St. Mary’s,
Blackheath
Newsletter: 26th March 2017
Mass times: Saturday: 6.30pm (first Mass of Sunday)
Sunday: 9.30 and 11am and 7.30pm
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10am
Tuesday, Thursday: 7.30am
Eucharistic Service: Tuesday 10am
There is a Mass at the Convent on Friday evenings at 6.30pm.
Confessions: Saturday 12 to 1pm
Welcome to the Parish magazine.
Today, as a special Lenten devotion, there will be sing Vespers at 5.30pm.
This replaces the normal Lenten Stations of the Cross.
We are now half way through Lent – Laetare Sunday from the first words of the Latin Introit – and we use the Rose coloured vestments today.
Next Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Lent and the statues and the crosses in the Church will be veiled in purple until Easter Sunday.
Always some unusual dishes from the College in Spain: cook some broccoli until it remains firm and drain thoroughly. Place in a making dish and add some diced ham and some almonds and sprinkle with some grated cheese. Place in a hot oven until the cheese melts.
The old paper £5 notes will no longer be valid from the beginning of May so please remember to use them before then. I am looking through the various boxes in the Church to ensure that none are left behind. The next task will be sorting the new pound coins from the old ones as the Bank asks that they should go in separate bags.
A prayer from St. Thomas More: O my sweet Saviour Christ, which in thine undeserved love towards mankind so kindly wouldst suffer the painful death of the cross, suffer me not to be cold or lukewarm in love again towards thee.
The garden is at its best at this time of year: the buds are appearing on the trees and there are plenty of spring flowers. Now the days are warmer, I am attending to a few tasks. I am cleaning out my herb pots – some things have survived the winter – and arranging some new planting. As always, the basil is the great challenge as this is a favourite for the snails and the birds. Plenty of parsley and chives but I must try something new this year.
Some wisdom from David Lodge: He understood …..Walt Whitman who laid end to end words never seen in each other’s company before outside of a dictionary, and Herman Melville who split the atom of the traditional novel in the effort to make whaling a universal metaphor.
The boy is looking forward to his school holiday – plenty of days to spend with his grandfather, polishing cars and as a special treat, a trip on their local steam railway up from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead. His small sister wants to share in everything, but as yet does not quite understand what it is all about.
An even though it is Lent, we can still enjoy a verse from Iolanthe
And while the House of Peers withholds
Its legislative hand,
And noble statesmen do not itch
To interfere with matters which
They do not understand
As bright will shine Great Britain’s rays
As in King George’s glorious days!
Best wishes to you all
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon