Second Sunday of Advent (B) 6 December 2020
For Catholics on the Tendring Peninsula….
SPECIAL NEWSLETTER XXXIV – keeping in touch
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B) 5/6 December 2020
CATHOLIC PARISHES OF:
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Dovercourt: 01255 503383
email Harwich@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website www.harwichcatholics.org.uk
Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi, Frinton-on-Sea: 01255 674475
email Frinton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website: www.frintoncatholicchurch.wordpress.com
Masses to be celebrated in our churches during the week:
Monday (7th): (Dovercourt) 9.30am Gerry RIP
Wednesday (9th): (Frinton) 11.00am Anne Bray
Thursday (10th): (Frinton) 11.00am Ania Wigley RIP
Friday (11th): (Dovercourt) 9.30am Migrants & Refugees
Saturday (12th): (Frinton) 6.00pm Fr Charles Kakooza
Sunday (13th): (Frinton) 8.30am Margaret & Michael White
(Dovercourt) 10.45am All Parishioners
In addition to these Masses, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate Mass in The Presbytery. His Mass intentions are:
Ann Duggan & family
Ellen & Patrick Horgan RIP
Openness to the Word of God
Private Intentions
Expectant Mothers
A hymn for Sunday:
For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits; truly my hope is in you.
O Root of Life, implant your seed within us,
and in your advent draw us all to you,
our hope reborn in dying and in rising.
Last week I wrote a little about the O Antiphons, or great Os. Each antiphon is a name for Christ as mentioned in holy scripture and each refers to the coming of the Messiah as prophesied by Isaiah. They are: O Wisdom; O Lord; O Root of Jesse (ie of Life); O Key of David; O Dayspring; O King of the Nations; O Emmanuel. Both last week’s hymn, ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’, and this week’s draw on the great Os. ’My soul in stillness waits’ is written and set to music by Marty Haugen with a simple but haunting accompaniment.
This week’s reflection from the second letter of St Peter: ‘So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain.’ (AJ)
Sunday Mass Attendance (both parishes – ADVENT): To give all parishioners the opportunity of attending Mass once during Advent, Sunday Masses will be open to parishioners as follows: 3rd Sunday of Advent (12/13 Dec), Surnames H-O; 4th Sunday (19/20 Dec) P-Z. The church may be more crowded than usual, please maintain social distancing at all times even if this means standing.
Advance notice (Christmas Masses): I am planning for seven Christmas Masses to be celebrated across the two parishes between 24th and 27th December. Please note that attendance will be limited to those who have pre-booked seats. There will be some opportunity after Masses during Advent to book seats where these are still available – please speak to Jane Dunbar (Dovercourt) or Anne Jackson (Frinton).
It’s getting cold: as we need to leave windows and doors open in church to ensure adequate ventilation, please remember to come dressed in warm outdoor clothes!
Sunday Smile: A child’s prayer: Dear God, please take care of me and my daddy and mummy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and my cat. And please take care of yourself, God, for if anything happens to You, we will all be in a big mess.
First Sunday of Advent (B) 29 November 2020
For Catholics on the Tendring Peninsula….
SPECIAL NEWSLETTER XXXIII – keeping in touch
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B) 28/29 November 2020
CATHOLIC PARISHES OF:
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Dovercourt: 01255 503383
email Harwich@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website www.harwichcatholics.org.uk
Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi, Frinton-on-Sea: 01255 674475
email Frinton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website: www.frintoncatholicchurch.wordpress.com
Masses to be celebrated in our churches during the week:
Wednesday (2nd): (Frinton) 11.00am Kathleen & Donncha Cronin
Thursday (3rd): (Frinton) 11.00am Joan & Michael O’Mahony
Friday (4th): (Dovercourt) 9.30am Florence McCarthy RIP
Saturday (5th): (Frinton) 6.00pm Marie Lloyd RIP & family (Mary Lloyd)
Sunday (6th): (Frinton) 8.30am All who have helped us to get through 2020
(Dovercourt) 10.45am All Parishioners
In addition to these Masses, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate Mass in The Presbytery. His Mass intentions are:
Holy Souls
Edna & William Sargeant RIP (Jean Frost & Susan Tyrell)
Migrants & refugees
Alice McCarthy RIP
Katherine & Julia Butler RIP
A hymn for Sunday:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
The O Antiphons, or great Os, are antiphons recited at Vespers from 17 to 23 December. They also feature in the Alleluia verses that precede the Gospel at Mass on these days. They are a very old part of our liturgy and were certainly in use by the eighth century. Some scholars believe that the beginning of each forms an acrostic which translates from the Latin as ‘Tomorrow I will come’. Since their earliest plainsong inception many composers through to the present day have set them to music. They feature in at least two of our Advent hymns including that quoted above, and I will write something more on this next week.
This week’s reflection from the Gospel: ‘And what I say to you I say to all: stay awake!’ (AJ)
Sunday Mass Attendance (both parishes – ADVENT): To give all parishioners the opportunity of attending Mass once during Advent, Sunday Masses will be open to parishioners as follows: 2nd Sunday of Advent (5/6 December), Surnames A-G; 3rd Sunday (12/13 Dec), H-O; 4th Sunday (19/20 Dec) P-Z. Please maintain social distancing at all times.
Weekday Masses: I am expecting and planning for ‘public’ Masses from Wednesday. Remember, there is no ‘alphabetical restriction’ at weekday Masses.
Advance notice (Christmas Masses): I am planning for seven Christmas Masses to be celebrated across the two parishes between 24th and 27th December. Please note that attendance will be limited to those who have pre-booked seats. There will be some opportunity after Masses during Advent to book seats where these are still available if you have not already been able to do so.
Sunday Smile: Genuine (we are told!) notices taken from church bulletins. The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
Christ the King (A) 22 November 2020
For Catholics on the Tendring Peninsula….
SPECIAL NEWSLETTER XXXII – keeping in touch
CHRIST THE KING [A] 21/22 November 2020
CATHOLIC PARISHES OF:
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Dovercourt: 01255 503383
email Harwich@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website www.harwichcatholics.org.uk
Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi, Frinton-on-Sea: 01255 674475
email Frinton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website: www.frintoncatholicchurch.wordpress.com
Private Masses to be celebrated in our churches during the week (changed schedule owing to government restrictions on travel and the suspension of Public Worship):
Monday (23rd): (Frinton) 9.30am Jane Robinson
Wednesday (25th): (Frinton) 11.00am Peggie O’Carroll & family
Thursday (26th): (Frinton) 11.00am Holy Souls
Friday (27th): (Frinton) 9.30am Helena White RIP & Bridget White
Saturday (28th): (Frinton) 6.00pm Sr Bernadette
Sunday (29th): (Dovercourt) 10.45am Paula Collins RIP
In addition to these Masses, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate Mass in The Presbytery. His Mass intentions are:
Dorothy Ward RIP (Rachel Bartholomew)
Dennis McCarthy RIP (Maura & family)
All Parishioners
Holy Souls
Young people
Fr Frank writes:
Today we celebrate the great Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church’s year. Please make every effort this weekend to lift your hearts to Christ our King; the one we follow, the only true and reliable guide through life.
Next week sees the beginning of the season of Advent – a time of preparation. Preparation for Christmas, but also for the second coming of Christ; the time when he will return in glory and majesty surrounded by the angels.
Many of the traditional features of Advent (the parish Reconciliation Service, the Healing Mass etc.) will be missing this year. But the need for preparation is as important as ever.
The First Sunday of Advent falls within the current Lockdown, and there will be no public celebration of Mass. It may well be, however, that we can meet for a ‘socially distanced Mass’ on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sundays of Advent. To give as many people as possible the opportunity to attend Mass in Advent, should this be permitted, I have revised the usual pattern for allocating seats (see below). This may well mean that our churches are rather more crowded than of late – in this case it is essential to remember the general principle of maintaining ‘social distance’ at all times, even if this means standing in a corner!
May Jesus Christ, our true King, bless you now and always.
Frank ofs
Mass Attendance (both parishes – ADVENT): 2nd Sunday of Advent (5/6 December), Surnames A-G; 3rd Sunday (12/13 Dec), H-O; 4th Sunday (19/20 Dec) P-Z.
Advance notice (Christmas Masses): Assuming that we will be out of Lockdown for Christmas – all seats at Masses will be allocated by a booking system. Bookings can be made for one Mass only, either for Christmas Eve (Dovercourt 6pm. Frinton 8pm), OR Christmas Day (Frinton 8.30am. Dovercourt 10.45am), OR for one of the usual ‘Sunday’ Masses (26/27th December). This will ensure that almost everyone has the opportunity of attending a Christmas Mass. Frinton parishioners should ring Anne (01255 674475) ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON, 26th November, between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. Dovercourt parishioners should ring Jane (01255 503383) ON TUESDAY MORNING 24th November, between 10.00am and 12 noon. Please do not ring outside the scheduled times. Attendance at all Christmas Masses will be restricted to those who have pre-booked. Please make this information known to as many people as you can.
Sunday Smile: Genuine (we are told!) notices taken from church bulletins. Potluck supper Sunday at 5pm – prayer and medication to follow.
Thirty-Third Sunday (A) 15 November
For Catholics on the Tendring Peninsula….
SPECIAL NEWSLETTER XXXI – keeping in touch
THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY [A] 14/15 November 2020
CATHOLIC PARISHES OF:
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Dovercourt: 01255 503383
email Harwich@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website www.harwichcatholics.org.uk
Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi, Frinton-on-Sea: 01255 674475
email Frinton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website: www.frintoncatholicchurch.wordpress.com
Private Masses to be celebrated in our churches during the week (changed schedule owing to government restrictions on travel and the suspension of Public Worship):
Tuesday (17th): (Frinton) 9.30am Marjory Hosegood RIP
Wednesday (18th): (Frinton) 11.00am Holy Souls
Thursday (19th): (Frinton) 11.00am Francesco & Palmira Pieroni, family & friends RIP
(Nancy & Geoff)
Friday (20th): (Frinton) 9.30am Josephine & Maury O’Meara
(Frinton) 1.00pm Funeral Service: Almeda Gyves RIP*
Saturday (21st): (Frinton) 6.00pm Srs Agatha, Bernadette & Theresa (Dolores Neal)
Sunday (22nd): (Dovercourt) 10.45am My father RIP (Inge Powney)
*Almeda’s church family are warmly invited to come along to this service (not a Mass).
In addition to these Masses, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate Mass in The Presbytery. His Mass intentions are:
Holy Souls
Holy Souls
Tony Farry RIP
All Students & Teachers
All Parishioners
A hymn for Sunday:
The bread we offer you is blessed and broken,
and it becomes for us our spirits’ food.
Over the cup we bring your Word is spoken;
make it your gift to us your healing blood.
Take all that daily toil plants in our heart’s poor soil
take all we start and spoil, each hopeful dream,
the chances we have missed, the graces we resist,
Lord, in thy Eucharist, take and redeem.
This is the second verse of the hymn ‘In bread we bring you Lord’ and it chimes with much of the teaching of this week’s Gospel. In our Laudate hymn book it appears in the section suggested for singing during the Preparation of the Gifts. There are not many to choose from, which is why we sing it rather often.
This week’s reflection: ‘”Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”’ (AJ)
Mass Attendance (both parishes): PUBLIC MASSES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Advance notice (Christmas Masses): Assuming that we will be out of Lockdown for Christmas – all seats at Masses will be allocated by a booking system. Bookings can be made for one Mass only, either for Christmas Eve (Dovercourt 6pm. Frinton 8pm), OR Christmas Day (Frinton 8.30am. Dovercourt 10.45am), OR for one of the usual ‘Sunday’ Masses (26/27th December). This will ensure that almost everyone has the opportunity of attending a Christmas Mass. Frinton parishioners should ring Anne (01255 674475) ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON, 19th, or 26th November, between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. Dovercourt parishioners should ring Jane (01255 503383) ON TUESDAY MORNING 17th, or 24th November, between 10.00am and 12 noon. Please do not ring outside the scheduled times. Attendance at all Christmas Masses will be restricted to those who have pre-booked. Please make this information known to as many people as you can.
Sunday Smile: Genuine (we are told!) notices taken from church bulletins. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
Thirty-Second Sunday (A) (Remembrance Sunday) 8 November 2020
THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY [A] (REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY) 7/8 November 2020
CATHOLIC PARISHES OF:
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Dovercourt: 01255 503383
email Harwich@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website www.harwichcatholics.org.uk
Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi, Frinton-on-Sea: 01255 674475
email Frinton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website: www.frintoncatholicchurch.wordpress.com
Private Masses to be celebrated in our churches during the week (changed schedule owing to government restrictions on travel and the suspension of Public Worship):
Monday (9th): (Frinton) 9.30am Holy Souls
Wednesday (11th): (Frinton) 10.00am Anne Bray (Turner)
Thursday (12th): (Frinton) 11.00am Sister Rosario Staunton (The Sisters)
Friday (13th): (Frinton) 9.30am Nick Hickey RIP (Anne Jackson)
Saturday (14th): (Frinton) 6.00pm Alison Pridham-Ackred RIP (Chris Ackred)
Sunday (15th): (Dovercourt) 10.45am Robin & Patricia Paxon
In addition to these Masses, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate Mass in The Presbytery. His Mass intentions are:
Holy Souls (A. Gariff)
Dunn & Callaghan family RIP
Tony Farry RIP (Rachel Bartholomew)
Violet Mary Leonora Bennett RIP
All Parishioners
A hymn for Sunday:
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide; Hold thou thy Cross before my closing eyes;
the darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide! shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee:
help of the helpless, O abide with me. in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
Remembrance Sunday falls this week, and this hymn is surely one of the most supremely beautiful and well-known ‘Requiem Hymns’. The music was composed by William Henry Monk and sits very comfortably for the voice. The bass line is particularly satisfying. Perhaps W. H. Monk liked to sing bass himself(?)
