Face Masks
As of this weekend, the Government requires us to wear face masks in all enclosed public spaces including places of worship. Please kindly comply, unless exempt, with this directive, and bring your own face covering with you to the church.
Booking for Masses
It is essential that anyone wishing to attend Holy Mass should book a place via the Parish website lourdesleigh.org. This is to ensure the recommended social distancing is observed for the safety and comfort of others. If you have not booked a place you may not be able to enter the church.
From 8th August face coverings must be used in church
Guidance on Reception of Holy Communion
When approaching Holy Communion please try to observe the Guidlines that have been given. Communion must be given silently in the hand only, with the communicant standing, and avoiding any physical contact. People should wait in their pews until instructed to move forward by the Stewards for Holy Communion, always aware of the regulations on social distancing in the orderly queue. When they approach the priest, they should do so with arms at full stretch so that there is a good distance between the priest and the communicant. Their hands, palms upwards, one of top of the other, should be extended as flatly as possible. The communicant should unloop their face covering and consume the Sacred Host and then replace the face covering before moving back to their pews in an orderly manner.
Pray for the Repose of the Souls
Michael Regan, RIP
Noel Auger, RIP
Dorothy Pogue, RIP
Richard Wallner, RIP
Fr Tom Jordan, RIP
Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr David Papworth, Fr Stephen Keane, Ethel Morgan, Patrick Blissett, Daran Persaud, Lily De Lobel, Marion Robinson, Vincent Glauda, Teresa Booty, Doris Lowe, Leonard Stevenson, Christopher Bariago, William Smith, Joseph Herinckx, Les Smith, Len Murray, James Jones, Dawn Pursey John Dillon, Gerard Rodgers, Magdalaine Rubeck, Philippa Soggee, Jean Kerr, Arthur Watkins & Frank Mann.
We Pray for our Sick
Margaret Owens, Russell Short, Paul Bloomberg, Marie Karaf, Richard Collins, Christine Reid, Gilberte Cook, Garry Pearman, Anne Owen, Adrian Barclay, Patricia Ann Darroch, Peggy Larman, Sylvia Langley, Patricia Vanner, Amy Louise Fox, Sarah Savage, Bill O’Connell, Janet Weale, Charlotte O’Neil, Ella Williams, David Kislingbury, Mark Shepherd, Eileen Bines, Breege McCaffrey, Mark Hartley, Austin Butler, John Lavery, Paul Keane, Rosemary Bragard, Pat Lynch, Maureen Gooding, Dympna Addecott, Ben Wilson, Christian Ryan, Mike Rubbert, Tina Doveaston, Addi Brady, Patricia Fleming, Nicky Wigmore, Rose Craft, 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, Georgina Cornwell, Antonella McConalogue, Eddie McConalogue, Sharon Levill, 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, Elizabeth McConalogue, Kean Smith, Keith Maliff & children, Thomas Ball, Liam Davis, Connie Price, Albert Chambers, Fergus Grant, Mary Isherwood, Lucy Price & Frazer Gregory.
Aid to the Church in Need — Lebanon Emergency Appeal
An emergency help of £226,000 is to be rushed out to Beirut by ACN in the wake of the huge explosion on 4th August). At least 100 people were killed and 4,000 others were injured when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse exploded. Speaking from Beirut, ACN project partner Father Raymond Abdo told the charity: “The explosion felt like an atomic bomb with red smoke everywhere and huge damage.”
ACN Lebanon expert Father Samer Nassif, said that the Christian zone of Beirut was “completely devastated”, with at least 10 churches destroyed, 300,000 people homeless and many others suffering, with livelihoods “totally destroyed” by the blast. He said: “Yesterday in one second, more damage to the Christian quarter of Beirut was done than throughout the long years of the civil war. We have to build it again from the ground up.”
Aid to the Church in Need is appealing for prayer for the victims and their families. Please send donations via the website:
Help us support those in need
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear friends in Christ
The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, in the Gospel this Sunday, is a prelude to the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus feeds us.
Dear friends in Christ
The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, the Gospel this Sunday, is a prelude to the institution of the Holy Eucharist: Jesus feeds us with Himself. This miracle is not only a demonstration of divine mercy it is also a preparation for the moment when Jesus will feed us with Himself. The liturgy at Mass recalls that gesture of Our Lord when He lifts up His eyes to Heaven. We hear this said during the Canon of the Mass: And with eyes raised to Heaven to You, O God, His almighty Father, giving You thanks, He said the blessing…We remember this great miracle as we prepare for an even greater miracle, the transforming of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus at Mass, a sacrifice which is offered as spiritual food and sustenance for all mankind.
After the gradual reintroduction of Masses over the last month, we are now in a position to restore the normal weekly schedule. This will include Sunday 9.30am Mass and Vespers and Benediction at 5.30pm staring on the Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, this year celebrated on 16th August. This will depend on there being sufficient volunteers to steward and clean. Please sign-up on the website for volunteering and thank-you everyone who has been helping so far.
