Ladies' Night

Last night was Ladies’ Night for the Crawley Catenian Circle!  Bro Mark will no doubt make his own posting on this including photographs, but being a lady I felt eminently qualified to write something too - as well as taking the opportunity to say thank you to the “boys” for a lovely evening out. 

It was of course Ladies’ Night in a very profound sense, because we celebrated the annual Mass for deceased Catenian wives.  Fittingly they came first; the evening began with Mass at St Theodore’s Church in Gossops Green and included the mention by name of each wife.  I am more than sure they were all with us as we celebrated the Mass... that is the beauty of the Church as a place of timeless communion whose walls encompass both the living and the dead.

We were all delighted to welcome Fr Terry Martin as our celebrant.  Those of us from Horsham parish were particularly thrilled to have the chance to worship with him again and to exchange a few words.

After Mass we nipped round the corner (braving a sudden downpour) to Goffs Park Hotel, the usual venue for the Catenian Circle meetings.  The men took themselves off to do... um, whatever men do at a Catenian Circle meeting, whilst the ladies gathered to enjoy a glass or two of wine and have a chat.  The ladies’ get-togethers are always a nice opportunity to catch up with people you haven’t seen in a while.  We don’t all move in quite the same circles (or even live in the same town) and so it’s nice to let this particular Circle gather us in.  Amongst other things there was much talk about children and grandchildren, stressing the fact that the Catenians are far more about family and friendship than about some sort of gentlemen's club-type gathering (despite the secrecy surrounding the meetings, but that might just be because somehow I’ve never pinned Bro Edek down to give me a blow by blow account of what happens!).

Whatever men do at a Catenian Circle meeting was obviously particularly exciting last night, because we managed to get through a fair amount of wine and chat before they finally piled out. I know they had the pleasure of welcoming visitors from other parts of the Catenian world and I’m sure Bro Mark will tell more.

The evening finished with a meal which was unanimously pronounced to be very good and I daresay everyone slept rather well afterwards!  Thank you to all for an evening of family, faith and friendship which included those who, whilst no longer with us in one sense, are still very much here in another and still very much loved.

St John's Pro-Life Blog

I have added St John's Pro-Life Blog to the blog roll in the right margin. You can see at a glance when the last post was made on any of the blogs in the roll.

Blogging for life

A group from St John the Evangelist RC Church in Horsham, the parish from which many Crawley Circle Catenians hail, has just launched a new blog entitled St John's Pro Life (well, I have no doubt that he is and that he considers the pro-life message an important part of Evangelism!).

The group in question is the parish pro-life group, to which your Vice President's wife belongs. I have put up a link to the Crawley Catenian Association's blogsite on our pro-life group's blog, for an Association which aims to support family life is by definition "pro life".  Being pro life is about so much more than opposing abortion.  Indeed, at its heart it is a "for" rather than an "anti" ideology.  We aim to do our bit in the defence of human life from conception until natural death because we believe passionately in the dignity, sanctity and immeasurable worth of every human individual - in whatever stage or condition of life.  It is our support for each other that makes life worth living, and love that is at the heart of true quality of life.

By promoting the value of each and every person we hope to work towards a society in which families, friendship and faith can flourish.  Haven't I seen talk of those three somewhere before (eyes up)...?!

In short, I believe that the Crawley Catenians and the St John's Pro Life Group have lots in common.  Why not pop over to our blog and judge for yourself?

Christmas Charity: Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund

£200 of the money made by the raffle at our Christmas Dinner was given to the children of St Wilfrid's School to enable them to meet their target of raising £1,000 for the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.

A group of eleven year-10 student leaders here at St Wilfrid’s have been working to raise money for the Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund. We have been given a target to raise £1000 by 16th December and so far, through all commitment and dedication, have raised around £800. This has been through activities involving our school and parish such as raffles, a sponsored walk up Box Hill, cake sales and donations. All the money raised will go to Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund- a charity making Nelson Mandela’s final wish come true. Nelson Mandela’s final wish is to build a hospital in South Africa for children, as there are only 4 children’s hospitals in the whole of the continent, whereas there are 4 in London alone. We would be delighted by any donations and any support you and the circle of Catenians are offering as every penny, every pound counts towards the making of the children’s hospital. Thank you for your kind offering and support.

Visit to Epsom Circle 19th January 2012

Visit to Epsom Circle this week

The fact that we are visiting Epsom Circle later this week has revived memories of my schooldays in Epsom in the fifties.

One thing I remember is being told the story of the arms of Epsom by one of my masters. Before the war, a public competition was held to design a coat of arms for Epsom Council. The master in those days was a young man rather more irreverent than he had since become, so he decided to design a joke coat of arms and submit it to the competition.

"People have only ever heard of Epsom for three reasons," he said to himself. "Epsom races, Epsom Downs and Epsom salts. And nothing has ever happened in Epsom, except that Henry VIII built Nonsuch palace there, which got knocked down centuries ago".

So he designed a shield with horses on Epsom Downs over Epsom salts being swirled around in water, and added a satirical motto "None Such".

Of course he won the competition. Joke on him!

Problem Solved!

I was talking to a cousin of my sister-in-law at a family lunch yesterday. He's the finance director of a major investment bank.  He's a very active Anglican and somehow the conversation got onto the subject of church fund raising. I mentioned that I was in charge of the fund raising for the refurbishment of St John's (whatever form this eventually takes).

"Ah," he said, "you won't have any problem there. I've got a friend who's a Catholic and every time he wants money for his church he just asks the Carthusians and the money is there."

My ears pricked up. I had visions of the monks at Parkminster handing over a few hundred grand to St John's.

"Ask my wife", he said, "she knows the details."

Turns out he meant the Catenians. Be warned!

Christmas Dinner - more photos

Lucy Forster and Louise Martin

Gurudev and Pavitra Lazarus

Laurie Harding

Andrew and Stella Laird

Sajith and Maryen Peiris

Laurie Harding and Peter Mullarky

Peter Newell

Christmas Dinner

Celebrating Christmas the traditional way

Crawley Catenians celebrated their annual Christmas Dinner on Thursday 15th at a new venue, Ghyll Manor in Rusper. We celebrated it in the traditional manner with lots of eating, drinking and singing.

Bro. President wearing the formal Presidential Hat

Here is a fine rendition of the penultimate verse of the Twelve Days of Christmas (keyboard accompaniment by Bro. Bernard Smith):



With many thanks to our Vice President, Bro. Edek Figura for organising the dinner so well.

Crawley Parish 150 Years

Crawley in the 19th Century

As part of the ongoing celebrations of the 150th anniversary of The Catholic Parish of Crawley,1861-2011, The Sisters of Notre Dame joined in a service of the Evening Prayer of the Church and blessing of the graves in the Friary Cemetery on Sunday 20th November 2011 at 3.00 pm.

The congregation were invited to bring along flowers in remembrance of their deceased loved ones,which were brought forward to the altar at the beginning of the service. During the service cards with the names of the deceased were placed on the altar. This was followed by a candlelit procession to the cemetery where the graves were blessed. These included the graves of deceased Catenian brothers and wives, Bill & Dot Gabriel, Michael & Meg Lydon, Dick & Mary Doherty, Jim Naylor, and Shirley Jennings, not forgetting John Blake former headmaster of St Wilfrids School, a very close friend of the Association.

Thereafter everyone was invited to the Friary Hall for refreshments, and Sister Joan Brown of the Sisters of Notre Dame presented the story of the nuns and their significant contribution to Catholic education in Crawley.

Towards Advent Festival - 19 November

This Saturday (19th November) sees the annual Towards Advent Festival in Westminster Cathedral hall. This is a gathering together of a wide range of Catholic groups and organisations to celebrate the Catholic Faith.

Door open at 10.00 and the festival will be opened at 10.30 by Archbishop Vincent Nichols. At 1.30 Monsignor Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, will deliver a talk on 'Joy and Hope in the Church'. At 3.00 there is to be a celebration of Blessed John Paul II in film, drama and music. This includes the documentary film "John Paul the Great" and contributions from the Oxford-based youth drama team who presented the play "The Quality of Mercy". Entrance to these two events will cost £2, but entrance to the festival itself is free.

Towards Advent is sponsored by The Catenian Association, The Knights of St Columba, and The Association of Catholic Women.

Further details see http://towardsadvent.blogspot.com/

Holy Souls

 (This is a bit late for the season, but still well worth reading since we pray for our departed brothers and widows at every meeting - Ed.)

This country is seeped and marinated in the Catholic faith; you do not have to scratch the surface too hard to find those roots and the English devotion to Holy Souls.

The Chantrey Chapels, some still here, or roads and places which still bear the name, the pilgrimages to holy shrines, and the way-side shrines.

And later, thanks to  the effects of the first world war and every conflict since, the reaction of people when Princess Diana died - the flowers & the candles, the need to pray and remember the dead is still very much a part of our culture today.

They all find their meaning in the Catholic faith, they are the symbols that point us to God - but without the church as a leaven they go awry and what we get is Elton John singing Candle in the wind.    

Our duty is also to pray for the souls in purgatory. Purgatory is much misunderstood, but God in all his goodness wants us to be whole and holy, proved by and worthy of the promises of Christ. Yes, we sin; yes, we let our selves and our loved ones down; purgatory helps us to be ready: to be in that union with God. to behold the fullness of his grace and worship him in a new way.

