me every good thing I have ever received, and I still do not know you. I was created for the purpose of seeing you, and I still have not done the thing I was made to do. Let me see your light, even if I see it from afar or from the depths. Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to this seeker. For I cannot seek you unless you teach me how, nor can I find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in desiring you, and desire you in seeking you. Let me find you in loving you and love you in finding you. I acknowledge, Lord, and I give thanks that you have created in me this your image, so that I can remember you, think about you and love you. But it is so worn away by sins, so smudged over by the smoke of sins, that it cannot do what it was created to do unless you renew and reform it. I do not even try, Lord, to rise up to your heights, because my intellect does not measure up to that task; but I do want to understand in some small measure your truth, which my heart believes in and loved. Nor do I seek to understand so that I can believe, but rather I believe so that I can understand. For I believe this too, that "unless I believe I shall not understand" (Isa. 7:9). Eric Harber
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 Parishioners star in Catholic Video Series
Hertfordshire may not be Hollywood, but right now it’s at the heart of the UK’s Catholic video production. Catholic Evangelisation Services is based at the Pastoral Centre, London Colney. It is a small charity but with a big output – getting on for a million people world wide have taken part in CaFE (Catholic Faith Exploration) courses. Not only has our parish run CaFE courses, such as Knowing God Better (KGB) and Exploring the Catholic Church, but a number of parishioners can be seen in the crowd shots of these videos. But the parish’s latest video star is one of our youngest parishioners. When Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham commissioned a video series on baptism, Katie Weaver came along at just the right time to take the star part. The video explains the good news of our faith in a simple and accessible way, through the rite of baptism. Words of wisdom from Archbishop Vincent and testimony from David Payne are intermixed with shots from a mock baptism, staged for the cameras one week after Katie’s real baptism at Marshalswick. Steve and Anne Weaver share about their hopes and fears, as do various Birmingham parishioners. But the real show-stealers are primary school children whose comments to camera have left the production team in stitches! The parish has also helped give birth to and piloted the much sought after youth project, Youth CaFE. Fr Manus persuaded Catholic Evangelisation Services do a low budget pilot youth project. And so it was that Matt Robinson and Lizzy Wright ran a series for 13 to 15 years old in the parish hall using prototype video material and activities put together by Catholic Evangelisation Services. A great time was had by all, and lessons were learned. Across the country from here to the Wirral, came the same response – great idea, but more work was needed on the videos! They weren’t quite up to the cutting edge, fast moving standard that youth expect from their exposure to mainstream TV. The message was good, but the packaging and presentation needed a boost. This tied in with the Pope’s call to use modern media and relate teaching to youth culture. After much thought and some significant expenditure, a “trail” of a possible new series was produced. This time the response was quite different. Youth were “wowed” and youth leaders across the country rallied to give enthusiastic support. The big question now is: can Catholic Evangelisation Services raise the money required to raise the production game and employ staff to follow it through and get it taken up effectively in parishes across the world? That calls for a cool £115,000. The money’s coming in, but as I write they’re only half way there, but hope that, out there, there are generous individuals, charitable organisations and parishes that believe in investing in Catholic youth. If you have broadband you can see the Youth CaFE trail at www.faithcafe.org If you know someone who could help financially, you can ask for a copy of the video on 01727 823 803. You may well find the phone answered by parishioner Krystyna Berners-Lee. Also in the pipeline, and coming, hopefully, to this parish near you is KGB II (Knowing God Better II). This is a four week top up to the highly acclaimed, fun yet challenging KGB. Again this will be filmed locally, so who knows who you might see in a crowd shot somewhere. Peter Berners-Lee
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 Open Meeting with The Bishop
The Open Meeting held by Bishop O’ Brien at SS Alban & Stephen Parish Hall on Sunday 9 February 2004 was attended by nearly 50 parishioners. Speaking without notes the Bishop gave a report back to the parish on some of the main themes occupying the Diocese. He started by reminding us of the role of the Bishop as a Pastor of a group of Parishes and as a link between those Parishes and the Universal Church. That link was particularly in mind given the recent “Ad Linima” visit to Rome by the Diocesan Bishops. This is a five yearly visit to give the Pope an update on the Diocese, it coincided with the canonisation of Mother Teresa and the Pope’s Silver Jubilee as Bishop of Rome. Bishop O’Brien was keen to stress some of the global trends and how these complemented our own local experience (in the case of continued progress on Ecumenism, especially with the Orthodox Church) and contrasted with the English Church (a global growth in the number of priestly vocations compared to a much lower rate in Great Britain). Moving on to the Diocese the Bishop was very positive about the impact of At Your Word Lord in re-energising Parishes and building stronger communities. Having noted first that our struggle to live Christian lives is a lot easier than that of the early Christians persecuted by the Roman Empire, he went on to outline four areas of concern for the Diocese:
The Bishop wanted us to know that the Diocesan finances were sound and that the Financial Report was available for review by any parishioner. For the first time the Diocese has just appointed several lay people to the Board of Trustees for the Diocese. He concluded by noting that the shortage of priests in Westminster had been offset by conversions of Anglican clergy and priests returning from missionary work but that this was unlikely to continue and this would place more importance on initiatives such as the Permanent Deaconite. The Bishop’s report was followed by a question and answer session Our Call to Mission: Bishop O’Brien stressed Evangelisation as a core part of the Church and quoted Pope Paul VI to define it as “bringing the standards of the gospel to every person and every structure in society”. This encompasses creating a loving home life with mutual respect between siblings to striving for justice within the our working lives, for example if we work for multinationals then seeking better trading terms for the third world with these companies. Pastoral Care of Priests: The Bishop acknowledges that care for Priests was a growing issue. In addition to implementing the Nolan Report on Child Protection the Diocese is seeking build better support networks for its Priests. Developing a Youth Strategy: The Bishop noted that the strains caused by a young person’s desire for independence are part of God’s plan and to this extent should be accepted. He commented on the Baptist Church’s experience of using “loving communities” and “experiences” as a means of developing the faith of young people. He agreed that links to the Chaplaincy at Herts University may identify some role models for young people in our parish and noted a comment from one Parishioner about the allocation of resources for 20–30 year olds vs Secondary education. The issue of a specific youth minister was raised but he advised caution before going down this route. The “Common Good”: This document was produced by the Bishops of England & Wales several years ago. The Bishop agreed that it should be revived and could be a useful basis for discussion in our Parish Small Communities, between the AYWL seasons for examples. Pre Baptism Classes: The Bishop agreed that classes such as this were a key opportunity to bring Catholics who don’t regularly attend Mass back into the church. This reflected a need to give more support for the whole span of family life through the liturgy and parish organisations. Some parishes have an effective network of local house groups to provide mutual support and AYWL could be a stepping stone towards this.
Richard Exact
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 Why I like to attend the Marshalswick Mass CentreI have attended Marshalswick Mass Centre most Sundays for about 14 years and love going to Mass there. Why? To an occasional visitor it would probably seem strange that one could love attending there. Unless one arrives about 15 minutes early one sits on the infant chairs, knees tucked under chin and a long way down from standing to sitting, a drop which becomes more noticeable with the passing years. Numbers attending are unpredictable. In summer or on feasts the numbers swell so that latecomers spend the first 10 minutes or so hunting for extra chairs in the hall and for spaces to slot into. One is generally uncomfortably close to one’s neighbour, very noticeable on a wet day. So why do I love it? Mass at Marshalswick almost invariably regenerates my fairly low spiritual batteries regardless of who has said the Mass or provided music. I feel uplifted each Sunday in a way I do not generally experience at Church. I can only think the Holy Spirit is working in our community. I believe this is because of a combination of factors. Because we have to prepare the room, altar, music, flowers for the day this tends to involve a surprisingly large number of participants creating a sense of the community putting the Mass together – ‘owning it’- in a way which cannot happen to the same extent in a Church. The priest is physically close to the congregation and this creates an intimacy which is lacking in most churches. This works in two ways – the priest can perhaps be a little more relaxed; we can respond more quickly to his comments. The music, I think, is a particular feature. There are five groups; each provides music once every five weeks. They range from playing quite up to date exciting modern hymns, to folk and traditional hymns. There are a range of musicians from about 7 years old to (well, not in the first flush of youth). Instruments include piano, drums, cellos, oboe, flute, bass clarinet, violin, recorder and guitars. In short there is something for everyone in the music played. Again, I feel this epitomises the sense of community. 
Many of those attending have small children under five. We started attending
regularly when our daughter was two, because we felt there was a slightly
more relaxed attitude to the disruption some small children can create, and
it was easy to move out to the hall if necessary without having to take the
long walk required at the church. The school was, obviously, a child friendly
place with lots of stimulating, attractive posters, usually on a religious
theme. Both the building and congregation were welcoming. As our daughter
started school we found many of her classmates also attended this Mass and
we hoped that regular attendance would help build and maintain friendships.
As she has got older the Mass centre has been a base for participation in
other activities: music, The Voice. The young people also use the field in
summer to play football after Mass – I am sure this must help the boys in
particular to bond. Then there are the older retired people. They attend very regularly and have been coming for years. The Centre is within walking distance even for some quite infirm people. Many of these could not easily get to the main Church on Sundays. There is a real sense that the Centre is part of this group’s life. Many of these people have sent their children to St. John Fisher School; and know many of the young parents now attending . 
People stay after Mass to talk and ideas develop. Recently, a wonderful library
was put together and made available every Sunday; The Voice youth group,
started about two years ago has made an important contribution to the spiritual
life of the centre with their physical participation as a group in the Mass,
and also with the lovely banner, altar cloth and Advent wreath they have
contributed to the Centre.As with any group, there are irritations, but precisely because it is so small and because one is friendly with various people across different networks, I find myself being more tolerant than I might be with a more anonymous group. I am also aware there are omissions in this account. I have not for example touched on the spiritual gifts delivered by the post Mass coffee; I also feel there is a homogeneity which is unattractive unlike the sense of real differences one is aware of in the main church, an important aspect of community which is missing at Marshalswick. For me, however, the Mass centre resonates with the sense that we are part of the historic church: the disciples in the upper room, the early church communities to whom Saint Paul wrote, the house masses during the persecutions, the Mass rocks in Ireland, the difficult start to our parish in a room in the White Hart Inn. I know this is fanciful, we are not persecuted, but there is something about meeting with like minded people to worship God in the middle of a sea of indifference and affluence which is inspiring |
 Hospital Chaplaincy Service
Because of the decreasing number of priests, full time Catholic lay chaplains are being appointed to hospitals. Mrs Lynn Bassett has recently been appointed to Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Mount Vernon and St Albans. She may also help you to find a priest in an emergency. Her number is 01727 897254 or via a pager through the hospital switchboard. Priests will still visit. Their special role is to administer the Sacraments when necessary. Eucharistic ministers will continue to bring Holy Communion to Catholic patients. In case of emergency the priests to be contacted are for St Albans Father Jerry or any priest available on 853585. Father John Byrne should be contacted for Hemel Hempstead on 01442 26 4669, Father Paul for Watford on 01923 224085 and Father Jim Duffy for Mount Vernon on 07885 670483. There is Mass in the chapel at Hemel Hempstead on Tuesdays at 1pm. |
 Meet the Parishioners
One of the aims of New Beacon is to help people know more about the people, groups and activities in the parish. We asked if you'd mind answering some questions about yourself. The idea being that we can have a page telling people about people in a light-hearted and readable way. The response was fantastic - here are just a couple!
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 Children's Corner
A mixture of questions about God and general knowledge. The answer to each of these questions is either True or False. Can you do them all? Just for fun!!! (Answers next issue) 1. A fish can fly. ______________ 2. A dog has 4 legs. ____________ 3. We must eat or we will die. _________ 4. God is bad. ________ 5. The moon is made of cheese. ________ 6. Jesus is God. __________ 7. Jesus is man. ___________ 8. Milk comes from birds. ___________ 9. Paper is made from wood. __________ 10. It doesn’t matter if we do bad things. __________ 11. God only loves good people. __________ 12. The number after 3 is 4. _______________ 13. There is no God. ________________ 14. If you drink poison you will die. ___________ 15. Black is the same as white. _______________ 16. Jesus died on a cross. _____________ 17. Jesus’ body is now a skeleton. _____________ 18. Joseph was a bricklayer ______________ 19. Babies can talk when they are born. ___________ 20. Mary is the mother of God. ______________ 21. Angels have bodies like men. _____________ 22. God is one person. __________ 23. Snow is white. ___________ 24. The sun goes round the earth. _________ 25. The world goes around the sun. ________ 26. Adam and Eve were the first two people. _________ 27. Mary’s body is in heaven. __________ 28. Water is made of nitrogen and oxygen. _____ 29. Air is made of nitrogen and oxygen. ________ 30. Heaven will never end. _________ |
On Wednesday at breakfast,
our leader, Barry, told us that we had been chosen to make a presentation
to the Pope during his audience that morning. It was really good to be whisked
past all the waiting crowds, and after numerous security checks by the Swiss
guards, we were led into the huge auditorium where the audience was to be
held. The atmosphere was electric as the Pope was wheeled onto the podium
and made his speech, and he gave us a wave when the name of our school was
read out. When the audience was over, we were led up to the podium, and Father
Manus went forward to kiss the Pope’s ring and receive his blessing. I will
never forget the look of complete happiness on Manus’ face, and I realised
then what my father had meant when he said “Happiness is the most important
thing in life”. The Pope looked like a lovely old grandfather, and I noticed
he was wearing a hearing aid just like my mother’s. We all wanted to give
him a big hug! Walking out into the sunshine again of St. Peter’s Square,
we were euphoric, especially Father Manus. Had we really been that close
to the Pope? What a truly memorable experience!
Russian knife attack can’t stop hero priest
Also,
during the Bishop's visit, Des Coyle was awarded the Gold Medal of the Archconfraternity
of St Stephen in recognition of 50 years' altar serving. The Bishop
made the presentation to Des at the 12 O'clock Mass.
Name? Stan Grabecki