October 2025

There was a launch in Hay in September of a book about an individual who has had a deep and lasting impact upon this area. This is a book on the self-declared King of Hay, Richard Booth, which is entitled The Bookseller of Hay. I am at present reading it for pleasure; the author has not paid me to promote it, as of yet…

The book is part tale of this very definite person, and yet also reads as a letter of deep affection for Hay and surrounds. The places which we inhabit are shaped by the past and the impact of our forebears. Culture and expectation are the product of that. I know that I stand in the footsteps of past Parish Priests and the relationships that they have had with these communities. In all instances they have been different men who have changed things, be that radically or gently and softly. Places, as time, do not stand still, and yet cannot be anything but shaped by the people of the present and past. We are therefore shaping the narrative of today just as our forebears have given us the stage to perform upon.

This is the case within all of our Churches, situated within the town and villages here, whether we be almost daily Communicants or someone who lives between here and somewhere else. It is impossible for us to not have some form of impact upon the life of the Church here. The first lesson read at Mass today is from the prophet Haggai in which the will of God was expressed with regard to the Temple. ‘Is this a time for you to live in your panelled houses, when this House lies in ruins?’ The prophet goes on to say, ‘Reflect carefully how things have gone for you. So go to the hill country, fetch wood, and rebuild the House: I shall then take pleasure in it, and be glorified there, says the Lord.’ This prophecy acted as a catalyst toward the restoration of the Temple which was a notable stage of the return of the Jewish people following exile in Babylonia. This is referred to in the book of Ezra.

‘Reflect carefully how things have gone for you.’ In looking at the inheritance, the stage that we have, be that S. Michael’s, Clyro or the Llanthony Valley, these words have solemnity. As can be read in parts of The Bookseller of Hay there is a character to a place which can either become an historic memory or integral to the living spirit of the place today. The air and nature of the Church building, often with stones soaked in generations of Prayer, is affected by us and our actions now and in the years to come. Churches which are loved as buildings, open and warm (in spirit at least!) to all and sundry, and which most importantly speak of God are not only what we have but are shaped by us and our interactions with them. We have been placed on to the stage..

Please God, let it be that the Blessed Saints, most particularly Our Lady, continue to pray for us!