Welcome to St John's Gravesend

The life of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
Approved for beatification in 2020, this modern tech savvy teenager lived a holy and pure life centered on the Eucharist and serving others.

Here’s 15 quotes from this new blessed to inspire you in your daily living:

1) “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.”

2) “Our soul is like a hot air balloon. If by chance there is a mortal sin, the soul falls to the ground. Confession is like the fire underneath the balloon enabling the soul to rise again. . . It is important to go to confession often.”

3) “Continuously ask your guardian angel for help. Your guardian angel has to become your best friend.”

4) “All people are born as originals but many die as photocopies.”

5) “I am happy to die because I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it on anything unpleasing to God.”

6) “The Virgin Mary is the only woman in my life.”

7) “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.”

8) “Do not be afraid because with the Incarnation of Jesus, death becomes life, and there’s no need to escape: in eternal life, something extraordinary awaits us.”

9) “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven”.

10) “When we face the sun we get a tan… but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist we become saints.”

11) “By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy.”

12) “Our goal must be infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our homeland. Heaven has been waiting for us forever.”

13) “Sadness is looking at ourselves, happiness is looking towards God.”

14) “The only thing we have to ask God for, in prayer, is the desire to be holy.”

15) “What does it matter if you can win a thousand battles if you cannot win against your own corrupt passions? It doesn’t matter. The real battle is with ourselves.”

Pope Francis has established 1 September as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, encouraging the Catholic community around the world to pray for our common home.

The day is inspired by Pope Francis' landmark encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls on "every person living on this planet" to care for our shared Earth.

He calls us all to celebrate this opportune moment to “reaffirm [our] personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation, as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.”

Pray with us

Season of Creation

This World Day of Prayer also falls at the beginning of the Season of Creation, which runs until 4 October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. This is an ecumenical season dedicated to prayer for the protection of creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles.

How to respond to the World Day of Prayer

Individually

There are many ways to respond to Pope Francis’ call to care for the gift of God’s creation – why not take some time out of your day on 1 September to walk in your local park or take a few moments to thank God for the flowers growing in your garden?

You can join us in a novena to Saint Francis of Assisi, starting from today. Or you could pray it in the nine days leading up to Saint Francis' feast at the end of the Season of Creation. These beautiful prayers are based on Saint Francis' Canticle of the Sun and guide us to care for the earth and our most vulnerable brothers and sisters.

Pray the novena

The World Day of Prayer is another opportunity for us to connect with our creator God and allow the Lord to redefine our relationship with the environment: from one of consumption and control to one of care and protection.

In parishes or groups

Because of coronavirus, any group celebration of the World Day of Prayer will have to look a little different this year.

You could pray a creation liturgy at home or outdoors with those in your social bubble.

Download a prayer vigil for the care of creation

Or get together with others from your parish online and reflect on the themes of Laudato Si'. This encyclical reminds us that we have a responsibility to our Earth, each other and to generations yet to come.

Use our Laudato Si' resources

If you cannot mark the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation itself, you could use these resources at any time during the Season of Creation (1 September – 4 October 2020).

For more information please visit: -
https://cafod.org.uk/News/UK-news/Celebrate-World-Day-of-Prayer

St John The Evangelist R.C. Church

Sunday 18th October 10:30 (Live Streaming)

Carlo Acutis: