Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I remember being at a Mass when today’s gospel was proclaimed. The time came for the priest to say a few words by way of commentary. I have never forgotten what he said. “The miracle” he said, “was not so much Jesus walking on the water, it was the fact that Jesus gets into the boat of our lives with us.”

That really is the miracle that needs to be stated and restated day in, day out.

Those wonderful words addressed to Peter are also addressed to us “Come ye; I am; do not be afraid. I am; the name for God. God is with us. EMMANUEL.

Have a good week.

Fr. Richard

CHANGE

Changes are coming. From the end of October Canon Noonan will become Parish Priest of Shefford and Biggleswade. Father John Danford will become Parish Priest of Leighton of Buzzard and Flitwick. There will be ‘ordinarily’ one Mass on Sunday in Shefford and Flitwick and two Sunday Masses here in Biggleswade. The two Sunday Masses for Biggleswade will be 6:30 pm Saturday and 11.00 am Sunday. To continue to maintain and enhance the fabric of the Parish is vital if the Parish Community is to survive, and survive as a living witness of God’s presence among the people of Biggleswade. Programs of Baptism Preparation, R.C.I.A. and Holy Communion and Confirmation will be worked on between the Parish Priest and the Deacons.

So far maintenance and improvements to the property has been a shared responsibility between me, the Parish Priest, Alban Macdonald, Chris Barker (The Finance Committee), various voluntary gardeners, Michael Brett, Alison and Harry Grundy, Alban Macdonald etc . . .

Lots of people have helped along the way. Carolyn Blake, Rosario DiMarco, the people of the cleaning rota, Flower Ladies, Pat Smyth, John Lang etc.

Sue Lang has been a vital help in setting up the Office.

Maria Leer and Jackie Hardy are kingpins in the catechetical programme.

Maria Bullock, who has been cleaning here for 20 years, both in the house and the church deserves a special thank you for her tremendous help and constancy throughout the years. Maria is our only paid employee; her service to the priest and people have gone far beyond what could be paid for.

Thought has to be given as to how to continue both improving and maintaining the material ’plant’.

Suggestions will be invited at a later date. Please think about providing a present and a future for our community of faith.

Father Richard

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

So many of Jesus’s descriptions of the spiritual life are drawn from nature. Today’s parable of the sower is no exception.

Scattering seed is always going to be a risky business. 100% success is never achieved. I like to think that the seed that germinates and bears fruit, now a hundredfold etc. . . is a priestly people, a people set apart to intercede with Jesus on behalf of a fallen world.

Who knows the power of prayer better than Jesus, who invites us to join Him in pleading for the salvation of the world? Some people will bear fruit a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty…. But bear fruit we will.

Have a good week.

Fr. Richard

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Mankind has wondered through the ages whether or not there is a God, and if there is what he/she is like. Some have even wondered whether this God is accessible – can we be in a relationship?

The Good News is… Jesus Christ. He says that to have seen Him is to have seen the Father, to be in a relationship with Him is to be in a relationship with the Father.

You do not have to have any other qualification for relationship except to be human.

Experiment… come to me all you who labour and are overburdened…

Have a good week.

Fr. Richard

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus sometimes has a fairly shocking way of talking. He is frighteningly confrontational. He puts Himself on a par with God.

Only God could ever say “Unless you prefer Me over and above your father and mother, daughter or son you cannot be worthy of Me.”

What is shock? A jolt, an event that knocks us off the course we are on in life. Shocks, interrupt our usual patterns of behaviour. Shock, any kind of trauma makes us think afresh. If we are lucky it can set us on a path in life that is more rich, vivid and life giving.

JESUS Himself, in a sense is a shock. He is EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US. He is PRINCE OF PEACE reconciling us to the FATHER. He is the PIVOTAL POINT of history, universal and personal.

We speak of time being B.C. or A. D. Those who are in the process of conversion think in similar terms of B.C. and A.D.

Have a good week.

Fr. Richard

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our ability to reflect on the various experiences we undergo in life, our ability to make moral decisions, is something peculiarly human. From age to age, man wonders what life is about. Has it a purpose? What are we about?

We reflect on what is good and what is evil. Into this wondering and reflection, other thoughts enter our minds. Is there something greater than ourselves? Does a God exist? How can we know? It seems to me that the search for meaning in our lives always remains.

When Jesus enters our lives, He becomes our way, our truth and our life. When all other support systems fail, we discover that He is our rock, our stronghold the one who keeps us steadfast and firm.

Have a good week.

Fr. Richard

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Reverence is a funny word that conjures up all sorts of feelings, both reverent and irreverent. Although I may find it hard to explain its meaning, I recognise it when I see it.

For me, John Paul II had a reverent touch whenever he came into contact with people flesh to flesh. It would be hard to not have a sense of your own self worth when you have been touched by him.

When Jesus offers Himself to us in Holy Communion He does so in reverence for us. May we in due time learn to show Him the same respect and reverence.

What we receive from God, may we pass on to others.

Have a good week

Fr Richard

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Reverence is a funny word that conjures up all sorts of feelings, both reverent and irreverent. Although I may find it hard to explain its meaning, I recognise it when I see it.

For me, John Paul II had a reverent touch whenever he came into contact with people flesh to flesh. It would be hard to not have a sense of your own self worth when you have been touched by him.

When Jesus offers Himself to us in Holy Communion He does so in reverence for us. May we in due time learn to show Him the same respect and reverence.

What we receive from God, may we pass on to others.

Have a good week

Fr Richard

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is said that we humans are made in the image and likeness of God. Certainly, if God is a community of persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we can easily see that we as persons are meant to be in a relationship with one another, in order to be fulfilled.

The Holy Spirit will help us to live no longer for ourselves (in a self-centred universe) but for Jesus who proclaims “Love one another as I have loved you”.

This exciting adventure has begun. We need to continue to learn new ways of responding to the call. Build your family, build your Parish Community, build your networks of friendship.

In the words of ‘Pierre Salinger’* our attitude should be: Ask not what others can do for you, but rather what can I do for others?

Have a good week.

Fr. Richard

*Pierre Salinger – script writer for J. F. Kennedy