The World Day of Peace is observed in England and Wales on the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Message of Pope Francis in this Jubilee develops the concepts of hope and forgiveness from which a genuine conversion of hearts at a personal, local, and international level will peace flourish.
This Sunday our hope is that a ceasefire in the Holy Land will be a step in the cessation of the destruction and violence and the restoration of peace for the people.
Wednesday 22nd January 9:30am (St Vincent, Deacon)
Friday 24th January 9:30am (St Francis de Sales)
Saturday 25th January 8:30am HMP Lewes
Sunday 26th January 10am (3rd in Ordinary Time)
This Week
Wednesday 22nd January Dentist
Thursday 23rd January 12pm Soup and Sandwich Lunch (Church Hall) – An invitation to everyone to come into our hall for lunch and meet up
Sunday 26th January 5pm St Mary’s Church Hall. Gathering of North Brighton parishes to begin to look to the future. Do not miss this!
The Week of Prayer For Christian Unity (18th – 25th January)
Remember to pray for Unity among all Christians our fellow Christians of All Saints, The Ascension, Westdene, The Methodists and the Elim Fountains Centre, and not forgetting spouses and neighbours. More information can be found here.
Monks in the City invite you to join them at St John the Baptist Church at 4pm on Sunday – especially this year when we celebrate 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea. During the Vespers service of hymns, psalms, readings and prayers, we will reaffirm the Nicene Creed and Bishop Lindsay Urwin will preach. Followed by light refreshments.
Pax Christi
The International Movement for Peace, based on the Gospel and inspired by faith. Our vision is of a world where people can live in peace, without fear of violence in all its forms. Our Friday self denial wall box in the Entrance will be ready to receive your gifts to assist the work of promoting Peace during 2025.
Looking Ahead
This Year The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus, Candlemas Day. February 2nd is on a Sunday. It commences with the blessing of candles and a procession into Mass.
Thank You
To the willing hands who put away the Christmas crib and decorations.
For the healing of the nations Lord we pray with one accord For a just and equal sharing Of the things that earth affords To a life of love in action Help us rise and pledge our word.
This Sunday takes its name “Gaudete Sunday” from those words – REJOICE! Joy comes from the virtue of Hope and from a deep trust in the promises and presence of God. At this stage of Advent we have the opportunity to relish, appreciate and enjoy how God speaks to us through the words of scripture and his Word who is Life. In less than ten days our Advent waiting and preparation will come to an end with the Feast ahead. “Joy is not selfish – it flows outward through generosity and kindness to others.”
Greater Advent
A description of the last days of Advent on which in the Prayer of the Church there is an invitation to God with a sense of longing.
December 17th – 24th. The titles of the coming God are proclaimed
O Wisdom, O Adonai & Ruler, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Emmanuel. The second Preface of Advent is prayed during this last week and expresses the feelings of the time “the Virgin Mother longed for him with love beyond all telling”.
Mass Schedule
Sunday 15th December 10am 3rd Sunday in Advent
Monday 16th December 8:15am St Mary’s House
Wednesday 18th December 9:30am Advent Weekday Mass
Friday 20th December 9:30am Advent Weekday Mass
Saturday 21st December 8:30am HMP Lewes
Sunday 22nd December 10am 4th Sunday in Advent
Christmas Masses
Tuesday 24th December 6pm The First Mass of Christmas
Wednesday 25th December 10am Christmas Mass
Thank You!
To the team who worked so hard to prepare our church for our Christmastide celebrations. Not a cobweb, sweet paper or leaf in sight. Well done!
Carol Services
Thursday 19th December 1:45pm St Bernadette’s (Years 3 – 6 and parents) at St Mary’s Church
Sunday 22nd December 6pm St Mary’s Church – with singers from both parishes. Retiring collection for St Mary’s Meals and Martlets Hospice. Come along and sing!
The Sacrament of Reconciliation
After Mass this Sunday and at other times by arrangement. Please call 01273 563017.
Ah! Lord how shall I meet thee How welcome thee aright? All nations long to greet thee My hope, my sole delight.
