Pope Francis Prayer Intention for October
For a shared mission
We pray that the Church continue to sustain in all ways a Synodal lifestyle, as a sign of co-responsibility, promoting the participation, the communion and the mission shared among priests, religious and lay people.
 ​

Mass Times at Our Lady & St Alphege
 
Sun 22nd        25th Sunday of the Year
0900              People of the Parish         St Joseph’s PSJ    
1100                   Philip MacDonald Junior & Senior RIP
1800                People of the Parish
 
Mon 23rd       
No Mass
 
Tues 24th       Our Lady of Walsingham
1000              Mass with Year 7 from St Gregory College
 
Wed 25th        Weekday in Ordinary Time
1000              Mass with Year 7 from St Gregory College
 
Thur 26th        St Cosmas and Damian
1000              Mass with Year 7 from St Gregory College
1100              Exposition & Rosary           St Joseph’s PSJ
1715               Exposition & Confession
1800              Mass
 
Fri 27th           St Vincent de Paul
1200                                                                                   
 
Sat 28th          St Wenceslas
1000              Mass                                                       
1030              Confession – Sacrament of Reconciliation
 
Sun 29th         26th Sunday of the Year
0900              People of the Parish         St Joseph’s PSJ 
1100               People of the Parish
1800               
 
Exposition and Benediction
Next Sunday (29th) there will be Exposition, Rosary, and Benediction at 5 pm ​

Dates for your Diary in October!
​
Platinum Jubilee of the Consecration of the Church
Monday the 7th of October is the 70th Anniversary of the Consecration of the Church.  Bishop Declan will say Mass at 7.00pm and then there will be a small reception in the Hall.  A chance for us to give thanks for all we have received, to pray for our Parish, and look forward to how we can develop the community of faith.
 
Rosary before Mass
On Saturdays in October we will say the Rosary at 0930 before Mass during October which is the Month of the Holy Rosary.
 
Mass and the Anointing of the Sick
On Saturday the 19th of October there will be a Mass at 4.00 pm during which we will celebrate the Sacrament of the Sick and anointing with the Oil of the Sick
 
Rosary and Benediction
On Sunday the 27th of October there will be Rosary and Benediction at 5.00 pm in the Church

Open Days
St Alphege Parish will again participate in the Heritage Open Day scheme organised by BANES Council, by which buildings of special heritage importance are opened to the public. At 2.30pm for one hour on Friday 6 September, Thursday 12 September, and Saturday 14 September Giles Mercer will give a guided tour of the church to members of the public. The architect's intentions, focused on worship, prayer, Our Lady and St Alphege, will be explained. This proved popular last year. Parishioners are warmly welcome to join one of the groups. 
​Education Sunday on 8th September
is when we celebrate and give thanks to all involved in Catholic education. We commemorate our predecessors of the 19th century, many of whom were living in poverty, who paid for our schools to be built. Their sacrifices helped re-establish the 2,175 Catholic schools, that continue to be true to their mission: they educate more pupils from the most deprived backgrounds; outperform national GCSE English and Maths averages; and are more ethnically diverse than other state-funded schools. For this success to continue, however, as throughout history, all Catholics need to be prepared to support, promote and defend Catholic education. You can do this by becoming a school Foundation Governor or Trust Director. Please contact Bill McEntee at Clifton Diocese via [email protected]  if you would like to be a governor or director. In this way, we can hand on to the next generation the great legacy of those poor and immigrant Catholic communities of the Victorian era who built our schools.

Dates for your Diary in October!
​
Platinum Jubilee of the Consecration of the Church
Monday the 7th of October is the 70th Anniversary of the Consecration of the Church.  Bishop Declan will say Mass at 7.00pm and then there will be a small reception in the Hall.  A chance for us to give thanks for all we have received, to pray for our Parish, and to ask God to bless and increase our community of faith.
 
Mass and the Anointing of the Sick
On Saturday the 19th of October there will be a Mass at 4.00 pm during which we will celebrate the Sacrament of the Sick and anointing with the Oil of the Sick
 
Rosary and Benediction
On Sunday the 27th of October there will be Rosary and Benediction at 5.00 pm in the Church
 
Rosary before Mass
On Saturdays in October we will say the Rosary at 0930 before Mass during October which is the Month of the Holy Rosary.
 

Fr Leo Dolan RIP
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr Leo Dolan who died last week.  Ordained as a Priest of the Clifton Diocese on the 8th of June 1963 he served at St Alphege as Assistant Priest from 1963 until 1969.  Most of this priestly ministry was spent as a member of the St James Society.  I was lucky enough to accompany Bishop Declan when he went to visit Fr Leo in Brazil and stay for a few days in his Parish in Sao Paulo Brazil where he was an obviously very popular and devoted Parish Priest.  Fr Leo’s Funeral took place on Friday in St Marys Church Aughnasheelin.   Mass will be offered in St Alphege for the repose of his Soul on Thursday the 22nd of August, the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The New Lectionary
A few people have asked for more information about the New Lectionary which comes into use on the first Sunday of Advent this year. This is taken from the Bishops Conference website
 
Are there changes to the readings?
This is a new publication of the Lectionary using a different scripture translations — the content remains the same. So, for the reading for each Sunday will be the same.
 
What’s new?
There will be provision for Saints who have been added to the Universal Calendar since the last Lectionary published in 1981. There will also be the readings for the National Calendars. In addition, some of the revised liturgical rites, such as Marriage, have additional readings.
 
Will the text be mandatory?
It is normal practice in the Roman Rite that there is only a single edition of a liturgical text in use in a particular territory. So in the same way as only the third edition of the Roman Missal (2010) may be used in the celebration of Mass (in the Ordinary Form); the same will be true for the Lectionary.
 
What is the English Standard Version: Catholic Edition?
The English Standard version is the latest in a series of English translations which go back to the 16th Century. These translations have all been based on a ‘word for word’ principle. The ESV is directly based on the Revised Standard Version and it is suggested that c. 6% of the text has been revised. Changes were made to modernise the language and reflect the latest scholarship. The publisher Crossway emphasises ‘word-for-word’ accuracy, literary excellence, and depth of meaning. Work on the Catholic Edition was done by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India in collaboration with Crossway.
 
What is the Abbey Psalms and Canticles?
The Grail Psalms have been part of Liturgy in English since before the Second Vatican Council. They are used in both the Lectionary and the Divine Office.
In 2008 a revision of the text was undertaken by the monks of Conception Abbey, Missouri. It sought to bring the latest scholarly understanding of the text and to review the text where the English was essentially a paraphrase of the Hebrew. This text was approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 2010. A further revision in the light of use was prepared and approved both by USCCB and CBCEW, and has received the confirmation of the Holy See.. This text will be used in the Lectionary and in subsequent liturgical books, such as the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office), though there is not currently an estimated date for publication of this.
 
Will I need a new Sunday Missal?
Many people have a Sunday or Weekday Missal to either prepare the readings or to reflect on them. Some also use it to follow the text which is proclaimed in the liturgy. As the new Lectionary will use a different translation of the scriptures people will wish to get a new Sunday or Weekday Missal.
 
At the moment the only supplier I am aware of for new Sunday Missals is the CTS.  The details are on their website at the bottom on the New Lectionary page. To be clear the red “CTS New Sunday Missal 2025” at £9.95 only lasts for one year unlike the others they are offering! 

​The Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady
The Feast of the Assumption is one of the oldest holy days in the Church, with accounts of celebrations going back to the sixth century. Christians in the East, both Catholic and Orthodox refer to it as the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, or "the falling asleep of the Mother of God."
The earliest printed reference to the belief that Mary's body was assumed into Heaven dates from the fourth century, in a document entitled "The Falling Asleep of the Holy Mother of God." The document is written in the voice of the Apostle John, to whom Christ on the Cross had entrusted the care of His mother, and it recounts the death, laying in the tomb, and assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Tradition variously places Mary's death at Jerusalem or at Ephesus, where John was living.
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII, exercising papal infallibility, declared in an Apostolic constitution known as the Munificentissimus Deus that it is a dogma of the Church "that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." As a dogma, the Assumption is a required belief of all Catholics. Anyone who publicly dissents from the dogma, Pope Pius declared, "has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith."
The question of whether Our Lady died before the Assumption is a matter of theological debate. Some believe Mary did indeed die, like all humans do, and was then transported to heaven. Still others believe she simply "completed the course of her earthly life," which leaves open the possibility that she ascended to heaven before actually dying. Pope Pius XII, in the text explaining his definition of the dogma of the Assumption, refers repeatedly to the Blessed Virgin's death before her Assumption, and the consistent tradition in both the East and the West holds that Mary did die before she was assumed into Heaven. However, the definition of the Assumption is silent on this question
 
Prayer to Our Lady, Assumed into Heaven
O Immaculate Mary, Assumed into heaven,
you who are most blessed in the vision of God:
of God the Father  who exalted you
among all creatures,
of God the Son who willed that you bear Him as your Son and that you should be His Mother,
of God the Holy Spirit who accomplished the human conception of the Saviour in you.

