Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary time
Dear Friends in Christ
In the Gospel of this Sunday, Jesus speaks about the requirements of following Him, and since He has called each one of us, we must be attentive. Whenever a person accepts a great undertaking, make an appraisal of the situation ahead; we look at the road and asses how we might proceed. The Way of Jesus is the Way of the Cross, as he repeatedly reminds us. September is the month of the Holy Cross; the feast is celebrated this Saturday, 14th. We celebrate an instrument of terrible torture and death because by the Cross Jesus triumphs over sin and death. One of the most famous and best-loved images of the Tree of Life is found in the Basilica of San Clemente, Rome.
Dear Friends in Christ
In the Gospel of this Sunday, Jesus speaks about the requirements of following Him, and since He has called each one of us, we must be attentive. Whenever a person accepts a great undertaking, make an appraisal of the situation ahead; we look at the road and asses how we might proceed. The Way of Jesus is the Way of the Cross, as he repeatedly reminds us. September is the month of the Holy Cross; the feast is celebrated this Saturday, 14th. We celebrate an instrument of terrible torture and death because by the Cross Jesus triumphs over sin and death. One of the most famous and best-loved images of the Tree of Life is found in the Basilica of San Clemente, Rome. This apsidal mosaic (reproduced on the front page) represents Christ on the Cross with His Mother and St John, and the Tree of Life from which flow the streams of living water for which the deer longs, from which the tendrils of a vine grow out to encompass all of human life. Truly the Cross is our life and hope; as is sung in the hymn for the feast: Vexilia Regi, prodeunt…the royal banners forward go…O Crux, ave, spes unica…Hail, O Cross, our only hope! We view the Cross with gratitude for all that was accomplished by It’s means. We glory in this sign of our salvation, and the paradox that God has taken something so negative and transformed it into the Standard of eternal life.
I would like to bring to your attention this week several forthcoming initiatives which are important diary dates:
The showing of Bishop Robert Barron’s recent Pivotal Players on the last two Mondays of this month (cf the details in this Newsletter); the introduction of a new resource for Returning Catholics - Landings - which we hope to initiate at the start of Lent (cf a new page on the Parish website); and the start of our Journey in Faith which begins at the start of October, for anyone wishing to become a Catholic in the near future. Do encourage your friends and family to come along to any of these initiatives which will greatly inspire, inform and enable us in the living of our Catholic Faith.
God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
The Sunday Homily is available as a podcast at LourdesLeigh.org
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Sunday 8th September
Saturday 5.30pm Vigil The People of the Parish
6.30pm–7.30pm Exposition & Confession
8.00am Mass Frank & Ann Ryan, RIP (Anniv) (JL)
9.30am Mass Jim McEvoy, RIP (STH)
11.30am Mass Dennis Hippard, RIP (Anniv) (SH)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 9 St Peter Claver, Pr
9.00am Mass William Pearson, RIP (Anniv) (SP)
Tuesday 10 Feria
9.00am Mass Mary Kennedy, RIP (SVP)
Wednesday 11 Feria
9.00am Mass Tommy Clancy, RIP (Anniv) (VC)
Thursday 12 The Most Holy Name of Mary
9.00am Mass Michael Dunne, RIP (PS)
Friday 13 St John Chrysostom, Bp, D
12Noon Mass Alan Bush, RIP (Anniv) (CB)
Saturday 14 EXALTATION (TRIUMPH) OF THE HOLY CROSS
10.00am Mass Frank Maguire, RIP (Anniv) (BH)
10.30am-11.30am Exposition & Confession
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Sunday 15th September
Saturday 5.30pm Vigil Intentions of Michael Calnan (F&JO'B)
6.30pm–7.30pm Exposition & Confession
8.00am Mass Intentions of Tom & Rita O'Callaghan (LC)
9.30am Mass Michael & Margaret Gibbons, RIP (Anniv) (BG)
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
The Sacrament of Penance is available on request
Services from the church are live streamed
St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) 'Awareness Month' 2019
The focus of our work at the St Vincent de Paul Society is visiting and befriending people living in loneliness, isolation or poverty. The people we visit could be refugees, the elderly, the homeless, people staying in hospital or care homes, people with mental health issues or offenders. Conference members work on the ground level, face to face with the people they help. Here are a few statistics highlighting the work of SVP Conferences nationally:-
Last year almost 10,000 members helped 80,000 beneficiaries.
Over 28,000 of the people we visited were the elderly in their own homes.
Across the Society members made 430,000 visits.
Our Annual Appeal to parishioners’ for their financial support will be made at Masses in the parish on 21st & 22nd September; SVP ‘Gift Aid’ envelopes are available at the back of the Church if you are able to increase the value of your donation in this way. If you would like to know more about the SVP or if you are interested in joining the Society, please get in touch with Francis O’Brien, Tel 01702-552373
Bereavement Group
This will be held in the Parish Centre (Bernadette room), on Wednesday, 18th September 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.
School Admission Forms for Primary & Secondary Schools
Parents wishing to apply to Catholic Schools for the next academic year are required to obtain a Letter of Catholic Practise from their Parish Priest. This must be requested from your Parish Priest in person and only one per child will be issued. We will provide the appropriate form. Please come to the Parish Centre for these on Friday, 18th October between 6pm and 8pm or Sunday, 20th October between 3pm and 4pm.
These are issued only to practising Catholics (i.e. those who attend weekly Mass). Furthermore, this practise of the Faith will be viewed over a period of time and not just the weeks prior to an application. Parish Priests may also look at the date of Baptism, noting those children who have been Baptised soon after birth as compared to those Baptised with proximity to school age. This is a matter of justice to all involved in applying for places in our Schools. Our schools are often oversubscribed and in order to be fair, preference will justly be given to those who live and practise the Faith as well as who contribute to the life of the Church through the various ways in which that support is given. If you are not a practising Catholic this Certificate will not be given; you may still apply to a Catholic School but your application will considered under another category for Admissions.
Nazareth House
Part of the chapel roof has collapsed and needs urgent attention. Can you help? We are looking for a roofer to do the work as well as funds to pay for it. If you would like to help, please contact Sister Madeline at Nazareth House on 01702 787646.
Counters & Folders
Counters: Brian Mountier & Peter Smythe
Folders: Jae Trower & Clare English
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!
HARP
Thank you for all the recent donations of groceries and clothing, which we are very grateful for. However, due to incidents of bed bugs in donated bedding, we can no longer accept duvets or any form of bedclothes.
This month's wish list: bottles of squash, individually wrapped biscuits, small packets of crisps, men's and women's deodorants.
Altar Serving
We would like to recruit some more Altar Servers: anyone post-First Holy Communion age who would like to be trained to serve Holy Mass, is asked to give their names to Father Kevin or send to the parish Office.
Please Pray for the Repose of the Souls of:
Denise Gianelli, RIP who died recently. Her Requiem Mass will be held on Friday 27th September at 11am followed by committal at Southend Cemetery.
Basil Emmerson, RIP who died recently. His Requiem Mass will be held on Wednesday, 2nd October at 11am followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
Baptism Preparation Evenings
The next Baptism Preparation Sessions will take place on Tuesdays 10th and 17th September. They will take place the Parish Centre at 8pm. For further information, please contact Catherine or Andy Harris on 077333 27295.
Pivotal Players - New from Bishop Barron
There will be a screening of the NEW instalment in Bishop Barron’s best-selling ‘Pivotal Players’ series, which is a multi-part film series that illumines a handful of saints, artists, mystics and scholars who not only shaped the life of the Church but changed the course of civilisation.
Series 2 of this ground-breaking series will be shown on Monday evenings at 8pm in the Parish Centre with two incredible saints from the fourth and fifth centuries:
St. Augustine of Hippo – 23rd September 2019
St. Benedict of Nursia - 30th September 2019
You can watch the "The Pivotal Players - St. Augustine & St. Benedict" series trailer here: https://youtu.be/kUNogvef5lM
Tea on the Terrace - 21st September 2.30pm
Come and enjoy a superb Afternoon Tea in the Parish Centre and meet friends old and new. Tickets will be on sale after all Masses from this weekend and from the Parish office during the week. £8 adults and £25.00 for a family.
OLL Ladies Group
OLL Ladies Group meets on Thursday at 10.30am in the Parish Centre. This will be an opportunity to put your name down for the trip to Cambridge in October or just come along and enjoy tea and cake in a friendly, relaxing space. Subs only £1.
First Holy Communion 2020
There will be a parent’s meeting on Thursday 26th September at 8pm in the Parish Centre for those parents who have registered their child for First Holy Communion in 2020.
The Bethlehem Nativity Group
A missionary from Bethlehem,The Holy Land will visit us this weekend to briefly talk about the Holy Land and sell religious articles made out of Olive Wood from the Holy Land to help and support the poor Christian families, (“when you help the poor you help our Lord”).
We Pray for our Sick
Lyn Gopee, Vita D’Souza, Patricia Vanner, Amy Louise Fox, Sarah Savage, Bill O’Connell, Sheena Reeves, Janet Weale, Charlotte O’Neil, Ella Williams, David Kislingbury, Mark Shepherd, Eileen Bines, Frank Bramley, Mark Hartley, Canon Daniel Harnett, 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, 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, Sharon Levill, Georgina Cornwell, Annie Holland, Ivor & Joanne Knight, Brian Beresford, Rebecca Peake, Connor Bourke, Mattia Mollica, Bernadette Lane, Irena Solecki, Ianto Bellis, Doreen Troughton, Marguerite Harris, Andrew Exley, Richard Collins, Elizabeth McConalogue, Kean Smith, Mick Cordingley & 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
Mgr Canon Michael Wilson, Fr Charles Johnson, Fr Conrad Smith, Fr Theophilus Borer, Abp George Andrew Beck, AA, Canon James Hemming, Deacon Arthur Woods, Fr Louis Heston, Edith Murray, William Peck, Marie Bailey, Francis Ryan, John Burns, Mary Cope, Winifred Gansen, Joseph Manton, William Allen, Jim Hayes, Peter Green, Joseph Thurlow, Elsie Ivett, Anne Brooks, Mary Manton, William Wheaton, Kathleen Matthews, Eliza Moore, Mary Wright, Wilfred Sawyer, Kathleen McGowan, Anne McCarthy, Veronica Maguire, Joyce Wager, Alan Bush, Patricia Lawrence, Kathleen Horning, Bill Jarrett, Ann Dodd, Marie Browne, Jack Abbott, Dario Peretti, Philomena Conley & Frank Maguire.
May their Souls & the Souls of all the Faithful Departed rest in peace.