Newsletters

To download the newsletter for Sunday, July 13th, please click here or read it below.

Gospel Reflection for July 13th

Gospel from Luke 10:25-37, ‘Who is my neighbour?’

How do we respond to life’s interruptions? The historian Tom Holland notes how the Good Samaritan story has done more to change culture historically than most of the Bible’s didactic teachings, let alone the teachings of other religions. But the story of the Samaritan is about someone who responded to an interruption, a very inconvenient one. The priest and Levite were not bad people: they were simply busy with important things. We are always trying to figure out our lives, our careers, our holidays, what not. Planning and efficiency are good things – God knows we need more of it in the Church, not less. But sometimes, we can be so absorbed in our own plans for us, that we miss God’s plan with what he puts before us. Could we have made a friend for life, even met our other half, or found the missing puzzle to our project in casual conversation we let happen? Today, often, we are not even busy with important things; we are simply lost to our phones, wasting precious time scrolling through useless things. But it is in the moments of boredom, moments when we are simply free, that we are also alert to what God is doing around us, for us. Take time to look around you, God is doing something new. It might not come as we were expecting it but come it will.

News and Events for July 13th

Time’s Up for Fr Jakub! Sadly, we have to say goodbye to Fr Jakub ☹ After four fruitful years, he’s moving to pastures new in Chiswick: the parishes of Our Lady of Grace and St Edward in Chiswick and St Dunstan in Gunnersbury. He’ll be celebrating his last Mass the first week of September. He will be back for a ‘farewell’ Mass Oct 12^th, where we will have a farewell party and also present him with a gift from the Parish. Do mark that Sunday in your diaries so you can attend and bid him farewell. If you would like to show your appreciation, please place your donations through the secure presbytery letterbox in an envelope marked ‘Fr Jakub’s farewell’. Fr Dan Daley from Chiswick will be coming to our parish, being in effect, a straight swap of priests.

Bible studies We’ve had a great start to our Bible Studies in the parish! We’ve just had two weeks which have been very well attended, with around 25-30 people. The Scriptures can seem a mystery, but they are a Mystery which beckons: they fascinate and illuminate, give comfort and fire up your faith, even as they remain shrouded in all that they mean. While Protestants grow up learning the Scriptures, most Catholics remain unfamiliar with their Scriptures. Yet, this is our birthright, our heirloom. In it God is waiting to speak to us. To have bible studies at this level is a rare gift in a catholic parish. You don’t have to be a fervent Catholic to attend. It’s free and open to all, believers, non-believers and sceptics alike. Due to summer breaks, the dates are irregular: the next one will be on Wednesday 30^th July at 7pm and then Wednesday 6^th August. Location is downstairs in The Crypt in the Church. Please bring a bible, just turn up, listen and learn!

Safe travels Many of you will be departing your home for a well-earned break. It’s called a ‘get away’ for good reason – to get away from daily life and the usual hum drum routine. This would also be a great time to perhaps devote a bit more time to pray or to start praying if you don’t do this on a daily basis. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture – just a quick 5 minutes of thanks to God that you got to your destination safely and to pray for those that would like to go away but due to circumstances, are unable to. Going away is also a great opportunity to experience a Sunday Mass in a different parish or language – so do look up in advance where your nearest church will be and their Mass timings before you leave!

Mass time changes for August Due to the priests also being on their break, and reduced demand, we’ll not be having the 6.30pm Sunday evening Mass during August but this will be returning in September again, restarting on the first Sunday, September 7^th.

Changes in weekday Mass times and cancelled weekday Masses Wednesday 17^th July 10am Mass is replaced by 2pm Leavers’ Mass for Year 6 children at St John’s Primary School. Monday 21^st July 10am Mass is replaced by a funeral Mass at 11am (see below for more details). A couple of weekday Masses have to be cancelled: Thursday 17^th July and Thursday 24^th July at St John’s (and Wednesday 30^th July Mass at Blessed Sacrament). Apologies for the inconvenience.

Annual leave Fr Rajiv will be away from 14^th July to 2^nd August and Fr Jakub from 29^th July to 30^th August. The parish office will be closed in August. We’ll still be checking voicemail and emails but it might take us a bit longer to get back to you, so we ask for your patience. Thank you for your understanding.

Requiescat in pace. Monday 21^st July at 11am is the funeral mass of Miller John Paul. May he rest in peace.

This will replace the Monday Mass. There will be no Eucharistic Adoration after the funeral.

Amazing result for the Mary’s Meals foreign exchange collection. Back in Lent, we had an appeal for Mary’s Meals. Between St John’s and The Blessed Sacrament, foreign exchange collected and converted to hard core cash was £1,238.47. This then converts to feeding 64 children one good meal every school day for a whole school year! Fantastic stuff, well done generous parishioners! Please continue to pray for this amazing charity.

World class music at St John’s The next concert will be on Saturday, 26^th July, at 7.30pm, by James McVinnie. He was Assistant Organist of Westminster Abbey between 2008 and 2011. The concert is free with a retiring collection. See https://islingtonchurchconcerts.org

Sea Sunday, 13^th July Seafarers and fishers play a vital role in all of our lives, but they often work in difficult, hazardous conditions. Sea Sunday is today, when we pray and try to support those who live and work at sea. Your can support by visiting www.stellamaris.org.uk/donate, or by texting ‘SEA’ to 70460 to donate £5.

Looking for some good airport/beach reading? Why not find something which will also tubo charge your faith alongside? Our Lady of Fatima by William Walsh is an inspiring read on the story of Fatima. If you’re a history buff, look no further than the highly acclaimed historian, Tom Holland’s Dominion which charts a global history of Christianity and how, surprisingly it gave us the world we value today: from human rights to care for our environment. CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia is a lovely read for adults and children. And then, there’s Fr James Martin’s highly entertaining, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. All around £10 PB.

CAFOD UK Summer Raffle 2025 CAFOD UK’s Summer Raffle is now open, and the proceeds support the charity’s work in developing countries. Entries must be received by 29 August 2025. Late entries will be treated as donations. The draw will be held on 12 September 2025. To learn more and to enter online, visit www.cafod.raffleentry.org.uk

The London Catholic Social Group is a group for Catholic adults over 30 to meet for regular social and networking events with the aim of making new friends. Regular events include walks, meals, karaoke evenings, outings, galleries and an annual Christmas meal. Contact them on Facebook ‘London Catholic Social Group’, by email londonswcatholicsocial@gmail.com or Brendan Baker on WhatsApp 07425549408. Upcoming events are:

Sunday 20th July, from 12, Mass, Italian Street Fête and Procession of Our Lady of St Carmel in Clerkenwell.

Saturday 26th July, day trip to Waddesdon Manor and Sunday 3rd August, picnic in Regent’s Park.

Pilgrimage to Medjugorje from 13^th to 16^th October: highly recommended, especially if you’ve never been. It will be led by Fr Andrew Gallagher. The cost is £740 and £60 extra for a single room supplement. For more details, visit https://www.tangney-tours.com/ or call 01732 886666.

Leadership training for young people The Upper Room Leadership Programme 2025-26, organised by Westminster Youth Ministry is aimed at 18-30 year olds interested in leading parish youth groups. Starting in October 2025, the year-long programme will accompany future leaders on their journey of faith and equip them with the necessary practical skills such as activities planning, public speaking and more. The entire programme concludes with an opportunity to participate in the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes as chaplains to the Redcaps, and hopefully establishing/leading a regular parish youth group beforehand. There is no cost for this incredible opportunity; more information at https://youth.rcdow.org.uk/outreach/upper-room-leadership-programme/

Jubilee Year Indulgences The Diocese of Westminster has produced a guide how to obtain the plenary indulgence for the Jubilee Year, without the need to travel to Rome or other pilgrimage centres around the world. The guide is available as https://rcdow.org.uk/jubilee-2025/the-jubilee-indulgence-step-by-step/

2025 Leadership formation programme The Stonyhurst Christian Heritage Centre’s annual programme for Y12/LVI students is open to applications from students who want to engage more deeply with their Catholic faith, who want to transform tomorrow’s society, and who want to lead by example in the public square. The programme offers: philosophical and theological input from top Catholic academics, media skills training and team building, personal development in virtues and spirituality, an opportunity to meet like-minded peers from around the country, and a certificate from St Mary’s University, Twickenham. No financial requirements: subsidies are available to any successful applicant as required. For more information and to apply, see www.christianleadershipformation.com

The Diocesan ‘Love in Action’ Volunteering Awards are back! For more information and to nominate a volunteer or volunteer team, please visit www.caritaswestminster.org.uk/volunteer-service/award or email cvs@rcdow.org.uk. Nominations close on 31^st July.

