2025 Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee
The Holy Father has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, something which happens every 25 years. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”
We are all on a pilgrimage towards Heaven, towards ‘sharing the glory of God’, as St Paul puts it. Any pilgrimage or journey is sustained by hope: hope in the destination.
We are currently preparing for the Jubilee Year 2025, which Pope Francis has given the theme, Pilgrims of Hope. We might say that this Jubilee Year, and our preparations for it, are another pilgrimage within that great pilgrimage of our faith, one in which we seek to deepen our sense of hope in God’s promises, in ‘sharing the glory of God’. As we look at the world around us, hope is something that is very much needed in these times. We need it, too, in our personal lives, in the lives of our families, and as a virtue cultivated in all of our relationships. It is important that we share the hope we gain in faith, with others, a hope borne of the knowledge of God’s love and the experience of knowing Jesus Christ. Our Year of Preparation for the Jubilee Year is to be a year of prayer, focusing, in particular, on the Lord’s Prayer, in order to foster our relationship with God our Father. This will open us up to receiving the graces and blessings that He wishes to bestow on us during the Jubilee Year…Archbishop Mark O’Toole.
Applications for the First Holy Communion Preparation Course is now closed and we cannot accept any further names at this time. Those who have already been in contact and expressed a desire to receive Our Blessed Lord for the first time in Holy Communion will be contacted in the next few days.
A date for Confirmations has now been agreed with Archbishop Mark for Wednesday 17th June at St Francis Xavier, Broad Street . Anyone who would like their child to receive this Sacrament of the Church please contact your parish priest. Please include the full name and contact details of the young person seeking confirmation, also include their date of birth and the school they are currently attending. Registration details should be received no later than January 1st, 2026. Preparation classes will begin in the New Year. Further details to follow
On Friday 12th December at 6.30pm we are holding our annual, ADVENT CAROL SERVICE. This year we welcome the choir of St Mary’s Lugwardine who will be joining us as we gather to sing the praises of God. St Augustine famously said: “They who sing pray twice” and this is an ideal opportunity for us to give glory to the God who comes to us in humility and love. So come along and join in thanksgiving and praise. There will be mulled wine and mince pies to keep us going. Jubilate deo omnis terra. (Praise the Lord all nations on Earth)
Here at Our Lady’s, and we are inviting years 7-11 to come join this group. Our motto is Love in Action ! The first meeting will be on Sunday 28th after 10am Mass in the parish Hall. The session will finish at 12:30pm. These sessions will be once a month, and its purpose is to serve our parish and community while learning about our faith in the process. If you know anyone aged between 7-11 who would be interested, then please come along. If there are any adults who can help either volunteers or support in other ways, please let me know. Any questions call me on 07792540333. Annie Ridgway.
If you would like a Mass to be said for your intention, there are envelopes available at the back of church for you to use. Holy Mass makes present the mystery of the Lord’s death and resurrection. There is no greater prayer than the Mass, since it is the most perfect offering we can make to God. In offering Mass for a specific intention, we are asking that the fruits of Christ’s redemptive power may be applied to the requested intention. The offering you make also helps support the clergy. I will try my best to accommodate your request however, if the date given is not available, the nearest possible date will be given. Please give a contact number so that I can ring you if need be.
O God, who in your providential design willed that your Church be built upon blessed Peter, whom you set over the other Apostles, look with favour, we pray, on Leo our Pope and grant that he, whom you have made Peter's successor, may be for your people a visible source and foundation of unity in faith and of communion.
WOW (Widow or Widowers) group Since 2022 we have steadily grown in numbers and now there are almost twenty of us, aged from 65 to 80+. We meet in the Belmont parish centre on the first Tuesday of the month at 11 O'clock, share a cuppa, cake and friendly chat. We also have some sort of activity, in March it was pancakes (as the meeting fell on shrove Tuesday) supplied by the kitchen at Belmont Abbey, and a quiz. Last month we had a game of “Bird Bingo” which was enjoyed by all. We go for the occasional meal out, the Cider Orchard Restaurant at the college being a particular favourite. In the summer months we have been on outings to local National Trust Properties. We go to parish events as a group meaning there is always someone you know to sit with. As a group we help with the Annual Summer Fete either as stall holders, washer ups or car park attendants. Although based at Belmont Abbey, the group is open to any widow or widowers not just parishioners, several of our members are non-catholic. That said, we always start the meeting with our WOW Prayer, where we particularly remember our loved ones’ anniversaries. New to this year I have also started to do a newsletter for the group. Anyone interested can just turn up on the meeting day or in any further info is required my email is: juliemirfin@btinternet.com . March 25 Newsletter
As part of our ‘Warm Spaces Project’ the parish will be hosting a coffee morning on Tuesday 8th April from 10.30am in the Parish Hall. Representatives from the Citizens Advice Bureau and Age Concern will be in attendance for private consultations. Please do your best to support the coffee morning and bring your friends as holding these community events improves our chance of obtaining Lottery grants and other funding towards our hall renovations. Thereafter, regular coffee mornings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month.
Our small team of volunteers needs more help with the soup lunches on Saturdays from 11.30am to 1.30pm. We serve tea, coffee, soup, bread & butter and biscuits to a small group of regular visitors. It is easy to do, no qualifications are needed except a willingness to be on a flexible rota and chat to those we support. Contact Denise, John or pop along one Saturday to see how it works. Thank you!
Our parish piety shop is now open for you to browse the wide selection of religious items and cards on offer. Please go and have a look what is on offer and if there is something you want but isn’t there let us know and we can try and order it for you.