Pray for the Dead
Please pray for our dead on their anniversaries:
Fr John Timmins, Bp John Petit, Canon Eric Goldingay, Fr Donald Clover,
Canon Jerome Deady, Pope St John XXIII, Edith Young, Dr Denis O’Riordan, Clarice Wheeler, Mildred McHattie, Vera Waelend, Sebastian De Souza,
Mabel Hooper, Joseph Mullins, Odilia Duhig, Stephanie Horwood, Kit Nafziger,
Dr Nigel Warburton, Rev Donald Clover, Stella Hale, Jonas Acton, Ida D’Eath, Dorothy Winyard, Terry Wilson, Charles Mann, Thomas Donnolly, Elsie Hale,
Lee Schiller, Joan Holdstock & Gladys Hanger.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Trinity Sunday
Dear friends in Christ
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Blessed Trinity. This, the ineffable mystery of God’s intimate life, is the central truth of our faith and the source of all gifts and graces. The liturgy of the Mass invites us into loving union with each of the Three Divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This feast was established for the Latin Church by Pope John XXII to be celebrated on the Sunday after the coming of the Holy Spirit, which is the last of the mysteries of our salvation. From the moment that we are first called to participate in the divine life through the grace of baptism, we are destined to participate in that life evermore fully; along this path we must journey continually. From the Holy Spirit we constantly receive impulses, motions and inspirations to encourage us to travel faster along the way that leads to God, and to revolve in an ever closer way around Our Lord. The Blessed Trinity dwells in the Christian soul as in a temple. St Paul explains that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit who has been given to us.
Next Sunday the celebration of Corpus Christi, makes that love of God for us real and tangible in the Blessed Sacrament. The whole goal of the Christian life is union with God and we achieve this on earth by our worship of the mystery of the Godhead. This we particularly proclaim next week when we venerate the presence of Jesus amongst us in the Eucharist in the Mass and in the Eucharistic Procession. As always I hope that we will all make the effort to participate in the Procession Sunday with our First Communion children, so that we can give this public witness to what is the greatest of the mysteries of our Faith.
Last Wednesday during the visit of our Bishop thirty-four of our young adults were confirmed. We offer them our prayerful congratulations and pray that they will take their place now as full adult members of the Family of the Church. We are all most grateful to our Bishop, Alan, for his gracious presence with us and for his words of encouragement. God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Trinity Sunday
Dear friends in Christ
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Blessed Trinity. This, the ineffable mystery of God’s intimate life, is the central truth of our faith and the source of all gifts and graces. The liturgy of the Mass invites us into loving union with each of the Three Divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This feast was established for the Latin Church by Pope John XXII to be celebrated on the Sunday after the coming of the Holy Spirit, which is the last of the mysteries of our salvation. From the moment that we are first called to participate in the divine life through the grace of baptism, we are destined to participate in that life evermore fully; along this path we must journey continually. From the Holy Spirit we constantly receive impulses, motions and inspirations to encourage us to travel faster along the way that leads to God, and to revolve in an ever closer way around Our Lord. The Blessed Trinity dwells in the Christian soul as in a temple. St Paul explains that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit who has been given to us.
Next Sunday the celebration of Corpus Christi, makes that love of God for us real and tangible in the Blessed Sacrament. The whole goal of the Christian life is union with God and we achieve this on earth by our worship of the mystery of the Godhead. This we particularly proclaim next week when we venerate the presence of Jesus amongst us in the Eucharist in the Mass and in the Eucharistic Procession. As always I hope that we will all make the effort to participate in the Procession Sunday with our First Communion children, so that we can give this public witness to what is the greatest of the mysteries of our Faith.
Last Wednesday during the visit of our Bishop thirty-four of our young adults were confirmed. We offer them our prayerful congratulations and pray that they will take their place now as full adult members of the Family of the Church. We are all most grateful to our Bishop, Alan, for his gracious presence with us and for his words of encouragement. God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
The Most Holy Trinity
Saturday 21st St Christopher Magallanes, Pr & Comps, Mm
10.00am Mass Thomas Byrnes (Special Intentions)
5.30pm Vigil Mass Gwendoline Underwood, RIP
Sunday 22nd May
8am Mass Francis & Paul Emmerson, RIP
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Intentions of Ignacio Ayerbe
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 23rd Feria
9am Mass Joan Clarke, RIP
Tuesday 24th Feria
9am Mass Pat & Jim Moon & Valerie Griggs, RIP
Wednesday 25th St Bede the Venerable, Pr, D
9am Mass Savva Kazamias, RIP
Thursday 26th St Philip Neri, Pr
9am Mass Intentions of the Corrigan Family
4.15pm Body in Church: Eileen Hood, RIP
Friday 27th St Augustine of Canterbury, Bp
12Noon Mass Intentions of Maureen Ward
1.30pm Requiem Mass: Eileen Hood, RIP
Saturday 28th Our Lady on Saturday
10.00am Mass Paschal Sanchez & Genovese Facilites (MG)
5.30pm Vigil Mass Anne Shaves, RIP
Sunday 29th May
8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Peter Flaherty, RIP
11.30am Mass Intentions of Pedro Ayerbe
4.00pm Corpus Christi Procession
NO Vespers & Benediction
The Most Holy Trinity
Saturday 21st St Christopher Magallanes, Pr & Comps, Mm
10.00am Mass Thomas Byrnes (Special Intentions)
5.30pm Vigil Mass Gwendoline Underwood, RIP
Sunday 22nd May
8am Mass Francis & Paul Emmerson, RIP
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Intentions of Ignacio Ayerbe
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 23rd Feria
9am Mass Joan Clarke, RIP
Tuesday 24th Feria
9am Mass Pat & Jim Moon & Valerie Griggs, RIP
Wednesday 25th St Bede the Venerable, Pr, D
9am Mass Savva Kazamias, RIP
Thursday 26th St Philip Neri, Pr
9am Mass Intentions of the Corrigan Family
4.15pm Body in Church: Eileen Hood, RIP
Friday 27th St Augustine of Canterbury, Bp
12Noon Mass Intentions of Maureen Ward
1.30pm Requiem Mass: Eileen Hood, RIP
Saturday 28th Our Lady on Saturday
10.00am Mass Paschal Sanchez & Genovese Facilites (MG)
5.30pm Vigil Mass Anne Shaves, RIP
Sunday 29th May
8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Peter Flaherty, RIP
11.30am Mass Intentions of Pedro Ayerbe
4.00pm Corpus Christi Procession
NO Vespers & Benediction
Summary of Amoris Laetitia - The Joy of Love:
Chapter four: “Love in marriage” (89-164)
The fourth chapter treats love in marriage, which it illuminates with Saint Paul’s Hymn to Love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. This opening section is truly a painstaking, focused, inspired and poetic exegesis of the Pauline text. It is a collection of brief passages carefully and tenderly describing human love in absolutely concrete terms. The quality of psychological introspection that marks this exegesis is striking. The psychological insights enter into the emotional world of the spouses – positive and negative – and the erotic dimension of love. This is an extremely rich and valuable contribution to Christian married life, unprecedented in previous papal documents.
This section digresses briefly from the more extensive, perceptive treatment of the day-to-day experience of married love which the Pope refuses to judge against ideal standards: “There is no need to lay upon two limited persons the tremendous burden of having to reproduce perfectly the union existing between Christ and his Church, for marriage as a sign entails ‘a dynamic process…, one which advances gradually with the progressive integration of the gifts of God’” (AL 122). On the other hand, the Pope forcefully stresses the fact that conjugal love by its very nature defines the partners in a richly encompassing and lasting union (AL 123), precisely within that “mixture of enjoyment and struggles, tensions and repose, pain and relief, satisfactions and longings, annoyances and pleasures” (Al 126) which indeed make up a marriage.
The chapter concludes with a very important reflection on the “transformation of love” because “Longer life spans now mean that close and exclusive relationships must last for four, five or even six decades; consequently, the initial decision has to be frequently renewed” (AL 163). As physical appearance alters, the loving attraction does not lessen but changes as sexual desire can be transformed over time into the desire for togetherness and mutuality: “There is no guarantee that we will feel the same way all through life. Yet if a couple can come up with a shared and lasting life project, they can love one another and live as one until death do them part, enjoying an enriching intimacy” (AL 163)
Cont’d next week …
Parish Fundraising
Thank you to everyone who supports the 200 Club. The results of the April draw are as follows:
1st Prize £150 203 Mrs A Snell 4th Prize £50 109 Miss Patricia Mitchell
2nd Prize £100 36 Mr A Bush 5th Prize £25 125 Mrs Marcia Clarke
3rd Prize £ 75 184 Mrs A Peoples
Subscription is £5.00 per month, either by cash, cheque or direct debit. If you would like to join, please fill in a form which can be found at the back of the church or ring Linda Wall on 01702 558217.
Counters & Folders
Counters: Linda Wall & Sheila West.
Newsletter Folders: Linda Wall & Bob Hall.
Annual Procession of The Blessed Sacrament
Sunday 29th May, 4.00pm. Accompanied by the Tilbury Brass Band
Followed by Tea in the Parish Centre
Annual Procession of The Blessed Sacrament
Sunday 29th May, 4.00pm. Accompanied by the Tilbury Brass Band
Followed by Tea in the Parish Centre
GIFT AID
Thank you to all those Parishioners who gift-aided their offerings last tax year 2015/16. In order to save on postage and printing, we will only be providing letters to those Parishioners who require one to complete their tax return for HMRC. If you require a letter, please email the Parish Office at office@lourdesleigh.org. If there are any changes to your circumstances such as change of address or you are no longer a tax payer, please advise the Gift Aid organiser via the Parish Office. Thank you.
GIFT AID
Thank you to all those Parishioners who gift-aided their offerings last tax year 2015/16. In order to save on postage and printing, we will only be providing letters to those Parishioners who require one to complete their tax return for HMRC. If you require a letter, please email the Parish Office at office@lourdesleigh.org. If there are any changes to your circumstances such as change of address or you are no longer a tax payer, please advise the Gift Aid organiser via the Parish Office. Thank you.
APF Boxholders
If you have not had your box opened in the last six months or it is ready for counting, please leave it in the Parish Office or give it to me personally. I will
leave the emptied boxes at the back of Church in the usual place. Thank you.
Joan Caunce, Secretary, 01268 757505.
Catholic Women’s League
The next CWL Social Meeting is on Monday, 23 May at 2pm in the Newman Room. Please feel welcome to join us.
Thank you
I would like to express my thanks to all members of the Parish who supported my Ordination to the Priesthood last Saturday, and for the many generous gifts and cards. In addition, I am eternally grateful for the friendship and prayers which we have shared over many years now. May it long continue, as I begin this new phase of life in the Southend Deanery. Fr Michael Halsall.
Fr Michael will celebrate the 11.30am Mass in the Parish on Sunday 12th June.
Pray for the Dead
Please pray for our dead on their anniversaries:
Fr Henry Peace, Fr Charles Carless, Fr Austin Thorburn, Christopher Buckingham, Eileen Hart, Murray Grant-Browning, Minnie Rowland, Derrick Amner, Cliff Falkus, Andrzej Sasiadek, Lyonel Winyard, Monica-Rose Smith, Kate Parr, Henry Smith, Lawrence Marshall, Mary Lyons, Elizabeth White, Rosa Betts, James Byrne, Henrietta Bartley, Mary Pearce, Michael Farmer, Eleanora Ruggiero, Francis Bull, Kathleen Reynolds, Frances Florence, Elizabeth Newton, Thomas O’Malley , Richard Bird, Leonard Brockhurst, Neil & Joan Macmillan, Mildred Jackson & Angela Edwards.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Pentecost
Dear friends in Christ
The celebration of Pentecost this weekend is the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus that He would send us the Paraclete. By the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this Day, the Church was, and continues to be, filled with the dynamic power of God’s presence. He is the guarantee that the Church is alive and breathes with the very breath of God Himself. We rejoice in the Gifts that the Holy Spirit confers on the Church, which we receive whenever we pray, receive a Sacrament or perform a godly act. Please pray for those who will be Confirmed in the Holy Spirit this Wednesday when the Bishop comes to the Parish. The triennial Visitation of the Bishop is obviously an important day in the life of the Parish. The visit of Bishop Alan Williams this week will be his first Visitation of the Parish since becoming our Bishop almost two years ago. We know that the Bishop is a successor of the Apostles and therefore his presence with us is equivalent to having one of the Twelve in our midst. I hope that many of you will make the effort to come to the evening Mass - it is not only Mass for the Confirmandi - so that together, gathered around the chief shepherd and teacher of the Diocese, we may be confirmed in our Catholic Faith. The Bishop will also visit Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in the afternoon to meet the staff and children. I pray that the visit of Bishop Alan to our Parish will bring a renewal of grace and faith at this time.
This weekend Michael Halsall has been Ordained a priest of Jesus Christ. Fr Michael was formerly Vicar of St Luke’s, Southend, and became a Catholic here almost ten years ago. He is a member of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and although he will continue his full-time profession as a teacher of Theology, he will also minister within the local Ordinariate Community. I offer him, on behalf of the Parish Family, our prayerful congratulations, support and good wishes. God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Pentecost
Dear friends in Christ
The celebration of Pentecost this weekend is the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus that He would send us the Paraclete. By the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this Day, the Church was, and continues to be, filled with the dynamic power of God’s presence. He is the guarantee that the Church is alive and breathes with the very breath of God Himself. We rejoice in the Gifts that the Holy Spirit confers on the Church, which we receive whenever we pray, receive a Sacrament or perform a godly act. Please pray for those who will be Confirmed in the Holy Spirit this Wednesday when the Bishop comes to the Parish. The triennial Visitation of the Bishop is obviously an important day in the life of the Parish. The visit of Bishop Alan Williams this week will be his first Visitation of the Parish since becoming our Bishop almost two years ago. We know that the Bishop is a successor of the Apostles and therefore his presence with us is equivalent to having one of the Twelve in our midst. I hope that many of you will make the effort to come to the evening Mass - it is not only Mass for the Confirmandi - so that together, gathered around the chief shepherd and teacher of the Diocese, we may be confirmed in our Catholic Faith. The Bishop will also visit Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in the afternoon to meet the staff and children. I pray that the visit of Bishop Alan to our Parish will bring a renewal of grace and faith at this time.
This weekend Michael Halsall has been Ordained a priest of Jesus Christ. Fr Michael was formerly Vicar of St Luke’s, Southend, and became a Catholic here almost ten years ago. He is a member of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and although he will continue his full-time profession as a teacher of Theology, he will also minister within the local Ordinariate Community. I offer him, on behalf of the Parish Family, our prayerful congratulations, support and good wishes. God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale