Newsletter 26th June 2016
Today is the Thirteenth Sunday of the Church’s year.
Wednesday is the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul. It is a Holy Day of obligation. Masses in the Church will be at 7.30 and 10am and 6.30 pm.
A word of thanks to the Sisters for hosting the parish retreat at the Convent on Saturday.
Next Sunday is Sea Sunday and there will be a second collection to support the work of the Apostleship of the Sea. The collection helps with the work of the Port chaplaincies around the country. My old Father, as a former sailor was always a great supporter.
To Woolwich on Tuesday evening for a meeting at the Town Hall. On Thursday Father James Hay at Woolwich will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of his ordination and there will be a special Mass.
You will recall the delay with the works to the organ in the Church were delayed earlier in the month. It now looks as if the works will take place during the last two weeks of November. There are problems in changing the date due to weddings in the Church and other tasks.
Please let me know if you would be interested in coming to the College in Spain at the end of October. The dates this year are 24th to 28th, travelling from London City by way of Madrid.
A reminder also of the possibility for a pilgrimage to Aylesford on 3rd September. Please add your name to the list in the porch if you would be interested.
I am making a second attempt at growing some basil with a fresh batch of seeds. The original shoots came up but died off after a short time – I am not sure what happened – it might have been some cold weather or maybe an attack by squirrels and birds. I will make sure that they are well protected this time. It is good to see the flowers on the two new olive trees. They seem to have taken well. The original olive tree is growing well but is finding life difficult under the shade of the pine tree.
There should be a new baby in the next week or so – a cousin for the great nephew and his sister. Their aunt was married last summer and is looking forward to her number one. For me this will be no.4 in the “great” generation. The boy – like his mother – is fearless and is looking forward to a summer of bungee jumping and tomb stoning.
A prayer for today: Lord, the strength of those who walk with you, confirm in us the knowledge of your presence, that being our companion in the way, we may so follow your will that at length our hearts may find our rest in thee.
How about making some fresh tomato sauce: chop some tomatoes and cook them gently in butter with some salt, some sugar and some dried basil. Sieve and return to a clean pan. Reheat and add some port wine. This is a perfect sauce to use with some grilled fish and can be used with eggs and even cold meat. You will note that it is not thickened with flour.
The new dive-under is taking shape at Rotherhithe and the orange army are hard at work every day. It is difficult as yet to work out the pattern for the new tracks – there are several stretches of new line but they are not connected up as yet. Journeys to London are most interesting these days.
From Salvador de Madariaga, the Spanish philosopher. He imagined that an international conference was called to define the elephant: the Germans produced a multi-volume report on the first steps of conceptualising it: the British produced a report on shooting elephants: the Russians a tortured report on whether the elephant really existed, the French a pamphlet entitled L’Elephant et L’Amour, the Americans a feasibility Study: The Elephant, How to make it Bigger and Stronger and the Polish, a fevered tract on the Elephant and the Polish Question. (You will be able to add a few more of your own.)
Best wishes
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon