Bulletin Archive 2013 – 2024

+ EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION
31st March 2024

THE LORD IS RISEN, Alleluia
HE IS RISEN INDEED Alleluia

This ancient Christian greeting, said on meeting one another during Eastertide, should surely be recovered and used again – encouraging us to deepen our faith in the Risen Lord.

THE RESURRECTION is a supernatural event, a clear break with the natural order, Jesus is raised from the dead through the power of God, and in sharing this victory we are “saved”. To reduce our understanding of life to the natural order alone is to miss out on the full reality of human existence: life is so much more wonderful, beautiful and exciting when we can see everything in the light of the Risen Lord!

WE ARE WITNESSES to our Risen Lord because we choose to believe and trust the witnesses who saw Him, believing the accounts of the Risen Lord in the Sacred Scriptures, and also believing the Church who has faithfully handed on the message to us.

TRUST and FAITH is at the heart of our believing.

Wishing you all a Blessed and joy-filled Easter.

Fr David Barnes, Rector

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STATIONS OF THE CROSS DURING LENT: WEDNESDAY 6:30pm and FRIDAY 6:30pm

+HOLY WEEK
PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD 
Sunday 25^h MARCH 2024

Holy Week & Easter

Holy Week is the most important week in the Christian year. Pope Francis says “Holy Week” is a privileged time when we are called to draw near to Jesus: friendship with Him is shown in times of difficulty”. The best way to draw near to Our Lord is to participate as much as possible the liturgies of the Church.

PALM SUNDAY — the commemoration of Our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem when he was greeted with praise and thanksgiving, the waving and strewing of palms. We too carry palms, then take them home to put with our household crucifix.

THE SACRED TRIDUUM —the 3 Holy Days of the Paschal Mystery

HOLY THURSDAY —The MASS of THE LORD’S SUPPER at 6:00pm commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the total gift of Himself to us as the Bread of Life. Afterwards, Jesus went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. After this mass the consecrated hosts are taken to the “altar of repose”. All are invited to spend some time with Him, learning to be with Him in His suffering. The church is stripped of its candles and linens, all holy water is removed and the sacraments are not celebrated until Easter. It is a time of mourning, but always lived in light of the Resurrection.

GOOD FRIDAY — A day of fasting and abstinence. Fasting applies to those 18-60: no meat (abstinence) and only one simple meal and two small ones, and no food in between. Do all you can to be at THE LITURGY OF THE LORD’S PASSION AND DEATH at 3:00pm, the hour at which Christ died on the Cross.

HOLY SATURDAY — the Church waits in the Lord’s tomb, reflecting on his Passion and Death, waiting with faith, prayer and fasting the glorious Resurrection. Mary is waiting with us. We gather at 8:00pm to celebrate the Vigil Mass of the Resurrection, to celebrate in readings and song how God prepared His People for the Resurrection and conclude with the First Mass of Easter

EASTER CARDS: Please do take an Easter card home with you as you leave today, all the Easter Liturgies are inside the card. Fr David Barnes, Rector

HOLY PLACES: There will be a collection after the Liturgy of The Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. Please continue to pray for the suffering Church in the Middle East. Thank you.

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+FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 
Sunday 17^th MARCH 2024

CARDINAL’S LENTEN APPEAL 2024
There will be a retiring collection TODAY after all masses.
If you can, please show your support for the Cardinal’s Lenten Appeal. All funds raised go towards projects across our Diocese. Each year, the Diocese uses donations made to support the work of our services, such as Marriage & Family Life; Youth Ministry, and Education. Funds are also used to support the work of Caritas Westminster, which works for and with some of the most vulnerable people in our Diocese. Cardinal Nichols, has expressed his gratitude to everyone who supports the Appeal, with whatever they can afford. So, please take a donation envelope today, for more information. You can use the QR code to make your donation online. Thank you for your generosity.

THE NATIONAL NOVENA TO ST JOSEPH: will take place from 10th – 18th March 2024 at St Joseph’s Church in Maidenhead. Details at: www.millhillmissionaries.com/novena. You are welcome to send in your petitions and/or to request a Novena prayer booklet. Email novenamhm@gmail.com
THE NOVENA WILL BE RECITED AFTER MASS IN OUR PARISH FROM 10^th – 18^th MARCH. NOVENA LEAFLETS ARE AVAILABLE.

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+ FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
Sunday 10th March 2024

“LAETARE” (“Rejoice”) SUNDAY

TODAY we are invited to REJOICE, because the coming celebration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection (the Paschal Mystery) is fast approaching. May our rejoicing energise us to use this second half of Lent as well as we can to prepare for Easter.

MOTHERING SUNDAY: today we pray for all mothers in their mothering. To be a mother is one of the greatest of lives – to conceive and bear a child, and mothering the child to maturity. What an awesome responsibility. Our Lady Mother of Jesus, is the model: Let us invoke her help for all mothers.

THE NATIONAL NOVENA TO ST JOSEPH: will take place from 10th – 18th March 2024 at St Joseph’s Church in Maidenhead. Details at: www.millhillmissionaries.com/novena. You are welcome to send in your petitions and/or to request a Novena prayer booklet. Email novenamhm@gmail.com

THE NOVENA WILL BE RECITED AFTER MASS IN OUR PARISH FROM 10^th – 18^th MARCH.  NOVENA LEAFLETS WILL BE AVAILABLE.

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH: Monday 19^th March

SAINTS & MARTYRS: A series of DVD presentations Monday evenings at 6.45pm, in the Parish Room. This Monday 11^th March, we explore the life of St Thomas More.

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+ THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
Sunday 3rd March 2024

THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE

TODAY’S GOSPEL tells of Our Lord driving out the money changers and those who sold birds and animals for sacrifice.
We are to learn that:
• the Temple sacrifices have come to an end because Jesus Himself is now God fully present among us, and His one perfect sacrifice on Calvary effects our reconciliation with God and one another
• after the Resurrection the Church is His Mystical Body on earth —  belonging to Jesus and His Church are two sides of the same coin.
• our churches are to be places of prayer. Authentic worship and prayer are means to let God transform us and enable us live better each day.
• Jesus wants to cleanse us of our sin but this cannot happen until we enthrone Him, so that He reigns fully in our life. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is our most powerful weapon to effect this.
• The Ten Commandments teach us ten ways of loving, so they are an excellent way to help us examine our life and prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We should know the Ten Commandments by heart! Do we?

OUR ARCHBISHOP, CARDINAL VINCENT NICHOLS, has asked us to keep this Friday 8^th March as a special focus of prayer for the Holy Land. So our time of Adoration (5-5:50pm), our public Rosary (5:30pm), our Mass and then Stations of the Cross will all be offered for that intention. Please do come and participate in whatever is possible for you.

