newsletter 3rd March 2019

Newsletter Sunday 3rd March 2019.

Today is the Sunday before Lent, at one time known as Quinquagesima Sunday, indicating that there are now fifty days to Easter.

There is a second collection today to support some of the poorer parishes in the Diocese.

Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday, a period of prayer and penance as we prepare for the celebration of Easter.

There will be three Masses in the Church, at 7.30 and 10am and at 6.30pm. Ashes will be blessed and distributed at the Masses with the prayer “remember that you are dust and to dust you will return”.

The purple vestments come out again and are used for most of the Masses with the exception of one or two special feasts. The “Alleluia” is replaced with an antiphon and this last until the Easter Sunday when we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord with the solemn Alleluia verse.

The Liturgy group meets on Monday evening at 8pm.

The Confirmation classes have come around once again and the class is at 6.30pm on Thursday evening in the big hall.

During Lent, as a special devotion, we have Stations of the Cross at 6.30pm on Sundays.

The one exception is 17th March when we will have a Solemn Vespers followed by Benediction.  It is a special day and at the end, there will be a veneration of our relic of St. Patrick.

Another recipe from the College in Spain. You will need to stew some chick-peas, also known as garbanzos, with some spinach and maybe some slices of chorizo. to make a fairly thick soup.  Sometimes, before serving, slices of hard-boiled egg are added to the soup.

Recently a cry of triumph was heard in the IKEA: “I’ve found the way out!”

Readers of the parish magazine might possibly recall an article on a curious railway in Brazil. I recently came across some further details. It was owned by a British company for many years but in its final days was taken over by the State. As late as 1946 the North British Company in Glasgow supplied some new steam locomotives.

I am pleased to confirm that the Rector has confirmed that we can come to the College again in the autumn. The dates will be 21st to 26th October. You will want to be there on the 25th, the feast day of the martyrs. Please let me know if you would like to come. Lots of people like to come to College at this time and probably we can take about 8 to 10.

The processional cross we use at Mass required repairs recently following an accident. Thanks to John for this.  It came from my chapel in the Dome at Greenwich during the year 2000 and was a souvenir of those unusual but very happy days.

Here is an ancient Hebrew prayer:

Blessed be thou Lord God of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth and makest glad the hearts of all.

You probably know the words of Heraclitus.

I wept as I remembered

How often you and I

Had tired the sun with talking

And sent him down the sky.

(as a chatterbox I can appreciate this)

The recent warm days have brought on the spring flowers in the garden.  I still need to cut up the fallen tree and to clean out my herb pots. I have managed to find some seeds for basil, but it is always difficult to grow it as it is a favourite for the pigeons, the snails and the squirrels.

Best wishes to you all,

Monsignor Nicholas Rothon

 

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