Visit from the Families

Yesterday, Monday, I was pleased to receive our four Neo-Catechumenal Way families and support persons to Bishops House for an annual eve of Christmas gathering. This Missio ad Gentes initiative is centred in Paulsgrove and Cosham in north Portsmouth and comprises single laypersons and four families, who have willingly left their home and country in order to begin a new life on mission here in England. The mission has been running now for several years and many of the youngest children you can see in this photo are Pompey born and bred. The families are making a radical commitment on their part to the Lord and His Church. The Missio ad Gentes involves a life of prayer for mission, study of the Gospels, celebration of Mass and the sacraments, a pledge to live as a truly Christian family and a plan of intentional outreach to everyone they meet, such as people at work, those living on the same street, and fellow-students attending the same school. The whole family is involved. Our Christmas meeting yesterday enabled us to catch up on things and to offer them support in their endeavours, to invoke God’s blessing upon them and to assure them of the prayers of the clergy and people of our Diocese. I gave a brief catechesis about St. Joseph and his role as a truly good man who listened out for the Word of God in his life and put it into practice. Please pray for these families on mission. The Missio ad Gentes is a generational effort of extraordinary generosity. It may be many years before the seeds they sow daily germinate and by God’s grace renew the Church in this area.