My Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ, my Friends, my Dear Parishioners and warmly welcomed visitors,
There is a lovely story told of Saint John Vianney, the holy Curé of Ars, Patron of the Partish Priests. In his small village, people would sometimes hesitate to knock at his door, worried that he was praying or busy and that they might disturb him. One day he noticed this and gently told them: “Do not be afraid to come. If you find me talking to God, then wait a little, God will understand. But if you find me resting or doing nothing, then come at once, for I was waiting for you.” He knew something beautiful: a priest is never truly doing his work unless he is with the people. There is another story, this one about a great ship’s captain. Someone once asked him: “Captain, what is the most important part of this great vessel we are sailing on?” The captain pointed to the rudder, that small, quiet piece of steel deep beneath the water, almost never seen. “Everyone sees the sails and the deck,” he said, “but without this rudder, the ship goes nowhere. It guides, it steadies, it keeps us on course, even when no one is watching.” In many ways, that is what a priest’s hidden life is, our daily prayer, the Holy Office we promised to pray at our ordination in the intention of our Parishioners, the quiet hours spent with God. It is our rudder. Everything else, every meeting, every visit, every decision must flow from that time spent with the Lord. As Jesus Himself said: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” If we try to build this parish on our own strength, our own ideas, it will not last. But rooted in Him, it will bear fruit that reaches even to the next generation. Of course, there is much that fills our days that You may not always see. There are the sick and the lonely we visit in hospital, a prison, care homes and homes. There are hundreds of emails and letters to answer. There are those we have walked with before in previous parishes, families, friends whom we still carry in our hearts and prayers. All of this matters. All of this is part of our life. But none of it, not one single thing is ever more important than YOU. You are the family God has entrusted to us here, right now, in this parish. You are the reason me and Fr Benedict are here. And my heart is full, above all else, because of You in this church.
Thank You from the depths of our souls for every Holy Mass we have celebrated together this past week. At every altar, we walk that same sacred road again: from the Upper Room, through the Garden of Olives, all the way to Golgotha. Those precious words echo still: “This is my Body… This is the Blood of the new Covenant, poured out for you.” Thank You for being there for joining our Lord at the foot of the Cross, and for welcoming Him back among us in the breaking of the Bread of Life Himself. Thank You for every Rosary prayed, every moment spent in silent adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, every Divine Mercy Chaplet lifted up in trust. And thank You most especially to those who came to the Sacrament of Confession, those beautiful, quiet moments when the mercy of God pours out beyond all understanding, and a soul begins again. These are not just rituals these are the heartbeat of our parish. This is where we truly meet. Before I speak of all the wonderful people I have met this week, my heart turns first to those who walked this road before me. Everywhere I go in this parish, I can trace their footsteps. I see the faith in your hearts, the joy in your gatherings, the warmth of your welcome and I know: someone planted this seed. Someone watered it. Someone tended it with patience and love, often without seeing the full harvest themselves. We are simply reaping the fruits of their faithful, hard labour. With enormous gratitude, I remember Canon Gerard whose footsteps I follow daily. I remember with affection Canon Michael, whom I still recall visiting here twenty years ago to serve the Polish community a faithful servant to all people. And I thank God for Canon Chris and Father Inna, what a wonderful foundation You laid, what a work You accomplished with such dedication. To all our former priests, thank You. From me, from Father Benedict, from Deacon Mark, and from all of us thank You beyond measure. We build on what You began. We walk where You prepared the way. May the Lord bless your work a hundredfold.
To our dear Legion of Mary thank You from the bottom of my heart. Your mission is so beautiful, and in a world that so often forgets the way home, your courage to go out and meet people, even strangers, with the simple, life-changing message that God loves You is nothing short of apostolic. You do not count the cost. You do not count the rejection. You simply go, because You believe that our Lady’s greatest desire is to lead every soul as close as possible to her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for your prayers, your dedication, and for reaching out in so many gentle, beautiful ways. Your work is precious in God’s sight. To Father Benedict and Deacon Mark, words cannot express how grateful I am for You both. So many things simply would not be possible without your faithful, hard work. Your love for our Lord — true God who became true Man — inspires me daily. You are wise counsellors, steady companions, and wonderful examples of what it means to serve Christ and His people. Knowing I can always count on You is one of God’s greatest gifts to me right now. Thank You for walking beside me, for your advice, and for making this Parish such a special place. May our Lady, Mother of the Church, watch over You both always. And to our wonderful Parish Secretaries, what a treasure You are! You give not just your working hours, but so often hours beyond, just to ensure everything runs smoothly, that everyone is welcomed, that all is organised and cared for. You are the heartbeat of our parish life, the first face people see, the first voice they hear. You keep us all on track, informed, and guided with such kindness and dedication. Thank You for all that You do, often behind the scenes, but never unseen by God or by me. And then there are our dear Pauline and Ron, what a gift from heaven You are to us all! Pauline, you make our presbytery such a warm, welcoming home, a place of peace and comfort and Ron, You work quietly and faithfully to ensure that we are fed and nourished, so that our only concern may be our prayer, our ministry and our service to God and to You all. Because of You two, we do not worry about our meals or our home, we are free to focus entirely on what God has called us to do. You give us strength not just for the hours ahead, but for the years ahead, through your generosity, your care, and your love. You make our life of service lighter, sweeter, and truly blessed. Thank You, dear Friends from the depths of our hearts.
Thank You, Eamonn, for introducing me to our wonderful Core Group and what a creative meeting we had together! It was such a joy to meet each one of You, men and women who have stepped forward simply because You love this Parish and long to see it flourish. You give so generously of your time, your talents, and your hearts ensuring that our parishioners are heard, that our concerns are cared for, and that our Parish moves forward in faith. I am truly amazed and deeply grateful. One day soon, we will introduce You all to the whole Parish in a very special way, so that everyone may know and appreciate what a precious gift You are to us all. I can’t wait for everyone to meet You, to know that they have friends like You, walking alongside them, helping all of us find and follow Jesus Christ in so many beautiful ways. Thank You for your willingness to serve. And to Mark and Francis, and our Parish Finance Committee, thank You for giving me such a clear and caring picture of our Parish financial situation. As someone wisely said: “Only those who know what it takes to run a home can imagine what it takes to care for the whole Parish.” You look after not one home, but several churches, multiple properties, buildings that need repair, maintenance, and constant care, all so that we may be free to focus on what truly matters: the Gospel, our people, our outreach, and our mission. You protect us financially so that our hearts may be free spiritually. Every penny you steward matters deeply and your work is the quiet foundation upon which all our pastoral and evangelisation efforts rest. We simply could not do what we do without You. Thank You for your faithful stewardship. And to our dear Pete, what a treasure You are to us all! Many of You will have seen him around, often in his working clothes, quietly and faithfully tending to our churches, our schools, and our properties. There is no repair too small and no task too great for our “golden hand.” Your generosity, your skills, your hard work and your kind and friendly attitude make such an enormous difference to every one of us. Our parish simply would not flourish as it does without your hard work and dedication. You are a huge treasure to our Parish Family, Pete thank You, thank You, thank You! May God bless the work of your hands.
And to our wonderful Bridget and Alison, our Parish Safeguarding Officers, thank You! What a gift You are to all of us. Meeting with You gave me such a deep sense of peace knowing that our Parish is a safe place for everyone. You work quietly and faithfully to ensure that our most vulnerable, our children, our elderly, our sick, our housebound and literally everyone, are always protected, looked after and cared for. You help guide all of us in our relationships within the Parish, ensuring that everything is done with care, respect and safety. Thank You for your vigilance, your kindness, and your hard work. We are truly blessed to have You watching over us. And our dear Canon Gerard Hetherington, thank You for your company at our Monday and Thursday lunches, those moments of sharing, stories, and wisdom mean more than I can say. Thank You for continuing to celebrate Holy Mass for us on Fridays at Le Platon. You remain part of the heartbeat of this Parish. And to our dear Eileen, thank You so much for meeting with me about our Parish Christmas Lunch! What a wonderful tradition You have built over the years, a time when we truly become family, gathered around good food, laughter and friendship. Christmas is all about family and You help make our Parish feel like exactly that. I hope everyone will put their names forward to join in, it promises to be a truly joyful celebration. Thank You, Eileen, for your hard work and dedication. A special and heartfelt thank You to our dear Shelley, who has so generously taken on our RCIA journey, that beautiful adventure of faith for those who are seeking, discerning and longing to meet our Lord Jesus Christ, truly and really present in the Holy Eucharist. Thank You, Shelley, for your care, your dedication, and your wonderful ideas to make these gatherings so warm and welcoming. Thank You also for drawing on the rich experience and wisdom of our dear Deacon Mark, and for building such a special team to walk alongside those who have courageously said, “I want to know more.” What a precious gift You offer them and all of us by guiding souls closer to Christ. And to our wonderful Mary, Headteacher of our Catholic Primary Schools meeting with You was such a profound joy. You have built something truly beautiful in our schools, a place of high standards, kindness, dedication, and such loving care for every child. If only I could go back to my own childhood and choose where to grow in faith and knowledge I would choose your schools without a moment’s hesitation. Your sacrifice and devotion are visible in everything You do. Thank You also for your beautiful commitment to our First Communion preparation, working together so that our children and their families may come to understand the incredible gift God has given us: that He promised to stay with us until the end of time and He did in the Holy Eucharist, when we can literally, truly receive Him into our hearts, our bodies, and our souls. What a holy and wonderful work You do. Thank You.
