Newsletter 7th November 2021
The poor widow in today’s Gospel reading could hardly have ever dreamed that her trip to the Temple that day would be remembered by Christians for centuries to come. This brief episode has many contrasts that carry important truths for us today. One contrast is between the widow, who gave little, and the contributors who gave a great deal more. The Lord remarks that the little she gave represented her very self. The Lords emphasis is not on quantity but quality. A thought for each of us to ponder in the week ahead.
November is the Month of the Holy Souls. 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 or dropped through the letter box of the Rectory. The names of your deceased relatives and friends and all for whom you wish to pray will then be placed in a basket close to the Altar throughout the month of November and at the end of November I will divide these 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.
The First Parish Meeting as part of the diocesan synodal process will to be held on: Tuesday 9th November in the link room or the upper hall depending upon numbers – after evening Mass from 7.30pm -8.30 pm. There will be a period of Exposition at 6 pm with special intentions for the Synodal Process, followed by Benediction at 6.40 pm and Mass at 7 pm. The meeting will consider what a synod is, and how we as a parish can contribute to the Synodal Process. We will be considering 3 important questions:
1. What is my dream for the Church?
2. To achieve this dream, what do we need to stop doing?
3. What are we doing that needs to be developed or done differently?
Let us pray that as a parish we may be guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit to discern more fully the Church we are called to proclaim in the Third Millennium.
Wednesday 10th November – Requiem Mass at 9.30 am. At this Mass we will welcome clients and volunteers from The Passage.This year The Passage are marking their 20th Anniversary and at this special Mass in the month of The Holy Souls we shall pray for all clients and volunteers from The Passage who have died during this period. We shall also be giving thanks for the life and faithful witness of Mike Monaghan from our parish, who died earlier this summer, and who worked so tirelessly in helping this important outreach initiative to succeed.
Thursday 11th November is Armistice Day and I invite you on this day to pray for peace within our world. Sunday 14th November is Remembrance Sunday and the 9.30 am Mass will be a Requiem Mass for all who gave their lives in the service of their country and for our freedom, during the past two World Wars and all subsequent conflicts since. At This Mass before the final Blessing there will be an Act of Remembrance and the laying of wreaths before the altar.
Thursday 11th November I shall be hosting the Deanery meeting in the Rectory at 11 am. On this day there will be a Service of Word and Holy Communion in place of the normal 11 am Mass. I am grateful to our Eucharistic Ministers for making this possible.
Looking ahead, on Sunday 14th November, at 3 pm we shall go to the local cemetery for the Blessing of Graves – I invite you to come and join us there that afternoon. This will be a simple liturgy of prayer and blessing with holy water of our Catholic graves. A chance too to pray for the repose of the souls of family members and friends buried in the cemetery. Please meet at the stone archway as you enter the main cemetery gates.
Please keep in your prayers our First Holy Communion candidates who made their First Confessions on Saturday morning. They will receive their First Holy Communion in January next year.
On Tuesday 2nd November I received word that Paddy Walsh died at home. I know that he will have been known to many of you. I had the opportunity with Andrew to visit him and his wife last week, and I was able then to give him the Last Rites of the Church. We pray now for the happy repose of his soul, as we remember in our prayers his widow and their family at this sad time. Paddy’s Funeral Mass will take place at St. Mary’s on Friday 19th November at 10 am.
On Friday 5th of November, I was informed of the death of Captain Oliver Lynch. He and his wife Therese, whom I have been visiting at home, have been long time parishioners of St. Mary’s, but since the Covid pandemic have been unable to come to Mass as Oliver was shielding. Oliver was admitted into hospital in Lincoln a couple of weeks ago and died peacefully in the early hours of 5th November. Please keep in your prayers Therese and her family at this very sad time.
With my prayers for you and for your families during the coming week,
Your friend and Parish Priest,
Fr. Jonathan
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IMPORTANT Newsletters – Our Parish Newsletters are available to be viewed and downloaded from our Parish website.
The online version will not include the Sunday Message
The Sunday Message and Newsletter will be available to download but this will be password protected – the password can be obtained from the Parish.
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2021 7th November – Newsletter – Download
2021 7th November – Newsletter (Including Sunday Message – Password Protected)– Download
2021 7th November – LOOK – (Password Protected)– Download