Our ‘Diocesan Vocations Team’ has launched a special month of prayer for vocations beginning this Sunday. As Catholics, we know that God has a plan for each one of us and has called us by name, through our baptism, to holiness of life. He continues to call out to us each day to be his disciples; some to the married life, some to the single life, some to religious life, and some to the priesthood. In his Message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Leo highlights the importance of daily prayer and cultivating a personal relationship with God:  “We must urgently recommence our vocational ministry and renew our commitment to evangelisation” he said. “In light of this, I invite everyone – in families, parishes and religious communities, as well as bishops, priests, deacons, catechists, educators and all the faithful – to commit themselves more fully to creating conditions that allow this gift to be embraced, nourished, protected and accompanied, so that it may bear abundant fruit. “Only when our surroundings are illumined by living faith, sustained by constant prayer and enriched by fraternal accompaniment can God’s call blossom and mature, becoming a path of happiness and salvation for individuals and for the world. By embarking on the path that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, shows us, we come to know more deeply both ourselves and the God who calls us… “Dear brothers and sisters, dear young people, I encourage you to cultivate your personal relationship with God through daily prayer and meditation on the Word. Pause, listen and entrust yourselves. In this way, the gift of your vocation will mature, bringing you happiness and yielding abundant fruit for the Church and the world.”

Athanasius led a tumultuous but dedicated life of service to the Church. He was the great champion of the faith against the heresy of Arianism, the teaching by Arius that Jesus was not truly divine. The vigour of his writings earned him the title of doctor of the Church. Born of a Christian family in Alexandria, and given a classical education, he became secretary to Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, entered the priesthood and was eventually named bishop himself. His predecessor, Alexander, had always been an outspoken critic of a new movement growing in the East - Arianism.  When he assumed the role of bishop he continued the fight against Arianism. At first, it seemed that the battle would be easily won and that the heresy would be condemned. However, this did not prove to be the case. After the Council of Tyre was called Emperor Constantine exiled Athanasius to northern Gaul. This was to be the first in a series of travels and exiles. Five times Athanasius was exiled for his defence of the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. During one period of his life, he enjoyed ten years of relative peace - reading, writing, and promoting the Christian life along the lines of the monastic ideal to which he was greatly devoted. His dogmatic and historical writings are almost all polemic, directed against every aspect of Arianism.

Today’s reading emphasizes that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the gate for the sheep. For Jesus’ listeners - farmers, ranchers, and others steeped in an agricultural lifestyle - the metaphor was comforting. To us in the 21st century, many of whom have had little, if any, experience with sheep, the metaphor is probably less powerful. The last line becomes especially important, then. “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Whether or not we can imagine our selves as sheep following Jesus, we can focus on his statement that he wants us to enjoy abundant life. What does it mean to have abundant life? It doesn’t mean that God wants us to have an abundance of “things,” which can’t bring fulfilment by themselves. Abundant life as Jesus preached about it means a life of joy, fulfilment, love, and freedom from want. Jesus wants us to have life in its fullness, here and now, not just after we die. Unfortunately, some of us were raised to believe that a life of discipleship dooms us to a life of deprivation, boredom, and no fun. We might think, consciously or not, that we deserve punishment or that we must work to earn God’s love. Or we might assume that we just have to accept this life of drudgery to get to heaven (abundance) in the next life. Yet so many of Jesus’ teachings and his behaviour pointed to the fact that he wants us to have the fullness of life now, not only in the future. He wanted to see people cured of their illnesses, freed from the injustices that kept the poor and the outcasts excluded from the community. He wanted people to celebrate rather than mourn. If we listen for Jesus’ voice, we can distinguish it from the voice of others in our world because Jesus’ voice will lead to a more abundant life for us. If some voice (of a family member, peer, advertising, etc.) leaves us feeling insecure, inadequate, fearful, or anxious, that is not the voice of our shepherd. Jesus’ voice always leads to a more profound peace, joy, comfort, and strength. Questions of the week  Share about a time when you have followed an invitation that you felt was from Jesus. How did you know the “voice” was from God?  Describe a time when you went astray by following another shepherd who didn’t care for you as a good shepherd cares for his sheep How did you realize you went astray? How did you find your way back to God’s path for you?

