St. Edmund of Canterbury & St. Thomas More
<strong>Twenty Eighth Sunday of the Year, 2022</strong> – St Edmund of Canterbury
Mary’s Assumption points to John 14:3: ‘and when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.’ Marr was assumed body and soul into heaven to be with Jesus, the Son of God, who had gone to prepare a place for her. In 1950 Pope Pis XI said ‘Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.’We accept this teaching, this doctrine of the Church, as an article of faith. We believe and so we pray, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace.’ Mary is truly the Queen of Heaven.
We celebrate her life and rejoice in her everlasting reward. Through the witness of Mary, we are slo reminded that today is an opportunity for us to renew our own hope in the promise, that on the last day, our soul, which separates form our body at death, is reunited with our resurrection body,a nd we rise to life everlasting, body and soul. This is an exciting and wonderful truth thatshould spur us on in the living out of our faith, day by day. Speaking of that body, St. Paul writes: ‘What is sown is persishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in wekeness; it is raised in power. It is sown in a physical body; it is raised in a spititual body.’
Today, we rejoice in Mary, our Mother in faith, and give praise to God for her faithfulness, obedience and love. She is the perfect model of every Christian virtue, and it is fitting that Scripture and tradition unite to proclaim her assumption into eternal rewad in heaven.
COVID UPDATE: As more and more of the country opens up, we still need to be vigilant during the Pandemic. It has not gone away, and there are many countries in the world that are suffering really badly. Protecting each other is fundmentally at the heart of our daily living. Encouraging all to receive the vaccination is extrmely important. At church we continue to abide by health and sefety guideleines; Face coverings; hand sanitisation; track & trace paper slips; communion under one species; ventilation in the church. It’s wonderful to see so many parishioners retruning to the weekly practice of the faith. Sunday Masses have resumed the old schedule: Saturday Vigil Mass at 6.00pm. Sunday Masses at 9.00am & 11.00am
Dear Friends in Christ, The Assumption of the BVM
Once again it was truly wonderful to see so many of our parishioners, who have returned to regular practice of faith through Sunday Mass. I would like to encourage the whole parish community to take heart in all the measures we have taken to protect health and safety here in the parish church. As the country slowly opens up, there still maybe those who are apprehensive and scared. Never before in our lifetimes have we experienced anything quite like this Pandemic. It’s affected the whole world. Here in the UK we are streets ahead of many other countries throughout the world with nearly 90% on the population being vaccinated, and 74% with second vaccinations. This is remarkable, and hopefully the numbers will start to reduce of people contracting the virus. 16 to 18 year olds have now also been given the go ahead for vaccinations. The Church will continue the highest health and safety standards. Over a two week period we were checked by our health and safety officer and have received an excellent report back, which I’m truly grateful for.
I thank the whole of our community for being so understanding during the past 18 months, it’s not been easy. We are trying to move forwards. To those who have got out of the habit of coming to Church – obviously we opened up back in July 2020 – but I would really encourage all families to make that very special effort to return to the weekly practice of faith. As Roman Catholics we belong to a community of faith, and together we are strong and united in Christ Jesus. I think the whole community for your ongoing Weekly Support through your Offertory. All parishes have experienced a dramatic drop in income, and now we have to cut our cloth accordingly!
PARISH WEEKLY OFFERTORY: Last Friday our local HSBC Bank closed for the last time. The parish and diocese bank with HSBC and our account has been transferred to Walthamstow. Could I encourage our parishioners to seriously think about your weekly offertory and going on to a direct debit scheme? Please remember to quote your Gift Aid number when you set up the direct debit. My thanks to all those who have already done this! You can also give online, details on the opposite page. As I have already mentioned our weekly offertory has taken a dramatic hit over the past 18 months. Thank you to all parishioners who give so generously each week to keep the parish afloat.
May God Bless You All This Week
WEEKLY OFFERTORY: My sincere thanks to those who are making their weekly contribution of Gift Aid envelopes and through the banking system that has been set up through the Diocese whereby your Offertory can be paid directly into the Parish Account, details below:
Or you can use Parish Bank Account: Using Online Banking
HSBC Sort Code 40-13-22
Account Number: 11019651
RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS: If you know of anyone who may be interested in learning more about the Roman Catholic Faith possibly with the view of receiving the Easter Sacraments in 2022. I am hoping to begin our programme in September, following a systematic instruction in all aspects of Catholicism. It would be wonderful to have a few people on the programme. Could you spread the word about please! If you want to know more about the programme please contact Fr. John at the Presbytery for more detials on Tel No: 020 8508 3492. Start Date for Programme: Thursday 9th September 2021.
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAMME: The programme will commence with a Parents’ Information Evening on Wednesday 15th September at 7.30pm in the Parish Hall. The children’s programme will commence on Sunday 19th September at 10.00, and the children will be formally presented as candidates of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist at the 11.00am Mass. Please put these dates in your diary. Thank you!
ALTAR SOCIETY: Please can we appeal to all parishioners for help to keep our church clean. During lockdown we have only asked a few a few deep cleans but now things will be changing, we desperately need your help to keep a weekly rota going. Cleaning is split between the altar, sanctuary, main church, front porch/library, choir loft brass ware and candle racks. The duties include dusting, sweeping, mopping, polishing, window/door cleaning, hoovering, linens and polishing. You can do as much or as little as you are able to do (1 hour at the most, per month) and all parishioners are invited to help, regardless of age or gender. To register your interest please contacts Sharon Fitzmaurice on 07854919207 or shazzafitzm@aol.com UNFORTUNATELY, THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE RESPONSE TO THIS REQUEST. IF YOU CAN HELP PLEASE LET US KNOW. THANKS!
EPPING FOREST FOODBANK DONATIONS: Thank you to all parishioners who continue to generously donate items for the Foodbank during these difficult times. The Foodbank are truly grateful for the generosity our parish has shown throughout the pandemic and our donations are still needed desperately as more and more people in our community are finding it hard to make ends meet. The Foodbank have asked for support with the following items: Long-life fruit juice, tinned tomatoes, instant mash, tinned fish, tinned peas, tinned carrots, tinned potatoes, small jars of instant coffee, small or medium bags of rice, sponge pudding, snack bars, chocolate bars, chocolate spread and savoury crackers Thank you! You can also keep up to date with the Foodbank news via their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/EppingForestFoodbank/
A LEVEL & GCSE RESULTS: Congratulations to all our young people on their A Level & GCSE results. I hope you all gained the grades you need for University & Sixth Form! Obviously this has been a difficult year with regards examinations, and talking to some of our young people, they had to work even harder for teacher assessments on their work. I pray that all our young people will get the required results they need to pursue their chosen subjects in the future.
REQUIESCAT IN PACE: In your mercy please pray for the repose of the soul of Patricia Pinagli, long time parishioners at St. Edmund’s, who passed away during the week. Her Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Thursday 19th August at 1.00pm at St. Edmund’s. We extend our condolences to her family in this time of great loss.
BAPTISMS: It is now permissible once again to have Baptisms with larger groups of family & guests. Manifestly, there are many people who haven’t been able to have baptisms over the past 18 months. Kindly contact Fr. John to arrange your child’s baptism as soon as possible please. There is a Baptism Programme for first time parents.
PARISH REPOSITORY: There are a large number of gifts and cards available in the Repository. There are rosaries, statues, medals, candles, special cards, prayer crosses, Anniversary Cards for all occasions, and many other items that would be suitable gifts for all occasions. Please leave your money in the basket provided. Thanks
BRENTWOOD CATHOLIC CHILDREN’S SOCIETY:
Can you help please? During the pandemic, the work of the Brentwood Catholic Childrens Society (bccs) in counselling and supporting children and their families in need throughout the Diocese has greatly increased. During this time, bccs has been unable to run many of its fund-raising events to assist with the cost of supporting this vital work and income has dropped significantly as a result.
A major fund-raising event, called ‘bccs Relay 100’, has recently been launched by Bishop Alan on behalf of bccs which involves 100 legs and links every parish in the Diocese. Volunteers from each parish are invited to walk, run or jog one or more of these legs – each leg being a distance of several miles between two or three of their own and surrounding parishes. They will be in good company, because Bishop Alan has already completed one of the legs!
Here in Loughton, the Burrowes, Poulter and Jewell families have kindly agreed to walk some of these legs to represent our Parish in this cross-Diocese event and it would be much appreciated if many of us could sponsor them.
Our three volunteer families are aware, as we all are, of the many calls for support from worthwhile charities during these difficult times and may not wish to bother you unduly, but bccs as you know is an extremely worthwhile cause close to our hearts and we hope that you feel able to sponsor them.
You can do this in any of the following ways:
By offering your sponsor donation directly to them.
By donating through the website https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/Relay100
By sending your donation to bccs, Childcare House, Little Wheatley Chase, Rayleigh, SS6 9EH
By making your donation via on-line banking to Brentwood Catholic Childrens Society, account number 31094130 and sort code 40 13 22
Whichever way you choose, kindly mention our Parish and the name(s) of our volunteers who you are sponsoring. Also, if you are a tax payer, please confirm if you are willing for your donation to be Gift-Aided.
We know that bccs will be extremely grateful for whatever donation, large or small, you can offer to sponsor our Parish walkers in this important Diocese-wide fund-raising event. Thank you very much.
HOLIDAYS: As we’re in the midst of the the holiday season of the year. I would like to wish all of our families a happy holiday. I hope you will be able to take a break and possibly get away for a while. For many of us, it’s been nearly two years since we’ve had a break. Everyone needs that special time away to recharge batteries. Have a good rest and relaxation. With the lifting of restrictions, people may even be able to get abroad. Continue to keep safe and well. Although we are nearly 90% vaccinated here in UK, it’s not the same in Europe.
DIARY AUGUST 2021
PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE SICK IN OUR PARISH
Carmen Antaki, Margaret Baldwin, Evelyn Bearne, Brian Beveridge, Karl Britz, Carlos Camacho, Jane Downs, Steve Dalgliesh, Pat Fenn, Veronica Godsave, Bernadette Hall, Ann Hawkes, Claire Howes, Noel Johnson, Shaun Keel, Angela Long, Lilian Mothersole, John McKernan, Rosemary O’Rourke, Kathleen Pomeroy, Geraldine Taylor, Vera Taylor, Mary Witten, James Wright. And all our loved ones.
ANNIVERSARIES: Martin Duffy RIP & For all whose anniversaries occur at this time and for all of our deceased loved ones, Requiescant in Pace.
MASS INTENTIONS: It has always been a custom within the Roman Catholic Faith to have an Intention offered when celebrating Holy Mass. Intentions can be for all occasions: e.g. For a deceased member of a family; deceased anniversary mass; Birthday intention; Special Occasions; Get Well Mass; Success in exams; Special milestone anniversaries, Wedding, Ordination, Confirmation. In fact, you can offer a Mass for almost every occasion! There are Mass Intention envelopes and Special Mass Cards for all occasions in the Repository at the back of the Church. (Please complete Mass envelope and enclose your Mass Offering and drop off at the Presbytery); I will always try to accommodate the date you have requested, or the nearest date to it. It’s always beautiful to receive a Mass card from someone!
IRREGULAR MARRIAGES: An irregualr marriage is one tht has taken place outside of the Catholic Church without dispensation. For example: Marriages in hotels, and secualr venues, on beaches or Las Vegas; marriage in a non Catholic Church without dispensation from the Bishop. These marriages are not recognised by the Catholic Church, and therefore are non sacramental & irregular. But there is a facility in the Church to recetify these situations called a Convalidation (this is a strictly private facility that is offered by the church). As marriage and family life is what I specialised in while studying Canon Law, if anyone wishes to speak to me confidentially please don’t hesitate to contact me: Tel No: 0208 508 3492
FR JOHN CAN HELP YOU, AS THIS WAS HIS AREA OF SPECIALITY WHEN STUDYING CANON LAW
PROSPECTIVE MARRIAGES FOR 2022/23: If anyone is planning on getting married wihin the next 18 months, could you kindly make contact with the Church. As the Pandemic has delayed many marriages over the past 16 months, there is now a catch-up taking place, and many people have had to rescedule their weddings and receptions accordingly. For marriages abroad, we need at least nine months notice, as all the documentation has to be completed at least two months in advance of the wedding and sent abroad. There is also an Engaged Couple’s Marriage Prepraration Programme to complete; which is a requirement for Catholic Marriage. For those couples getting married in your own parish church, a six month notification is needed. There is now a new format for the Civil Registration of Marriage. There is no more signing of registers, this is now abrogated for a simpler form of signatures; but all of these procedures take time. So please notify the church in plenty of time for weddings. Thank you!
MASS INTENTIONS – AUGUST 2021
| Sat 14th | 10.00am | Ebert Fernando RIP (Christine Fernando) |
| Vigil Mass for Sunday: Confessions at 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 14th | 6.00pm | David Staines B’day Int’s (Melinda Staines) |
| Sun 15th | 9.00am | People of the Parish |
| Sun 15th | 11:00am | Robert Taylor RIP (Eileen Lee) |
| Mon 16th | 10.00am 10.30am | Teresa Kane RIP (Margaret Duffy) Holy Hour with Exposition of Bl. Sacrament |
| Tues 17th | 10.00am | John Patrick Gormley (John Gormley) |
| Wed 18th | 10.00am | Mary Faherty B’day Int’s (K Faherty) |
| Thurs 19th | 10.00am 10.30am 1.00pm | Peter Smith RIP (Paul Falco) Holy Hour with Exposition of Bl. Sacrament Requiem Mass. PATRICIA PINAGLI RIP |
| Fri 20th | 10.00am 10.30am | Andrew Hurley’s Int’s (K Faherty) Holy Hour with Exposition of Bl. Sacrament |
| Sat 21st | 10.00am | David Faud RIP B’day Anni ( The Rooney Family) |
| Vigil Mass for Sunday Confessions 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 21st | 6.00pm | Martin Duffy RIP (2nd Anni) (Sarah Duffy) |
| Sun 22nd | 9.00am | For sick family members (Peter Wright) |
| Sun 22nd | 11:00am | Thanksgiving B’d Int’s (Melinda Staines) |
Please kindly be patient with your mass requests. I will try to accommodate your requested dates, but there have been a large number of requests recently and we celebrate masses in the order in which we receive them.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Solemnity
First Reading : Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10
The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it.
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother. The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready.
Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, ‘Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ.’
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 44(45):10-12,16
On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.
The daughters of kings are among your loved ones.
On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:
forget your own people and your father’s house.
On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.
So will the king desire your beauty:
He is your lord, pay homage to him.
They are escorted amid gladness and joy;
they pass within the palace of the king.
On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.
Second Reading : 1 Corinthians 15:20-26
Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.
Gospel : Luke 1:39-56
Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
And Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD
St Edmund of Canterbury 