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+ SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
Sunday 25th February 2024

Inspirational Quotes for The Lenten Season

1. “Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.” — Pope Francis

2. “Are you capable of risking your life for someone? Do it for Christ.” — Pope St John Paul II

3. “As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus’ thirst…’Repent and believe’ Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor — He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you.” — St Teresa of Calcutta

4.  “Prayer is where the action is.” — John Wesley

5. “The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.” — Pope St. Gregory the Great

6. “Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and in this way to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life…” – Pope Benedict XVI

7. “Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ; discipline your body; do not pamper yourself, but love fasting.” — Saint Benedict

8. “Lent is like a long ‘retreat’ during which we can turn back into ourselves and listen to the voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One. It is a period of spiritual ‘combat’ which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism.” — Pope Benedict XVI

THE SECOND SYNOD on SYNODALITY: towards October 2024.
Our Archbishop, Cardinal Vincent Nichols is inviting us to assemble as a parish to consider the following four questions.
Q.1: How do we witness as a Parish and proclaim our faith to:
▷those who have never heard of Christ;
▷those who have ceased walking with Christ;
▷those with whom we worship Christ (those who go to church)?
Q.2: How should we organise ourselves as a Parish to do this more effectively?
Q.3: What concrete steps/formation opportunities would help us begin to witness and proclaim our faith more effectively?
Q.4: What structures may need to change? How might we need to develop the way we are organised currently?

We shall do this on Monday evening at 6.45pm, as part of our Lenten celebration of Saints. If you cannot be present, do please let me know your views or email your responses to the Parish office. Fr David Barnes, Rector

CAFOD FAMILY FAST DAY APPEAL TODAY: This Lent, your donations to CAFOD’s Family Fast Day appeal will help hardworking people like James the fisherman in Liberia with resources, tools and training to feed their families. Give today using the envelope or online at www.cafod.org.uk To watch James’ inspiring story please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFWxJpczass

SAINTS & MARTYRS: A series of DVD presentations Monday evenings at 6.45pm, in the Parish Room.
• 26^th February St John Henry Newman
• 4^th March St Ann Line and the Martyrs of Lincoln’s Inn Fields
• 11^th March St Thomas More

+ FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
Sunday 18th February 2024
In these 40 days of Lent we seek to identify with Our Lord’s experience in the desert and so come to understand and love Him better.
It was the Holy Spirit who led Him into the desert, and we shall only keep a good Lent in so far as we keep asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. Our Lord was tempted by the Devil, and, if we are intent on following Our Lord, so shall we be tempted — to give up, to make the things of this world (food, drink, possessions, status and money) the treasures of our heart. This is why we must emphasise the disciplines of Lent:  PRAYER, FASTING and ALMSGIVING.
Practising these liberates us from our self-centredness and self-indulgence. We need always to ask the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the help of the angels, just as Our Lord experienced this in the desert. There is the wonderful prayer to St Michael the Archangel to keep us from the influence of the Devil and bad spirits.

THE SECOND SYNOD on SYNODALITY: towards October 2024.
Our Archbishop, Cardinal Vincent Nichols is inviting us to assemble as a parish to consider the following four questions.
Q.1: How do we witness as a Parish and proclaim our faith to:
▷those who have never heard of Christ;
▷those who have ceased walking with Christ;
▷those with whom we worship Christ (those who go to church)?
Q.2: How should we organise ourselves as a Parish to do this more effectively?
Q.3: What concrete steps/formation opportunities would help us begin to witness and proclaim our faith more effectively?
Q.4: What structures may need to change? How might we need to develop the way we are organised currently?

We shall do this over the next two Monday evenings at 6.45pm, as part of our Lenten celebration of Saints. If you cannot be present, do please let me know your views or (best!) email your responses to the Parish office.
Fr David Barnes, Rector

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6th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Sunday 11th February 2024

POPE FRANCIS MESSAGE for XXXII WORLD DAY OF THE SICK

“It is not good that man should be alone”.

Healing the Sick by Healing Relationships.

TODAY is the 32^nd WORLD DAY OF THE SICK. Pope Francis writes:
Brothers and sisters, the first form of care needed in any illness is compassionate and loving closeness. To care for the sick thus means above all to care for their relationships, all of them: with God, with others – family members, friends, healthcare workers – , with creation and with themselves. Can this be done? Yes, it can be done and all of us are called to ensure that it happens. Let us look to the icon of the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25-37), to his ability to slow down and draw near to another person, to the tender love with which he cares for the wounds of a suffering brother.
Let us remember this central truth in life: we came into the world because someone welcomed us; we were made for love; and we are called to communion and fraternity. This aspect of our lives is what sustains us, above all at times of illness and vulnerability. It is also the first therapy that we must all adopt in order to heal the diseases of the society in which we live.
To those of you who experience illness, whether temporary or chronic, I would say this: Do not be ashamed of your longing for closeness and tenderness! Do not conceal it, and never think that you are a burden on others. The condition of the sick urges all of us to step back from the hectic pace of our lives in order to rediscover ourselves.
The sick, the vulnerable and the poor are at the heart of the Church; they must also be at the heart of our human concern and pastoral attention. May we never forget this! And let us commend ourselves to Mary Most Holy, Health of the Sick, that she may intercede for us and help us to be artisans of closeness and fraternal relationships.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 10 January 2024 FRANCIS

To read the full message please visit: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/sick/documents/20240110-giornata-malato.html

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5th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Sunday 4th February 2024

CHILDREN’S LITURGY

OUR CHILDREN are among our greatest treasures, and as a parish family we must therefore ask ourselves “How is this lived in our parish?”

THE MASS is the heart of parish life: it is our means of union with God through communion with Christ. The Mass is God—with— us. That is why Mass, at least on Sundays, is such an essential. To rob ourselves or our children of Sunday Mass is to rob ourselves of our greatest good .

THE CHILDREN’S LITURGY is a good way of making the Word of God more accessible to our children. We have an excellent history of Children’s Liturgy in this parish. This Sunday and every Sunday we shall have a Children’s Liturgy at the 10:00am Mass, led by Marthe and Antoine Danzin.

WE ALL have a responsibility to treasure and support our children —first by our prayers, by supporting our altar servers and children’s choir, and the children’s day trips and theatre visits. I am especially grateful to our school, St Joseph’s Macklin Street, for all they do in forming our children in the Catholic Faith. Frequent prayers for our school too please. My sincere thanks also to Mr Brian Stalker who is preparing our children for First Holy Communion.  

Do please let me know of other ways we can develop our love and care of our children.

Fr David Barnes, Rector

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4th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Sunday 28th January 2024

TODAY is RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY.

Bishop Paul McAleenan, Lead Bishop for Racial Justice, message for Racial Justice Sunday:

Hello. My name is Bishop Paul McAleenan. The theme of Racial Justice Sunday in England and Wales in 2024 is ‘Seeing one another in the life of the Church’. There are different ways that the theme could be approached. I would like to suggest one particular way.

In the history of the Church, there have been those who looked at the society in which they lived, and responded to what they saw. They looked, made a decision based on what they saw, and acted. Alert and sensitive as they were to the commandments of Christ, when they saw justice being denied to someone because of their racial origin or colour, they were prompted to act. Their actions of opposing racism, promoting equality and justice, became their life’s work. Following this path, sometimes they encountered hostility, rejection, and attempts to overturn what they were doing.

However, they persevered and became instruments of change, agents of progress, and some are acknowledged as saints of the Church. There are many, many saints in the Church. Each is different. Each chose to follow a particular aspect of the person of Jesus.

Some saw Jesus as a teacher and devoted their lives to teaching. Some followed Jesus as one who loved the sick, and opened hospices and hospitals. Others saw Jesus as the friend of the poor and gave witness to that. Among the saints are those who remembered the words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right. They shall be satisfied.” And then they spent their lives working that everyone would be treated justly, with fairness and without discrimination.

For Racial Justice Sunday this year, can I suggest that you explore the lives of those great men and women – those who devoted their lives to the pursuit of racial justice, those who emulated God’s passion for justice, which we read about in the scriptures.

They will inspire us, teach us, and make us sensitive to the importance of racial justice and why we work for it. May we too, like them, see one another in the life of the Church.         Bishop Paul McAleenan

A PRAYER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY
Come, Holy Spirit, show us your beauty,
reflected in all the peoples of the earth,
so that we may discover anew
that all are important and all are necessary,
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves.
Amen.

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3^rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Sunday 21^st January 2024

SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD

POPE FRANCIS has made this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (today!) an opportunity to deepen our devotion to the celebration, study and spread of the Word of God.

“Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the Word of God can enable the Church to experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world.” Pope Francis

THE SACRED SCRIPTURES (the Bible) are the inspired Word of God. God speaks to us in a particular way when we read them with faith and love. Like Our Lady we need to ponder them and treasure them in our heart.

St Paul writes: “All Scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for:
1. Teaching
2. Refuting error
3. Guiding people’s lives
4. Teaching them to be holy

This is how the person who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

READ THE SCRIPTURES therefore every day, even if only a few verses. We should feast on them more than food and drink!

RESOLUTION: decide today to be committed to reading the Sacred Scriptures every day.
1. Give the Bible a special place of prominence in your house. Hold it with reverence. The priest kisses the Gospel after proclaiming it at Mass: we do well also to kiss the Bible as we use it.
2. If we are beginning again, why not start with St Mark’s Gospel, a clear and simple presentation of what Jesus said and did?

Or, the First Letter of John, a beautiful presentation of how to come back to God with all our heart.

WHATEVER WE DECIDE, DO SOMETHING!
Every Blessing,
Fr David Barnes, Rector

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2^nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Sunday 14^th January 2024

POPE FRANCIS’s – MESSAGE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND PEACE.
There are the fundamental concerns that Pope Francis raised when he announced his theme for the World Day of Peace: the need to be vigilant that a “logic of violence and discrimination” doesn’t take root in the development of AI at the expense of the most fragile and excluded; that the advancement of AI does not fuel injustice and inequality and therefore conflict, and, of course, that AI is developed so that it serves humanity and the protection of our common home. It is a theme we will need to keep returning to. To read the message in full, visit: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/20231208-messaggio-57giornatamondiale-pace2024.html

PRAYER FOR PEACE
God our creator and sustainer,
We thank you for the gifts of creativity you have given us, for the ability to explore science and understand your creation.
We ask your forgiveness for the times we have used science for evil and not for good, for war and not for peace.
Make us vigilant as we develop technology, that violence and discrimination may not take root,
that injustice and inequality will not be fuelled, that the poor and vulnerable will not pay the cost.
May all that we create contribute to peace and justice. Amen

PAX CHRISTI (PEACE SUNDAY): TODAY 14^th Jan 2024. “The work of Pax Christi is based on the Gospel & inspired by faith. Their vision is of a world where people can live in peace, without fear of violence in all its forms. Please use the following link: https://paxchristi.org.uk/about-us/support-us/donation/

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
18^th – 25^th January. We pray each day for the reunion of all Christians.  The theme this year is “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbour as yourself” (Lk 10:27).

PRAYER
Lord, give us the grace to know you deeply, in order to love you entirely.
May the gift of your Holy Spirit enable our eyes, ears and minds to receive the unconditional love with which you love us.
Purify our hearts that we may always be ready to love our neighbour, however different, as ourselves.
Through the self-giving life of Christ our Lord. Amen.

QUESTIONS
Personal: How do you see yourself? How do you think God sees you?
Local: Does God’s view of you change your view of those around you?
Global: How does God’s view of you change how you respond to the news?

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THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
Sunday 7th January 2024

THE EPIPHANY 

TODAY we celebrate the Epiphany. In the coming of the Kings/the Magi, we see that all real power and wisdom are found in the person of Jesus —  He is the Power and the Wisdom of God personified.
The Kings/Magi fall on their knees and worship Him: we too must imitate them, falling on our knees and worshipping Him — only then are we better disposed to recognse who He really is.
The Feast of the Epiphany was the day I was ordained priest — now 48 years ago! On my ordination prayer card I put a prayer written by a saint who has influenced me greatly throughout my adult life: St Ignatius Loyola (1491— 1556)
I put the prayer here again, and encourage you to say it regularly. Pray for me too, please, as I do for you.

Dearest Jesus,
teach me to be generous; teach me to serve You as You deserve;
to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to ask for any reward
save that of knowing I am doing Your Will.

TOMORROW (Monday) we celebrate Our Lord’s baptism by his cousin John the Baptist….

Our Lord is revealed as divine, the Son of God. Our Lord commissions the apostles to go out into the whole world and baptise people everywhere in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

To be baptised means we are immersed into the life of the Blessed Trinity, so we can share God’s life. In baptism God places us in His Son and we become a son or daughter of God: when God looks on us He sees us as a son or daughter because we are in God’s Son. This is all pure gift, a grace of God. We could not do this ourselves: God does it for us.

God wants to share His Life with us, and for us to share our life with Him. Baptism initiates this relationship. Today, thank God for the Sacrament of Baptism, and pray we shall all live our friendship with God more devotedly. 

POPE FRANCIS ONCE ASKED: “If I were to ask you today, “which of you knows the exact date of your baptism?” I do not think there would be too many hands raised…. Yet, it is the day on which we were saved, it is the day on which we became children of God. Now, those who do not know it should ask their godparents, their dad, their mom, an uncle, an aunt: “When was I baptised”? And that day should be remembered each year: it is the day on which we became children of God”.
Fr David Barnes, Parish Priest

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4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT
24th DECEMBER 2023

THIS FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT is our final day of preparing the way for the Lord to celebrate the Nativity of Our Saviour. It is a time to renew our hope and expectation: God is always faithful to His promises. The fourth CANDLE on our Advent wreath is seen as the MARY candle because the Nativity is the consequence of Mary’s YES to God — her FIAT (let it be done……).
This week we should, together with Mary, ponder the wonderful thing God has done for us in the Incarnation.
How does it touch us, move us?
How do we want to respond to it?
How do I see my “YES” to God? Is it whole hearted? As we ponder this we shall be moved to confess our sins —- all of which express our NO to God: every sin is a “no-no” to God.
A good confession is the best way to find a truly Happy Christmas, when we prepare the way for Our Lord to be born again in our heart , where we can treasure Him, adore Him, and love Him, like the shepherds.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the God-given means of making the way for Him to enter us—so do go to confession.
“Mary Immaculate, my Mother, keep me close to you, at one with you, so that I may imitate your wholehearted Yes to God.” Fr David Barnes, Rector

