8th June 2025 - Thought from Fr. Colm

Much is happening in the parish over the Summer. There’s the parish Picnic, the First

Communions, Pilgrimage to Holy Island, concerts at St Godric’s .

This great feast of Pentecost is an opportunity to join us in prayer, especially for

peace, at St. Godric’s this Sunday between 3 and 4.

“A Christian who does not pray for those who govern is not a good Christian.” - Pope Francis

The new Parish Mass Books will be available from next weekend. There’s a limited

supply for now as we assess how many may be needed due to the digital age, as

many now prefer using the Universalis app.

A Rabbi Prays:

If there has ever been a time for prayer, this is that time.

If there has ever been a place forsaken, Gaza is that place.

Lord who is the creator of all children, hear our prayer this accursed day.

God whom we call Blessed, turn your face to these, the children of Gaza, that they

may know your blessings, and your shelter, that they may know light and warmth,

where there is now only blackness and smoke, and a cold which cuts and clenches

the skin.

Almighty who makes exceptions, which we call miracles, make an exception of the

children of Gaza. Shield them from us and from their own. Spare them. Heal them.

Let them stand in safety. Deliver them from hunger and horror and fury and grief.

Deliver them from us, and from their own.

Restore to them their stolen childhoods, their birthright, which is a taste of heaven.

Remind us, O Lord, of the child Ishmael, who is the father of all the children of

Gaza. How the child Ishmael was without water and left for dead in the wilderness

of Beer-Sheba, so robbed of all hope, that his own mother could not bear to watch

his life drain away.

Be that Lord, the God of our kinsman Ishmael, who heard his cry and sent His angel

to comfort his mother Hagar.

Be that Lord, who was with Ishmael that day, and all the days after. Be that God,

the All-Merciful, who opened Hagar's eyes that day, and showed her the well of

water, that she could give the boy Ishmael to drink, and save his life.

Allah, whose name we call Elohim, who gives life, who knows the value and the

fragility of every life, send these children your angels. Save them, the children of this

place, Gaza the most beautiful, and Gaza the damned.

In this day, when the trepidation and rage and mourning that is called war, seizes

our hearts and patches them in scars, we call to you, the Lord whose name is Peace:

Bless these children, and keep them from harm.

Turn Your face toward them, O Lord. Show them, as if for the first time, light and

kindness, and overwhelming graciousness.

Look up at them, O Lord. Let them see your face.

And, as if for the first time, grant them peace.

With thanks to Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman of Kol HaNeshama, Jerusalem.

1st June 2025 - Thought from Fr. Colm

The heart dies without space for love, without a moral horizon:
think of it then as a bird trapped in a box.
My heart goes out with love to those beyond the fence;
only toward them can one really advance, that is, make
progress.
Without them I feel I’m half a person.
Romeo was born a Montague, and Juliet came from the Capulet line,
and I’m a disciple of Shakespeare, not Ben Gurion,
therefore I’ll be delighted if my daughter marries the grandson of Haidar Abdel Shafi. I mean this, of course, as a parable only—but the parable is my
measure,
and since it has more to do with my body than teeth or hair,
this isn’t just some idle fancy that, out of poetic license,
I place our fate in my daughter’s sex.
That I grant myself this imaginary gift, testifies to the extent
to which we’re living, still, in the underworld,
where we’re granted the hope and potential of an amoeba. But all mythology begins with creatures that creep and crawl,
spring out of the ground and devour each other,
until a sacred union occurs, healing the breach in the world. The Arab groom from Gaza, too, will extend to my daughter a
dress
on which is embroidered the Land redeemed from Apartheid’s curse—our Land as a whole, belonging equally to all of its offspring,
and then he’ll lift the veil from her face, and say to her:
“And now I take you to be my wife, Lotem Abdel Shafi.”

Aharon Shabtai, “Lotem Abdel Shafi”

25th May 2025 - Thought from Fr. Colm

Last Monday’s concert at St Godric’s was a great success. Music and stories. Our thanks to Paul Martin and Team for giving their time and talents, and raising over £450 for the Durham Food Bank. Memories of that unique occasion when, as parish and School, we celebrated Mass at Finchale Abbey, came flooding back.

Events coming soon are the Anniversary Mass at the St. Mary’s Cathedral to celebrate 10 years of Laudato Si, and the annual procession of the Blessed Sacrament at Ushaw College. (Times and dates in bulletin). A prayer commemorating Laudato Si is in this bulletin also.

“Rainforest destruction, primarily through deforestation, is a serious issue with far reaching consequences. In the last 50 years, roughly one-third of tropical rainforests have been lost, with an estimated 6 million hectares deforested annually. The primary drivers include logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, mining, and infrastructure development. These activities not only result in habitat loss for countless species but also contribute to climate change, impacting ecosystems and global temperatures. “