The Parishioner - Edition 25

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children. But mum used her energy to help others, not to do things forherself. She was a brilliant nana and helped me out all the time with my girls,picking them up and taking them to their various activities, cooking us dinnerwhen I had late nights at school and looking after Abbey and Lucy when theywere ill. She was always ready to drop everything if we called and shedeveloped a fantastically close bond with the two of them. If they were everupset at the world, they knew that a hug and a chat with Nana would makeit all better.Mum also helped her neighbours. She looked after Lily the old ladyacross the road and Pete and Bette next door who often required herexcellent sewing skills to take up or let down Pete’s trousers! She spenthours cleaning another neighbour’s house as she was depressed and unableto look after herself or her disabled mother. She gave freely of her time tohelp out at all sorts of charity events and fairs in the neighbourhood and washeavily involved in organising fundraising events for Sister Christobel.Mum was also a key member of the local Finnish Community group andhosted Christmas events for the children and their families every year. Sheand Karin became firm friends and together they helped Morel to set up theMaidstone Mela in 2003 and have watched itgrow in size and popularityever since. I can’t imagine how the Finnish stall will look this year withoutmum in her national dress serving up coffee and cinnamon buns with asmile. She was recognised for her work in promoting the Finnish culture bythe Finnish Embassyand we are very honoured to welcome the Ambassadorto our church today. Finally I would also like to thank all the Catenianmembers who have come to support dad and the family today.Mum would grumble privately about all the time dad was spendingorganising events for the Catenians but she always supported him and sheenjoyed spending time with all the friends she made through the Circle, a lotof whom have been helping and praying for her through these last fewterrible months.Thank you for being so patient and listening to the ramblings of herdaughter. I know it has been very long but mum has packed so much into herlife and she has touched so many people for the better that I think shedeserves our time now.A LITTLE HOLY HUMORSubmitted by Dennis EdwardesFOUR RELIGIOUS TRUTHSDuring these serious and troubled times, people of all faiths should rememberthese four great religious truths:1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God’s Chosen People.2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian world.4. Baptists do not recognize each other at the off licence.GOOD SAMARITANA Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan.She asked the class, “If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded andbleeding, what would you do?” A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence,“I think I’d throw up.”DID NOAH FISH?A Sunday school teacher asked, “Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishingwhen he was on the Ark?”“No,” replied Johnny. “How could he, with just two worms.”THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERDA Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of themost quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters amonth to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task - but he justcouldn’t remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past thefirst line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front ofthe congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up tothe microphone and said proudly, “The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I needto know.”UNANSWERED PRAYERThe deacons’ 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowedhis head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked himwhy. “Well, dear,” he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of hismessages. “I’m asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.” “How come Hedoesn’t answer it?” she asked.BEING THANKFULA Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, “So your mother says your prayers foryou each night? That’s very commendable. What does she say?”The little boy replied, “Thank God he’s in bed!”ALL MEN / ALL GIRLSWhen my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every familymember, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, afterwe had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, “And all girls.” This soon becamepart of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me andI asked her, “Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?” Her response,“Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying ‘All Men’!”SAY A PRAYERLittle Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother’s house.Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When LittleJohnny received his plate, he started eating right away. “Johnny! Please wait untilwe say our prayer.” said his mother. “I don’t need to,” the boy replied. “Of course,you do” his mother insisted. “We always say a prayer before eating at our house.”“That’s at our house.” Johnny explained. “But this is Grandma’s house and sheknows how to cook.”PARISH TRIP TO WIMBLEDON – April 2015Olga D’SilvaSome of our parishioners werefortunate enough to attend CanonJohn’s induction Mass at the SacredHeart Church in Wimbledon in the earlyautumn of 2014. It was then that theidea came for our next parish trip,incorporating a visit to the All EnglandLawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and thecelebration of Mass and a social atCanon John’s ‘new’ parish.The parish trip was duly organised for the following April, and wewere blessed with fine weather and friendly guides and staff at theAELTC. It was wonderful to visit the iconic All England Tennis Club,the home of Wimbledon tennis. Between morning coffee and lunch,we had a guided tour which included a visit to a quiet Centre Court,as well as time in the museum and shop.After lunch, we took a short coach ride to the Sacred Heart Church,8where we were given a very warm welcomeby Canon John, some members of the ParishPastoral Council and the FriendshipGroup. After the celebration of Mass, therewas a sumptuous afternoon tea and warmgreetings and exchanges between St Francisand Sacred Heart parishioners.We had a memorable day and greatfeedback, and my particularthanks go to Mary Insall, Cathy andFenton Buckley and Terry Smart, whohelped toensure thateverything ransmoothly onthe day.
P U R G A T O R Y E X P L A I N E DTaken from the website:Our Catholic FaithHow do you answer your non-Catholic friends whenthey speak to you about your belief in Purgatory andsay:“I don’t believe in Purgatory, because it is notmentioned in the Bible! There exists only heaven andhell!”The Catholic Church teaches that Purgatory is a temporaryplace of purification where those who have died undergo aperiod of expiation to remove all stain of mortal sin dulyforgiven or all stain of unrepentant venial sin. Souls are sentto purgatory as “nothing unclean” (Rev. 21, 27) can enterheaven. All souls that are sent to Purgatory are destined toultimately enter heaven once all stain of sin has beenremoved by its purifying fires. Once the last soul leavesPurgatory at the General Resurrection and Judgment, it will beextinguished and only heaven and hell will remain. ForCatholics the strongest argument for the existence ofPurgatory is the constant and universal writings of the earlyChurch Fathers, the ancient liturgies of the East and West, thenumerous inscriptions on the walls of the Catacombs, and inthe pronouncements of the Councils of Florence (1438-45)and Trent (1545-63).“Sure, but all this means nothing, for the Bible still saysnothing about Purgatory.”2 Maccabees 12, 43-46 shows that the Jews in the OldTestament certainly believed in a middle state where the deadcould profit from the sacrifices and prayers of the living: “Andmaking a gathering, (Judas Maccabeus) sent twelve thousanddrachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered forthe sins of the dead...It is therefore a holy and wholesomethought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed fromsins” (Douai). Protestants deny the canonicity of theMaccabean books, nevertheless, their historical value cannotbe denied, and even Jewish prayer books today contain suchprayers. If the doctrine of Purgatory had been invented by theJews, it would. undoubtedly, have been condemned by JesusChrist, as He condemned them for a long list of changes indoctrine and discipline in St. Matthew. 23.On the contrary, the doctrine of purgatory is actuallyimplied in the Gospels: “I tell you, you will never get out untilyou have paid the very last penny” (St. Luke 12, 59);“Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, itshall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the HolySpirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor inthe World to come” (St. Matthew. 12, 32 [Douai]). Accordingto Pope St. Gregory the Great the words of Christ in St.Matthew infer that sins can be forgiven in the next life. Nowthis cannot be done in heaven or hell, but only in anotherstate which the Church calls Purgatory.Further, St. Paul writing his first letter to the Corinthians(3, 13-15) says that “each man’s work will become manifest;for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed withfire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one hasdone. If the work which any man has built on the foundationsurvives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work isburned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will besaved, but only as through fire.” His soul will be saved, butonly after spending time in the purifying flames of Purgatory.“But Purgatory is unnecessary, for Christ’s death on theCross has paid all debt of punishment for sin.”Christ’s death on the Cross sufficed to redeem humanityand free us from the eternal damnation of hell, but it did notfree us from the need to undergo temporal punishments forsin. For example, humanity is still subject to the temporalpunishments of labour, pain, sickness and death even thoughwe have now been redeemed. St. Paul makes this point clearwhen writing to the Colossians: “I am now rejoicing in mysufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completingwhat is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body,that is, the church” (1, 24).The essential reason why Protestants reject the doctrine ofPurgatory is due to their belief in the un-Scriptural doctrinesof total depravity and non-imputation of sin concocted byLuther and Calvin. They taught that the sin of Adam sodamaged humanity that we were now nothing more than wildbeasts whose every actions, no matter how good, were sinful.Since we are incapable of good actions there is nothing wecan do to remit our temporal punishments either forourselves or for anyone else. Only Christ is therefore capableof achieving this and this He did on the Cross. Further, as oursouls are already totally depraved any additional sin on ourpart cannot leave a “stain of sin” which needs to be purifiedin purgatory. By accepting Christ as our “personal Lord andSaviour” God ‘covers up’ our sinful natures, in this waymaking us fit to enter the Kingdom of heaven.But the Bible makes it clear that in the past there hasexisted more than just the two places of heaven and hell inthe next world. St. Peter tells us (1 Pet. 3, 19) that after Hisdeath Jesus preached His redemption “to the spirits inprison.” Therefore, the concept of another temporary,intermediate place such as purgatory is not out of thequestion.The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) states (No.1030): All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but stillimperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternalsalvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as toachieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. No.1031: The Church gives the name Purgatory to this finalpurification of the elect, which is entirely different from thepunishment of the damned. The Church formulated herdoctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils ofFlorence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by referenceto certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire. As forcertain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the FinalJudgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is Truth says thatwhoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will bepardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. Fromthis sentence we understand that certain offenses can beforgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come (St.Gregory the Great,Dial. 4, 39: PL 77, 396) No. 1032: Thisteaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead,already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “Therefore [JudasMaccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might bedelivered from their sin” From the beginning the Church hashonored the memory of the dead and offered prayers insuffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that,thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. TheChurch also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works ofpenance undertaken on behalf of the dead:Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons werepurified by their father’s sacrifice, why should we doubt thatour offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Letus not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer ourprayers for them.9
Page 1 and 2: ParishionerISSUE 25 SUMMER 2015What
Page 3 and 4: Keeping the Flame 2 alive in ouryou
Page 5 and 6: What Does the Word Catholic Mean?by
Page 7: Mrs Sirpa Tuulikki Edwardes27th Nov
Page 11 and 12: A Day in the life of a ThinkerLen W
Page 13 and 14: Last September Dennis Edwardes orga
Page 15 and 16: Sing a song of 2.5pA pocket full of

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