This will be the last bulletin of the year – MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT  
17th December 2023 

GAUDETE SUNDAY

 “REJOICE” SUNDAY (from Latin “Gaudete”) is the name given to this Third Sunday of Advent. We rejoice because of the coming celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord, born in the manger in Bethlehem.
We rejoice not only because He is “Emmanuel” (God with us), but because His coming (or advent) is the proof of God’s love for us: he has come to share His life completely with us. This is re-confirmed every time we receive Holy Communion.
Like Mary His Mother we have the privilege of holding Him and treasuring Him in our heart. Go to Mary, asking Her how we can hold and treasure Him better, more devotedly, more tenderly.
Pope Francis teaches us that the Church should be a “House of Joy”. Our parish and families will be “a House of Joy” in so far as we recognise that the infant in the crib is truly God fully among us. To help us ponder this please ensure that the CRIB has a central place in your home. Let us gather around the crib to pray as a family.
Our joy is the fruit of our faith, God’s gift for our “Yes” to God. REJOICE!
Fr David Barnes, Rector

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2nd SUNDAY ADVENT
10th December 2023  

BIBLE SUNDAY 2023
THIS SUNDAY (ADVENT 2) is sometimes called BIBLE SUNDAY: We pray for a deeper love of the Sacred Scriptures.
St Jerome lived during the 4th century of the Church. A man of brilliant mind, he lived as a hermit for years, in order to deal with his many sins. However, God needed his intellect and gift of language; thus St. Jerome is credited with translating the Scriptures into Latin,  known as the Vulgate.
St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” That thought alone should send us all scurrying for our Bibles! So, why should Catholics make regular Scripture reading and study part of their daily lives?
1) It is the living Word of God. There are many ancient texts in the history of the world. Many of us, in high school and college, read The Iliad, I Ching, and the Tao de Ching. They are all worthy of study, but what sets the Bible apart? It is the living Word of God. It has no equal, and it is as relevant today as it was when Jerome labored over its translation. Further, the Word of God is Christ: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (Jn. 1:1 ) Thus, every encounter with Scripture is an encounter with Christ.
2) Sunday isn’t enough. Indeed, the Mass is full of Scripture. We hear the Word proclaimed from the Old and New Testaments, the Psalms, and the Gospel. We hear the Word sung in our hymns. The prayers at Mass are full of Scriptural quotes and references. And yet … it’s not enough. It’s easy to miss parts of the Word as it’s proclaimed as Mass: we get distracted, the Word is not proclaimed well, we don’t quite hear it. In order to prepare well for Mass, we should “read ahead:” find the readings for Mass and read them prior to Mass. How are they connected? What is God’s message for His people today?
3) God’s Word keeps us grounded. It is very easy, in the midst of our sloppy, busy, stress-filled days, to lose touch with who we are: God’s children. Taking time to read Scripture every day keeps us grounded, reminds us of who we are. Reading Scripture helps us to recall, every day, that Christ is with us – even in the sloppiness, the busy-ness, the stress.
4) Scripture reminds us of God’s covenant. God made a promise to our forefathers in faith, the Jews. He told them, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” Even though the Jews (like us!) did many things that should have destroyed that covenant, God’s promise is eternal. A covenant is unbreakable, because it is God’s truth. Then, with the coming of Christ, we received a new covenant: “This is My Body and this is My Blood. Whoever eats and drinks of it shall have eternal life.” The Bible, from start to finish, is the story of God’s unbreakable promise to us. That’s pretty important.
5) Reading Scripture helps us to pray better. Every one of us needs to pray better. Prayer is our lifeline to God. Scripture can help us to pray better. We see ourselves reflected in the sorrow, pain and faithfulness of Job. We understand Jonah’s reluctance to do the job God has set before him. We rejoice, laugh, cry and challenge God with the psalmist. We understand the shame of the woman about to be stoned. We tremble with fear, abandoning Christ, just as most of the Apostles did when He most needed them. To enter into God’s word helps us to see, hear, feel and understand basic human responses … and then do better. We rise above our fears, our sorrows, our shame, because we know God is with us. Always. He never abandons us. Scripture is the story of God’s eternal love and faithfulness.

St. Jerome knew all this. He spent his life carefully and faithfully translating God’s word. He did it not because it was yet another text that smart people wanted to read in their own language. No, he understood that Scripture is the living word of God, as relevant to us as it was to the Jews in their many triumphs and struggles, as it was to the earliest Christians during St. Jerome’s life, and now, in a world where we have so much information at our fingertips it would make St. Jerome’s head spin. But there is no website, no book, no podcast, no Facebook post that equals God’s word. Do not be ignorant of this word, lest you be ignorant of Christ.

 THE ADVENT WREATH: The Advent wreath helps us reflect on how God has come to us. The circle of the wreath is a symbol of both the eternity of God and our being called to eternal life. The evergreen foliage symbolises on-going life, while the holly and the red berries symbolise that the child in the manger is also the one who will suffer and die for us on the Cross. The five candles too have meanings. The outer candles are purple and one pink – the four weeks of Advent: purple is a sign that Advent is “little Lent”, a time for prayer, fasting, repentance and conversion. The pink candle is for “Gaudete Sunday”, the third Sunday in Advent, reminding us to rejoice in the coming of the Saviour. The white candle symbolises Christ, the Light of the World. The coming of the Light (Christ) into the darkness of the world is a constant theme in Advent, and the gradual lighting of the Advent candles reminds us of this. Various meanings are given to each specific candle -here is one set of meaning:

1st CANDLE- (purple) THE PROPHECY CANDLE or CANDLE OF HOPE-We can have hope because God is faithful and will keep the promises made to us. Our hope comes from God. (Romans 15:12-13)

2nd CANDLE- (purple) THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF PREPARATION– God kept his promise of a Saviour who would be born in Bethlehem. Preparation means to “get ready”. Help us to be ready to welcome YOU, O GOD! (Luke 3:4-6)

3rd CANDLE- (pink) THE SHEPHERD CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF JOY – The angles sang a message of JOY! (Luke 2:7-15)

4th CANDLE- (purple) THE ANGEL CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF LOVE – The angels announced the good news of a Saviour. God sent his only Son to earth to save us, because he loves us! (John 3:16-17)

5th CANDLE- (white) “CHRIST CANDLE” -The white candle reminds us that Jesus is the spotless lamb of God, sent to wash away our sins! His birth was for his death, his death was for our birth! (John 1:29)

Fr David Barnes, Rector

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FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 
3rd December 2023

ADVENT 

TODAY, Sunday, the great season of Advent begins. The word comes from the Latin verb “advenire” meaning “to come to:” so Advent calls us to ponder Our Lord’s THREE “comings to us”.
• the Incarnation when “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” ie. Our Lord’s Nativity in Bethlehem.
• Our Lord’s daily coming to us in the Holy Mass.
• the Second Coming, when “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead”. 

ADVENT is sometimes called “Little Lent” because it is properly a time of prayer, fasting and good works, a time of repentance. This is why purple is the colour of Advent. Do your best to keep Advent in this way, even though secular society  is making merry around us, the celebration of Christmas begins with the Vigil of Christmas, and is celebrated for the 12 days that lead up to the Epiphany on 6th January.

THE ADVENT WREATH, with the build-up of lighting the candles, reminds us of the coming of Our Lord into this world in His Nativity– He is “the Light of the World” who dispels the darkness of the world.

ADVENT is a time of HOPE as we come understand better that God is always faithful to His promises.

OUR LADY “believed that the promises made her by the Lord would be fulfilled:” We pray that we may have faith like hers, and invoke her powerful intercession.
Fr David Barnes, Rector

FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION is this Friday 8^th December: Our Lady is conceived free from every stain of sin. Mass at 6:00pm

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OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,
KING OF THE UNIVERSE  
26th November 2023

CHRIST THE KING

TODAY is the Grand Finale of the Church’s year. On this final Sunday, our celebration focuses on Our Lord through whom the Kingdom of God comes. Our Lord taught constantly about the Kingdom of God: the Kingdom comes through the Church, founded by Christ and with which He is totally identified in every way apart from our sin. The Church is the sign and seed of the Kingdom, and through the Church we are called to let Christ reign in every area of our life. The more we co-operate with Him, the more the Kingdom comes.

TODAY also focuses us also on our young people. The Theme for this year is “Stand up. I appoint you as a witness of what you have seen. (cf.Acts26:16)” In our parish we have many, and we should thank God for them and pray for them. On this “Youth Day” we should reflect carefully on what we are doing to help form our young people. How can we strengthen the life of faith in our homes? How can we help our school, St. Joseph’s, Macklin Street, which is developing wonderfully through the present leadership? I am concerned about our adolescents: how can we support them better? Do let me know your ideas. Pope Francis speaking to young people says:

“God loves us the way we are, and no sin, fault or mistake of ours makes him change his mind. As far as Jesus is concerned – as the Gospel shows – no one is unworthy of, or far from, his thoughts. No one is insignificant. He loves all of us with a special love; for him all of us are important: you are important! God counts on you for what you are, not for what you possess. In his eyes the clothes you wear or the kind of cell phone you use are of absolutely no concern. He doesn’t care whether you are stylish or not; he cares about you! In his eyes, you are precious, and your value is inestimable.”

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33rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 
19th November 2023

WORLD DAY OF THE POOR

TODAY is World Day of the Poor: ‘Do not turn your face away’
As the Church prepares to celebrate the World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis urges everyone to work toward providing free healthcare, medical examinations, vaccinations, and bill payment assistance to those in need.
“Do not look away from the poor” (Tobit 4,7), is the theme for the 2023 World Day for the Poor.
Pope Francis begins his message for the Day by stressing that
“a great river of poverty is traversing our cities and swelling to the point of overflowing; it seems to overwhelm us, so great are the needs of our brothers and sisters who plead for our help, support and solidarity.”
“We are living,” he continues, “in times that are not particularly sensitive to the needs of the poor. The pressure to adopt an affluent lifestyle increases, while the voices of those dwelling in poverty tend to go unheard.”
To read the full message, please visit: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/poveri/documents/20230613-messaggio-vii-giornatamondiale-poveri-2023.html

WORLD DAY OF THE POOR PRAYER
Loving God,
Open our ears to hear you in the cry of those living in poverty.
Open our eyes to see you in the lives of the oppressed.
Open our hearts to meet you in others and to respond with mercy and compassion.
Pour out on us your grace, so that we may grow as your faithful people, always seeking your kingdom of Truth, Justice and Peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen. 

WEDNESDAY 22^nd NOVEMBER IS THE FEAST OF ST CECILIA OUR CO-PATRON: Sung Mass at 6pm.

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32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
12th November 2023

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY marks Remembrance Sunday which marks the end of the First World War. On this day we remember all those who gave their lives for their country, all who suffered and died through acts of war and those who were left behind to grieve and mourn.

PRAYER OF REMEMBRANCE
O God, merciful and strong,
who crush wars and cast down the proud,
be pleased to banish violence swiftly from our midst and to wipe away all tears,
so that we may all truly deserve to be called your children.
Amen

NOVEMBER DEAD LIST: Envelopes are available at the back of the church for the Month of Holy Souls. Please hand in to the Sacristy or with the collection at Mass.
Thank you.

CATHOLIC PUBLICATIONS: Since we no long stock the Catholic magazines and newspapers here, you can buy subscriptions online for both digital and paper copies, please use the following links:
THE TABLET: https://checkout.thetablet.co.uk/singleitem?item=TAB&prom=XMASLP23
THE CATHOLIC HERALD: https://catholicherald.co.uk/subscriptions/
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSE: https://universecatholicweekly.co.uk/product-category/subscriptions/
THE CATHOLIC POST: https://www.catholicpost.co.uk/

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31st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  
5th November 2023

SICK & RETIRED PRIESTS’ FUND

Our retiring collection today will be in support of the Sick & Retired Priests’ Fund.

Most priests offer their resignation as a parish priest at the age of 75, but many continue to serve their communities, working in our parishes, schools, hospitals and chaplaincies. We must ensure no priest is worried about meeting essential costs during their senior years and, as such, Cardinal Nichols and the Diocese of Westminster are committed to ensuring that no retired or sick priest is left without support. Last year, the Diocese provided care to 82 retired priests, at a cost of £850,000.

By giving a gift to the Sick & Retired Priests’ Fund today, you can help us to ensure all of our sick and retired priests are cared for at their time of need. The fund is used to meet essential costs, like making a flat accessible to a disabled priest, or that a priest has regular visits from a carer after undergoing surgery.

If you took an envelope last weekend, please place it in the collection bag today. If you do not have an envelope, there are some available at the back of the church. The envelopes & posters feature a ‘QR Code’ that you can scan with a phone camera to give online. Please consider filling out a standing order form, meaning you become a Patron and make a regular gift to support our sick & retired priests. You can fill this form out either on the envelope or via one of the Patron’s programme leaflets. By assuring income to the fund, the Diocese can plan its continued care for our retired & sick priests. Thank you for your generosity & please remember to pray for our clergy, in active ministry, retired or ill.

