St Bernard's High School—Exam Invigilators required as soon as possible
Current Hourly Rate: £10.50
Invigilators should be reliable, responsible, and able to follow instructions in a calm and sensible manner. A flexible approach to working hours is essential and full training will be provided. We welcome applications from all denominations or none.
The Governing Body is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share in this commitment.
If you are interested in this position, please fill in the support staff application form found on our website under https://www.stbernardswestcliff.org.uk/about-us/vacancies/ and email it torecruitment@stbernards.southend.sch.uk
Note: CVs will not be accepted.
Second Sunday of Lent
Dear friends in Christ
To encounter Christ is to encounter ourselves.
Dear friends in Christ
To encounter Christ is to encounter ourselves. That is, not as we are, but as we are to become. Jesus, in revealing His glory, reveals also the glory that is to be ours. The apostles, privileged to witness the Transfiguration, certainly knew Jesus better as a result. The human veil over His divinity was for a moment lifted and they beheld his heavenly splendour. They also beheld the upward call of every Christian. Saint Augustine says that the transfigured Christ reveals what His body is to become. We are to be transfigured as well. The purpose of everything in our faith—of all doctrines and sacraments—is to make us glow more and more brightly. To encounter Christ is to encounter ourselves. When we behold His glory, we learn our lofty calling and goal. When we listen to His words, we learn the path to such glory.
Please keep in your prayers those who are preparing for the Sacraments during this Lenten season: the thirty young adults who will begin preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation this Sunday. The fifty children preparing for their First Confession and First Holy Communion. The nine members of the Parish Family who were presented to the Bishop last Sunday in our Cathedral for the Easter Sacraments of Initiation. May Christ and His Blessed Mother enfold them in their divine love! And may God bless all of you!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Second Sunday of Lent
Liturgy:
Readings of Year B
The Apostles’ Creed
Preface of Second Sunday of Lent
Saturday 24
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
5.30pm Vigil Mass Violet Gray, RIP & Lucille Tarrabal, RIP
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
Sunday 25 February
Second Sunday of Lent
8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Jim & Teena Rockell, RIP (K&LW)
11.30am Mass Lucrecia & Jose Conlu, RIP
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 26
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
9am Mass John Bernard Holland, RIP (Anniv) (MH)
Tuesday 27
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
9am Mass Tony, Brita & Michael Irons, RIP (JV)
Wednesday 28
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
9am Mass Madelaine Sighe, RIP (Anniv) (MR)
7pm Lenten Evening of Reflection
Thursday 29
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
9am Mass Canon Francis Gilbert, RIP (FM)
Friday 1 March
St David, Bp—First Friday of the Month
12noon Mass Bill Hoggett, RIP (Anniv) (JH)
12.30pm Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass until
7pm Way of the Cross and Benediction
Saturday 2
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
10am Mass Bernadette Lane, RIP (K&LW)
10.30-11.30am: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
5.30pm Vigil Mass Fr Richard Moroney (Northampton) (PM)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
Sunday 3 March
Third Sunday of Lent
8am Mass Henry O'Callaghan, Special Intention
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Janet Weale, RIP (TW)
4pm Mass Violette Gray, RIP
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Parish Fundraising
Thank you to everyone who has supported the 200 Club this year. The results of the January draw are as follows:
1st Prize £150 121 Mrs A Craig
2nd Prize £100 88 Mrs R O’Callaghan
3rd Prize £75 134 Mr D Little
4th Prize £25 89 Mr J Murphy
We are still 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.
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Mgr Canon Jules van Meenen, Fr Clifford Beecroft, Fr David Chapman, Fr John Wall, Fr Gerard Murphy, Anne Florence, Marie Bartley, Violet Nottle, Mary Sabot, Beau Winter-Myers, Maddalena Forte, Mary Tyson, Ronald Kitty, Janet Hurley, Michael Nils Irons, John Holland, Violet Smith, Adolphus Miller, Claire Sharpe, Sarah Bent, Emily Norwood, May Cooper, Mabel Smith, Michael Kieran, Rose Brookes, Aoife O’Sullivan, Christopher Kolwitz, Joe North, Joshua (Charlie) Peace, Cecil Ford, Harvey Martin, Gertrude Ettershank, Stephen Fontana, Bruno de Santis, Alfred George Holding, Margaret Carstairs, Paul Vermeulen, Patricia Hopper, Ada Champ, Jim Acaster, Michael Sheaf, Sylvia Langley, Miss A Till, Amy Rosetta Wood, Margaret Blissett, Catherine Byrne, Ruby Ravinet, Giovanni Puglisi, Patricia McBreaty, & Michael Flynn.
We pray for our sick
We pray for the sick of our parish
“Father,
by the power of your Spirit
you have filled the hearts of your faithful people
with gifts of love for one another.
Hear the prayers we offer for our relatives and friends.
Give them health of mind and body
that they may do your will with perfect love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.”
Please pray for the repose of the souls of
MICHAEL COLMAN LUCEY who died on Wednesday, 14th February. His Requiem Mass will be held on Wednesday, 20th March at 10.45am followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
BRIDGET WARD who died on Thursday, 11th January.
ISABEL COOMBS who died on Wednesday, 17th January.
Requiescant in pace
LENTEN EVENINGS OF REFLECTION
Wednesday, February 28th—Fr Mark Reilly PP Hornchurch: Towards the Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
Wednesday, March 13th—Fr Graham Smith PP Southend: How to be Holy
Wednesday, March 20th—Fr Stephen Morrison OPræm PP Peckham: The Kingship of Christ in the Passion
To include a preached meditation by a guest speaker, Eucharistic Adoration, Compline, Benediction and Confessions. These will be held in the church from 7–8pm followed by refreshments and a bookstall in the Parish Centre.
Dates for your Diary
Monday 26th February—Journey in Faith (RCIA) continues—8pm St Clement Room
Thursdays: February 29th & March 7th, 14th & 21st—'The Chosen’ 7pm Parish Centre
Wednesdays: February 28th, & March 13th & 20th;
Lenten Evenings of Reflection—7-8.30pm
Saturdays 11th & 18th May—First Holy Communion Masses
Sunday 19th May—Sacrament of Confirmation
Saturday 6th July—Flower Festival
Monday 22nd—Friday 26th July 2024—Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes
THE CHOSEN—showing in the Parish during Lent
The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ, seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, the drama shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings.
The third episode of this Gospel depiction will be screened in the Parish Centre on Thursday, 29th February, at 7pm; each episode lasts one hour.
Journey of Faith—RCIA
RCIA will meet on Monday, 26th February and is specifically for those who are not Catholics but who are enquiring with a view to finding out more about the Catholic Faith and Reception into the Church. These evenings begin at 8pm, are held in the St Clement Room of the Parish Centre (the door is beside the Memorial Garden) and usually last just over an hour. Names may be given in advance to Fr Kevin or the Parish Office.
National Novena to St. Joseph: 10th to 18th March 2024
Every year the Mill Missionaries prepare for the Feast of St. Joseph with a Special Novena of Masses and prayers to ask for God' blessing for the intentions of all those who support their work. Please see the poster at the back of Church with more information. Thank you. Joan Caunce (Secretary).
Repository
We are open after all Masses at weekends so please feel free to come and browse our new stock. We are pleased to say we now have a large collection of Rosaries to suit all tastes/ages, plus a selection of Statues and Candles.
Just arrived are new Cards for Mass intentions, Sympathy, Get Well, Birthday etc. For the early bird we have some Easter and Mother’s Day cards, plus gifts and cards for Baptism. If you do not find what you are looking for please ask one of the Volunteers.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham - Saturday 25th May 2024
Join Bishop Alan and other parishes around the Diocese of Brentwood in Walsingham. We will celebrate Mass at the Basilica before walking the Holy Mile to the grounds of Walsingham Abbey to celebrate Vespers and Benediction on the site of the Holy House.
If you would like to come please leave your name and contact details with the Parish office.
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School
Are you looking for a Nursery for your 2 to 4 year old?
Contact us to look around our learning environment!
office@ourladyoflourdes.southend.sch.uk 01702475689
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School is located in Leigh's heart along Manchester Drive, a short walk from the London Road.
Our welcoming community school is perfect for children starting Nursery in 2024.
We're proud of our family feel, which spans generations, and our vast grounds for children to play.
Excelling in music, sport, science, and a balanced curriculum, we're the ideal place for your child to flourish.
Thinking about your child as they grow, our children transition easily and happily into our Reception classes. Our children achieve well in KS2, with many children moving on to the Catholic secondary schools.
Organ Loft cleaner required
Would you be able to spare an hour a week between 10am and 1pm, to help clean our organ loft? Whichever day suits you, and it doesn’t have to be the same day every week!
If you can help, please contact the Parish office on 01702 478078 or email office@lourdesleigh.org.
First Sunday of Lent
Dear friends in Christ
In his Message for Lent 2024, Pope Francis writes:
It is time to act, and in Lent, to act also means to pause. To pause in prayer, in order to receive the word of God, to pause like the Samaritan in the presence of a wounded brother or sister. Love of God and love of neighbour are one love. Not to have other gods is to pause in the presence of God beside the flesh of our neighbour. For this reason, prayer, almsgiving and fasting are not three unrelated acts, but a single movement of openness and self-emptying, in which we cast out the idols that weigh us down, the attachments that imprison us. Then the atrophied and isolated heart will revive. Slow down, then, and pause! The contemplative dimension of life that Lent helps us to rediscover will release new energies. In the presence of God, we become brothers and sisters, more sensitive to one another: in place of threats and enemies, we discover companions and fellow travellers. This is God’s dream, the promised land to which we journey once we have left our slavery behind.
On this First Sunday of Lent all those across our Diocese who will be Received into the Church at Easter, attend the Rite of Election in Brentwood Cathedral. There are nine from our own Parish who will be there: please pray for them and their Sponsors, as well as those who have been responsible for their formation in the Faith over the past year.
I encourage you to support by your attendance and participation, those Lenten events that we have arranged this year: the Wednesday Evenings of Reflection; the episodes of The Chosen being shown each Thursday and the Stations and Benediction on Fridays, all beginning at 7pm.
God bless us in our Lenten journey towards Easter!
Msgr Kevin Hale