Days of Solemn Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament

Thursday 24 November

Solemn Opening Mass 7pm
Exposition continues until midnight

Friday 25 November

Exposition from 7am and throughout the day
Holy Mass 12 noon
Benediction for children & families 3.30pm
Preached Holy Hour 8–9pm; Exposition until midnight

Saturday 26 November

Exposition from 7am
Holy Mass 10am
Concluding Solemn Benediction 4pm

Candles are available from the Sacristy or Parish Office for £5

Live Simply Charity - Friday Film Nights

Two more dates for your diary! The Live Simply group invites you to watch “Amazing Grace” on Friday November 18th in the parish centre at 7.30pm. Refreshments will be on sale in aid of the refugee crisis. And again on Friday December 9th, film to be advised.

Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society

In association with HCPT will be hosting our very popular Ladies’ Christmas Luncheon on Friday 9 December, 12noon for 12.30pm at the Rayleigh Golf Club, Hullbridge. Ladies will be treated to a delicious two course lunch with tea & coffee in the luxurious surroundings of a private room over-looking the golf course at this exclusive club. Tickets cost £25 per person. To reserve your ticket, please call Julie on 01268 784544 or email jabbott@bccs.org.uk

Scripture Group

Fr Con Joyce’s Scripture Group will next meet in the Parish Centre 8-9pm
on Thursday 17 November. Fr Con will be talking about the prophets. All are welcome.

APF Boxholders

If you have not had your box opened in the last six months would you please hand it in to the Parish office no later than Sunday 4th December.  I have received the Autumn Missio Magazines, please take one from the back of the Church (usual place) if you have not already been given one.
Joan Caunce(Secretary) 01268 757505.

Counters & Folders

Counters:  Jan Lewis, Sandie Hippard & Nina Bridgeman.
Newsletter Folders:  Angie Martin & Joseph Martin.

Steward of the Gospel - Diocesan Consultation

Our second and final parish meeting to discuss and respond to this important Diocesan consultation will be held this coming Saturday, 19th November, from 2.00 - 4.00 pm in the Parish Centre. All are warmly welcome! There was a great turnout for our first meeting and it would be terrific to have the same for the second! If you can join us, please let Jan Lewis know - on 01702 478105 or janlewis123@btinternet.com – so we can be properly organised. Outcomes from this consultation will help guide the path of our Diocese and parish over the next 15/20 years! For parishioners unable to make the meetings, a short questionnaire accompanied last weekend’s parish newsletter – if you haven’t already done, so please do give it your thoughtful consideration. Completed questionnaires should be put into the gold-coloured box marked ‘Parish Questionnaire’ at the back of the church by next Sunday, 20th November, at the latest.  Thank you for your support!
Francis O’Brien

Dates for your Diary

Sunday 13th November Cemetery Visit - 3pm
Thurs 24th Nov-Sat 26th Nov Forty Hours Prayer before the Blessed
                                                  Sacrament
Saturday 3rd December Christmas Bazaar  -  10.30am
Friday 16th December Carol Service (Serving the Homeless) - 7pm
Wednesday 21st December Advent Service of Penance with Confessions 8pm
Saturday 6th & 13th May First Holy Communion Masses  -  10.30am
Saturday 22nd July Walsingham Centenary Pilgrimage

Sanctuary Lamp

The lamp burns for the intentions of the deceased members of the Morrissey Family.

We Pray for our Sick

Maureen Deekes, Carol Halldenby Noel Fagan, Leanor Fairbanks,
Patricia Abram, Christine Noden, Tina Doveaston, Pat Lynch, Rose Craft,
Teresa Yates, Addi Brady, Gerard Rodgers, Ben Wilson, Patricia Fleming,
Nicky Wigmore, Brita Irons, Eileen Wilson, Patricia Spikin, Sandra Fagan,
Edna Wallace, Beryl Dixon, Nan Carrit, Nick Evans, Vicky Jack,
Margaret Harrington, Lyn Gopee, Kristin Hallenga, Anne O’Neill, Cheryl Shallis, Vera Farrow, Anthony McEvoy, Sheila Netherton, Dympna Addecott,
Justin Stark, Marcia Clarke, Monica Neate, Laura & Mark Braley,
Margaret Roberts, Anne Breen, Roy Widdecombe, David Blyth, Lynne Hilkene, Johanna Lynch, Janet Woods, Thomas Corrigan, Mary Boyce, June Moncaster, Breda Lynch, Sheila McBrearty, Anthony King, Norma McCleverty,
Belinda Balazsi, Edward Martin, Johnnie Pool, Joanna Luciani, Pauline Wilsher, Simon Marshall, Kriston Barnes, Barbara Sheaf, Maria Clark,
Antonella McConalogue, Josephine Griggs, Colleen Worley,
Fr Jean Laurent Marie, Eddie McConalogue, Noel Kolb, Georgina Cornwell, Lorraine Hart, Dawn Deleigh, Wyn McCafferty, Linda Dean, Annie Holland,
Fr Martin Buckley, Chas Taylor, Martha Braun, John Lavery,
Ivor & Joanne Knight, Brian Beresford, Rebecca Peake, Connor Bourke,
Mattia Mollica, Sharon Levill, Bernadette Lane, David Kislingury, David Askew, Maureen Ward, Jane Jowers, David Clark, Doreen Troughton, Marguerite Harris, Marie Rubbert, Andrew Exley, Rosemary Arscott, Sr Imeda, Pauline Sullens, Henry de Souza, Lanto Bellis, Richard Collins, Irena Solecki,
Elizabeth McConalogue and children Thomas Ball, Liam Davis,
Albert Chambers, Fergus Grant, Lucy Price, Mary Isherwood, Frazer Gregory, baby Talia Emery and Hattie Seymour.

Pray for the Dead

Fr Terence Howes, Fr James Allis, Fr Richard (Dick) Ashton, Fr John Harden,
Fr Edwin Sheehan, OFM, Joan Read, Albert Rogers, Janet Conway,
John Owen, John Cavanagh, Jack O’Riordan, Vincent Kelly, John O’Neill, Kathleen McIlwee, Louisa Hurst, Sydney Pullen, Myriad Hubbard, Mary Capon, John Cousins, Ethel Donnison, Luciana Garuti, Edna Hutchings,
Kathleen Macauley, Alice Kelly, Jack Hosmer, Florrie Peck, Charlotte Roberts, Bert Russell, John Cheswick, George Livermore, Celia Ashley,
Agnes Fitzgibbons, Emily Hariet-Upcroft, Boleslav (Charlie) Czogalik &
Peggy Ingham.

May their Souls & the Souls of all the Faithful Departed rest in peace.

Thirty-second Sunday of the Year

Dear friends in Christ 

The liturgy of this Sunday draws our attention to one aspect of the Month of the Dead, namely, the resurrection of the body. The Old Testament speaks in a number of places of the hope of the resurrection. At the time of Our Lord’s life most of the Jews believed in this truth, except the Sadducees, who also denied the immortality of the soul, the existence of angels and the power of divine Providence. In the Gospel of the Mass this Sunday we hear how some of the Sadducees approached Jesus with the intention of tripping Him up. According to the Levite law, if a man were to die without issue, then his brother would be under obligation to marry the widow and provide him with descendants. The Sadducees cunningly present Him with a situation of this kind affecting a man with seven brothers. By means of a far-fetched dilemma, the Sadducees attempt to ridicule the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. Jesus, through this encounter reaffirms the teaching of the resurrection of the body and reveals at the same time, some characteristics of life after death where, people neither marry nor are given in marriage…because they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection…he is God not of the dead but of living, for all live to HIm. With these reflections in mind, I would draw your attention to the recently promulgated Directives for Cremation published by the Holy See last week; there is a page summary in the Newsletter this week.

One of the manifestations of our faith in the resurrection of the body, especially during this month of November, is the way we show our love for the Holy Souls by prayer and by visiting their graves. Next Sunday the Parishes of Southend Deanery can make a joint-visit to Sutton Road Cemetery (where many of our Parishioners are interred). We will begin at 3pm (the Hour of Mercy) at the Cross just inside the entrance gates. From there, following some short prayers, we will visit the graves with our Clergy, bless them and place lights on them as a sign of our faith in the resurrection of the body, which Jesus teaches us in the Gospel. God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary time

Saturday 5th November Our Lady on Saturday
10.00am Mass Una McAnulty, RIP (CB)
5.30pm Vigil Mass Vera De Souza, RIP (LD)

Sunday 6th - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
8am Mass Peter Herzog, RIP (Anniv) (JL)
9.30am Mass Holy Souls
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
4.00pm Mass Helen Hiscock, RIP (MH) - Extraordinary Form
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction


Monday 7th St Willebrord, Bp
9.00am Mass Gerald Kelly, RIP (JA)

Tuesday 8th Feria
9.00am Mass Margaret Speere, RIP (ML)

Wednesday 9th DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA
9.00am Mass Deceased members of the Richardson Family

Thursday 10th St Leo the Great, P
9.00am Mass Deceased members of the Cook & Dann Families
8.00pm Mass Annual Parish Requiem

Friday 11th St Martin of Tours, Bp
12Noon Mass Thanksgiving for the intentions of Msgr Kevin Hale

Saturday 12th November St Joseph, Bp, M
10.00am Mass Denis Kearsey, RIP
5.30pm Vigil Mass Pearl Scaife, RIP (Anniv) (MI)

Sunday 13th - Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
8am Mass Holy Souls
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Dead of the Wars
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

Summary of the recent Directives for Cremation from the Holy See

Following the most ancient Christian tradition, the Church insistently recommends that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places.  Burial is above all the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.  By burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body, and intends to show the great dignity of the human body.  Burial in a cemetery or another sacred place adequately corresponds to the piety and respect owed to the bodies of the faithful departed who through Baptism have become temples of the Holy Spirit.
The burial of the faithful departed in cemeteries or other sacred places encourages family members and the whole Christian community to pray for and remember the dead.Through the practice of burying the dead in cemeteries, in churches or their environs, Christian tradition has upheld the relationship between the living and the dead and has opposed any tendency to minimise, or relegate to the purely private sphere, the event of death and the meaning it has for Christians.

In circumstances when cremation is chosen because of sanitary, economic or social considerations, this choice must never violate the explicitly-stated or the reasonably inferable wishes of the deceased faithful.  The Church raises no doctrinal objections to this practice, since cremation of the deceased’s body does not affect his or her soul.  Thus cremation, in and of itself, objectively negates neither the Christian doctrine of the soul’s immortality nor that of the resurrection of the body.  The Church continues to prefer the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased, because this shows a greater esteem towards the deceased.  Cremation is not opposed per se to the Christian religion under the condition that this choice has not been made through “a denial of Christian dogmas, the animosity of a secret society, or hatred of the Catholic religion and the Church”.  In the absence of motives contrary to Christian doctrine, the Church, after the celebration of the funeral rite, accompanies the choice of cremation, providing the relevant liturgical and pastoral directives.

When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority.  From the earliest times, Christians have desired that the faithful departed become the objects of the Christian community’s prayers and remembrance.

The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community.  The conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence is not permitted.  It is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewellery or other objects.  When the deceased notoriously has requested cremation and the scattering of their ashes for reasons contrary to the Christian faith, a Christian funeral must be denied to that person according to the norms of the law.

Dates for your Diary

Thursday, 10th November
Annual Parish Requiem Mass for those who have died in the past year  -  8pm

Sunday 13th November
Cemetery Visit - 3pm

Thursday 24th November-Saturday 26th November
Forty Hours Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

Saturday 3rd December
Christmas Bazaar  -  10.30am

Friday 16th December
Carol Service (Serving the Homeless)-  7pm

Saturday 6th & 13th May
First Holy Communion Masses  -  10.30am

Sunday 18th June
Corpus Christi Procession  -  4pm

Saturday 22nd July

Steward of the Gospel – Diocesan Consultation

You are warmly invited to join fellow parishioners on Saturday 19th November from 2pm - 4pm in the Parish Centre for the second of our meetings to discuss and respond to this important Diocesan consultation. All ages are welcome! Please do try to come! If you can, please let Jan Lewis know - on 01702 478105 or janlewis123@btinternet.com – so we can be properly organised. Outcomes from this consultation will help guide the path of our Diocese over the next 15/20 years! For parishioners unable to make the meeting a short questionnaire is to be be found with this parish newsletter – please give it your thoughtful consideration. Completed questionnaires should be put in the gold-coloured box marked ‘Parish Questionnaire’ at the back of the church by Sunday, 20th November, at the latest. Thank you for your support!  Francis O’Brien

An Autumn concert by the Two Elizabeths

Friday 11th November, 7 for 7.30pm in aid of Fair Havens Hospices/LRBC Build Fund in Leigh Road Baptist Church. Tickets £10.  Ring Elizabeth on 347369.

ABC - About Being Catholic

Following Fr Kevin’s Introductory Talks, the series informal talks designed to give an insight into the teachings and traditions of the Catholic church continues every Monday, starting at 8pm in the Parish Centre.  7th November: The Trinity. You are welcome to attend some or all of these talks;  if you would like more information please speak to Fr Kevin or telephone Pat O’Connell on 712123.

Works of Mercy - The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants

The next Rosary Procession Vigil, led by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, will be held on Saturday 12th November 2016, at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, 557/559 High Road, Woodford Green, IG8 0RB.  The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will begin at 9am followed by our Rosary Procession, following an Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to Marie Stopes, Buckhurst Hill, where we shall pray 15 decades of the Rosary and sing hymns. At approximately 12Noon we return to St. Thomas’ for refreshments.  For full details see poster on Church Noticeboard.  For further details telephone 01727 763832 or e-mail marg@helpersuk.org.

Scripture Group

Fr Con Joyce’s Scripture Group will next meet in the Parish Centre 8pm-9pm
on Thursday, 17th November.  Fr. Con will be talking about the prophets.  All welcome.