Fr Carl Davies has kindly agreed to offer Mass on Thursday 18th May 2023 for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Mass on Thursday will be celebrated at 6:00pm in the evening. The Ascension of the Lord is a holyday of obligation.
Times for the Sacred Pashal Triduum
Fr Carl Davies has kindly agreed to continue celebrating our Sunday Masses and also the Sacred Triduum.
Times for the Sacred Paschal Triduum are as follows:
Maundy Thursday 6th April
Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7:00pm
Good Friday 7th April
Solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion 3:00pm
Holy Saturday 8th April
The Solemn Vigil of Easter 8:00pm
Easter Sunday 9th April
Dawn Mass 10:30am
Our Parish Will be Open for the Holy Rosary
Starting on Monday 20th March, our Parish will be open for the public recitation of the Holy Rosary from Mondays to Fridays 6pm to 7pm and on Saturday 1pm to 2pm.
Come and pray for our parish, our priest, our community, for loved ones, for the Church and for the World.
For our latest newsletter, please click here.
Update on Fr Ray, Masses
Fr Ray is steadily improving in his health, while tired much of the time he is able to walk assisted with a zimmer frame and to sit down at a table long enough to take a meal. Continue to pray for his full recovery.
Fr Martin Thompson is celebrating both Sunday Masses today (26th February) and Fr Carl Davies will offer both Sunday Masses next Sunday (5th March).
Fr Anthony Dykes of Oscott College is visiting during the week and will offer Mass at 6pm on Tuesday and on Wednesday, the Feast of St David.
Sunday Masses at St Mary Magdalen Church
While Fr Ray is unwell and hopefully recuperating, Fr Carl Davies will celebrate the 10.30am and 5:00pm Sunday Masses at St Mary Magdalen Church for the time being. Pray for the recovery from illness of Fr Ray. Fr Ray will not be celebrating weekday Masses, but Sunday Masses will go ahead.
Friday and Saturday Mass Cancelled
Unfortunately, Fr Ray is in a lot of pain and so Mass on Friday evening (6pm) and Saturday (12 noon) are both cancelled. Please see this website, our noticeboard or our Facebook group for updated information for daily Mass. Of your charity, please pray for the recovery of our priest.
Christmas Mass Times
On Christmas Eve. 24th December there is a daytime Mass at 12 noon for Christmas Eve, the final Mass of Advent. Please note, this is not to be confused with the Mass During the Night ('Midnight Mass') at 7:00pm, the first Mass of Christmas on Saturday 24th December. On 25th December, Christmas Day, the second Mass of Christmas (Mass During the Day) will take place at 10:30am.
Christmas Mass Times
Saturday 24th December: Mass During the Night: 7:00pm
Sunday 25th December: Mass During the Day: 10:30am
Have a blessed, holy and happy Christmas!
Mass Times Change
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Sunday Mass times at St Mary Magdalen Church have today reverted to pre-Covid times of 10:30am and 5:00pm.
Weekday Mass times remain as advertised on the newsletter, 6pm Tuesday to Friday and 12 noon on Saturday.
Times for the Sacred Triduum
Holy Thursday 14th April
7:00pm
Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Good Friday 15th April
3:00pm
Solemn Liturgy of the Word
The Great Vigil of Easter 16th April
8:30pm
Easter Sunday 17th April
9:00am (Low Mass)
11:00am (Sung Mass)
Please note:
There is no evening Mass on
Easter Sunday.
Easter Sunday.
What is Sin?
At our last catechesis session in January we discussed sin, what it is and how the Church gives us the Sacraments and encourages us to pray to aid us in our battle against it. The next catechesis class will be on 'What is the Church?'
Bishop Richard's Pastoral Letter for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Against the Assisted Dying Bill
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
There has been much coverage of the Assisted Suicide Bill, currently making its way through the House of Lords. It is important that we take action to challenge this proposed legislation. It is also vital that we affirm our support for the best possible end-of-life care, including spiritual and pastoral support for those who are dying and for their families. This has been made all the more urgent as a result of the decision by the British Medical Association to take a neutral position on this issue, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
The Catholic Church remains opposed to any form of assisted suicide. It is a crime against human life and we cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it.
It is the case that, in this country as in many others, we have a growing elderly population. The needs of the elderly and the needs of those who live with disability have been highlighted further during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bill currently being considered raises serious questions about society’s ability to protect those who are most vulnerable. We must ask how the law can ensure that a person will be free from pressure to end their life prematurely due to perceptions about ‘quality’ or ‘worth’ of life, and will not feel the need to act out of a sense of ‘being a burden’ to family and to the wider society. In this context, it is important for us all to reach out to those who may feel isolated or lonely, enabling them to recognise their value and the contribution their experience and wisdom brings to others.
We have seen, in recent years, the impact of Assisted Suicide legislation in other parts of the world such as Belgium, Canada and the State of Oregon. Evidence shows that the introduction of laws for ‘small numbers of cases’ has inevitably led to an exponential growth in those seeking ‘assisted dying’. The State of Oregon has seen an increase of 1075% in ‘assisted deaths’ between 1998 and 2019, Belgium has seen a 925% increase between 2002 and 2019, and in Canada the increase in only four years between 2016 and 2020 has been 648%. These are deeply concerning figures and are accompanied by an expansion of grounds, to include assisted suicide for children, non-terminal illness and non-terminal psychiatric illness. We should be in no doubt that any legislation to permit assisted suicide in our own country would take us in the same direction.
This country has a fine tradition and experience in end-of-life care, rooted in the care and compassion that is at the core of our humanity. This is seen when the best possible care is available, that all may be enabled to come to the end of their lives with the best of pain relief, surrounded by family, whether in hospital, hospice or at home. The provision of this care should be a priority.
As followers of Christ, we recognise the Sanctity of Life in all around us. This must urge us to call everyone to this place of compassion; to the greatest care and respect for the most vulnerable in our society. The work of opposing this Bill demands our prayerful support and action.
You can find out more and gain information as to the best possible way to oppose the Bill on the website of the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/life-issues/
Information has also been sent to parishes and is available on our own diocesan e-news and website: www.abdiocese.org.uk
With every Blessing,
+Richard
On the Credibility of the Catholic Church
Cardinal Robert Sarah has written an excellent article which appears in the National Catholic Register, click here to view and read it.
Memoria of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
From Catholic Company.Com
'One of the most popular Marian devotions in the Catholic Church today is that of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, often honoured alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This devotion has its roots in Sacred Scripture, which makes frequent mention of Mary's contemplative heart, for example in Luke 2:19:
"But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart."
According to Catholic doctrine, Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, Mary was conceived without the corruption of original sin, and was preserved from committing any actual sins throughout the course of her life through the infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. She was virginal not only of soul, but also of body, both before and after giving birth to Our Lord.
Our Lady was created literally "Full of Grace" as the Archangel Gabriel declared at the Annunciation, meaning that her soul was literally adorned with all of the virtues at the moment of her conception, as well as all the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
This fullness of grace is said to emanate from the center of her being—her heart—understood both physically and spiritually.
It is Mary's heart, in its unspoiled created perfection, that is the source and wellspring of her purity . . . therefore her heart is called Immaculate.
Our Lord took His sacred humanity from the flesh and blood of his Blessed Mother; Christ's heart is taken from her heart. At Calvary, the perfect hearts of Jesus and Mary were united for the salvation of mankind. And this is why the Two Hearts are honoured together...'
For full article click here.
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