And I must also share what a profound joy it was to visit Blanchelande College this week. A most heartfelt and grateful thank You to the Headteacher Alexa and all the staff for such a warm welcome and for the wonderful work You do each day. And a special word of gratitude to our dear Angela, thank You for the beautiful tour and for helping us plan our work together. What moved me most deeply was to see teenagers choosing to turn to Our Lady in rosary prayer, this was such a beautiful, gentle surprise to my heart. Their witness has truly strengthened my own faith. Thank You for the gift of that precious moment, I will not forget it. And to our Tom, our Youth Minister Tom, thank You from the bottom of my heart. Anyone who works with young people knows what a labour of love it is, how much patience, energy and heart it requires. And yet You give of yourself so generously for our youth, for our Confirmation programme and for your wonderful ecumenical work across our Island. You are a gift to this Parish and to our wider community. We are truly blessed to have You walking among us and leading our young people closer to Christ. Thank You for your faithful, dedicated service. And to our dear Holy Spirit Prayer Group, words cannot express how grateful I am to You. After a full, joyful, and demanding first few days, I remember walking toward that final meeting of the day feeling completely exhausted, even tempted to turn back and apologise that I simply had nothing more to give. But as soon as I stepped through the door and met You, filled with the Holy Spirit, welcoming me with such warmth and prayerful love, something shifted. I didn’t find more work to do. I found rest. True rest, the kind that only the Holy Spirit can give. Thank You for being that place of refreshment for my soul. And now I look forward with great joy to next weeks and to meeting so many more of You. There are so many of You I have not yet had the privilege of knowing and I am eager to meet everyone. If You feel called to serve, if You have time to give, if You have a talent to share, You are welcome. There is a place for You here. And to those of You who serve so quietly, so secretly known only to God who pray in the silence of your hearts, who tend to others unseen, who keep this Parish held together by your hidden love and prayers, God sees You. And we thank You most of all. May your quiet service be your joy and may His love be your eternal reward. We walk together, carrying our crosses, our disappointments, our frustrations, our moments of despair. But still we go on. Because we do not follow an idea. We follow Love Himself. The true Love that was revealed to us on the Cross, the Love we long to experience forever, with our families and friends, in the joy of eternal life.
There is one final story I would like to leave with You, a story of a lighthouse keeper who lived on a lonely rocky island. Once a visitor asked him: “How do you keep the light burning night after night, year after year, all alone out here?” The keeper smiled and pointed to a row of small oil lamps along the wall of his room. “I am not alone,” he said. “Every evening, fishermen from the village, mothers at home, sailors far out at sea, they each light a small lamp and pray that this great light will never go out. Their lamps do not light the harbour but they light me. They keep me going. And together, all our small lights keep the great flame burning bright.” That is what we are, Dear Friends. We are those small lamps. Some seen, some unseen, but all burning together. One family. One light. One journey home to the Father. Thank You for being my light this past week. And thank You — for letting me be yours.
With my love, prayers, and deepest gratitude, Father Marcin
Diocese of Portsmouth
