OLOL Ladies Group
To all Ladies in the Parish, our next Meeting for the New Year is in the Parish Centre on Thursday 16th January. This will be a relaxed social morning with a selection of Board games, or sharing news, books or just catching up with friends old and new following our Christmas break. Amazingly we will be celebrating our 7th year of the Ladies Group (where has the time gone? ) We always welcome new members with subs still only £1 per Meeting.
For any Ladies out there who are interested, please just come along and introduce yourself. We try to keep the Group as informal as possible so there is no form filling, and ladies are free to join us as and when they wish.
On behalf of Cynthia, Jan, Jo and Jane we wish you a very happy , peaceful and healthy New Year !!
Thank You from Fr Selvini
I would like to say "Thank you very much" to all those parishioners who sent Christmas greetings and gave Christmas gifts this Christmas. Your generosity is much appreciated! I wish you all, and your loved ones near or far, a very happy and holy year 2025.
Repository
We will re-open on the weekend of January 11th/12th. Please visit us and browse around our stock of Rosaries and other Religious items. We have a few copies remaining of the new Sunday Missal.
If you are interested in the new Weekday Missal please note this is due for Publication in early April. As we have received a number of enquiries, and if you are interested in purchasing a copy, would you please leave your name and contact details with one of the volunteers.
Dates for your Diary
Monday, 13th January—Journey in Faith (RCIA) 8pm Parish Centre
Saturday 15th—Friday 21st March 2025—Parish Mission led by the Redemptorists
Saturdays 10th & 17th May 10.30am—First Holy Communion Masses
Sunday 1st June 2025—Visitation & Confirmation
Sunday 22nd June—Corpus Christi Procession 4pm
Monday 21st—Friday 25th July—Lourdes Pilgrimage
Monday 8th September Centenary of the Opening of our Church
JOURNEY OF FAITH—RCIA
This resumes on Monday, 13th January 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.
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph
Dear friends in Christ
I wish you all the peace and blessings of this Christmas week in abundance!
Dear friends in Christ
I wish you all the peace and blessings of this Christmas week in abundance!
As we gather with family and friends at this time, we celebrate the unique and beautiful family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Whilst we may feel our experience of family life is far from ideal at times, we can be sure of the prayers of the Holy Family to support us, as we live the joys, sufferings and experiences of life together. This weekend, to mark the Feast, our Bishop has written a Pastoral Letter which will be read at the Masses.
Thank you all for the many greetings that you have sent over the Christmas celebration: your greetings cards, gifts and Christmas Offerings which are so much appreciated. The first greeting of the angels at the birth of Jesus was: Glory to God in the highest! This is the primary motive for everything we do as Christians: that God is glorified in all things. We extend our thanks as a Parish Family to all those who have arranged the Christmas liturgies and decorations: the many people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that God’s House and the family of the Church are fittingly prepared and arranged to give the fullest glory to God that we can.
I would very much like to place on record my deepest gratitude to the other priests who live in the Parish, especially Fathers Joyce and Selvini. The help they offer is invaluable—particularly by visiting the sick—which allows me to give time to my Diocesan duties. We especially remember the father of Father Selvini—Roland Selvini—who died last month; Christmas without our parents is difficult, so we remember him and all those of you who have had a bereavement during this last year; may they rest in the peace of our Saviour.
We have just begun the Jubilee Year of Hope initiated by Pope Francis, which continues throughout 2025 until Epiphany 2026, as a time of special grace and pilgrimage. It is also the Centenary of our church which was opened and consecrated in September 1925. Part of our celebration of these two events will be the Parish Mission in the second week of Lent. In the meantime, I wish you all every grace, peace and blessing for the New Year ahead!
