To complete the questionnaire, click here. 

Some months ago, I asked clergy to share their thoughts in relation to three questions that I posed about the state of our Diocese, to inform the development of the long term plans and priorities: what they thought was good about the diocese, that we should celebrate; what might be identified as the challenges across our diocese; and what we may need to put in place to develop further our mission. We now want to understand better what you the people and parishioners of our Diocese think and what you consider is important as we journey in faith together. This will help us all to develop plans and priorities for the Diocese so that we can truly be faithful missionary people in a flourishing and vibrant Diocese that brings the joy and hope of the Gospel message to our communities and the wider world. The online questionnaire will run over Christmas and into the New Year and we will be promoting this opportunity through parish newsletters and websites, parish groups and in the notices at the end of the Mass.

I have just sent a letter to Archbishop Andrew Nkea, the archbishop of our sister Diocese of Bamenda in Cameroon, expressing our Christmas prayers and greetings. In it, I promise him the prayers of everyone in our Diocese of Portsmouth, for his wellbeing and ministry, for the clergy and people of Bamenda, and especially for an end to violence and for a good way forward. I say something about the ‘ecclesial exchange’ between our two Dioceses and how it brings us many graces and blessings. I then ask him that we might collaborate even more closely together in the work of evangelisation so that “we see ourselves as partners with a joint evangelising mission, you in Cameroon, we in Portsmouth.” To read the letter, click here.

Last Saturday 19th December I went to St. John’s Seminary, Wonersh to ordain five men to the diaconate. Paul Nwune from our own Diocese was one of them, I'm pleased to say; the others were Stephen Corrigan (Clifton), Stephen O’Brien (Arundel and Brighton), David Hunter and Matthew Donnelly (Southwark). It was a very joyful occasion. Here is the homily I preached, based on the readings of the day which were about the birth of two Hebrew heroes who pointed to and paved the way for Jesus Christ: Samson and St. John the Baptist.
 
Today, on the eve of Christmas, five heroes, brothers of ours, Stephen Corrigan, Stephen O’Brien, David Hunter, Matthew Donnelly and Paul Nwune, are to be ordained as deacons en route to the priesthood. They belong to the dioceses of Clifton, A&B, Southwark and to the outstanding Diocese of Portsmouth...

Next Sunday, 27th December, we rejoice to keep the Feast of the Holy Family. It is also our annual diocesan Day of Prayer for those in the ministry of Safeguarding. It is a day when we pray for children and vulnerable adults, for the victims of abuse and for all who work in the ministry of safeguarding. Just as Mary and Joseph created a safe home-environment for Jesus, so too on this day, let us offer the Rosary and pray that the Church in all her contexts will be a safe haven for our children and for the vulnerable. Let us thank God too for the work of our diocesan Safeguarding Coordinator, Ruth Attfield and her team, and for our Safeguarding Commission and its members under the chairmanship of Dr. Richard John. Above be we pray for all those across the Diocese who volunteer and serve so generously in our parishes as safeguarding representatives. Here is an intercession that could be used on the day:
On this Feast of the Holy Family,
we pray for children and vulnerable adults,
for the victims of abuse and
for all who work in the ministry of safeguarding:
that as Mary and Joseph created a safe home-environment for Jesus,
so too the Church in all her contexts will be
a safe haven for our children and for the vulnerable.
V/. Lord in your mercy R/. Hear our prayer.

On the Feast of the Holy Family we hear how Jesus is taken to Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph to be presented at the Temple, in accordance with the Jewish Law. Jesus Presentation, an ordinary event in a young Jewish boy’s life, ends in an extraordinary way when he is recognised as the Saviour by Simeon and Anna. Having become part of his own chosen people, the people of Israel, through the Incarnation, God in Jesus takes upon himself all that the Law which he gave to this people requires. But the prophecies of Simeon and Anna reveal that Jesus’ very presence in the Temple is a sign that the time of the Law and the Temple is passing: for God is now present among his people in a new and astonishing way. 