November is a time of life and time of the Resurrection. The colour black is not morbid but the mixing of the colours of the liturgical cycle of colours and they are mixed because our prayer, our work, our preparation in liturgy not only help us to see our goal, but they help those souls to be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

So our prayer this month for the Holy Souls will move mountains and bring people into the banquet of the lamb in heaven. This is our mission if we chose to accept it.

From Crawley Parish Newsletter

Tri-Circle Pig-Racing - 4th November

A pig race in progress

"What do you mean No. 5 won?"

"Tri-Circle what?" you may well ask. But yes, we do mean pig-racing. Furry little battery-operated pigs. The three circles involved were Crawley, Haywards Heath and East Grinstead. Crawley as the holder of both the trophies involved hosted the evening at St Joseph's Church Hall, Pound Hill.

Helen Pettingel (nee Jordan) and Iris Jordan present the Barry Jordan Trophy to Barry Prior of Haywards Heath Circle

Unfortunately Crawley may have been the holder of the trophies at the beginning of the evening, but by the end both trophies had departed. The Barry Jordan Trophy went to Haywards Heath and the Michael Lydon Trophy to East Grinstead. Threats were also heard that Crawley might not be holding the Visitors Cup for much longer either.

Helen presents the Michael Lydon trophy to Jim Fitzpatrick of East Grinstead Circle

After a very enjoyable evening, a total of £500.85 had been raised which will be split between the Presidents' Charities of the three circles.

Enrolment of a New Member

Peter Mullarky, Jim Fitzpatrick, Mike Newman, Damon Holliday

At the circle meeting on 27th October we welcomed a new member, Br. Damon Holliday who is seen in the picture talking with the Membership Officer, Br. Peter Mullarky, while our Br. President (in the yellow tie) looks on.

The fourth person in the photo is Br. Jim Fitzpatrick, who was leading a party of four visitors from East Grinstead Circle. It was very good to see them, and we intend to return the visit next month.

150 Years of The Friary, Crawley

In the beginning...

Mary Scawen Blount was a friend of the Roman Catholic convert Cardinal John Henry Newman, and converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism herself. Her sons, Francis and Wilfrid, also converted in 1852.

Memorial to Francis Scawen Blunt

In 1859, at the invitation of a Mrs Montgomery (a relative of Mary Scawen Blount), Italian Capuchin friars arrived in Crawley. They stayed at her house on the Horsham Road (next to what is now the St.Wilfrid`s School site) and celebrated Mass in its coach-house, which was reordered to make a chapel and dedicated to St Philip.

Soon afterwards, Mary Scawen Blunt died; she asked her sons to found a permanent Roman Catholic church to serve Crawley and the surrounding area and a friary for the Capuchins. In 1860, Francis bought 3 acres of land near Crawley railway station and the town centre and arranged the design and construction of a friary and adjoining church; the builder was recorded as a Mr Ockendon.

The friary formed three sides of a square around a courtyard; the north side was formed by the church, which was dedicated to St Francis. All buildings were in Early English Gothic style and were built of stone and brick, and the church itself had a bellcote on the roof.

The church and friary were dedicated and opened on 12 October 1861.

(From Crawley Parish Newsletter)

Video Interview with Fr Richard

The Real Hallowe'en

It’s that time of year again... no, not Christmas (not quite – give the shops another week to go big on that one) but Hallowe’en!

A few years ago Hallowe’en wasn’t any big deal and apart from the party shops and newsagents, it didn’t make that huge a retail impact. Now plastic pumpkins, zombie costumes and ghoulish recipes abound in every store from M&S to the supermarkets. And probably the pet shops too – I haven’t been in one recently but I daresay I could find my cocker spaniel a trick ‘n’ treat pack and a fetching devil horn headband with matching tail piece.

“So what?” might be your reaction. “It’s a bit of fun for the children and a chance to dress up and have a party. No-one takes the devilish side of it seriously.” Somehow I suspect that therein lies the danger. The things we don’t take seriously might be exactly those that give the Evil One a foot in the door.

In any case, it seems to me that at this time of year we Catholics can often miss the opportunity to have a positive celebration, rather than a not-taking-it-seriously one. “Hallowe’en”, of course, means “All Hallows' Eve” (i.e. the eve of All Saints' Day) and originates from the Church’s taking over a pagan festival and reinterpreting it in the light of its own liturgical calendar. We celebrate the Christian way of relating to the dead, so that rather than lighting fires and wearing scary masks to scare off earthbound spirits, we venerate our brothers and sisters who provided us with examples of Christian living when on earth and who are now with God in Heaven and ready to assist us with their prayers. The forces of evil are hardly anything to celebrate, but the assistance and example of the Saints definitely are. So why celebrate the former when we can celebrate the latter? If we think the ghouls and ghosties are more fun, maybe that indicates that some soul-searching and meditative prayer is in order...?!

