Author: Fr. Matthew

Christ The King. 

Jesus enthroned.

When we think of Jesus as King I often wonder if we are missing a great deal of His teaching. 

Jesus told us time and time again that He wasn’t the King that the Jewish people were expecting – coming with horses and chariots to free them from the rule of the Romans.

He entered Jerusalem in triumph on Palm Sunday not with horses and chariots – but on the back of a donkey. 

So why then do we enthrone Him on this very special Sunday? Why do we show him upon a throne, decked out in regal attire and ruling over us as an earthly King?

The point of this elevation is to highlight Jesus as ‘Christ’ which in itself is a royal title meaning ‘King’ – although of course not in the way that the secular world understands (even Pilate misunderstands it when he called Jesus ‘King of the Jews’).

It is a way of understanding Jesus as King of Heaven and the world to come. He sits enthroned on David’s throne (Lk 1:30-32) as promised by the Angel Gabriel. 

The feast today marks the end of Ordinary Time, next Sunday we begin Advent and the start of another liturgical year.

We end Ordinary Time on a high – with a Feast and a celebration of Jesus Kingship. 

Fr. Matthew

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This week you’ll find a sign up sheet at the back of church for Giving Envelopes. This is the most common way of giving here at St. Anselm and we are incredibly grateful for your weekly gifts. If you’d like Envelopes for 2022 please sign up on the sheet or see David (the new Envelopes even have our logo on them this time thanks to David!)

A huge thank you to everyone who came to help with the Hayes Christmas Lights Turn On this Wednesday. The school choirs were absolutely brilliant and a great time was had by all. There’s a video & photos of the service on our website.

Choir practice after mass today (28th), grab a coffee and come to sit around the piano quite quickly as it will be a short 45 min rehearsal so we can start PCC promptly at Midday.

PCC at 12pm today.

Christmas dates now available on leaflets at the door.

War, 

what is it good for?

War is just about the worst thing that we humans practice on each other. The moment we declare war on each other the rules of decent human love go out the window. 

We dress this up by saying there are rules of war, that you can do this – but you can’t do that. You can arrest a soldier but you mustn’t mistreat him.

It’s of little comfort when the aim appears to be to kill as many men, women and children as you can of the ‘enemy’. 

The reality is of course that we have only one enemy in this life and he lives somewhere rather warmer than earth.

It is that fallen creature that drives us towards hatred and the normalising of killing each other, of aiming missiles and guns at each other.

There is only one enemy that helps us somehow make war okay – because we have ‘rules’. 

War is never okay. It is never okay because it requires us to cease to love our neighbour as ourselves – as Jesus loved us and as He continues to love us.

War starts in the small acts of aggressions we show each other every day. War starts in the nastiness of our own hearts when they are not full of the love that Jesus gives us.

Pray that your own heart is shed of any hatred and aggression, that it is instead filled with Jesus’ Love. Pray that the hearts of others are filled with that love. Pray that one day we will be able to say that War is a thing of the past. 

Fr. Matthew

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Choir rehearsal after mass today (Sunday 14th)!

If you could stay after mass on the 14th November and help clean I’d really appreciate it, we want the church looking wonderful for the Christmas Lights turn on.

17th November is the Hayes Christmas Lights turn on – hosted here at St. Anselm! The schools choir will sing for us at 4pm and the mayor will turn on the town lights at 4:30pm

I’d really appreciate any volunteers for the 17th to help serve mince pies, tea & coffee and mulled wine. Please let Fr. Matthew know if you can help.

Clothed in love, 

St. Martin of Tours.

When I was small I loved the story of St. Martin. A man who when he met a beggar without clothes in the middle of winter used his sword to cut his own cloak in half to clothe this poor man – an act of instinctive love.

He was a Roman soldier and became a Christian at a young age. He left the military in the years before 361AD and joined the church. He became Bishop of Tours in 371AD and was known for his opposition to the violent oppression of those who disagreed with the State.

But, it’s the story of the cloak that continues to grab the attention. After he had cut his cloak he went to bed that night and experienced a vision – Jesus came to him in his dream dressed in the cloak that he had given to the beggar and said “Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe”. He woke to find that his robe had been restored to its full and complete length. 

This vision profoundly affected St. Martin (who wouldn’t be!?) and he was baptised at 18. 

An interesting historical side note is the impact this cloak had on our language. Priests who cared for the relic of the actual cloak that St. Martin wore were called ‘cappellanu’ and subsequently all Priests who served in the army were called ‘cappellani’ or in French – ‘chapelains’ which is where our word for ‘chaplain’ comes from. 

Also, the little churches that were set up to care for the ‘little cloak’ when it was on tour were called ‘capella’. Ultimately those small churches lost their association with the cloak – and became ‘chapels’. 

All this from a cloak cut in half to care for the poorest. All this from an act of instinctive love. 

Inspiring stuff.

Fr. Matthew

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A huge thanks to Fr. Angus for covering mass last Sunday, and thank you all for making him so welcome.

If you enjoyed the choir, then come and join! Rehearsals for the Advent Carols starts on the 14th November straight after Parish Mass.

If you could stay after mass on the 14th November and help clean I’d really appreciate it, we want the church looking wonderful for the Christmas Lights turn on.

17th November is the Hayes Christmas Lights turn on – hosted here at St. Anselm! The schools choir will sing for us at 4pm and the mayor will turn on the town lights at 4:30pm

I’d really appreciate any volunteers for the 17th to help serve mince pies, tea & coffee and mulled wine. Please let Fr. Matthew know if you can help.

All souls, 

why do we pray for the dead?

Some will tell you that praying for the dead is simply an exercise in futility. The person you are praying for is already dead, they’ve lived their life and presumably made their own decisions about that life, their actions and most importantly – their faith in Jesus Christ. What more can we do now they are gone?

The simple truth is that we know God is merciful. In multiple parts of scripture we have seen how His heart has been turned towards mercy by the intercession of those who love Him. Who have called out to Him and asked him to be merciful. 

We know that God does not work on our timetable. The fact that someone we know and love is dead and gone in this world, doesn’t mean they are dead and gone in the life of eternity. Our prayers reach God and He can easily put a new thought or direction in front of the person we are praying about.

Finally, our prayers comfort us here in this life. Praying for my Grandmother brings me peace and comfort – I know my prayers are heard and I pray that my Grandmother is now amongst the company of heaven – surrounded by all the saints and angels – and in turn I know that she will pray for me. 

When we are at the altar we are surrounded by the whole company of heaven – angels and saints unite around us as we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

If you could see that whole company of heaven surrounding the altar, if you could feel their presence, if you could hear their prayers – oh what a wonder it would be!

Pray for the dead, pray for your loved ones. Be at peace.

Fr. Matthew

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There is a sheet at the back of church where you can leave your departed loved-one’s name for inclusion in the prayers on All Souls (2nd November, 7pm).  You can also email a name to Fr. Matthew directly. 

Thank you very much to Fr. Angus for looking after us on this special solemnity of All Saints. He is a loving friend of the parish and I know you’ll give him your usual warm welcome.

Please note mass on Thursday is in the evening, rather than the morning and that our All Souls mass is at 7pm on Tuesday. 

Confessions will be heard on Thursday evening at 5:30pm this week. 

If you enjoyed the choir last week, rehearsals for the Advent Carols starts on the 11th November straight after Parish Mass.

Holy Rest, 

why is it so important? 

It is often said that Priests, when they preach, do so primarily to themselves. This may well be an example of me writing an article I need to read!

We have a packed Autumn Term planned, there is something happening almost every week – and in many weeks more than just one thing. 

As we come to the mid-point of the term and the end of our Rosary Mission now is a good time to take a breath and take a rest. 

This isn’t being lazy, it isn’t running away – it is vital if we are to be in the best shape possible to welcome the people of Hayes as they discover us through the mission and evangelism work we are doing this term. 

What good will we be if, when children arrive for the various Christmas events, we are so worn down and grumpy that the welcome they receive is anything less than loving and enthusiastic? 

What good will we be if, when those people who have seen us open during the Rosary Mission come into church and discover it lacking enthusiasm and love because we are all burned out?

God gave us the sabbath – our day of rest – as a model of His being, of His love. 

To love Him, is to accept His rest… to be like the disciple that Jesus loved and to recline our heads in His lap.

Thank you for all you have done this half-term. Rest now. Come back re-energised and full of Love for Him.

Fr. Matthew

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This week our amazing new choir (formed for this one event) will be performing their first Communion Anthem – Just As I Am – after The Sacrament has been distributed. Please do come and support them as they sing together in public for the first time. (Choir members – don’t forget, 9:45am on Sunday for one last rehearsal!)

An enormous thank you to all who helped so diligently over the last two weeks for our Rosary Mission. We had lots of people come into church because it was open, people walking by and seeing we were open, and people commenting how lovely the front is looking again. We have away hundreds of rosaries and leaflets and we gently introduced people to Jesus and his home here in Hayes – St. Anselm! Thank you!

Fr. Matthew is away as it is half term week – he, Catherine and Edmund are heading to Rome (their first time!) do pray for them as they take a breath – and pray for all families as they take some space and time to recoup a little after a hard first term back in school, college and university. You should also pray for the teachers and support staff who will definitely need a break!

Look out for a lot of changes to the mid-week schedule – please do come and support Susan as she leads Morning Prayer on Thursday at 10am.