Newsletter_Jan9

“I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him.” What does it mean to be “baptised in the Holy Spirit”?

Well, if you ask a theologian, he’ll tell you that is just simply what it is to be a Christian – to have one’s entire life imbued with the Holy Spirit – to have the Holy Spirit live within you and work through you throughout your life to build God’s Kingdom in this world. That is what makes you God’s person in the world. That is what makes you a Christian. But, to be honest, I would have to admit that sometimes I find it quite difficult to see how all of that actually happens just as a result of pouring a little water on a baby’s head.

Well, a few years ago, on the evening of New Year’s Day, I was just settling down to watch the cricket on the television – and I have to tell you I am a serious cricket fan - nothing, absolutely nothing, gets in front of the cricket - when there came a knock on the door. The postman, they say, always rings twice; desperate people always knock three times.

It was a man who wanted to see a priest and, well… No, it couldn’t wait, it really did have to be right now. So I listened to him. And this is what he told me:

“My sister is in hospital. She’s really sick. We think she is dying. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her but they think it’s cancer. To be honest, Father she’s not a catholic and she isn’t normally very religious. In fact, none of the family is really. She was baptised as a child and she’s always been a good woman, but she’s never really been involved in any church. But she never forgot that she was baptised and that she was a Christian.

And now, she thinks she’s dying. So she asked us to find a priest or a minister – or someone – to come and pray with her. I’ve been round all the churches in the city, but it’s New Year’s Day and they’re all shut – this is the first place I’ve got an answer at the door. Will you come?”

Well, when you put it like that, I have to admit that, for once, even the cricket seemed a bit less important. So, we went together and found her – very sick, but still just about able to respond. I anointed her – you don’t have to be a Catholic to be anointed (not a lot of people know that) – and said the Rosary with her and her family. And after that, she fell asleep.

And it seemed to me that this was someone who had been baptised - someone in whom the grace of baptism had very clearly been at work throughout her life. Even in a very hidden and unrecognised way, the Holy Spirit had been at work in her throughout her life, building her faith, her relationships, her family, her love – making her God’s person in the world – making her a Christian.

And at the end of her life – when she most needed it – she had been blessed with the Holy Spirit: she had found her peace with her friends and family, with the Church and with God,

And I came away from her bedside with a promise to myself that I would never – ever – ever again - underestimate the power, the gift, the grace of baptism.

That is the gift that we have all received. That is the responsibility that we have all undertaken. That is the baptism with which we have all been reborn.

Let us pray that we too may live up to the promises of our baptism; that we too may be God’s people in the world; and that we too may be Christians worthy of the name.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) will be holding its annual appeal TODAY. In common with the Catholic Church, SPUC defends and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception until natural death. The Society’s work covers a wide spectrum of issues. It seeks to protect unborn children from abortion and defends the disabled, elderly and incapacitated from euthanasia and assisted suicide. SPUC also provides trained speakers for schools and offers pro-life support for teachers, parents and medical professionals. In this, as in many life issues, the Catholic Church is the voice of conscience for the world. Please give generously to this worthy cause.

Children’s Liturgy of the Word resumes TODAY, and preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation also resumes TODAY after the family Mass and the 11am Mass respectively.

Do you have good public speaking skills and want to help tackle poverty and injustice? CAFOD needs volunteers to speak in parishes & schools about its work in the developing world. For further information or to book a place on the next "Understanding CAFOD" training day on SATURDAY 22nd JANUARY, e-mail westminster@cafod.org.uk or call 0208 449 6970.

Do you want to reach out to your young adult community? Calling priests, catechists, catechetical coordinators, Parish Pastoral Council members, volunteers and Young Adults, all invited. Join us for two lectures and small group discussions, followed by liturgy. Being a Young Catholic Today by Nelle Carty M.Div. (USA) & Making Sense: Reaching out to Young Adults by Paula Jordao (Verbum Dei Community). This conference is on JANUARY 29th, 10am - 4.30pm at St Agnes’ Catholic Church, 35 Cricklewood Lane, London, NW2 1HR. Ample parking, close to train and bus services. Suggested donation £5. Please bring your own packed lunch. Registration: ausrakaraliute@rcdow.org.uk or call 0207 931 6078 before JANUARY 25th. See www.rcdow.org.uk/evangelisation.

“After three months without Farm Street, I am really happy to be back with you all and look forward to renewing the many friendships among you. I can see that many improvements have been made while I was away and it gives me great pleasure to see what has been done in the last three months. In Rome our church is always referred to as the Famous Farm Street Church! Thank you so much for the Christmas cards and gifts that were waiting for me on my return. Let’s make 2011 our best year yet. Every blessing to all of you and may we all grow in grace every day!”

FARM STREET FILMS

Our next film will be Doubt (dir. John Shanley, 2008), which we will be showing on THURSDAY JANUARY 13th at 6.45pm. In a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 the relationship of a popular priest, Fr Flynn (played by Philip Hoffman) with a troubled student is questioned by the school’s iron-gloved principal, Sr Aloysius (Meryl Streep). It is a time of political change, and this small community is shaken. There is no evidence. There are no witnesses. But for one person – there is no doubt. Free. All are welcome.

A day of instruction, devotion and intercession, based on the message given at Fatima in 1917 will be held here at Farm Street on SATURDAY 22nd JANUARY from 10am to 4.15pm. This will probably be our only Day With Mary for 2011, so do make an effort to join us. You can come and go at any time and there is opportunity for confessions. Mass is at 11am ands exposition in the afternoon finishes by a sermon at 4:15pm by Fr William.

Former Anglican Bishops John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton will be ordained to the priesthood at Westminster Cathedral on SATURDAY JANUARY 15th at 10.30am. This is an historic occasion as the Ordinariate envisaged in the Holy Father’s Apostolic Decree Anglicanorum Coetibus, will be established and initiated in the United Kingdom. All are welcome to attend.

Archbishop Vincent invites you to join him on the first Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, 3-11 NOVEMBER 2011. During the pilgrimage you will stay in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Galilee and show your support for the local Christian communities. The cost is £1480 per person for 2 sharing a room. Places are limited so ask for a booking form asap. Booking forms can be obtained directly from Gerald Daly at geralddaly@rcdow.org.uk or tel: 0207 798 9173. See the poster on the noticeboard.

Please use Gift-Aid envelopes for your donations if you are a UK Tax-payer .

Many people are perplexed by the incidence of famines, wars, refugees, pollution, all of which seem to damage us all and which never seem to end. This course seeks to understand why these evils exist and the responsibility each of us has for them by examining the Judeo-Christian concept of sin as being, so to speak, "the enemy within". We will consider the nature of human beings in relation to sin, its causes and effects, the different understandings of sin since the Reformation, and the impact sin has on our nature leading to the human search to be free of it. Sin is a force to be reckoned with and to which we all contribute. So, this course will provide a means of understanding sin in all its forms so that we may become more aware of its effects without and within and even do something about it.

The Gospel Readings for Year A of the 2011 Liturgical Year are taken from the Gospel of Matthew. These sessions offer an opportunity to study, reflect and pray on key passages of this Gospel. It is hoped that this may help participants to understand the Gospel more deeply and thus enrich their appreciation of its proclamation in the Liturgy of the Word. One suggested way to “pray” the Gospel is the approach known as Ignatian contemplation as found in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

This special event is a preparation for Homelessness Sunday (30 January 2011), and will be suitable for anyone who already works in a paid or voluntary capacity with homeless people, and also for all those who would like to do so. The day will give participants the opportunity to share and reflect upon their experience, in a prayerful setting. It takes as its starting point “contemplation grounded in reality” and together we will explore what it means to be committed to social justice and Gospel values in our daily living and volunteering.

ANXIETY AND THE CHRISTIAN, One-day Workshop presented by Helen Costigane, CHCJ on SATURDAY 15th, 11am to 4:30pm.^.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, One-day Workshop presented by KIT DOLLARD on SATURDAY 22nd, 11am to 4pm.