The great advantage of partying in honour of All Hallows' Eve rather than Hallowe’en is that it gives us the opportunity to provide our children, or grandchildren, with some painless and enjoyable catechesis. As the performers of medieval mystery plays and designers of magnificent stained glass windows knew, the visual and dramatic are excellent learning tools, particularly for the illiterate (in those days) or the young. What better way of getting children to learn about this great feast of the Church, find out about a variety of Saints and perhaps begin to think about why it’s good to dress up as holy people rather than vampires as some of their friends might be doing...?

For young and old alike, this is a fun way of witnessing to the world about our faith. I would like to commend the “All Hallows in Horsham” party being held at St John’s Catholic Church in Horsham on Sunday 30 October, thanks to an intrepid lady named Celia and her band of helpers. There will be pumpkins, treats, lots of the traditional games and a costume parade, but the dressing-up will be strictly on the theme of saints not spooks. Some fab outfits were worn to last year’s party: much more impressive than your average dripping-with-blood-and-gore get-up! (The photo shows St Lucy, aka your Vice-President's wife, with party organiser St Therese of Lisieux - the aforementioned Celia. The children all looked much more impressive than we did though!) Parishioners can find details in the church newsletter.

Go over to "Five Feet Above Sea Level" to read an excellent posting by Katherine, one of Celia’s team, on the subject of Hallowe’en. And have a very happy All Hallows!

The Marvels of the Rosary

A corner of the office

Our year seems to be speeding away, as we change season, we can't help but think of the past memories of the summer, of time spent with loved ones and friends in the heat of the sun. Now with autumn we find ourselves planning ahead, making provision for the cold, for nights in and for sunny but cold afternoon walks with the crunch of leaves underfoot, picking onions and searching in drawers for jumpers and hats.

Our life of Faith also has times of change and preparation, our prayers develop and grow like the season of our Year, also what is going on in our lives has an effect in and to our prayer. As you know October is the Month set aside in honour of Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rosary can help us focus in the busy day to day of life with Our Lady's help to see Christ in our lives, in the change and decay of life, in the growth and new beginnings of life and in the waiting and dormant parts of life. The Rosary with Mary’s help, love and aid can help us connect our lives and join them to her Son, who wants us to give him everything.

The Rosary is made up of two things: mental prayer and vocal prayer. In the Rosary, mental prayer is none other than meditation of the chief mysteries of the life, death and glory of Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Vocal prayer consists in saying twenty decades of the Hail Mary, each decade headed by an Our Father, while at the same time meditating on and contemplating the twenty principal virtues which Jesus and Mary practised in the twenty mysteries of the Holy Rosary. So why not spend some time with Jesus in school of Mary.

 (From Crawley Parish Newsletter)

New Blog for St John's

St John's Horsham has a new blog. You can find it at http://stjohnshorshamrc.blogspot.com/

Here is one of the latest entries:

Crawley Circle Catenians

Many thanks to the catenians of the Crawley Circle for their hospitality at Ghyll Manor, Rusper this evening. We dined on excellent soup and sea bass. Mike Newman, the circle president and a Horsham parishioner welcomed the clergy and sisters. I was privileged to reply on behalf of the guests. We spent some time thinking about vocations. Happy priests inspire vocations to the priesthood and the happiness of priests is in no small part due to the care and concern and love of our parishioners. I think we were all inspired to pray hard for vocations. Mike gave Fr Terry Martin, vocations director for our diocese, a cheque to help towards his work. We were told that the dinner was a thank you to the clergy and sisters for their work. Since Fr Aaron and I have only just arrived we felt rather spoilt so early in our tenure.

From Fr. Terry's blog

Crawley Catenian

Over at Crawley Catenian you will find an informative blog telling us all about the life and mission of the local circle of the Catenian Association.  They're an impressive, generous and likeable bunch.

Once a year, so Catholic are their ways, they invite all the local clergy for supper in a nearby hotel/restaurant to say thank you for their ministry.  Priests, deacons and sisters gathered, together with brothers and their wives, for a lovely dinner and a congenial evening.

Very generously - and it came as a wonderful surprise - the circle presented the Vocations Director with a cheque to support the work throughout the diocese in promoting vocations to the priesthood.  This was a generous and gracious thing to do and every penny will be carefully spent.

God bless you all - and THANK YOU!