Flower Festival - 11th September 2021

Thank you to everyone who has already agreed to contribute to the Flower festival this year. The Theme is “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, hopefully, coincide with the Leigh Art Trail.  I am pleased to say that we have already have some Art, Photography and Needlework, as well as flower arrangements promised by parishioners to illustrate the themes. We need more people to take part, particularly to do flower arrangements. 

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

 Any donations collected on the day will go towards ‘Serving the Homeless’ projects.

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

Please let me know if you are planning to take part.

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 (Chair, Serving the Homeless)

BCCS Relay 100

A big thank you to everyone who sponsored me in the BCCS (Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society) relay between Our Lady of Lourdes church and St Helen’s, Westcliff that I completed on Friday 23rd July). I am still collecting sponsorship pledges and the forms - for gift aid - to send to BCCS, with pledges collected to date of £70. BCCS Relays are continuing and are shown on the BCCS Relay100 page on their website. Please return any Lourdes sponsorship forms to the Parish Office as soon as possible.

Donations can still be made online by going to the Relay 100 fundraising page:
or you can transfer directly into BCCS’ bank account: Brentwood Catholic Childrens Society Account Number: 31094130 Sort Code: 40 13 22 (please reference your donations ‘Relay 100’ along with the name D Binding). Many thanks!

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear friends in Christ

We continue our journey through chapter six of St John’s Gospel this weekend and reflecting on the Blessed Eucharist. As I said in my Homily last week, the first reading at Mass is normally thematically linked with the Gospel. In these current weeks the link is very clear and we listen to the account from the Book of Kings, of how Elijah was given bread to sustain him on his journey to Mount Horeb, the Mountain of God. Those forty days of pilgrimage are an image of the Christian pilgrim, travelling though this life to our true homeland of Heaven. To assist us in this pilgrimage, God has given us not mere bread for our bodies, but food for the soul; the food that endures into eternal life. We need this food to sustain us, otherwise the journey would be too much, and we would falter on the way. Let us think of those who have fallen-away from the practise of the Faith and so deprive themselves of this heavenly food. Let us also pray and encourage them back into the fold before it is too late and they die of hunger along the way.

Our own desire to receive this Food of Life can be renewed many times throughout each day as we can make a Spiritual Communion. This consists in an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and in a loving conversation as if we had already received him (St Alphonsus). The visit to the Blessed Sacrament is also a very beneficial practice, a manifestation of our gratitude, a sign of the love and adoration we owe our Lord (St Pope Paul VI).

Next weekend—15th—is the Solemnity of The Assumption of Our Blessed Lady into Heaven. We will rejoice on that Day in the eternal life Mary shares with her Divine Son; she was assumed body and soul into Heaven, and they await us there, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, fed and sustained on the Body of Christ in the Mass.

God bless you all!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

5.30pm Vigil Mass Diana Underwood, RIP (RM)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions

8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Fred & Doreen Wall, RIP (Anniversary) (LW)
11.30am Mass Vincent Glauda, RIP (Anniversary) (KC)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

Monday 9
ST TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS, V M
9am Mass Jim Monaghan, RIP (Anniversary) (JA)

Tuesday 10
ST LAWRENCE, Deacon, M
9am Mass Lily de Lobel, RIP (Anniversary) (JL)

Wednesday 11
St Clare, V
9am Mass Norbert Widera, RIP (CB)

Thursday 12
St Jane Frances de Chantal, Rel
9am Mass Liam Armstrong, RIP (Anniversary) (JA) 5.30pm Memorial Mass, Norbert Widera RIP followed by burial of Ashes

Friday 13
Ss Pontian, P, and Hippolytus, Pr, Mm
12noon Noel Augur, RIP (Anniversary) (YA)

Saturday 14
St Maximilian Kolbe, Pr, M
10am Mass Intentions of Carmel Hartley (MR)
10.30-11.30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions

Sunday 15 August

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

5.30pm Vigil Mass Norbert Widera, RIP (SW)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions

8am Mass Frank Mann, RIP (Anniversary) (RM)
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Tony Griffin (Intentions on a Special Occasion) (SG)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries

Fr Henry Tilley, Fr David Coghlan, Fr Hugh Verity, Fr David Papworth, Fr Stephen Keane, Teresa Baxter, Lilian Sutton, Andrea Uglietti, Maria Figg, Richard Collins, Ethel Morgan, Patrick Blissett, Daran Persaud, Lily de Lobel, Maria Robinson, Vincent Glauda, Teresa Booty, Doris Lowe, Leonard Stevenson, Christopher Barrago, William Smith, Joseph Herinckx, Ronald Hall, Les Smith, Len Murray, James Jones, Dawn Pursey, John Dillon, Gerard Rodgers, Magdaleine Rubeck, Philippa Soggee, Jean Kerr & Philomena Stone.

We Pray for our Sick

Jennifer Biebuyck, Moira Scott, Jill Yates, Leonora Maguire, Brian Mountier, Renata Butler, Margaret Bartle, Tony Downey, Kristy Monferrari, Fred Ring, Ian Irwin, Russell Short, Marie Karaf, Gilberte Cook, Garry Pearman, 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.

Attending Holy Mass Post-Lockdown

As we begin to move out of the restrictions that have been imposed upon us over these last months, let us all be mindful of others when we come to church and attend Holy Mass. There will be many members of the Parish Family who are still feeling nervous, reticent and vulnerable. Although restrictions have been lifted, we must all remain prudent about how we act and inter-act within the confines of the church; we must all take personal responsibility for the way we act. Even if masks and social-distancing are no longer obligatory, there will be many who will wish to continue adhering to these precautions; and please respect the space of others. Singing in church is permissible and the Confessional may be used for the Sacrament of Penance. There is no reason why we should not show each other a sign of peace, albeit in a non-tactile way; i.e. a bow or smile acknowledging our neighbour, unless we are with family members. Obviously Communion from the Chalice is not possible because of the serious risk of infection. A reminder that, if you are receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, please come up last in the line. Booking a place at Mass is no longer necessary, nor the stewarding. Our Bishops have stated that the Sunday Obligation will be reinstated as from the First Sunday of Advent.

Music at 11.30am Mass on Sunday

Prelude: Pièce on sol majeur - César Franck

Postlude: Toccata (Symphonie V) - Charles-Marie Widor

Tom Maxfield Fundraiser

Tom Maxfield is going to have his long hair cut! He will be donating most of the money raised to the Little Princess Trust to go towards making wigs for children who have cancer and braving the shave for Macmillan. If you would like to sponsor Tom for these worthy causes, please click on the link below:

https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/thomas-maxfield

March for Life UK

The Annual March for Life UK event will take place on Sat. 4th September in Central London from approximately 10 am – 4.30 pm. A coach will leave from Priory street/East Hill, Colchester at 8am stopping at London road, Colchester, Witham, Chelmsford and Brentwood. The cost will be £20 per person (babies go free). Less if we have a full coach. To ask about coach details or book a seat, please contact Justin Nathan at eph890@gmail.com or on 07540 050814. Please do not leave a voice message but I will respond to text or whatsapp messages. 

We recently had the highest ever annual abortion figures in the UK (last year saw 210,860 abortions in England and Wales) as well as the introduction of home/DIY abortions. Let’s do our part in turning the tide in our nation. More information is available at marchforlife.co.uk or form Isabel on 07773 501721/ izzyvs@gmail.com

Serving the Homeless

The Committee of Serving the Homeless are planning to hold a Wine Tasting evening on Saturday 9th October so please save the date. The local wine shop Vino Vero will be supplying the wines and one of the staff will give a short talk about each of them. The event will be held in St Margaret’s Church Hall in Lime Avenue, which is a large, airy room. There will be tables of 6 to 8 people. Tickets will cost £20 per person, to include a cheese and nibbles supper.

If you would like to register your interest in coming, either as an individual, couple or a group, please ring Linda on 01702 558217. 

BCCS Relay 100

A big thank you to everyone who sponsored me in the BCCS (Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society) relay between Our Lady of Lourdes church and St Helen’s, Westcliff that I completed last Friday (23rd July). I am still collecting sponsorship pledges and the forms - for gift aid - to send to BCCS, with pledges collected to date of £70. BCCS Relays are continuing and are shown on the BCCS Relay100 page on their website. Please return any Lourdes sponsorship forms to the Parish Office as soon as possible.

Donations can still be made online by going to the Relay 100 fundraising page:
or you can transfer directly into BCCS’ bank account: Brentwood Catholic Childrens Society Account Number: 31094130 Sort Code: 40 13 22 (please reference your donations ‘Relay 100’ along with the name D Binding). Many thanks!

Baptism Preparation Sessions

All new parents are required to prepare for their child’s Baptism by attending one of the following sessions, which are held in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Centre.

Tuesday 17th August 2021 from 8pm to 9:30 pm 

Tuesday 12th October 2021 fro 8pm to 9.30pm 

Tuesday 7th December 2021 from 8pm to 9.30pm

Tuesday 8th February 2022 from 8pm to 9.30pm

If you would like to attend one of the above, please contact Catherine Harris on 07733327295 or email: mrscatherineharris@gmail.com  in order to book a place.

Carer Vacancy

A sleep-in Carer is needed over the weekend, predominately Saturday nights, flexible with availability, i.e. not every Saturday. Mrs Page, who lives in Westcliff and is currently bed-bound, has a support package in place whereby she has four visits per day from an outside care company who fully attend to her needs. No moving or personal care required. The actual requirements would be some conversation and maybe tea-making, and then sleeping in a separate bedroom, and making sure she was comfortable.

Any enquires to Linda Sparham on 07813811515.

Flower Festival - 11th September 2021

Thank you to everyone who has already agreed to contribute to the Flower festival this year. The Theme is “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, hopefully, coincide with the Leigh Art Trail.  I am pleased to say that we have already have some Art, Photography and Needlework, as well as flower arrangements promised by parishioners to illustrate the themes. We need more people to take part, particularly to do flower arrangements. 

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

 Any donations collected on the day will go towards ‘Serving the Homeless’ projects.

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

Please let me know if you are planning to take part.

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 (Chair, Serving the Homeless)

St Bernard's High School

A number of vacancies are available within our Catering Team from September 2021. Please go to our website - School Information - Vacancies -to complete an Application form. Closing date for applications Tuesday 24th August at 9am.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear friends in Christ

Following the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the enthusiastic multitude went again in search of Jesus. St John continues after the miracle of the previous day to let us see how Jesus had awakened the crowds deepest hopes and love. Thousands of people had left the comfort of their homes to come and hear Him. They wanted to make Him their king. But the Lord departed from them. Upon meeting them again, Jesus says to the people: Truly I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Saint Augustine comments: You seek me for worldly motives, not for spiritual ones. How many people there are who seek Jesus for worldly ends… Rarely does someone look for Jesus for the sake of Jesus. We want to be among those few.

The reading of chapter six of St John’s Gospel continues—the Eucharistic Discourse—with our Lord telling the crowds that He is the Bread of Life. Those who heard this teaching in the synagogue could not comprehend what He was teaching them. Only with the passing of the centuries has the Church tried, ever more deeply, to understand this gift and mystery. In the Homily this weekend I continue my reflections on the parts of the Mass in the light of the Gospel. Above all, let us come to Mass with a lively faith and attentive devotion, to receive Him as we should, perhaps praying: Lord, I hope in you, I adore you, I love you, increase my faith. Be the support of my weakness. You, who have remained defenceless in the Eucharist so as to be the remedy for the weakness of your creatures…help me to love you more and more!

God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

5.30pm Vigil Mass Fidelis & Mary Pallis, RIP (DL)
6.30pm Holy Hour: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions

Sunday 1 August
8am Mass Pat Hyland, RIP (CM)
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Clive Richards, RIP (LL)
4pm Mass Intentions Janie Briddg & Nguyen Duc Doan (TBD) (1962 Missal)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

Monday 2
St Peter Julian Eymard, Pr
9am Mass Norbert Widera, RIP (CH)

Tuesday 3
Feria
9am Mass Clare Chadwick, RIP (Anniversary) (MI)

Wednesday 4
St John Mary Vianney, Pr
9am Mass Maureen Mann, RIP (RM)

Thursday 5
Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major
9am Mass Denise MacDermott, RIP (Anniversary) (AC)

Friday 6
Transfiguration of the Lord - First Friday
12noon Charles & Alice Whitefield, RIP (FM)
7pm-8pm Holy Hour & Benediction

Saturday 7
St Cajetan, Pr
10am Mass Richard Wallner, RIP (GW)
10.30-11.30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions

Sunday 8 August

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

5.30pm Vigil Mass Diana Underwood, RIP (RM)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions

8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Fred & Doreen Wall, RIP (Anniversary) (LW)
11.30am Mass Vincent Glauda, RIP (Anniversary) (KC)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction

We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries

Pope Paul VI, Fr Thomas Jordan, Deacon Frederick Wall, Ethel Warwick, Olive Scott-Hansen, Winifred Bailey, Bernard Martin, Frances Murray, Teresa Fitzgerald, Max Button, Margaret Ring, Noel Auger, Cecelia Newton, Phyllis Fairman, John Higgins, Maureen Mann, Walter Owen, Stella Blackburn, Sister Vincent (St Ediths), Catherine Hayes, Timothy O’Shea, Anthony Poulton, Denise MacDermott, Jim Collins, John Joseph Sandford, Phyllis Mabel Burke, Arthur Holdstock, Michael Christopher Edwards, Phylis Glazebrook, Peter Matthews, Clarice Gannon, Margaret Taylor & Sheila Mazzag.

We Pray for our Sick

Jennifer Biebuyck, Moira Scott, Jill Yates, Leonora Maguire, Brian Mountier, Renata Butler, Margaret Bartle, Tony Downey, Kristy Monferrari, Fred Ring, Ian Irwin, Russell Short, Marie Karaf, Gilberte Cook, Garry Pearman, 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.