St Mary’s Blackheath
Newsletter 26th February 2023
Sunday Masses: Saturday 6.30pm first Mass of Sunday
– Sunday 9.30 and 11am and 5pm.
Monday to Friday: Mass at 8am.
Saturday 10am and 6.30pm
Confessions: Saturday 12 to 1
Today is the First Sunday of Lent with the familiar gospel of the story of the Temptations of the Lord in the wilderness.
I am sure that you will be keeping Lent as a special time of prayer and penance as we prepare for Easter.
The purple vestments appear again today, and we will be using them until the end of Lent. During the week we normally celebrate the Lenten Masses but Wednesday of this coming week, March 1st, is the feast of St. David, the patron of Wales.
As a Lenten devotion, there will be Stations of the Cross at 4pm this afternoon. They usual take about 30 minutes and you may wish to stay on for the 5pm Mass.
Next Friday is the Lent Fast Day for Cafod. Envelopes will be available today for you to return next Sunday. At the end of Mass today members of the Justice and Peace Group will speak about the work of Cafod.
The Confirmation Group have a class on Thursday evening at 6.30 pm.
I have to go up to the North of England on Thursday for a conference and will be away overnight. This means that I will not be here for a Mass on Friday morning – but I will arrange for the Church to be opened, for the usual prayers and for the distribution of Holy Communion.
During this past week Bishop Philip Moger was ordained as an auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese. We send him our prayers and best wishes. His previous appointment was Director of the Shrine of Our Blessed Lady at Walsingham.
A basic Spanish stew which is suitably penitential: soak some white beans overnight. Cook them slowly with some pieces of ham, maybe some chorizo, a little chopped onion, some garlic and some paprika. Cook very slowly and you should have a thick stew. This is a popular dishes with variations in different parts of Spain, but always a good winter warmer.
A Prayer: Lord, you make all things work together for the good of those who love you. Kindle the abiding fire of you love in our hearts. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
And some Donne
So my devout fitts come and go away
Like a fantastique Ague: save that here
Those are my best days, when I shake with feare.
Set our hearts on fire with love of you. O Christ our God, that in that flame we may love you with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls, and with all our strength, so that, keeping your commandments, we may glorify you, the giver of all gifts. Amen.
Plenty of spring flowers in the garden, and some of the trees are in: blossom: in spite of Lent, time to look forward to a wonderful summer.
Hang on a moment, lads: I’ve got an idea.
Best wishes to you all: Monsignor Nicholas Rothon