Four contrasts are referred to in the gospel of today (The Beatitudes) – poverty/riches; hunger/fullness; sorrow/laughter; and defamation/commendation. Jesus upturns the values we would normally consider desirable. He asks us to realise that we are not living simply to be happy in this life, but we should ask ourselves the deeper value of our ways of life in the light of what we can bring with us to eternal life. The Christian view of life is that we should never forget that things cannot be brought with us into eternal life. Rather, we only take with us the things we have given away – even if it’s only a cup of water given in the name of Jesus (Matthew 10:42). God’s mercy means doing justice for the poorest and the most humiliated. Jesus meets families on his travels who are barely surviving and are defenceless against powerful landowners. We too see poor and powerless people today. Are we, his followers, defenders of the poor? What meaningful action will I do today to bring a smile to the lips of someone who is poor or broken? Christian living is neither an armchair occupation nor a spectator sport.
First Reading | Jeremiah 17:5-8 | Trust in human resources is like a withering shrub in the arid desert. | |||
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 1:1-4 | Response: Happy are they who hope in the Lord | |||
Second Reading | 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 | Paul’s clear reply to some who were sceptical about resurrection. | |||
Gospel | Luke 6:17, 20-26 | Luke has just four Beatitudes, and four corresponding ‘woes’. |
Monday 17th February | 9:30am | Fr John Chadwick | Anniversary of his ordination | |||||
Saturday 22nd | 6:15pm | Margaret O'Donnell | RIP | |||||
Tuesday 25th | 9:30am | Anne Purfield | ||||||
Sunday 2nd March | 9:30am | Noel & Shivanthi Fernando | RIP | |||||
Sunday 2nd | 11:15am | Linda Holloway | RIP AN |
Monday 17th February | 12pm | Edwin Higgs | RIP. May his soul rest in peace. |
HOUSE BLESSING: House blessings (also known as house healings, house clearings, house cleansings and space clearing) are rites intended to protect the inhabitants of a house or apartment. It is also there asking God’s protection and blessing upon each member of the family. In Christianity, house blessing is an ancient tradition dating back to the early days, that is usually performed by a priest who sprinkles holy water and blessed salt as he walks through every room of the house, accompanied by the occupants of the house, whilst praying for the occupants. If you would like your home/apartment/room blessed, then please contact one of the priests and a time and date can be arranged. The blessing ritual takes about 20 minutes, and it is lovely if all occupants of the home are present.
ARE YOU NEW TO OUR PARISH? Thank you for your interest in our parish. Whether you're just visiting us for a brief time, looking for a new parish home, returning to the practice of your Catholic faith or are interested in finding out more about the Catholic Church, we are happy to answer your questions, listen to your comments and help you in any way that we can. We are a parish of the Diocese of Portsmouth, and are a very vibrant community, made up of ‘old’ Maidenhead families and relative “newcomers” from all walks of life. We hope that you find our Catholic parish a caring community that is loving, welcoming and supportive of all. Our mission is to grow in the image of Christ through the Holy Spirit, to be formed by the Word and our prayer, to use our gifts to welcome those who are here and reach out to those who are not. We invite you to join us as partners in the mission. Together, let us get to know Christ better and to make Him better known. May God Bless you wherever you are and thank you for exploring our website and newsletter. Please stop by the parish office to introduce yourself! We would love to meet you.
FIRST FRIDAY: The First Friday of the month is traditionally a time when a priest visits a home to anoint anyone who is house bound, with holy oil, and to administer the sacrament of Holy Communion. The parish has several people on this list. If indeed, you or someone you know would like a visit from a priest, then please contact Fr. Liam, Fr. Ephraim or Fr. Tom.
FIRST FRIDAY HEALING MASS These special Masses will take place on:
Friday 7th March 10am at St. Joseph’s; 7pm at St. Edmund Campion Church; 10am St Thomas More, Twyford
Friday 4th April 10am at St. Joseph’s; 7pm at St. Edmund Campion Church; 10am St Thomas More, Twyford
WHAT IS A HEALING MASS?
Healing Masses are opportunities to directly seek physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing. These Masses include a homily that is focused on healing, prayers of the faithful that are directly asking God to heal us, and prayers after communion that are prayed by the Priest to help facilitate greater healing in our lives.
The Mass is the most powerful way that we can seek healing as Christians. Jesus is present in the Mass through the Scriptures, through giving Himself to us in His Body and His Blood, and through our worship of Him. He is the one who heals us. The Mass helps to facilitate the healing that Jesus wants to give to all of us.
BAPTISMAL COURSE The Baptismal Course is available for all Parents whose child is being Baptised at either St Joseph’s, St Elizabeth’s or St Edmund Campion. The course is a 90 minute preparation and guidance. It is held at St Joseph’s the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm. The next meetings are:
DIOCESAN NEWSLETTER: The Diocesan Mailing is produced every week and contains news, training opportunities and events from around the diocese and wider Catholic Church. The weekly newsletter is designed to bring you the latest information and events, straight to your email inbox. We try to keep it short and sweet (though, occasionally we can't help but get carried away with a great story or a brilliant opportunity). Click or go to the following site to sign up: www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
House Masses/Blessings: Father Liam is more than happy to celebrate a House Mass or a House Blessing for any family or group of families who would like it. If you are interested, then please email Father Liam or telephone the Parish Office.
Contact: If you wish to speak to Father Liam in confidence on any matter, please contact him for an appointment. He is always happy to visit your home if so desired. Email: lcummins@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk Telephone: 07776580596
Hospital: If you are going into hospital or know or someone that is, please inform the hospital chaplain on arrival. Please also let Father Liam know so that arrangements can be made for a visit. Please note that under the Data Protection Act, hospital staff cannot disclose patient information. We rely on Parishioners to keep us in the loop.
Housebound: If you know of anyone who is sick and/or housebound please let Ruth (Parish Office) or Father Liam know so that a visit can be arranged.
TRANSPORT TO MASS We are aware that some parishioners are having difficulty in finding transport for weekend Mass. If those parishioners could identify which Masses they would prefer to attend, then an effort will be made to organise a lift. Likewise, if you can offer a lift to fellow parishioners, who live locally to you, then we can match the needs on a register that will be held in the Parish Office. Any queries, please contact John Lynn 07931 292934
MASS DURING THE WINTER MONTHS will be in the Parish Centre on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday mornings. Friday morning and weekend Masses will be in the church.
SAVE THE DATE SUNDAY 22nd JUNE 2025 Holy Family Parish of Maidenhead and Twyford Picnic & Open Air Mass
NEW MASS TIME From 9th March until Pentecost, there will be a 5pm Sunday evening Mass in St Joseph’s
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FRIDAY 7th MARCH 2pm St Mark’s Methodist Church, Allenby Road, Maidenhead, SL6 5BQ.
SEDER MEAL 29th March in the evening at St Edmund Campion School This is a lovely opportunity to learn about the Passover meal and Last Supper and to enjoy a simple but celebratory meal with friends. Tickets will be available after Masses on the weekend of 1st and 2nd March. We are able to offer tickets at £20 per head with thanks to Cowdrays of Cookham who have subsidised the meat for the evening. Please bring cash for your ticket. Please note the Seder meal will contain nuts. We can arrange for a vegetarian meat substitute please let us know if you would like this option when purchasing your ticket. We are urgently collecting empty Gu desert pots or ramekins for the Seder Meal. If you have some that you can donate please take them to the church office.
PARISH COLLECTION Please continue to support your parish, its activities and outreach programmes by contributing to the weekly collection via the 'baskets' and/or Contactless. It is very positive that a lot of our parishioners, over the course of the pandemic, switched their contribution from cash to Bank Transfer.
NB: If you want to set up a direct debit or standing order (or even make a one-off donation) the account details are:
Account name: CDP MAIDENHEAD ST EDMUND CAMPION
Sort code: 30-93-04
Account number: 00882551
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION The next class for First Holy Communion is on Saturday 1st March at 4.30pm in St Edmund Campion School
SVP MAIDENHEAD are in need of adult and children bicycles for the asylum seekers. If you upgraded any bikes over Christmas, please consider donating your old bike to us. For more information, please contact the Parish Office. We are still collecting clothes, toys and toiletries. Please check the SVP noticeboard for meeting dates and other updates.
ST EDMUND CAMPION NURSERY:
SCHOOL HALF-TERM 17th – 21st February
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
LENTEN SOUP LUNCH Due to illness & old age (!), we are short of people to help with Lenten Soup (each Thursday during Lent). I am happy to organise it but need 3 more people to set up and serve. Please phone Kathryn on 07708094818 ASAP
THANK YOU to the Vision Group for running the raffle last weekend. There were so many wonderful prizes and it raised an incredible £1165. Thank you to everyone who donated prizes and bought tickets.
