They Came and They Saw . . .

We had a very good turnout for the first of our 'Come and See' evenings last night. Mainly our regular parishioners but there were one or two unfamiliar faces dotted around amongst them.

Fr Andrew invited us to look at the idea of ''happiness" as presented to us via the advertising industry. In a very interesting and at times amusing way, he drew our attention to the link, or lack of it, between the secular world's understanding of happiness and that of the religious world and how this has changed throughout history.

His short talk was followed by quite a lengthy question and answer session over tea and biscuits. He obviously gave us plenty to think about.

We look forward to our next 'Come and See' session on Sunday 7th November when Robin Farrow will talk to us about his journey from Anglican Vicar to Catholic layman.

These evenings are open to all Catholics, not just those who may have been distanced from the practice of their faith for a while. Do please come along even if you are not accompanying one of our inactive Catholic friends.

Our Lady, Help of Christians,

Pray for us.

Congratulations Marie!

Congratulations Marie! We do love something to celebrate here at St Ann's and what could be better than a 'special' birthday combined with the presentation of a well-earned Benemerenti medal?

Marie and her family have been parishioners here at St Ann's for many, many years and for quite a few of those years, amongst her other 'jobs' Marie has helped in the sacristy looking after the vestments and altar linen.

As I said after Mass on Sunday, Marie truly is one of our 'unsung heroes'. In all parishes you will find people like her; quietly working away behind the scenes and most parishioners are unaware of the debt we owe them for their tireless effort and commitment to make sure all runs smoothly in their sphere of responsibility.

It was therefore my privilege to present Marie with the Benemerenti medal on Sunday on behalf of the parish.

Marie's family had kindly arranged for a delicious birthday cake to be made and shared with Marie's parish family in the hall after Mass.

Congratulations and our warmest wishes Marie. We hope you had a super birthday.

Banstead Catholics Come Home, 'Come and See' - A little reminder . . .

I hope you all have a big red circle on your calendar around Sunday 24th October, the beginning of our 'Come and See' initiative.

Please do invite someone you know along to our 'Come and See' evenings; to hear speakers talking about their faith and to have a chat with other parishioners in a very informal setting.

I expect many of us know someone who has become distanced from the practice of their faith; a Catholic friend maybe, a Catholic neighbour or even a member of our own family. This is an opportunity to encourage them to 'Come and See'; to reacquaint themselves with their faith in a social setting in the company of friends.

We have been very fortunate in that Fr Andrew Pinsent has kindly agreed to come and talk to us on Sunday 24th October. Fr Pinsent is co-author with Fr Marcus Holden of Evangelium, a multimedia course on the Catholic Faith. He will talk to us about 'What makes us happy?'

On Sunday 7th November we are delighted to welcome Robin Farrow, a former Anglican Vicar recently received into Full Communion with the Catholic Church, who will talk to us about his own faith journey.

We will also be meeting on Sunday 21st November.

Just in case you'd like to refresh your memory, you'll find a few reasons for Coming Back to the Church here and here.

I look forward to welcoming you on . . .

Sunday 24th October

Sunday 7th November

Sunday 21st November

7pm - 8pm: St Ann's Parish Hall, Banstead

Why go to Mass on Sundays . . . ?

Matthew Warner of Fallible Blogma has an excellent article on why we should go to Mass on Sundays. This is a question that I'm often asked by parishioners. Matthew lays out the answer to this age-old question in a clear, very straightforward way in the light of the teaching of the Catholic Church.

If you're not familiar with Matthew's very readable blog (and even if you are) do pop on over and have a look at this post and any others that catch your eye.

October is the month of the Holy Rosary . . .

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

October is the month of the Holy Rosary.

John Paul II said it was his favourite prayer. This prayer to Our Lady is both contemplative and vocal; 'The heart of the Rosary is contemplation.' says John Paul II. Saying the Rosary will bring us peace; one of the ways this happens is that we pray the prayers with the rhythm of our breath and the beat of our our hearts.

In praying the Rosary we can enter into the lives of Jesus and Mary. Mary will always teach us about her Son, and we see Jesus through the eyes of His mother.

Who knows Jesus better than His mother?

As we pray the Rosary during the month of October let us ask Mary to teach us about Jesus.

Our Lady of the Rosary,

pray for us.