Read the Winter Parish Magazine here
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Download Bulletin 4th February 2024
Fr Hugh’s Homily for 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“It was the evening of the 24th…” Back in the 50s and early 60s there was a TV series on Crime where Edgar Lustgarten would introduce the crime story looking very sinister (black and white TV of course) and saying something like is. It was always a date and a place. (The phrase became a cult item later and appeared in pop songs and The Rocky Horror Show.) Time and place can be the clue to the matter in hand, as old Edgar knew. In the gospel story today, like last week the place, a synagogue, was important, and today it is also the time….
Complete Homily for 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings for 5th Sunday OT
Daily Prayers Week 5 OT
Catholic Voice
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Download Bulletin 28th January 2024
Fr Hugh’s Homily for 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time:
The Romans hated Judea because to them it was a religious mine-field of crackpot preachers and zealots and trouble, being poorly controlled by self-righteous High Priests, very demanding ones, who followed a code, a Law, they did not generally understand. And Jesus was often seen as just one of these troublemakers, and he could have remained pretty much like that, except for the power he showed in the actions he took, and the way he spoke and it was received. In the gospel today he sets out at the start of a missionary life that would carry his word to the ends of the world. The reason he succeeded is in the way how from the start people sensed that this was a message far beyond the other wandering preachers in its ‘authority’ and content, as the gospel says….
Complete Homily for 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings for 4th Sunday OT
Daily Prayers Week 4 OT
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Download Bulletin 21st January 2024
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY – 18th – 25th January: Each church is taking a day of this week and ours will be Tuesday 23rd at 11am. It would be lovely to have a body of people here to welcome those of other churches so that we may pray together for Christian Unity. The theme of this year is based on the story of the Good Samaritan and the title is ‘You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbour as yourself’.
Deacon George’s Homily for 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Jesus said, “The time has come … and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News”. What is, or where is, the kingdom of God? Jesus never answers this question and never defines the meaning of the kingdom of God. He just keeps on telling us, that the time has come, and the kingdom of God is now near. In reality, Jesus wants us to work out the answer ourselves. This we can do by letting ourselves be taught by him, by listening to his parables, and by observing his actions. To help us, he has given each one of us a mentor, the Holy Spirit that lives within us. Therefore, if we work closely with the Holy Spirit, we will discover, in our own personal way, and in our own time, that Jesus himself, is the kingdom of God……
Complete Homily for 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings for 3rd Sunday OT
Daily Prayers Week 3 OT
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
PEACE SUNDAY
Download Bulletin 14th January 2024
Fr Hugh’s Homily for 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
When a Man U fan is looking at a Liverpool fan, or for that matter a Blackpool fan looking at a Preston fan (not quite so many of us), they don’t often pause and say, “that person is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” (Not the first thing that comes to mind anyway.) True of an Israeli looking at a Palestinian so often, or Russian and Ukrainian, or, in many places, a white person looking at a black person, and vice versa. We might talk about celebrating diversity, but we are not so good at living up to it. And yet we do believe in it. The Holy Spirit is within each one of us, as the second reading said. Ready to be recognised in us through baptism if our family are so inclined, or we accept this later in life…..
Complete Homily for 2nd Sunday Ordinary Time
Readings for 2nd Sunday OT
Daily Prayers Week 2 OT
Epiphany
Download Bulletin 7th January 2024
FR HUGH’S HOMILY FOR EPIPHANY 2024
Any horoscope for a Scorpio like me usually ends with a sting in the tail, as that is what scorpions have. But the one I read on Friday (I am not recommending this) said: ‘You may be feeling a bit adventurous right now, perhaps the town is closing in around you, grab a friend and hop into the car and set off for the mountains or the sea. You have been working very hard. And then…For the right path to follow get a full psychic reading.’ (At a price of course.)…..
Complete Homily for Epiphany 2024
Readings for Epiphany
Daily Prayers Epiphany
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Download Bulletin for 24th & 31st December 2023
Deacon George’s Homily for 4th Sunday of Advent
Anna, the wife of Joachim, gave birth to a daughter and lived in a little town which was the back of beyond. The town’s name was Nazareth and the daughter’s name was Mary. Mary was just an ordinary 13 year old Jewish girl but one day this girl, was visited by the archangel Gabriel, who addressed her, “Rejoice so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” The archangel addressed her thus because she was full of grace. It was of God’s choosing, that Mary was full of grace. Mary had done nothing to deserve this grace. And as with all graces, it was simply a gift from God….
Complete Homily for 4th Sunday of Advent
Readings for 4th Sunday of Advent
Daily Prayers Advent 4
Christmas Midnight Mass
Please note that there will be NO CAROLS before Midnight Mass.
Thank you.
Third Sunday of Advent
Download Bulletin 17th December 2023
FR HUGH’S HOMILY FOR 3RD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
CSI became one of the most famous TV police programmes in the last few decades. Endless new tricks that the forensic scientists/investigators could perform to discover the perpetrator but especially name of the victim’s body. In fact this was so important a part of it that the theme tune was the well-known Who song, ‘Who are you?’ This sort of sums up where we are in today’s gospel. We are doing much the same as last week, but from a different angle, last week Mark’s this week John’s. If you remember Mark began with no birth stories for Jesus but with the Old Testament and the Prophet Isaiah. Then the gospel would lead us on a trail of discovery of who Jesus was. This time, with John, it is different…..