Newsletter - October 11th
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
his mercy endures forever.” Psalm 107:1
This month, I celebrate 25 years of priesthood. A journey with the living God, working concretely in my daily life, who has granted me the grace to see his love and to understand that he can guide me, as Psalm 23 says: “The Lord is my shepherd; he leads me…”
I recognized God’s first call during a conversation with a young Parisian priest. I was a computer science student at the time, living in a Chemin Neuf student residence. I met this priest at Chartres Cathedral in France, after a student pilgrimage, and he said to me, “It’s good to be a priest, but I feel lonely.” Listening to him, a voice spoke to me in my heart: “If you become a priest, this young priest will no longer feel alone.”
Born into a Catholic family, and thanks to renewed prayer within charismatic groups and the support of the brothers and sisters of the Chemin Neuf Community, I decided to be more attentive to God’s voice, for I had promised the Lord Jesus to love and follow Him.
The Lord has been very good to me year after year, in my daily life: the end of my studies, my graduation, my professional life, and my life within the Chemin Neuf Community… It was a time of growth in faith and greater self-knowledge, a time when the Lord helped me not to fear His call and to be free to choose to respond to it with complete serenity when the time came.
The first great joy I received from God was my ordination at Chartres Cathedral, where I had begun to consider the priesthood. I realized how faithful and good God is. My first year of priesthood was spent in Belgium, and then I was sent by the Chemin Neuf Community to France, Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Burundi, Uganda, and now England. I am very happy to serve the Lord, the Church, my community in different cultures and to discover the diversity of God's people.
I have witnessed the greatness of God in the priestly ministry. I have seen how much the Lord loves us and how his mercy transforms us, how he comforts and encourages us, and how, in my own life, he has touched me with his compassion. Without his grace, I cannot serve
him; therefore, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he may grant me the grace to listen to him, to listen to his people, and to serve them faithfully.
Fr Georges Scholastique, ccn
Focus of the week
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
Registration is open for children from year 3 and above to receive First Holy Communion in May 2027. Sunday morning sessions from 9.45am-11.00am, starting 8 November.
Last day to apply 19 October.
Please contact Caterina by email at cockfosterspa@rcdow.org.uk or the parish office to register.
Notices of the Week
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