The Bishop’s Blog: Signs of healing within the Body of Christ

My dear friends in Christ,

Welcome to this week’s Bishop’s Blog!

Christian Unity Octave expanded to include a Churches Together in Cockermouth and Area gathering on 30th Jan. I was invited to join them for prayer and speak to the assembly. This is a revitalised group, showing strong evidence of different Christian traditions working and worshipping together. A Quaker asked me what does a Catholic Bishop do? The simple answer is that I follow Christ’s call. I am a disciple. Beyond that, I safeguard the continuity of Christ’s teaching and the proclaiming of His Gospel to the world. There must have been towards 100 people present, including some welcome faces I knew from my years in Workington.An evening of prayer at St.Joseph’s, Skerton brought together local Christian groups to meditate on the life of St.Paul on the day celebrating his conversion. Again, it was a joy to be part of this local initiative providing evidence of the healing of divisions within the Body of Christ.
At the weekend I was privileged to attend part of the AGM for the British Lourdes Medical Association. Hosted by Lancaster Lourdes, and held at the Village, Blackpool, this was my first such event. The vigil Mass was celebrated at St.Cuthbert’s Blackpool where I had served as a curate in the 1980s.The highlight for me was to be in the company of Sr.Bernadette Muriau, declared in 2018 to be the 70th official miracle of the Shrine. Now 80years old, she is the picture of good health and a joy to be with. At the heart of her story is her love for the Blessed Sacrament and faithfulness to prayer of adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist. Do please commit yourselves to such prayer and adoration. When we kneel before Jesus, present in the Most Holy Eucharist we could be described as being in ‘the healing zone’.Amongst so many other ‘bits and pieces’ over the past week I took time out to visit Coniston. The Knights of St.Columba (Carlisle) have taken on a project to develop the presbytery as holiday accommodation suitable for families. Nearing completion now I was delighted to have this sneak preview and enjoy the company of Peter Campbell KSC who is dedicated to seeing the project through. So many of our Lakeland parishes have no resident priest and fewer active parishioners than in former times.Yet we must find imaginative ways of keeping a vibrant, welcoming Catholic presence in the small communities of the Lake District. We must be part of the abiding beauty for locals and visitors. Do keep Coniston in mind for family and group holidays. Details are available from the KSC in Carlisle..
On a sadder note, we have heard of the death of Fr.Aelred Grugan, parish priest of St.Mary’s, Kells. In recent years Fr.Aelred had been living in Scotland partly due to his declining health. Our prayers go out to his family, friends and his beloved parishioners in Kells.