O Mary, most pure, O Mary, most sweet and beautiful, O Mary, strong and thoughtful woman

O Mary, poor and sorrowful, O Mary, virgin and mother woman very human like Eve, more than Eve.
You are near to God by your grace and by your privileges in your mysteries in your mission,
in your glory.

O Mary, assumed into the glory of Christ in the complete and transfigured perfection
of our human nature.
 
O Mary, gate of heaven mirror of divine light ark of the Covenant between God and mankind,
let our souls fly after you,
let them fly long your radiant path, transported by a hope that the world does not contain eternal beatitude.

Comfort us from heaven, O merciful Mother,
and guide us along your ways of purity and hope
till the day of that blessed meeting with you and with your divine Son our Saviour, Jesus. Amen!

Pope Saint Paul 6th

Pope Francis Prayer Intention for August
For political leaders
We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs

​Consecration Candles in St Alphege Church
The more eagle eyed may have noticed that two of the consecration candlesticks in the Church are missing. You will see on the left and right of the Sanctuary that there are two carved stone consecration crosses set into the wall with holes above them where the candlesticks should be. In the walls of the Church you will find another ten crosses each with a candlestick. I found one of the two which are  missing while rooting around in the backs of sacristy cupboards, but sadly the 12th is lost.  Having spoken with the Fabric Committee I have asked Ironart of Bath of make a copy so that we can again complete the set.
 
Why does this matter?  Well on the 7th of October 2024 we will celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of the Consecration of our Church.  More details to follow but there will be a Mass on the Monday evening with a simple reception afterwards in the Church Hall.   While the consecration Mass in 1954 started at 0900 and lasted until 1400 we won’t take that long!
As we celebrate this Jubilee the 12 consecration candles have an important significance.  The Rite of a Dedication of a Church says that “The anointing of the church signifies that it is given over entirely and perpetually to Christian worship. In keeping with liturgical tradition, there are twelve anointings, or, where it is more convenient, four, as a symbol that the church is an image of the holy city of Jerusalem.”.
 In her history of the Church Caroline Shaw writes that “Twelve new consecration crosses had been carved in stone specially for the occasion … each cross had been paid for by a family or an individual in the Parish.  The Bishop anointed each consecration cross with holy oil… .. and as he did so he intoned the words “let this Church be sanctified and consecrated”. A candle was then lit in front of the cross as a sign of this.
So on the 7th of October these candles will all be lit again as a sign and reminder of the dedication of our Church and its community to Christ, and also as a sign of the light of Christ in the world. 
 
The cost of the new candlestick will be £200; if anyone wants to make a donation towards this as the families of our parish did before, it would be greatly appreciated. Their names are recorded in a book held in the display case at the back of the Church which would be updated.
And as we move towards the Jubilee Year of Hope we will be asking how the light of Christ may burn more brightly within our lives as individuals and as a parish community.   Part of the Jubilee Year Hymn says  “Like a flame my hope is burning, may my song arise to you: Source of life that has no ending, on life’s path I trust in you …. Every nation, tongue, and people find a light within your Word.
 
May these candles, restored to their proper place help us give thanks for the inheritance we have received, and inspire us on our pilgrim journey, that we may grow in faith, hope, and love and be led to know how we may better share our faith in Christ with all whom we meet. 

Jubilee 2025
​
In last weeks Newsletter I mentioned that the Jubilee of Families, Grandparents and the Elderly will be from the 30th of May until the 1st of June 025.  A few people have asked to read more about the Jubilee Year.
 
“Jubilee” is the name given to a particular year; the name comes from the instrument used to mark its launch. In this case, the instrument in question is the yobel, the ram's horn, used to proclaim the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This (Jewish) holiday occurs every year, but it takes on special significance when it marks the beginning of a Jubilee year. We can find an early indication of it in the Bible: a Jubilee year was to be marked every 50 years, since this would be an “extra” year, one which would happen every seven weeks of seven years, i.e., every 49 years (cf. Leviticus 25:8-13).  In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII called the first Jubilee, also known as a
“Holy Year,” since it is a time in which God's holiness transforms us. 
 
Even though it wasn’t easy to organise, it was intended to be marked as a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation, and involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow period for the fields. 

In his letter about the Jubilee (issued in 2022) Pope Francis wrote this.
“We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire; that is why I have chosen as the motto of the Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope. This will indeed be the case if we are capable of recovering a sense of universal fraternity and refuse to turn a blind eye to the tragedy of rampant poverty that prevents millions of men, women, young people and children from living in a manner worthy of our human dignity. Here I think in particular of the many refugees forced to abandon their native lands. May the voices of the poor be heard throughout this time of preparation for the Jubilee, which is meant to restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone.
 
The spiritual dimension of the Jubilee, which calls for conversion, should also embrace these fundamental aspects of our life in society as part of a coherent whole. In the realization that all of us are pilgrims on this earth, which the Lord has charged us to till and keep (cf. Gen 2:15), may we never fail, in the course of our sojourn, to contemplate the beauty of creation and care for our common home. It is my hope that the coming Jubilee Year will be celebrated and experienced with this intention too. Growing numbers of men and women, including many young people and children, have come to realize that care for creation is an essential expression of our faith in God and our obedience to his will.
 
 I would greatly desire that we devote 2024, the year preceding the Jubilee event, to a great “symphony” of prayer. Prayer, above all else, to renew our desire to be in the presence of the Lord, to listen to him and to adore him. Prayer, moreover, to thank God for the many gifts of his love for us and to praise his work in creation, which summons everyone to respect it and to take concrete and responsible steps to protect it. Prayer as the expression of a single “heart and soul” (cf. Acts 4:32), which then translates into solidarity and the sharing of our daily bread.
 
Prayer that makes it possible for every man and woman in this world to turn to the one God and to reveal to him what lies hidden in the depths of their heart. Prayer as the royal road to holiness, which enables us to be contemplative even in the midst of activity. In a word, may it be an intense year of prayer in which hearts are opened to receive the outpouring of God’s grace and to make the “Our Father,” the prayer Jesus taught us, the life programme of each of his disciples”
 
We will need to consider how, as a Parish, we can make this coming Jubilee year an expression of the hope which we have and the faith which we share. 

The Feast of St Joachim and St Anne
​
Celebrated on Friday this is a maybe less well known  and quieter feast celebrated in honour of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the the earthly grandparents of Jesus. 
As existing information about Saints Anne​ and Joachim comes from the Gospel of James and Catholic legend, ​there is debate over the details of their lives. But regardless, it can be agreed that to be the parents of Jesus’s earthly mother, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim must have been faithful, devoted parents indeed. The patronage of Saint Anne includes grandparents, couples without children, women in labour, and women unable to conceive. Likewise, Saint Joachim is considered the patron of grandfathers, fathers, and grandparents. 
Anne, in Hebrew, means “God has given grace.” According to existing accounts, she was barren for much of her life. One day in her advanced years, she conceived Mary, the mother of Jesus. Saint Anne dedicated the life of her child to the service of God when she was only three – a decision that was undoubtedly formative in the shaping of the future Mother of God. 
As we reflect on the legacy of Saints Anne and Joachim, we are also invited to reflect on the vital role played by all grandparents in completing the loving family unit and nurturing the faith of future generations. Grandparents can take a vital part in the training of their grandchildren, teaching them to love the ways of the Lord and honour his commandments. It was Saints Anne and Joachim who cultivated in the young Mary a love for God, preparing her for her role in the story of divine redemption. 
Pope Francis remarked of Saints Anne and Joachim:
In their home, Mary came into the world, accompanied by the extraordinary mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Mary grew up in the home of Joachim and Anne; she was surrounded by their love and faith: in their home she learned to listen to the Lord and to follow his will. Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us. How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith! 
 
There is also something to be said for grandparents’ roles as repositories of wisdom and history. Their experience in faith and life has enriched their judgment, rendering them invaluable counsels for the generations that follow. They remember the heritage of the family and share it with future generations. 
 
As Pope Francis has also written: How important grandparents are for family life, for passing on the human and religious heritage which is so essential for each and every society! How important it is to have intergenerational exchanges and dialogue, especially within the context of the family. The Aparecida Document says, “Children and the elderly build the future of peoples: children because they lead history forward, the elderly because they transmit the experience and wisdom of their lives. This relationship and this dialogue between generations is a treasure to be preserved and strengthened!”  
 
Devotion to their memory is particularly strong in the Eastern Catholic churches, where their intercession is invoked by the priest at the end of each Divine Liturgy. The Eastern churches, however, celebrate Sts. Joachim and Anne on a different date, Sept. 9.
During the Jubilee Year 2025 the Jubilee of Families, Grandparents and the Elderly will be from the 30th of May until the 1st of June