Edmund of Canterbury & St. Thomas More
Jesus Christ is Risen, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
As we gather together to celebrate the greatest event in history, the triumph over sin & death by Jesus Christ Our Lord; we thank God for the gift of his Son, who, through his Life, Passion, Death & Resurrection has won for us Eternal Life. A New Life began on that first Easter morning. Everything that Jesus did with the Apostles would now come to fruition with the beginning of the Church. You and I are part of that ongoing story of Salvation History.
Today, we gather to worship the Risen Lord, and thank God for the gift of his Son and His saving action. We have much to be grateful for, and even in the darkest moments of our lives, and many have experienced these over the past twelve months, we can express our gratitude to Almighty God. Hope is at the heart of the Easter story, and combined with faith and love, our lives are filled with the Joy of the Resurrection. Our lives have meaning and purpose and our goal is ultimately Heaven. ‘The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia!’
Dear Friends in Christ: Easter Sunday 2023
I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make our Holy Week ceremonies so wonderful. It is truly wonderful to see so many people have returned to the regular practice of the faith. For those who haven’t, I make this impassioned plea to all Catholics to return to the full-practice of faith. My sincere thanks go to our Steward Volunteers, serving the parish every week, To all those who work behind the scenes, sacristans, altar society, MC’s & servers, Choir director and choirs, Readers & Eucharistic Ministers. Special thanks to all the ladies who arranged the flowers for Easter; and for all who donated lilies in remembrance of deceased loved ones. To be part of a worshipping community is one of the greatest blessings as Catholic Christians; and being able to express our faith on this Easter Day is the greatest Joy of all! Thank you one and all!
Wishing you and all your Loved Ones a Very Happy & Holy Easter.
May the Peace & Joy of the Risen Lord be with you All.
Love & God Bless,
ELECTRONIC EASTER OFFERING: Envelopes will be available for your Easter Offering, which is your opportunity to make your Easter gift to your Parish Priest, which goes to make up his salary for the Year. This year our Easter Offering can also be made electronically. We just need to transfer the money to the parish account with the reference ‘Easter Offering’; please also quote you Gift Aid Number. Any questions please ask Iain McLay (bloggeriain@gmail.com).
The details of the bank account are:
Sort Code: 40-13-22
Account Number: 11019651 Quote: ‘Easter Offering’ & Gift Aid No.
Account Name: Catholic Church Loughton St Edmund
There are also spare envelopes available at the back of the Church
NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS: On behalf of the parish I would like to thank Fr Aaron Kelly for being with us throughout this Holy Week & Easter, it has been a great joy to have him here. He leaves on Easter Sunday afternoon.
Six seminarians will be arriving from the NAC this week. May I make an appeal to your generosity? Could I ask for some desserts please? My experience through the years is that they all like desserts, especially home-made apple pies, Trifles, etc. Also as you can appreciate they like a drink as well. If anyone has any spare bottles of Whiskey, Gin, Port or Wine, these will certainly not be wasted. I sincerely hope you don’t mind me asking. Thanking you in anticipation.
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION CLASSES: The next session for our children will take place on Sunday 23rd April at 10.00am in the Parish Retreat. Our grateful thanks to the children & their Catechists who prepared them for lead our Parish Mass last Sunday. It would be truly wonderful to have some of our young children and teenagers reading at our 11.00am Mass. If there are any young people interested please see Fr. John r Kathryn Poulter. This week the children will focus on the Last Supper.
RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS: Journey of Faith. Is there anyone who may be interested in the RCIA Programme, possibly with the view of being received into full-communion with the Roman Catholic Faith? Every year we run this programme leading to reception into the Church at the Easter Vigil. It is a systematic programme of every aspect of Catholicism, including Scripture, Sacramental Life, and The Dogma’s of our Faith, Catholic Practice & traditions, Christology & Mariology, Study of the Church. Please see Fr John who will explain the whole process to you.
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.
IN CASES OF EMERGENCY: Tuesday is usually Fr. John’s Day Off. In cases of emergency please call one of the local parishes, either in Epping – Tel: 01992 572516, or the St. Thomas of Canterbury Friary at Woodford Green – Tel: 020 8504 1688. This would also apply if Fr. John is away for a few days break or on Retreat. All the local funeral directors have a contact number for Fr. John if a funeral needs to be arranged in his absence.
MASS INTENTIONS – EASTER WEEK – APRIL 2023
| Sat 8th | 9.00am10.00am | Tenebrae (Office Of readings & Morning Prayer)Confessions until 11.00am |
| Holy Saturday | Confessions 11am – 12Noon or on demandVigil Mass for Sunday. Confessions at 5.30pm | |
| Sat 8th Easter Vigil | 8.00pm | John & Mary Harvey RIP (Fr John) |
| Sun 9th Easter Sunday | 9.00am | For the Int’s of Rosemary Johnson (Ian Johnson) |
| Sun 9th Easter Sunday | 11:00am | Peter Smith RIP (Paul Falco |
| Mon 10th | 10.00am | Margaret Baldwin’s Int’s |
| Tues 12th | 10.00am | Int’s of Brenda Bryant (sick) |
| Wed 13th | 10.00am | Tom & Bridie Austin RIP |
| Thur 14th | 10.00am | Gill Buckle RIP (Niece) Betty Brown |
| Fri 15th | 10.00am | Sheila Tremble RIP (Tremble Family) |
| Sat 16th | 10.00am | Robert & Linda Smith’s Intentions |
| Confessions 11am – 12Noon or on demandVigil Mass for Sunday. Confessions at 5.30pm | ||
| Sat 16th | 6.00pm | Carmen Antaki RIP (Geraldine & Robert) |
| Sun 17th | 9.00am | Philomena Joseph RIP (Mariet Marianyagan) |
| Sun 17th | 11:00am | Marcela Sanchez RIP (Cecile Kelly) |
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
Easter Sunday 2023
First Reading : Acts 10:34,37-43
Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I, and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 117(118):1-2,16-17,22-23
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
Second Reading : Colossians 3:1-4
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
Gospel : John 20:1-9
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
St Edmund of Canterbury 