Thursday 31 December 2015

The Works of Mercy

Our Nottingham Diocesan Jubilee of Mercy Site, bemerciful.co.uk has published some reflections on the first two corporal works of mercy.

You can link to them below:

Works of Mercy1




Work of Mercy 2

Pray for 2016 at Our Lady of Lourdes, Ashby

Friday, January 1st  - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
9.00am Eucharistic Exposition
Silent Prayer and Adoration until...
9.30am Rosary
9.50am Benediction
10.00am Holy Mass
Feel feel to come to some or all of this as you wish. It is fine to arrive any time between 9 and 10am and pray whether or not you are able to stay for Mass.


New Year's Day is also the 49th World Day of Peace. You can read the Message of Pope Francis, Overcome Indifference and Win Peace, here.

Here is the beginning of the Message:
God is not indifferent! God cares about mankind! God does not abandon us! At the beginning of the New Year, I would like to share not only this profound conviction but also my cordial good wishes for prosperity, peace and the fulfilment of the hopes of every man and every woman, every family, people and nation throughout the world, including all Heads of State and Government and all religious leaders. We continue to trust that 2016 will see us all firmly and confidently engaged, on different levels, in the pursuit of justice and peace. Peace is both God’s gift and a human achievement. As a gift of God, it is entrusted to all men and women, who are called to attain it.

And here is the end:
I would like to make a threefold appeal to the leaders of nations: to refrain from drawing other peoples into conflicts or wars which destroy not only their material, cultural and social legacy, but also – and in the long term – their moral and spiritual integrity; to forgive or manage in a sustainable way the international debt of the poorer nations; and to adopt policies of cooperation which, instead of bowing before the dictatorship of certain ideologies, will respect the values of local populations and, in any case, not prove detrimental to the fundamental and inalienable right to life of the unborn.
I entrust these reflections, together with my best wishes for the New Year, to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, who cares for the needs of our human family, that she may obtain from her Son Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the granting of our prayers and the blessing of our daily efforts for a fraternal and united world.

Newsletter for 2/3 January - Epiphany





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Wednesday 30 December 2015

Teaching vacancy in Grimsby

Saint Mary’s Catholic Primary Academy, Grimsby are seeking to appoint a Deputy Headteacher. For further details the school can be contacted on 01472 357982 or email office@smp.nelcmail.co.uk
Closing date: Monday 1st February 2016

Friday 25 December 2015

Thursday 24 December 2015

For reflection - Christmas Day




In this Jubilee of Mercy, these words from one of our most familiar Christmas hymns speak to me in a new way:
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.” 

Happy Christmas to you all, and may God bless you in 2016.



For reflection - Christmas Eve



Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.
    You would have suffered eternal death, had he not been born in time. Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh, had he not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for this mercy. You would never have returned to life, had he not shared your death. You would have been lost if he had not hastened to your aid. You would have perished, had he not come.
    Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption. Let us celebrate the festive day on which he who is the great and eternal day came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time.
    He has become our justice, our sanctification, our redemption, so that, as it is written: Let him who glories glory in the Lord.
    Truth, then, has arisen from the earth: Christ who said, I am the Truth, was born of the Virgin. And justice looked down from heaven: because believing in this new-born child, man is justified not by himself but by God.
    Truth has arisen from the earth: because the Word was made flesh. And justice looked down from heaven: because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.
    Truth has arisen from the earth: flesh from Mary. And justice looked down from heaven: for man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
    Justified by faith, let us be at peace with God: for justice and peace have embraced one another. Through our Lord Jesus Christ: for Truth has arisen from the earth. Through whom we have access to that grace in which we stand, and our boast is in our hope of God’s glory. He does not say: “of our glory,” but of God’s glory: for justice has not come out of us but has looked down from heaven. Therefore he who glories, let him glory, not in himself, but in the Lord.
    For this reason, when our Lord was born of the Virgin, the message of the angelic voices was: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will.
    For how could there be peace on earth unless Truth has arisen from the earth, that is, unless Christ were born of our flesh? And he is our peace who made the two into one: that we might be men of good will, sweetly linked by the bond of unity.
    Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God?
St Augustine

Tuesday 22 December 2015

For reflection - Wednesday before Christmas






O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

For reflection - Tuesday before Christmas




O come, Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and be thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Monday 21 December 2015

Christmas Mass Times

Our Lady of Lourdes, Ashby
Christmas Eve:
6.00pm: Mass
9.30pm: Mass
Christmas Day:
10.00am: Mass

St Charles Borromeo, Measham
Christmas Eve:
9.30pm: Mass

Sunday 20 December 2015

For reflection - Monday before Christmas





O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.


Youth Group pre-Christmas outing

Determined looking paint-ballers from our parishes.

Thursday 17 December 2015

Wednesday 16 December 2015

Sunday's Gospel

As we prepare for Advent 4, I think of this statue in the grounds of the Church of the Visitation, Ein Karem, in the hill country of Judah.
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.’

Tuesday 15 December 2015

Papal Award

Dr Christopher Reynolds KSG (Governor), Tony Foster, Jacqueline Rodden (Chair of Governors)
On the First Sunday of Advent, Tony Foster received the Benemerenti ("well deserved") medal for his services to Catholic Education. Until his recent retirement from the governing body, Tony had been a governor of St Charles School for eighteen years and chair of governors for the vast majority of that time. Congratulations, Tony, and thank you for all you have done for our school.

Saturday 12 December 2015

Bishop Patrick's Pastoral Letter



Click here to read Bishop Patrick's Pastoral Letter for the start of the Jubilee of Mercy.

Thursday 10 December 2015

Jubilee of Mercy Event at OLOL



Newsletter for 12/13 December - Advent 3(C)

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Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.Indeed, the Lord is near. 

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Opening of Jubilee of Mercy - Bishop Patrick's Homily



Click here to read Bishop Patrick's homily preached at the opening Mass of the Jubilee of Mercy in our Cathedral.

Streaming of Mass from Cathedral


The opening Mass for the Jubilee of Mercy will be streamed live from our Cathedral this morning.
Apologies for posting this so late.

Sunday 6 December 2015

What lies behind a door can change your life

Bishop John Sherrington reflects on the idea of a "Door of Mercy." Bishop John, was born and brought up in Leicester, and was a parish priest in our Diocese until he became an auxiliary Bishop in Westminster Archdiocese.


Friday 4 December 2015

Newsletter for 5/6 December Advent 2(C)

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