ST JOSEPH’S JOURNAL Volume 54 No: 20
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION & SAINT JOSEPH
23 ST JOHN’S STREET, HERTFORD SG14 1RX
Email: hertford@rcdow.org.uk
Parish Priest: Canon Terence Phipps Tel: 01992 582109
DATE: 5 June 2022 PENTECOST SUNDAY
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.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
THE VIEW FROM THE PRESBYTERY
Happy Jubilee Weekend to one and all! It is a very extraordinary thing to be celebrating a reign of seventy years, but it can also give us cause to reflect on so many subjects: duty, consistency, privilege, longevity, marriage, patriotism, faith and more. We shall say a prayer for the Queen at all Masses this weekend and we shall end the 10.30 Mass with the National Anthem. Also, there will be tea and coffee after the 10.30 as usual, but in addition there will be wine and nibbles for all who wish to toast the Queen and celebrate the Bank Holiday. Let us hope for good weather to help us in our celebration.
On a much sadder note, I found that last week was overshadowed by the news of the murder of Kajetan Migdal in Stevenage last weekend. Kajetan was a pupil in his final year at St John Henry Newman School and was stabbed at the end of the School Prom in an unprovoked attack by a person who was unknown to him. We said prayers for him last weekend, but I went to the school on Monday morning to take a mass card to be given to his family, assuring them of the prayers of the people of Hertford. There were many pupils at the school, even though it was half term, and they were sad and grieving for their friend and colleague. It is hard to find anything sensible to say at times like this, but the school chapel was a place that many of them visited to be quiet, to pray and to remember. Please keep all of them in your prayers, along with the Migdal family. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
I mentioned last week that it would be good to find some new members of the Parish Finance Committee. I was pleased to receive one offer of help which will be gratefully received, but if there are any other people who might consider joining the committee I would be delighted to hear from them. The commitment is not onerous, since there are usually three meetings a year, but the parish finances seem to be in a pretty good state at the moment, so we haven’t had to engage in crisis management so far! It is just one of those areas of parish life which needs to be attended to.Next weekend, 11 and 12 June, we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, when, in this parish, we always celebrate First Holy Communion. Over 40 youngsters have prepared hard for Communion and the two Masses will be at 2.30 on Saturday afternoon and 10.30 on Sunday. This means that people who are not connected with one of the Communion children should avoid the 10.30 Mass, otherwise it will be overcrowded. Thank you for your cooperation and keep the children in your prayers.
As always, keep smiling, keep safe and keep going. And, for now, keep wearing the masks and using the sanitisers.
God bless – Fr Terry
POPE’S INTENTION FOR JUNE
Families
We pray for Christian families around the world; may they embody and experience unconditional love and advance in holiness in their daily lives
ROSARY GROUP: Come and join us in the church on Tuesday evenings at 7pm for recital of the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
A MUSICAL EXTRAVAGANZA: From the Beatles to Beethoven. At the Hertford United Reformed Church Cowbridge, Hertford,
SG14 1PG onSaturday 25 June 2022 from 3-5pm. The concert is free but donations for Save the Children can be made after the concert.
Refreshments will be served at half time.
THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL:
Require a part-time Co-Ordinator to administer the charity, assist in recruiting new members and in organising events. The appointment is for 12 months, closing date 19 June 2022.
For further details please see
THE LOBSTER POT LUNCH: Friday 17 June at 12.45pm in the church hall. Lunches cost £15 for a three-course meal, glass of wine, coffee and chocolates. Please call Sue on 07711 584 517.
RETURNING TO MASS AT PENTECOST: An invitation from the Bishops of England and Wales: In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus entrusted to us the precious gift of Himself. With humility, we glory in being a Eucharistic people for whom attendance at Mass is essential. Looking forward to the forthcoming feast of Pentecost, we now invite all Catholics who have not yet done so to return to attending Mass in person.
As the Church needs the witness of the presence of each person, so too each believer needs to journey in faith and worship with their fellow disciples. Nourished by our encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus, fed with His Word and His Body and Blood in Holy Communion, and supported by the presence of each other, we receive strength week by week, to serve the Lord and glorify Him with our lives.
URGENT APPEAL FOR CHILDREN’S CLOTHES:
From baby to teenage years.
Please leave with Mrs Walker in the church hall, Mon-Fri 8am-12noon.
RECENTLY BAPTISED:
Charlotte Jasmine WOOD
Lyla Florie MARTINEZ
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday:
6.00pm: People of the Parish
Sunday: PENTECOST SUNDAY
8.30am: Thomas O’Brien (RIP Anni)
10.30am: HM Queen Elizabeth II (Ints)
6.00pm: John Sullivan (RIPP Anni)
Monday: The BVM, Mother of the Church
10.00am: Olga D’Angelo (RIP Anni)
Tuesday:
12.15pm: Canon Philip Cross (RIP)
Wednesday:
10.00am: The St John Henry Newman School (Ints)
Thursday: CHURCH CLOSED
Friday:
12.15pm: George Robert Emmett (RIP Anni)
Saturday: St Barnabas, Apostle
6.00pm: George & Christina Woodman (RIP)
Confessions: 10-10.30am & 5.00-5.30pm
Exposition of the blessed sacrament 5-5.40pm
Recently Deceased
Kajetan Migdal, Dicky Dee