Good Shepherd Sunday
This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, or the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
Please pray for vocations to the priesthood for our diocese and for those currently training for the priesthood.
The second collection supports the education and formation of our seminarians.
OLL Ladies Group
Welcome back everyone after the Easter break! We meet on Thursday, 25th April at 10am in the Parish Centre. Subs just £1, plus a fun Raffle. Refreshments at no extra cost.
All ladies are welcome to join us for what should be a very interesting presentation on Oberammergau given by Sheena Slater. We hope to give Sheena a very big welcome so come along and enjoy the talk while meeting up with friends and Parishioners.
First Holy Communion Breakfast
Would any parents in the Parish be able to help with the First Holy Communion Breakfasts on Saturday 11th or 18th May? If so, please contact Sue Lawford on 07816 141492.
Fairtrade
A Fairtrade stall will be in the Parish Centre on Sunday 5th May 8.30—11.30am. Please come and see us before or after Mass to buy your teas, coffees and more while supporting our brothers and sisters in the developing world.
Also come and join fellow parishioners in tea and biscuits at the same time.
Parish Fundraising
Thank you to everyone who has supported the 200 Club this year. The results of the March draw are as follows:
1st Prize £150 149 Mr D Lesley
2nd Prize £100 3 Mr M Diggines
3rd Prize £75 123 Mrs T Heddon
4th Prize £25 87 Mrs C Kislingbury
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.
Repository Notice
We are open after all Masses at the weekend so do come along and browse.
We have a new stock of Holy Communion gifts and cards, plus cards for Confirmation and other special occasions. We also have a selection of Statues and Rosaries, plus a few new books for children.
If you do not see what you are looking for please ask one of the volunteers.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham – 25th May 2024
Join Bishop Alan and other parishes around the Diocese of Brentwood in Walsingham on Saturday 25th May.
Sacred Heart are running a coach leaving the Sacred Heart Church at 7am, picking up in the lay-by at St John Fisher at 7.10am, and outside Our Lady of Lourdes, Leigh at 7.30am.
You will arrive in time for Confessions, the open-air Mass, lunch, the procession to the Abbey Grounds where Benediction will take place. You should arrive back in the Southend area at approximately 8pm.
The price is £20 per Adult and children 15 or younger free of charge. Please contact the parish office on 01702 478078 to book your seats on the coach.
Flower & Craft Festival Saturday 6th July 2024
It is time to start preparations for this year’s Flower and Craft Festival! The Theme this year is ‘PRAYER.’
We would love to have as many people as possible to take part. Simply choose a prayer or prayers and think about how that can be illustrated visually with Flowers, Art work, Artefacts, Needlework etc.
The Festival day is always a very inspiring occasion with people from all faiths or none dropping into our beautiful Church. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response that there has been over the last few years to our themes.
If you would like to take part please email me at : mcronan@btinternet.com, or simply speak to me or Theresa.
If you are not sure about a suitable prayer then I have lots to choose from.
Jo Ronan
Our Lady of Ransom Catholic School
We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic and highly-motivated class teacher in KS1/2 to join our friendly and dedicated team. The post would suit an experienced or newly qualified teacher who is either a practising Catholic or willing to support the strong Catholic ethos of our school.
The Governing Body is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The appointment is subject to satisfactory references, medical and enhanced DBS checks.
Visits to the school are welcomed and encouraged. For more details please contact Mr. Parascandolo (Head Teacher) via the school office (01268 785741) For an application form please visit the school website www.olorcps.net
Closing date: Thursday 9th May 2024 (4pm)
Interview date: tbc
We reserve the right to call for interview and appoint prior to the closing date.
Cleaner Required
Would you be able to spare an hour a week between 10am and 1pm, to help clean our church ? 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.
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.
2024 Caritas Networking Day
Interested in the Catholic response to homelessness, welcoming refugees and migrants, assisting with the Cost of Living Crisis, or tackling the causes and effects of climate change? You are invited to the 2024 Caritas Brentwood Networking Day, Saturday 27th April, 10am – 2.30pm, at the St Edward the Confessor Church Hall, Romford (10-minute walk from Romford Station on the Elizabeth line, Bus routes from London are regular, parking is available but limited and a bike rack is also on site). This day is a chance to be sustained, share ideas and good practices with people from parishes across Essex and East London and hear about charities and resources available. Details and Registration (for free!) at www.caritasbrentwood.org/network<http://www.caritasbrentwood.org/network>
Third Sunday of Easter
Dear friends in Christ
In an early text by Saint Justin, Martyr, c.150 AD we read: On Sundays there is an assembly of all who live in towns or in the country... This is the first day, on which God transformed darkness and matter and made the world; the day on which Jesus Christ our Saviour rose from the dead.
Dear friends in Christ
In an early text by Saint Justin, Martyr, c.150 AD we read: On Sundays there is an assembly of all who live in towns or in the country... This is the first day, on which God transformed darkness and matter and made the world; the day on which Jesus Christ our Saviour rose from the dead. The Jewish Sabbath gave way to the Christian Sunday from the very beginning of the Church, and from then on, every Sunday we celebrate the Lord's Resurrection. Saturday was the day dedicated to Yahweh in the Old Testament. God himself instituted it and commanded the Israelites to abstain from certain tasks on that day in order to honour him properly. It was also the day on which the family got together to celebrate the end of the captivity in Egypt. As time passed, the rabbis complicated the divine precept, so that by the time of Jesus there had come into being a series of oppressive and meticulous prescriptions that bore no relation to what God had laid down about the Sabbath.
The feast-days of Israel, and particularly the Sabbath, were a sign of the Divine Covenant and the people's way of expressing their joy at being God's property and the object of His choosing and His love. That is why every feast-day was linked to a salvation event. Yet these feast-days contained only the promise of a reality which still had to take place. With the Resurrection of Our Lord the Sabbath gives way to the reality which it had foreshadowed—the Christian celebration. Our Lord himself speaks of the kingdom of God as a great banquet offered by a king on the occasion of the wedding of his son, through whom we are invited to share in the messianic benefits. With Christ there arises a new and superior cult, because now we have also a new Priest, and a new Victim is offered.
We are called to witness to the Resurrection each and every Sunday by our primary duty of celebrating Holy Mass as a Parish Family and then spending time with our families, engaged in those activities that genuinely renew us in mind, body and spirit.
God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Third Sunday of Easter
Liturgy:
Readings of Year B
The Apostles’ Creed
Preface of Easter 3
Saturday 13
Saturday after the Second Sunday of Easter
5.30pm Vigil Mass Christine Keenan, RIP (Anniv) (FK)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Sunday 14 April
Third Sunday of Easter
8am Mass Deceased Relatives of the Lewis Family (JL)
9.30am Mass John Adams, RIP (HR)
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 15
Monday after the Third Sunday of Easter
9am Mass Martin Payne, RIP (Anniv) (VP)
Tuesday 16
Tuesday after the Third Sunday of Easter
9am Mass Alex Clark, RIP (SH)
Wednesday 17
Wednesday after the Third Sunday of Easter
9am Mass Phillip & Susan Maxfield—25th Wedding Anniversary (SM)
Thursday 18
Thursday after the Third Sunday of Easter
9am Mass Theresa Ofulue, RIP (20th Anniv) (PO)
Friday 19
Friday after the Third Sunday of Easter
12Noon Mass Albert Thomas Cook, RIP (Anniv) (SD)
Saturday 20
Saturday after the Third Sunday of Easter
10am Mass Roland Clark, RIP (Anniv) (MC)
10.30-11.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
5.30pm Vigil Mass Intentions of Rosemary Bragard (Birthday) (RM)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Sunday 21 April
Fourth Sunday of Easter
8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Flora Ignatius, RIP (Anniv) (RP)
11.30am Mass Colin Haworth, RIP (RB)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr Owen Fitzgerald, Fr John O’Mahoney, Fr William Donelan, Fr George Duckett, Fr Joseph McEntee, Fr Anthony Colebrook, John Clements, Ian Walker, John Adams, Agnes Dorothy Ransom, Martin Payne, Peter Abel, James Kennedy, Sebastiano Marino, Stephen Bendall, Orla Shapiro, Antonio Capone, Mary Ellen O’Driscoll, Kenneth Sigovallan, Doris McEvoy, Cecelia Spindly, Wilfred Walton, Phyllis Osment, Beryl Rombaut, Mary Kirk-Smith, Anna Rose, George Andrews, Millicent Howell, Albert Thomas Cook, Thomas Corcoran, Violet Dagnell, Louisa Hucks, Harold Horam, Ellaline Stenfalt & Magdalena Schenbel.
We pray for our sick
The Sick List is available on the website main menu, under Worship.
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.”
Dates for your Diary
Monday, 15th April—Journey in Faith (RCIA) continues—8pm St Clement Room
Saturdays 11th & 18th May—First Holy Communion Masses
Sunday 19th May—Sacrament of Confirmation
Sunday 23rd June—Fortieth Anniversary Mass of Fr Kevin Hale 11.30am
Saturday 6th July—Flower Festival
Monday 22nd—Friday 26th July 2024—Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Responsorial Psalm at 11.30am Mass
Incoming: Voluntary for flute—William Hine (1687-1730)
Outgoing: Basse De Trompette—Gaspard Corrette (early 18th. century)
