TAKEHOMENEWS SUNDAY 25 JANUARY 2026

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2025

Sunday of the Word of God

On this Sunday of the Word of God, we celebrate the importance of God’s Word in our Christian journey. In a world like ours, we need God’s Word to enlighten our path and guide our steps.

At the conclusion of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis proposed setting aside the Third Sunday of the Ordinary Time as the Sunday of the Word of God to help us appreciate “the inexhaustible riches” found in the dialogue between God and His people in the scripture. God’s Word is alive; it reveals God’s faithful love for us, as manifested in the gift of his only Son, Jesus.  In God’s word, we discover who God is, who we are and are called to be.

In God’s Word, we hear the divine call to repentance, and are invited, like the apostles in this Sunday’s Gospel, to follow Christ, allowing his Word to shape our relationships. God’s word brings light to those who walk in darkness (John 1:5) and breaks the yoke that weighs us down. (Isaiah 9:1b-4) By fidelity to it, we are healed of our divisions, and our hearts are set afire to love more in word and in deed.

Lord, renew in us the hunger for your word, that guided by it we may always seek to do what is pleasing in your sight. Amen.

Happy Sunday Fr. Chinedu

BAPTISM PREPARATION

There will be a preparation session for parents who wish to have their baby baptised next Sunday, 1 February at 4pm in the church. 

MISSIO RED BOXES

Please pick up your MISSIO BOX from the SACRISTY IF LABELED or the table at the back of the church.

CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME 2025/2026 YEAR 10

WEDNESDAY 28th JANUARY                   7.30pm       INTRO PARENTS MEETING

WEDNESDAY 4^th FEBRUARY                     7.00pm      FIRST SESSION  

WEDNESDAY 11^th FEBRUARY                   7.00pm      SECOND SESSION

SUNDAY 15^th FEBRUARY                         12.00pm      MASS OF ENROLMENT

Vocation Discernment Retreats for young adults (ages 18–30s)

Young Adults Discernment Retreat in Aylesford Priory, Kent (Men &    Women, ages 18–30) 6–8 February 2026. Held at Aylesford Priory.  Also, Vocation Discernment Retreat in Rome  (Women only, ages 18–30) 27 February – 1 March 2026. For more  information or to register, email 

vocations@assumpta-eu.org 

RECENTLY DECEASED

Please pray for the repose of the soul Christine Smith nee O Flynn.    Her Funeral will be at Hendon Crematorium on Friday 6 February at 10.30am.  May her soul and the souls of all the departed rest in peace. 

TODAY 25 JANUARY is  WORLD LEPROSY DAY

St Francis Leprosy Guild (SFLG) - which is the UK’s only Catholic leprosy charity - has been caring for people with leprosy for 130 years.  Through shared values and faith, we encourage our community to support SFLG’s vital work and keep people with leprosy in your prayers.

Please take a look at the poster on the noticeboard in the church for more information.

GIFT AID

We thank all parishioners who are paying by direct debit or envelopes and have signed a Gift Aid Declaration. We ask any parishioner who is a tax payer and     donating through the loose plate to please consider donating instead by direct debit or envelope.

Any parishioner who has stopped being a tax payer should inform the office if they were previously a gift aider here.

NO HOLY HOUR SATURDAY 7 FEBRUARY

WESTMINSTER DIOCESE JUSTICE & PEACE LECTURE 2026

The second annual Justice and Peace Lecture which will be given by Charles Wookey, formerly CEO of Blueprint for Business, and for the last three decades advisor on social and ethical issues to archbishops of Westminster and at the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.  He will speak on the topic ' Living out Catholic Social Teaching in Today's Britain'.  A response will be given by the young scholar Dr Charles Bury of the University of Manchester.  The lecture will take place at Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception, 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH, on March 25th 2026 at 7pm.  Access to the church is from Farm Street or Mount Street.  After the lecture in the church all are invited to a buffet reception in the Arrupe Hall.  All are welcome. If you would like to attend please reply to justiceandpeace@rcdow.org.uk by March 1^st 2026. 

FOODBANK FOR THE COMMUNITY

Non – perishable food is required for the foodbank, please leave your donations in one of the marked boxes in the church porch.  Many thanks for your              contributions to help families in need.

ST MARY’S, EAST FINCHLEY 

Invites you to a Mass for Children and Adults with Additional Needs, celebrated by Fr. Peter Scott on Saturday, 28th February 2026.Mass at 5:00 p.m., followed by light refreshments in the Parish Hall.