ST JOSEPH’S JOURNAL Volume 53 No: 4
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION & SAINT JOSEPH
23 ST JOHN’S STREET, HERTFORD SG14 1RX
https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/hertford
Email: hertford@rcdow.org.uk
Parish Priest: Canon Terence Phipps Tel: 01992 582109
DATE: 31 January 2021
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
The page numbers for the prayers for this Sunday’s Mass are at the front of The Parish Mass Book. Please note that there is a Loop system in the Church.
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THE VIEW FROM THE PRESBYTERY
I was delighted to receive the first dose of vaccine for the coronavirus last Wednesday and also to get an appointment for the second dose on 15 March. It was a little inconvenient to have to drive to the Lister Hospital rather than the Hertford Theatre, but it was not too much to have to do to get this extraordinary medicine which we hope will do great good to us all. The whole operation seemed very efficient and I was certainly very impressed by what I saw. Let’s hope it continues to bring benefit to the whole UK population.
Time marches on and we begin the month of February on Monday. This means that Candlemas is upon us and we shall celebrate the Feast with as much beauty as we can at 10.00am Mass on Tuesday. We can’t have any congregational singing at the moment, but a single singer is possible, and we shall have the ceremony with the candles at the beginning of Mass. Please take the candle away with you along with the service sheet. They must not be left in the church after people have touched them. Candlemas also brings the Christmas season (“the season of light” we might call it) to a final conclusion, so our crib will be taken down on Tuesday evening. Let us hope that when it goes up again next time, that at least some of the restrictions will have been lifted.
Ash Wednesday falls on 17 February this year and the Season of Lent begins in earnest. We shall have two Masses on the day, at 10.00am and 8.00pm, but we shall not be able to administer the ashes in the normal way, because of infection control. Over the next two Sundays I shall explain what we shall do to keep everything safe, so there is no need for any concern. I hope that two Masses will be enough for the size of congregation we might expect. Please do book as usual.
I don’t yet know what restrictions will be in place for Holy Week and Easter, but guidelines are promised soon. If you had told me last Easter that restrictions would be in operation this year too I wouldn’t have believed you, but here we are in 2021 wondering what we shall have to do for the celebration of Easter and have no real end in sight. We really do need perseverance and hope at this time, and we also need to support each other as this dreadful crisis comes very gradually to an end. People have done great work in the NHS, in schools and colleges, in all sorts of hospitality venues and shops. Parents of children of school age have also done a tremendous job of trying to teach their children at home as well as juggling their work commitments. We need to hope that the schools will start up again before too long and that the shops, pubs and restaurants will be able to survive. And on a purely personal note, I am longing to be able to get a haircut and sort out some kind of holiday for later in the year.
As ever let me say: Keep safe; keep happy; keep going!
God Bless – Fr Terry
POPE’S INTENTION FEBRUARY:
Violence Against Women
We pray for women who are victims of violence, that they may be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and heeded.
ONLINE DONATIONS TO OUR CHURCH:
Westminster Roman Catholic Diocese Trustee Hertford as the account name.
Account number 21263242
Sort code: 40-05-20
If you would like to use STANDING ORDER to donate your weekly/monthly offering, the forms are available on the website to download.
IF YOU WRITE A CHEQUE TO THE PARISH please can you make payable to WRCDT Hertford. Thank you.
THE ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY: Vinnie Packs contain essential items i.e. thermal hat, gloves & socks. The contents of each Vinnie Pack cost around £3.50 and donations to sponsor packs would be most welcome. Donations can be transferred to SVP Vinnie Packs, a/c 46088237 sort code 60-60-04 or cheques made out to SVP can be sent to Vinnie Packs, PO Box 72264, London, SW1P 9EZ
CARDINAL VINCENT HAS OFFERED HIS PRAYERS for all who have died, all who mourn them, and all who serve in the fight against the pandemic. He writes:
‘A day of great sadness all over the land. So many people, families, communities, remembering those who have died in these terrible months of the pandemic. Each one is mourned. Each one is to be prayed for.
‘This is our instinct, our faith, our practice. Our prayer is rooted in the faith that, in death, life is changed, not ended, for the promise of eternal life opens the door of hope even in our darkest moments. ‘I pray for each and everyone, those who have died, those who mourn, those who serve. Please, please, join me in that prayer.’
DAILY WALK? SOMETHING POSITIVE THIS LENT. Could you walk 10000 Steps either on one day or everyday this Lent? The walk could be a sign of your solidarity with all those who do not have access to a safe water source and who have to walk for water each day. Find out more or sign up online at cafod.org.uk/walk and go the distance this Lent and help to end water poverty.
TO OUR CATHOLIC UNIVERSE AND CATHOLIC TIMES READERS at the moment you are unable to collect your paper at Mass, but you can get it delivered direct to your home every week, POST FREE. Please go to www.thecatholicuniverse.com or call on 0161 820 5722 and they will arrange for you.
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MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday:
6.00pm: Ita Shiel (RIP)
Sunday: 4th Sunday of the Year
10.30am: Michael Connolly (RIP)
6.00pm: NHS Workers
Monday:
10.00am: Mick McElligott (RIP)
Tuesday: The Presentation of the Lord
10.00am: Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue (RIP)
Wednesday: Ss Laurence, Dunstan & Theodore, Archbishops of Canterbury
10.00am:
Thursday: Fr Bernard McCumisky (RIP)
7.30am: Private Intention
Friday: St Agatha
10.00am: Ray Mangan (RIP)
Saturday: St Paul Miki & Companions
10.00am: People of the Parish
6.00pm: Ita Sheil (RIP)
RECENTLY DECEASED: Mgr Mark Langham, Simon Pearson, Ita Sheil
May they rest in eternal peace.