Catholic Community in Cheltenham . Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalter Week 4 Page 140 12th October 2014 ‗Invite everyone you can find to the wedding‘ (Matthew 22: 1-14) “the only true riches are those that make us rich in virtue” St Gregory the Great 10 St James Square, GL50 3PR 01242 523737 St Thomas More Princess Elizabeth Way, GL51 7RA 01242 573128 Parish Priest: Canon Bosco MacDonald VF Assistant Priest: Fr Frank Wainwright Fr David McDonald Deacon: Rev. Robin Littlewood Parish Websites: www.stgregorys.org.uk, www.stthomasmorechurch.org.uk Schools: St Gregory‘s RC Primary School, St James Square GL50 3QG St Thomas More RC Primary School, Lewis Road, Hesters Way GL51 OHZ All Saints‘ Academy, Blaisdon Way, Cheltenham GL51 OWH Sacred Hearts Moorend Road, Charlton Kings, GL53 9AU 01242 524932 Pope st Gregory the great of Jesus and Mary Parish Priest: Fr Paul Brandon Parish Website: Mass Times this Week 12th 13th 14th 15th Sunday 5.00pm (Sat 5.30pm (Sat) 8.15am 9.30am 10.30am 11.15am 4.15pm 6.00pm Monday 9.30am Tuesday 10.00am 7.00pm Wednesday 10.00am 12.30pm 16th 7.00pm Thursday 17th 9.30am 7.00pm Friday 18th 9.30am 7.00pm Saturday 9.30am 10.30am Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time St Thomas More People of the Parish Sacred Hearts Private Intention Sacred Hearts People of the Parish St Gregory Nellie & Pat Murphy RIP Sacred Hearts Thomaisin Mullins RIP St Gregory People of the Parish Sacred Hearts Mass in Polish St Gregory Private Intention Weekday in Ordinary Time St Gregory Molly & Billy Evans RIP Weekday in Ordinary Time Sacred Hearts Eileen O‘Kane RIP St Gregory Mary Hogan Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, (Avila) Virgin and Doctor of the Church Sacred Hearts Teresa McKenzie RIP St Gregory Requiem Mass for John Feeley RIP St Gregory Confirmation Mass Solemnity of The Anniversary of the Dedication of Parish Churches St Gregory Margareth Magijme RIP Sacred Hearts Lucia Rodrigues RIP Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr St Gregory Private Intention Sacred Hearts Missio Mass Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist St Gregory Geraldine Thorley RIP St Thomas More Jumbulance Bus Blessing Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament at St Gregory‘s: Saturday 10.00am-11.00am;Thursday 10.00am-3.00pm ending with Benediction; Sacred Hearts:1st Friday of month, 9.15am-12.30pm. 1st Thursday at STM 5pm Confessions in Polish. Sacrament of Reconciliation: St Gregory‘s Saturdays 10.00am; St Thomas More 4.15-4.45pm. Sacred Hearts Thursdays 7.30pm and Saturdays 10.30am. Also by arrangement with the priests. RCIA Journey in Faith: Will re-commence 16th October 2014. Baptisms: By arrangement with the Parish Office. Cheltenham Catholic Adults: 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. Contact Margaret 07515 805015 or Damian 07908 105787. 55 Club: After 9.30am Mass, in Old Priory (alternate Thursdays). Next meeting: 23rd October: Talk by Mr George Francis: ‗The Story of the W.W.T. at Slimbridge‘. Choir Practice: In Church, Thursdays at 7.00pm. New members welcome. Contact John on: 07769 675323. www.sacredhearts.org.uk WHAT'S ON THE MENU? One of the hardest things to describe is what it will be like the other side of the grave. People are fascinated to know how things are for those who have died. Unscrupulous radio programmes even have talkshow guests who make their phone-in listeners believe that they can contact dead parents, husbands, family and friends. Although Jesus tells us that no one has ever seen or heard what has been prepared for us after death, we can't help wondering. I suppose if you worked 120 hours a week, then your idea of heaven would be one long holiday. If you like music, then it might be a wonderful heavenly concert from the choirs of angels. It's quite natural, then, for people who live and work in the hot desert to think of heaven in terms of a refreshing banquet. Rich food, juicy fruits and fine wines are guaranteed to make the mouth water. Make the meal into a wedding feast and you have all the ingredients for real celebration: food and drink, music and dancing, love, romance and a good time for all. God would be foolish to create people and then automatically exclude them from the heavenly banquet simply on grounds of colour, race, nationality or religion. All are invited to the wedding feast. Yes, everyone. It may well be that some people will decide to refuse the invitation or will deliberately exclude themselves. No one can be forced into a relationship with God and we can all find plenty of excuses for not coming to the feast. At the same time there may be people at the banquet who have a different colour admission ticket to us. We might not expect to see them there, but they are as welcomed by God as we are. For Christians the starter-course of this banquet has already begun because our Eucharistic meal is a foretaste of what is to come. Each of us has received a ticket to which we had no right. We may not know exactly what will be on the menu. But if you even suspect that you are being invited, then it's worth replying without delay. Finance Last week‘s offertory collection came to: £1,033.74 (STG); £354.68 (STM) Bingo £174.00 (STM). Last week‘s collection for CAFOD raised £1,223.72 (SG) and £133.46 (STM). Thank you for your continued generosity. World Mission Sunday (Missio) The APF assists each and every one of the Catholic Church‘s 1,062 mission dioceses and territories to provide pastoral care and preach the Gospel effectively. Funds for the Missions are collected through the famous Red collection Boxes. These can be found in 200,000 homes and they have helped raise millions of pounds for the missions. The APF enables its supporters to live out their own missionary vocation and to take an active part in the universal mission of the Church. www.missio.org.uk Red Box Holders Missio Mass next Friday, 17th October at 7pm at Sacred Hearts in Charlton Kings, followed by a presentation and refreshments. All welcome. Baptisms Congratulations and welcome to Maximus Cristiano and Laura Wilczynska who were baptised last weekend. We welcome these children into the family of the Church, and offer our love and prayers to them and their families. Confirmation Mass Bishop Declan will be coming to St Gregory‘s this Wednesday, 15th October at 7.00pm to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation with young people from St Gregory‘s and St Thomas More‘s Parishes. The Candidates have progressed through our preparation programme and we offer our prayers and congratulations to all of them:- Obehi Abebe, Michael Arkwright, Ifeyinwa Atuche, Declan Austin, Ian Bernales, William Cooper, Edward Courtman, Sarah Cribben, Concetta Di Pasqua, Riccardo Di Vita, Emilie Dore-Green, Alexander Dynes Martinez, Caroline Fitzsimmons, Colette Gardner, Abigail Goh Man Ru, Jacqueline Goh Man Zhen, Samantha Gorman, Natalie Gruszkiewicz, Sophie Heppenstall, Simona Hmilanska, Jacob Holbrook, Niamh Jenkins, Mary Johnston, David Kolodziejczyk, Emma Lake, Melissa Licata, Elizabeth Laurence, Christopher Luckyn Malone, Charlene Luke, Jasmine Maddock-Lyon, Dominic McClaran, Dylan McCormack, Patryk Miasek, Richard Morgan, Michal Pochmara, Jaqueline Ransley, Lindsay Smarowsky, Natalie Skowron, Charlotte Steed and Francesca Stevenson. Egalite Absolue Mass of Dedication There will be Mass at St Thomas More‘s next Saturday morning, 18th October at 10.30am., at which we welcome friends and members of Egalite Absolue. Following Mass, there will be blessing of the new wheelchair accessible bus which will be used to bring much needed travel experiences to so many people. All are welcome to come and celebrate this happy event with us. Goods from Bethlehem Various goods will be on sale after the morning Masses on Sunday, 19th October. There will be some new items, and prices are from £1 up to £100!! Shop early for Christmas. All proceeds to the Bethlehem Children's fund.. First Holy Communion 2015 Parents and Guardians of children who are interested in joining the First Holy Communion