This weekend we welcome any new friends or visitors who join us in any of our five Masses in our 3 Churches. We are also celebrating Fr Peter Davies’ ordination and first Mass.

Strange that his ordination to the priesthood should occur in a significant anniversary year for myself (40).

Just as strange is the fact that Peter has requested that the money from our collection for him should go towards buying vestments for his future ministry. When I was ordained in St Brigid’s in 1978, I also received a very smart white chasuble as a gift from what was then just St Brigid’s and St Paul’s. I still wear it on a regular basis.

It’s a few years now since I first met Peter, when the Archbishop suggested I met with him on his journey – first into the Catholic Church, then on into the priesthood. It’s been a very blessed journey for me, and I hope maybe for him too. And all of yourselves, the parishioners of our 3 Churches, have played a big part too.

I have a strong awareness of that vital part of our faith that is its “handing on”. More recently I’ve had an equally strong sense of the ongoing fraternity of the priesthood, journeying, like the Church in general, down through the centuries. Hands on heads, hands on heads, hands on heads – right back to apostolic times.

So, a very warm welcome if you are joining us for the first time. Welcome back if you have been to Mass before. We have a lot to share and have been doing it for a long, long time. Just relax, don’t worry about things you may not understand, simply try to open your heart to God, and let Him surround you with His love. We have a lot to “hand on”. Our prayer is that you may find yourself able to receive.

Fr Matthew