YOGA CLASSES Tuesday 11am – 11:45am There will be no yoga for the next 2 weeks. The next Yoga class will be Tuesday 25th February 11am. Everyone is welcome. No charge for the class, just a small donation to charity if able. For more information contact Rachel: wellhappyyoga@gmail.com or the parish office.
LENTEN PROJECT CONCERT SATURDAY 22nd MARCH 7:30pm in the school hall, performed by musicians from the 9.30 music group. Songs and music from the last 60 years. Tickets £10 including bread and cheese supper. Please bring your own drinks. To reserve tickets please speak to musicians after Mass or text Mary on 07745 347984
JUBILEE PILGRIMAGE TO KNOCK 10th - 14th MARCH 2025 £799.00pps. Contact 01268 762278 or 07740 175557 or email knockpilgrimages@gmail.com. See posters for more information.
CAFOD meeting on Saturday 22nd February from 10:30am to 1pm at Christ the King Church Hall Reading RG2 8NR. If you wish to attend, email Jo jlewry@cafod.org.uk
PPC MEETING Tuesday 18th February 7pm in the Parish Centre
TODDLER GROUP Every Friday in termtime, 8:45am-10:45am in the Parish Centre.
LEGION OF MARY GROUP Fridays 6pm in St Joseph's Church contact Fr Ephraim 07785 727951 or Thereza 07878117907
JUBILEE YEAR RECONCILIATION SERVICE 13th April 3pm at St Joseph’s Church, followed by refreshments in the Hall
GIFT AID: If you have a standing order or direct debit donation to the Parish and gift aid your donation, please complete a new Gift Aid form. These will need to be completed for all existing Gift Aid Declarations. New Direct Debit and Gift Aid forms are available in the church porch and in the drawers outside the Parish Office. Please return all completed forms to the Parish Office. Thank you to everyone who has completed a form over the last few months.
DONA CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS are now available in the church porch. You can Gift Aid your donation to the church and Second Collections. You only need to put your details in once and all future donations using the same card will be Gift Aided. Donations, Repository, Candles, Mass Intentions can all be paid for using the machine– just select the option on the screen.
WELCOME A very warm welcome to all parishioners and visitors who join us, whether in our Churches of St. Joseph’s, St. Elizabeth’s, St. Edmund Campion or via the live-stream. If you are new to the area, please register as a member of our Parishes. The parish offices are situated at St. Joseph’s Church, Cookham Road and St. Edmund Campion, Altwood Road. Carolyn or Ruth can send you a soft copy of the registration form if you so wish, or pick up a hard copy at the church. The parish office details are available on the website and in the church porch.
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY LITURGY 9:30am Mass Children from the age of 4 can attend. Please put your child’s name on the register as you go into the church.
MISSALS Please email office if you want to pre-order the CTS Daily Missal available in May. £70 with Sunday, £55 weekday readings only
CONFIRMATION (2024) CERTIFICATES are ready for collection from the Parish Office.
GOSPEL POWER 2025 is available to purchase - £6 in the Repository box, to the Parish office or via the contactless machine.
CAFOD School Volunteers needed Do you enjoy working with children and young people? Could you help to inspire and empower children and young people in your local Catholic schools by delivering an assembly or a workshop? Supported by CAFOD with training and all resources provided please consider the role of CAFOD school volunteer. For more information contact Jo Lewry jlewry@cafod.org.uk or phone 07710 094447
MARRIAGE CARE: Volunteers needed! Marriage Care is looking to recruit volunteers to help present their Marriage Preparation courses in the local area (a couple of Saturdays in the year). Full training and support are given. To find out more, visit www.marriagecare.org.uk or contact Sue Cooper on 07939495774 or sue.cooper@marriagecare.org
God’s invitation to relationship An Introduction to Ways of Praying A short prayer course on Zoom to support people into a deeper prayer life through tutor’s input, guided prayer experience & sharing. A six-week course online Tuesdays 7.00pm – 8.30/9pm 25th Feb - 1st April 2025. No charge. Enquiries and applications Email: waysofpraying@epiphanygroup.org.uk
VOLUNTEERS: From Sunday 8th December 2024, subscribers to the Update Service will be emailed 30 days before their renewal date to ask if they wish to stay subscribed. Renewal dates are based on original joining dates. DBS advises volunteers to check that the email address attached to their subscription is linked to the individual who is subscribed. The renewal email will ask volunteers to access their Update Service Account and confirm that they wish to continue with the service. For those who confirm, this request will be repeated annually. If no confirmation is made, their volunteer subscription will automatically be cancelled. Volunteers who do not renew their subscription will not be able to keep their DBS certificate(s) up to date and organisations will not be able to check them. They will need to reapply for a DBS if they need one in the future. If you are a volunteer that is subscribed to the update service, please check that the correct email address is linked to the subscription service.
REPOSITORY Please see our repository for cards & Mass cards for all occasions. Cash payments in the box on the wall or via the Dona contactless machine (minimum £1 payments).
RED BOXES It’s time to empty your red boxes. Please bring yours to the church and give to Lousie Jennings or Barbara McWalter at 11:15am Mass or hand them into the Parish Office. There are a number of boxes for collection in the church porch. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
PARISH COMMUNICATION We have reduced our newsletter to one two-sided A4 sheet. In order to make sure you are receiving up to date communications, please consider signing up to receive information by email. Parishioner registration forms are available in the church porch and in the drawers outside the Parish Office – please complete one and return it to the Parish office.
SCHOOL PLAYGROUND The Reception area playground is not for use at the weekends. Please make sure that children are not entering this area before or after weekend Masses. The staff prepare the area on Friday afternoon so that it is ready for learning on Monday morning. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
FOOD IN THE CHURCH The church is cleaned every Friday afternoon. Recently there appears to be a lot of food debris on the Church floor after weekend Masses. If you or your child needs to eat during Mass, can we request that you please use the Parish Centre. Thank you for your cooperation.
FOODSHARE Are you an NHS, Emergency services or a Blue Light worker. Foodshare is now operating a shop, so if you're struggling to make ends meet, for a cost of £10 per visit you can "buy" a trolley of food. Call 01628 262711 for fast and fuss free support.
VACANCIES - For job vacancies in the Diocese please see Diocese website https://www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/
We have activities planned for later this year and would be happy to hear from you if you would like to get involved or have an idea of your own. Please contact Sarah Bowden (bowden.sarah@googlemail.com).
LIBRARY We have a parish library located in the foyer of the Parish Centre. One bookcase is dedicated to Theology/Religious books, another bookcase to Fiction/Non-Fiction and a third smaller bookcase to children's Bibles/Bible stories etc. Please feel free to borrow/swap.
If you would like to donate, we can only accept books that are in excellent and clean condition. Thank you and enjoy.
FOODSHARE We are a collection point for Foodshare. Our collection area is just inside the porch doors, but if you leave food outside, out of hours (in a bag or other covering) the building is regularly checked. Foodshare are currently really in need of tinned vegetables and tinned meat, amongst all the regular donations.
APPOINTMENTS If you wish to speak to Fr Liam, Fr Ephraim, Fr Tom or Fr Noah in confidence on any matter, please contact either one for an appointment. They are happy to visit your home if so desired, adhering to social distancing guidelines.
HOUSEBOUND If you know of anyone who is sick and/or housebound, please let Ruth (Parish Office), Fr Liam or Fr Ephraim know so that a visit can be arranged.
FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES, FOR THE COMING MONTHS
Father Ephraim and Fr Noah are the ‘link people’ for pastoral matters concerning the parish of St. Joseph’s and St. Elizabeth’s. They are also chaplains to St. Mary’s school.
Father Liam will be the ‘link person’ for the parish of St. Edmund Campion and will be chaplain to St. Edmund Campion school.
Fr. Ephraim, Fr. Noah and Fr. Liam are on call each day and will serve our community as best they can. You can call either of them on their mobile numbers, contact them via email or visit them at St. Joseph’s Presbytery.
THE WELCOMING MINISTRY (Mass Rep) is dedicated to helping all parishioners and visitors enhance their worship experience at Mass by making them feel welcome and included in our Eucharistic celebration, helping them connect with our parish, and participating in the numerous ministry opportunities offered at St. Edmund Campion. The Mass Rep is the ‘overseer’ in ensuring that the various ministries during Mass are fulfilled. Further, they are there to help you with any queries.
We thank our mass reps:
6:15pm Saturday: Reena K. 9:30am Sunday: Elvira E-M 11:15am Sunday: Julie C.
ADMISSION INTO ST EDMUND CAMPION SCHOOL AND NURSERY is based on Mass attendance for some categories. In our parish, we have an attendance card available from the table in the church lobby. Every time you come to Sunday Mass please get your card stamped. For information on the current Admissions Policy see the school's website, www.st-edmund.org.uk.
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