Holy Week is the most time of the Christian year and the Paschal Triduum—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday—form the very core of the Christian Mystery, as we celebrate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord.
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Liturgy:
Readings of Year C
The Apostles’ Creed
Preface: The Passion of the Lord
Saturday 12
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
5.30pm Vigil Kathleen Young, RIP (Anniv) (LY)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
HOLY WEEK
Palm Sunday of the Passion: 13th April
8:00am Mass Michael Mapson, RIP (LM)
9:30am Mass The People of the Parish
11:30am Mass Holy Souls Preceded by Blessing and Procession of Palms
5:30pm Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
Confessions after all Masses
Monday of Holy Week
9:00am Mass Anne Martin (LP)
Confessions after Mass
Tuesday of Holy Week
9:00am Mass Martin Payne, RIP (Anniv) (VP)
Confessions after Mass
Wednesday of Holy Week
9:00am Mass Timothy McCarthy, RIP (SH)
Confessions after Mass
11:00am Mass of Chrism in Brentwood Cathedral
Maundy Thursday
9:00am Office of Lauds
7:00pm Solemn Mass of the Lord’s Supper Johanna & Samuel Beech, RIP (Anniv) (JC)
Watching at the Altar of Repose until Midnight
Confessions after Mass; Compline 11:45pm
Good Friday
9:00am Office of Reading and Lauds
10:00am Children’s Way of the Cross
3:00pm Solemn Liturgy of Our Lord’s Passion
7:00pm Way of the Cross
Confessions after all the Services
Holy Saturday
9:00am Office of Reading and Lauds
Confessions 11:00am-12noon
8:30pm Easter Vigil and First Mass of Easter The People of the Parish
Easter Sunday 20th April
8:00am Mass Thomas Cook, RIP (Anniv) (SD)
9:30am Mass Flora Ignatius, RIP (Anniv) (RP
11:30am Mass Grace Earles, RIP & Dec’d Relatives & Holy Souls (FM)
5:30pm Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
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, May Provera, Andrew Traynor, Eileen Goodwin-Self, John Clements, Ian Walker, John Adams, Agnes Dorothy (Queenie) 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, Wilfrid Walton, Phyllis Osment, Beryl Rombaut, Mary Kyrke-Smith, Anna Coste, George Andrews, Millicent Howell, Albert Thomas Cook & Thomas Corcoran.
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 Clare Chadwick.
Please pray for the repose of the souls of
PAULINE SHAW, RIP who died on Monday, 10th February. Her funeral will take place on Wednesday, 23rd April at 3.30pm at Southend Crematorium.
JOHN COLIN REYNOLDS who died on Monday, 17th March. His body will be received into the church on Wednesday, 30th April at 5pm and his Requiem Mass will take place on Thursday, 1st May at 3pm.
MARJORIE JAY who died on 10th April. Funeral details to follow.
Requiescant in pace
Altar Servers
If you are available to serve during Holy week for the services below, please sign your name on the list in the Sacristy.
Maundy Thursday (rehearsals at 2pm)
Good Friday (rehearsals at 11.30am)
Easter Vigil (rehearsals at 10.30am)
Dates for your Diary
Monday, 14th April—Journey in Faith (RCIA) 8pm Parish Centre
Saturdays 10th & 17th May 10.30am—First Holy Communion Masses
Sunday 1st June 2025—Visitation & Confirmation
Sunday 22nd June—Corpus Christi Procession 4pm
Saturday 5th July—Flower Festival
Monday 21st—Friday 25th July—Lourdes Pilgrimage
Monday 8th September Centenary of the Opening of our Church
Assisted Dying
The important vote for all MPs on the assisted suicide legislation, known as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, is likely to take place on 25th April.
The charity Right to Life UK has a simple online mechanism to allow people to contact their Member of Parliament and it only takes a few moments to submit a message to ask an MP to stop assisted suicide being rushed into law. It can be accessed here:https://righttolife.org.uk/asvote. Right to Life has also distributed postcards for the faithful to send to their MP’s on this subject which can be found at the back of church.
Holy Week Posters
Posters for Holy Week are now available at the back of the Church. Please take one to display in your window.
Vacancy at St Benard's High School
PREMISES MANAGER
Full-time - 37 hours per week, 52 weeks a year (including additional hours at the weekend when required)
Scale 21 - 28 (£32,115 - £37,938)
June start
Calling all team leaders – we are looking to recruit a Premises Manager to manage our Premises Team and Cleaning staff.
The role will be challenging at times so you will need to be organised and adaptable to issues that might arise. You will manage our Premises Team and Cleaning staff across the school, resolving issues quickly and effectively to maintain a safe, clean, secure and pleasant learning environment for students, staff and visitors.
As part of the Premises team, you will take responsibility for the maintenance and security of the site, ensuring a safe environment, be responsible for site security, Health & Safety maintenance and lettings alongside the Senior Caretaker and Premises Team.
The successful candidate must have a proven track record in a maintenance role ideally working within a school or similar environment.
If you would like to apply, please complete the Support Staff Application Form found on the Vacancies page on our website and email it to recruitment@stbernards.southend.sch.uk.
Church Repository
Please note the Church repository will be closed over the Easter weekend.
Centenary Celebration Concert Sunday 14th September at 3pm
As you will now be aware our Church building is 100 years old this year. It opened on 8th September 1925.
We are going to celebrate this with a Centenary Concert in the Church on Sunday 14th September at 3pm.
We envisage an uplifting hour of music with community hymns, and songs from the Sea of Voices Choir and from some of the children from our Catholic Schools.
This will be followed by Coffee & Cake in the Parish Centre.
Please keep this date free if you can. It would be wonderful to have a packed church to celebrate our 100th year in this beautiful building. Jo Ronan
Gift Aid Envelopes
The Gift Aid boxes containing Offertory and Charity envelopes for the financial year 2025/2026 are available for collection at the back of the Church.
Special collection boxes are also available for donors who contribute by Standing Order. They contain only charities designated by the Diocese, including Christmas and Easter offerings.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham—24th May 2025
Join Bishop Alan and other parishes around the Diocese of Brentwood in Walsingham to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope. 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 transport to and from Walsingham please leave your name and contact details at the Parish office, as Sacred Heart are organising a coach.
Coach leaving Sacred Heart at 7:30am
Pick up at Our Lady of Lourdes at 7:45am
Arrival Walsingham 11am
Depart Walsingham 5pm
Arrival Our Lady of Lourdes 8:15pm
Arrival Sacred Heart 8:30pm
£24 per adult - Children under 16 go free
Recruitment notice
The Secular Clergy Common Fund (‘Big M’) is looking to appoint a new CEO. It makes grants to our sick and retired priests and looks after two Catholic cemeteries in London.
The role is 0.6FTE and offers flexible working and a salary of £50k-£60k pro rata.
For further details contact Angela Rowe secretary@secularclergy.org.uk
Closing date 28th April 2025.
Missio Red Boxes
I have received the Spring 2025 Missio magazines. If you have not received one from me personally please take one from the back of the Church on the ledge in the usual place. Thank you. Joan Caunce, Secretary.
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Liturgy:
Readings of Year C
The Apostles’ Creed
Preface of Lent 1
Saturday 5
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
5.30pm Vigil Intentions of Julian Tisi (MT)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Saturday 12
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Sunday 6 April
Fifth Sunday of Lent
8am Mass The People of the Parish
9.30am Mass Fred & Doreen Wall, RIP (Anniv) (K&LW)
11.30am Mass Anne Martin, RIP (MW)
4pm Mass Holy Souls
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 7
Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
9am Mass Tadeusz Warchoł, RIP (AW)
Tuesday 8
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
9am Mass Simone Dann Ints (birthday) (MC)
4pm Body in church David Kislingbury, RIP
Wednesday 9
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
10am Requiem Mass David Kislingbury, RIP
Thursday 10
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
9am Mass Ian Irwin, RIP (Anniv) (MI)
Friday 11
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
11am Requiem Mass Timothy McCarthy, RIP
7pm Way of the Cross & Benediction
Saturday 12
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
10am Mass Bobby Newman, RIP (AC)
10.30-11.30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
5.30pm Vigil Kathleen Young, RIP (Anniv) (LY)
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
Sunday 13 April
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
8am Mass Michael Mapson, RIP (Anniv) (LM)
9.30am Mass The People of the Parish
11.30am Mass Holy Souls Preceded by Blessing and Procession of Palms
5.30pm Vespers & Benedictio
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Deacon Geoffrey Piper, Fr Thomas Adkins, Fr Anthony Lawson, Fr Patrick Donohoe, Canon Owen O’Neill, Rose Mary Brinkley, donald cussen, Mary McKenzie, Michael Maloney, Miriam Cunniffe, Marjorie Pollard,James July, John Welham, Laurence Westwood, will Coveney, robert Ellis, Anthony Irons, Clare Ann Hoolihan, James Poskitt, Mary McKeever, Esther Martin, Frances Phillips, Ian Irwin, Christopher Bennett,Francis Hoey, Patrick Manning, Patricia Logan, Frank Nagle, Winifred Duyffield, Patricia Abram, Jean Connolly & Lilian Larman.