The Third Week of Advent ..
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The Third Sunday of Advent begins with Gaudate Sunday which  turns our hearts toward joy—not the temporary happiness the world offers, but the deep, steady joy that comes from knowing that Christ is near. This week is marked by the rose candle that calls us to rejoice even before the long Advent journey is complete. Why? Because God is already at work in our lives. Because Christ is coming. Because His light is strong enough to break through every darkness.  Joy in Advent is not denial of hardship. It is a spiritual strength—a quiet confidence—that flows from God’s presence even in the middle of uncertainty.  As Scripture says: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” — Philippians 4:4
 
Prayer for the Third Week of Advent
Heavenly Father, as we enter the Third Week of Advent, fill my heart with holy joy. Lift my spirit, lighten my burdens, and let my soul rejoice in Your faithful love.
Lord Jesus, You are my Joy and my Salvation. Come into my heart this week, shine in my life, and renew the hope and gladness that only Your presence can bring.
Holy Spirit, kindle in me a joy that endures— a joy stronger than worry, deeper than sorrow,
and alive even in moments of struggle.  Help me reflect Your light and goodness to others.
O Holy Mary, Cause of Our Joy, walk with me during this Advent season. Teach me to rejoice in God’s promises, to celebrate His mercy, and to welcome Jesus with a heart full of  gratitude.
Amen.
 
The O Antiphons.
From Wednesday onwards the Church begins to pray the 7 “O Antiphons” as an Octave of Prayer in preparation for Christmas. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23.
Drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament they proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfilment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah.
Additionally, if you take the first letter of each antiphon (in the Latin) and read them from last to first, the word ERO CRAS is spelled, which translates as "Tomorrow I will come." If you wish to join with this Octave of Prayer the antiphons are:
Dec 17 - O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge.
Dec 18 - O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power.
Dec 19 - O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay.
Dec 20 - O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness.
Dec 21 - O Radiant Dawn, splendour of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Dec 22 - O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save your people whom you formed from the dust.
Dec 23 - O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God

The Second  Week of Advent ..
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…. is traditionally dedicated to the gift of Peace, when we are invited to open our hearts to peace—not simply the absence of conflict, but the deep, steady peace that comes from trusting God’s presence. As the candles of our wreath grow brighter, Christ calls us to quiet our anxieties, surrender our worries, and make space for the peace only He can give.
 
Heavenly Father, as we enter the Second Week of Advent, fill my heart with Your holy peace. Silence my fears, calm my thoughts, and free me from anything that keeps me from trusting You.
Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace, the One who brings harmony to troubled hearts. Come into my life this week, remove all anxiety, and let Your presence quiet every storm within me.
Holy Spirit, guide my heart into stillness. Teach me to rest in God’s love, to breathe deeply of His grace, and to carry peace to every person I meet.
O Blessed Mary, Queen of Peace, walk with me during this Advent season. Help me surrender my worries, to trust in God, that I may welcome Jesus your Son with a peaceful and humble heart. Amen.
 
From the speech of Pope Leo during a meeting in the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Istanbul Nov 2025
“There is also another challenge, which we might call a ‘new Arianism,’ present in today’s culture and sometimes even among believers. This occurs when Jesus is admired on a merely human level, perhaps even with religious respect, yet not truly regarded as the living and true God among us. His divinity, his lordship over history, is overshadowed, and he is reduced to a great historical figure, a wise teacher, or a prophet who fought for justice — but nothing more. Nicaea reminds us that Jesus Christ is not a figure of the past; he is the Son of God present among us, guiding history toward the future promised by God.”
 
From the address of St Pope John Paul II at World Youth Day in Buenos Aires 1987
“Young Chileans, do not be afraid to look to him! Look to the Lord: what do you see? Is he just a wise man? No! He is more than that! Is he a prophet? Yes! But he is even more! Is he a social reformer? Much more than a reformer, much more! Look at the Lord with an attentive gaze and you will discover in him the very face of God. Jesus is the Word that God had to speak to the world. It is God himself who came to share our existence, the existence of each one of us.”

The First Week of Advent ..
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…. is traditionally dedicated to Hope. In the early Church, this week marked the beginning of a spiritual “wake-up call”: a time to recognize our deep need for Christ and to rekindle trust in God’s promises.
The first purple candle of the Advent wreath—often called the Prophet’s Candle—symbolizes the hope of Israel as they awaited the Messiah. The prophets, especially Isaiah, spoke of a light that would one day shine in the darkness. Advent invites us to enter that same longing with renewed expectation.
 
Prayer for the First Week of Advent
Heavenly Father, as we begin the First Week of Advent,
fill my heart with hope. Help me trust that Your promises are true, that Your love is constant, and that the light of Christ is already rising in my life.
 
Lord Jesus, You are the promised Saviour, the dawn that breaks the darkness. Come into my heart, renew my faith, and awaken my desire to follow You more closely.
 
Holy Spirit, strengthen me this week. Guide my thoughts,
purify my intentions, and help me prepare a place worthy of You.
 
O Mary, Mother of Hope, walk with me during this Advent season and teach me to wait with faith, to trust with confidence, and to welcome Jesus your Son with a pure and joyful heart.

Statement from the Bishops Conference regarding Assisted Suicide and Abortion
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2025 is marked by an assault on the value of human life.
The Bishops of England and Wales express deep sadness at the continued passage through Parliament of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which could legalise assisted suicide. If passed by both Houses, this act would devalue life and put the lives of the vulnerable at risk. We have expressed our concerns on many occasions, highlighting the danger of coercive control and the pressure that will be put on vulnerable people who are ill, as well as the threat to the survival of care homes and hospices who oppose this legislation, especially where the mission and values of those institutions would prevent them from facilitating assisted suicide.
We are also alarmed by the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which proposes to decriminalise abortion up to birth in some circumstances. This amendment will further endanger the life of the unborn child.
The laws of our country should give special attention to the vulnerable, especially the unborn child and the terminally ill patient. They should protect life, preserve human dignity and promote the common good. Assisted suicide and the proposed decriminalisation of abortion up to birth in some circumstances are directly contrary to these aims.
We would like to thank wholeheartedly all those who continue to work to prevent these laws being passed, whether by letter-writing, lobbying or prayer. We ask Catholics and others who share our values to continue to work and pray for the defeat of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. We also ask you to offer support to those parliamentarians who are attempting to overturn the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which decriminalises abortion up to birth in some circumstances.
We commend the work of those who endeavour to rebuild a culture of life in England and Wales, and we pray for the success of that work. This includes those who care assiduously and with love for the terminally ill and the dying.
We will continue to stand up for the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. We will accompany the most vulnerable, whatever circumstances or challenges they face, for “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Corinthians 5:14)

From Pope Leos Homily last Sunday
for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
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“Firstly, let us consider foundations.  Their importance is obvious and …..this is a cause for reflection.  As labourers in the living Church, we too must first dig deep within ourselves and around ourselves before we can build impressive structures.  We must remove any unstable material that would prevent us from reaching the solid rock of Christ (cf. Mt 7:24-27).  This is precisely what Saint Paul speaks about in the second reading when he says that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11).  This means constantly returning to Jesus and his Gospel and being docile to the action of the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise, we risk overloading a building with heavy structures whose foundations are too weak to support.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we diligently labour in the service of God’s Kingdom, let us be neither hasty nor superficial.  Let us dig deep, unhindered by worldly criteria, which too often demand immediate results and disregard the wisdom of waiting.  The millennial history of the Church teaches us that with God’s help, a true community of faith can only be built with humility and patience.” 

Mass Times at Our Lady & St Alphege
Sun 9th          Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
                     Remembrance Sunday
1100   Deceased servicemen and women
1800   Wayne Taylor RIP
Mon 10th        St Leo the Great
No Mass
Tues 11th       St Martin of Tours
1000   Private Intention (RC)
Weds 12th      St Josaphat
1000  
Thurs13th       Weekday in Ordinary Time
1715   Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
1800  Anthony Dachs RIP
Fri 14th           Beatified Martyrs of the Diocese
1200
Sat 15th          Votive Mass of Our Lady
0930 Rosary in the Lady Chapel
1000   Intentions of Remi Thivet
1030   Sacrament of Reconciliation - Confession
Sun 16th        33rd Sunday of the Year
1100    People of the Parish
1800   

All Souls Day
 
The following spiritual reflection for All Souls’ Day is taken from Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe salvi facti sumus (“In hope we are saved”) was promulgated on 30 November 2007.
 
“The belief that love can reach into the afterlife, that reciprocal giving and receiving is possible, in which our affection for one another continues beyond the limits of death—this has been a fundamental conviction of Christianity throughout the ages and it remains a source of comfort today. Who would not feel the need to convey to their departed loved ones a sign of kindness, a gesture of gratitude or even a request for pardon?
Now a further question arises: if “Purgatory” is simply purification in the encounter with the Lord, Judge and Saviour, how can a third person intervene, even if he or she is particularly close to the other? When we ask such a question, we should recall that no man is an island, entire of itself. Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone.
The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person, something external, not even after death.
In the interconnectedness of Being, my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God's time: in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain.
In this way we further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me too. As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should also ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise? Then I will have done my utmost for my own personal salvation as well.”

Mass Times at Our Lady & St Alphege
Sun 26th         30th Sunday of the Year
1100   Freda Dummer RIP
1800   Sean Boylan RIP
Mon 27th        Weekday in Ordinary Time
No Mass
Tues 28th       Feast of St Simon & St Jude  
1000  
Weds 29th      Weekday in Ordinary Time
1000  
Thurs 30th     Votive Mass of St Joseph & blessing of the new stand
1715   Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confession
1800  Patrick Timothy & deceased members of the
          Timothy family
Fri 31st           Weekday in Ordinary Time
1200   Abbot Kevin Taggart OSB RIP
Sat 1st            Votive Mass of Our Lady
0930 Rosary in the Lady Chapel
1000   Frances Jordan RIP
1030   Sacrament of Reconciliation - Confession
Sun 2nd         Solemnity of All Saints
1100   Wayne Taylor RIP
1800   Jim Magan RIP

November – the month of the Holy Souls
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In preparation for the Commemoration of All Souls I have put envelopes on the table on the table by Our Lady’s Statue in which you can put the names of those whom you will be remembering and there is a basket at the back of the Church to place them in. These will be placed near the Altar of All Souls Day and Mass will be offered for the repose of their souls. 

Pope Leo’s Prayer Intention for October

In the month of October, Pope Leo invites us to pray for Collaboration Between Different Religious Traditions. Let us pray that believers in different religious traditions might work together to defend and promote peace, justice, and human fraternity.