1st Sunday of Lent (A)
Temptations, ordeals and hardships are part of life and are most certainly needed as we set to serve the Lord, Temptations are moments when we choose whether or not we want to follow Jesus. However, as St Paul reminds us, nobody is tempted beyond their strength. Because Christ conquered temptation, we are confident that we can be victorious as we share in Christ’s triumph. At the end of today’s Gospel, we read that angels came to serve Jesus at the moment of his trials. We are surrounded by people who are going through trials in their family life, their health or their work. We could be an angel to these people, serving them and helping them to pass through this moment.
CAFOD Family Fast Day
This Lent, CAFOD’s Family Fast Day is an opportunity to reach our to some of the poorest, most marginalised of our sisters and brothers.
Your donations go to highly-trained, highly-skilled local experts around the world who save and support the health of the worlds poorest families. Sister Consilia is one of these people. She is a nun in an out-of-town health centre in Zimbabwe. Sister Consilia is a trained pharmacist who saves lives each and every day. Without support like yours, her brilliant work just couldn’t continue as there wouldn’t be enough funding to support it.
But we urgently need your help to fund more local experts like Sister Consilia to reach out to even more people who need treatment, care and love.
On Friday 6 March, will you eat a simple meal in solidarity and give what you save to help people like Sister Consilia to continue her life-saving work—helping the health of the world’s poorest people? Through CAFOD’s global Church family—one of the largest aid networks in the world—your support can reach to the ends of the earth.
Family Fast Day Prayer
God of all wholeness, heal our hearts of all that prevents us responding to our sisters and brothers, excluded by poverty and prevented from living a full and healthy life. This Lent, may we: implore justice through our prayer, stand in solidarity through our fasting, and reach out through giving. Send your life-giving power to revive the weary, restore the broken and renew the face of the earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Cardinal’s Lenten Appeal
Cardinal Nichols thanks you for your generous support for the Cardinal’s Lenten Appeal. Your donations help fund initiatives in parishes, schools and charities in three mission areas. Marriage and Family Life: enriching and supporting marriages, the essential building block of society and the Church. Youth and Evangelisation: supporting young people, the future of the Church, as they grow in their relationship with God and deepen their Catholic faith. The Church’s Service in Society: putting our faith into action by serving poor, lonely and marginalised people. This year, the Cardinal is asking us to think about families who are struggling to put food on the table, even though they may be in work. Sadly, poverty is deepening across our Diocese and more people are turning to foodbanks for help. For children who get free meals at school, the holidays can be a time of hunger because the family budget doesn’t stretch to cover three meals a day. One initiative the Cardinal’s Lenten Appeal supports is school holiday clubs, where children can have fun, and prepare and eat a healthy meal during the school holidays. Your donation can be put in the Lenten Alms Box by Our Lady’s altar. Leaflets and envelopes will be available next weekend.
Advice Regarding Coronavirus
We have been issued with some advice regarding the current flu virus:
1. Catch it. Bin it. Kill it.
2. Do not take communion from the chalice if you have cold or flu symptoms.
3. Sanitize your hands before coming into the church.
4. Eucharistic Ministers to sanitize their hands before and after distributing Communion.
5. Wash hands before giving communion in a home.
6. As things stand, there is no need to withdraw communion from the chalice or suspend the sign of peace.
First Communion Programme
The First Communion Children have a session today (Sunday) at 9.15 and next Sunday take part in a celebration Mass at 10.30.
This Week’s Funerals
The Funeral Mass for ISABEL ELIZONDO (Suzie) takes place on Tuesday at 11AM and MAUREEN DEL GRETO on Friday at 11AM.
Prayer and Life Workshops
These continue Friday evenings at 7.30AM in the Canon Smyth Parish Centre.
Confirmation Programme
There will be a session for Confirmation candidates on Wednesday at 7.00PM in the Canon Smyth Parish Centre.
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross takes place here at the Annuciation on Friday at 7.00PM.
Baptism Preparation
The next session for parents who wish to have their baby baptised will be on Sunday 15th March at 4PM in the Dominic Room.
Year of the Word Scripture Quotes
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life Matthew 19:29
Day of Exposition
There will be a Day of Exposition in the Church on Friday 20th March, starting after the 9.00AM Mass and concluding with Benediction at 6.30PM. Please sign up for a half-hour watching period on the sheet at the back of the church. Stations of the Cross will follow at 7.PM.
Parish Council
At the Parish Annual General Meetinglast Sunday the following were elected to the Parish Council: BRIDGET FADDEN, MELVIN MATHEW and JOSIE SANTANGELO; the following were re-elected: BENEDICT METUH, ERIC ATAINDUM, TERESA O’NEILL and RHODERICKK PANGANIBAN. The following will continue on the Parish Council: GERALDINE BOURKE, MARCELLA DALY, ALOYSIUS ONUEGBU, LORIE SALAZAR and MARY ANN TORRES. The new Parish Council meet on Thursday 26th March at 7.45PM in the Presbytery.
Annual Accounts
Copies of the Annual Accounts for the parish, presented at the AGM, are available in the porch.
The Lenten Journey to Easter
The Dominican Sisters invite you to a day of prayer and reflection led by Fr Nicholas King SJ at the Niland Centre. Wednesday 18th March, begins at 10 am and ends with the celebration of Holy Mass at 2.30 pm. Please bring a packed lunch; refreshments provided. Suggested donation £15.
Conflict and Reconciliation
Sr Regina McGarry & Monika Cleaver. Thursday 5 March (10.30-12.30) Suggested donation £6. refreshments provided.
Niland Centre at Rosary Priory, 93 Elstree Road, Bushey Heath WD23 4EE. For details and to register please contact 07746 707 247.
Thanksgiving for Matrimony
The Cardinal invites couples who are celebrating this year their 5th, 10th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th 60th (and every year over 60) wedding anniversary of Catholic marriage to a Mass of thanksgiving in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 30th May at 3PM. If you are celebrating such an anniversary in 2020 please give Fr. Colin the following details: husband and wife’s names, wedding date, full postal address and email or telephone number. Please submit this information by Sunday 15th March 2020.
The National Novena to St Joseph
Will take place front 10th— 18th March 2020 at St Joseph’s Church in Maidenhead and at Herbert House, Freshfield, Liverpool. Each year the Mill Hill Missionaries prepare for the Feast of St Joseph, their patron, with a special Novena of Masses and prayers to ask for God’s Blessing on their Society and the missionary outreach of the Church, as well as for the intentions of all those who support their work. You are invited to send in your petitions and/or to request a Novena booklet to enable you to join in from home by praying the daily Novena prayer.
Please write to Novena Director, St Joseph’s Missionary Society, 58 Cookham Road, Maidenhead, SL6 7HTor email novenamhm@gmail.com
All EU, EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK
Are required by the government to apply through its Settlement Scheme to continue living, working and accessing services here. The deadline for applications is 30 June 2021. Details and links to the application process can be found at: gov.uk/eusettledstatus
Please bring this to the attention of friends, family members and fellow parishioners who may need to apply. Information on assistance for those who may have difficulty applying is available at: gov.uk/help-eu-settlement-scheme
The Catholic Church in England and Wales stands in solidarity with all European citizens who have made their homes here. They are a valued part of our parishes, schools and communities.
St Patrick's day items are available to purchase in the Repository