Newsletter for August

According to our usual custom, there will be one newsletter for the whole of August. Please submit any notices for events in August or early September before 25 July if at all possible.

Race Night

The Parish Social Club are holding a “Big Screen Race Night” in the Large Hall on Saturday 18 July, starting at 8.30pm. Entry £2 for non-members.

The evening will raise funds for the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity which provides practical and emotional support to families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness.

CTiS 50th Anniversary

Churches Together in Sidcup are having a celebration at The Green, Sidcup Place on Sunday 26th July from 6pm. This will be an opportunity to promote and represent Our Lady of the Rosary parish, and meet with the other Christian communities in Sidcup.

Tihs is a family event at which there will be children's activities and input from CRIBS. All are welcome to this free event! (Helpers are wanted too.)

Bethlehem Art

Owing to the troubles in the Holy Land, very few tourists visit Bethlehem and so many families suffer poverty because they cannot selling their works to secure a decent lifestyle.

Bethlehem Art provides an income for the few Christian families still living in Bethlehem by selling their works for them here in the UK. They will be visiting the parish next weekend (11-12 July) and I encourage you to support their work by purchasing devotional items that they have made.

Mass for bereaved parents

On Monday 6 July at 7.30pm, there will be a special Mass at which we will remember those children and young people who have died, commending them to the love of our Lord. We also pray for their parents, their families, and their friends. There will be a reception afterwards in the Large Hall. All those who have lost children, however long ago, are warmly invited.

This year, the celebration falls on the feast of St Maria Goretti and so we will ask the prayers of the young virgin martyr for all our families.

Year of the Priest - Pope Benedict's Letter

In the newsletter this week, I mentioned Pope Benedict's excellent letter introducing the Year for Priests which runs from the Feast of the Sacred Heart which we celebrated yesterday, until 19 June 2010.

In the letter, the Holy Father refers often to the writings of the Curé of Ars, St John Vianney. For example, he says:

Saint John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life. It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. “One need not say much to pray well” – the Curé explained to them – “We know that Jesus is there in the tabernacle: let us open our hearts to him, let us rejoice in his sacred presence. That is the best prayer”.

Here is the link for you to read the letter:
Letter proclaiming a Year for Priests

Year of the Priest - Special Indulgence

Until 19 June 2010:

“The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant who, in church or in chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good work which they have done on that day, so that he may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart.”

The plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions. See my article Plenary indulgences not impossible.

UCM Summer Lunch and Cream Tea

On Saturday 4th July 2009, come along and enjoy sandwiches and a cream tea from 12noon until 2.30pm in the presbytery garden with your friends and family. We will even have a beer tent for those who would like something stronger! Games for the children and even one or two for the adults.

Tickets (£3.50) are available before and after each Mass at the weekend.

First Communion Photos

Saturday the 9th of May

Saturday the 16th of May

The first Holy Communion photos, taken by Derek Hope of Kent Photonews will be available in the Small Hall for viewing and orders as follows:

• Monday group on Monday 1 June 5.15-6.15pm
  
• Thursday group: Thursday 4 June 4-5pm
  

(Payment is required at the time of ordering.)

"Parenting and the Media" talk

This Friday 5 June, Joanna Bogle, a Catholic writer with extensive experience in the broadcast media, will be visiting the parish to give a talk on “Parenting and the Media.” We will begin in the Church with the rosary at 7.30pm.

Do come along for what promises to be an informative and helpful evening.

Plenary indulgence for Pentecost

A plenary indulgence can be gained today by those who participate in the public singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus (or the English translation “Come Holy Ghost, creator come”). This hymn will be sung at the 6pm and 9am Masses in English and after the 10.30am Mass in Latin.

If you want further information about the conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence, my post "Plenary indulgences not impossible" may be helpful.

Missa Cantata this Saturday

This Saturday, 6 June, our visiting schola will be here on Saturday for our solemn Missa Cantata in the Traditional Roman Rite The texts of the Mass will be sung in Gregorian chant according to the Roman Gradual.

Since the Mass will take longer than the usual Low Mass, it will be followed by a short service of Benediction and the Marian anthem. There will be a priest available from 11am to hear Confessions during Mass and Benediction.

Feast of Corpus Christi

The bishops have transferred the feast of Corpus Christi to Sunday 14 June.
However, there will also be a sung Latin Mass (older form) for the traditional feast of Corpus Christi on Thursday 11 June at 8pm for those who wish to come. (It is not a holyday of obligation.)

Lesnes Abbey Procession

Each year, the Deaneries of Bexley and Greenwich hold a procession of the Blessed Sacrament in the grounds of the ancient Lesnes Abbey, finishing with Benediction at the site of High Altar of the old Abbey Church. The date for this year is Sunday 14 June.

A procession of the Blessed Sacrament is an act of adoration of Our Lord who has given himself to us in the Holy Eucharist. It is also an opportunity to witness to our faith.

Altar servers, those who have recently received their first Holy Communion, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are especially encouraged to come along.
The site is off Abbey Road, near Abbey Wood Station. We gather at the parish banner at 3pm.

Pope2you

The Pontifical Council for Social Communications has just launched a new site called Pope2you, to coincide with the celebration of the 43rd World Communications Day.
Pope2you has links to the Vatican’s YouTube channel and to WikiCath. It also offers apps for Facebook and iPhone.

Here is a link to the Holy Father's message for World Communications Day: New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship.

Feast of the Ascension

The bishops of England and Wales have transferred the feast of the Ascension to Sunday 24 May in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite.

However, there will also be a sung Mass in the usus antiquior for the traditional feast of the Ascension on Thursday 21 May at 8pm for those who wish to come. (It is not a holyday of obligation.)

First Holy Communion - congratulations!

Congratulations to the children who have recently made their first Holy Communion in the parish. Congratulations also to all their families.
Many thanks to our team of catechists for all their hard work and dedication in preparing the children to receive the sacraments.

PHOTO CREDIT: Derek Hope at Kent Photonews

Phone line working

The parish phone line is now working again.