Weekend message Jul 29
Our Lady of Victories
St. Pius X, & St. Alphonsus,
Narborough Lutterworth
Dear friends,
The Feast of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, the patron saint (with Our Lady of Victories) of the Lutterworth parish, is celebrated on Monday 1st August. St. Alphonsus lived through most of the 18th century. He was trained as a lawyer, and excelled for a number of years in the courtroom, until he apparently made an error in an important case. After that he changed tack, eventually being ordained priest and working in and around Naples. He applied his legal knowledge and skill to the issue of the need for the people for better Christian education, and over time he became a leading authority in the moral teaching of the Church, and wrote a number of books on the subject, as well as some devotional works. He founded a congregation of priests, who are now known in this country as the Redemptorists (from whom we obtain our newsletters!) The Pope prevailed upon him to become a Bishop, though after a time he resigned due to ill health, and returned to live with members of his congregation. He lived to the age of 90.
New Parish Priest As I mentioned two weeks ago, Bishop Patrick has appointed Father Joel Nwalozie, currently parish priest of Melbourne and Castle Donnington, as parish priest in my place.
Father Joel will take up the responsibilities of care for you all in October. I will leave on Monday 3rd October or Tuesday 4th October, and Father Joel will arrive on or before Friday 7th October. Please do pray for Father Joel as he prepares to take on these new responsibilities.
Altar Servers We have been delighted to celebrate First Holy Communion with nine of our young people recently. Now I ask these young people: would you be willing to help the community on a regular basis by becoming altar servers, learning how to assist Father John and Father John Joe, and Deacon Kevin as they celebrate Mass? I hope at least some of you are willing. Just let me know, and you can be kitted out in an alb and start to learn what is involved.
Lost Property After the First Holy Communion celebration in Narborough some keys were handed to me in the Parish Hall. Any claimants?
Welcomers at Mass and other services Everyone who attends our Church for Mass or any other service, or wishes to do so, must be made welcome. Most opf those who have done such sterling work in acting as stewards and cleaners during the last two years, to enable the Church to stay open most of the time despite the pandemic, have indicated that they would like to continue as welcomers. However, they would prefer not to have a rota, but to ‘meet and greet’ every week when they are available. However, we will need other welcomers to join this happy band.. Are you willing to be a welcomer? Please let me know
Confirmation I have met with some of our young people who are preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, and I am very grateful to them and to their families for the work they are undertaking. If there are any others who wish to receive the sacrament of Confirmation this autumn, please make contact with me as soon as possible.
Parishes’ Trip to Marlow: The coach will leave at 8am on Saturday 6th August, from Our Lady of Victories’ car park (there is plenty of parking space), and return at 7pm. If anyone who has booked to go on the trip needs a lift to and from Lutterworth to catch the coach, please let me know.
Father John Udris looks forward to welcoming us at St. Peter’s Church in Marlow at 11am (or shortly afterwards). He will give us a tour of the Church, after which he has invited me to celebrate Mass there. After Mass, there will be free time until 4pm, when he will talk to us (in the hall) about GK Chesterton becoming a Catholic – it will be just 100 years since his conversion. The coach will leave at 5pm and we expect to return to the car park at Our Lady of Victories, Lutterworth, at about 7pm.
Please bring a packed lunch, or, if you wish to eat in a cafe or restaurant, it is advisable to book – August in Marlow is likely to be busy. We hope that the weather will be good, and there are walks along the river Thames for us to enjoy. Father Udris has booked the Parish Hall for our use, so if the weather is against us we can eat our packed lunches under cover. If eating outside, please be aware that the birds are known for swooping down and taking your food!
Feast of St. Pius X (Sunday 21st August) Shared table in St. Pius X Church grounds (weather permitting – otherwise in the Parish Hall). More details later.
Parish Handbook I am very grateful to those who have helped me to produce the basis for a parish handbook. When Father Joel arrives as parish priest in October, it would be very helpful to him if we could provide contact details for those who are serving our community in these various ways, as well as their names. If anyone would prefer that their contact telephone number not be disclosed to Father Joel, please let me know.
A reminder that our Bishops have decided that the ‘Sunday Obligation’ to attend Mass is in force again from the Feast of Pentecost (5th June)
- All are encouraged to be fully vaccinated (double vaccination and booster).
- Hand sanitizers are available to be used on entry into the Church or hall.
- The windows must be open for ventilation whenever the Church or hall is being used by a number of people.
- Anyone who feels unwell or tests positive for covid-19 should not attend Church or any social activity in the parish.
Some may well wish to avoid the greater crowd of people who attend on Sunday, and the longer time that Sunday Mass lasts. So I still celebrate Mass in Narborough on Saturday morning (10am) and at Lutterworth on Saturday evening (5.30pm) – those celebrations being less well attended, so greater ‘social distance’ can still be kept; and Mass on Saturday rarely last longer than 45 minutes. There are also (usually) weekday celebrations – 10am on Monday at Narborough, and 10.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Lutterworth, for those who wish to have more space and a shorter time still, usually no more than 30 minutes.
I hope that everyone will feel able to celebrate Mass again in our Churches.
This Sunday is the Eighteenth Sunday of the Year
Confessions: I will hear confessions from 9 until 9.30am on Saturdays at St. Pius X, Narborough; and from 4.30pm to 5.00pm on the first Saturday of the month at Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus, Lutterworth.
At St. Pius X, Narborough:
Times of Mass this week & next weekend:
At St. Pius X, Narborough:
- 10am Saturday 30th;
- 9.30am Sunday 31st;
- 10am Monday 1st.
- 10am Saturday 6th;
- 9.30am Sunday 7th;
- 10am Monday 8th.
At Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus, Lutterworth:
Times of Mass this week & next weekend:
- 5.30pm on Saturday 30th;
- 11am on Sunday 31st.
- 10.30am Tuesday 2nd;
- 10.30am Thursday 4th;
- 5.30pm on Saturday 6th;
- 11am on Sunday 7th.
Mass Intentions: At Narborough the intentions for Mass this week will be Saturday (30th) Maxwell Corby RIP; Sunday (31st) John Bradshaw RIP; Monday (1st) Samuel Victor Burton RIP. Wednesday Peter and Miranda Hill RIP, Thursday People of the Parishes; Friday Sylvia Leader RIP. Next weekend Saturday (6th) Welfare of Patricia Mullen; Sunday (7th) Father Hugh Behan RIP; Monday (8th) Desmond Keohane RIP.
At Lutterworth the intentions for Mass will be Saturday (30th) People of the Parishes; Sunday (31st) Holy Souls Tuesday (2nd) Holy Souls. Thursday (4th) Private Intention. Next Saturday (6th) People of the Parishes; Sunday (7th) Holy Souls Tuesday (9th) Holy Souls.
Prayers for the living and the dead:
Please pray for Father Robert Rutledge, Gerald Bolsover, Malcolm Lowe, Eileen Copp, and for all who have died recently.
Please also pray for Stephen Janssens, Chris Joy, Michael Tingle, Angelina Kilbane, Maria Matkovits, Tara Viljoen, John Mather, Cathy Mansell, Vivian Kettle, Ann Spurrier, Beulah Blomfield, Diana Coughlin, Tony Thorlby, Hayley & Kaci Dunnill, John Southern, Monica Teeling, Peggy Merrell, Suzanne Foxon, Jim Oxley, John Burns-Sweeney, Tom McDermott, Dave Knapper, Teresa Maugham, Mary Dunne, and Juanita Zaman and for all who are ill.
Please let me know of any others who have died, or anyone who is ill and asks for prayers.
A prayer for Ukraine
Loving God, we pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that you will be close to them and protect them.
We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.
We pray for the world that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need.
May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world. Amen.
The following link is for the Leicester Ukrainian Community website set up to advise how to help:
https://linktr.ee/KalynaHome?fbclid=IwAR1276GMobH47ddWizyn5Mj6vlP89le1XB5JNuhoHjS1p5r0J0Or_Lji0jQ
Poverty Challenge Following the pandemic, many households now face new hardships as prices rise. Caritas Social Action Network, the Catholic agency addressing poverty and injustice in England and Wales, has released a new booklet to increase awareness of Catholic Social Teaching on poverty, and to inform local responses. This can be downloaded from www.csan.org.uk
Refugees from Ukraine CSAN is in close contact with the UK government on responding to the war in Ukraine. Guidance on how Catholic households and groups can support refugees from Ukraine is available on the CSAN website and updated as new information becomes available. www.csan.org.uk/ukraine
Tools With A Mission is a charity which has succeeded in transforming the lives of many people in Africa, offering them the means to support themselves and their families. But the charity needs lots more volunteer tool collectors. To find out more please visit their website www.timefortwam.uk or contact the volunteer co-ordinator Paul Daley by email pauld@twam.uk
Our Lady Queen of Peace Pilgrimage to Walsingham Monday 29th August, led by Father Anthony Meredith IC. A coach will leave St. Patrick’s, Beaumont Leys Lane, at 8am. Cost £15. Contact Paul Spencer 077 1056 7183 for more information and to book a place.
Scrabble Group: Mondays 2pm – 4 pm for relaxed scrabble. At Lutterworth Catholic Church Hall. No winners, beginners welcome, just fun playing scrabble; cake and hot drink.
Evergreens: Bingo on Tuesdays from 1.30 pm until 4pm approx., in St. Pius X Narborough Parish Hall. Entry £2. All welcome.
Next Sunday is the Nineteenth Sunday of the Year
Parish Priest’s contact details address 52 Leicester Road, Narborough. Leicester. LE19 2DF; telephone (0116) 2863676; email johnhadley1971@gmail.com
With my prayers for every blessing, Father John
