Bishop's Pastoral Letter

Read the Bishop's Pastoral Letter for the Feast of the Holy Family here.

Almighty God, heavenly Father,
it was your will that your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ,
the Saviour of the human race,
should form a holy family with Mary, his blessed Mother,
and her spouse, Saint Joseph.
In Nazareth, the life of every home was sanctified,
and a perfect example was given to every Christian family.
Grant, we humbly pray,
that by your grace and the work of the forthcoming Synod of Bishops,
we may grow in understanding of family life,
and faithfully imitate the virtues of the Holy Family.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen.

Newsletter for 28/29 December - Holy Family

Click here to read this week's rather smaller newsletter.

O come, let us adore him....

Et incarnatus est

In my weekend homilies I spoke of what we mean when we talk of the Incarnation, and how Jesus Christ is truly fully divine and fully human. I mentioned that many classical composers reserve some of their most sublime music for the section of the Creed which tells of the Incarnation. One of my favourites is this one by Mozart.

Just close your eyes. Listen to the music. Hear the fluttering of Gabriel's wings and Mary's 'Yes.' Know that God himself takes our human flesh in Mary's womb.

Then pray the Angelus in gratitude.

Christmas week at a glance.

Newsletter for 21/22 December - Advent 4(A)

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If you would like a copy of the newsletter to by email each week, please email Fr Colin. Even better, submit your email address using the box in the right hand column on this site, click the link on the confirmation email you will receive. You will then get an email each day that this site is updated, and never miss the newsletter or any other item of parish news.

Every blessing for a very happy Christmas.

Newsletter for 14/15 December - Advent 3(A)

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You are Living Stones - Latest

Click here to read the report of the open Deanery Meeting at the end of last month. This has been sent to the Bishop for further consideration by him and his advisers.

Who is 'Time' magazine's Person of the Year?

Click here to find out!

From Bishop Malcolm and Pope Francis

Click here to read the Pastoral Letter from Bishop Malcolm read at all Masses this weekend.

Click here to read the Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, (The Joy of the Gospel) of Pope Francis to which the Bishop refers in his Letter.

Newsletter for 7/8 December - Advent 2(A)

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Preparing

The parish Christmas cards are being prepared for distribution. Don't forget to take some to put through letter boxes at the weekend.

We also need to prepare spiritually for the coming of the Lord. To help my preparation I am rereading Maria Boulding's The Coming of God  this Advent.

If you want God, and long for union with him, yet sometimes wonder what that means, or whether it can mean anything at all, you are already walking with the God who comes.If you have ever had an obscure intuition that the truth of things is somehow better, greater, more wonderful than you deserve or desire,...that there is a mercy beyond anything you could ever suspect, you are already drawn into the central mystery of salvation. Your hope is not a mocking dream; God creates in human hearts a huge desire and a sense of need, because he wants to fill them with the gift of himself.

So begins this much acclaimed, modern spiritual classic in which Maria Boulding explores the self-giving nature of God and the many ways that he comes to us: in the events of our lives, in others and in prayer.
Maria Boulding was a Benedictine nun of Stanbrook Abbey. She died in 2009

It is better to be red once than yellow a thousand times

This coming weekend we hear John the Baptist calling us to repentance. As I think about the readings I recall the words of Pope Francis about the importance of the sacrament of reconciliation at his general audience a couple of weeks ago. I have put a brief extract in the newsletter for the second Sunday of Advent, but the full text is well worth reading. Our Holy Father has an wonderful turn of phrase, and you may enjoy looking for the intriguing words which form the title of this post!

Day of Prayer for Syria

The Bishops of England and Wales have called a Day of Prayer for Syria on Wednesday this week, December 4th. You may like to make a special effort to come to Mass on Wednesday morning at 9.30.

Newsletter for 30 November/1 December - Advent 1(A)

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Click here to read a letter from Father Colin to all parishioners as he takes up his ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes and St Charles Borromeo.

Let us pray for each other.

Newsletter for 23/24 November - Christ the King

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You are Living Stones.

The latest proposals are available here. Please think and pray about them. The open Deanery Meeting to discuss them is at De Lisle College, next Tuesday, 26 November: refreshments from 6.30pm, meeting at 7.00pm.

Newsletter for 16/17 November - Sunday 33(C)

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Click here to give to the Philippines disaster appeal, or by phone at 0500 858885.

Extraordinary Synod on the Family 2014

You will have heard on the news and read in the Catholic Press that there will be an Extraordinary Synod on the Family in Rome in 2014. The Church is listening widely to people's experience of family life to help prepare for the Synod. Because of the change of priests it has not been possible to address this in Ashby and Measham as I would have wished.

I would like to draw your attention to this which tells you more about the whole process. You can also access the relevant questionnaire through the page to which the link takes you. If you respond to the questionnaire you will find that some of the questions are rather daunting.  Don't panic! There is no obligation to answer every question. Feel free to respond to the questions where you feel that you have something important to share, and simply leave the rest.

May God bless us as we work with his Church to enrich the sort of family life which will bring healing and hope to our society.

Philippines Disaster

Our hearts go out to all affected by the disaster in the Philippines, many of them our Catholic brothers and sisters. Please visit the page about CAFOD's response, and donate generously through the appropriate link.
Please keep all affected and all helping to relieve suffering in your prayers.

Newsletter for 9/10 November - Sunday 32(C)

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The task of the priest

As I prepare for a new chapter in my priestly ministry, I am moved and challenged by words that Pope Benedict spoke to students of the Venerable English College in Rome last December:

Your first task, then, is to come to know Christ yourselves.... Learn to pray daily, especially in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, listening attentively to the word of God and allowing heart to speak to heart, as Blessed John Henry Newman would say. Remember the two disciples from the first chapter of Saint John’s Gospel, who followed Jesus and asked to know where he was staying, and, like them, respond eagerly to his invitation to "come and see" (1:37-39). Allow the fascination of his person to capture your imagination and warm your heart. He has chosen you to be his friends, not his servants, and he invites you to share in his priestly work of bringing about the salvation of the world. Place yourselves completely at his disposal and allow him to form you for whatever task it may be that he has in mind for you.