Pastoral Letter for 6th April

Please click on this link for the letter or read below.

ARCHBISHOP’S HOUSE,

WESTMINSTER, LONDON, SW1P 1QJ

Pastoral Letter on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

5/6 April 2025

Fifth Sunday of Lent

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I wish to speak with you today about the process in which our Parliament is currently considering legalising assisted suicide through the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. As I have made clear earlier in this debate, as Catholics we have maintained a principled objection to this change in law recognising that every human life is sacred, coming as a gift of God and bearing a God-given dignity. We are, therefore, clearly opposed to this Bill in principle, elevating, as it does, the autonomy of the individual above all other considerations.

The passage of the Bill through Parliament will lead to a vote in late April on whether it progresses further. This will be a crucial moment and I, together with all the Bishops of England and Wales, am writing to ask your support in urging your MP to vote against this Bill at that time.

There are serious reasons for doing so. At this point, we wish not simply to restate our objections in principle, but to emphasise the deeply ﬂawed process undergone in Parliament thus far. We wish to remind you that it is a fundamental duty of every MP to ensure that legislation is not imposed on our society which has not been properly scrutinised and which will bring about damaging consequences.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will fundamentally change many of the key relationships in our way of life: within the family, between doctor and patient, within the health service. Yet there has been no Royal Commission or independent inquiry ahead of its presentation. It is a Private Member’s Bill. The Bill itself is long and complex and was published just days before MPs voted on it, giving them inadequate time to consult or reﬂect upon it. The time for debate was minimal. The Committee examining the Bill took only three days of evidence: not all voices were heard, and it comprises an undue number of supporters of the Bill. In short, this is no way to legislate on such an important and morally complex issue.

One consequence of this ﬂawed process is that many vital questions remain unanswered. Can MPs guarantee that the scope of the Bill will not be extended? In almost every country where assisted suicide has been introduced the current scope is wider than was originally intended. What role, if any, will the judiciary have in the process? We were told that judicial oversight was a necessary and vital part of the process; now we are told it isn’t needed at all. What will protect the vulnerable from coercion, or from feeling a burden on the family? Can the National Health Service cope with assisted suicide or will it, as the Health Secretary has warned, cause cuts elsewhere in the NHS? Can MPs guarantee that no medical practitioner or care worker would be compelled to take part in assisted suicide? Would this mean the establishment of a ‘national death service’?

In contrast to the provisions of this Bill, what is needed is ﬁrst-class, compassionate palliative care at the end of our lives. This is already provided to many in our society but, tragically, is in short supply and underfunded. No one should be dispatched as a burden to others. Instead, a good society would prioritise care for the elderly, the vulnerable, and the weak. The lives of our families are richer for cherishing their presence.

It is a sad reﬂection on Parliament’s priorities that the House of Commons spent far more time debating the ban on fox hunting than it is spending on debating bringing in assisted suicide.

I am sure that you will share these concerns. It is now clear that this measure is being rushed without proper scrutiny and without fundamental questions surrounding safeguards being answered. This is a deeply ﬂawed Bill with untold unintended consequences.

Every MP, and Government, has a solemn duty to prevent such legislation from reaching the statute book. This, tragically, is what may happen. So I appeal to you: even if you have written before, please make contact now with your MP and ask them to vote against this Bill not only on grounds of principle but because of the failure of Parliament to approach this issue in an adequate and responsible manner.

In his Letter to the Philippians, which we heard in the Second Reading, St Paul reflects on the difficulties and responsibilities of life. He speaks of ‘pressing on’ and ‘striving’ for the fullness of life promised in Christ Jesus. Yet he is totally confident in his struggles because, as he says, ‘Christ Jesus has made me his own’.

We too have many struggles. We too know that Christ Jesus has made us his own. So we too press on with this struggle, so important in our times.

May God bless you all.

Yours devotedly,

 Cardinal Vincent Nichols

Archbishop of Westminster