Head Teacher Vacancy
The Governors of St Bernard’s High School are seeking to appoint a new Head Teacher with effect from September 2021. Please direct anyone interested in this post to our website – www.stbernardswestcliff.org.uk and go to School Information/Vacancies where you will find full details plus an application form.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear friends in Christ
The beginning of St Mark’s Gospel, as heard now in the daily Mass readings, surely puts before us a pattern for our own time.
Dear friends in Christ
The beginning of St Mark’s Gospel, as heard now in the daily Mass readings, surely puts before us a pattern for our own time. St Mark introduces the ministry of Jesus as a summons to repentance. From a general announcement it quickly becomes a personal invitation. This is the start, each day, of our lives: a personal calling to turn again to the Lord and to work afresh in His service. Then the action follows: the casting out of devils and the curing of the sick. This is all on ‘day one’, a day which ends like this: After sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils.
I write these lines in the middle of a month that has been rather dull and wet, perhaps reflecting the mood of many of us. We are all feeling a certain heaviness of heart and mind in these weeks. I was recently sent some lines that a priest wrote to his Bishop which seem very insightful:
Since everything in this world will one day fail us, it is in Him alone, even more than before, that we will put our total trust, hope, love and desire. With what sweetness He wants to fill the bitterness of a world that is leaving us empty. Where others criticise, His Heart is moved to even greater love. But how much does He have to take from us for us to be empty enough, or inspired enough, to want Him alone? My prayer is that what He has allowed to be taken so far is enough.
It reminded me of the words of the prayer St Thomas More wrote during his incarceration in the Tower of London, as he awaited his execution: I give you thanks, my God, for all that you have given me; for all that you have taken from me; for all that you have left me. I believe if we can say that prayer with sincerity, then we will have great serenity, even when everything and every one, seems to be going crazy. Personally I always find that serenity when I go before the Tabernacle. There I find the only One who gives me any sense and meaning for life.
Thank you for your examples of perseverance in the face of hardship and suffering, and thank you for the strength you give me to continue at this time when so much is unknown and unseen. So long as we can access our churches we can find Jesus there, so whilst being cautious and prudent, we can also be confident of finding there, the God who waits for us.
With my prayers and every blessing for you and your families!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
5.30pm Vigil The People of the Parish
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions by St Joseph
Sunday 24 January
8am Mass Deceased members of the Butt & Bull Families (MB)
9.30am Mass Barbara Sheaf, RIP (Anniversary) (BP)
11.30am Mass Alan Bush, RIP (CB)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 25
The Conversion of St Paul, Ap
9am Mass Frances Emmerson, RIP (Anniversary) (AE)
8.30-10am Private Prayer
Tuesday 26
Ss Timothy & Titus, Bpp
9am Mass Brian Meyers RIP (YM)
8.30-10am Private Prayer
Wednesday 27
St Angela Merici, V
9am Mass Thomas Henry Gunn, RIP (FM)
8.30-10am Private Prayer
Thursday 28
St Thomas Aquinas, Pr, D
9am Mass Mark Solecki, RIP (Anniversary) (IS)
8.30-10am Private Prayer
Friday 29
Feria
12Noon Mass Intentions of John Healy (AS)
11.30-1pm Private Prayer
Saturday 30
Saturday Memorial of BVM
10am Mass Agnes Watkins, RIP (Anniversary) (JW)
9.30-11am Private Prayer
Confessions by St Joseph
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
5.30pm Vigil Mass George Fernando, RIP (AF)
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions by St Joseph
Sunday 31 January
8am Mass Terence & Maisie Renehan, RIP (MH)
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Maria Diana, RIP (Anniversary) (LM)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Head Teacher Vacancy
The Governors of St Bernard’s High School are seeking to appoint a new Head Teacher with effect from September 2021. Please direct anyone interested in this post to our website – www.stbernardswestcliff.org.uk and go to School Information/Vacancies where you will find full details plus an application form
MAGNIFICAT
The February issue of MAGNIFICAT is now on sale at the back of the church. The March edition will be the last time you will be able to purchase the MAGNIFICAT from this church.
As from the April issue, parishioners who wish to continue receiving MAGNIFICAT will need to subscribe annually by the 28th February either on line at: https://catholic-herald.myshopify.com/ or send a cheque for £47.00, made payable to Magnificat, to Catholic Herald Ltd., 8A Lower Grosvenor Place, London SW1W 0EN.
From the Parish Finance Committee
We are very grateful for the continued financial support that you have given to the Parish and our Charities over the last ten months. Consequently the Parish Finances have remained in a healthy state.
We are all faced with economic challenges at the moment and one of the problems we face is having easy access to our Banks. The Bank which we, and the Diocese use, has closed its local branch as is happening in so many places. This has made it more of a problem when it comes to the weekly banking of the cash. With this is mind, we would remind you that there are several ways of making your offerings which avoid the use of cash: standing order, online donations (via our website) and now the contactless method by using your debit/credit card, phone or watch.
You can make a cashless donation for anything including Offertory, candles, publications and Mass stipends. Do continue to use the offertory envelopes if you have them. (Please remember to Gift Aid if you are a taxpayer.) In this way it will make it easier for those who do the banking not to have to convey bulky sums of money to a more distant location. Thank you again for your continued support of the Parish!
Music at 11.30am Mass on Sunday
Fabordão e versos do 1 tom - Fr. Martinho García Olague (17th century)
Nun sei willkommen, Jesu, lieber Herr - Flor Peeters (1903-1986)
Carillon de Westminster - Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
We Pray for the Repose of the Souls of
LOUIS MOONEY, RIP who died on Wednesday, 30th December.
DUNCAN BOYLE, RIP who died on Wednesday, 6th January.
GORDANA (ANNA) BENDKOWSKI, RIP who died recently.
We Pray for our Sick
Danny Cox, Margaret Bartle, Tony Downey, Kristy Monferrari, Fred Ring, Ian Irwin, Russell Short, Marie Karaf, 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, 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, Dawn Deleigh, Lorraine Hart, Linda Dean, 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, Bradley & children: Thomas Ball, Liam Davis, Connie Price, Albert Chambers, Fergus Grant, Mary Isherwood, Lucy Price & Frazer Gregory.
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr John O’Sullivan, Fr John Hibbert, Fr Alfred Field, Bp Patrick Casey, Fr John (Jack) Clifford, Canon John Byrne, Sarah Mann, William Hands, Barbara Sheaf, Kathleen Cooke, Phylis Faulkner, Ida Wallace, Bridget McGrath, Huguette Farrelly, Gloria Fletcher, Vera Plummer, May Fazio, Else Tyrrell, Phyllis Collins, Michael MacDermott, Gloria Dickens, Maud Darnell, Frank Russell, Edward Armitage, William Cooper, Robert Waller, Mark Solecki, Maureen Leyden, Gerard Tait, Andrew ‘Mel’ Kenny, Carmel Abi-Aad, Joyce Reilly, Noel Calnan, May Ferry, Norah Kelly, Wyndham Richards, Mary Abel, Florence White, May Keane, William Moroney, Lizzie Burnham, Elizabeth Ray & Peter Griffin.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear friends in Christ
Everyone single one of us has a divine calling from God.
Dear friends in Christ
Everyone single one of us has a divine calling from God. Most of us know what God is asking of us in this life, but it will only be fully shown to us in the next life. Throughout the centuries Jesus has continually invited souls to follow Him. We hear it for the first time in the Gospel of this Sunday’s Mass. In response to the request of the two disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus invites them to come and see where He lives. The first move always comes from God: He invites us, and it is our opportunity to respond.
We have now entered the period called Ordinary Time. It is related to ordinal, which means “counted time”. These are the Sundays with numbers for names: Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Twenty-seventh Sunday, etc. There are two blocks of Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. One follows the Christmas cycle (from the Baptism of the Lord, until Ash Wednesday). The other follows the Easter cycle (from Pentecost up to Advent of the next year). You can recognise them by their liturgical colour of green.
The Resurrection is celebrated on every Sunday, which is to say that Sunday is not a small Easter, rather Easter is a big Sunday. What we do every Sunday, we do in a big way at Easter. But we live from the fragrance of Christ’s Resurrected body all year long. The readings for these Sundays tend to be semi-continuous readings through certain sections of Scripture, especially through Matthew, Mark and Luke. Large portions of each Gospel are read and you can watch the chapters go by from one Sunday to the next. Ordinary Time is an opportunity to put the teaching of Jesus in context and follow the thought through to the end. The Old Testament lesson is selected to be congruent with the Gospel reading. This all leads us to Christ, our King. The liturgical year ends with the solemnity of Christ the King. He is enthroned in our hearts as well as in Heaven, in order to do His Father’s will and restore all things. We pray that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise (Collect for Christ the King). We progress through repeated liturgical years like a stone in a rock polisher, being smoothed and brightened by our contact with the mysteries, the mysteries that make us holy and will one day bring us to Heaven!
There has been a fear that the Government would want places of worship closed in the recent lockdown. However, a place of worship is one of the very few legal exemptions that allow larger numbers to gather in the same venue. The decision to allow our churches to remain open is based on two factors: the recognition that our churches are safe, and that the service they offer is essential. To keep everyone safe, it is crucial that we continue to comply assiduously with the law and the Covid-guidelines. Thank you to everyone who has cooperated with this and all those who have been tireless in their help stewarding and cleaning.
God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
5.30pm Vigil The People of the Parish
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions by St Joseph
Sunday 17 January
8am Mass Eric Major, RIP (Anniversary) (PM)
9.30am Mass Pauline Bradford, RIP (TL)
11.30am Mass Intentions of Noel Murray (UO’K)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 18
Feria
9am Mass Intentions of Theresa Prentice (JR)
8.30-10am Private Prayer
Tuesday 19
St Wulstan, Bp
12Noon Mass Fr Michael Horrax, RIP (PM)
11.30-1pm Private Prayer
Wednesday 20
St Fabian, P, M
9am Mass Intentions of the Hurley Family
8.30-10am Private Prayer
Thursday 21
St Agnes, V, M
9am Mass Bob Walker, RIP (F&JO’B)
Friday 22
St Vincent, Deacon, M
12Noon Mass Intentions of Tony & Val Tisi (SVP)
11.30-1pm Private Prayer
Saturday 23
Saturday Memorial of BVM
10am Mass Ugo Gardin, RIP (Anniversary) (MB)
9.30-11am Private Prayer
Confessions by St Joseph
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
5.30pm Vigil Mass The People of the Parish
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions by St Joseph
Sunday 24 January
8am Mass Deceased members of the Butt & Bull Families (MB)
9.30am Mass Barbara Sheaf, RIP (Anniversary) (BP)
11.30am Mass Alan Bush, RIP (CB)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr Kenneth Green, Canon Charles Kuypers, Mgr Canon David Donnelly, Fr John Meehan, Bp Bernard Ward, Fr Christopher Quirke, Pope Benedict XV, Bp Arthur Doubleday, Patrick Connolly, Brenda Campbell, Germaine Cave-Palmer, Renée Warburton, Robert Garson-Gratidge, Breeda Hayes, Bridget Kelly, Maud Reddy, Catherine Woods, Eugene Regan, Barry Anderson, Anne Ryan, Bernard Leonard, Gilbert Oldham, John F. Dillon, Ilene Axson, Dora Maria Trieste Arnott, Teresa Moule, Courtney Choat-Kelly, Kathleen Goddard, Hubert A. Conally, Jimmy Baker, Catherine Morris, Frances May Emmerson, John Mansfield, Rose Nice, Isabel King, Conor Patrick Hartley-Anderson, Mary Vermeulen, John Dillon, T. Fitzpatrick, Mary Lilian Clarke & Ellen Rose Brooks.,
We Pray for our Sick
Margaret Bartle, Tony Downey, Kristy Monferrari, Fred Ring, Ian Irwin, Russell Short, Marie Karaf, 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, 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, Dawn Deleigh, Lorraine Hart, Linda Dean, 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, Bradley & children: Thomas Ball, Liam Davis, Connie Price, Albert Chambers, Fergus Grant, Mary Isherwood, Lucy Price & Frazer Gregory.
We Pray for the Repose of the Souls of
LOUIS MOONEY, RIP who died on Wednesday, 30th December.
DUNCAN BOYLE, RIP who died on Wednesday, 6th January.
GORDANA (ANNA) BENDKOWSKI, RIP who died recently.
Music at 11.30am Mass on Sunday
Adagio e Dolce (Trio Sonata No. 3) BWV 527 - J S Bach (1685-1750)
Intrada - Grayston Ives (b. 1948)
Catholic Truth Society - Get a Sunday Missal for £1.99
To support the faithful during the pandemic the CTS new Sunday Missal is now only £1.99. During this difficult time, if you are unable to get to Mass, or you don’t have a missal for the current liturgical year, we want to let you know that we have discounted The CTS New Sunday Missal 2021 to just £1.99
If you know anyone who is shielding and unable to get to mass they can get copies sent directly to them. Either follow this link Get a Sunday Missal for £1.99 or go to the CTS website at ctsbooks.org
Also on offer: The CTS Calendar - Now £1
Beautiful wall calendar with a calendar grid marking out the feasts and seasons of the Catholic calendar, a Scripture reference for the Sunday Gospel, and Pope Francis’s prayer intentions for each month.
We know the year ahead may look challenging, so it is more important than ever that everyone can find the support they need in our unchanging God.
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The Baptism of the Lord
Dear friends in Christ
With the feast of Our Lord’s Baptism this weekend the Christmas season is brought to completion, although liturgically it continues until 2nd February: The Presentation—Candlemas—and the Purification of Our Lady. Jesus—perfect God and perfect Man—did not need to be baptised.
Dear friends in Christ
With the feast of Our Lord’s Baptism this weekend the Christmas season is brought to completion, although liturgically it continues until 2nd February: The Presentation—Candlemas—and the Purification of Our Lady. Jesus—perfect God and perfect Man—did not need to be baptised. The Fathers of the Church teach us that Jesus underwent this ritual as a sign of his humility and submission and also by entering the waters of the Jordan, to make holy for all time, water that will be used for the sacrament of Baptism.
The Baptism which St John gave was a sign of conversion and repentance; the sacrament of Baptism which is instituted by Christ is the commencement of divine filiation. By being Baptised, every one of us who emerges from the font, has been made a child of God. There is nothing greater that we can ever say. Recognition of the reality that we are sons and daughters of God is a gift. It is not readily apparent, and we need to pray for this gift and use our own efforts to call it to mind frequently. Otherwise our tendency is to forget this reality and live as if we were not children of God. Then we may become needlessly depressed, have a sense of being overwhelmed by the cares of daily life and problems that arise, lack apostolic zeal, feel lonely, and find ourselves seeking satisfaction from human relationships or goods that only our faith can really provide. When that happens, it’s time to begin again. If we find our spiritual edifice is tottering, or if everything seems to be up in the air, we lean on filial confidence in Jesus and Mary; it’s the firm and steady rock on which we base every facet of our lives. Give thanks on this day for the grace of Baptism: for our parents who brought us to the font and for our godparents who helped sustain us in the Faith of Christ.
There is one positive element to this latest lockdown: at the time of writing this, we are being allowed to keep our churches open for communal worship. Please continue to reserve a place online and let us be assiduous in the way we observe the protocols which maintain the church as a Covid-safe environment. So, please sanitise hands upon entering and leaving church; wear a face covering, keep a safe distance apart (2 metres), do not touch objects in the church, do not stay at the votive candle stands together and please do not congregate inside or outside of church.
We remember our Schools, and all who work and learn in them at this time; that they may not lose heart but work as best they can given the circumstances. Similarly we pray for all those whose work has been disrupted or threatened by the pandemic. Through the intercession of St Joseph, may we receive some comfort and help.
May God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale