Newsletter- 33rd Week of Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners
This weekend we keep at all our Sunday Masses the Diocesan Feast of our Patron: St Hugh of Lincoln The Bishop has decreed that since the Feast of St Hugh of Lincoln falls at the weekend this year, and considering his significance as co Patron with Our Lady Immaculate of our Diocese, that this weekend in the Diocese of Nottingham the Feast of Saint Hugh of Lincoln, will replace the Thirty-Third Sunday of the Year. The Bishop hopes that this can be an opportunity for us all as a Diocese to celebrate, the life of Saint Hugh together, and to seek his prayerful patronage on all that we are currently doing.
St. Hugh of Lincoln, known as “the Hammerer of Kings,” had frequent encounters with two of England’s most headstrong monarchs—Henry II and Richard the Lion-Heart. Hugh, the son of Burgundian nobility, went from France to England as a young Carthusian monk in 1180 to be Prior of the monastery Henry II was establishing at Witham, Somerset in penance for the murder of St. Thomas Becket. When Hugh arrived, he found no provision had been made to house the people who were being evicted from their homes to make room for the monastery. He immediately refused to take office until the king had compensated the people “down to the last penny.”
Six years later he became Bishop of Lincoln, and he used all the authority of his office to restore ecclesiastical discipline among his clergy. He was especially strict about the evil practice, by some of the clergy, of extracting improper fees. Hugh especially loved the outcast and oppressed. He reached out to those afflicted with leprosy, the sick and the poor. Hugh would wash and dry leper’s feet, sit with them and embrace and kiss them one by one.
During the epidemic of Jew-baiting which broke out in England at the time of the Third Crusade (1189-93), Hugh single-handedly faced an armed and angry mob on three occasions (once in his own cathedral) and persuaded them to spare their victims. It is not surprising that when he died in 1200, Jews wept in the streets of Lincoln, crying out, “This was a true servant of the great God.”
In those days England was still wracked by antagonism between Saxon and Norman, an aftermath of the Norman Conquest of 1060. Hugh, by his personal charm, his devotion to Christ, his pastoral concern for the poor and oppressed, and his courage in speaking the truth in love to King Henry and King Richard—both known for their murderous opposition to the Church—became the first mutual hero to a hitherto divided society.
In 1192 he began the repair and expansion of the Cathedral in Lincoln (damaged in an earthquake in 1185), To many historians, Hugh, despite his inability to speak the language, was the first true Englishman and has been termed by some as: “the best bishop of the middle ages.”
St. Hugh’s symbols are a swan, for monastic tranquillity, a Star of David in the crook of a crozier for his defence of the Jewish peoples, and a chalice with the Christ-child and the Host, as the pledge and seal of his priestly vocation.
Second Collection in support the 18 Hospices throughout the Diocese of Nottingham
This weekend at all our Sunday Masses celebrated throughout the Diocese of Nottingham the Bishop has asked that we have a mandatory Second Collection to help to support the important work of the 18 Hospices situated throughout our diocese. Bishop Patrick wrote recently in October, in his ad clerum to the clergy of the diocese:
“You will be aware of The Terminally ILL Adults (End of Life) Bill, which is currently before the House of Commons, and will receive its second reading on Friday 29th November 2024. In my recent Pastoral Letter on this theme, I spoke of the invaluable palliative care provided by hospices in our country, and how they are often underfunded. As well as encouraging our parishioners to pray that the assisted suicide Bill should not become law, I would like us, as a Diocese, to more actively support the 18 Hospices located throughout our Diocese; their work is a practical response to those who seek the alleviation of pain and suffering at the end of their lives, and our support would demonstrate a practical antithesis to those who are campaigning to allow life to be legally ended. National Hospice Week falls in October, and coincides with Prisoners’ Week, and is close to the CAFOD Harvest Fast Day, and Missio’s World Mission Sunday.
I hope to be able to set an annual date next year for a regular second collection to be taken in support of the hospices in our diocese, but this year in light of the current Bill before Parliament, I am directing that a mandatory second collection will be taken in all our parishes at the Sunday Masses celebrated on Saturday evening 16th November and Sunday 17th November, coinciding with the Patronal Feast of Saint Hugh of Lincoln.”
Please be as generous as you can through your financial support of our second collection this weekend. All monies given by you will go directly to the Finance Office to be distributed to the 18 Hospices in our Diocese. Your generosity in this way will help them to continue their important palliative care and loving support of the people in their care coming to the end of their lives here on earth.
World Day of the Poor
This year’s World Day of the Poor is celebrated this weekend and has as its theme The prayer of the poor rises up to God (cf. Ecclesiasticus 21:5). The Pope’s message for the 8th World Day of the Poor invites us all to: ‘be friends of the poor, following in the footsteps of Jesus’. Parishes are encouraged to use this opportunity to reflect on the needs in our local communities, and how we can better reach out with spiritual and material support to the most vulnerable and needy within our local communities.
November – Month of the Holy Souls.
‘The Holy Souls – November Dead List’- You will find in the entrance to church the November Dead List Envelopes, and printed sheets for writing the names of deceased family members and friends to be included in the envelope with a donation, which can either be given to me personally or dropped through the letter box of the Rectory. The names of your deceased relatives and friends will then be placed in the basket close to the Altar throughout the month of November to be remembered each day at Mass, after which I will divide the names up into special Masses for the intentions of ‘The Holy Souls – November Dead List.’ These Masses will be offered by me throughout the year.
With my prayers for you and for your families as we celebrate together and with great joy the Patronal Feast of our Diocesan Patron, St Hugh of Lincoln,
Your parish priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
2024 17th November – Newsletter – Download