26th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)
In today’s Gospel we contrast two sons who are asked to work in the vineyard. The first son refused but later changed his mind and went. The second son agreed to go but in fact didn’t. It is the first son who did the right thing. Jesus presented this parable to illustrate how we all need to repent, to change our ways from what is wrong to what is right. This is the way to our salvation. All human life is itself a second chance offered to us by God. We call that second chance redemption. Redemption makes life a choice.
CAFOD Harvest Fast Day
Friday is CAFOD Harvest Fast Day when we are encouraged to give up a meal, part of a meal or some luxury and give the money we save to the needy in the Third World. This Harvest Fast Day, we are standing with Edelmira, a farmer in El Salvador, as she works to sustain her family with good crops and harvests. With our help, CAFOD is giving her fruit trees, training and strong seeds. Please take a Fast Day envelope from the pew or the back of the church and return it with your contribution next weekend.
The Romero Prayer: A Step Along The Way
“This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
..it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but we are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.”
Memorial Mass for Cardinal Cormac
There will be a Memorial Mass for the late Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor on Wednesday at 5.30pm in Westminster Cathedral to which everyone is invited.
No Communion Service
Deacon Ronnie is away in Ireland for a few days so there will no Communion Service this Monday 2nd October. There will be Mass at 7.30am.
Martin Munnelly Rip
The funeral Mass for Martin Munnelly of Southbourne Ave will be on Thursday at 11am. This will be in addition to the 9am Mass that day. His body will be brought to the church at 6pm on Wednesday.
Baptism of Older Children
Children aged 7 or over who want to be baptised are invited to join a group which will be meeting on Saturdays at 11am starting from 14th October.
RCIA Sessions
Sessions for those adults who are considering Baptism, Reception into the Church or Confirmation start on Tuesday 10th October at 8pm, upstairs in the Parish Centre. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process whereby adults journey in the faith toward receiving the Sacraments and become full members of the Catholic Church. Please let those interested know about this or you may like to introduce them to Fr Colin.
First Communion Programme
There will be a meeting for parents of First Communion children on Tuesday at 7.45pm in the Canon Smyth Parish Centre.
The first session for the children will be at 9.15am next Sunday in the Canon Smyth Parish Centre.
Secondary School Transfer
Fr Colin will be available to sign school forms on Wednesday week, 11th October between 4 and 5pm in the Canon Smyth Parish Centre.
Mass Count
We will be counting heads at Masses this weekend and for the following three weekends. Many thanks to all those who help us in this.
Love & Say It With Your Life
The phrase ‘Love and say it with your life’ was first used by St Augustine and beautifully encapsulates a deep truth at the heart of our faith. The living of our Christian faith is based on love. Every vocation starts from love.
Pope Francis has frequently issued an invitation to see beyond our Church buildings and to step forward in love. The Pope has instituted a new World Day of the Poor, which this year will be on 19th November. He asks all of us, whatever our means or background, to unite in love, in acts of service to one another and in genuine encounter.
To help us in this, please take one of the booklets from the porch (£1.50 each). These will be used in our prayer discussion groups over the next six weeks but you can also use them individually:
Sheelagh Benson’s Group
0208952 0016
Vince Randall’s Group
0208952 6994
National Eucharistic Congress
This takes place in Liverpool from 7th to 9th September 2018. the last Eucharistic Congress in England was held in 1908. the title of next year’s Congress is Adoremus. Its aim is to rejuvenate Eucharistic Adoration in parishes, to engender a deeper understanding of the place of the Eucharist in the life of the Church, to provide better resources for Eucharistic Adoration and to confirm Parish ministry around the centrality of the Eucharist. Each parish is invited to send delegates to the Congress. If you are interested or want to know more, please speak to Fr Colin.
Mary’s Meals
Mary’s Meals will be coming to our Church in a couple of weeks’ time to take away your unwanted clothing and bedding (no duvets or pillows please)
Over the next few weeks please collect your unwanted clothes and put them in tied sacks. Then before 12 noon on Sunday 15th October bring them with you when you come to Mass. Not only will you be getting rid of unwanted clothes/bedding and giving yourself a little space but you will also benefit a really worthwhile charity.
Mary’s Meals feed children one good meal every day at school in over 14 countries. Because of our low costs we can do this for as little as £13.90 per child per year!
A Place of Welcome
Join Caritas Westminster, West London Mission, and Housing Justice for an evening about homelessness, setting up night shelters, and how you can help. Wednesday 4th of October, Westminster Cathedral Hall, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Please RSVP to caritaswestminster@rcdow.org.uk
WATCH THIS SPACE: BY J.D.S.
An elderly woman died last month. Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers. In her handwritten instructions for her funeral service she wrote, they wouldn’t take me out while I was alive, I don’t want them to take me out when I’m dead.
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A police recruit was asked during an exam, “what would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?” He answered, “Call for backup.”