Dear Friends in Christ

Next weekend we begin our Parish Mission which we have been preparing for these last few months. A Mission is a time of extra-ordinary grace. It’s like the whole Parish going on retreat, except we aren’t going away, it’s going to happen here! And we are welcoming two of the Norbertine Canons from Chelmsford - Fr Hugh Allan & Fr Stephen Morrison - who are going to guide us through the days. However, it is the Holy Spirit who is the real One who will guide us and bring us closer to God.

There are three aims, three goals, three expectations for a Parish Mission: Firstly, as the name implies: it means a reaching-out. We have done this by distributing the flyers giving the details of the Mission Services; some 14,000 of them. We have been given a full-page spread in The Leigh Times. A Parish Mission means living-out our responsibility to bring the Truth of the Gospel to those outside of the Church. Second, seeking out the stray, the lost, the lukewarm and the lapsed and helping them back to their spiritual home. Perhaps there is someone close to me who would benefit from the Mission? Someone to whom I can give new hope faith? Begin by praying for them.Third, it’s for us, Christ’s Faithful, that we will go from being good practising Catholics to becoming more fervent Catholics and ultimately, Saints.

What I’m asking we do is, commit to being in church twice each day, if we can practically do so: once for Mass, either at 6.30am or 9am (there will be a short instruction at the end for those who can remain) and then the evening service or liturgy with it's specific theme relating to the mysteries of our Faith. Above all I’m asking you to re-double your prayers for these intentions now, by praying daily the Mission Prayer and asking our Blessed Mother Mary, our Patroness, to bring us closer to her Son Jesus. God bless you all!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
Homily available at LourdesLeigh.org