Weekend message June 3

Our Lady of Victories

St. Pius X,                                               & St. Alphonsus,

Narborough                                        Lutterworth

 

Dear friends,

 

Pentecost: The Feast of the Holy Spirit The prophets looked forward to God’s Holy Spirit being poured out over the people. They foresaw the Holy Spirit acting in two ways: as God breathing into individuals and groups of people, inspiring them, and as God sending a wind to shake things up and to do surprising things.

 

St. Luke’s gospel records an early event in Our Lord’s preaching, when he addresses the Synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath Day, quoting the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord…has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, new sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free, and to proclaim a year of favour from God.”

 

On Pentecost Day we hear that the Holy Spirit then comes upon the disciples for the same purpose: the Holy Spirit of God now inspires all the followers of Our Lord to perform the same service – and perhaps to rise to even greater heights in doing the work of the Lord.

 

Whereas Our Lord preached to his own people, and from time to time travelled a little way outside the Jewish nation to preach and to heal, now the disciples find themselves proclaiming the Word of God to all people. Many people from a variety of nations had come to Jerusalem for the Feast, and these all heard the preaching of Peter and the disciples, and people from many different nations and languages believed and were baptized.

 

St. Peter tells those who are listening that the Holy Spirit is both the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Jesus Risen from the dead and now reigning with his Father in heaven. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples will proclaim the Word of God to peoples throughout the world, and in doing so, it is Our Lord Jesus himself who will be proclaiming the Word through them, and Jesus himself will be present in every corner of the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s breath will inspire individuals and groups to find ways of proclaiming Christ; meanwhile God’s wind will cause people to gather together as the Church, to be a witness to faith in God and to the love of God.

 

The Holy Spirit is alive in the Church today. We must trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to inspire each of us in our faith and in our love for God and for one another; and to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to do surprising things for us in our own time, finding new ways to be the communion of Christ, and being surprised by the ways in which God’s wind will blow us about and gather us together again.

 

Bishop Patrick encourages us all to be more missionary, to look out to those who are not members of our communities, and to find new ways of organizing ourselves so that we may be more effective. Over the next few weeks I will present ideas that have been put forward to start this process. Whatever we do, we know we must trust in the Holy Spirit to lead us in ways we have not yet even considered.

 

In future weeks I will publish the ideas which came from the ‘Deanery Roadshow’ meeting at St. Patrick’s on Monday 30^th May

 

A reminder that our Bishops have decided that the ‘Sunday Obligation’ to attend Mass will be in force again from the Feast of Pentecost (5^th June)

 

Many parishes have relaxed the restrictions that were in force after the lockdown. In our parishes we have kept most of them in place, because we wish to provide a safe environment for everyone who wishes to worship in our Churches. That means that  until further notice:

 

• All are encouraged to be fully vaccinated (double vaccination and booster).
• All (except those who are exempt) are still required to wear masks or face coverings while in Church, to protect themselves and others.
• 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.

 

Parishes’ Trip to Marlow It seems that the most popular date for travel to Marlow is Saturday 6^th August. Thank you to all who have signed up for the trip. I hope that we will be able to publish further details shortly.

 

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

 

Our young people who have been preparing at Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus will make their First Holy Communion during the 11am Mass on Sunday 19^th June (the Feast of Corpus Christi). Our young people who have been preparing at St. Pius X will make their First Holy Communion during Mass at 10.30am on Sunday 26^th June. Please note that Mass will be an hour later that day.

 

This Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost (Whitsunday)  

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 Saturday4^th June;
• 9.30am Sunday 5^th;
• 10am Monday 6^th.
• 10am Saturday11^th June;
• 9.30am Sunday 12^th;
• 10am Monday 13^th.

 

At Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus, Lutterworth:

Times of Mass this week & next weekend:

• 5.30pm on Saturday 4^th;
• 11am on Sunday 5^th.
• 10.30am Tuesday 7^th June;
• 10.30am Thursday 9^th;
• 5.30pm on Saturday 11^th;
• 11am on Sunday 12^th.

 

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

 

Caritas Social Action Network: 1. 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

 

2. 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

 

Mass Intentions: At Narborough the intentions for Mass this week will be Saturday (4^th) People of the Parishes; Sunday (5^th) Diane & Clive Jaynes RIP; Monday (6^th) Private Intention.. Wednesday Hilda Beer RIP, Thursday Gerry Bannister RIP; Friday Jim Hadley RIP. Next weekend Saturday (11^th) Graham Wheat RIP; Sunday (12^th) Alan Gower RIP; Monday (13^th) Private Intention.

 

At Lutterworth the intentions for Mass will be: Saturday (4^th) People of the Parishes; Sunday (5^th) Father Thomas Delaney RIP. Tuesday (7^th) Holy Souls. Thursday (9^th) Private Intention. Next Saturday (11^th) People of the Parishes; Sunday (12^th) Holy Souls. Tuesday (14^th) Holy Souls.

 

Prayers for the living and the dead:

 

Please pray for Malcolm Lowe, Martyn Leader, Willow Coates, Suzanne Cole, Adam & Jennie Reed, Bernadette Stean, David Janssens, Margaret Pugh ,Ashley Adams, David Sygrove, Noreen Merrion, Marie Almey, and for all who have died recently.

 

Please also pray for Maria Matkovits, Tara Viljoen, John Mather, Gerald Bolsover, 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.

 

REMINDER!  COME WITH LACY (Leicestershire Active Catholic Youth) to join Bishop Patrick on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham  SATURDAY 11^TH JUNE 2022  Pilgrimage Mass, Picnics, Holy Mile Procession and Benediction

We have now booked a coach and there are still some places left!  £12 per person or £30 per family of 4 people plus.  Coach departing at 8.00 a.m. from St. Peter’s Hinckley Road, St. Mary’s Wigston 8.10 a.m., St. Thomas More Knighton 8.20 a.m. and The Immaculate Conception, Oadby, 8.30 a.m.  Fish and chip stop on return journey and drop offs at Churches in reverse order.  A warm invitation to all young people, families and friends of all ages to join us. Contact us now!  Don’t miss out!  paulinepayne@hotmail.com or mobile: 07885 187374.

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. Please contact Jo 01455 554298.

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 Feast of The Blessed Trinity

Bishop Patrick wishes our two parishes to become a single parish. Please let me know if you think of any advantages or disadvantages of merging the two parishes into a single parish.

 

In the meantime there are some steps that we must take:

 

• We need to compile and publish a combined ‘parish handbook’ for our two parishes, detailing who is responsible for the various aspects of parish life;

 

• We need to arrange a joint meeting of the two parish finance committees, to review our finances and resources, and to consider the spending priorities over the next five years (this should take place when the accounts for the current financial year, just ending, have been finalized);

 

• We need to consider how to form a parish committee covering both parishes.

 

• A parish trip will be arranged for members of both parishes this summer. (See above)

 

• Possible difficulties were raised concerning the idea that telephone contact would be made with those unable to join us at Mass at the present time. Consequently, this idea will have to be delayed for a while until those difficulties can be dealt with.

 

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 Easter blessing, Father John