A timely message as we move into the second week of Advent. An encouragement to put in the effort to take stock of our relationship with Jesus Christ and the ways we mark it – by prayer, by the Sacrament of reconciliation with an examination of our conscience, by reflecting on the words of Scripture, and by making sure our hearts are ready. Yes this is what the Season of Advent is about!
The Immaculate Conception Of Mary
This year December 8th falls on an Advent Sunday and so the Solemnity moves to Monday. We will be celebrating this with Mass at 10am. It is a reminder of how Mary was chosen to be the Mother of the Saviour. The Preface of the Mass sums up how she was prepared as a “model of holiness”. Remember how we address Mary as “full of grace”.
Notre Dame
Paris has been celebrating the reopening of the Cathedral damaged by fire five years ago. Many celebrities will be present at the opening and the Catholics of the Archdiocese will rejoice that they can participate in worship there once again in the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Paris. How many observers and future tourists I wonder will realise that the oft repeated title means that it is dedicated to OUR LADY?
Mass Schedule
Sunday 8th December 10am 2nd Sunday of Advent
Monday 9th December 10am The Immaculate Conception of Mary
Wednesday 11th December 9:30am Advent Mass
Friday 13th December 9:30am Advent Mass
Sunday 15th December 10am 3rd Sunday of Advent
The Word Who Is Life
Another step forward for the Parishes of Brighton and Hove took place on November 29th . The Paper presented by Canon David Parmiter has been on the Noticeboard and is now available to read below:
Readers of the Vatican News will have read of a Ceremony in preparation for the Jubilee Year. It centered on the Door of St Peter’s which was sealed up 25 years ago at the end of the last Jubilee Year. It began with breaking out the sealing and the retrieval of a box embedded in the back of the door. Inside the box are the keys to the Holy Door which will be opened by Pope Francis to inaugurate the Jubilee Year of 2025.
Advent Carol Service
In St Mary’s on Sunday December 22nd at 6pm.
In Memory of John Mason RIP the retiring collection will be shared by Mary’s Meals and the Martlets Hospice. See the poster for details
St Lucy
A Martyr, one of the fifteen mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer 1. Revered in Sweden as an image of light and celebrated by a procession of of young women with circlets of candles on their heads (not to be imitated H&S)
Remember
We are now Reading Cycle C of the Sunday Lectionary.
On Jordan's Bank, the Baptist's cry Announces that the lord is nigh Awake and hearken, for he brings Glad tidings of the King of kings.
Commencing in October we have been bombarded with statements such as “This is…” This may be described as ADVERTS. On the other hand, what we now experience is a time of patient and hopeful waiting to prepare for the main event – the The Birth of The Promised One and our celebration of that great moment, – called ADVENT.
This is marked by different signs – purple vestments, a new liturgical year with St Luke’s Gospel -Year C-the lighting of an Advent candle , some restraint,-no Gloria – and the opening of the new Lectionary to listen to the Prophets telling us of a Saviour, judging the “signs of the times”, we are encouraged to “straighten up, raise our heads, because your redemption is near at hand!”
The Assisted Dying Bill (Second Reading)
Thank you for making your views known . Before it can become Law there will be further opportunities to express belief in the value and dignity of human life.
Statement from the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales
Following the decision of MPs to vote in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at the Second Reading today (29 November), Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues, said:
“We are disappointed that MPs have voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill progressing through parliament. We believe that this bill is flawed in principle and also contains particular clauses that are of concern. We ask the Catholic community to pray that members of parliament will have the wisdom to reject this bill at a later stage in its progress.
“In addition to being opposed to the principle of assisted suicide, we are particularly concerned with clauses in the bill that prevent doctors from properly exercising conscientious objection, provide inadequate protection to hospices and care homes that do not wish to participate in assisted suicide and allow doctors to initiate conversations about assisted suicide. We ask that these voices be heard in the next stages of the Bill to strengthen the deep concerns about this proposed legislation.
“We have expressed the view, during this debate, that genuine compassion involves walking with those who need care, especially during sickness, disability and old age. The vocation to care is at the heart of the lives of so many people who look after their loved ones and is the sign of a truly compassionate society. It is essential that we nurture and renew the innate call that many people have to compassionately care for others.
“It remains the case that improving the quality and availability of palliative care offers the best pathway to reducing suffering at the end of life. We will continue to advocate for this and support those who work tirelessly to care for the dying in our hospices, hospitals and care homes.”
A Statement from Bishop Richard
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In the wake of the vote in Parliament earlier today, in favour of the “Assisted Dying Bill”, may I take this opportunity thank all those who have written to MPs in recent weeks, alerting them to the dangers inherent in a vote in favour of the Bill, calling for increased levels of support for resources for palliative care, and for protection for the dignity of every person, at every stage in life.
The passing of this Bill represents a significant and very sad moment in the history of this country, and I ask you all to continue your prayers for those in government. As the statement from the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales states, this Bill is flawed in principle.
There is much that we can do before this Bill becomes law and continuing the call for compassion, proper availability and resourcing for palliative care, proper provision for conscientious objection for medical professionals, and protection for hospices and care homes, will be vital in the months ahead.
Let us keep in prayer all those who will be already feeling fearful as a result of this vote, their loved ones, and all who care for them.
Yours in Christ,
+Richard
New Sunday Missals
The missals which have been ordered have now arrived and are available for collection.
Mass Schedule
Sunday 1st December 10am 1st Sunday of Advent
Monday 2nd December 8:15am Weekday Advent Mass St Mary’s House
Wednesday 4th December 9:30am Weekday Advent Mass
Friday 6th December 9:30am Weekday Advent Mass
Sunday 8th December 10am 2nd Sunday of Advent
The Word of Life
The leaflet for December is now in the entrance for you to help in your prayerful reflection on a verse from Scripture during Advent.
The New Lectionaries
The four lectionaries will be blessed at our Sunday Mass.
The translation of the Bible is called the ESV. CE -the English Standard Version – Catholic Edition – i.e. including the Old Testament Books not included by Protestants in the main parts of their Bibles. The Book of Psalms, 150 of them, is described as the Abbey Psalter.
Leaky Flat Roof Areas
Apologies that there is a leak in the Day Chapel dripping on the edge of the altar cloth, in the corner near Our Lady’s statue and in two other places.
The Pastoral Plan
A meeting was held last Thursday at which the Moderator of the future Parish of Brighton and Hove presented ad description of the role. You can read the text on the noticeboard.
Hark, the glad sound : the Saviour comes The Saviour promised long: Let every heart prepare a throne And every voice a song.
Our daily prayer reminds us of the Kingship of Christ, his kingdom which is constantly being established and the place given in our hearts to him. Christ has to present to the Father “a Kingdom of truth and life. A kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.”
This Sunday marks the end of the Liturgical Year B, when on most Sundays we have listened to the Gospel of St. Mark. Next Sunday we commence the celebration of Advent in Year C , when the Gospel of St Luke will mainly be read.
Bishop Richard’s Weekly Message
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is fitting that, on this last Sunday in the Church’s year, we look to the Kingdom, to our destiny as children of the God who is all love. Jesus’ kingship is not of an earthly nature – He makes this very clear in His response to Pontius Pilate, that we hear proclaimed in this Sunday’s Gospel.
Jesus exercises power that is so completely different to that exercised by Pilate. We must reflect that we, in our following of Jesus, must live in His way, not that of a world consumed by wealth, power over others, and political gain. We see power being abused so often in the world at the expense of the vulnerable. We see that which is deemed expedient, placed above the dignity that belongs to every person as a wonder of God’s creation.
Our baptism brings with it the responsibility to live every moment of life in preparation for the wonder of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is this Kingdom – that is of a different kind – in which we are called to live, and that we are called to proclaim, bringing others to the hope that points our way to the Kingdom.
We rejoice in His Kingship and we rejoice in His death and resurrection; the victory that He has won for us – for with Him, as St Paul reminds us – we are co-heirs to the Kingdom of God.
Our world needs this message in every place and in every aspect of the human condition – most especially, at a time when so many parts of our world are torn apart by war and conflict, when the dignity of every human being is threatened, and when so many live without the hope that leads to the fullness of life. Let us proclaim this message with every greater urgency and joy.
With every blessing,
+Richard
Opposing The Second Reading Of The Assisted Dying Bill
The cards to send off to your MP are on the table in the entrance.
Informing yourself of the issues is important. Last week we had our Bishop’s Pastoral Message and the Statement form the Bishops of the UK.
We have all been asked to make special prayer on Friday 29th November for the voting down of this Bill.
Our Friday Mass 9.30 am will have a period of adoration added until 10.30 for those able to give half an hour.
Mass Schedule
Sunday 24th November Christ the King Sunday Mass 10am
Monday 25th November St Mary’s House Mass 8.15am
Wednesday 27th November Mass 9.30am
Saturday 30th November HMP Lewes Mass 8.30am
December 1st The First Sunday of Advent Mass 10am.
The bi-weekly Newsletter of St Mary’s and St Thomas More’s is available after Mass.
Soup and Sandwich Lunch This Thursday In Our Hall 12 Noon
An opportunity to meet up. See the poster.
The Lectionary
The four volumes will be blessed next Sunday. They have distinctive covers. As liturgical books for worship they are to be treated with care and respect.
Hail Redeemer, King divine Priest and Lamb, the throne is thine King whose reign shall never cease Prince of everlasting peace.
Angels, saints and nations sing Praised be Jesus Christ our King Lord of life, earth sky and sea King of love on calvary
Following All Souls Day, the month of November continues with Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day with Assemblies in Schools.
Parades in towns at war memorials, Blessing of graves, Masses for the Dead and other opportunities to call to mind those who have died.
In every Eucharistic Prayer there is always an intercession for the Dead…
Blessing of Graves
In the Cemeteries of Brighton and Hove 3pm and Brighton & Preston, Hartington Road, 2pm.
Bishop Richard’s Request
Holy Hour for the Dignity of the Human Person
Next week, the Bishops of England & Wales gather in Leeds for the Autumn Plenary Meeting. On Wednesday 13th, at 5.30pm, they will gather for a Holy Hour for prayer to promote the dignity of the human person and the culture of life in our countries in the face of the assisted suicide legislation before the UK Parliament.
I do encourage you to arrange Holy Hours on the same day – where possible at the same time – in our parishes, thereby facilitating a powerful moment of prayer in our lands promoting the intrinsic dignity of every person.
With every Blessing,
+ Richard
Holy Hour
This will be on WEDNESDAY of this week -13th November 5.30 -6.30pm
Please try to come in even for part of the time. It has the theme of praying for the dignity of Human Life.
Mass Schedule
32nd Sunday Mass 10am
Monday St Mary’s House. St Martin of Tours Mass 8.15am
Wednesday Weekday Mass 9.30am
Friday St Albert the Great Mass 9.30am
33rd Sunday Mass 10am World Day of the Poor
The New Lectionary
Not long to go before its introduction.
Orders for the 3 Year Sunday Missals may be given using the sign up sheet in the Entrance – either the CTS edition or the Redemptorist publication £ 19.95 each.
To learn more about the Lectionary read from the following link.
Cardinal Newman Catholic School – Outstanding
Read the Principal’s letter
Annual Retired Priests’ Fund
This can be gift Aided, Contactless available.
Of your charity…
Pray for the soul of Dick Lock, husband of late Mary Lock. His coffin is to be draped in the Sussex Police flag.
North Brighton Parishes’ Newsletter
This is now available in the entrance
May the choirs of angels lead you into paradise And my the martyrs come to welcome you To bring you home into the holy city So you may dwell in new Jerusalem
A month with time to remember those we have loved and lost awhile along with those fallen in wars and the Faithful Departed. Remember our invocation for the deceased -Eternal Rest grant unto her/him/them. A time to visit graves, get the old photographs out, have a Mass offered and remember. St Augustine put it like this, “If we had no care for the dead, we would not be in the habit of praying for them.”
The Synod
Pope Francis surprised everyone by accepting the Final Report and no need to wait until 2025 for an Apostolic Exhortation. It will no doubt soon be available as a booklet.
May I suggest you read a review of the Synod by Bishop Nicholas Hudson who was a participating member. Please click here.
Opposing Proposed Legislation For Assisted Suicide
Inform yourself of the Catholic Teaching on Life issues including Statements by Bishops. Write to your MP even if their Party Manifesto included favoured Assisted Suicide.
New Sunday Missals
These contain the Readings for the Three Year Cycle.
November’s leaflet is now available to help with your prayer and reflection.
Mass Schedule
Sunday 3rd November 10am 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday 4th November 8:15am St Mary’s House
Wednesday 6th November 9:30am Weekday Mass
Friday 8th November 9:30am Weekday Mass
Saturday 9th November 8:30am HMP Lewes
Sunday 10th November 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Remembrance Sunday
Retired Priests’ Fund
The Second Collection next Sunday is for the Retired Priests’ Fund. The contactless machine will accept your donation and gift aid.
Blessing Of Graves
In each of the cemeteries of the City including Southwick and Rottingdean there will be the Blessing of Graves at 3pm. In the old Brighton and Preston entrance from Hartington Road meet at the Old Chapel form 2pm.
The New Lectionary
Wednesday 6th November Fr Paul Wilkinson n leads a Deanery Presentation at 7.45pm.This will be Zoomed. Please contact Fr Tony Milner at tony.milner@abdiocese.org.uk for the Zoom link. Details on Noticeboard.
Inconvenience
The Parish phone has been off since the 23rd October and my apologies for the inconvenience. A parishioner told me there is a message on it that says the voicemail box is full! My hope is that a line will be in action from Tuesday!
Covid
Vaccination on Thursday 11am
O Lord support us all the day long of this troublous life, Until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes And the busy world is hushed, And the fever of life is over and our work is done Then Lord in thy mercy Grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest And peace at the last. Amen.
Another ending and a beginning. October draws to a close – the Rosary month for reflective prayer – and the Synod in Rome. The delegates have been exploring the insights on Communion (not Holy Communion but fellowship and unity) Participation and Mission. Themes which are described as synodality or walking together. It will not be until 2025 that Pope Francis will publish how this may be achieved as we look to the future.
Action On Assisted Suicide
Information and how to make your views known is available here.
The Lectionary
Our readers met to be introduced to the new lectionary. There are four volumes which will be in use from Advent. They are beautifully presented and have cost £600. (Four bookplates accompanied them just in case anyone might wish to sponsor one in memory)
Sunday Missals
The CTS and Redemptorists are publishing Sunday Missals with the 3 Year Cycle of Readings. There are Order Sheets if you wish to purchase a copy. They cost £19.95 each. The CTS Sunday Missal can be bought here and the Redemptorist Sunday Missal can be bought here.
Further Information
There will be two sessions in November given by priests of the Deanery. See the poster and note you can receive them by Zoom.
Mass Schedule
Sunday 27th October 10am
Monday 28th October 8:15am St Mary’s Convent
Wednesday 30th October 9:30am (Intention Fr Gerry Vann RIP)
Friday 1st November 9:30am All Saints’ Day (Holy Day of Obligation)
Saturday 2nd November 8:30am HMP Lewes All Souls’ Day
Saturday 2nd November 11am For the Faithful Departed
Sunday 3rd November 10am (31st in Ordinary Time)
The New Encyclical Dilexit Nos
“Dilexit nos” Pope Francis’ fourth Encyclical, retraces the tradition and relevance of thought on “the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ,” calling for a renewal of authentic devotion to avoid forgetting the tenderness of faith, the joy of serving, and the fervour of mission. More can be read here.
O Sacred Heart, Our trust is all in thee For though earth's night be dark and drear Thou breathest rest where thou art near O Sacred Heart
“Go and invite everyone to the banquet ” Pope Francis in his letter to us uses these words from St Matthew’s Gospel 22:9 to remind us that Mission is a tireless going out to all men and women to encounter God and enter into a union with Him. We think of the Missionary Orders which serve in countries where the Church is growing despite the difficulties which can arise and also the annual collection for a different group each year. There are also the Red Boxes for the coins in your pockets or purses – they do mount up. On the grey radiator in the entrance there are some Red boxes which could do with a home.
Why not offer your October Rosary for the world missionary endeavour?
Mission Today Magazine
Copies available for you to take home and read.
Donation Envelopes
To send off your gift or to bring in with a donation next week.
Bishop Richard’s Weekly Reflection
Dear brothers and sisters,
The First Reading this Sunday, taken from the Song of the Suffering Servant of the Prophet Isaiah, looks to the moment when Christ takes on Himself the faults, the sins, of the world. Jesus, as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, took on our nature in every way, but sin. He urges us never to lose faith in the One who suffered, died and rose from the dead for us.
Our openness to the gift of faith is our way to conformity to Christ – to becoming one with Him. This is the path of sanctity, to which we are all called. This, as we know all too well, is no easy path. Jesus reminds us that “to those who are given much, much is expected.” In this Sunday’s Gospel, we see what happens when the relationship with Him becomes centred on ourselves. James and John fall to the temptation to pride. Their closeness to Jesus brings them to think they deserve special treatment in the Kingdom.
Jesus tells them very clearly that His way is one of humility and service. This is true greatness in our following of Him. The life of faith, lived in trust, and the living out of the two-fold command to love God and love neighbour, brings us to be the disciples we are called to be.
The world around is in the greatest need of this witness. We live in a world that is not at peace, a world in which the dignity of life is not respected. We, as Jesus’ followers – His disciples, must step into this space with the witness of our lives of faith, humility and service, that all might find life in the One who died and rose from the dead for us.
With every blessing,
+ Richard
Mass Schedule
Sunday 20th October 10am World Mission Sunday Mass
Monday 21st October 8:15am St Mary’s Convent Mass
Wednesday 23rd October 9:30am Pope St John Paul II Mass
Friday 25th October 9:30am Mass
Saturday 26th October 8:30am Mass HMP Lewes
Sunday 27th October 30th 10am Sunday Ordinary Time
Clocks To Change!
Please remember that the clocks go back one hour on Sunday 27th October at 2am
A Week of Health and Safety
Monday Fire Risk Assessment on the Church and Hall
Tuesday Five Year Electrical Testing and PAT testing on the Priest’s House
Annual Testing of the Lightning Conductor of the Church
Risk Assessment of Mower used by the Contractor cutting the grass around the Church .
Ministry of Readers
Wednesday Evening October 23 7pm. In the Hall our readers have a meeting to introduce the New Lectionaries – four volumes
Schools’ Admission Dates
Please note the dates for open days:
Saint Bernadette’s 13th November 9:15am, 20th November 1:30am
Cardinal Newman Catholic School Thursday 24th October from 9:15am
Farewell
Thank you for participating in the Requiem Mass for John. He had a very full life with interests in sport – running the marathon -the Park Run as well as his professional role. He will be remembered by parishioners as a reader, a weekday Mass attender, the organiser of the 100+ Club, the Catenians and latterly representing STM with the Deanery Discussions.
Our prayers are with Maura and the Family for “one loved and lost awhile “
From the commissioning at the end of Mass
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord! Thanks be to God
The evenings are drawing in rapidly and talk about putting on the heating at home is becoming more frequent. October is here and the change of season is more evident as we pray with the Rosary – the Gospel prayer as it is sometime called. Using the events in the life of Jesus in the four sets of Mysteries we pray with Mary and reflect on those events. It is recommended that we slow down to reflect on what happened and why and to be able to mean what we say.
Pope Francis has asked us to pray especially on Monday for Peace in the Holy Land and what better way than to pray with your Rosary and even use the 10 fingers of your hand to help you!
On Wednesday 2 October, at the Mass to mark to the opening of the Synod, the Holy Father called for a renewed proclamation of the Gospel in the face of conflict:
“Brothers and sisters, we begin anew our synodal path with an eye toward the world, since the Christian community is always at the service of humanity in order to announce the joy of the Gospel. In such a dramatic time in our history, when the winds of war and the flames of violence continue to devastate entire peoples and nations, there is need for this message.
“In order to invoke the intercession of Mary Most Holy for the gift of peace, I will recite the holy rosary and make a heartfelt plea to the Virgin in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major this coming Sunday. If possible, I ask all members of the Synod to join me for this occasion.”
“The following day, 7 October, I ask everyone to participate in a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the world. Let us walk together. Let us listen to the Lord and allow him to guide us by the “breath” of the Spirit.
In response to this plea from Pope Francis, Bishop Richard has asked that intercessions, both for the work of the Synod and for peace, be included in the Prayers of the Faithful this Sunday. He has also invited members of clergy and lay people share the Holy Father’s call for prayer and fasting on Monday 7 October, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary.
During the month of October, Bishop Richard asks that whenever the Rosary is prayed publicly, we “offer one decade for Peace and one decade for the work of the Synod”, and he encourages the same in private recitation of the Rosary.
Bishop Richard’s Weekly Reflection
Dear brothers and sisters,
The vocation of marriage is a most wonderful gift – for those who are called to it, for the Church and for the world. This Sunday’s readings enable us all to reflect on this gift. In the Gospel, Jesus, making reference to the Book of Genesis (from which we also hear this Sunday), highlights the permanence and fidelity that are intrinsic to marriage, for husband and wife are in a relationship with each other and with God our loving Father. It is this relationship, with and in God, that gives Christian marriage both its meaning and its fulfilment – for the love of wife for husband and husband for wife is an expression of the love of God Himself.
In this Sunday’s Second Reading, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of Jesus’ total self-giving. This is an important reflection for the vocation of marriage, too – for in marriage husband and wife give to each other. It is giving, not taking. In this regard, marriage is an example for every Christian, for every one of us is called through baptism to the essential vocation to be a Christian – a follower of Christ, a person who serves, a person who gives rather than takes.
In a society where the spirit of taking – of acquisition, satisfaction of self, power – is so prevalent, the vocation of the Christian, the vocation of those called to marriage, is a powerful witness to another way – nothing less than the way of Christ Himself.
With every blessing,
+ Richard
The Second Session Of The Synod In Rome
The discussions have commenced. You can follow the daily events by going to Useful Websites and clicking on Vatican News.
Wednesday 9th October Mass 9:30am St John Henry Newman
Friday 11th October Mass 9:30am Pope Jon XXIII
Sunday 13th October Mass 10am 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Word Of Life
The October leaflet to assist with your reflection and prayer during the month are available for you.
CAFOD
Envelopes will be handed out after Mass for your kind donations to this charity. The simplest way to respond is with your debit/credit card online. Please click here.
School Admissions
It is the time for Open Days in both our Primary and our Secondary School to assist you in making decisions to apply for places. Information on the noticeboards.
100+ Club
Thank you to those who arranged the Draw and Refreshments last Sunday .John Mason’s contribution to this fundraiser was recognised by his daughter Julia and all present.The following were the lucky four.-no5 Julie Plumstead, no9 Val Lowry, ,no25 Kevin McCormick, no30 Regina Stripp.
New members always welcome.
Bishop Richard Visits Tower House
Bishop Richard joined Georgina, Duchess of Norfolk, at the St Vincent de Paul Centre in Brighton on 25 September, to visit the charity’s dedicated over-50s community hub. Known to locals as Tower House, the Grade II listed building offers a lifeline to people across the community, providing specialist services which include HERE’s Stroke & Musculoskeletal Disorders Peer Support Group, Age UK’s Dementia Daybreak service, an SVP Carer’s Support Group and an Art Therapy Group run by Starling Arts.
Speaking after the visit, Bishop Richard said: “The over 50s Community Hub at Tower House offers a vital service to people across the local community, particularly those who are isolated or wish to access extra support. The dedication and commitment of the Centre’s staff and volunteers is tangible, with the many support groups, activity sessions, and social events providing an important and enriching lifeline to people across the city.
Have You Had Your Flu Vaccination Yet?
Fr John had his on Saturday at 11:24am
Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom Lead Thou me on The night is dark, and I am far from home Lead Thou me on Keep Thou my feet: I do not ask to see The distant scene -one step enough for me.
St Thomas More Church, Patcham, Brighton 
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