CANDLEMAS - THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
Tuesday is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the final end of the celebration of the Christmas mysteries in the liturgy. This feast is also known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Candlemas Day. The feast is a special day of prayer for everyone in consecrated and religious life. In the mystery of the Word-Made-Flesh, God's light has unexpectedly entered our darkness and illumined the whole of time and history. God's light of revelation also illumines our own lives and struggles. We pray at this time especially for the light of heaven to enlighten our own perspective on the current situation, confident that God really is: God-with-us.
RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY
Today, the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is also Racial Justice Sunday. This year’s Racial Justice Sunday is more important than ever. The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, the killing of George Floyd, and the powerful message on fraternity and equality by Pope Francis in 'Fratelli Tutti' speak of the need to actively oppose racism and pursue racial justice with renewed vigour. You can read more about Racial Justice Sunday at the Bishops' Conference website here:
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/home/events/racial-justice-sunday-2021/
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AT HOME
Thank you to all parishioners for your prayers and devotions which continue at home. We send you all best wishes and blessings from here at church. Your presence and your prayers are a great consolation to us and many others throughout the parish. Please continue to keep safe and keep praying!
PUBLIC MASSES SUSPENDED
Due to the critical situation in the local area, public Masses have been suspended at Our Lady of Lourdes Church and nearby parishes in the deanery until further notice. Masses will be broadcast on the live-feed here (and by telephone on Saturdays). We are extremely grateful to our volunteers who have worked so hard and generously to allow us to keep going for such a long time. We hope that this suspension will be short and we will work with others in the borough and deanery to reopen as soon as we can. Please spread the word to others. Whether you can watch online, hear Mass on the telephone, or join us spiritually, the most important thing is to pray at home and stay safe. Our funerals will continue unaffected. The online Mass times will be as follows:
Monday-Friday 12pm (English); 7pm (Malayalam)
Saturday Vigil 6pm (English); 7pm (Malayalam)
Sunday 10am (English)
The church is closed and confessions will resume after the suspension. God bless you all and please stay safe.
CATHOLIC PAPERS
We are unable to sell papers directly at the moment but if anyone would like to take out either a print or digital subscription, these are available. For the Catholic Universe, please visit: www.thecatholicuniverse.com or call them on 0161 820 5722. At the moment a special offer is available at £25 for 3 months, £99 for 12 months, or £55 for the digital edition.
Catholic Herald: www.catholicherald.co.uk or 020 7448 3607
The Tablet: www.thetablet.co.uk or 01858 438736
YEAR OF ST JOSEPH
150 years ago, St Joseph was declared Patron of the Universal Church by Bl. Pope Pius IX. To mark this anniversary, Pope Francis has declared 2021 to be a special 'Year of St Joseph'. As we know, Joseph was the guardian and protector of the Holy Family, just as now he has a special care for the family of God which is the Church. Perhaps during these months we can renew our devotion to St Joseph as we seek his heavenly protection at this difficult time. St Joseph: pray for us!
PARISH OFFICE
We have now been able to restore some hours in which the Parish Office is manned. However, we do please ask that you keep normal business until after the lockdown. It is not possible to come to the office in person. Thank you for your cooperation in advance.
PLANNED GIVING
It is now time for us to renew our order for the planned giving boxes. Many of you were unable to take your box last April, and so started using bank transfers to set up standing orders for your offertory. If anyone else would like to do this please request a standing order form from the Parish Office, where you can also offer Gift Aid if you don’t already. Anyone who would still like to have their box please let the office know. We will assume that anyone who has a standing order no longer requires a box so that we can reduce the costs of purchasing them—please let us know if this is not the case. Thank you.
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION & CONFIRMATION 2021
Yet again, we will need to revise our plans for the preparation and celebration of these sacraments. At the time of writing, we would prefer to wait in order to have at least some preparation in person. While parents are the first teachers of the faith for their children, there is also an important element of 'accompaniment' by the community which cannot be realised so satisfactorily in the virtual setting. We are also aware that children and parents already have a lot of online learning to deal with. However, we will continue to reassess the situation for these sacraments, including what may or may not be possible in the time to come. Please wait for further information to be published.