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A New Year’s Message from Fr John

Christmas is gone and now we look forward to the new Year. However, please remember that for us Christians the Christmas season extends to the Feast of the Epiphany. On that day we place the three Kings in our cribs at the feet of the new born babe. Visitors to St. Peter’s in Rome will often be surprised when they see the crib still in the Square as late as February; it remains there until the Feast of the Presentation, 2^nd February.

I know that some of our parishioners will be glad to see the end of 2011, as it was for them an ‘annus horribilis’.  As I look back on 2011 it was for me, by contrast, a year of happy memories, especially my 6 months in Malawi and then my arrival here in August as Parish Priest. My ‘annus horribilis’ was the year before, 2010, when two of my siblings died of cancer. I took a year out of the Order to be with them at my sister’s house in Norwich, and together we looked after them until they died 6 months apart. It was the hardest 12 months of my life but I do believe it has helped me to become a better priest, at least, now I understand better the suffering of others.

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