Dear Parishioners of Our Lady’s, St Anne’s and St Jerome’s.
‘Gone before us marked with the sign of faith’
Today, our Nation marks Remembrance Sunday. Traditionally, it is a time of grateful remembrance of those who gave their lives in two world wars. In recent years, it has been expanded for many as a remembrance of all those who have died in war.
We can never take our freedoms lightly. Huge numbers of people gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. We remember them and we owe them a debt that can never be repaid. Let us pause, at least for a few moments today, to pray for them and reflect on their sacrifice. The poignant image of the Queen, standing at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, wearing her face covering, is surely a moment in which we all want to share.
The Church dedicates the whole month of November to prayer for those who have died. Death is a great Mystery, one in which we will all share. Yet the heart of our Faith speaks of the Love that overcame death. What does this mean? Surely death is as real as it ever was? Certainly. But it’s eternal and unending hold over every human being has been shattered and destroyed, once and for all, by the Death and Resurrection of Christ. This is the greatest Mystery of all. Love has overcome. Those who love can know God and dwell with Him safely, far from the clutches of death.
Let us not forget to pray for each and every one of our loved ones, by name, in these days of November. Asking our Father God that He receive each and every one into the joy and light of His healing and saving embrace.
God bless you all,
Father John