St Mary’s Blackheath
Newsletter 27th November 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: Saturday 12 to 1
Today is the First Sunday of Advent – a time of prayer and penance as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas.
It is the First Sunday in the Church’s year, and we begin a new cycle of Scripture readings at Mass. This year the readings will be taken from Cycle A and from the First Cycle on Weekdays. On Sundays during Ordinary time, the gospel readings will be taken from Matthew.
The purple vestments appear again during Advent. We do not recite the Gloria – but it is not as strict as Lent – and we continue to use the Alleluia verse before the gospel.
Today the Justice and Peace Group will be explaining the Giving Tree which will appear in the Church for the next few weeks.
In the Angelus Room, after Mass, it will be possible to sign a card to be sent to a prisoner of conscience.
A busy week for classes: the Confirmation Group meets on Thursday evening at 6.30 and the First Communion class meets on Saturday at 10am in the Big Hall.
Wednesday is the feast of the Apostle St. Andrew.
A familiar prayer at this time of year:
Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
You may have seen the new Bill Nighy film, Living. According to my 1953 London bus map, route 159 crossed the river on Lambeth Bridge rather than Westminster Bridge at this time.
Ted Hughes on the Hawk Roosting:
The sun is behind me,
Nothing has changed since I began.
My eye has permitted no change.
I am going to keep things like this.
(It is worth looking up the whole poem to see the sparse and forceful nature of Hughes’ poetry)
A shortage of eggs at present so I take care when I poach them – my method is to heat a saucepan with water until it is boiling fiercely and add a shot of vinegar. Break the egg carefully into the water and when it is set, remove it with a slotted spoon so that it can set.
It would be helpful if we could have some further readers for the Sunday Masses, particularly at the 9.30 Mass. If you are able to help, please let me know.
An advance notice: the Advent Carol Service will be taking place at 5pm on Sunday 11th December. This means that we will need to change the time of the Sunday evening Mass – it will be at 6.30 rather than the normal time.
A prayer for the repose of the soul of Christopher Duffy who died recently. He had lived in the parish for many. He was a lecturer on military history at Sandhurst at the author of several books on military topics. May he rest in peace.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon
Best wishes to you all
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon