Dear friends,
In anticipation of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (on Monday), we will begin Mass this coming Sunday with the traditional ceremonies of Candlemas, which include the lighting and blessing of candles; the singing of the Song of Simeon (the Nunc Dimittis), and a procession of our candles around the church. In obedience to the Old Law, the Lord Jesus, the first-born, was presented in the Temple by his Blessed Mother and his foster father. This is another “Epiphany” celebration, insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah – through the song of Simeon and the testimony of Anna, the prophetess. Christ is the light of the nations: hence the blessing and procession of candles on Candlemas Day.
With Candlemas, the Christmas season finally draws to a conclusion – and volunteers are therefore requested to help dismantle the Crib after the 6pm Mass next week on Thursday.
There is only a little over a week to go until our Confirmation Mass, with Bishop Jonathan, on Sunday, 8 February: please make every effort to attend this special service, and please confirm to Pat your kind contribution to the party, after Mass. Volunteers are similarly kindly requested to help set up the Hall, from 4pm next week on Saturday (7 February).
We will also be joined on Sunday, 8 February, at the end of Mass, by His Eminence Atanasie, Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – who is visiting the parish of St Stephen the Great, Harrow, which meets in our church on Sunday afternoons. As a sign of the growing friendship with our Romanian Orthodox brothers and sisters, we will ask Bishop Jonathan to present an icon of Our Lady of Walsingham to Archbishop Atanasie, on our behalf.
The traditional St Blaise blessing of throats (to guard against illness during the coming year) will take place at the end of the 6.30pm Mass next week on Tuesday, 3 February.
There will be a Youth Group outing during the February half-term holiday, to FlipOut Watford (shared with our friends from St Alphage, Burnt Oak), the afternoon of Shrove Tuesday, 17 February: please sign up in church (by Sunday, 8 February), and complete and return a registration form – with £10pp, to include food and drink.
Please also now return last year’s palm crosses, to be burned to generate the ash for Ash Wednesday, 18 February – when there will be Masses at 9.30am and 6pm.
Our chosen monthly charity during February and March will be, as usual during Lent, the Additional Curates Society – paying and praying for priests: donations boxes and prayer cards will be distributed on Sunday, 15 February – and we are asked to give generously.
And may I take this opportunity, finally, to thank you all for your greetings, cards, prayers, gifts and best wishes on my birthday earlier this week!
Also included with this mailing is a flier for the “Naked Truth” workshop, to take place at Emmanuel Church, Northwood on Saturday, 28 February: this workshop will equip parents and carers to engage their children in meaningful conversations about online safety, pornography and healthy digital habits.
‘Seek the Lord… seek righteousness, seek humility,’
Fr Richard