Fr Derek Reeve, a Priest for over 50 years, echoed Frank's welcome, saying that he had not remotely imagined that so many people would turn up and from so widely in the UK.
Blessed Pope John XX111 had been widely regarded as a 'caretaker' Pope. No one, least of all the Cardinals, had expected him to announce a General Council of the Church at Mass on the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul in 1959.
Pope John's vision of Church perceived that it needed urgent renewal. Some Catholics today look back to a blissful time before the Council when myth says that all was well. The Pope knew this was not entirely true and had the courage to do something about it. His aim was to bring the Church into the modern world and enable it to dialogue with modernity to bring about justice and peace.
Fr Derek spoke about the excitement among Catholics on hearing and sharing Pope John's vision. Among his own parishioners, people began looking forward with hope and anticipation. The vision of the Church as the People of God and the Kingdom as a realm which could be worked towards by all in the Church was inspiring.
Vatican II was not an end in itself. It was the beginning of a process. We do not want its renewal and reforms to disappear, like many in previous Councils.
Fr Derek ask everyone to pray, and pray hard, to invoke the Holy Spirit to once more blow through the Church and "enkindle the hearts of the faithful" to go forward in faith, hope and love.
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Stand Up for Vatican II
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