St Mary’s Blackheath
Newsletter 4th June 2023
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 Feast of the Most Holy Trinity and the end of the Paschal Season.
Today we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation at the 11am Mass. Prayers and best wishes for the twenty- seven candidates. In the past the Bishop would come to administer the Sacrament. I am very pleased that this time I have been given permission as Parish Priest to administer the Sacrament. I have known many of the candidates for a long time and it is a joy and a privilege to be able to administer the Sacrament.
Many thanks to Anna who organised the Confirmation classes.
Next Sunday is the feast of Corpus Christi.
At one time the feast was on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday but now it is the following Sunday
Monday is the feast of St. Boniface but otherwise we are back in Ordinary time for the Ninth week of the Church’s year. The green vestments appear once again and will be used until we start Advent at the end of November.
Already some questions about First Holy Communion classes and I will be putting out the inscription forms for the new classes by the end of June.
You probably have your own recipe for a Chicken stew. I make mine with some chicken pieces, an onion, a red and a green pepper and a can of tomatoes, topped up with some stock. It works well if you simmer it very gently over a low heat. Season with pepper and salt and some herbs to taste.
Some Betjman:
Oh wasn’t it naughty of Smudges?
Oh, Mummy , I’m sick with disgust.
She threw me in front of the Judges,
And my silly old collarbone’s bust.
A familiar prayer:
God grant me
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to distinguish one from another.
The pool with the new liner is very popular: a delivery of some chemicals and pump filters last week to ensure that it is kept in pristine condition.
The year is coming to an end at the College in Spain. In the past, the ten days at the beginning of June were a period of intense revision in preparation for the oral exams. The third year would be full of excitement for a holiday in England – only one trip home during the six years – whilst the rest of us would be preparing for the move to the Country House where we would spend the summer.
You may have noticed that some of the new Routemaster buses in central London have been overhauled and repainted. There are 1000 of them and to date they seem to have repainted the first 300.
I hope all is going well with exams and school and that the papers are not too difficult.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon