Newsletters
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FR DAVID WRITES
Today is the Second Sunday of Advent when we meet again St John the Baptist. He comes with a radical call to repentance. We are invited to change our hearts to make way, and make room, for Christ who is coming to save us. Today we light the second purple candle on the Advent wreath. Thank you to everyone for your support last weekend for our great Christmas market. It was a wonderful and enjoyable event. Thank you to all our organisers and volunteers who gave so much time and energy! Finally, Bishop John Sherrington will join us at church on the weekend of the Fourth Sunday of Advent. We look forward to seeing Bishop John as he visits us just before the great feast of Christmas. We send you all best wishes for the coming week and for the beautiful Advent season.
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FR DAVID WRITES
Welcome to the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year in the Church’s calendar! Advent is a season which prepares us, through the gift of hope, for the coming of the Lord into our lives. It also prepares us for the great celebration of his holy birth at Christmas. We have some free books for Advent, ‘Walk with Me’, in the church porch with reflections for every day of this special season. Today, after all Masses, we have our Christmas Market. Please do visit the hall after Mass. Finally, on Tuesday I drove the first consignment of Christmas gifts to the Catholic Children’s Society at Ladbroke Grove - thank you to those who brought gifts. There is still time to donate a gift for a child this Christmas, so please don’t forget what a difference this could make to a little person at Christmas. God bless you all and happy Advent!
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SPIRITAN APPEAL
This year the Diocesan Mission Appeal is for the Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans). This is the missionary congregation to which Fr Jerome belongs. He and Fr Terkura Igbe CSSp will be making the appeal at all Masses today. Please be as generous as you can!
A CONCERT FOR ST CECILIA’S DAY
To celebrate the patron saint of music, and mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, there will be a short concert in church on Tuesday 22nd November 2022 at 7pm. All are welcome - admission is free.
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FR DAVID WRITES
Friday was Armistice Day and today (Sunday) is Remembrance Sunday. The Requiem Mass with the church parade will take place at the 10am Mass. Next weekend is the solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday in the Church’s liturgical calendar. This is also a special day of prayer for young people which looks towards the celebration of World Youth Day which will take place next summer in Lisbon with Pope Francis.
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FR DAVID WRITES
November is the month of the Holy Souls. We had some beautiful celebrations this last week to mark All Saints and All Souls. Our prayers for the Holy Souls continue throughout the month and our Book of Remembrance will remain in place next to the Paschal Candle in church. There are some further commemorations in the parish, deanery and diocese. The dates are outlined below. We wish you all every blessing for the week ahead.
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FR DAVID WRITES
I hope everyone had a happy half-term! This week is the beginning of November, the month of the Holy Souls. Tuesday is the great solemnity of All Saints, a holy day of obligation (yes, they do still exist!) Wednesday is All Souls’ Day, the commemoration of all the faithful departed. On both days, there are three Masses here at 8am, 10am and 7.30pm. The evening Mass on Wednesday is our special Mass for our departed loved ones. Do please come along and light a candle during Mass for those who have died. If you haven’t done so already, please send in the names of the deceased to go in our Book of Remembrance. Have a good week.
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HALF TERM
This coming week is half-term. We wish everyone a happy half-term break and look forward to seeing everyone back at school after the holiday.
SICK AND RETIRED PRIESTS COLLECTION
This important collection be taken at all Masses on 5/6 November. Gift Aid envelopes will be available next weekend.
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FR DAVID WRITES
Last Tuesday, 11 October, the Feast of St John XXIII, marked the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), often known as Vatican II. Vatican II was the twenty-first ecumenical council in the history of the Church. Pope John said its aim was to promote renewal in the Church, to make progress towards Christian unity, and to make a contribution to addressing world issues such as the development of peoples and evangelisation. During the Great Jubilee at the start of the new century, John Paul II said: ‘With the passing of the years, the documents of the Council have lost nothing of their value or brilliance. I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century: there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning.’ Now, the Church looks to the next Jubilee or ‘Holy Year’ which will be celebrated universally in 2025.
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FR DAVID WRITES
The autumn term is pressing on at what seems like an alarming rate! This month of October is the month of the Holy Rosary. Please don’t forget that this week on Wednesday and Saturday we have the secondary school transfer sessions for form signing (please see information below). Well done and thank you to all who participated in CAFOD’s Harvest Fast Day. The collection will be taken up at all Masses this weekend—thank you in advance for your generosity. Sending you all every blessing for the week ahead.
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FR DAVID WRITES
Last Sunday was a day of prayer in thanksgiving for the harvest. Next Friday, 7 October, is CAFOD Harvest Fast Day. Please see the notice opposite about the collection for CAFOD next weekend. Congratulations and prayers go to Fr Mark Walker, until recently Diocesan Youth Chaplain, who has been appointed Parish Priest of St Aidan’s Parish, East Acton. Many of you will remember Fr Mark who helped our parish a lot during 2018. He and his parents also came with us on our pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We wish him well in his new ministry. I hope you all have a great week ahead and I send you every blessing.
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FR DAVID WRITES
It was a pleasure for us to celebrate the ‘Welcome Mass’ with children and staff from Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School on Friday as they marked the start of the new academic year. We also hope that everyone was able to spend some time, in whatever way was most appropriate, to mark the funeral of the Queen and the end of the time of mourning and reflection, as the King’s reign begins. Wherever we find ourselves in life, there is always richness in giving thanks to God for what has been, and in praying to God for the new blessings and opportunities that lie ahead of us. Have a great week and God bless you all.