Newsletter: 1st October 2023

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

16.30 Confessions
17.30 VIGIL MASS

09.00 MASS
10.30 MASS
12.00 Baptisms

Father Brady’s Day Off

10.00 Mass

10.00 Mass
19.30 UCM Meeting

10.00 Mass

10.00 Mass

16.30 Confessions
17.30 VIGIL MASS

09.00 MASS
10.30 MASS
12.00 Baptisms

FLOOD
There is possible unseen water damage mainly under the atrium floor. Until the Loss Adjusters have made everything clear, the atrium beyond the screen will remain closed until further notice. Thank you for your
understanding and patience. These things are sent to try us but we must ensure everything is safe.

HARVEST FAMILY FAST CAFOD FAMILY FAST DAY FRIDAY 6TH OCTOBER
CAFOD envelope’s available at the back of church. See website for details of how your donations fund vital
life– saving help after flooding inn a local village in Pakistan.

OUR CHRISTMAS FAIR
Saturday 25th November 11am-2pm. There will be lots of stalls and craft activities for the children. We will be looking for helpers to make this a great team effort and raise money for the Church. A sign up list will be in the atrium for willing volunteers in the next few weeks. Thank you to those who attended the meeting on Wednesday. We are kindly asking for donations of CHOCOLATE this week. Please bring your donation of chocolate to mass next weekend.

UCM MEETING
Wednesday 4th October 7.30pm. Gentle chair exercises, all ladies of the parish are welcome to join us in this gentle activity.

PIETY STALL
There are blue and red grave side candles now available £2.25 for a large candle and £1.50 for a small candle which can be left in the cemetery to continue your prayers.

PLEASE NOTE: Week Commencing 1st – 6th October Parish Office Closed for Annual Leave

BAPTISM CERTIFICATE COPIES REQUESTS
For those requesting copies of baptism certificate the office can be contacted initially and the certificate can be collected at any of the weekend Masses. This is also to encourage people to come to Mass.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAMME 2023/2024
Forms must be returned to Church this week by Thursday 5th October. For parents of children who attend other schools please speak to Father Brady this weekend if your child is a baptised Roman Catholic in Year 3 or above and would like to make their First Holy Communion next year. The first meeting will take place in church on Tuesday 10th October 2023 at 6.00pm.

WALSINGHAM 2024
No dates set yet but we need an idea of how many people would like to go next year to Walsingham in order to determine whether we go alone as a Parish or join with another Parish to keep the costs down. Please sign the list in the Atrium if interested.

WORLD MISSION SUNDAY 22ND OCTOBER
Please put a note on your calendar to set aside money for this very worthy cause. There are Autumn editions of Mission Today available in the Atrium. This year the focus is on Kenya and the
missionary work taking place in Kibera, the biggest urban ‘slum’ in Africa.

WEEKLY FOOD DONATIONS
Please continue to support this worthy cause by placing any items of food in the basket under the table in the atrium. Food donations are taken weekly by the U.C.M to the Trinity Food Bank.

PLEASE NOTE MASS TIMES MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DURING THE WEEK FOR FUNERALS OR UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES. THE NEWSLETTER ON THIS WEBSITE AND NOTICEBOARD WILL BE UPDATED TO INFORM OF ANY CHANGES.

Lourdes TV

Please click on the red ‘Play’ button to watch Lourdes TV.

STAY WITH US, LORD, ON OUR JOURNEY

THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL

Matthew loves to tell parables of Jesus which contrast ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’ like these two contrasting sons. Matthew’s parables put everything in black-and-white terms with no shades of grey (wise and foolish wedding-attendants, sheep and goats, etc.). Luke uses a different kind of parable, in which the characters – just like ourselves – often do the right thing for the wrong reason. The sayings of Jesus were handed down by word of mouth for some years before being written down. Did the straightforward contrast in Matthew (it is odd that both change their minds without a reason) develop into Luke’s parable of the Prodigal Son? Both times the ‘goodie’ son ends up bad, and the ‘baddie’ son ends up good, but in Luke’s version both changes of mind are motivated, and there is great emphasis on the son’s repentance and the father’s overwhelming joy at getting him back. The lesson in Matthew’s story is given also by Jesus’ word in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘It is not anyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord” who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in Heaven’. It is no use simply saying that Christ is our ‘Lord’; we have to express it in our behaviour. What meaning do you find in this parable for yourself and the relationship you have with the Father?

BAPTISMS Please see Fr. Brady after Mass if you would like your child to be baptised. A baptismal certificate for one of the parents must be provided as evidence of baptism in a Roman Catholic Church before a baptism date can be given. We welcome parents and children and by attending Masses at the weekend on Saturday at 5.30pm, Sunday at 9.00am or 10.00am which fulfil the Sunday obligation. All Catholics are OBLIGED to celebrate Mass on EVERY Sunday.

SICK AND HOUSEBOUND If you know of anybody who would like Fr Brady to visit, could you please give him their name and address with postcode and a contact telephone number. Thank you.

MASS INTENTIONS AND NEWSLETTER INCLUSIONS The practice of requesting a Mass to be offered for loved ones, living or deceased, is a beautiful and wonderful part of our Catholic Tradition. Continuing this long-standing practice, you can remember someone who has died recently or many years ago. The Mass can also make beautiful gifts for any special occasion: birthdays, anniversaries, in thanksgiving for a prayer answered etc. You can offer an intention for anybody who is struggling with a serious illness or other difficulties of life. Please hand in any Mass Intentions and items for the bulletin before Thursday as the newsletter is printed on Friday Morning. There are Mass Intention Envelopes provided on the table in the Atrium. Please provide a contact number with Mass Intentions so that any discrepancies can be resolved. Thank you.

OUR LADY’S LAMP AND THE SANCTUARY LAMP These burn for seven days. Please place any intentions in an envelope with £5 in the Mass Offerings Box in the Atrium.

MASSES AND PRAYERS RECEIVED THIS WEEK

Lately Dead
Maureen Robinson, Michael Patrick O’Carroll, Patrick Brady

Anniversary
John Finnegan, Malachy and Mary Donnellon

Birthday Memory
Bernadette Strange, Paul Calderbank

Birthday
Kazia Krzyworaczka, Barbara Walsh

Other
In Thanksgiving for Prayers Answered
Noel Moore and Family
All souls in purgatory

This week the Sanctuary Lamp burns for:

Those facing financial hardship

This week Our Lady’s Lamp burns for:

Children preparing for their First Holy Communion