As we prepare for coming of Pentecost this year the Epsom Deanery will be holding an extended time of prayer for 24 hours. The event will take place in St Joseph's Church, Epsom, KT18 7JQ commencing with 10.00 Mass on Friday 22nd May and concluding with Mass at 10.00 Saturday 23rd May . This is a graced moment for us all to gather in prayer around the Lord in the Eucharist - to pray, to adore, to be silent, and to hold the brokenness of our world before the healing presence of Christ. The event will be divided into 1 hour slots to which parishioners from all across the Deanery are invited to commit to coming to the church and spending 1 hour in prayer. We need at least two people to commit to each hour (so that is a minimum of 48 people across the Deanery). If you are unable to offer an hour you can come at any time for as long or short a time as you can manage during the 24 hour period - and of course more than two people can sign up for any particular hour. Those who are sick or housebound and unable to attend are invited to send their prayer intentions (in writing and in good time) via their local Parish Office and these will be placed before the Blessed Sacrament. There will also be opportunities to pray the Rosary, celebrate Reconciliation, and join in communal prayer at specific times (more information to follow). Sign-Up Sheets will be available in all the Epsom Deanery Churches from next weekend (25 th & 26 th April). For those who would like to attend but do not have transport, it is hoped to coordinate lift-sharing through the Parish Offices of the church where you are registered. Once we have a clearer picture of who may require assistance and who is able to offer a lift, we can try to make the necessary arrangements. As St Theresa of Avila said in the 16th Century, 'the world is on fire' - how much more so today. May the Lord bless all our efforts and desires to bring His Peace into the world. Fr Simon Hall, Epsom, on behalf of the Deanery

MASS FOR JUBILARIAN PRIESTS OF THE DIOCESE - 28 May, 12.00 , Arundel Cathedral.  Join the priests of our Diocese who are celebrating 25, 40, 50 and 60 years of priestly ordination, to give thanks for their years of service at this special Mass in Arundel Cathedral. All are welcome.

11.00 SUNDAY MASS COFFEE Rota Currently we are looking for parishioners (especially those who use the 11.00 coffee session) to consider becoming new members of the Coffee Rota (like any rota, the greater the number of volunteers the less often the same names crop up). This role is ideal for younger families to take part in as well as others (married or single).

CORPUS CHRISTI CARPET OF FLOWERS - 3-4 June, Arundel Cathedral.  Experience Arundel’s beautiful Carpet of Flowers, celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi. View the carpet 09.30 - 19.00 (Weds) and 09.30 - 17.30 (Thurs). Mass, followed by a procession to Arundel Castle, begins at 17.30 on Thursday. All are welcome.

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Once again a busy week in and around The Presbytery, with the last schools going back after their Easter holidays, and Confirmation looming up quickly . . . . . . On Monday morning Fr D celebrated Mass for the staff at Notre Dame School in the middle of their ‘in-service’ day just before the students returned on Tuesday. In The evening Fr D was down in Effingham for a meeting of the ‘shadow’ Parish Leadership Team who will be working with the clergy of Epsom Deanery when the Pastoral Plan for the diocese comes to fruition in this area. After Morning Prayer, Mass and Exposition on Tuesday Fr D had the diocesan IT engineer working on a few things to ‘tidy up’ the re-structured parish phone and broadband system (- rather than lots of pieces of equipment balancing on a small coffee table they are now housed in a specialist rack designed for the purpose). There are a few little bits to sort still and this will happen in late May. In the evening Fr D met with our own Parish Finance Team for the second quarterly meeting of the year. Our finances are broadly running as expected at this point, with the car park making a heavy contribution to our solvency as usual. Work is underway to facilitate a ‘secure door-entry’ system for Sarah as she is classified as a ‘lone worker’ and we need to have regard to her safety whilst at work.  Following Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D was working hard on the Confirmation ceremony that will be taking place in the church on Saturday 9th May at our normal 18.00 Mass. As we do not have a Bishop for the foreseeable future Fr D has been delegated to celebrate the sacrament with our candidates this year. In the evening Fr D met with the Confirmation candidates to talk them through the ‘Lucenarium’ (Service of Light) that will be celebrated during our normal 11.00 Mass on Sunday 3rd May - the last Sunday Mass before Confirmation Day. This little rite is celebrated with the Parish community as a sending forth to the ceremony the following weekend; during the rite the parents of the candidates hand over each candidate’s Baptismal Candle (the sign of faith they were entrusted with at their child’s baptism) to their son or daughter (now to be nurtured and kept alight by themselves as they enter into adult membership of the community). The candidates were also able to ask Fr D any questions that they had ever wanted to know about the Church and faith in general - this led to some interesting discussions . . .

Richard Moth, Archbishop of Westminster, echoed Pope Leo’s calls for peace earlier on Monday, stressing the importance of combatting indifference in the face of war and suffering. “We continue to support [the Holy Father’s] unstinting calls for peace and reconciliation across all areas of conflict,” he said. “Humanity is marked, scarred, by warfare and injustice - often instigated by greed and misguided power - bringing harm and death to so many and often the most vulnerable. We must never become indifferent to war, violence and suffering. We pray for peace, justice and reconciliation across the world.”  Pope Leo is four days into a Papal Visit to Africa, and arrived in Cameroon yesterday. Speaking to journalists while travelling to Algiers, the Pope responded to a number of scathing social media statements issued by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social network. In a report on Vatican News, Pope Leo said: “I am not a politician, and I do not want to enter into a debate… I do not think the message of the Gospel should be abused as some are doing. I continue to speak strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue, and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent lives have been lost, and I believe someone must stand up and say there is a better way.”