As we contemplate the Readings of the Mass this weekend, and as whenever the moment of Holy Communion draws near, our desire and devotion should be ever more fervent. Have we ever thought how we would prepare ourselves to receive Our Lord if we could do so only once in our lifetime? We must be thankful to God that He makes it so easy for us to come to Him. We should show our gratitude by preparing ourselves to receive Him well. One day it will be our last time. Soon afterwards we shall meet Him face-to-face. May Jesus be pleased to see us, who have sought Him in this life, by faith and love.
God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saturday 1 August
5.30pm Vigil Mass The People of the Parish
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament livestreamed
Sunday 2
8am Mass Jim Monahan, RIP (Anniversary)
11.30am Mass Peter Griffin, RIP
4pm Mass in Extraordinary Form Canon Christopher Tuckwell — no general communion at this Mass
5pm Holy Hour: Vespers & Benediction livestreamed
Monday 3
Feria
9am Mass Clare Chadwick, RIP (Anniversary)
Tuesday 4
St John Mary Vianney, Priest
9am Mass Maureen Mann, RIP
Wednesday 5
Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major
9am Mass Joseph & Annie Griffin, RIP (Anniversary)
Transfiguration of the Lord
Thursday 6
9am Mass Intentions of Betty Zovaro
St Sixtus II, Pope & Companions, Martyrs
Friday 7
12 noon Mass Maureen Byrne & Family, RIP (Anniversary)
7pm Holy Hour livestreamed
St Dominic, Priest
Saturday 8
10am Mass Vivien Clancy, RIP
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
5.30pm Vigil Mass Diana Underwood, RIP (Anniversary)
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament livestreamed
Sunday 9
8am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Vincent Glauda, RIP (Anniversary)
5pm Holy Hour: Vespers & Benediction livestreamed
Catholic Universe & Catholic Times
The Catholic Universe and the Catholic Times have now been merged into a single title. This can be delivered direct to your home every week, post free.
Please go to thecatholicuniverse.com or call them on 0161 820 5722 and they will arrange this for you. Special offers: 3 months £18, 12 months £72.
Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
August is the month traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Until 1969, when Pope St Paul VI reorganised the Roman Calendar, the Octave Day (22nd August) now celebrated as the Queenship (or Coronation) of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1944 (now celebrated on the Saturday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart). Why not pray this Litany (composed by St John Henry Newman soon after his reception into the Catholic Church in 1845) each day during August?
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Heart of Mary, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, according to the heart of God, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, united to the Heart of Jesus, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, organ of the Holy Spirit, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, sanctuary of the Divine Trinity, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, tabernacle of God Incarnate, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, immaculate from thy creation, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, full of grace, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, blessed among all hearts, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, throne of glory, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, most humble, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, holocaust of Divine Love, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, fastened to the Cross with Jesus Crucified, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, comfort of the afflicted, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, hope of the agonising, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, seat of mercy, Pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
V/. Immaculate Mary, meek and humble of heart:
R/. Make our hearts according to the Heart of Jesus.
Let us pray. O most merciful God, Who, for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the miserable, wast pleased that the Most Pure Heart of Mary should be most like in charity and pity to the Divine Heart of Thy Son, Jesus Christ: grant that we who commemorate this sweet and loving Heart may, by the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Virgin, merit to be found according to the Heart of Jesus. Through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Pray for the Repose of the Souls
Michael Regan, RIP who died recently.
Richard Wallner, RIP who died recently.
We Pray for our Sick
Margaret Owens, Russell Short, Paul Bloomberg, Marie Karaf, Richard Collins, Christine Reid, Gilberte Cook, Garry Pearman, Anne Owen, Adrian Barclay, Patricia Ann Darroch, Peggy Larman, Sylvia Langley, Patricia Vanner, Amy Louise Fox, Sarah Savage, Bill O’Connell, Janet Weale, Charlotte O’Neil, Ella Williams, David Kislingbury, Mark Shepherd, Eileen Bines, Breege McCaffrey, Mark Hartley, Austin Butler, John Lavery, Paul Keane, Rosemary Bragard, Pat Lynch, Maureen Gooding, Dympna Addecott, Ben Wilson, Christian Ryan, Mike Rubbert, Tina Doveaston, Addi Brady, Patricia Fleming, Nicky Wigmore, Rose Craft, 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, Georgina Cornwell, Antonella McConalogue, Eddie McConalogue, Sharon Levill, 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, Elizabeth McConalogue, Kean Smith, Keith Maliff & children, Thomas Ball, Liam Davis, Connie Price, Albert Chambers, Fergus Grant, Mary Isherwood, Lucy Price & Frazer Gregory.
Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Pope Paul VI, Deacon Frederick Wall, Fr Henry Tilley, Fr David Coghlan, Fr Hugh Verity, Max Button, Margaret Ring, Cecelia Newton, Phyllis Fairman, John Higgins, Maureen Mann, Walter Owen, Stella Blackburn, Sister Vincent, Catherine Hayes, Timothy O’Shea, Anthony Poulton, Denise MacDermott, Jim Collins, John Sandford, Phyllis Burke, Arthur Holdstock, Phylis Glazebrook, Peter Matthews, Clarice Gannon, Margaret Taylor, Sheila Mazzag, Teresa Baxter, Lilian Sutton, Andrea Uglietti & Maria Figg.
St Bernard's Virtual Open Evening
Due to the recommendations of the DFE we are not holding an Open Evening for Year 5 students who wish to make an application for September 2021 intake. To view our tour of the school, parents should log on to www.stbernardswestcliff.org.uk and then go to Admissions and Virtual Open Evening. If they wish to apply to us they must complete our Supplementary Information Form and send it to the school with supporting documentations, as per the admissions policy, before the 31st October 2020. Documents are available under Admissions, Key 3 & 4 on our website along with our Admission Policy 2021-2022 and 2021 Supplement Information Form.
If any parent has any queries on admissions they can email or telephone our Admissions Officer at cls@stbernards.southend.sch.uk or 01702 608004.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear friends in Christ
We are entering what would normally be the Summer holiday season: our Schools have closed for their break and those who are fortunate enough, may be escaping to a holiday destination
Dear friends in Christ
We are entering what would normally be the Summer holiday season: our Schools have closed for their break and those who are fortunate enough, may be escaping to a holiday destination. This week would normally be our Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage but like everything else in life at the moment, it has been postponed. At least we may be able to spend these weeks in relative calm at home, enjoying the environment of where we are fortunate enough to be living.
The Gospels of these current Sundays are the parables which Saint Matthew has recorded about the Kingdom of God. Jesus teaches us in the manner of not only a great teacher but as the supreme teacher; and He uses not just abstract theological language which we can't relate to, but examples from everyday life, especially by using the parables which, like poems and songs, are multi-layered and inexhaustible in their meaning. The Kingdom of God is everything and, like the treasure hidden in the field or the pearl of great price, we must do everything we can to possess it. We already live within that Kingdom by our incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church, but this is only the anticipation of what we shall experience at the end of our lives. Let us continue to strive with every greater determination for our crown.
Our thanks to all those who have generously given of their time and effort to provide the stewarding at Masses and cleaning afterwards. We can think about introducing another Sunday morning Mass later in August if there are sufficient volunteers, so please sign-up on the website for helping and for booking places at Mass. It is crucial that we all observe the Guidelines for attending Mass which includes keeping a safe distance and not gathering outside church after Mass. Please look-out for those who have no internet connection and who may be feeling isolated in these days and may need help booking and coming to Mass.
On this coming Saturday, 1st August, Paschal Uche will be ordained a priest for our Diocese in Brentwood Cathedral. As with all ceremonies during this period, it will be a quiet affair with only immediate family attending. Nevertheless it is the Sacrament that is paramount and he asks our prayers as he receives priestly consecration. He has been appointed Assistant Priest in the Parish of Colchester.
God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary time
Saturday 25 July
5.30pm Vigil Mass The People of the Parish
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament — livestreamed
Sunday 26
8am Mass Vivien Clancy, RIP (CF)
11.30am Mass Brian Jones, RIP EC)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction — livestreamed
Monday 27
Feria
9am Mass Canon Vincent Berry, RIP (KH)
Tuesday 28
Feria
9am Mass Intentions of Tony Halpin (DT)
Wednesday 29
St Martha
9am Mass Intentions of the Lambert Family (LL)
Thursday 30
St Peter Chrysologus, Bp, D
9am Mass Intentions of Stan & Maeve Senior (60th Wedding Anniversary) (MS)
Friday 31
St Ignatius of Loyola, Pr
12 noon Mass Intentions of Brian Holt (SG)
Saturday 1 August
St Alphonsus Liguori, Bp, D
No Morning Mass or Exposition
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
5.30pm Vigil Mass The People of the Parish
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament — livestreamed
Sunday 2
8am Mass Jim Monahan, RIP (Anniv)(JA)
11.30am Mass Peter Griffin, RIP (SG)
4pm Mass Canon Christopher Tuckwell, RIP - Ex. Form — no general Communion at this Mass
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction — livestreamed
St Bernard's Virtual Open Evening
Due to the recommendations of the DFE we are not holding an Open Evening for Year 5 students who wish to make an application for September 2021 intake. To view our tour of the school, parents should log on to www.stbernardswestcliff.org.uk and then go to Admissions and Virtual Open Evening. If they wish to apply to us they must complete our Supplementary Information Form and send it to the school with supporting documentations, as per the admissions policy, before the 31st October 2020. Documents are available under Admissions, Key 3 & 4 on our website along with our Admission Policy 2021-2022 and 2021 Supplement Information Form.
If any parent has any queries on admissions they can email or telephone our Admissions Officer at cls@stbernards.southend.sch.uk or 01702 608004.