Stations of the Cross in Lent

During Lent we have Stations of the Cross in the Church each Friday at 7.30pm. To make the sacrifice of attending the Stations each week is a very worthwhile penance for Lent.

A plenary (under the usual conditions) is attached to devout participation in the Stations of the Cross.

St Catherine's School "Exceptional"

Congratulations to Mrs Slonecki (left), the staff, governors and students of St Catherine's School for girls on their recent OFSTED Inspection.

The overall judgement of the inspectors was that the school is "exceptional"; the inspectors noted that the GCSE examination results have been exceptionally high for the past three years. they also singled out for special mention the outstanding care, guidance and support provided by the school for the girls.

The Inspectors also commented that the

"Media Arts specialism serves the students very well and also promotes good links with other local schools and neighbourhood groups."

The lead inspector wrote to the students after the inspection and told them "We found your behaviour to be outstanding." He noted that students felt valued and safe, and that they displayed high levels of aspiration and motivation.

The school is justly proud of its track record of improving rates of success. St Catherine's was judged to be outstanding for the standards reached by learners, and outstanding for how well those with learning difficulties make progress. The Headteacher, Patricia Slonecki, said:

"These outcomes were very gratifying and demonstrate how successfully the teaching and support staff work collaboratively with the girls and their parents to support the achievement of every student."

Here is a link to the OFSTED Inspection Report
Here is a link to the school prospectus.

A Day with Mary this Saturday

This Saturday, 14 February, the parish hosts its annual Day With Mary, a day of instruction, devotion and prayer based on the message of Our Lady of Fatima.

The Day with Mary team, under the guidance of the Franciscans of the Immaculate will lead the day which begins with a procession of Our Lady at 10am, and includes a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Confessions, Adoration, Rosary, enrolment in the Miraculous Medal and the Brown Scapular.

At lunchtime, there will be tea and coffee available in the Large Hall and a large selection of Catholic books.

There will be Solemn Latin Mass in honour of Our Lady after the procession (about 11am) with Gregorian chant sung by the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate.

People travel some distance for these wonderful days of devotion and prayer. Do take the time to come along yourself for at least part of the day.

The Faith, the Family, the Future

A reminder of the Family Conference on Saturday 21 March in the parish. We are very glad to welcome Margaret Mizen, the mother of Jimmy who was killed last May. Margaret's talk will be on the theme “Be proud of your Faith….it’s the only thing that keeps you going” - an inspiring message of hope that she gave at Christmas.

See the previous notice for more details. This is a day for all the family, in support of Catholic family life. Do put the date in your diary and come along.

"Million Party"

On Saturday, after our monthly Missa Cantata, there was a little party in the Hall to celebrate the millionth visit to Fr Finigan's blog "The Hermeneutic of Continuity." On this occasion, as well as the regular good attendance from parishioners, we had some visitors who travelled to Blackfen. Many thanks to Trisha and the Luncheon Club team for providing a delicious fork buffet.

In the afternoon, we celebrated solemn Vespers (the evening prayer of the Church) and prayed for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict. It was lovely to have so many children and young people at these events. As Pope Benedict said "The Church is alive... the Church is young!"

Confirmation classes cancelled this week

The Confirmation class for girls this evening, Tuesday 3 Feb is cancelled owing to the adverse weather conditions.

The class for boys on Thursday 5 February is also cancelled.

Classes will resume as usual next week.