By FATHER MARK WHARTON

There are very few words to describe my Ordination into the Priesthood on 1 October. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for your love and support and joy.

By DEACON BARRY MELLISH Deacon Aidan and I are privileged to be part-time Honorary Chaplains working at the PRUH. What does a Hospital Chaplain do? The chaplain is there to provide a listening ear, emotional support and spiritual support to patients, relatives and friends, and hospital staff. We provide support during a crisis, as well…

By DEACON BARRY MELLISH

There are people who talk all the time – or perhaps it just seems that way! We could be one of them and not realise it. Perhaps it is our personality or we are so full of ideas that we cannot wait to explain them all. Or perhaps it is our ego: what we say must be more important than whatever anyone else has to say so they never get a word in edgeways. It takes all sorts to make the world! But there is a lesson to be learned from this and it affects us all. 

By DEACON BARRY MELLISH

Time spent at home during lockdown seems an excellent opportunity to catch up with some modern or contemporary spiritual authors and their books. The problem is how to get hold of these if all the local libraries are shut.

The Open Library seems to offer a way forward, if you are happy to read or browse text on a computer, tablet or maybe even mobile phone.

Fr MATTHEW KWAGHTAVER

It was Thanksgiving season in the nursing home. The small resident population gathered around their humble Thanksgiving table, and the director of the home asked each in turn to express one thing for which he or she was thankful for. “Thanks” were expressed for a home in which to stay, families, friends, etc. One old lady, when her turn came, she said, “I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth left in my mouth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw. They match so well that I can chew my food.” The psalmist says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” (Ps.92:1). 

By Deacon AIDAN McPARTLAN

I wonder how many stories have been told or films made about buried treasure? You know the sort of thing. A clue is found that sets the ball rolling and we quickly discover the lengths that people will go to revealing the greedy instincts, of human nature, hiding just below the surface. 

By Deacon BARRY MELLISH 

The following was sent to me by a friend who is a priest. It relates to the current tribulations that we are all facing. It is in the form of short statements that give us – or least me – something to think about. The last line is a great summary: God is nudging us in our current predicament to focus on who and what is important, inviting us to be creatively present to others and to ourselves. Real Presence.

The question may strike you as irreverent. How dare I suggest that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, Tower of David, and all the other titles, could have left us in the lurch like that? But what if she had?

O holy angel at my side Go to the church for me Kneel in my place at Holy Mass Where I desire to be.  At offertory, in my stead Take all I am and own And place it as a sacrifice Upon the altar throne. At holy consecration bell Adore with seraph’s love My Jesus…