NOVEMBER — MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS
Pope Francis on praying for the souls in purgatory: “Even now we experience a communion between the Church on earth and the Church in heaven through our union with those who have died. The souls in heaven assist us with their prayers, while we assist the souls in purgatory through our good works, prayer and participation in the Eucharist. As members of the Church then, the distinction is not between who has died and who is living, but rather who is in Christ and who is not …
There is a deep and indissoluble bond between those who are still pilgrims in this world — us — and those who have crossed the threshold of death and entered eternity. All baptized persons here on earth, the souls in Purgatory and all the blessed who are already in Paradise make one great Family. This communion between earth and heaven is realized especially in intercessory prayer”.
See Also: https://www.cathdal.org/home/ten-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory
1.Pray the Novena to the Holy Souls by St. Alphonsus Liguori.
2.Offer up your Holy Communions for the souls in purgatory.
3.Have Masses said for your departed loved ones, especially on the anniversary of his or her death.
4.Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the intention of the Holy Souls.
5.Eucharistic Adoration: visit the Blessed Sacrament to make acts of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on behalf of those in purgatory.
6.Sacrifices: practice small acts of self-denial throughout your day & offer these penances up for the poor souls.
7.Give alms: The giving of material assistance to the poor has always been considered a penance that can be offered for the Holy Souls. “For almsgiving saves from death, and purges all sin” (Tobit 12:9).
8.Ask for the intercession of saints who were known to be great friends of the Holy Souls during their lifetime to join you in prayer for the faithful departed: St. Nicholas of Tolentino, St. Gertrude the Great, St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Padre Pio, St. Philip Neri, St. John Macías, St. Faustina Kowalska, St. Joseph, Our Lady, and others.
9.When passing by a cemetery: Pray the short Eternal Rest prayer: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon them. And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”
10.Pray to earn indulgences for the holy souls:  On all the days from November 1 to November 8, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted to those who visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed (standard requirements for indulgences apply*). Partial indulgences are granted to those who recite Lauds or Vespers of the Office of the Dead, and to those who recite the prayer, “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace”

ETERNAL REST
Lord, this month we pray especially for the departed loved ones.
We ask you to give them the gift of a dwelling place in your eternal home.
We pray too for those who have no one to pray for them.
Through your infinite mercy may they share in the company of the saints to offer you eternal praise and glory. Amen

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30^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 
29^th October 2023

TUESDAY 31st October:
Vigil Mass 6pm
WEDNESDAY: 1st November FEAST OF ALL SAINTS
Mass at 12:30pm and 6pm
THURSDAY 2^nd November: FEAST OF ALL SOULS
Mass at 12:30pm & 6pm

SICK & RETIRED PRIESTS’ FUND COLLECTION

NEXT WEEKEND is the annual collection for sick and retired priests in the Diocese of Westminster. Last year, the Diocese of Westminster provided care to 82 retired priests, at a cost of £850,000. The number of our priests over the age of 65 is steadily increasing, and caring for our brother priests in their senior years, or at a time of illness, is a fundamental part of the mission of our diocese.  Whilst we work with the NHS and local authorities to ensure funding gaps are met, we still rely heavily on the generosity of parishioners who contribute to this worthy fund each year.

Therefore, I would like to ask for your help once again as we draw close to this year’s annual appeal for our Sick & Retired Priests.   

The priests in our Diocese, although retired, continue to serve long into their late seventies and eighties.  They continue to work in our parishes and schools, visit our sick or elderly in hospices, and hospitals, and make themselves available, at our time of crisis and need.  We continue to depend on them, in times of grief and sorrow, but also at times of joy, such as baptisms and weddings.  They, however, are also dependent on us, and our generosity, for their care, and for essentials like housing, rent or any health needs.

By giving to the Sick & Retired Priests’ Fund, next week, you can ensure these needs are met.  If you can, please take a donation envelope, and return it next weekend.  Alternatively, you can scan the QR code, either on the envelopes or posters at the back of the church and give online.

Finally, if you feel you would like to give to the SRP fund on a more regular basis, please do consider joining our Patron’s Programme.  You can give as little or as much as you can via a monthly standing order, and this assured income helps the Diocese plan its continued care for our retired and sick priests.  Leaflets about the Patron’s Programme are also available at the back of the Church with the donation envelopes.  Thank you so much and please continue to pray for all our clergy: active, retired or ill.

CHILDRENS LITURGY: Every Sunday at 10am Mass. Children from Reception to year 2 included are welcome to attend. Parents are welcome to accompany their child/ren to the Parish Room and can then come up to the main church.

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FIRE EVACUATION NOTIFICATION: today there will be a brief instruction regarding the Fire Evacuation Plan after each Mass. Please speak to Stephen Ogilby for further information or to volunteer.

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PAUL – FROM TARSUS TO THE WORLD: A seven part film telling the story of St Paul according to the record of his activities found in the Acts of the Apostles and his letters. Monday evening’s at 6.45pm in the Parish Room.

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29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
22nd October 2023

‘HEARTS ON FIRE, FEET ON THE MOVE’

TODAY is WORLD MISSION SUNDAY. World Mission Sunday is being celebrated in every Catholic parish around the world today! It supports missionaries who work alongside communities that are poor or in need, regardless of their background or belief. By supporting Missio, the Pope’s charity for world mission, you will help missionaries like Sr Mary who has given her whole life to bring the love and hope of Jesus to situations of extreme poverty and injustice. Please pray for the mission of the Church throughout the world and give what you can to this very important collection which will sustain the future of our Church. Please call 020 7821 9755 (office hours) or visit Missio’s website to give a single gift, set up a Direct Debit and Gift Aid your donation if possible: www.missio.org.uk

PRAYER FOR THE FIRE OF FAITH
God of faith, Your son commanded us to go out and make disciples of all nations.
His Apostles set out on foot: their hearts ablaze with the fire of your Good News.
Today, missionaries continue this work, igniting your love and hope wherever there is hardship, darkness and fear.
We pray that we too will find the courage to join this great mission, in the ways that you call each one of us, and be messengers of love to all we meet.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

FIRE EVACUATION NOTIFICATION: today there will be a brief instruction regarding the Fire Evacuation Plan after each Mass. Please speak to Stephen Ogilby for further information or to volunteer.

PAUL – FROM TARSUS TO THE WORLD: A seven part film telling the story of St Paul according to the record of his activities found in the Acts of the Apostles and his letters. Monday evening’s beginning 23rd October at 6.45pm in the Parish Room.

Monday 23rd Oct: A Light from Heaven
Monday 30^th Oct: Barnabas: “A Good Man”
Monday 6^th Nov: We bring you Good News,
Monday 13^th Nov: Strengthening the Churches
Monday 20^th Nov: Do not be afraid – Continue to speak,
Monday 27^th Nov: I appeal to Caesar • I have finished the race.

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28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
15th October 2023

‘HEARTS ON FIRE, FEET ON THE MOVE’

Next Sunday is WORLD MISSION SUNDAY, when the Holy Father invites all Catholics to contribute to a special collection for Missio, his charity for world mission. Please support Missio in helping missionaries to work alongside communities throughout the world that are poor or in need, regardless of their background or belief. Join in on this special day, that unites Catholics all over the world in prayer and celebration of our Church’s mission to share God’s love with all people. Please call 020 7821 9755 (office hours) or visit Missio’s website to give a single gift, set up a Direct Debit and

Gift Aid your donation if possible: www.missio.org.uk There will be a retiring collection at all masses.

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27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
8th October 2023

CAFOD: Family Fast Day appeal – Harvest Collection

TODAY is the Harvest Collection Appeal. Dr Nasha’s mobile medical clinic gets life-saving help to where it’s needed most, fast – so when her team arrived in Meera’s village in Pakistan after it had been destroyed by flooding, Meera rushed to the clinic to get her children the treatment they needed. Donate to CAFOD today so that more families can get the expert help they need. Please return your envelope in church or give online at www.cafod.org.uk   

HARVEST PRAYER
Generous God, we thank you for the gifts you have given for all people to share.
Sometimes things go wrong.
Floods wash away homes and crops.
Living God, move us to help one another in times of need,
to care for the earth and love one another sharing your harvest with all.
Amen.

TODAY is also PRISONERS’ SUNDAY: Prisoners’ Sunday is a time to think about how we as individuals, as a Church and as communities are serving those affected by imprisonment. Prisoners, people with convictions, and their children and families often find themselves on the margins of our society. Yet Jesus challenges us with His words: “I was in prison and you came to me”.
Pact draws on the values of our faith: dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity. We believe that everyone can make a fresh start whatever they may have done. To donate please visit: https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/donate/prisoners-sunday-appeal

PRISONERS SUNDAY PRAYER
Lord, you offer freedom to all people. We pray for those in prison.
Break the bonds of fear and isolation that exist.
Support with your love prisoners and their families and friends, prison staff and all who care.
Heal those who have been wounded by the actions of others, especially the victims of crime.
Help us to forgive one another, to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly together with Christ, in his strength and in his Spirit, now and every day.
Amen

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26th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
1st October 2023

OCTOBER: Month of the HOLY ROSARY
THIS OCTOBER I am asking all of you to renew and deepen your love of the ROSARY this October. When we pray the Rosary we are pondering and walking through the wonderful things that God has done for us, together with Mary our Mother. Do please always have a Rosary with you, in your pocket. At different times of the day hold it with faith and love, so uniting ourselves to Jesus and Mary. These quotes from recent Popes will encourage us:
“The Rosary is a prayer that always accompanies me; it is also the prayer of the ordinary people and the saints… it is a prayer from my heart.” Pope Francis
“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God…and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.” Pope Saint Pius X
“How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening!” St. John Paul II
“The Rosary is a prayer both so humble and simple and a theologically rich in Biblical content. I beg you to pray it.” St. John Paul II
“The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.” Pope Leo XIII
Mary, Queen of the most holy Rosary, Pray for us.
Fr David Barnes, Rector

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25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
24^th September 2023

THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM

TODAY is also our VERY FIRST PROCESSION of OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM around Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Following 10am Mass.

Our Procession proclaims:

1. 1. GOD was made flesh and dwelt among us: Jesus is both Son of God and Son of Mary, and He is “Emmanuel” (God with us).

Mary said “YES” (Fiat) to God’s invitation to be become the Mother of the Lord. God had faith in Her, honoured Her and trusted Her, and therefore so do we.

1. 2. Mary believed that the promises made to Her by the Lord would be fulfilled. We ask for that same faith.
2. 3. Mary was the first and greatest disciple of Jesus. We pray that we may imitate Her fidelity, and witness to Her as the greatest model of faithfulness.
3. 4. On the Cross Our Lord Jesus gave Her to us as our Mother: in this Procession we proudly proclaim and honour Her as our Mother who teaches us to do whatever Our Lord Jesus tells us.
4. 5. In the procession we should reflect, carefully, and prayerfully, on what we are doing. We should desist from personal conversations, and rather pray for those in the park and those who pass by.

Remember Pope Francis tells us to remember always that we are “missionary disciples”. So let us be joyful and prayerful throughout the procession. 

The Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, in North Norfolk, was established in 1061 when, according to the text of the Pynson Ballad (c 1485), Richeldis de Faverches prayed that she might undertake some special work in honour of Our Lady. In answer to her prayer, the Virgin Mary led her in spirit to Nazareth, showed her the house where the Annunciation occurred, and asked her to build a replica in Walsingham to serve as a perpetual memorial of the Annunciation.

This Holy House was built and a religious community took charge of the foundation. Although we have very little historical material from this period, we know that with papal approval the Augustinian Canons built a Priory (c 1150). Walsingham became one of the greatest Shrines in Medieval Christendom.

In 1538, the Reformation caused the Priory property to be handed over to the King’s Commissioners and it is said the famous statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was taken to London and burnt. Nothing remains today of the original shrine, but its site is marked on the lawn in “The Abbey Grounds” in the village. After the destruction of the Shrine, Walsingham ceased to be a place of pilgrimage. Devotion was necessarily in secret until after Catholic Emancipation (1829) when public expressions of faith were allowed.

In 1896 Charlotte Pearson Boyd purchased the 14th century Slipper Chapel, the last of the wayside chapels en-route to Walsingham, and restored it for Catholic use. In 1897 by rescript of Pope Leo XIII, the sanctuary of Our Lady of Walsingham was restored with the building of a Holy House as the

Lady Chapel of the Catholic Church of the Annunciation, King’s Lynn. The Guild of Our Lady of Ransom brought the first public pilgrimage to Walsingham on 20th August 1897. Visits to the Slipper Chapel became more frequent, and as the years passed devotion and the number of pilgrimages increased.

SLIPPER CHAPEL: In the Middle Ages Walsingham was one of the four great shrines of Christendom with pilgrims coming from all parts of the known world. There were wayside chapels along the pilgrim route and the Slipper Chapel was the last and most important of these. Pilgrims stopped here to go to Mass and to confess their sins before walking the last mile to the Holy House in Walsingham. The name of the chapel may come from the fact that pilgrims removed their shoes to walk the last mile or it may come from the word “slype” meaning a way through or “something in between”, the slype or slip chapel standing as it did between the Holy land of Walsingham and the rest of England.

In 1538 the Shrine and Priory were destroyed and the Slipper Chapel, although not damaged, passed into disuse. It was used successively as a poor house, a forge a barn and even a cow byre. Stories of older residents suggest that even during this time of neglect occasional pilgrims would still come and pray there. In 1896 it was brought by Charlotte Boyd and restoration started the following year. For thirty years the Slipper Chapel remained restored but little used, as devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham was centred on Kings Lynn. On August 19th 1934, Bishop Youens of Northampton celebrated the first public Mass in the Slipper Chapel for four hundred years, and two days later Cardinal Bourne led a national pilgrimage of more than 10,000 people to the Shrine. At this pilgrimage, the Slipper Chapel was declared to be the National Shrine of Our Lady for Roman Catholics in England.

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24th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
17^th September 2023

Pastoral Letter for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 16/17 September 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

Coming to church today all of us will have made the Sign of the Cross, at least once. We did so at the opening words of the Mass. Many will also have done so on entering the church, using the holy water as a reminder of our baptism. This is our first prayer.
The Sign of the Cross is our hallmark, or, if you prefer, our foundation. It tells us who we are and how we understand our lives. We see our life to be founded and rooted in God, Creator, Father; we walk in the pathway marked out for us by Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father; we have within us the company and power of the Holy Spirit, the eternal love which flows between Father and Son and surges into our lives by God’s gift. This is who we are, not just individually but together, as the community of the Church.
It is not easy to put this fundamental reality into practice. There is a yearning within the human spirit for precisely the mercy, forgiveness, truth and love which flow abundantly from the mystery of God. Our mission, through baptism, is to make visible this saving truth, each day, in every circumstance, fulfilled or failed by what we say and do.
In the last two years, Pope Francis has been calling us to be renewed in this mission. He wants us to rediscover our life in the Church as a communion of life with God and with one another, opened up for us through the Sacraments, those outward signs of inward grace. Furthermore, he wants us to be a sacrament for the whole world, the outward sign that leads people to the inward grace of faith in Jesus Christ, known and lived within the communion of the Church.
The method chosen by Pope Francis for this reawakening is his insistence that we learn to listen more closely to one another; that we are ready to work out, prayerfully, what we need to do to fulfil this mission; that we seek to enhance our service of others, acknowledging that every single person is endowed with gifts and abilities for this work. All this goes by way of the Synodal pathway the Pope has established for us all.
Over the last two years, there have been various concerted expressions of this Synodal journey, in our parishes, in the Diocese as a whole, and at the level of the Church in every continent. Now all this comes together, in October, in a Synod of Bishops, in Rome, to assess the journey thus far and to fashion clearly the next steps to be taken. These findings can then be reviewed by us all, before a further Synod of Bishops that takes place in October 2024.
We are privileged that Bishop Nicholas Hudson has been chosen by Pope Francis to be a member of this Synodal Assembly. The Pope has also chosen a significant number of lay men and women, priests and religious, from each continent, to be members alongside those bishops chosen by Bishops’ Conferences around the world. Theirs will be a demanding task and I ask you to pray for them all. Their method will be the same as the one the Pope has put before us all: prayerful listening of the heart, careful discernment of all that is put before them, faithfulness to the teaching of the Church, explored and presented with great love. Their work will be shaped, as is ours, by praise of the Father, fidelity to the Son, seeking the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We can be clear, then, that this Synod meeting is not an ecclesiastical UN Assembly, nor a Church parliament or convention, nor a referendum on the teaching of the Church. In the words of Pope Francis, it is to be ‘a grace-filled event, a process of healing guided by the Holy Spirit’, a setting out on a journey ‘with the Lord always coming to meet us’ (Pope Francis, 10 October 2021).
The overall aim of the October meeting has been clearly set out: how can we become a listening Church, one that is profoundly open to all, humble and seeking forgiveness – as we have been reminded in today’s readings? Can we be a Church of encounter and dialogue which seeks to hold together, often in tension, fidelity to the truth expressed in her teaching and a compassionate love for every person? How can we be a Church of deep respect for all that is truly human, seeking to bring the gifts and talents of every person into the mission given by Christ? How can we be a Church which is constantly restless because we are incomplete, yet a sign and instrument of the union of all with God? The Synod must consider what processes, initiatives, and structures can help us in becoming a truly missionary Church.
It is not difficult to see that the agenda of the forthcoming Synod of Bishops is an agenda for us all: for each of us individually, for families, for every church association and group, for parishes, for the Diocese. The Synod is a journey we share. For this reason, I invite you today to be part of this historic process, not simply through following the reports that come from Rome, but in the thoughts and resolutions of your own hearts. How can we be more attentive to each other? How can we listen with our hearts to the distress and the joy of those around us? How can we make our community more welcoming? How can we find ways of enabling the talents and abilities of everyone to become part of our outreach, of that invitation to come to know the Lord?
Every moment and every place is, for us, a time and location for mission: the supermarket, the casual meeting, the places of leisure and of work, the family circle. By this I do not mean that we are always talking about the things of faith, but that we are constantly attentive to the many ways in which the good Lord might be prompting a person, and us ourselves, to take a step nearer to him. How can we then accompany that person to take the next step, with sensitivity and humility, grateful for our own friendship with the Lord, the gift of faith that we have received?
May the coming month of October be a time of grace for our Church, both in the great gathering in Rome and in the circles of our lives here at home. May October, the month of the Holy Rosary, see us take up our rosary beads each day, asking our Blessed Mother to strengthen and guide us in this journey of faith. I ask you this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Yours devotedly,
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Westminster

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23^rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
10^th September 2023

SEASON OF CREATION:
1^st September – 4^th October

POPE FRANCIS writes:

Dear brothers and sisters! “Let Justice and Peace Flow” is the theme of this year’s ecumenical Season of Creation, inspired by the words of the prophet Amos: “Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (5:24).

The evocative image used by Amos speaks to us of what God desires. God wants justice to reign; it is as essential to our life as God’s children made in his likeness as water is essential for our physical survival. This justice must flow forth wherever it is needed, neither remaining hidden deep beneath the ground nor vanishing like water that evaporates before it can bring sustenance. God wants everyone to strive to be just in every situation, to live according to his laws and thus to enable life to flourish. When we “seek first the kingdom of God” (Mt 6:33), maintaining a right relationship with God, humanity and nature, then justice and peace can flow like a never-failing stream of pure water, nourishing humanity and all creatures.

How can we contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace in this Season of Creation? What can we, particularly as Christian communities, do to heal our common home so that it can once again teem with life? We must do this by resolving to transform our hearts, our lifestyles, and the public policies ruling our societies.

First, let us join the mighty river by transforming our hearts. This is essential for any other transformation to occur; it is that “ecological conversion” which Saint John Paul II encouraged us to embrace: the renewal of our relationship with creation so that we no longer see it as an object to be exploited but cherish it instead as a sacred gift from our Creator. Furthermore, we should realize that an integral approach to respect for the environment involves four relationships: with God, with our brothers and sisters of today and tomorrow, with all of nature, and with ourselves.

Second, let us add to the flow of this mighty river by transforming our lifestyles. Starting from grateful wonder at the Creator and his creation, let us repent of our “ecological sins”, as my brother, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, has urged. These sins harm the world of nature and our fellow men and women. With the help of God’s grace, let us adopt lifestyles marked by less waste and unnecessary consumption, especially where the processes of production are toxic and unsustainable. Let us be as mindful as we can about our habits and economic decisions so that all can thrive – our fellow men and women wherever they may be, and future generations as well. Let us cooperate in God’s ongoing creation through positive choices: using resources with moderation and a joyful sobriety, disposing and recycling waste, and making greater use of available products and services that are environmentally and socially responsible.

Lastly, for the mighty river to continue flowing, we must transform the public policies that govern our societies and shape the lives of young people today and tomorrow. Economic policies that promote scandalous wealth for a privileged few and degrading conditions for many others, spell the end of peace and justice. It is clear that the richer nations have contracted an “ecological debt” that must be paid (cf. Laudato Si’, 51). [5] The world leaders who will gather for the COP28 summit in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December next must listen to science and institute a rapid and equitable transition to end the era of fossil fuel. According to the commitments undertaken in the Paris Agreement to restrain global warming, it is absurd to permit the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures. Let us raise our voices to halt this injustice towards the poor and towards our children, who will bear the worst effects of climate change. I appeal to all people of good will to act in conformity with these perspectives on society and nature.

In this Season of Creation, as followers of Christ on our shared synodal journey, let us live, work and pray that our common home will teem with life once again. May the Holy Spirit once more hover over the waters and guide our efforts to “renew the face of the earth” (cf. Ps 104:30).

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 13 May 2023  

FRANCIS
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+22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
3rd September 2023