You can register to watch the webinar here, or join us via Facebook live. If you can’t join us, you can subscribe to the podcast here.

In Patris Corde, Pope Francis says that “every day, for over forty years, following Lauds, I have recited a prayer to Saint Joseph taken from a nineteenth-century French prayer book of the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary. It expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to Saint Joseph.” It is a splendid prayer for us all to say, especially during these days of late-Advent:
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph,
whose power makes the impossible possible,
come to my aid in these times of anguish and difficulty.
Take under your protection
the serious and troubling situations that I commend to you,
that they may have a happy outcome.
My beloved father, all my trust is in you.
Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain,
and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary,
show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen.

Over Christmas and New Year, please do support your parish, your clergy and parishioners. Meanwhile, here at St. John’s Cathedral in Portsmouth, the Christmas liturgies (livestreamed) are as follows:
Christmas Eve
1215 Mass
1800 Vigil Mass of Christmas
2400 Midnight Mass (Bishop Philip)
Christmas Day 
0800 Mass (Latin EF)
1000 Mass (Bishop Philip)
1200 Mass
Saturday 26th December
1215 Mass
1800 Vigil Mass 
Sunday 27th December
0800 Mass (Latin EF)
1000 Mass 
1200 Mass
1800 Mass
Monday 28th – Thursday 31st December
1215 Mass
Friday 1st January
1215 Mass
Saturday 2nd January 
1215 Mass
1800 Vigil Mass 
Sunday 3rd January 
0800 Mass (Latin EF)
1000 Mass 
1200 Mass
1800 Mass

Tony Darlison, a second year Diaconate Student from St Peter and the Winchester Martyrs parish in Winchester offers this Reflection on the Crib, inspired in part by Pope Francis’ 2019 Apostolic Letter Admirabile Signum on the Meaning and Importance of the Nativity Scene...
 
Picture the scene in the deep winter of 1223.  A humble little friar travels home through Umbria and rests in the poor village of Greccio where he will spend Christmas. The friar knows well that we encounter God with all our senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell even. He asks a local man named John to help him realise his desire “to bring to life the memory of that babe born in Bethlehem, to see as much as possible with my own bodily eyes the discomfort of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he was laid upon a bed of hay”. On Christmas eve the villagers gather with flowers and with torches to light the holy night. As the friar approaches the scene prepared by his friend John he finds an ox and an ass, and a manger.  A local priest says Mass over the manger, reminding the people that Christ feeds us just as a manger feeds the animals. Thus it was that Saint Francis started the tradition of the Christmas crib...

If you are in need of prayer or spiritual guidance you can use this specially dedicated prayer line for the 12 days of Christmas in the following ways:-
By e-mail: You can e-mail Fr. Tom Grufferty or Fr. Shaun Budden any time. In return you will receive prayers related to your specific needs, and also some recommended prayer ideas, available at the click of a button. These include ideas on how to relax, mindfulness and websites dedicated to prayer.
Or by Phone: Ring 07905 949198 between 4-5pm from 26th December until 6th January 2021 inclusive.
Geoff and Gina Poulter have also generously offered to be available by phone for nine days, from 29th December until 6th January between 4-5 pm on 07551 182897.
Or by Zoom with friends between 5pm and 5:45 pm from Saturday 26th December to Wednesday 6th January. To gain access just click 10 minutes before 5 pm. See http://www.laybenedictines.org/prayerline for more information.
Daily Prayer: If you would like a regular daily prayer life you are welcome to log on to http://www.laybenedictines.org/ where you will find the Divine Office prayed on Zoom four times a day.                                   

Fr Adrian Graffy, a parish priest of Brentwood Diocese and a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, has prepared a series of reflections on the ‘Christmas gospels’, the gospel passages read from 17th December until 6th January. Videos of the talks can be accessed by going to www.whatgoodnews.org.

