Coming up

• Spiritual Evening – Tuesday 13 October, 7:30 pm: Join Celia to explore Biblical Women: Their Lives and Lessons.
• Bible Study – Friday 16 October, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: An opportunity to reflect on Scripture with Fr James.

Everyone is welcome, with tea, coffee and light refreshments available.

Pets’ Blessing
Our Pets’ Blessing reminds us to give thanks for the companionship animals bring and to care lovingly for all God’s creation.

Parish family
We remember Archbishop Robert Rivas, O.P., with affection and pray for his eternal rest. We also thank Yasmin and Flavian for remembering St Ann’s in prayer during their pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Regular activities

• 60+ Club: Wednesdays, 10:45 am – 12:15 pm, in the parish hall.
• Christian meditation, breathwork and yoga exercise: Wednesdays, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm.
• Tea and coffee: After Sunday Mass, with the Kids’ Corner available for children.

Please see the newsletter below for the full programme, Mass times and intentions, readers’ rota and further parish notices.

Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Homily

Pets’ Blessing Homily – The Dog Who Walked to Heaven

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,

There is a beautiful story in the Mahabharata, one of the great sacred epics of the Hindu tradition.

At the centre of the story is King Yudhishthira. He was known as a man who tried throughout his life to follow Dharma – the path of righteousness, truth, duty and right relationship.

Towards the end of his life, Yudhishthira decided to leave everything behind.

His kingdom.
His possessions.
His power.

Together with his brothers and Draupadi, he began his final journey towards the Himalayas.

And strangely, a little dog began following them.

Nobody invited the dog.

Nobody knew where it came from.

It simply walked with them.

The journey became harder and harder. One by one, his companions fell along the way.

Eventually Yudhishthira continued alone.

Except for the dog.

Step after step.

Mountain after mountain.

The dog remained beside him.

Finally Yudhishthira reached the gates of heaven.

He was told, “You may enter.”

But the dog could not come.

Yudhishthira looked at the animal that had walked beside him through the final part of his journey and refused to abandon it.

He could not enjoy heaven by betraying the creature that had remained faithful to him.

And then something extraordinary happened.

The dog revealed himself as Dharma itself.

The final lesson of his life was not about his throne.

Not about his victories.

Not about how much he had achieved.

It was about how he walked with another living creature.

And perhaps that is a beautiful thought for us today.

We have brought our pets here to bless them.

But when we think about it, how many times have they already blessed us?

They don’t give us long advice.

They don’t ask complicated questions.

Sometimes when we are lonely, they simply sit beside us.

When everybody else is busy, they are there.

When we come home, they recognise us.

When we are sad, somehow they know.

Of course, sometimes they demand attention at exactly the wrong moment! They want to go out. They want food. They want to sit exactly where we are trying to sit!

But underneath all of that is something very simple:

companionship.

There is even a lovely little sentence in the Bible. When Tobias begins his long journey with the angel Raphael, Scripture simply says:

“The dog went along behind them.” Tobit 6:2

I love that.

An angel is walking there.

A young man is walking there.

And quietly behind them comes the dog.

Perhaps God is reminding us that life is not only about reaching destinations.

It is also about who walks beside us on the journey.

The Book of Proverbs says:

“The righteous care for the needs of their animals.”
— Proverbs 12:10

And St Francis looked at the whole creation as one family – brother sun, sister moon, the birds, the animals, every creature coming from the same loving Creator.

So perhaps today, as we bless our animals, we can remember something very simple:

At the end of life, perhaps what matters will not be how much we possessed, how important we became, or how many things we achieved.

Perhaps what will remain is much simpler:

Whom did I love?
Who walked with me?
And whose journey became a little easier because I walked beside them?

Our pets cannot answer those questions for us.

But sometimes, without saying a single word, they teach us how to ask them.

And today, as we bless them, perhaps we should also quietly thank God for all the times these little companions have already been a blessing to us.