33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

Preserve me God, I take refuge in you. My happiness lies in you alone, you are my portion and my cup, you yourself are my prize. I keep you ever in my sight, even at night you direct my heart. With you at my right hand, I shall stand firm. And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad. For you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay. You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at you right hand, happiness for ever.

Assisted suicide bill 

Kim Leadbeater MP is introducing a bill to introduce assisted suicide, which will be voted on by MPs on the 29 November.
We know that assisted suicide laws in other jurisdictions have had devastating consequences for the poor, disabled and marginalised.
This is the biggest threat to the vulnerable in a decade, and we need a huge effort to lobby MPs to vote against it. Please contact your MP by writing to them at House of Commons, London SW1A0AA or visit the link below.

Second Collection 

Sunday 24th November is Youth Sunday and there is a second collection for Animate Youth. It is also the feast of Christ the King!

Deanery Advent Retreat 

A Deanery retreat will take place at St Edmund of Canterbury church, Waterloo, on Saturday 30th November 2024. It will begin at 10am and finish at 2:30pm.
All are welcome. A light lunch will be required.
Please sign the list at the back of church if you would like to attend.

Funerals 

The funeral service for John Lewis will take place here in St James’ on Tuesday 19th November at 12 noon.
Please remember John and his family in your prayers.
The funeral Mass for Eric Kavanagh will take place here in St James’ on Thursday 21st November at 12 noon.
Please pray for the repose of Eric’s soul and the comfort of his family.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

The widow’s mite comes in different ways. This widow’s generosity has become a symbol of true Christian generosity, in giving to the point where it pains; where giving becomes a sacrifice. We give it, wherever we are prepared to give our very best. The very best we give in the love of husband and wife. The very best we give in the priesthood or Religious life. The very best we give in the service of others, wherever that may be: at home, in school, in our place of work, in the service of our community, that is the widow’s mite.

Remembering the courage of 1944 

This year marks the 80th anniversaries of momentous battles and turning points of the Second World War. The D-Day landings of 6th June – the largest seaborne invasion in history – marked the beginning of the liberation of western Europe. Elsewhere on the globe exceptionally hard-fought battles were also turning the tide of the war. The Battle of Monte Cassino was the bloodiest of the Italian Campaign and in India Outnumbered British and Indian forces withstood weeks of siege and brutal fighting at the Battles of Kohima and Imphal. The Royal British Legion remembers the service and sacrifice of British and Commonwealth armed forces in these and other battles. The vital contribution of men and women from South Asia is also explored in our pages for South Asian Heritage Month.

Memorial Mass 

Our annual Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday 16th November at 11am. This is when we invite the families of those who have died in the last year to come and remember them and pray for them during this special Mass. Everyone in the Parish is welcome to join us and pray for their own deceased family members.

Deanery Advent Retreat 

A Deanery retreat will take place at St Edmund of Canterbury church, Waterloo, on Saturday 30th November 2024. It will begin at 10am and finish at 2:30pm.
All are welcome. A light lunch will be required.

Funerals 

The funeral Service for Bernie Shaw will take place here in St James’ on Wednesday 13th November at 11.45am.
Please remember Bernie and her family in your prayers.
The funeral Mass for Sue Hurley will take place here in St James’ on Friday 15th November at 11.30am.
Please pray for the repose of Sue’s soul and the comfort of her family.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

If only the heart was right we could give so much more. Lord, open our hearts when they are closed. Soften them when they are hard. Warm them when they are cold. Brighten them when they are dark. Fill them when they are empty. Calm them when they are troubled. Cleanse them when they are sullied. Heal them when they are wounded. And mend them when they are broken so that we, your disciples, may bear the fruits of love. Amen.

Memorial Mass 

Our annual Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday 16th November at 11am. This is when we invite the families of those who have died in the last year to come and remember them and pray for them during this special Mass. Everyone in the Parish is welcome to join us and pray for their own deceased family members.

Raffle 

A raffle will be held over the next two weekends to raise funds for the Parish.

November Dead List 

Available next weekend will be forms for listing your dead family and friends to be remembered during the month of November. Like last year, there are no envelopes because we would ask you not to put money with the lists. We will say one Mass each week in November for the Holy Souls, but we are unable to say any more. We have too many masses already.

Funeral 

The funeral Service for Margie McQueen will take place here in St James’ on Friday 8th November at 11.45am.
Please remember Margie and her family in your prayers.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

Helen Keller who went blind and deaf at nineteen months said:
“One day I asked a friend of mine who had just returned from a long walk in the woods what she had seen. She replied, “Nothing in particular.” “How was this possible?” I asked myself, “when I, who cannot hear or see, find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate shape and design of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly over the rough bark of a pine tree. Occasionally, I place my hand quietly on a small tree and if I’m lucky, feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. The greatest calamity that can befall people, is not that they should be born blind but that they should have eyes and yet fail to see.”

Memorial Mass 

Our annual Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday 16th November at 11am. This is when we invite the families of those who have died in the last year to come and remember them and pray for them during this special Mass. Everyone in the Parish is welcome to join us and pray for their own deceased family members.

One month to stop assisted suicide 

MPs will vote on this law on 29th November. To protect the vulnerable contact your MP and ask them to vote NO using the link below.

November Dead List 

Available next weekend will be forms for listing your dead family and friends to be remembered during the month of November. Like last year, there are no envelopes because we would ask you not to put money with the lists. We will say one Mass each week in November for the Holy Souls, but we are unable to say any more. We have too many masses already.

Funeral 

The Funeral Mass for Terry Page will take place here in St James’ on Wednesday 30th October at 12 noon. Please pray for the repose of Terry’s soul and the comfort of his family.

Holyday of Obligation 

Friday of this week, 1st November, is the Feast of All Saints and is a Holyday of Obligation. Masses that day will be at 10am and 7pm, as usual.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

James and John were two opportunists. Their one aim was to rise in the ranks. To achieve their end they did not hesitate to beg. They did not mind how much envy and resentment they aroused in their companions. Their aim was to scramble up the career ladder. But at what price to themselves? In the course of their rise to the top, people lose themselves, their own souls, whatever they do or achieve will be worthless. Power hardens the human heart.

World Mission Sunday 

Today, parishes worldwide celebrate World Mission Sunday. By supporting Missio, the Pope’s charity for world mission, we stand united as God’s global family, in prayer, solidarity, and action. We are called to ‘go and invite everyone to the banquet’ for the joy of Christ’s Resurrection is a gift meant to be shared with the entire world. Please pray for missionaries and give what you can to this vital collection, bringing God’s compassion, peace, and justice to those in need. To donate, use the Missio envelope, call 020 7821 9755 (office hours) or click the link below to donate.

Assisted suicide bill 

MPs are preparing to vote before Christmas on a Bill that, if passed, will legalise assisted suicide. The introduction of the Bill comes at a time when many elderly people are heading into winter with their Winter Fuel Payment cut by the Government. Palliative care services are in crisis with over 100,000 people dying each year without receiving the palliative care they desperately need. Within this context, this proposed assisted suicide law is a disaster waiting to happen.
Click the link below to ask your MP to stop assisted suicide being rushed into law.
Click here to watch actor and disability rights advocate Liz Carr’s BBC documentary on assisted suicide, Better Off Dead? where she examines the impact of one of the world’s most extreme assisted suicide laws in Canada.

SVP 

Two weeks ago, members of the SVP renewed their oath and had their hands anointed. Thank you for your support, you were all remembered in our Mass. We will be giving out our report of works done in due course. Please keep us in your prayers, God bless Ann Kirby and St James’ SVP

Funeral Service 

The funeral service for Peter Banks will take place here in St James’ on Friday 25th October at 12 noon.
Please remember Peter and his family in your prayers.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

Jesus saw that the rich young man had great potential, so he invited him to enter the world of sharing. But he wasn't up to it—riches got in the way. As he went away a sadness descended on him, the sadness that descends on us when we choose to live for ourselves. Even though Jesus was sad to see him go, nevertheless he let him go. There’s no point in forcing people to make sacrifices. If you take things from people, they are impoverished; but if you can get them to give them up, they are enriched. People are essentially good but this goodness has to be awakened and called forth if they are to enter the kingdom of love.

Assisted suicide bill 

MPs are preparing to vote before Christmas on a Bill that, if passed, will legalise assisted suicide. The introduction of the Bill comes at a time when many elderly people are heading into winter with their Winter Fuel Payment cut by the Government. Palliative care services are in crisis with over 100,000 people dying each year without receiving the palliative care they desperately need. Within this context, this proposed assisted suicide law is a disaster waiting to happen.
Click the link below to ask your MP to stop assisted suicide being rushed into law.
Click here to watch actor and disability rights advocate Liz Carr’s BBC documentary on assisted suicide, Better Off Dead? where she examines the impact of one of the world’s most extreme assisted suicide laws in Canada.

Prisoner’s Sunday 

Today is Prisoners’ Sunday, the National Day of Prayer and action for prisoners and their families. Let’s remember them in our prayers during Mass and during the course of the week.

Mission Appeal 

Sr Dymphna from The Holy Family Sister of the Needy (HFSN) will be making an appeal on behalf of the work of her congregation at each of the masses this weekend.
The second collection will be for this worthy cause. I’m sure you will be very welcoming and generous.

Funeral Service 

The funeral service for Peter Kelly will take place here in St James’ on Tuesday 15th October at 11.45am.
Please remember Peter and his family in your prayers.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

I tell you little children, not to hurry across the years. All that age has for you is a field of worry, a sea of tears, a mountain hard to climb where many fall and why should you not wander pure and small? Romance around our early morning lingers but not for long and beauty moves no more her magic fingers o’er cords of song. Sweetness will pine amid the sunless glades and innocence be gathered to the shades. I tell you, little children, not to squander sunny hours. Too soon will come the storms of lie, the thunder and leaden showers. O children, you are growing up too soon and you will weep the morning when ‘tis noon.
Patrick Kavanagh

Cafod Appeal 

Tom Delamere will speak to us at both Masses this weekend for CAFOD’S Harvest Family Fast Day appeal. Please remember to bring your CAFOD envelopes and put them in the plate any Sunday.

Mission Sunday 

The weekend of 19th /20th October is Mission Sunday and there is a mandatory Second collection for the World Mission. My apologies that these three collections have come so close together.
I try my best to space them out, but sometimes it doesn’t work!

Mission Appeal 

Next weekend, 12th / 13th October, Sr Dymphna will be making an appeal on behalf of her Congregation’s Missionary work and there will be a second collection to help her with that work. The Bishop has given her congregation permission to make that appeal.

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

Jesus warned those who would lead the little ones astray but he blessed those who care for them. One of the most touching things about children is their openness but this same openness leaves them extremely vulnerable. They may not say much but they feel everything. They are like crocuses which appear in the open in February—frail, delicate, beautiful creatures—innocents abroad in an unpredictable climate. If they are embraced by the sun, they will bloom to their full potential but if they are assailed by hail, they will die a premature death. Love is to a child what sunshine is to flowers.

Family Fast Day

Cafod’s Family Fast Day is this Friday, 4th October. Cafod envelopes are available at the back of the Church. Please take one away, make an offering, and bring it back and put it on the plate any time in the next couple of Sundays.

Tom Delamere from CAFOD will speak at both Masses next weekend for CAFOD’s Harvest Family Fast Day appeal.  Daniel, a young man in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, is carving a better future for his family with carpentry skills he learned in a CAFOD-funded training centre.  Give to CAFOD today please and you’ll fund training, tools, equipment and safe spaces so more people like Daniel can learn new skills and fulfil their God-given potential. Use the envelope in church or give online using the link below.  Also, if you could spare an hour or two every now and again to help CAFOD here in the parish, please contact Ged Edwards on 07779 804241 or gedwards@cafod.org.uk.

Lourdes Pilgrimage 2025 

As a ‘Family of Parishes’ we have been discussing a Pilgrimage to Lourdes. This will be from Mon 22nd to Fri 26th September, 2025 - 5 days/4 nights. The total cost is £725.00. (for a Twin shared room) and after paying the deposit of £250.00. (which is required to secure your booking), leaves a balance to pay of £475.00. There is a single room supplement of £120.00. and there are only 3 Single Rooms available.

Fr. Ged will be holding an Information/form-filling meeting on MONDAY, 21st OCTOBER at 7.00.pm. in St Monica’s Parish Centre. PLEASE NOTE: You will need to bring the deposit of £250.00. and also a photo-copy of your Passport, which must be valid for at least 6 months as at the date of travel. Tea & Coffee will be available.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

God’s inspiration is at work in everyone. However, there are people in whom divine inspiration seems to have no effect; people who commit crimes cold-bloodedly and who never rejoice at the sight of the true and the beautiful. Even though they may seem to prosper, their punishment is assured even in this world. The anxieties and fears that assail them make their prosperity a bitterness to them. As for the just, even though their passage through life is often dogged by misfortune, the inward satisfaction of obeying divine inspiration gives them great strength and is sufficient reward for them.

First Communion 

Our First Communion programme for children in Year 5, will begin again this month. The preparation is done in All Saints school. If your child is not in our school and you live in the Parish, and want them to make their First Communion, then please get in touch with either Fr Brian or Rita Shannon. Arrangement will be made for them to do their preparation in the Parish.

Pause for Hope — 22nd September 

The Metropolitan Cathedral will host a special Pause for Hope service on Sunday 22 September at 3pm, dedicated to supporting those affected by cancer. The event is open to all, with no tickets required. Catherine Jones, Chair of North West Cancer Research, will be the main speaker, and music will be provided by Billy Hui and Singme Merseyside. The service will be led by Rev Canon Bill Addy, Rev David Goodwin, and Bishop Tom Williams. This ecumenical and reflective gathering includes hymns, prayers, and the lighting of candles to remember loved ones lost to cancer and to pray for a future free from the disease.

Second Collection 

Apparently, last Sunday was “Evangelii Gaudium“ Sunday, (formerly known as Home Mission Sunday) and we should have had a Second Collection for the work of the Bishops’ Conference. It means we will have to have the collection this week. Sorry for the short notice.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

A watch may have a gold chain but if it doesn’t tell the time it is useless. A fruit tree may be teeming with blossoms but if it doesn’t produce fruit it is useless. A lamp may be studded with diamonds but if it doesn’t give light it is worthless. And a faith that doesn’t result in good works is dead. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service and the fruit of service is peace.

Family of Parishes Lourdes Pilgrimage 2025 

As a “Family of Parishes” we have been discussing the possibility of organising a pilgrimage to Lourdes which is most likely to be in September, 2025. Many parishioners have filled in their details on the “interest form” and numbers are already very encouraging. More information will follow in the coming weeks, and once we know costs etc. a deposit (of approximately £250.00.) will be required to secure your booking.

If you haven’t already done so, and are interested in going, there’s a list at the back of Church to leave your details.

Open Evening at the Salesian Academy of Saint John Bosco 

The next Open Evening at The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco will include a welcome from our Headteacher, a tour of school and the chance to explore our excellent facilities, with exciting activities on offer across all departments. 
Come along for a full tour of school, find out about the new build, and take part in exciting activities on offer across all departments. Thursday, 19th September 2024, 4pm-7pm.
Click the link below to register.

First Communion 

Our First Communion programme for children in Year 5, will begin again this month. The preparation is done in All Saints school. If your child is not in our school and you live in the Parish, and want them to make their First Communion, then please get in touch with either Fr Brian or Rita Shannon. Arrangement will be made for them to do their preparation in the Parish.

Mass Requests 

Our Mass book is now fully booked till the end of the year. We will no longer be able to accept any more requests for Masses. Bob has done his best to accommodate everyone, but can’t do the impossible! I would ask that people are reasonable about the number of Masses they ask for, so that everyone gets a fair chance. As a priest, I am only allowed to say Mass for one intention. If you would like a Mass to be said privatly for your intention, speak to Fr Jacob.