We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr Bernard Clay, Canon William O’Neill, Edward Chares, William Brooks, Johanna Gromnicka, Margaret Kenney, Josephine Platt, Annie Barton, Anthony Isaacs, Joan Erwood, George Gatward, David Thomas, Kevin Hopley, Monica James, Elizabeth Winchester, Kenneth Biebuyck, Veronica McCullough, Dr Brian Quinn, Denis Jordan, Sybil Swann, Norman Halligan, Clara Donnelly, Catherine Hevey, Thomas Gunn, Eileen Morgan, Florence D’Yos, Sue Fry, Michael Standing & Seamus Graham.
We pray for our sick
We pray for the sick of our parish
“Father,
by the power of your Spirit
you have filled the hearts of your faithful people
with gifts of love for one another.
Hear the prayers we offer for our relatives and friends.
Give them health of mind and body
that they may do your will with perfect love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.”
Please pray for the repose of the souls of
NICHOLAS HUTCHINS, RIP who died on Saturday, 5th September. His body will be received into the church on Wednesday, 21st October at 4.15pm and his Requiem Mass will take place on Thursday, 22nd October at 2pm, followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
DOREEN HARLEY, RIP who died on Monday, 28th September. Her body will be received into the church on Tuesday, 27th October at 4.15pm and her Requiem Mass will take place on Wednesday, 28th October at 11am, followed by committal at Sutton Road Cemetery.
Requiescant in pace
Dates for your Diary
Thursday, 12th November—Annual Parish Requiem—7pm
Sunday, 22nd November—Christmas Bazaar 8.30am—1pm
Thursday 26th-Saturday 28th November—Forty Hours’ prayer
Friday, 18th December—Annual Carol Service—7pm
Saturday, 8th May—First Holy Communion Mass—10.30am
Sunday, 16th May—Confirmation Mass—11.30am
Sunday 30th May—Corpus Christi Procession—4pm
Music at 11.30am Mass
Prelude: Improvisation
Postlude: Choral (Pièces en style libre, Op. 31) - Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Cashless Society
Thank you for bearing with us through the renovations to the website. Hopefully you are finding the current offering helpful and informative. Now we are finished, we can offer recurring donations online. Please consider this as the new form of the offertory collection. If everyone receiving this by email were to contribute £5 weekly, this would easily eclipse all other giving we receive in total. If this seems too much, perhaps consider, say, £10 monthly: it’s up to you.
If you are a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid permission gives us an extra 25p on every £1 you give. If you are a higher rate tax payer, you claim the rest of your tax paid on your donations made with Gift Aid. So a donation of £400 becomes £500 for the parish, but only costs you £300! If you make an account on our website, you have control of your payments, and can track your total donations for the tax year. You should include your Donations on your tax return, giving you your tax rebate. Gift Aid is a government incentive for donating to charities: please take advantage of it! Increase the amount you give at no cost to you, and—if you unfortunately find yourself in a higher tax bracket—then your giving will also give you some cash back.
Collecting and processing the offertory plate takes the time of many volunteers. If you can switch to online donations, this burden will could evaporate completely…
Online Donation
You can now make recurring donations online: please consider this as a new, simpler form of the offertory collection.
If everyone reading this were to give £3 weekly, this would exceed all our usual donations.
World Mission Sunday
Today 18th October 2026 we are celebrating 100 years of World Mission Sunday. Pope Leo has chosen the theme ONE IN CHRIST UNITED IN MISSION.
There are prayers cards at the back of the church from Pope Leo. Please pray for the work o f this mission and give what you can to this vital collection.
To donate please use the MISSIO envelope at the back of the Church.
Thank you Joan Caunce Secretary 01268 757505.
Journey in Faith—RCIA
This begins on Monday 19th October at 7.30pm and is specifically for those who are not Catholics but who are enquiring with a view to finding out more about the Catholic Faith and Reception into the Church. These evenings are held in the Parish Centre and last for one hour. Names may be given in advance to Father Kevin or to the Parish Office.
Those interested in reading or learning more before the course begins may wish to purchase a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church from the Catholic Truth Society, or listen to The Catechism in a Year podcast with Fr Mike Schmitz.
Parish Christmas Bazaar - Sunday 22nd November, 8.30am - 1.00pm
We’re getting ready for our Parish Christmas Bazaar, and we need your help to make it a wonderful success! This year the Bazaar will be on Sunday 22nd November, running all morning from 8.30am until 1pm. Put the date in your diary and come along for breakfast and a little shopping too!
If you are free to offer an hour or two on the day, please call or message Sue on 07816 141492.
Draw tickets are now available at the back of the Church after all Masses, to be completed & returned to the Parish Office with payment as soon as possible please.
Donations Needed for Our Parish Christmas Bazaar
Alll donations are most welcome but we’re especially looking for donations of:
Unwanted bottles of alcohol – perfect for our bottle tombola and raffle prizes.
Unwanted jewellery – costume or fine, to add sparkle to our jewellery stall.
Unwanted toiletries – always popular on our “Smellies” stall!
If you have any of these items tucked away at home, please consider donating them to support the Parish.
Donations can be left in the old Baptistry. If you need us to collect, (locally), just give us a call
Sue 07816 141492 Angela 07940 183452
Every contribution helps – and together, we can make this year’s Bazaar the best yet!
Thank you for your generosity and continued support.
Brant Pitre's talk on ‘How Did We Get The Bible?’
What would you say to someone who says Catholicism isn’t biblical? Have you ever wondered how we got the Bible? Join us in the Parish Centre on Monday 19th at 10.30 or Wednesday 28th at 7.30pm when we will look at these issues & more as well as enjoying some lively discussion.
OLL Ladies Group
We meet on Thursday 22 October in the Parish Centre at 10am so please arrive early for refreshments and prior to our Guest Speaker. We are very pleased to welcome back Jackie Sullens who is one of our popular speakers. This time Jackie will be presenting some of her family history, so who knows what might come out of the cupboard?? ( or the attic ). We have a fun Raffle plus refreshments and subs at only £1. All ladies in the Parish are welcome to join us.
Certificates of Catholic Practice
Please note Fr Kevin will be issuing Certificates of Catholic Practise in September/October, Tuesday—Friday 9.00—13.00. Please call into the office to complete the form.
Seniors Exercise & Balance Class
10am Tuesdays
Parish Centre
£6
You are invited to join the Exercise & Balance Class for Seniors which is held every Tuesday morning in the Parish Centre. The class starts at 10am and lasts one hour. Exercises are done to music and each session costs £6.
Repository News
We have some new stock, including Statues, plus a few items from Lourdes, in addition to books and a large selection of cards. Please feel free to browse and ask our volunteers for assistance if you can't find what you are looking for.
St Helen’s Parish Westcliff, Job Vacancy
Person required for paid position of Finance Co-ordinator to cover maternity leave 15 hours per week. If you or any of your family/friends are interested, please first contact the Parish office for a job description and person specification, next send in your CV, with a covering letter demonstrating how your experience and skills and attributes match the essential requirements of the role.
Closing dates for CVs /applications Tuesday 27th October. Interview Date Tuesday 3rd November
Contact 01702 342324 Email westcliff@brcdt.org
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear friends in Christ
October is traditionally known as the month of the Holy Rosary.
Dear friends in Christ
October is traditionally known as the month of the Holy Rosary. It is a beautiful devotion, simple enough for a child and yet profound enough to sustain a lifetime of prayer. With the Rosary in our hands, we place ourselves beside Mary and allow her to lead us once again to her Son. How fitting, then, that Pope Leo XIV has recently been at Lourdes, where the Rosary is so deeply woven into the life of the shrine. During his pilgrimage, the Holy Father joined thousands of pilgrims in the candlelit Rosary procession. With the light of candles shining in the darkness, the Hail Marys rose from the crowd in many languages, reminding us that the Church is truly a family gathered around Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
At Lourdes, Pope Leo invited us to persevere in our journey of faith. He spoke of the light of hope which accompanies us even through the trials of life, and urged us to bring our most important and urgent intentions to Our Lady. At the conclusion of his Mass in Lourdes, the Holy Father made a particular appeal for this month of October. He asked Christians to pray the Rosary especially “with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict.” He also reminded us that our prayer should be accompanied by “concrete acts of penance and mercy”, and by a commitment to dialogue and reconciliation.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 2682, expresses this devotion beautifully: ‘Because of Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her.’ That is really what happens when we pray the Rosary. We are not simply repeating prayers to Mary; we are praying with Mary, allowing her to lead us through the great mysteries of the life of her Son. Bead by bead, decade by decade, we contemplate Christ. As we move through the mysteries of Christ's life, we can place before Our Lady the needs of our families, our parish, those who are sick or lonely, those who have died, and those whose lives are marked by war, poverty or uncertainty.
Pope Leo has reminded us that prayer and good works belong together. Earlier this year, praying the Rosary for peace at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens, he said that peace becomes possible when we listen to the cry of those who suffer. The Rosary teaches us precisely this attentiveness. We listen to the mysteries of the life of Jesus. We look at the world through the eyes of Mary. And then, having prayed, we are sent back into ordinary life to love a little more generously, forgive a little more readily, speak a little more gently, and serve those whom God places before us.
October is therefore an invitation. Perhaps some of us could return to a daily Rosary. Perhaps families could pray even one decade together. Perhaps we could come to the parish Rosary when it is offered, or simply take the beads from our pocket during a quiet moment in the day. The Rosary does not require perfect circumstances. Mary meets us where we are. As we pray, let us especially remember Pope Leo's intention for peace. Let us entrust to Our Lady those who live amid violence and war, and ask that the peace of Christ may take root in human hearts and communities. May Our Lady of Lourdes pray for us. May she lead us ever more deeply into the life of her Son. And may the light of hope which shines from Christ never be extinguished in our hearts.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. And may God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings of Year A
The Nicene Creed
Preface of Sunday 8
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time—Month of the Holy Rosary
Saturday 10th October
St John Leonardi, Pr
5.30pm Vigil Mass Joseph & Elizabeth Pallis, RIP (DL)
6.30pm—7.30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
Sunday 11th October
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
8am Mass Thomas Patrick Costello, RIP (Anniv) (KC)
9.30am Mass Holy Souls
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 12th
St Wilfred, Bp Missionary
9am Mass Susan Griffin, RIP (JC)
Tuesday 13th
St Edward the Confessor
9am Mass Peace of the World (IS)
Wednesday 14th
St Callistus I, P, M
9am Mass Anita Lupton, RIP (Anniv) (LW)
4.15pm Body in church John Scaife, RIP
Thursday 15th
St Teresa of Jesus, V, D (Ávila)
9am Mass John & Anne Young, RIP (LY)
2pm Requiem Mass John Scaife, RIP
Friday 16th
St Margaret Mary Alacoque, V
12Noon Mass Ian Spacie, RIP (VS)
Saturday 17th October
St Ignatius of Antioch, Bp, M
10am Mass Intentions of Clare Finnett (NG)
10.30am—11.30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
5.30pm Vigil Mass The People of the Parish
6.30pm—7.30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
Sunday 18th October
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
8am Mass Intentions of Evelyn Mackay (SD)
9.30am Mass Intentions of Charles (sick) (Slawek)
11.30am Mass Bill & Moya Campbell, RIP (Anniv) (LL)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction