Sanctuary Lamp
This week the Sanctuary Lamp burns for the souls of all who have passed away.
Please pray for the repose of the souls of
ROBERT DRESNER, RIP who died on Monday, 5th August. His Requiem Mass will take place on Thursday, 5th September at 11am followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
GY RAMPERSAUD, RIP who died on Tuesday, 6th August. His Funeral service will take place on Wednesday, 11th September at 1pm followed by committal at Sutton Road Cemetery.
Requiescant in pace
Music at 11.30am
Prelude—Chant donné en hommage à Jean Gallon—Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Postlude —Carillon de Westminster—Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Responsorial Psalm
Dates for your Diary
Monday, 23rd September—Journey in Faith (RCIA) 8pm Parish Centre
Thursday 28th-Saturday 30th November—Forty Hours’ Prayer
Friday 20th December—Sea of Voices Carol Service 7pm
Saturday 15th—Friday 21st March 2025—Parish Mission led by the Redemptorists
Sunday 1st June 2025—Visitation & Confirmation
First Holy Communion 2025
If your child is going into Year 3 or above and you wish for them to make their First Holy Communion in May 2025, please submit the application by Friday 6th September.
This should be done via the parish website, under Sacraments - Communion
(https://lourdesleigh.org/sacraments)
Parish Fundraising
Thank you to everyone who has supported the 200 Club this year. The results of the July draw are as follows:
1st Prize £150 198 Miss L Hall
2nd Prize £100 136 Mr P Reed
3rd Prize £75 41 Mr S Ravinet
4th Prize £25 70 Mrs I Cranidge
There has been a significant drop in members over the past few months. Would you consider taking part in the 200 Club? 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.
OLOL Ladies Group
We look forward to seeing everyone again on Thursday 12th September from 10am in the Parish Centre. To start off our ‘Autumn Term’ we are very pleased to welcome back Viv Bird, one of our popular guest speakers who will be telling us about a few more of her adventures.
All ladies in the Parish are welcome to join us, subs just £1.00 which includes refreshments. Donations of Raffle prices would be very much appreciated.
JOURNEY OF FAITH—RCIA
This begins on Monday, 23rd September 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 Newman 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.
Sea of Voices Summer Concert
Our parish community choir has been working on holding a late Summer concert at the Parish Centre. This will be held on Sunday 29th September from 3pm with funds raised going to a charity (to be announced). We also plan to have some form of buffet and refreshments included in the price. Tickets will be available soon with further details.
Repository
We will be open again after Masses this weekend with some new stock including Statues and Rosaries. We have a good selection of cards for various occasions, plus a few books for children.
You are welcome to come and browse and if you do not see what you are looking for please ask one of the Volunteers. NB. The Repository is open at weekends only.
Homeless Shelter
At this moment the details are a little sketchy, but we have been asked if we would be able to put a team of volunteers together to run a homeless shelter this coming winter. The shelter is likely to run from December through to the end of March 2025. The shelter will be central and not at the Sacred Heart Church. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Parish office by email in the first instance to record your interest. southend@brcdt.org
As more information becomes available, we will of course share. Thank you.
Medjugorje Irish Centre Pilgrimages-April to October 2024
7 Nights Apartment B&B from €273 per person sharing. Airport transfer available on request. Contact us for details and book the dates that suit you.
Tel. 020 3239 8662 or website www.med-irishcentre.com
March for Life UK - Saturday 7th September
Morning Events: 10.00am-1.00pm The Emmanuel Centre, SW1P 3DW
In the morning of March for Life we will be hosting a ‘Pro-life Health Summit’ 10.30-12.30 in The Emmanuel Centre where a variety of healthcare specialists will be looking in greater detail at our theme ‘Abortion isn’t Healthcare’.
Mass: 11.00am St George’s Cathedral, Southwark
The March: 1.30pm From The Emmanuel Centre
Ends at Parliament Square 4.30pm.
Contact: Isabel 07773 501721 or Ben 07885 505116 or info@marchforlife.co.uk
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear friends in Christ
At Mass this Sunday we hear from the final instalment of chapter six of Saint John.
Dear friends in Christ
At Mass this Sunday we hear from the final instalment of chapter six of Saint John. Many of the Jews had walked away from Jesus after His telling them the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist, only his closest disciples remain. To whom shall we go, they say You alone have the message of eternal life. We have been reflecting on the parts of the Mass, and the Mystery of the Blessed Eucharist, these past weeks.We have come to see that in the Blessed Eucharist we are given the very means of salvation, since it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ who is God. The Mass, as St Thomas Aquinas reminds us, is the most perfect act of all religion. Jesus Christ as both the Priest and Victim—the one who offers and the one Who is offered—gives Himself for us and we can receive Him sacramentally in Holy Communion. (My reflections on the Mass over the last four weekends can be revisited on our YouTube channel—LourdesLeigh—perhaps an aid for insomia!).
I love the story of Archbishop Francis Xavier Van Thuan who was the Archbishop of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and who was imprisoned in North Vietnam, in solitary confinement for thirteen years for his faith. During his captivity, a copy of the New Testament was smuggled into the prison for the Catholic inmates. To share God’s word among themselves, the prisoners tore the New Testament into small sections, which were then distributed. Each prisoner committed their piece to memory. At sunset, they would take turns reciting aloud the passage they had memorised. After his release, Archbishop Van Thuan reflected on how profoundly moving it was to hear the Word of God recited with such deep faith in the midst of silence and darkness. He remarked that in those moments, the presence of God in his Word was deeply experienced. The prisoners’ action of tearing up the New Testament into sheets and passing them around reminds us of what happens at Mass. The Blessed Eucharist is broken and distributed to us in small pieces, so that all can receive the life of God. The prisoners shared the bread of the Word because they had no access to the Bread of the Eucharist. We are fortunate to have access to both!
At Mass, Jesus offers us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. Let us renew our belief in this as we come to the conclusion of this series of reflections. Let us examine ourselves as to the manner in which we receive Jesus in Holy Communion: worthily, reverently, faithfully.
God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Liturgy:
Readings of Year B
The Nicene Creed
Preface of Sunday 4
Saturday 24
St Bartholomew, Ap
5.30pm Vigil Kathleen & Peter Sheridan, RIP (AMcN)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Sunday 25 August
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
8am Mass Eugene & James Renehan, RIP (Anniv) (MH)
9.30am Mass Margaret Owens, RIP (Anniv) (SO)
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 26
Bl Dominic of the Mother of God, Pr
10am Mass Basil Emmerson, RIP (Anniv) (AE)
Tuesday 27
St Monica
9am Mass Intentions of Andy & Catherine Harris (30th Wedding Anniv) (CH)
Wednesday 28
St Augustine, Bp, D
9am Mass Margaret Canty-Randall, RIP (Anniv) (CB)
Thursday 29
The Passion of St John the Baptist
9am Mass Marian Payne, RIP (VP)
Friday 30
Ss Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line & Margaret Ward,Mm
9.30am Requiem Mass Mary Henderson, RIP
NO MIDDAY MASS
Saturday 31
St Aidan, Bp and Saints of Lindisfarne
10am Mass Valerie & Ian Spacie's 60th Wedding Anniv (VS)
10.30-11.30am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
5.30pm Vigil The People of the Parish
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Sunday 1 September
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
8am Mass John Jarvis, RIP (Anniv) (VJ)
9.30am Mass Ann Jurico, RIP (SB)
11.30am Mass John & Pat Moon, RIP (SM)
4pm Mass Helen Hiscock, RIP
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr Bernard Collins, Canon John Sloane, Fr Colin Watling, Col Ernest G Petter, Bernard Squires, John Lowndes, Louise Newman, Veronica Maguire, Margaret Owens, Alan Tate, Mary Francis (Molly) Horn, Basil Emerson, Stella Stanley, William Pearson, Peter James Scott, Kathleen Shanahan, Charles Capon, Nellie Ainsley, Marjorie Clarke, Sheila King, Marian Payne, Vivien Payne, Martin Payne, Vera Goldman, Margaret Knight, Anton Byczynski, Campbell Coe, Gladys Robson, Doris Bree & Catherine Marriott.
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.”
Sanctuary Lamp
This week the Sanctuary Lamp burns for all those who asked for my prayers, especially Kitty and Kevin.
Please pray for the repose of the souls of
MARY HENDERSON, RIP who died in Ireland last month. Her Requiem Mass will take place on Friday, 30th August at 9.30am followed by committal at Sutton Road Cemetery.
ROBERT DRESNER, RIP who died on Monday, 5th August. His Requiem Mass will take place on Thursday, 5th September at 11am followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
GY RAMPERSAUD, RIP who died on Tuesday, 6th August. His Funeral service will take place on Wednesday, 11th September at 1pm followed by committal at Sutton Road Cemetery.
Requiescant in pace
Music at 11.30am
Prelude: Adagio, Allegro—John James (c.1745)
Postlude: Fugue—Thomas Adams (1785-1858)
Responsorial Psalm
