Weekend Message Jan 2

Dear friends,

 

I hope you have all enjoyed Christmas this year, despite the difficulties and the strangeness imposed by outside forces; and I wish you every blessing in the New Year.

 

May God, the source and origin of all things, pour out his blessings in abundance upon you, and keep you safe from harm throughout the year. May he order your days and your deeds in his peace, grant your prayers in this and in every place, and lead you happily to eternal life. (From the Form of Blessing for the New Year)

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.

(Minnie Haskins)

 

Deacon Kevin O’Connor, Father John Joe Maloney, Canon Owen O’Neill, and I, all thank you very much for your cards and gifts at this time.

 

Churches open again for the public celebration of Mass: St. Pius X, Narborough, and Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus, Lutterworth, are open for the public celebration of Mass. Although we are now in Tier 4, the information I have received is that Churches may still open for public worship. Arrangements are the same as before the recent lockdown began. Masks or face coverings will be required for those attending Mass (except for those exempted from wearing them); it is necessary for those attending Church to sanitize their hands on entering; and all need to keep social distance from each other (unless they are members of the same household or family). Young persons under the age of sixteen years, and all persons who suffer from physical or mental disability, must be accompanied at all times by a responsible adult. Please remember that we are not allowed to kneel down while in Church: please stand or sit as appropriate, but please do not kneel.

 

The Church must be sanitized after every public celebration of Mass, and stewards must also be on duty for those celebrations. I am very grateful to the stewards & cleaners who have offered to be available to support the public celebration of Mass.

 

Please remember that it will be essential to book a place at Mass on every occasion that you wish to attend. It is not permitted to book for every Sunday, or even for a number of weeks. Please also remember to bring a mask to wear when coming to Mass. 

 

Booking Arrangements for next week and next weekend:

 

At Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus:

 

Please ring 079 0113 4564 on the following days, and at these times. It is not possible to leave a message outside these times:

 

• Monday 4^th January between 9.30am and 10.30am or between 6pm and 7pm
• Wednesday 6^th between 9.30am and 10.15am or between 6pm and 7pm
• Friday 8^th between 9.30am and 10.30am or between 6pm and 7pm

 

Times of Mass next week and weekend:

• 10.30am Tuesday 5^th January
• 10.30am Wednesday 6^th;
• 11am Sunday 10^th.

 

At St. Pius X, Narborough:

You may book by email: johnhadley1971@gmail.com  or by phone: (0116) – 2863676

at the following times on the following days:

 

• between 7pm and 8pm on Monday 4^th January ;
• between 7pm and 8pm on Tuesday 5^th;
• between 7pm and 8pm on Thursday 7^th;
• between 7pm and 8pm on Friday 8^th.

 

Times of Mass for next weekend:

• 10am Saturday 9^th January;
• 10am Sunday 10^th:
• 10am Monday 11^th.

 

At Narborough the intentions for Mass this week will be: Saturday (2^nd January) Gerry d’Araujo RIP; Sunday (3^rd January) Danny & Robert Murphy RIP; Monday (4^th January) Deceased relations & friends of Ian & Barbara Abbott.  Wednesday Muriel Foster & Susan Moon RIP; Thursday Deceased family & friends of A&M Bunyan; Friday Father Terence Fellows RIP. Next weekend Saturday (9^th January) Neville Wilson de Roze RIP; Sunday (10^th January) Deceased friends & relations of Mrs. M Moore; Monday (11^th January) Deceased members of the Morrissey family.

 

Prayers for the living and the dead: please pray for Linda Burton, Sister Ursula O’Keefe, Michael Garvey, Peggy Ward, Nicholas Coote, and all who have died recently; and for Susan Moore, Andrew Madden, Joseph Armeni, Dave Knapper, Teresa Maugham, Debbie Bourke, Elizabeth Fullerton, Mary Dunne, Ranjit Mann, and Juanita Zaman who are seriously ill. Please let me know of any others who have died, or anyone who is ill and asks for prayers.

 

First Confession and Holy Communion: Candidates must be in Year 3 at school (or above). Confirmation: Candidates must be in secondary school (or later). Please let me know as soon as possible, and certainly before the start of December, of any candidates for these sacraments. So far I have received four applications for First Confession and Holy Communion, and five applications for Confirmation. I have obtained the books for use in these preparations; we will see how we may be able to start preparation for these sacraments in the New Year.

 

LACY and the Uniform Groups celebrate THE EPIPHANY!

On Wednesday 6^th January  6.30 p.m.  LACY will be holding a Celebration with the Uniform Groups of St. Mary’s South Wigston on the Feast of the Epiphany via Zoom!   Enjoying to bring forth our prayers and actions as gifts to the child Jesus just as the Wise Men did.  A special time to think about the distance that the Wise Men journeyed to find the child King!  Fr. Simon Gillespie will be leading us in the celebration and a warm invitation is extended to all, especially to those who are involved in Scouting and Guiding.  Invite your groups to be with us – we’d love to see you!  Come and join us for this time together and share in the reflections, prayers and fun time led by our young people and their leaders. For more information contact paulinepayne@hotmail.com.  The link in for Zoom is as follows: ID 875 2705 0411 and the Password: 588674.   WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL!!

 

Reminders from previous weeks:

 

Recycling Textiles: At the moment the firm are no longer collecting in the Leicester area and has no plans to restart collections here. If anyone knows of any other organization willing to collect clothes and other textiles in our area, please let me know.

 

The corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry (and thirsty), clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, give shelter to the homeless, bury the dead.

 

The spiritual works of mercy: counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish the sinner, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and for the dead.

 

MARRIAGE CARE: Our marriage preparation and support service enable couples to nurture faithful and fruitful marriages that last, as we draw on Catholic teaching and contemporary research to help couples focus on the quality of their relationship with each other.

 

Our latest resource, Preparing Together Anywhere, is facilitated by two trained volunteers via webcam. Groups of up to 7 engaged couples attend three 90-minute sessions over a period of 3 weeks, with additional resources to enable couples to reflect more deeply in between sessions on the commitment being entered into. Wedding plans may be on hold for some time, but couples need not put their preparation for marriage on hold.

 

Through our relationship counselling service (now available via webcam), we accompany, with compassion and practical wisdom, couples who find themselves in need of support on their journey. Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we know that increases in family stress and impending threat of relationship breakdown will plunge many more into financial difficulties. We are unique in asking couples who come to us for counselling only to pay what they can afford, reflecting our commitment to support those most in need. Please encourage couples to connect with us today at: www.marriagecare.org.uk.

 

Standing Orders: I will provide the parish Bank details to anyone who would like to donate by Standing Order or similar electronic means – many of you already do so (and I am very grateful indeed). I can provide standing order mandates for anyone who wishes – please just ask.

 

Gift Aid: I have copies of the form to complete, so if you are a taxpayer and would like the tax paid on your contributions to be given to the parish, please ask me for a form.

 

With best wishes to you all, and assuring you all of my prayers, Father John