Msgr Kevin Hale
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph
Liturgy:
Readings of the Holy Family Years ABC
The Nicene Creed
Preface of Christmas 2
Saturday 28
The Holy Innocents, Mm
5.30pm Vigil The People of the Parish
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Sunday 29 December
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph
8am Mass Adrian Dann, RIP (Anniv) (SD)
9.30am Mass Paul Watts, RIP (GM)
11.30am Mass Intentions of Margaret Huish (MR)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 30
Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
9am Mass Steve & Agnes McManus, RIP (Anniv) (SW)
Tuesday 31
Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
9am Mass Intentions of Rose D'Souza)(JA)
6-7pm Holy Hour with Te Deum and Benediction for the end of year
Wednesday 1 January
Mary, the Holy Mother of God
12 Noon Mass Maureen Regan, RIP (Anniv) (CR)
Thursday 2
Ss Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bpp, Dd
9am Mass Peggy Larman, RIP (TL)
Friday 3
Feria of Christmas Time—First Friday
12Noon Mass Ian Spacie, RIP (VS)
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass until Holy Hour 7—8pm
Saturday 4
Feria of Christmas Time
10am Mass Paul Watts, RIP (FG)
10.30-11.30am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
5.30pm Vigil Marie O'Connor, RIP (MT)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Sunday 5 January
The Epiphany of the Lord
8am Mass Intentions of Mrs Angela Slough (OLOR)
9.30am Mass John Harley(RIP), Nina Clarke(RIP) & Emma Harley(RIP) (PL)
11.30am Mass The People of the Parish
4pm Mass Essie Glauda, RIP (Anniv) (KC)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Canon John Byrne, Fr Brian Reeves, HH Pope Benedict XVI, Canon Patrick McKenna, Fr Jim Wilkinson, Fr Denis Cantwell, Catherine Rankilor, Doreen Foley, Nora Phillips, Adrian Dann, Francis Cook, Peter Whale, Frederick Thomas Ross, Stephen McManus, Anna Siani, David Scott-Frame, Sylvia Sippitt, Louis Mooney, George Lane, Leslie Dawson, Mary Reilly, Michael McGaughey, Thomas Woolcott, Francis Hayes, John Sinclair, Joan Gubbins, Kate Lessons, Kathleen Lewin, Gregory Power, Maureen Guihen, Emily Swann, Mary O’Toole, Annie French, Jules Deuss, Ethel Milo, Simon Burgoyne, Violet Jackson, Millicent Ransom, Joseph Hazell, Eileen Murray, Maureen Regan, Helen Cotton, Peter Quinn, Charles D’Souza, Len Gardner, Hannah Flintoff, Eileen Bull, Frances Ryan, Brita Irons, Len Plummer, Anthony Ryan, Hilda Edwards, Walter Burden, Ricky (Lola) Clarke & Marie Fitzakerly.
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 the intentions of Stephen & Clare Fleming.
Carol Service
A huge thanks from all those involved in the Carol Service on 20th December. £859 was raised for the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society (BCC) and YMCA Southend.
Music at 11.30am Mass
Prelude: Quand le Sauveur Jesus Christ et Chantons je vous prie Jean-Francois Dandrieu—1682—1738
Postlude: Improvisation on "We three Kings" David Lasky (20th Cent.)
Dates for your Diary
Saturday 15th—Friday 21st March 2025—Parish Mission led by the Redemptorists
Saturdays 10th & 17th May 10.30am—First Holy Communion Masses
Sunday 1st June 2025—Visitation & Confirmation
Sunday 22nd June—Corpus Christi Procession 4pm
Monday 21st—Friday 25th July—Lourdes Pilgrimage
Monday 8th September Centenary of the Opening of our Church
Crib Offerings
The CRIB offerings, as in previous years, will go to help the work of the Brentwood Catholic Childrens Society—BCCS.
Christmas Message
The Priests of the Parish wish you all a very blessed Christmas
and with our warmest good wishes for the New Year!
Holy Family with St John the Baptist and St Elizabeth—Cathedral House, Brentwood
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Dear friends in Christ
Shortly after the Annunciation Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth.
Dear friends in Christ
Shortly after the Annunciation Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. The Gospel tells us that Mary went with haste into the hill country…she went so that she could be with her cousin who was expecting John the Baptist in order to assist her, even if she might have preferred to remain at home and prepare for the birth of her own child. We consider this mystery in the life of Our Blessed Lady each time we pray the second joyful mystery of the Rosary. It is also an image we see when we come into our church, portrayed in the reredos. Very often the best service we can render to others is to simply remain with them, joyfully and unpretentiously. But we can only do this if we are close to Christ through a faithful commitment to prayer throughout the day. In the days of Christmastide ahead, we shall have many opportunities to be of service to others, either by providing friends and family with hospitality, by being with someone who is alone and in need, by attending to the needs of those who need us. Let Mary be our inspiration for the celebrations of this season ahead of us. Throughout all of these mysteries in the life of our Incarnate Lord, Mary has a pivotal place. May she draw us more deeply into the mystery of the Incarnation. I pray that we may all have a joyful celebration of the Christmas feasts. As we begin the Jubilee Year of Hope this Christmas, may the message of hope be a reality for the way we live our lives, and may we be the conduits of supernatural hope for the people around us!
Thanks to all those who prepared and participated in the Carol Service Friday evening. It was lovely to have so many of you present with our distinguished guests. It provided much appreciated support for two worthy local Charities: Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society and YMCA.
Please bring your crib figures of the baby Jesus to Mass this Sunday, which we will bless at the end of Mass ahead of placing them on Christmas Day.
Msgr Kevin Hale
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Liturgy:
Readings of Year C
The Nicene Creed
Preface 2 of Advent
Saturday 21
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
10am Mass Bernadette Perry, RIP (KH)
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 22 December
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Confessions after all Masses
8am Mass Michael Mapson, RIP (GM)
9.30am Mass Paul Watts, RIP (SVP)
11.30am Mass Paul Watts, RIP (LL)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 23
Weekday of Advent
9am Mass Ian Irwin, RIP (MI)
Confessions after Mass
Tuesday 24
Christmas Eve
9am Mass Roy & Marjorie Worsley, RIP (JC)
Confessions after Mass until 11am
5.30pm Vigil Mass Holy Souls (Night Mass Readings)
8.30pm Vigil of Readings & Carols
9pm Night Mass The People of the Parish
Wednesday 25
CHRISTMAS DAY
8am Mass Private Intention (Dawn Mass)
9.30am Mass Private Intention (Dawn Mass)
11.30am Mass Private Intention (Day Mass)
Thursday 26
St Stephen, the First Martyr
10am Mass Altar Servers and their Families
Friday 27
St John, Ap, Ev
12Noon Mass Roland & Madeleine Selvini RIP
Saturday 28
The Holy Innocents, Mm
10am Mass Alex McFarlane, RIP (Anniv) (MW)
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 29 December
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph
8am Mass Adrian Dann, RIP (Anniv) (SD)
9.30am Mass Paul Watts, RIP (GM)
11.30am Mass Intentions of Margaret Huish (MR)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr William Arthur Cowd, Bp Brian Foley, Canon Wilfrid Thompson, Fr Francis Greenan, Fr Francis Wilson, Fr James Duffy, Robert Kirsch, Teresa Evans, Roland Glazebrook, David Middleton, Mario Piacentini, Anthony Sansom, Elsie Osborne, Mary Heather, Teresa Riley, Winifred McClafferty, Elizabeth Astall, Jessica Wilson, Basil DeNeuman, Mary Higgins, Anthony Nesnas, Bridget McDonald, Julie Upsher, Eddie Gillman, Clare Whomes, Douglas Hurley, Charles Stokes, Lynda Quinlivan, Guido Lauria, Janet Newby, Michael Manning, JohnFurley, Amelia Eaglesfield, Flor Perez de Pina, P.A. Holcombe, Mrs Beeching, James O’Donnell, Francis Gibson, Mary Fitzroy, Deirdre Gray, James Keefe, Doris Swinney, Joseph Dologhan, & Audrey O’Connell.
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.”