De Profundis
Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord: Lord hear my voice.
Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
But there is forgiveness with Thee: because of Thy law I wait for Thee, O Lord.
My soul waiteth on His word: my soul hopeth in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night let Israel hope in the Lord:
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plentiful redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel, from all their iniquities.
Only last month, I wrote here about my saintly parish priest Fr Alan.
Last night I heard that nothing more could be done for him and that his treatment was to be directed at palliative relief of symptoms. He was given this news on Wednesday. I went to bed and prayed for him again.
This morning I recieved the devastating news that he went home to the Lord at 3 oclock this morning.
I cannot describe how much he was loved and will be missed. He was a father, and a wise teacher to so many.
Here is the email that I recieved:
It is with deep regret and sadness that I inform you Fr
Alan Fudge died at 3am this morning, Friday 5th August. We can rest
assured that our prayers last night at Soul Food helped carry him
towards heaven. The official Parish announcement is given below:
At the end of May, Father Alan wrote in the newsletter about his sickness and
the operation he had had. He said that he hesitated to write about
himself knowing that many of you know more about suffering, pain and
illness than he did. He has certainly had his share of them in these
last few months.
He also said that he needed more treatment for cancer
on his lung. The treatment took the form of chemotherapy, but on
Wednesday he received the news that the treatment was having little
effect and it would not be continued. Palliative care, relieving the
pain and treating the symptoms of the disease, was all that could be
offered to him.
The cancer turned out to be even more aggressive than
even the doctors realised.
Fr Alan died peacefully on the morning of
the 5th August. Those who have been caring for him were praying at his
death. It was less than five months since he became ill.
We have much to thank God for in having had Fr Alan as Parish Priest and, as with
every member of our community, we need to accompany him in prayer.
So that we can pray together as a Parish, on Sunday 7th August, there will
be:
SILENT ADORATION before the BLESSED SACRAMENT after the 6pm Mass
until Midnight
Alan James Fudge
Died on 5th August 2011
Forty years
as a priest
Thirty-three years in this Parish
Requiescat in
Pace
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Fr Alan was my teacher, my confessor, my catechist, my priest, my father . . . He has taught me so much about how to have a deep personal relationship with Jesus and he has explained to me the love and mercy of God the Father. Fr Alan knew my sins, my weaknesses, and he has always asked to be patient with myself. He has taught me the Jesus prayer many years ago and suggested I discover centering prayer. He said every Christian should know the scriptures for ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Jesus Christ. He has taught me to love the Mother Church with all its traditions and vast amount of treasures - such as the teachings of many Holy Fathers of the Church.
ReplyDeleteI shall miss Fr Alan, his homilies, his presence. I will miss cooking for him too and eating with him. He is just like a father to me.
Please God, send your holy angels to guide Fr Alan to paradise.
Thank you (whoever you are) for leaving such a beautiful comment.
ReplyDeleteAll day I have been in a fog of sadness and shock. It's so hard to take in.
Much as he would have hated to hear it when he was alive, in my opinion Fr Alan was a living saint, and he is a saint in heaven now.
I believe I had my own miracle after Fr Alan blessed me.
When I saw him at his anniversary mass a few weeks ago I was too overcome to speak and just kissed his hand. I strongly felt then that he didn't have long.
Now I shall be praying TO him, as well as for him.
His leaving us is such an enormous loss to a parish that was richly blessed in him.
Fr Alan was also my catechist, confessor and friend for many years. Of all the people in I have met and known in my life, I feel most privileged to have known him. If he was not the 'word made flesh' then God never spoke.
ReplyDeleteFor me I experienced God's love, mercy and forgiveness through Alan Fudge. I am happy for him, that his journey is over but sad that such a great man and true friend is gone.
Your grief is understandable, but I'm sure it is also mixed with joy that you were able to have known him. He sounds like such a wonderful priest.
ReplyDeletePrayers for you and your parish. It sounds like now you have a powerful intercessor.
Its so lovely reading these messages Alan is my cousin and its a huge loss to the family as well as all of those he served in his parish.
ReplyDeleteSurreyfox
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your affectionate memory of Fr Alan. It was indeed a privilege to have known him, and those who were close to him were blessed indeed. It is wonderful to know someone so remarkable, but very hard to lose them.
Julie
Many thanks for your prayers.
A Neale
Thank you for commenting here. What a wonderful cousin you had in Fr Alan, you were truly blessed, and I have no doubt you have a great friend in heaven now.
But it is very lonesome here without him to be sure.
I have just returned from adoration in Ogle street, and I just felt so profoundly sad looking at the presiders chair that he will never sit in again.
The comfy chair at the back where he used to sit and pray.
Missing all the wonderful homilies that I won't get to hear.
Looking around the beautiful church that he lovingly built up these past 33 years, his fingerprints are everywhere.
It's hard to take in the reality hat he has gone from us.
Very sorry to hear about Fr Alan, he was a inspiration to all and a great example of the faith he was gifted and blessed, a living saint and a true disciple, may he be rewarded in heaven.
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know Fr Alan’s requiem Mass will be celebrated on 1st September Friday at the Cathedral at 10:30 am. His body will arrive at Ogle Street the day before.
ReplyDeletesorry -
ReplyDelete2nd Sept Friday at the Cathedral at 11:30 am
sorry about the error above
Thanks for that Anon.
ReplyDeleteI am overseas and only just heard of Fr Alan's death. While Ogle Street wasn't my regular Church it was a wonderful place for weekday mass and silent prayer. Fr Alan radiated Christ as all Christians are called to...