This week’s reflection is from the First Letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians: ‘We want you to be quite certain about those who have died….God will bring them with him’. (AJ)
Month of the Holy Souls: Please ignore my earlier notifications – as the churches are now closed, could you please drop your list, in a suitably marked envelope, through the appropriate presbytery door (or post it in an envelope marked ‘Holy Souls’). These will then be placed in the Holy Souls box for you and your loved ones remembered at Mass.
Mass Attendance (both parishes): PUBLIC MASSES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Advance notice (Christmas Masses): Assuming that we will be out of Lockdown for Christmas – all seats at Masses will be allocated by a booking system. Bookings can be made for one Mass only, either for Christmas Eve (Dovercourt 6pm. Frinton 8pm), OR Christmas Day (Frinton 8.30am. Dovercourt 10.45am), OR for one of the usual ‘Sunday’ Masses (26/27th December). This will ensure that almost everyone has the opportunity of attending a Christmas Mass. Frinton parishioners should ring Anne (01255 674475) ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON, 12th, 19th, or 26th November, between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. Dovercourt parishioners should ring Jane (01255 503383) ON TUESDAY MORNING 10th, 17th, or 24th November, between 10.00am and 12 noon. Please do not ring outside the scheduled times. Attendance at all Christmas Masses will be restricted to those who have pre-booked. Please make this information known to as many people as you can.
Sunday Smile: Genuine (we are told!) notices taken from church bulletins. The Rector will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing ‘Break Forth Into Joy’.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) DOUBLE 25 October and 1 November
SPECIAL NEWSLETTER XXIX – keeping in touch.
DOUBLE EDITION
THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A) 24/25 October 2020
ALL SAINTS DAY 31/1 November 2020
CATHOLIC PARISHES OF:
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Dovercourt: 01255 503383
email Harwich@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website www.harwichcatholics.org.uk
Sacred Heart and St Francis of Assisi, Frinton-on-Sea: 01255 674475
email Frinton@dioceseofbrentwood.org
website: www.frintoncatholicchurch.wordpress.com
Masses to be celebrated in our churches during the week:
There are no weekday Masses in church from 26th to 30th October
Saturday (31st): (Frinton) 6.00pm Jane Robinson (Andy & Nuala)
Sunday(1st): (Frinton) 8.30am John Turner RIP
(Dovercourt) 10.45am Fr Bill
Monday (2nd): (Dovercourt) 9.30am Holy Souls
Wednesday (4th): (Frinton) 11.00am Marjorie Hosegood RIP
Thursday (5th): (Frinton) 11.00am Sr Agatha
Friday (6th): (Dovercourt) 9.30am The McLindon family
Saturday (7th): (Frinton) 6.00pm Eamonn & Rose McElwaine
Sunday (8th): (Frinton) 8.30am Requiem Mass (The War Dead)
(Dovercourt) 10.45am Requiem Mass (The War Dead)
In addition to these Masses, Fr Bill will continue to celebrate Mass in The Presbytery. His Mass intentions are:
For those who are suffering, grieving & anxious Holy Souls
Fr Frank & Anne Florence McCarthy RIP
For those living in areas of war, poverty & injustice Holy Souls (A. Gariff)
All Parishioners Students & teachers
Alice McCarthy RIP All Parishioners
My dear friends,
I shall be away from the parishes from 26th to 30th – a combination of a hospital visit, and mini-holiday.
My prayers are with you all whether I am here or away.
May God bless you and keep you safe today and always.
Fr Frank
A hymn for Sunday:
For all the saints who from their labours rest,
who thee, by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus be for ever blest.
Alleluia!
Over the last two weeks I have referred to names given to hymn tunes, e.g. Crimond and Woodlands. This got me thinking that perhaps not everyone knows that most hymn tunes have a name. This week’s hymn, chosen for All Saints day, is almost always sung to the tune Sine Nomine, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Sine Nomine translates as ‘without a name’, reminding us of the thousands of un-named saints who now enjoy a place with God: ‘a blest communion, fellowship divine’ (verse 4).
This week’s reflection is from the book of the Apocalypse ‘After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language.’ (AJ)
*Month of the Holy Souls: during November the box will be out before the altar to receive the names of the departed loved ones that you wish to be remembered at Mass. This year, however, we will NOT be leaving out squares of paper and pens for you to complete these in church (Coronavirus means we should not be sharing pens etc). Please bring your completed list with you and drop in the slot without touching the box, please.
*Sunday Mass Attendance (both parishes): 24/25 October surnames A-D; 31/1 November E-K; 7/8 November L-R; 14/15 November S-Z; 21/22 November A-D; 28/29 November E-K (Please remember there are no ‘alphabetical restrictions’ applied to weekday Masses.)
*Advance notice (Christmas Masses) seats will be allocated by a booking system. More information to follow.
*Sunday Smile: Genuine (we are told!) notices taken from church bulletins. For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.