A parishioner from the diocese has sent in this Spiritual Communion Reflection, "Bread and Wine or The Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ?" which might be of interest particularly to those isolating at this time and not being able to be physically present at Holy Mass: 

In your heart of hearts, what do you truly believe?  For all those who have found this a hard concept, perhaps these thoughts may help one or two of you.  It is easy to believe in God and Jesus through the scriptures and now we are continuing the journey of the Bible by living with the Holy Spirit as He is amongst each and every one of us. So, now it is easy!  Granted some, more than others know when the Holy Spirit is around them and working within them, and even protecting them, but at whatever level of awareness we have, the basic fact is, we all believe – so we need not doubt the question above at all. We cannot physically see the Holy Spirit, so why would we expect this at the Altar for us to truly believe? We wouldn’t, so we need not have any doubts. The Holy Spirit comes, on the Priest’s calling, soaks into the bread then the wine.  We are then taking the pure Body of Christ and the pure Blood of Christ. Now you can ask yourself, “why on earth did I ever question this in my heart of hearts?” I wonder if your walk towards the Altar during Mass changes.  Mine did, dramatically – I have to try hard not to become quite overwhelmed at times.  We are so privileged...

Mrs. Louise Blake, Head teacher, writes...

Charlton House Independent School has teamed up with Team Medical in Southampton and together, they have been busy filling shoeboxes with all sorts of goodies to support The Society of St James this Christmas. This local charity supports those facing challenging times, perhaps because they are experiencing homelessness, and also assists vulnerable people with complex needs in making positive changes to their lives. Each box contained items such as hats, gloves, scarves, chocolate and biscuits as well as a Christmas card with a message of hope and peace for the recipient.

Eileen Finch shares this update from our Diocesan Christian Unity Team...

A member of the Christian Unity Team has a friend who bought shares in Zoom in February 2020. What a lucky speculation!!! Social media and IT has allowed church communities of all denominations to continue to communicate, worship together and generally keep in touch.

Peter McManus from Winchester writes about a Zoom meeting he had recently with parish members: "One of our parish group chairs the Basics Bank, our local food bank. Another is treasurer of the Live at Home scheme, originally started by the Methodists, to support the housebound. A third volunteers with the Southampton & Winchester Visitors group, which befriends asylum seekers. Another works with the Winchester Churches Night Shelter. And I'm sure this is only a sample of informal parish ecumenical activity. Ecumenism is not just a matter of worshipping together from time to time! And in these difficult times this outreach work is more important than ever."

Gabriel Somorjay reports that the InSight project at the Cathedral has managed to continue in these difficult times: "The Cathedral parish runs InSight, a group of people who collect food offered by the supermarkets, redistributing it to those in need, providing them in addition, with two hot meals a week. Our guests come from ‘all faiths and none’ and though we do not proselytise, at least two people have been received into the Catholic Church. We are grateful that the Dean has allowed us to continue this mission in spite of the pandemic."

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity held between 18th January to 25th January 2021 will give all Christians an opportunity to worship together and celebrate our closeness and our one great bond which is our Lord Jesus Christ. If you would like further details, visit Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

The Christian Unity Team wishes you all a very holy Christmastide.

Sarah Wake, our Diocesan Grants Officer shares great news and expresses our gratitude to the Allchurches Trust for their generous grant...

Metal theft is a recurring issue for churches across the country, and pockets of our Diocese have been particularly effected, with some churches suffering from theft several times over the past 5 years. The grant of £35,000 from Allchurches Trust will pay 50% of the costs of installing roof alarm grants for the 15 worst affected churches across the Diocese. Over the next few weeks the Estates team will be getting in touch with those churches who were included in our bid. Congratulations to all those who will benefit from this grant!

If you have a current project that you think could benefit from grant fundraising support, please do get in touch with Sarah Wake our Grants Officer with details of your project - swake@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

Jo Lewry shares shares Kayode’s thank you message from Freetown Sierra Leone...

Kayode is CAFOD’s Country Representative for Sierra Leone and Liberia and he has sent this special thank you message to everyone who supported our Coronavirus Appeal.   
 
In April we launched our Coronavirus Appeal to provide communities in 31 countries where we work with the support, they needed to tackle coronavirus. So far an amazing £3.6 million has been donated to the appeal and this includes the Harvest fast day donations so thank you to everyone who has donated especially to all those who donated online when churches were closed or unable to have collections.We really appreciate your generosity in these challenging times! Your donations have helped to provide:

• Over 19,000 families with emergency food supplies
• Over 28,000 people with PPE and sanitizing equipment
• Over 82,000 people had COVID awareness training or messages
• Over 10,000 people with cash transfers
• Over 36,000 people and families with additional support

Thank you so much and please continue to keep the work of CAFOD and our partners in your prayers as we head into 2021. May I wish you and your families a holy and blessed Christmas and a joy filled New Year.

Dudley Plunkett brings us the latest instalment of his series on the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, this month featuring St John Stone whose feastday falls on 23rd December...

Among the earliest of the Forty Martyrs to be executed, John’s name headed the list of the English martyrs submitted to Rome for beatification. Though little is known about his life, other than that he had opposed King Henry VIII’s divorce, he was an Austin Friar who came to notice when Cromwell’s Visitor, the suffragan Bishop of Dover, came to dissolve his Friary in Canterbury. John was the only member of the community to refuse to take the Oath of Supremacy and was consequently arrested. All his confreres were expelled from the Friary without compensation. After spending a year in prison in London, John was sent back to Canterbury to be tried under the Treason Act. He was swiftly convicted and was hanged, drawn and quartered on 27 December 1539, being subjected to a very public execution as a warning to others. It was reported that on the scaffold John declared, ‘I close my apostolate in my blood. In my death I shall find life, for I die for a holy cause, the defence of the Church of God.’
St John Stone, pray for us.

Peter Clarke from the Isle of Wight Catholic History Society draws our attention to a significant event falling next week...

Tuesday, 29th December marks not only the Feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury, but also the 850th anniversary of his martyrdom. Apart from the Catholic church at Emsworth, there are only two other churches in our diocese which are dedicated to the 12th century English martyr. Surprisingly, they are both on the Isle of Wight, just five miles apart, at Newport and Cowes and. The significance of these two churches is that they have the same foundress; Elizabeth Heneage and they were both built before 1800. This makes them (arguably) two of the oldest (purpose built) Catholic parish churches built in England since the Protestant Reformation...

Our thanks to Richard Barton (btsarnia.org) and Michael Huscroft for this article to mark the centenary of the death of Canon Alexander Scoles (1844-1920) on 20th December 1920, the architect of the magnificent church of Holy Ghost, Basingstoke.
 
Alexander Joseph Cory Scoles was born in Hammersmith, London, on 30th November 1844, the third son of Joseph John Scoles and Harriet Cory. His father, J. J. Scoles, was a well-known architect, born of Catholic parents in 1798 and educated at the Franciscan school at Baddesley Clinton, near Birmingham, during the Napoleonic Wars. Joseph was apprenticed to another Catholic architect, John Ireland, who did much work for Dr John Milner, Vicar Apostolic of the Western District from 1803-1826. J. J. Scoles designed numerous Catholic churches, notably: the Jesuit college chapel of St. Peter at Stonyhurst and the Jesuit church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, London – he also designed the college church of St Mary at Prior Park, which was completed over twenty-five years later by his son, Alexander.

• £30,000-32,000 per annum (full time equivalent) dependant on experience, plus contributory pension.
• Part time - 14 hours per week pro rata (worked flexibly – days to be agreed with successful candidate).
• Reporting to the Diocesan Safeguarding Coordinator.
• Closing date: 29th December 2020