Dear Brothers and Sisters,
WE ARE STILL OPEN FOR THE WORSHIP OF ALMIGHTY GOD AND TO CELEBRATE HIS SACRAMENTS AND SHARE HIS THE WORD.
THE INFECTION FIGURES ARE NOW SLOWLY FALLING AND VACCINATIONS CONTINUE APACE. WHILE MY ADVICE HAS BEEN THAT IF YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL WITH UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS, YOU SHOULD, PERHAPS, NOT ATTEND CHURCH. NOW, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE END IS IN SIGHT. MANY OF YOU HAVE EVEN RECEIVED YOUR FIRST INOCULATION, AND SOME YOUR SECOND, SO MAYBE IN A WEEK OR TWO’S TIME YOU MAY LIKE TO THINK OF RETURNING TO WORSHIP.
AS I HAVE BEEN SAYING, FOR ANGLICAN AND CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS, BAPTISM AND THE HOLY EUCHARIST ARE TRULY ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SALVATION. PARTICIPATING IN THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION AND IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE CHURCH ARE ALSO TRULY IMPORTANT. MANY OF US HAVE BEEN UNDERGOING WHAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS A FAST FROM THE EUCHARIST AND FROM THAT FELLOWSHIP FOUND WHEN WE GATHER AS ONE AROUND THE ALTAR ON A SUNDAY.
THESE THINGS CANNOT BE DONE VIRTUALLY. WHAT WE HAVE BEEN BROADCASTING VIA FACEBOOK, THE STREAMING OF SUNDAY MASS, IS A POOR SUBSTITUTE, OFFERED AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE TO MEET EXTRAORDINARY INTERNATIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
NOW IS THE TIME TO BEGIN THINKING ABOUT WHEN YOU WILL BE RETURNING TO MEET OUR LORD PERSONALLY IN HOLY COMMUNION.
FOR THE NEXT TWO TO THREE WEEKS WE WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER ON OUR PARISH FACEBOOK PAGE A BROADCAST MASS ON SUNDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS.
DO CONTINUE TO KEEP SAFE AND WELL.
YOUR PARISH PRIEST
Father Victor
SERVICES THIS SUNDAY:
8 am Mass
10 am PARISH MASS for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
We are reminded this Sunday that when Our Lord cured the leper it enabled that man to be restored to his family and friends as well as to health. By being renewed by the Body and Blood of Christ at Holy Mass we are strengthened and united to the family that is God’s Church.
AND SO TO THE NOTICES
For those who do wish the solace of the Sacraments, Saint Martins remains open. The public worship of Almighty God and the celebration of Holy Mass continue. So for all those who wish to partake, the Body and Blood of our Lord, the medicine for our souls, the divine gift that strengthens our incorporation into the Divine life of Our Lord, and the source of Grace, is still available.
LENT BEGINS THIS WEEK:
ASH WEDNESDAY - 17th February
12.15pm Low Mass with the imposition of Ashes
7.00pm Sung Mass with the imposition of Ashes
Please note that Ash Wednesday is also a day of Fasting and Abstinence, which means that we abstain from meat and eat only one meal. This joins us spiritually with Our Lord who himself fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert and reminds us of the necessity of being able to master and control our own bodies and their appetites, for the sake of the Gospel.
There will also be a special service of Reconciliation with Benediction on the 1st Sunday of Lent (21st, February) at 5.00pm. This will be broadcast via our Facebook page only.
For those who can’t yet join us, Parish Mass on Sundays and the Wednesday lunchtime Mass will continue to be broadcast via Facebook.
TO TUNE IN VIA FACEBOOK TO JOIN IN OUR WORSHIP PLEASE OPEN THE FACEBOOK APP ON YOUR PHONE OR DEVICE AND SEARCH FOR:
“St Martin’s Parish Church, Fenny Stratford “
AND MASSES DURING THE WEEK AT THESE TIMES:
Tuesday at 7 pm
Wednesday at 12.15 pm (with Adoration from 11.45 am) and at 7.00 pm
Thursday at 10 am
Friday at 10 am
Saturday at 10 am
SERVICES NEXT SUNDAY
Low Mass at 8 am
Parish Mass at 10 am (The First Sunday in Lent)
PLEASE don’t forget to contact me if you have any prayer requests or Mass intentions you would like me to offer at Mass or if would like someone added to our parish prayer list of the Sick or Departed.
My contact details are as follows:
Telephone: 01908 372825
Email: victorbullock@talktalk.
I am also available in person during Surgery Hour on Saturday’s in Church between 10.30am - 12 noon.
THE SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION AND RECONCILIATION is also available at this time.
Please continue to remember the following in your prayers:
Firstly:
For a drop in the rate of Covid infections and in the number of hospitalised victims.
For the continued rapid dissemination of the Vaccines for Covid 19 and for all working for this end.
Those who have found themselves out of work, particularly those who have families or other dependents to support.
Those who are despairing at the future of their businesses and those that work for them.
Those who still live in fear of this global pandemic and are living with anxiety and depression.
For the Government in their seeking solutions for the common good at this time.
For peace to reign within our homes and amongst one another.
For the elderly, housebound and those living in residential and nursing homes.
For our Ambulance Service and for our other Emergency Service Staff and for Milton Keynes Hospital and all who work there.
For Bishop Jonathan and all our parish clergy as they seek to continue to make present in our midst the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, the Sacraments of Christ and offer continuing Pastoral care.
For Genesis Abbey, the Mother House of the Monastic Community of the House of Initia Nova of the Order of Saint Benedict. For it’s Abbot Michael-John, the community and for those new to its life.
For the Sick:
For John McDonald-Moore, Grace Moore, Rhodie Howard, Rachel Thurston, Kirill Ermolaev, Irene Foster, Jean Holden, Mary Cowan, Peter White, Roger D’Elia, Shirley Milburn, Paul Ward, Norman Kent, Peter Woodward, Gay Lavery, David Gregg, Denis & Yvonne Simpson, Mary Collier, Benjamin Duarri, David Lingham, Sandra Walduck, Eugenius Yung, and Doris Weatherley.
For the Departed:
For Alvon Collison, Sheila Bradley, Robert Goodman, Pauline Maddock, and all who have died recently, and for all those who have died of Covid 19.
We pray too for all whose years mind falls at this time, among them Lech Toporowski, Susan Cook, Frederick Gilby, Hector McIntosh, Richard Gammage, Dulcie Chown and Harold Thomas. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let Light Perpetual shine upon them.
May God bless you and keep you.
Father Victor