programme are invited to an introductory evening on Tuesday, 21st October, 6pm-7.00pm in St Gregory's School Hall. The first session for children and their parents/guardians will be on Saturday, 8th November. The children will make their First Confession in March, and First Holy Communion in June 2015. All children in school year 3 or above, who have not made their First Holy Communion are invited to join the programme. Further details and application forms from the parish office, (or from [email protected]) Parish Pastoral Council Meeting The next meeting of the PPC will be held this Tuesday,14th October at 7.30pm in St Gregory's Presbytery. PPC members will be available at the back of the Church at the end of this weekend Masses. Can you help us please? St Gregory‘s is a busy Church with at least 9 Masses celebrated here each week, as well as many other liturgies that take place throughout the year. A small team of volunteer parishioners ensure that there are clean and fresh altar linens for every mass celebrated here. We need some more generous parishioners to volunteer to help—the bigger the team, the lighter the load. Please consider offering a couple of hours every 5-6 weeks to take home, wash and iron the small altar cloths. Do have a word with Fr Bosco if you can help, or leave your name and contact details at the Parish Office. Thank you in anticipation. RCIA Journey in Faith 2014/15 The RCIA ―Journey in Faith‖ is the normal process by which adults who are not Catholics are welcomed into the Christian family in the Catholic Church. Becoming a Catholic is a process of growth and conversion and can last months or even years. Our Journey will begin next Thursday, 16th October at 7.00pm in the Presbytery. Please complete a registration form which may be obtained from the Parish Office. Completed forms to be returned to Canon Bosco via the Parish Office. St Thomas More Christmas Fayre Your Christmas Fayre will take place at St Thomas More on Saturday 29th November between 11am and 1.00pm. We need some good quality items for prizes and items to sell (bottles, toys, chocolates, jewellery, bric a brac etc) and your help to man a stall on the day – all ages welcome. items can be left at St Gregory‘s and St Thomas More‘s Church and Presbytery. To volunteer, contact Philippe Watine on 260966 or Marianna Thomas 528427. Help us to help our Church: all together we are a community! Fish and Chip Supper Friday, 17th October at 7.30pm in St Thomas More Hall. A Fish & Chip supper and small quiz for £7.50. Tickets on sale after STM Mass or from Marianna on 528427. Half Day Retreat This is being planned by the Legion of Mary for Sunday, 19th October, 2-5pm in the Old Priory. The subject is ―True Devotion to Mary is About Loving Mary with our sleeves rolled up‖, and will be led by Fr John Peyton. Exposition and Benediction will follow in the Church before 6pm Mass. Everybody welcome. Caritas Submissions Submissions are invited for the Advent edition. Articles about parish activities, events or history, personal experiences, pilgrimages, prayers, poems, short stories, reflections and even art work are all welcome, so long as they are faith or Church related in some way. Send submissions by 2nd November to [email protected] or to 'The Editor', c/o Parish Office. Our Prayers are asked for: Sick: Liz Sawaf, Sue Ball, Claire Young, Sean Murphy, Helen Stanbury, Virginia Hancliff, Grace Stevens, Olive Whelan, Bruce Francis, Jenny Dabrowska, Teresa Patterson, Bernie Warner, Deirdre Kelleher, Helen Dorothy Gorry, Denise Ellis, Kevin Dunn, Peter Lucassi, Christopher & Clifford Brown, Margaret Ellis, Julia & Danny Barr, Teresa & Paddy O‘Kelly, Bridie & Terry Ruck, Angela Savidge, Pauline Crosbie, Emily Cousins, June Edwards, Rey Lluisma, Lilian Martin, Bridget Garvey, Geoffrey Garvey, Pat Donovan, Maddie Read, Dan Perry, Pete Thacker, Mary Costello, Adrian Davis, Lisa Partridge. Deceased: Kathleen Trapp RIP. Anniversaries: Elaine Slender, Peggy Gifkins, Mary Wilson, Fr Placid Sinnott OSB, Stella McCluskey, Fr Tom Lane.