Newsletters

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Gospel Reflection for 23rd March

The First Scrutiny happens on the third Sunday of Lent. There are three ‘scrutinies’ where the catechumens (those being baptised for Easter) will have prayers of exorcism and blessing, to deliver, heal and strengthen them in their new faith taking root in their hearts. These were very significant and conducted over a much longer period in the early Church. While we will read our regular readings, the gospel for the first scrutiny is that of the Samaritan Woman. This is a woman caught in a cycle she feels unable to change. Sometimes people think of her a as a prostitute she has been married five times; it shows an obvious longing for something permanent, a deep love and intimacy which has eluded her. We do not know what happened in her life for her and why she ended up in this tragic cycle. She keeps changing her circumstances, and at long last, she has given up on marriage. She is stuck in this situation; everything is dead in her life. But the Holy Spirit has an appointment with her. Jesus is waiting for her at the well where she is always, unsuccessfully trying to quench her thirst. By the end of the short conversation, the living water Jesus has has already started to flow in her; she is no longer ashamed, because she has found the love that satisfies her heart. This is what the catechumens are being invited into. This is the love which Christ offers every arid heart. Drink from him today.

News and Events for 23rd March

No Lenten sacrifice on Tuesday 25^th March! Why? Because the Solemnity for The Annunciation of the Lord is celebrated on this day. To put it simply, it’s a very significant day on 3 levels. (1) It’s the day that Christ became 100% divine and 100% human – God became incarnate. (2) it’s the start of God’s perfect plan for man’s salvation (3) Mary, our perfect Mother, at the age of 14(!), reveals her humility and trust by saying yes to God in being the Mother of God and the Mother of Christ. Mass at St John’s as usual 10am, come and celebrate!

Help needed: DIY – If you have any DIY knowledge, even if just a little, then it’ll be a whole lot more than the total DIY skills of the parish team. Do let us know if you can give us a hand, as possible?

WordPress skills? If you know your way around WordPress, we would really appreciate your help with occasional design issues. If you didn’t realise we were talking about our website, we would still appreciate your help elsewhere!

Coffee and cake to eat and buy! Our next coffee and cake will be after the 10am Mass on April 6^th. Please stay even if it’s less than 60 seconds. Fr Rajiv and Fr Jakub would love to say hi to you, even if only briefly! There’ll be children selling cake to fund raise for their Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome. This is very atypical of our average 21^st century child so do make them feel welcome and even better, help them on their way by buying their cake.

Fish & Chips night Meet fellow parishioners from our sister church, The Blessed Sacrament. It’s on Saturday 5^th April from 5.30pm to 8pm at The Blessed Sacrament, N1 0SR. Tickets are £12 for adults and they are well worth the price. Please register by contacting the parish or through the sign up sheet in our church porch.

Would you like to help the hard up and isolated in your neighbourhood? The Sunday Club is run from the church basement and unsurprisingly, it’s on Sundays, from 3pm to 5pm. The Club serves tasty goodies to the homeless and isolated, offering a place of rest, community and shelter too. The Sunday Club are welcoming volunteers that are able to commit to a regular slot of one Sunday in seven. It’s a great way of reaching out in our faith to serve the poor. Volunteers will help prepare food and are reimbursed for any that they buy. If you’d like to take part or see what’s involved, then please contact Molly on mawislington@gmail.com

New Website Use this QR code to access our new website with Mass times, Lent events, newsletters and a lot more. It’s almost there but we are still polishing off some inconsistencies and adding more pages. Please feedback if you have any comments. https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/islington/

Lent Talks and Devotions The talks by Fr John on the Gospel of John continues and the next one is on March 27^th. You don’t need to have attended any of the others. If you find Fr John’s homilies insightful, you’ll find these helpful too. We also have the Stations of the Cross every Friday after the 10am Mass during Lent. There are more events on the website, some based at Blessed Sacrament Church, so do take a look.

Confessions Lent is a time of renewal where we try to renew and deepen our relationship with God. One way of doing that is by going to confession and start afresh. Wouldn’t it be great to be completely cleansed before Easter? There are regular confession session on Saturdays between 5.30 and 5.50pm (why not stay for the 6pm Vigil Mass too) and there’s a chance to confess during Mass on April 5^th/6^th and April 12^th/13^th (5^th Sunday of Lent and Palm Sunday respectively). If these don’t suit, always feel free to speak to a priest – they will be happy to accommodate you at a convenient time or email the office to fix something.

Do you need support in dealing with feelings of grief and loss because you are widowed, separated, or divorced? Then you’re very welcome to attend ‘Beginning Experience’, a special residential weekend. Trained volunteers, who have experienced adjusting to life as single people again, lead the weekend. This next programme is 4 to 6 April at the Sion Community, Essex; for further details please contact: Mary: 07730 884315, or email BeginningExperience.SoE@gmail.com.

Requiescat in pace The funeral for Peter James O’Carroll will take place at 11am on Tuesday 25^th March.

Please collect your offertory envelopes If you donate each week by envelope then please collect your offertory envelopes from the Green Room (left of the altar). Please check it’s the right envelope, marked with your name (rather than someone else’s).Thank you for your kind offering and support. If you’re able to move to standing order or direct debit, please do so, but otherwise, we are happy to receive it via envelope or any other way. If you’d like to find out more about direct debit then please call or email us.

A weekend for single young adults and dating or engaged couples, ‘Called to Love: Masculine & Feminine’. This takes place on 9 – 11 May 2025, exploring the nature of masculinity and femininity. The retreat will consider the contemporary challenges to being a man and a woman and the Church’s wisdom for this, drawing particular inspiration from St Pope John Paul II.
For more information and to book: https://christianheritagecentre.com/events/called-to-love/

Assisted Suicide Bill Thank you to those that have signed. If you haven’t already, please consider signing the Care Not Killing petition which calls on MPs to vote against legalising assisted suicide in England and Wales. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would make vulnerable people – including the elderly and disabled – feel a burden on family or carers resulting in pressure to end their lives. There’s a sign up sheet in the church porch or alternatively, use this QR code on your phone. https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/westminster-cathedral-tickets-london/venue/254582