Newsletter 27th March 2022

St Mary’s Blackheath

Newsletter 27th March 2022

Sunday Masses: Saturday 6.30pm first Mass of Sunday

– Sunday 9.30 and 11am and 5pm.

Monday to Friday: Lenten service at 8am.

Saturday 10am and 6.30pm

Confessions: Saturday12 to 1

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

We are now half- way through Lent and as a slight relaxation we use rose coloured vestments today rather than the normal purple. A time maybe to see if you are keeping up with your Lenten penances and prayers.

It is sometimes known as Laetare Sunday from the first words of the Latin Introit verse: Rejoice Jerusalem.

As a Lenten devotion there will be Stations of the Cross at 6pm today.  

Nex Sunday is Passion Sunday and the statues in the Church will be veiled until Easter Sunday.

This coming week I will be away at the College in Spain, travelling out on Monday and returning on Friday.  This means that there will not be an 8am Mass from Monday to Friday this week. There will however be a reading of the Lenten Scriptures, distribution of holy Communion and Rosary at 8am each day. I hope to be back on Friday evening so everything will be in order for the next week-end.

This is the first time that I have been to College for two years. The last time was just before the Covid lock down and I remember speculating with the financial advisors on what might happen. 

A new Rector has been appointed and I will be seeing if we can arrange a visit in October. Let me know if you might be interested in coming.

Looking ahead, readers for holy Week might want to borrow one of the books with the reading of the Passion.

I hope that you like the new notice board – the frame has still to be painted. It is a great improvement on the previous one – which was out of date and weathered.

Thanks to Elio and Jim – and Floss – for their help with the replacement ladder on the tree in the garden. I think the previous one lasted about four years. It is a tedious task, marking the rope in sections, adding the knots and threading the rungs.  There was also a couple of visits  to B and Q to obtain rope of the right thickness.

A Lenten prayer; Lord hear the prayers of those who call on you, forgive the sins of those who confess to you, and in your merciful love give us your pardon and peace. Amen.

A basic Spanish recipe you will find in every bar: cook some long grain rice and wash and drain it well. Add some skinned and seeded tomatoes and strips of a green pepper. Mix with some mustard and some vinaigrette dressing and may be decorate with some halves of hard-boiled egg.   You can prepare this as a Lenten dish.

The next First Holy Communion class is on 9th April and there will be a meeting to plan the class on the Monday evening.

Chocolate eggs are hidden away in store for Easter Sunday.

Best wishes to you all.

Monsignor Nicholas Rothon

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