School Vacancy

St. Helen’s Catholic Primary School are looking for an Assistant Cook to join our friendly kitchen team. 24 hours per week, term time only. See our school website or contact Mrs Sears for details 01702 343823.

Pentecost Sunday

Dear friends in Christ

This weekend—Pentecost—the prayer goes up from the heart of the Church: Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth! This prayer gives voice to the deepest sentiments of every soul, that God the Holy Spirit will powerfully create us anew for the work of the Gospel. Last weekend, as we contemplated the Apostles gathered with Mary awaiting the Paraclete, we had an image of the Church in Her infancy. Before the Apostles received the power and grace to go forth into the world, they joined in prayer. This is a template for the life of the Church still: prayer before action; contemplation before the apostolate. Everything we do flows from the desire we should have to worship. The primary mission of the Church is to brings souls to Heaven, and to do this by making saints of us. Before any great undertaking all the saints show us the need for prayer. So, whether it be our concern to improve the social condition of our world, or to permeate politics with Christian Truth or our care for the environment…prayer before action! Nothing good is ever achieved for God without this dimension of surrender to Him in prayer. No authentic renewal of the Church is possible without coming humbly before God on our knees, especially before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

This weekend our Bishops have sent us a joint Pastoral Letter on the subject of creation and the gift of life; we have included it with this Newsletter and I would encourage you to read it.

Let us invoke the Holy Spirit this Pentecost, to make the way ahead sure and safe. As we still experience some uncertainties and fears, we can pray with earnestness the words found in the Sequence of the Pentecost Mass: Come Thou light of all that live…Solace in the midst of woe…With Thy sevenfold gifts descend…Give us joys that never end!

With every blessing this Pentecost!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Pentecost Sunday

Saturday 22 May

5.30pm Vigil Mass Michael Doe, RIP (Anniversary) (JD)
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions in the Lady Chapel

Sunday 23 May
8am Mass Studita de Souza, RIP (FDS)
9.30am Mass Intentions of Lucrecia Conlu (JC)
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

Monday 24
Mary, Mother of the Church
9am Mass Canon Owen O'Neil, RIP

Tuesday 25
St Bede the Venerable, Pr, D
9am Mass Intentions of Kenny & Keogh Families (MW)
8.30-10am Private Prayer

Wednesday 26
St Philip Neri, Pr
9am Mass Intentions of Brett Mackay (SD)

Thursday 27
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THE ETERNAL HIGH PRIEST
9am Mass Tony Camelo, RIP (Anniversary) (MH-C)

Friday 28
Feria
12Noon Mass Intentions of John McGowan (RH)

2pm Requiem Mass - Michael O'Brien RIP

Saturday 29
St Paul VI, P

10am Mass Raymond Arthur Butcher, RIP
10.30am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions in the Lady Chapel

12noon Mass Knights of Malta

Sunday 30 May

The Most Holy Trinity

5.30pm Vigil Mass Glenda Lawton, RIP (CS)
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions in the Lady Chapel

8am Mass Clive Richards, RIP (PL)
9.30am Mass Jim & Teena Rockell, RIP (Anniversary) (LW)
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

Pastoral Letter for Pentecost

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Solemnity of Pentecost reminds us that everything which exists, every person and the whole of creation, is a gift of “God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” God our loving Father creates and continues to give life to the world through His Word, Jesus Christ, in the power of His Holy Spirit. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church, which we celebrate at Pentecost, is not something separate from Creation. God’s revelation of himself in Creation is inseparable from the revelation of his love for us in Christ and in his desire to live in us through his Holy Spirit.

‘God’s Spirit is always and everywhere “the Lord, the Giver of Life”, and the voice of Pentecost is echoed in the voice of creation being transformed into the glorious liberty of God’s children.’ In this liberty, as God’s children, we call on the Spirit to ‘renew the face of the Earth’, and as his children, we are called, in turn, to use this liberty for the good of creation and for the good of all that brings life. Our world, God’s creation, is a precious gift to us. It is our common home entrusted to each generation. But how have we used that glorious liberty? How do we honour this precious gift? Are we really demonstrating love, care and respect for our common home?

As we celebrate Pentecost this year, we are acutely aware of the damage that continues to be inflicted on the Earth, and the repercussions for the well-being of our brothers and sisters, both here in our own countries and, more especially, in the poorest countries of our world. Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have both taught us that everything is interconnected and interdependent. The way we live our everyday lives has an impact on everyone and on the earth. The urgency of the situation, and the enormity of the challenges we face, have spurred us to speak out together this Pentecost Sunday, as bishops of England, Wales and Scotland, about the role that the Catholic Church and our faith must play in our shared care for God’s gift to us.

For all too long we have either been ignorant of, or ignored, the systematic exploitation of our planet and the unsustainable consumption of its resources. While accepting the crucial need and demand for energy for the benefit of the poorest of our brothers and sisters, the provision of our energy must, nonetheless, be by means which radically reduce the use of carbon-based fuels.

In our political thinking, there must be a new global understanding of our world, where nations recognise our common responsibility for the dignity of all people and their rights to sustainable livelihoods, in authentic freedom. Pope Francis speaks of a global politics that looks beyond our own needs to the needs of all, most especially the poor and the marginalised.

But we cannot leave the healing of our common home and the wellbeing and care of our brothers and sisters merely to a response from industry and governments. Our own local concern and action is necessary and has far-reaching consequences. We all have a part to play, each and every one of us, in the routines, choices and decisions of our everyday lives and our aspirations for the future. The actions of parishes, families, schools, and individuals will have a significant impact on our efforts to restore our common home. There are now many resources, freely available, to advise us on our choice of food, saving of water and electricity, suggestions about travel, waste, and re-use. These are measures that everyone can employ, in some degree, with minimal inconvenience and change. They are effective ways in which we can each reaffirm our personal vocation to be stewards of creation.

This Pentecost comes at a time of remarkable challenge and opportunity. We are gradually emerging from the tragedies and restrictions of the pandemic. We have the ability to make changes. Our countries are also hosting two most important meetings this year, the G7 in June and COP26 in November. These meetings will gather together men and women who have the power to make defining choices and policies which will help us build back better, provide for our brothers and sisters, and take care of our common home.

In all our human endeavours, we need the presence of the Holy Spirit, “the Lord, the Giver of Life”, whose gift to the Church and the world we celebrate again at Pentecost. Let us keep this Feast with that enduring hope that we can begin to repair the damage we have done and provide a healthy home for future generations. Our hope will be strengthened by our prayer. May our constant request be that the Holy Spirit guide us, strengthen our resolve and ‘renew the face of the earth’.

We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries

Fr Charles Carless, Fr Austin Thorburn, Fr John Timmins, Fr Henry Peace, Minnie Rowland, Derrick Amner, Cliff Falkus, Andrzej Sasiadek, Lyonel Winyard, Monica Rose Smith, Kate Parr, Henry Smith, Lawrence Marshall, Mary Lyons, Elizabeth White, Rosa Betts, James Byrne, Jacqueline Cossen, Henrietta Bartley, Mary Pearce, Michael Farmer, Eleanora Ruggiero, Francis Bull, David Anthony Ward, Kathleen Reynolds, Frances Florence, Elizabeth Newton, Thomas O’Malley, Richard Bird, Sheila Hall, Leonard Brockhurst, Neil & Joan Macmillan, Mildred Jackson, Angela Edwards, Iolanda Peretti, Edith Young, Dr Denis O’Riordan & Clarice Wheeler.

We Pray for our Sick

Pat Poulton, Leonora Maguire, Brian Mountier, Renata Butler, Norbert Widera, Margaret Bartle, Tony Downey, Kristy Monferrari, Fred Ring, Ian Irwin, Russell Short, Marie Karaf, Gilberte Cook, Garry Pearman, Anne Owen, Patricia Ann Darroch, Peggy Larman, 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

COLIN DONNELLY, RIP who died on Tuesday 4th May. His funeral will be held on Friday 4th June at 10.40am.

DOREEN PENNIFOLD RIP who died on Friday 23rd April.

MICHAEL O’BRIEN, RIP who died on Maundy Thursday afternoon. His Requiem Mass will be held on Friday 28th May at 2pm.

Please pray for Joseph and Francesca Quinn on the sad death of their baby—Luna Quinn—last Friday

Music at 11.30 Mass on Sunday

Variations on Veni, Creator Spiritus - Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)

Comm, Gott Schopfer BWV 631 - J S Bach (1685-1750)

Covid Guidelines from 17 May 2021

Certain of the Covid restrictions that have been in place for some months now are being relaxed.

Congregation

• We still use online booking for services, or the QR code track and trace

• Please sanitise your hands whenever entering or leaving the church. We continue to wear face coverings (remember to remove this before receiving Holy Communion). This will continue even if the legal requirement is lifted.

• For Holy Communion we remove the barrier and the priest will pronounce The Body of Christ with the usual response of Amen

• Holy Communion is now permitted on the tongue. Those wishing Communion on the tongue: please come to Communion last (the priest then sanitises his hands at the end).

• Communion continues to be under one kind

• The sign of peace is still suspended

• The congregation may not sing

• At least one door into the church will remain open throughout the weekday services for ventilation

• The church will open as formerly: that is, from early morning until 1pm. After this time, you can access the church by using the code on the door on the courtyard side of church

Stewards

• We no longer need Stewards at weekday Masses—but we do need still need cleaners!

• Maintain a good general standard of routine cleaning using cleaning detergents:

  • Clean most surfaces people touch once a day

  • Clean very frequent touch points more often—for example: door handles

• We continue to require Stewards for Sunday Masses

Administration

• We increase the capacity of the building whilst keeping a one metre rule and being sensitive to the comfort and safety of others: from the current 48 to 80 booking slots—16 booking slots for each wing and 24 for each centre aisle

• Sunday Mass: Bidding Prayers will resume

• Singing may by done by a small group

Thank you

Thanks to all of you who have cooperated with the protocols over these months and especially to those who have given so much time to stewarding and cleaning.

Up coming Events for Serving the Homeless

Flower Festival 2021

We will be holding a Flower Festival in OLL church again this year on 11th September. The Theme will be “I AM” (as in I Am the Good Shepherd; the Light of the World; The Way, Truth, & Life etc.) This was the theme that we had chosen for last year, but due to the pandemic it did not take place. The Festival will again coincide with the Leigh Art Trail.  We would like to expand the displays to include Art, Photography, Needlework, Woodwork etc., to illustrate the theme. Any donations will go towards ‘Serving the Homeless’ projects.

So we are calling all parishioners to help us to create a beautiful and prayerful event to be shared with our community.

For those interested a list of all the quotations will be available. You can email me at:  mcronan@btinternet.com

 You have four months to get creative!

We are also holding a Summer Raffle to raise funds so that we can continue to contribute to HARP and YMCA projects. Tickets for our ‘Hamper Bonanza’ are now on sale, with the draw taking place at the beginning of September. Tickets can be purchased from any of our Committee members.

Jo Ronan

School Vacancy

St. Helen’s Catholic Primary School are looking for an Assistant Cook to join our friendly kitchen team. 24 hours per week, term time only. See our school website or contact Mrs Sears for details 01702 343823.

Covid Guidelines from 17 May 2021

Certain of the Covid restrictions that have been in place for some months now are being relaxed.

Congregation

• We still use online booking for services, or the QR code track and trace

• Please sanitise your hands whenever entering or leaving the churchWe continue to wear face coverings (remember to remove this before receiving Holy Communion). This will continue even if the legal requirement is lifted.

• For Holy Communion we remove the barrier and the priest will pronounce The Body of Christ with the usual response of Amen

• Holy Communion is now permitted on the tongue. Those wishing Communion on the tongue: please come to Communion last (the priest then sanitises his hands at the end).

• Communion continues to be under one kind

• The sign of peace is still suspended

• The congregation may not sing

• At least one door into the church will remain open throughout the weekday services for ventilation

• The church will open as formerly: that is, from early morning until 1pm. After this time, you can access the church by using the code on the door on the courtyard side of church

Stewards

• We no longer need Stewards at weekday Masses—but we do need still need cleaners!

• Maintain a good general standard of routine cleaning using cleaning detergents:

  • Clean most surfaces people touch once a day

  • Clean very frequent touch points more often—for example: door handles

• We continue to require Stewards for Sunday Masses

Administration

• We increase the capacity of the building whilst keeping a one metre rule and being sensitive to the comfort and safety of others: from the current 48 to 80 booking slots—16 booking slots for each wing and 24 for each centre aisle

• Sunday Mass: Bidding Prayers will resume

• Singing may by done by a small group

Thank you

Thanks to all of you who have cooperated with the protocols over these months and especially to those who have given so much time to stewarding and cleaning.

Learn more

If you would like to read the full text of the updated guidance you may do so by going to the website of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales:

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Dear friends in Christ

We have rejoiced—last Thursday—in the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. In these days we pray, as did the Apostles, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In these closing days of Easter season, it is a good idea to remind ourselves of the significance of the liturgical season—the unique calendar of the Church—through which we celebrate and live our Catholic Faith. St Augustine in his commentary on the Psalms has this to say:

There are these two periods of time—the one that now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life, and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy—we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after. The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the ‘Alleluia' we sing.

As we gradually emerge from the imposed isolation and uncertainty of the last year, like the Apostles at Pentecost, we do so joyfully and with confidence in the time ahead. I hope you may have had the opportunity to read the reflection from our Bishops which we published in the Newsletter last week on The Day of the Lord. I found their words on our emerging from lockdown, the importance of Sunday, the Holy Mass and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament hugely positive and helpful. Do go back and read it if you have not already done so.

As we approach Pentecost we should be offering each day some prayer or invocation to God the Holy Spirit: Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium…Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth…the face of the Church and the face of our lives!

With my prayers and blessing!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Seventh Sunday of Easter

5.30pm Vigil Roy Newman, RIP (CS)
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions in the Lady Chapel

Sunday 16 May
8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Cliff Falkus, RIP (EH)
11.30am Mass Allan & Evelyn Thompson, RIP (RK)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

Monday 17
Feria
9am Mass Jim & Lilian Fegan, RIP (M&JC)
8.30-10am Private Prayer

Tuesday 18
Pope St John I, M
9am Mass Margaret Kennedy, RIP (CS)
8.30-10am Private Prayer

Wednesday 19
St Dunstan, Bp
9am Mass Vivien Clancy, RIP (Anniversary) (JL)
8.30-10am Private Prayer

Thursday 20
St Bernardine of Siena, Pr
9am Mass Intentions of Norah Egodawela (NE)
8.30-10am Private Prayer

Friday 21
St Christopher Magallanes, Pr & Comps, Mm
12Noon Mass Clive Richards, RIP (UO’K)
11.30-1pm Private Prayer

Saturday 22
St Rita of Cascia, Rel
10am Mass Flora Ignatius, RIP (RP)
10.30-11.30am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions in the Lady Chapel

Pentecost Sunday

5.30pm Vigil Mass Michael Doe, RIP (Anniversary) (JD)
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions in the Lady Chapel

Sunday 23 May
8am Mass Studita de Souza, RIP (FDS)
9.30am Mass Intentions of Lucrecia Conlu (JC)
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

We Pray for the Dead on our Anniversaries

Fr James (Jim) McCormack, Fr John William Hayes, Fr Paul Dynan, Canon Thomas Clarke, Canon Michael Fitzpatrick, Fr Brendan Sheppard, Mgr Canon William O’Grady, Pauline Cousins, Jacqueline Rogers, Florence West, Ellen O’Leary, Agnes Theresa Brady, Edward Petronis, Michael Jones, Charles Cutter, William Ross, Eric Jeffries, Lily Mead, Michael McNamara, John Kelly, Richard William Walker, Vivien Clancy, Anne Perkins, Robert Gammon, Zoe Conroy, Joseph Dray, Brian Webb, Henry James Herbert, Christopher Buckingham, Eileen Hart & Murray Grant-Browning.

We Pray for our Sick

Pat Poulton, Leonora Maguire, Brian Mountier, Renata Butler, Norbert Widera, Margaret Bartle, Tony Downey, Kristy Monferrari, Fred Ring, Ian Irwin, Russell Short, Marie Karaf, Gilberte Cook, Garry Pearman, Anne Owen, Patricia Ann Darroch, Peggy Larman, 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

COLIN DONNELLY, RIP who died on Tuesday 4th May. His funeral will be held on Friday 4th June at 10.40am.

DOREEN PENNIFOLD RIP who died on Friday 23rd April.

MICHAEL O’BRIEN, RIP who died on Maundy Thursday afternoon. His Requiem Mass will be held on Friday 28th May at 2pm.

Music at 11.30am Mass on Sunday

Chant donné en hommage à Jean Gallon - Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)

Prelude in B minor BWV 544 - J S Bach (1685-1750)

200 Club

The 200 Club continues to provide funds to support the running of the Parish. During the last financial year, thanks to the parishioners who subscribe to the 200 Club, donations from the 200 Club funds were made to the restoration of the reredos and the repair of the bells.

However, during the last 18 months, the number of parishioners supporting the 200 Club has fallen to 162, a shortfall of 38.

We are currently looking for new members. The subscription is £5 per month, either by cash, cheque or direct debit. If you would like to join, please fill in a form which can be found at the back of the church or ring Linda Wall on
01702 558217.

Recently, there have been several occasions where a monthly prize has been won but where a change of address has not been notified to Linda, resulting in cheques going missing. It is very important that changes of address should be notified both to the office and to Linda.

Upcoming Events for Serving the Homeless

Flower Festival 2021

We will be holding a Flower Festival in OLL church again this year on 11th September. The Theme will be “I AM” (as in I Am the Good Shepherd; the Light of the World; The Way, Truth, & Life etc.) This was the theme that we had chosen for last year, but due to the pandemic it did not take place. The Festival will again coincide with the Leigh Art Trail.  We would like to expand the displays to include Art, Photography, Needlework, Woodwork etc., to illustrate the theme. Any donations will go towards ‘Serving the Homeless’ projects.

So we are calling all parishioners to help us to create a beautiful and prayerful event to be shared with our community.

For those interested a list of all the quotations will be available. You can email me at:  mcronan@btinternet.com

 You have four months to get creative!

We are also holding a Summer Raffle to raise funds so that we can continue to contribute to HARP and YMCA projects. Tickets for our ‘Hamper Bonanza’ are now on sale, with the draw taking place at the beginning of September. Tickets can be purchased from any of our Committee members.

Jo Ronan