At his baptism Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit filled Jesus with the power to be ‘a light to the nations’. Living his life in purity, truth, humility, love, faithfulness and obedience to his Father, Jesus reflected God’s light into a sinful world, dispelling the darkness of sin, unbelief and ignorance: ‘I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness’. He brought us the light of faith and true knowledge so we could know the Father and do the Father’s will.
The Spirit filled Jesus with the power to offer his life in sacrifice for the sins of the world in order that God’s ‘salvation may reach to the end of the earth’. That is why John said to Jesus, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ As God’s Chosen One, faithful and obedient, Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit’ so that the Spirit will give believers the power to be light to the world and to bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth. We are light to the world as we live our lives in ‘compassion, kindness, lowliness meekness and patience’. These virtues dispel the darkness around us just as a lamp placed on a stand ‘gives light to all in the house’. We bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth as we seek to live righteous and holy lives, rejecting the temptations that assail us, repenting of the sins we have committed, ‘forbearing one another, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other’.
By being light to the nations and bringing God’s salvation to the ends of the earth. Jesus glorified his Father: ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified’. Like Jesus, we give glory to the Father by being light to the world and pursuing righteousness and peace. Ask the Spirit to fill you with power so that you may be light to her world and bring God’s salvation – mercy, love, peace and forgiveness – to those around you.
Dear Friends in Christ, 2nd Sunday of the Year 2023
This week we were privileged to have Bishop Alan visit our Parish School of St John Fisher. He blessed the New Altar (with a beautiful carved image of St John Fisher on the front) which the parish purchased for the school. After the Mass Bishop Alan visited all the children in their classes. It was a truly beautiful visit, and the Bishop shared with the children the meaning of the concept of shepherd, and how every Bishop is a shepherd to his people. My thanks to Mr Iain Kendal, our executive Headteacher for the newly formed Academy Trust. Please keep our parish school in your prayers. If there are any final applications for Reception places for September 2023, the deadline is Sunday 15th January.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT: Could I ask all parishioners to seriously think about attending an extra mass during the week. In this New Year of 2023 it would be truly wonderful to make an extra special effort of commitment in faith on a regular basis. Our daily Mass is at 10.00am, not too early! The Holy Mass is for Roman Catholics the greatest expression of our faith. Also, could I make a special appeal to the many parishioners and families who didn’t return to the regular practice of faith after the Pandemic to seriously think about the whole life of faith? It would be tragic to think that a decision not to attend the weekly mass and practice faith anymore would have a generational effect on families. All it takes is one person to stop the practice of faith, and literally generations of Catholic practice comes to an end. These are really important issues to think about at the beginning of this New Year.
YOUR CRIB OFFERINGS: All your donations at the Cribs inside and outside will go towards the work of the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society. This is one of the main forms of fund-raising for the BCCS. The Society usually sees about 5,000 clients every year from our diocese. Much of this work is done throughout Catholic Schools. The Cribs will remain up until the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord 2nd February and the Special Annual Crib Collection will take place on the weekend 31st Jan/1st Feb. thanking you all in anticipation.
May God Bless You All,
ELECTRONIC CHRISTMAS OFFERING: It’s still not too late to make your Christmas Offering. If you were unable to be present over the Christmas period, envelopes are available to make your Christmas Offering, which is your personal Christmas gift to your Parish Priest, which forms the major part of his salary. This year your Christmas Offering can also be made electronically. You just need to transfer the money to the parish account with the reference ‘Xmas Offering’. Please quote your Gift Aid Number also. Any questions please ask Iain McLay (bloggeriain@gmail.com). The details of the bank account are:
Sort Code: 40-13-22 ‘Xmas Offering’ + GA Number
Account Number: 11019651
Account Name: Catholic Church Loughton St Edmund.
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION CLASSES: Continue on Sunday 15th January 2023 at 10.00am in the Parish Retreat. It is imperative that all children attend each of the Communion Classes. It’s also come to my attention that some children are not attending Weekly Sunday Mass, and some children have missed a number of the Sunday sessions. If this is the case, I would think very seriously about putting your child forward for Communion; the last thing I want to do is have a weekly register, like many of the parishes throughout the diocese. It really is not fair on the child if they are absent from the weekly celebration. If you are unable to attend any session for some reason please contact Fr. John directly (not Mrs Poulter) Tel: 02085083492 Next Parents’ Meeting Wednesday 8th February at 7.30pm
BAPTISMS: If there are parents wishing to have their children baptised at St Edmund’s could you kindly contact Fr John as soon as possible. For first time parents there is a Baptismal Programme run by Mrs Sharon Chalk. Baptisms take place on either Saturday or Sunday at 12.30pm
CAN YOU HELP? We are desperately in need of additional help for the Altar Society; over the past year or so, we’ve lost a number of our regular helpers who clean the church. If you are able to give half an hour or so every month to help keep our Church beautifully clean and tidy, this is all we ask. If you’re able to help please contact Sharon Fitzmaurice 07854919207 or shazzafitzm@aol.com or Fr John. 0208 508 3492
STUDY DAY ON THE APOSTLE PAUL: The next Gidea Park Study Day will be on Saturday 21st January 2023 from 11 am until 1.30 pm at the Catholic Church of Christ the Eternal High Priest, Gidea Park. The speaker is Dr Sean Michael Ryan, chair of the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain, and research associate at the Margaret Beaufort Institute in Cambridge. Dr Ryan will speak about ‘The Gospel according to St Paul’. The event is either in-person or live-stream. Coffee will be available for those attending in-person from 10.30 am. Please bring a packed lunch. Gidea Park Station (Elizabeth Line) is five minutes from the church. For those attending via livestream simply go to http://www.whatgoodnews.org on the day. Recording of the talks will be made available after the event on the same website.
CHARITY JAZZ CONCERT AT ST EDMUND’S On 25th February (3.00-5.00pm) there will be an afternoon jazz concert at St Edmund’s Hall in aid of The Helen Rollason Cancer Charity. The wonderful Winnie Greer and her band will be performing Jazz classics and some contemporary pieces. Tickets are £20 each, please contact Kathleen Faherty 07305817658 or go to https://bit.ly/registerforjazzloughton
SCOUT WORLD JAMBOREE On 11th February, 7.15pm St Edmund’s Hall, there will be a Gin tasting Event to raise funds to send some of our Scouts to the World Scout Jamboree, a wonderful experience for them. Tickets are £20 each. For full details and how to purchase tickets please email WSJ2023gin@gmail.com .
PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE SICK IN OUR PARISH
Margaret Baldwin, Evelyn Bearne, Karl Britz, Carlos Camacho, Jane Downs, Steve Dalgliesh, Pat Fenn, Bernadette Hall, Ann Hawkes, Claire Howes, Jackie Ilines, Noel Johnson, Shaun Keel, Bridget Kinsella, Angela Long, Lilian Mothersole, John McKernan, Rosemary O’Rourke, Remy, Geraldine Taylor, Vera Taylor, Mary & Steve Witten, James Wright. And all our loved ones.
ANNIVERSARIES: Michael Barrass RIP, Brenda Deamer RIP, William Hatley RIP. Please pray for all whose anniversaries occur at this time and for all of our deceased loved ones, Requiescant in Pace.
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 PLEASE BE GENEROUS IN YOUR
Account Number: 11019651 GIFT TO GOD & HIS CHURCH
THESE DETAILS CAN BE ALSO BE USED FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS OFFERING TO Fr JOHN, PLEASE QUOTE CHRISTMAS OFFERING & YOUR GIFT AID NUMBER. THANK YOU!
SPECIAL APPEAL To all our parishioners who contribute to your parish weekly. Would you please consider to transferring your Weekly Offertory over to a Direct Debit. With the closing of the local HSBC Bank it has been quite difficult paying in the Offertory, and with many banks now only offering a machine deposit service. Please think about this request. Thank you!
PARISH FINANCES: As you can appreciate, during this pandemic the parish income took a severe hit, and we are still not back at the same levels as we were prior to 2020. My sincere and grateful thanks to those who have signed up for online giving and Gift Aid, this is helping. Many parishioners have not returned to the regular practice of faith, and many Gift Aid boxes were not collected this year. Please consider your weekly offertory to God.
ALTAR SERVERS: I would like to make an appeal to the whole parish community for some more children to volunteer to become Altar Servers. It is a wonderful way of serving God and the community. Just speak to Fr John directly and he will arrange for training and for you to receive and Alb & Cincture.
If there are children who no longer serve at St Edmund’s, would you kindly return your Alb & Cincture as soon as possible please
REGISTERING AT THE PARISH: It’s always important to have details of all of our parishioners. There are Parish Registration Forms in the Porch of the Church. Please complete and return to the Presbytery.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A VOCATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD? At present we only have five seminarians training for the Priesthood in the Diocese of Brentwood. The period of formation for each is several years. If you know of anyone who may be interested in learning more about the priesthood, or who feels they may have a vocation to the Priesthood please contact Fr Mark Swires vocprom@dioceseofbrentwood.org
ESCORTED PILGRIMAGE TO KNOCK SHRINE, IRELAND on 29th May 2023, led by Bishop Alan Williams. £699.00 per person, sharing; single supplement £150.00. Price includes flight, all transfers, 4 nights in Knock House Hotel with full board. All entertainment and excursions included. Day trips to Westport, Ballintubber Abbey, Croagh Patrick, Fr. Peyton Centre & National Museum. Contact Patricia on 01268 762278 or 07740 175557 or email knockpilgrimages@gmail.com.
PARISH REPOSITORY: There is a lot of new stock in the repository. Mass Cards for all occasions. Children’s books. Rosaries, medals, holy picture cards, candles, baptismal gifts, and many more items. There are also a number of CTS little books in a special stand on all sorts of different issues, the saints etc. There are Statues, rosaries, medals, bracelets. Teresa Wallace is happy to order anything your request; it usually takes about a week to arrive.
DO YOU LIKE SINGING? As you know we have a wonderful Choir and Choir Director in Sue Farrow. We are looking for new choir members who like singing with others. We learn traditional and contemporary pieces of music, and also sing Motets in four parts. If you’re interested please speak to Sue or Fr John. Choir practice on Wednesdays & Saturdays.
EPPING FOREST FOODBANK DONATIONS: Thank you to all parishioners who continue to generously donate items for the Foodbank. They are truly grateful for the generosity our parish has shown 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: pasta sauce, rice pudding, jam, tinned fruit, snack / breakfast bars, chocolate bars, shower gel, toilet roll and deodorant. URGENTLY NEEDED: Small jars of coffee, washing up liquid, sponge pudding desserts and instant mash. Thank you! You can also keep up to date with the Foodbank news via their facebook page: www.facebook.com/EppingForestFoodbank/
IRREGULAR MARRIAGES: An Irregualr Marriage is one that 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
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY LITURGY: Thank you for starting children’s Sunday Liturgy again. But we need more help. Parents, can you spare one Sunday every two months to help the children during the 11.00am Mass? We need more parents to join our lovely group. Please contact Mrs Elena Manara at e_vismara@yahoo.com Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon.
FROM OUR GIFT AID ORGANISER: Our Parish Gift Aid Organiser is Abbie Akinfenwa – abbie.akinfenwa@btinternet.com or text to 0775470934 with your name and gift aid number. I would encourage all parishioners to join the Parish Gift Aid Scheme. If you are a Tax Payer, it’s a really painless process, all we need is you name and address, there are Gift Aid Application Forms in the Porch of the Church, and Abbie can give you all the help you need re information. We are able to claim back 25 pence in every pound donated to the church, when you use you envelopes or pay by Standing Order. Please think about joining, and thanks to those who already belong!
MASS INTENTIONS – JANUARY 2023
| Sat 14th | 10.00am | Esterlita Garcia RIP (Ingrid Bacani) |
| Confessions 11am – 12Noon or on demand Vigil Mass for Sunday. Confessions at 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 14th | 6.00pm | Aoife Hogan RIP (Sue & Frank Hogan) |
| Sun 15th | 9.00am | Sara Sanchez RIP (Anthony Family) |
| Sun 15th | 11:00am | Mrs J Taylor’s Int’s (Eileen Lee) |
| Mon 16th | 10.00am | James (Maureen Perry) |
| Tues 17th | 10.00am | Thomas & Mary Lamb RIP (Margaret Duffy) |
| Wed 18th | 10.00am | Mary Walstow RIP (2nd Anni) Teresa Walstow) |
| Thur 19th | 10.00am | Karen, David & Neil Emslie’s Int’s (M Duffy) |
| Fri 20th | 10.00am | Eileen & George Whatmore RIP & John & Rose Leonard RIP (Margaret Duffy) |
| Sat 21st | 10.00am | Fr Patrick Hayward’s B’day Int’s (Margaret Duffy) |
| Confessions 11am – 12Noon or on demand Vigil Mass for Sunday. Confessions at 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 21st | 6.00pm | Raynaldo Del Fiero RIP (Bacuetes Family) |
| Sun 22nd | 9.00am | People of the Parish |
| Sun 22nd | 11:00am | Tessie Houston RIP (Ann & Jean Cocklin) |
Please kindly put your Mass requests in early for anniversaries etc., this is to avoid any disappointment if a particular date has already been booked,
Parish Phone No: 0208 508 3492 Email: loughton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
The Brentwood Diocesan Trust Registered Charity No. 234092
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading : Isaiah 49:3,5-6
The Lord said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel,
in whom I shall be glorified’;
I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,
my God was my strength.
And now the Lord has spoken,
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
to gather Israel to him:
‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;
I will make you the light of the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 39(40):2,4,7-10
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.
He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Second Reading : 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ; for he is their Lord no less than ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.
Gospel : John 1:29-34
Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD
St Edmund of Canterbury 