Second Sunday of Easter, 2020
Dear Parishioner
Here is our parish Newsletter for the Second Week of Easter.
I do hope you are all keeping well and in the light of the Government’s decision to extend social distancing for a further period of time, I do urge you to continue to follow their instructions to Stay at Home, Protect the NHS and Save Lives, no matter how challenging we all find it. We are told it is making a difference to the spread of the virus. Please encourage others to do the same.
Please also try to share the information in this Newsletter with our parishioners who do not have access to the internet. Perhaps you could give them a ring.
I continue to be grateful to you for your emails, telephone calls, offers of help and support and of course for your prayers. They mean a great deal to me.
Please take care of yourselves and try to pray each day. Strive to read your bible, where you will find comfort and solace in God’s Word. Pray for each other and please pray for me.
Keep an eye out for one another in keeping with Government advice, remembering that some parishioners are self isolating.
May the Risen Lord bless you all
Father Patterson
Mass to view on line
Mass is lived streamed from our Cathedral on a Sunday at 11.30 and on weekdays at 12.00. These services may be viewed live or anytime later.
Bishop Robert Barron or Fr. Steve Grunow from Word on Fire, continue to celebrate daily Mass from the bishop’s private chapel which you can view.
Because of the time difference between the USA and the UK this Mass does not become available until 15.15 but can be viewed any time after that.
More information and support may be found on our Diocesan website.
I continue to celebrate Mass privately for you all every day. As you are unable to celebrate Mass with me at present, you may wish to make this act of spiritual communion:
Lord Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already there and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen
Divine Mercy Sunday
This Sunday, 19th April, is Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope Francis will be celebrating Mass at 9.55 UK time in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Rome which is the centre of devotion to Divine Mercy in the city.
You can view the Mass live or anytime after.
Masses for the Sick and their Families, NHS Front-Line workers and those working in Social Care
The Bishops of England and Wales recognise that this time of the Coronavirus pandemic is affecting every person in our countries. Those who are sick and their families are suffering many hardships of isolation from contact with those they love.
Our front-line workers in hospitals and in care homes all over our lands are giving exceptional service to those who are vulnerable at this time.
In order to show a spiritual solidarity with all those who are involved in the ways above, each week from this Thursday, one of the Bishops will celebrate Mass privately in their Cathedral which will be live-streamed for people to join.
This Thursday, Cardinal Vincent Nichols will celebrate Mass from Westminster Cathedral at 19.00.
Our Lady of Walsingham
There will be an eight day retreat led by Monsignor John Armitage live streamed from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham from 20.00 this Sunday, 19th April to Sunday, 26th April.
Details of the retreat programme may be found on the Shrine’s website.
Liturgical Restrictions.
Not only is the celebration of Mass in Church suspended at this time, but the celebration of all other Sacraments and sacramentals is suspended until such time as we are allowed to reopen our churches.
In the current situation the Bishops have announced the following instruction: All baptisms, confirmations, first Holy Communions and weddings are to be deferred until congregations are allowed to gather again.
Funeral Masses and Funeral Services are not permitted in our churches. A simple funeral service may be celebrated at the graveside or at the crematorium where numbers attending are limited to 10 people. These Local Authority restrictions are made in the light of the latest guidance from the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities, the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and central Government. The funeral director will guide you in this regard.
Please keep in your prayers this week:
- all our parishioners who are sick, housebound or in hospital and,
- all those near and dear to us whose memories we cherish at this time especially Molly Bell and Brian Grace Jnr.
Pope Francis’ Prayer for Protection during the Coronavirus Pandemic
O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the sick. At the foot of the cross you participated in Jesus’ pain, with steadfast faith. You know what we need. We are certain that you will provide, so that, as you did at Cana of Galilee, joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love. to conform ourselves to the Father’s will and to do what Jesus tells us: He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us, through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
We seek refuge under your protection, O holy Mother of God. Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
A Prayer for Carers, Nurses and Doctors
Lord Jesus, who healed the sick and gave them new life, be with doctors, nurses and carers, as they act as agents of your healing touch.
In desperate times, keep them strong yet loving; and when their work is done, be with them in their weariness and in their tears. Amen.
Alone [Together]
If you are finding it difficult living in isolation – on your own or ‘stuck’ with family – you might find the suggestions of Fr Christopher Jamison helpful. He is the President of the English Benedictine Congregation and a monk of Douai Abbey in Berkshire. Drawing on almost 50 years experience as a monk, Fr Christopher has helped to create a website Alone [Together] which addresses loneliness and self-sufficiency raised by the current crisis.
For him, positivity is the key. “Do not begin the day by rehearsing your grievances,” he says. “Begin by remembering you’re alive and there are good things still. You may have to do tough things later, but take it one step at a time. Begin with gratitude; then ask for the grace to face the day and its difficulties. Then go and address the difficulties.”
Your weekly offering is our sole source of income
As we face another period during which our churches will have to remain closed, I would ask those of you who may feel able, in what I am aware may be difficult times for us all financially, to consider contributing your weekly offering by bank transfer directly into the parish account. It will help us meet our ongoing financial commitments. I am very grateful to those of you who have already chosen to do so.
Alternatively, you might put aside your envelopes each week and bring them along to church once we can reopen and celebrate Mass and socialise together.
St. Alban’s HSBC bank account name: DHN Pelaw St Alban, Sort code: 40-34-18, Account No: 92010984
St. Patrick’s HSBC bank account name: DHN Felling St Patrick, Sort code: 40-34-18, Account No: 52010453
The Northern Cross
The April edition of our Diocesan Newspaper The Northern Cross is available online free of charge.
