The Magazine Each month we hope to include some of the main articles from the present magazine. Click on the article you wish to read Message from Fr. Graham Saint of the month A Message from Father Graham May 2008 Dear Friends, One of the things that I have myself doing, since my Dad died on 2nd March, is thinking about the man, his qualities, his life and what he has handed on to his children. Dad was a man committed to the countryside, the nature around him and the animals in his care. Strangely, all my life I have taken it for granted - that's what Dad did, but I have had my awareness sharpened when I look at my two brothers and their respective love of the same. He was wise, shrewd and always had an eye for an opportunity & value for money when he spent money. I see these in varying degrees again both in Viv and Martin. Grab the opportunity and spend wisely to improve your business, that's the motto.

His wicked dry sense of fun and humour has been inherited by Viv especially and to a lesser degree by Martin. Viv in his younger days was a practical joker and a tease, but never with malice. Dad was the same. His manners, I hope we have all inherited as well as his faithfulness to those whom he loved and cared about. I have definitely inherited his punctuality, as he used to say, "There are only two seven o‘clocks in a day." In other words if you say you are going to be there at seven then seven it is not ten or quarter past, but seven. And as far as looks go - to see my older brother Viv, is to see Dad as a younger man. At 100 yards distance and both with their caps on, they were amazingly alike.

John wrote in his Gospel (Chapter 14) Philip said to Jesus, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?' Poor Philip had not recognised the qualities of the Father in the Son, Jesus. Although Jesus had tried to tell his disciples all about himself and where he had come from, what would happen to him and where he would return to, they hadn't grasped in nor seen it in Jesus.

How often in our lives do we fail to let people see the face of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit? How often do we hide those qualities away, so that others can't find them or see them? More often than we care to admit, I suspect. Every day we must refocus on God and catch glimpses of Him in others & in consequence allow others to see Him in us. God is a sharing God. He loves us so much; he wants us so much and wants others to be drawn to that love. He pours out that love from the Cross of the crucified, risen and ascended Son, Jesus Christ. He is passionate about ALL his people; both those who are aware of their salvation and those whom he is trying to win back form the hands and works of the devil. And how does He win them back? Threw each of us, as our live reflect that love and glory in the world.

My Dad was passionate about many things, especially about family in his care and animals and the care of them. He dedicated his life, with my late mother, Gwen, to us and worked hard to ensure that our home was a place of love, security & truth. He also ensured that what ever lived and breathed on his farm went for nothing and were well provided for. Even in retirement he liked to ensure that all the animals were ok.

Where do we and others find that same love, security and truth? In our Father's house. Our house of prayer. That is why the outside doors stand open, inviting us and others to come in and enjoy the hospitality that He offers. Just as my Dad was a warm and generous man, so our heavenly Father is even warmer and even more generous than we can ever imagine.

The more I look at my brothers, the more I see various qualities of our dad, that they have inherited and use. Little things like their practical ability to turn their hands to various jobs and sort out mechanical problems. Similarly, we should all be able to see God's hand at work in others and they see God at work in us.

As Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."

Fr. Graham

Saint of the month

This is a series that I hope will enlighten, and inform. We celebrate many Saints Days in the year not always knowing much about them. I hope you enjoy these Saints.

St Petronax. - Abbot of Monte Cassino. AD747.
Feast Day 6^th May
The second founder of the abbey of Monte Cassino, St Petronax was a native of Brescia. He seems to have been induced by Pope Gregory ii to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of St Benedict in the year 717. There, among the ruins of the old monastery which had been destroyed by the Lombards in 581, he found a few solitaries, who elected him their superior. Other disciples soon gathered round them. Through the generosity of prominent nobles, chief amongst whom was the Lombard duke of Beneventum, and with the strong support of three popes, he succeeded in rebuilding Monte Cassino, which under his long and vigorous rule, regained its old eminence. The English St Willibald, afterwards bishop of Eichstatt, received the habit at his hands. St Sturmius, founder of the abbey of Fulda, spent some time at Monte Cassino learning the primitive Benedictine rule, and great men of all kinds, princes as well as ecclesiastics, stayed within its hospitable walls. St Petronax ruled over the community until his death, the date of which was probably 747.

Fr. Graham.