RECENT NEWS: 28 April, 2024                             BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH

First Holy Communion: Six of our children will be receiving their First Holy Communion on Saturday, 4 May at 1:30 p.m. Parishioners are invited to join in this First Communion Mass and offer their prayerful support to the children and their families.

Scripture and Prayer: Wednesday evening sharing faith using Scripture and prayer continues at the later time of 7:15. We will be discussing the coming Sunday’s Gospel and other readings. All are welcome.

Can You Help? If anyone (s) is able to help with counting the offertory collection on Sundays after the 11:00 Mass once a month, please contact Sister Miriam about joining or dedicated team. We have a special need for the fourth Sunday of the month and the occasional time that there is a fifth Sunday.

CAFOD’s Sudan Crisis Appeal (Retiring Collection Sunday 5 may, 2024)

The situation in Sudan since the outbreak for war a year ago does not get a lot of news coverage here, but the situation is urgent. Cafod has local partners who can respond to the crisis

Millions of families in Sudan, forced to flee their homes amid conflict, now face yet another urgent crisis – extreme hunger. Please give to CAFOD’s Sudan Crisis Appeal in church or at cafod.org.uk/sudanappeal. Your donation will help CAFOD’s partners to support more families with food packages and emergency cash payments as well as rebuilding water pipelines so clean water can reach communities who need it. Thank you for your generosity and prayers.

You can also text Text CAFODSUDAN to 70450 to donate £10. Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message, and you’ll be opting into hearing more from us. If you would like to donate but don’t wish to hear more from us, please text CAFODSUDANNOINFO instead.  

For more details see poster or go to Cafod’s web site cafod.org.uk

PILGRIMAGES:

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes:

Registration for the Westminster diocesan pilgrimage led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols is now open via the application form on https://rcdow.org.uk/pilgrimages/lourdes/ or by contacting the Pilgrimage Office on 020 7798 9173. See poster on notice board and pick up an application from the sacristy. All applications to join this year’s pilgrimage need to be submitted by Tuesday 30th April.

Organised by A Day With Mary: Pilgrimage to Fatima – 7 – 14 June, 2024; to Italy, 4 -12 September. See notice board for details.

Prayers for the Sick: Remember in our prayers:  Noel Egan, Joseph Kamara (Daniel’s brother), Frances O’Donnell and Phoebe, Maria Castillo, Sharon McDonnell, Phuong Quach, Elizabeth, Stanley, Linda and Samantha Russell, Peggy Walsh, Glorea Tejan-Jalloh, Albert Boateng, Inita Roberts, Irene Bryan, Maria Carrano, Anne Taylor, Bridie Collins, Ann Duff, Sabrina Cross and Eileen Bailey

Prayers for the Dead: We pray for all the recently deceased and for those whose anniversaries occur around this time.

To Contact Father Rajiv or Father Jakub: 020 7226 3277 or email: copenhagenstreet@rcdow.org.uk    To contact Sister Miriam: Telephone: 020 7837 8378; email: ssnd27@yahoo.co.uk Web site:  https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/copenhagenstreet

PAULINE WILLIAMS WAS RECEIVED INTO THE CATHOIC CHURCH AND CONFIRMED AT EASTER VIGIL. THIS IS PART OF HER TESTIMONY:

… I was already a Christian and had been baptised and confirmed in a Church of England … however as time went on I cannot say why but this just didn’t work well for me. Also every time I went past a Catholic Church I would feel a strange pulling and urge to go in. Eventually I decided to go in and look around and I was in love with what I saw. However I still wasn’t sure what this feeling was so I went to churches that were mainly Anglican and did the Rosary and used frankincense so almost catholic right?

I did try to forget about any church for a while, however, It was during this time that my elderly neighbour had approached me and asked me if I wouldn’t mind to pray with her in her home. I thought about it and felt that actually this would be a nice thing to do. So when I did go in to her home she sat and began to tell me that she hadn’t been to church since Covid and that she was feeling anxious to go back but that she really wanted to go.

I would visit her home every so often and pray with her, as we began praying I noticed she prayed slightly differently to what I had done I mean I knew the our father prayer and many others but she also prayed the Hail Mary.  During this time, it is strange and I cannot fully explain it, but I started to have odd dreams like one time I dreamed of a bible opening. Also I would keep bumping into people on the street or at work that would start randomly talking to me and guess what they happened to be catholic. I mean I was like is someone trying to tell me something or what. So I went back into the Catholic Church prayed and I felt different like mother Mary had called me in, and it was such a beautiful and peaceful feeling.

It was at this point I wanted nothing more as a Christian then to grow in my faith and to be part of the Catholic Church as a Catholic. So I quickly signed up to the RCIA which happened to be running in my area and was starting quite soon, I nervously contacted David the teacher and the rest is history. However, it was also during this time I accompanied my neighbour in to coming back to church and would you believe her church happened to be Blessed Sacrament, the church that ended up being the one I was confirmed in.

Now as a Catholic I look forward to growing in my faith, I feel a deep sense of love and commitment to Jesus to our god and what the Catholic Church teaches and I want the whole world to feel like this.