Newsletter 27th February 2022

St Mary’s Blackheath

Newsletter 27th February 2022

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: Saturday12 to 1

Today is the Eighth Sunday of the Church’s year. It is the Sunday before Lent and at one time was known as Quinquagesima Sunday – fifty days before Easter.

Tuesday, March 1st is the Feast of St. David, patron of Wales.

The 2nd of March is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It is a season of prayer and of penance as we prepare for the celebration of Easter.  

The penitential rite at the beginning of Mass is replaced with the blessing of the Ashes which takes place after the gospel.  The ashes are prepared from leaves of the previous year – you are marked on the forehead with the words “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return”.  A solemn and salutary warning from the youngest to the eldest.

There will be a Mass in the Church at 8am in the morning and an additional Mass at 6.30pm in the evening.

A reminder that Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence.

The purple vestments will appear once again and will be used for the Lent Masses.

From next Sunday, the 6th of March there will be Stations of the Cross in the Church at 6pm as a Lenten devotion.

I expect you will be making pancakes on Tuesday so here is my recipe for the pancake mixture. 200 grms of sifted plain flour, a pinch of salt, 3 beaten eggs and a tablespoon of oil. Gradually mix in about a pint of milk and leave for an hour or so before frying the pancakes. Serve with a sprinkle of sugar and some lemon juice.

George Herbert on Lent:

Yet instruct us to improve our fast

By starving sinne and taking such repast

As may our faults control:

That every man may revell at his doore,

Not in his parlour, banqueting the poore,

And among those his soul.

I have already mentioned this to you but the Archbishop has asked that we should have a special collection today for the support of the Sick and Retired Priests of the Diocese. I have left out a box for your donations and possibly you may wish to use one of the envelopes.

Teach us, O Lord, to fear without being afraid; to fear thee in love that we may love thee without fear; through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

May God the Lord bless us and make us perfect and holy in his sight. May the riches of his glory abound in us. May he instruct us with the word of truth, inform us with the gospel of salvation, and enrich us with his love. Through Christ Our Lord.

In the coming weeks, we will be undertaking some work on the trees in the garden. Some of the older trees have dead branches and they need to be cut out. Also the two pines are far too big and need to be cut back. This should help the small olive tree near the house – to survive.

With best wishes to you all

Monsignor Nicholas Rothon

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