Sunday 24 November 2024
Christ the King
This week, the House of Commons will debate and then vote on the proposed Private Member’s Bill before Parliament to legalise assisted suicide. Whenever the Sovereign opens Parliament and gives the Speech
that opens the Parliamentary Session, the text of the Address to both Houses of Parliament ends with a prayer: My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels. That must be our prayer this coming week, too. That the Holy Spirit will direct the course of the debate and the vote that follows.
To this end, on Friday morning at 7.30am, I will offer a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit to ask God to grant the graces of wisdom and discernment to our elected representatives and their free vote in this incredibly significant and moral question. Please come and pray with me, if you are able.
Father Edmund
Christ the King
This Sunday marks the climax of the
Church’s Year and the last Sunday of
Ordinary Time
Advent 2024
Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, marking the period of preparation for the birth of the
baby Jesus at Christmas
Holy Souls
As November draws to a close, we
remember all those who have been on our November List and all the departed
Prayer Requests
Please pray for: Pat, Edna, Lowell Dawson, Anne Donnelly, David Fitzgeraldson, Jean Bowles, Tony Kemp, Pat McMahon, Margaret Kenny, Antoinette Denney, Francis Ellis, Babies Avery and Vincent White, Christine Fernandes, Christine Brown, Kath Leahey, Jim Shepherd, Baby Isaac, Joanne, Michael, Sophie, Elliott, David, Karen Seymour, Mavis O’Donnell, Baby Alana, Honora Ellis, Marie, and Sheila.
Please pray for the repose the souls of: Phylis Seymour, George Fairbrother, Ellen Shone, Ian Hobson, Patricia Done, Pietro Zavettieri, and Patricia Harrop.
New Lectionaries
This weekend, the final weekend of the present Lectionaries, I will place the new Lectionaries on the lower Sanctuary for you to
have a look at and I will bless them at the end of all the Masses. My sincere thanks, once again, to all who gave towards the purchase. We will use the new Lectionaries for the first time next Sunday 1 December, the first Sunday of Advent, when the new translation to be used takes effect.
New Sunday Missals
Sign Up Sheet at the back of Church for you to order your Missal. Please write your details on the sheet. God willing, the Missals will arrive ahead of 1 December, too.
Gospel of Luke Series
We resume this Wednesday, 27 November. All welcome to these talks in Our Lady Star of the Parish Centre.
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Talk 2 will explore the Annunciation to Zechariah, something that you may never have heard of! We know of the Annunciation to
our Lady, but who is Zechariah and what is this narrative about? Wednesday 27 November at 6.30pm. Please be sure to bring a Bible with you, as we will be delving into the Old Testament and pushing beyond Luke into the New Testament more broadly.
Assisted Suicide Bill: Vote in Parliament
I received an appeal from the Bishop’s Office that I share with you. Bishop Mark has been contacted by the Director of Operations at ‘Right to Life’ regarding the disability campaign group Not Dead Yet UK, who are a network of people with disabilities who oppose assisted suicide. Last weekend postcards from Not Dead Yet UK
have been delivered to every Catholic church in the country. Parishioners can use these to easily contact their MP to encourage them to vote against assisted suicide and I encourage you do to so. Bishop Mark asks that I distribute these cards to you and to encourage you to send a postcard to our MPs in good time before
the vote on 29 November.
CAFOD Disasters Emergency Committee
Catherine Jones writes:
CAFOD has been in touch to express thanks for the generous
support which the parish gave to the recent Harvest Day Appeal which will be used to support its ongoing development work in the poorest parts of the world. They have also asked us to highlight the Disasters Emergency Committee Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, of which CAFOD is part, which is raising funds to help families who are caught up in the terrible conflict in the Middle East. The funds which CAFOD raises through the appeal will support CAFOD's local Caritas partners in Gaza and
Lebanon as they continue to provide essential food, water and shelter. If you want to give to the Appeal, you can do so at cafod.org.uk/give
Missio End of Year Box Collections
Noreen, our Missio parish secretary has asked if red box holders can bring their boxes to Church and hand them into the Sacristy for emptying. The boxes will then be placed on the back of
Church near the hymn books for collection. Many thanks for all your support.
Special Mass of the Holy Spirit
I will to offer a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit on Friday at 7.30am at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church ahead of the day’s debate and vote in the House of Commons, asking that the Holy Spirit guide the exchange and the outcome of the vote. This moral issue is urgent and we have a spiritual duty to pray that this Bill is defeated. I have arranged the Holy Mass for 7.30am to make it possible for many to attend: working people, children and young people, our teachers and school staff, our retired and those heading off to work might make a special effort to come to Mass that morning to unite in prayer to safeguard the most vulnerable.
Christmas Celebration: Donations
Kathryn and Matthew Joyce and their team
write:
We will have a planning meeting about the Christmas Celebration this Tuesday 26 November at 7pm at St Saviour. Ahead of the Christmas Celebration on Sunday 15 December after the 11am Mass, we are inviting donations of:
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Beauty sets
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Unwanted gifts
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Raffle prizes
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Teddy bears
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Bottles (alcohol and non-alcoholic)
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Chocolates
Cakes also would be needed, but we will invite these nearer the date itself.
TEAMS4U Christmas Shoeboxes 2024
Eileen Brennan writes: Thank you for the generosity of everyone who supported the Christmas Shoebox Appeal. We have sent 58
Shoeboxes to TEAMS4U. They were collected last week from St Thomas & All Saints Church on Whitby Road. The total dispatched was 625 Shoeboxes. TEAMS4U thanks all parishioners and schools who supported them. This year your Shoebox Gifts will be heading to vulnerable children & families in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and Romania.