St Mary’s Blackheath
Newsletter 5th March 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 Second Sunday of Lent.
Last the gospel story of the temptations of the Lord in the wilderness and this week the story of the transfiguration. There is the great contrast between the human and the divine natures of the Lord.
The weekday Masses are for the Lenten season.
There will be Stations of the Cross at 4.15 this evening. I was over optimistic in the timing last week – with a start at 4pm, but in fact they seem to take just over twenty minutes – so there is plenty of time to prepare for the 5pm Mass.
Donations from the Cafod fast day on Friday will be collected after Mass today.
First Communion classes have come round once again. There is meeting for the parents who will be running the class at 8pm on Monday evening and the class will take place on Saturday at 10am. We will be organising the lottery for places in the Church on the big day.
You may see us climbing about the tower in the Church on Friday morning: time to service the clock and the bells which strike the hour from 9am to 9pm each day with Angelus at 11.55am and 5.55pm.
Thank you for your understanding with the changes to the magazine – all the copies were sold and the income was sufficient to cover the printing costs.
Some George Herbert this week:
Whether I fly with angels, fall with dust,
Thy hands made both, and I am there:
Thy power and love, my love and trust
Make one place, ev’ry where.
A prayer of intercession at the beginning of the day:
We hope in you, Lord, our soul thirst for you, the God of our lives. At the start of a new day, we pray for a world which does not know its need for you, and which is often without hope.
This will be allowed as a Lenten dish:
Cook and drain some French beans. Fry some garlic and some small mushroom with a little chopped parsley. Mix in the beans and add a little lemon juice and some tomato sauce together with some seasoning. Cook together for a few minutes and serve hot.
Already looking forward to a visit to the College in Spain at the end of the month. This will be a busy time preparing for the meeting with the Bishops in May. I will also raise with the Rector the possibility of a visit in October. This is always great fun.
Look out for the new trains on the Docklands Light Railway. They are being built by CAF, the Spanish company. The first units are undergoing tests at present and the full set will be in service next year.
Time for some garden works soon now that the weather is becoming warmer. There is a lot to clear up after the winter. Already buds are appearing on the fruit trees.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon