OLOL Ladies Group
Final meeting for this Summer ‘Term’ - Thursday 25th July from 10.30am. Come and enjoy Prosecco and strawberries! Plus the welcome return of Elizabeth Dunlop and her group of singers. Please note: subs £1 weekly, payable at the door in exchange for a raffle ticket (with prizes for the lucky number).
Counters & Folders
Counters: Linda Wall & Sheila West
Folders: Maureen Maguire & Vitz DeSouza
Foundation Governors & Trustees
It is that time again when we begin to look forward to next academic year and we are looking to recruit Catholic individuals who share our passion and mission for Catholic education, that might consider serving at a local level as a Foundation Governor of St Thomas More High School or at Trust Level as a Trustee of the Assisi Catholic Trust. If you think you have the skills (particularly safeguarding, finance, human resources or legal background), dedication and motivation we would love to have you on board.
Please do speak to either your Parish Priest or contact Mrs Gemma Ackred, Headteacher at St Thomas More High School and Chief Accounting officer for The Assisi Catholic Trust (gackred@assisicatholictrust.com) to find out more about the roles we have available. I really hope many of you will consider your potential to serve our schools in this way and look forward to hearing from you soon.
"I pray with my children" - A guide for parents
Leaflets for the above are now available from the back of Church.
Barleylands Fun Walk - Brentwood Catholic Children's Society
Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society is inviting families to join us at the Barleylands Fun Walk on Sunday 8th September 2019 to increase awareness of our work. This is a great fun, family event with a choice of walks on the Barleylands site in Billericay, the longest being no more than 2 miles and a shorter walk which is suitable for children & toddlers. There will be stalls serving cakes/biscuits and ice-cream available from 12pm and the community walk will start at 12.45pm & finish around 2pm. This is an ideal opportunity for families or parish groups to get together and have a fun afternoon while raising much needed funds for BCCS’. For a sponsorship form and more information, please go to https://www.bccs.org.uk/fundraising-and-events or contact Julie on jabbott@bccs.org.uk Look out for our BCCS pitch at the start line and come and say hello!
Bereavement Group
This will be held in the Parish Centre (Bernadette room), on Wednesday, 21st August at 2pm (we meet on the third Wednesday of every month). All are welcome to join us in a supportive, friendly and confidential environment. Enquiries to : elizabethdex@btinternet.com or cynthiabush11@googlemail.com or if you prefer just contact the Parish Office.
Childrens Liturgy
We are looking for volunteers to help at 9.30am Mass for Childrens’ Liturgy. We split into three groups whilst running the session and help/guidance is always given for every session. It would mean a commitment of approx an hour every six weeks. Please contact Sam- 01702 428990 or pop along on a Sunday morning to see what happens.
Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes
The Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes will feature on Lourdes TV (www.lourdes-france.org/en/tv-lourdes/) at 22.00 (UK time) on Monday 22nd July when we are part of the Marian (Torchlight) procession and at 09.30 (UK time) on Tuesday 23rd July, when we celebrate Mass at the Grotto. In addition, each day from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th July the BCYS (Brentwood Catholic Youth Service) will be offering “Virtual Pilgrimage” clips and highlights from Lourdes, including homilies from Bishop Alan and priests of the Diocese. You will find all these on the website www.bcys.net. The website is being refreshed this Friday, 19th July, with new resources and links for youth leaders and catechists: have a look!
First Holy communion 2020
If you have a child going into Year 3 in September and would like them to make their First Holy Communion in 2020, please complete the on-line Registration Form available from the Parish Website under Sacraments and return it to the Parish office no later than Friday 6th September.
Magnificat
The August edition of Magnificat is now available from the back of Church. There is a promotion for August, so do please take a free copy!
Catholic Parenting - Engaging and re-engaging your children in the Faith
30th September 2019, 8-10pm at St Peter’s Catholic Church, Eastwood.
In this day and age, passing on our Catholic faith to our children comes with its challenges. How can we offer our children the best opportunity to understand and develop their relationship with God in a way that will sustain their practice of faith through to their adult life? How do we, as parents, navigate the aspects of our faith that are counter cultural and answer the difficult questions our children have about the teachings of our church?
The Diocesan Department for Marriage and Family Life have put together a workshop to support parents who are looking for ideas to raise their young children as faithful Catholics, or opportunities to re-engage older children and teenagers where there might be a struggle. This will be a chance to meet other parents facing the same challenges, to ask questions and hear some tried and tested ideas.
You can register for this event via the Eventbrite link below, or by e-mailing anna.mccormick@dioceseofbrentwood.org. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/catholic-parenting-southend-tickets-65116123077?ref=estwenivtefor001
Dates for your Diary
Monday 22nd-Saturday 27th July Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes
First Thursday of every month Meeting of Parish Evangelisation Team 8pm
Please Pray for the Soul of
Mary Kennedy, RIP. Her Requiem Mass will take place on Wednesday, 7th August at 2.15pm.
We Pray for our Sick
Denise Gianelli, Amy Louise Fox, Sarah Savage, Bill O’Connell, Sheena Evans, Janet Weale, Charlotte O’Neil, Ella Williams, David Kislingbury, Mark Shepherd, Eileen Bines, Frank Bramley, Mark Hartley, Canon Daniel Harnett, Gillian Oldham, Basil Emmerson, Austin Butler, Christine Robinson, John Lavery, Paul Keane, Rosemary Bragard, Rose Craft, Maureen Gooding, Dympna Addecott, Pat Lynch, Christian Ryan, Mike Rubbert, Tina Doveaston, Addi Brady, Ben Wilson, Patricia Fleming, Nicky Wigmore, Nan Carrit, Eileen Wilson, Patricia Spikin, Sandra Fagan, Edna Wallace, Beryl Dixon, Nick Evans, Vicky Jack, Lyn Gopee, Mary Boyce, Kristin Hallenga, Anne O’Neill, Cheryl Shallis, Anthony McEvoy, Justin Stark, Sheila Netherton, David Blyth, Janet Woods, Lynne Hilkene, June Moncaster, Laura & Anne Breen, Breda Lynch, Maria Clark, Roy Widdecombe, Johanna Lynch, Anthony King, Chas Taylor, Norma McCleverty, Belinda Balazsi, Johnnie Pool, Edward Martin, Joanna Luciani, Pauline Wilsher, Simon Marshall, Kriston Barnes, Hugh Isaacs, Josephine Griggs, Colleen Worley, Dawn Deleigh, Lorraine Hart, Linda Dean, Wyn McCafferty, Antonella McConalogue, Eddie McConalogue, Georgina Cornwell, Annie Holland, Ivor & Joanne Knight, Brian Beresford, Rebecca Peake, Connor Bourke, Mattia Mollica, Sharon Levill, Bernadette Lane, Irena Solecki, Lanto Bellis, Doreen Troughton, Marguerite Harris, Andrew Exley, Richard Collins, Elizabeth McConalogue, Kean Smith, Mick Cordingley and children Thomas Ball, Liam Davis, Connie Price, Albert Chambers, Fergus Grant, Mary Isherwood, Lucy Price & Frazer Gregory.
Please Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr Patrick Taylor, Fr John Boardman Jones, Fr Michael Hannan, Fr Dermot Moore, Fr James Cooney, Fr Godfrey Anstruther OP, Jane Mawdsley, Alice Collins, Aislinn Lane, Elsie Witty, Irene Huggett, Frank McEvoy, Pamela Johnson, Francis Kenney, Geraldine Hayter, Joan Farmer, Winifred Martin, Marian Bukowski, Leonard Betts, Arthur Koch, William Rhodes, David Hall, Eva Bartley, Silvester Smolarczyk, Marie Brand, John Maguire, Stefan Nowacki, John O’Brien, Daisy Houlihan, Frederick Hardy, Mrs Pearce, David Bavin, Margaret Hughes, Bertha Dock-Olsen & Emma Alexander.
May their Souls & the Souls of all the Faithful Departed rest in peace.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of this Sunday, reminds us not to be like those who passed-by on the other side; not to commit sins of omission. They gave greater importance to their own business than to the man in need.
Dear Friends in Christ
The parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of this Sunday, reminds us not to be like those who passed-by on the other side; not to commit sins of omission. They gave greater importance to their own business than to the man in need. Therein lay their sin: they passed by on the other side. St John Chrysostom puts these words on the lips of Our Lord: I am not saying to you: solve all my problems for me, give me everything you have, even though I am poor for love of you. I only ask for some bread and clothes, some relief from hunger. I am in prison, I do not ask you to free me. I only wish, that for your own good, you pay me a visit. That will be enough to me, and in return I will make you a gift of heaven. I have freed you from a prison a thousand times more harsh. But I am happy if you come and visit me from time to time. I could in fact present you with your crown without asking any of this. But I do want to be grateful to you, so that afterwards you can come and receive your reward with confidence. That is why I, who am quite capable of feeding myself, prefer to dog your steps, asking, and to stretch out my hand at your door. My love is so great that I want you to feed me. That is why, as a friend, I prefer to sit at your table. I glory in that, and I can show you off to the whole world as the one who does good to me. (Homily on Romans,15).
I am grateful to all those who participated in the Annual Parish Meeting and Garden Party last Sunday evening. It was an enjoyable occasion, as it always is, providing the opportunity to celebrate our life as a Parish Family and spend some time together socially; also the occasion for me to thank all those who contribute in any way to the life of our Parish.
As our Schools enter the last week of their year and prepare for the Summer break, I wish all of our students and staff a very blessed vacation and well-earned repose!
God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
The Sunday Homily is available as a podcast at LourdesLeigh.org