ReplyDeleteThank you God for raising up Fr Alan as a loving priest in your Church.
May he know the joy of being welcomed to his true home.
May those whose lives he touched be touched by the love of Christ.
May his prayers bring us assistance on our journeys to the Kingdom of light, happiness and peace.
AMEN
although i am not a parishoner of st charles, nor even a citizen of london,.my place of prayer and often of refuge was here in that wonderful church. I used to smile sometimes upon seeing fr allen and remembering how he had once said he would hate to think anyone from the diocese of hexam and newcastle knew him. I knew him. not because i spoke with him but because his were the words Jesus used to feed me.to often times give sense and meaning in the midst of of pain. I could be certain that if i came to Mass at St Charles with a secret pain in my heart his God guided words would penetrate to the very depth. When Fr offered the Sacrifice of the Mass, it seemed as if he took up into his very body the minds and hearts and persons of those around the altar in a way i have never experienced before. His was a quiet sanctity, i have no doubt a suffering sanctity. It would be impossible to understand human weakness, as he did without penetrating to the depth his own. He broke open scripture in a way that made you want to treasure and remember every word . So many times i found it impossible to listen to him without scribbling his God given insights and wisdom all over my newsletter because i wanted to remember and ponder what i was hearing. It was the most overwhelming sadness to discover when i went onto the parish web site as i so ofte do and this time with the intention of emailing him that he had died that morning. Some weeks before when i went into the church to pray it felt like coming home when your mother was no longer there. God bless you fr Allan for your witness, your suffering, your presence with us , You were and are a treasure and you shared our burdens,and understood our weakness, lifting us into the Heart of Jesus whom you so faithfully served in your brothers and sisters. Thankyou for the true meaning of community which you lived and shared with us. Thank you for opening the riches of the treasury of the Church for our hungry hearts and breaking the Bread of the Eucharist with us and serving us even when you struggled with your own tiredness and pain. Thank you for being one with the little ones of this world, and for encouraging us to never loose heart. We shall miss you, so very very much. Pray for us as we shall for you-that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ and remain faithful and in watchful prayer and unity. May you see Him face to face.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry to hear of the death of Fr. Alan. I'm not Catholic but I counted him as a friend and priest and was, for a short time, privileged to be a part of the community at Ogle St., 20 years ago. He was one of the most humble men I ever knew, he taught me a great deal about faith and he had such a profound impact on my thinking that I still find myself quoting him in diverse situations. I am so sorry for his loss in the communities and in the parish. I hope to be at his funeral if it is at all possible.
ReplyDeleteWhat a loss for the parish, for London and for all of us who used to attend mass in Ogle Street! Father Alan was such as great priest and great preacher. My husband who is not a catholic attended mass many times not only to accompany me but to listen to him. The minute Father Alan opened his mouth, we learnt about God, faith, the Gospels, the saints, literature. I never met a priest like him. Since I arrived in London, I "tried" a few churches and have always come back to Ogle Street for the beauty of the church and for Father Alan. He was a true religious man, we could feel the Gospels had made their way from his brain to his heart, he had absorbed them with his intelligence and heart. I did not know him personally but I will miss him a lot... I have kept many of his newsletters. Whoever looks after his writings, please publish them!! Let us keep learning from this extraordinary man! Thanks for your blog.
ReplyDeleteFor those who want to see Fr Alan, spend time in prayer in front of him etc, you can do so at the funeral parlour
ReplyDeleteA France and Son [Holborn]
45 Lambs Conduit Street
LONDON WC1N 3NH
0207 405 4901
Mon - Fri 9 am to 5 pm
I want to see Fr Alan on Thursday, God willing.
God bless
I just came across your blog and this post regarding dear Fr. Alan. Wow, I can sure echo much of what you said and what others have written here. I lived in London for 3 years and was a member of St Charles Borromeo parish for that period. Fr. Alan's preaching and the hospitality and love of the communities in the parish were powerfully transformative for me.
ReplyDeleteI bless God for this experience and for such a wonderful servant and minister we had in Fr. Alan!
You may be interested in seeing this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU54gIfICo0
it will no doubt bring back good memories!
(If you find any more audio/video of those homilies, could please post them?)
Thanks!
thank you all for your comments. full of gratitude for all wonderful mass celebrations at Ogle street I think of him and greatly miss him! The most loving, clear and profound way he presented the readings , prayers and the gospel - the living Christ among us -when i listened to him- the eucharistic prayer and celebration the word truly became flesh among us- a huge life changing gift to have experienced this.I will keep him in my prayers always. hope he is interceding for us from where he is now. God bless his soul !
ReplyDeleteits been several months since Alan (known to me as Big Alan, he is my cousin and my brother is called Alan - after Big Alan) passed and I still cry at the worlds loss of such a great man. I stayed at Alans several times over the years and I could talk to him about anything, he somehow always had the right answer. Today would have been his birthday and it has been lovely reading all the comments. I know how important and loved he was in his commumity. God bless you Alan xx
ReplyDeleteIts coming up to Father Alans birthday anniversary now 2016 and I find myself looking through all the pages I can find here on the internet, just so that I can take myself back to the days at Ogle Street with Father.
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice, here on this blog, to be in the company of so many others whose lives were also touched by him.
My husband and I miss him so much. The years have passed but his words, prayers, reassurances and kindness lives on in our lives everyday. He has such an important place in all of our lives to this day. Surely he is a Saint in Heaven as he was on earth.
Merry Christmas to all of you and how lucky are we to have had our lives touched by Father Alan!
Pax.