Saturday 29th July - Saturday 5th August 2023
- jonathonrouth
- Jul 29, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 2, 2023
JULY IS THE MONTH OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST/ AUGUST IS THE MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART
Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time.
Dear parishioners,
The Message of Our Lady of LaSalette:
‘THE CHURCH WILL BE IN ECLIPSE’
Last week we talked about the Church using the Lord’s parable of the wheat field in which weeds (darnel) grew. Darnel has always grown among the wheat since Apostolic times, in other words, fidelity with infidelity in God’s church, but there are times and places when it gets harder to see the wheat for the darnel. The greatest of false teaching, always sounds very reasonable and credible. The Lord also put it like this: ‘beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing!’
Last week we were reminded that of the chosen apostles, not all were saints as one of them sold himself to the world. When there is a great crisis of faith in the church, it can be like the wheat field which has been taken over by darnel. (We can see this with our own lawns, which can become more moss and daisy than grass).Such happened in 1846 in France, which had been suffering great revolutionary and political and social upheaval. Catholic churches had been abandoned and the sacraments neglected. But away from the cities, in a high meadow along the French Alps, two cattle herders reverently knelt before the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There it was, in LaSalette, that Our Blessed Lady prophesied that the Church would be ‘in eclipse’. (highlighted below). This is an interesting and visual way of understanding that the Church will not die, but may become hidden, like the sun in an eclipse. God’s church, will survive until the end of time, and even if the institution experiences ‘a hostile takeover’ ,as Cardinal Muller put it recently on EWTN, true faith will not die and never has died through many terrible crises. In an eclipse of the sun, the sun is still there, it just cannot be seen on earth because the moon partially or wholly blocks our view of the sun, like the church of the faithful who keep the faith and pass it on in the shadows, even if around them, faithlessness presides.
Here are some extracts from the account of the Apparition of Our Lady at LaSalette:
‘Eleven-year-old Maxim Giraud and fourteen-year-old Melanie Mathieu, employed separately by local farmers, met to graze livestock at a pasture in the small village La Salette. This particular Saturday afternoon, as the cattle grazed nearby, the two children shared bread and cheese alongside a ravine and then fell asleep. When they awoke Melanie noticed a light near the ravine and she called out to Maxim. Both beheld a luminous sphere, radiating like the sun, curiously unfolding before their eyes. Gradually they made out a woman seated with her face in her hands, weeping. She slowly arose and crossed her arms on her breast, her head somewhat inclined.
"Come to me, my children," she tenderly addressed the two who stood afar, motionless. "Be not afraid. I am here to tell you something of the greatest importance."
As soon as they were in touching distance of her, she began to speak with the urgency of an ending world:
She told the children that her Son was especially concerned that people were not keeping the Sabbath holy, and that religion had lost its place in their country. "You will make this known to all my people," she repeated to them.
This they did, through five years of exhaustive interrogation by the Bishop of La Salette, who had commissioned several committees to research the apparition. As the children repeated their story time and time again in perfect consistency, people could not help but be convinced that the Blessed Virgin had appeared to the two. Churches began to fill throughout the neighbouring countryside and the Catholic faith resumed its former respect. A little more than five years after the apparition the Church officially approved of it and thirty years after that the basilica erected in the name of Our Lady of La Salette was completed. Maxim and Melanie were not canonized, but throughout the rest of their lives they served as witnesses to Our Lady's message’.
Below is a part of Our Lady’s message at LaSalette: if you’ve got a couple of minutes, it’s worth thinking about. And if you keep up with news in the church and the world, you may recognise that in this message are the signs of our times. Many do.
"The earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds (in addition to plague and famine which will be widespread). There will be a series of wars until the last war, which will then be fought by the ten kings of the Antichrist, all of whom will have one and the same plan and will be the only rulers of the world. Before this comes to pass, there will be a kind of false peace in the world. People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin. But the children of the holy Church, the children of my faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God and in all the virtues most precious to me. Blessed are the souls humbly guided by the Holy Spirit! I shall fight at their side until they reach a fullness of years.
"Nature is asking for vengeance because of man, and she trembles with dread at what must happen to the earth stained with crime. Tremble, earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves, tremble, for God will hand you over to His enemy because the holy places are in the state of corruption . . .
"The seasons will be altered, the earth will produce nothing but bad fruit, the stars will lose their regular motion, the moon will only reflect a faint reddish glow. Water and fire will give the earth's globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes which will swallow up mountains, cities.... Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.
"The demons of the air together with the Antichrist will perform great wonders on earth and in the atmosphere, and men will become more and more perverted. God will take care of his faithful servants and men of good will….
"I make an urgent appeal to the earth. I call on the true disciples of the living God who reigns in Heaven; I call on the true followers of Christ made man, the only true Saviour of men; I call on my children, the true faithful, those who have given themselves to me so that I may lead them to my divine Son . . . Finally, I call on the apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ’. It is time they came out and filled the world with light. Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children. I am at your side and within you, provided that your faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days. May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honour of Jesus Christ. Fight! children of light, you, the few who can see. For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends.
"The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay. But now Enoch and Eli will come, filled with the spirit of God. They will preach with the might of God, and men of good will believe in God, and many souls will be comforted. They will make great steps forward through the virtue of the Holy Spirit and will condemn the devilish lapses of the Antichrist. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! There will be bloody wars and famines, plagues and infectious diseases. It will rain with a fearful hail of animals. There will be thunderstorms which will shake cities, earthquakes which will swallow up countries. Voices will be heard in the air. Men will beat their heads against walls, call for their death, an on another side death will be their torment. Blood will flow on all sides. Who will be the victor if God does not shorten the length of the test? All the blood, the tears and the prayers of the righteous, God will relent. Enoch and Eli will be put to death. Pagan Rome will disappear. The fire of Heaven will fall and consume three cities. All the universe will be struck with terror and many will let themselves be led astray because they have not worshipped the true Christ who lives among them. It is time; the sun is darkening; only faith will survive.
"...Now is the time; the abyss is opening. Here is the king of kings of darkness, here is the Beast with his subjects, calling himself the Saviour of the world. He will rise proudly into the air to go to Heaven. He will be smothered by the breath of the Archangel Saint Michael. He will fall, and the earth, which will have been in a continuous series of evolutions for three days, will open up its fiery bowels; and he will have plunged for eternity with all his followers into the everlasting chasms of Hell. And then water and fire will purge the earth and consume all the works of men's pride and all will be renewed. God will be served and glorified."
A lot of this message draws from imagery in the Book of the Apocalypse. It is thus grounded in Scripture, but also has the highest ecclesiastical recognition. On 21st August 1879, Pope Leo XIII granted a canonical coronation to the image now located within the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette. Over a century later, Pope St. John Paul II stated, "As I wrote on the occasion of the 150th anniversary, 'La Salette is a message of hope, for our hope is nourished by the intercession of her who is the Mother of mankind.". * Some think that the Church is now in the time to which Our Lady of LaSalette refers. This Apparition and the message it contains is a significant one to heed for our times.
SOURCES CITED: APPARITION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN AT LA SALETTE, the Shepherdess of La Salette with Imprimatur and reprinted by the Association of the Children of Our Lady of La Salette, Beaupre, France; SECRETS OF LA SALETTE by the 101 Foundation, New Jersey; A SCIENTIST RESEARCHES MARY, Prof. Courtenay Bartholomew, M.D., 101 Foundation; SISTER MARY OF THE CROSS, Fr. Paul Gouin, 101 Foundation; MARY, Caroline Ebertshauser Et Al; NOTE: THE 101 FOUNDATION HAS ASKED THAT THIS MESSAGE BE SPREAD.
God Bless
Fr. Jonathon.
UPCOMING EVENTS
ST THOMAS MORE GOLF DAY to be held Thursday 21st September 2023 at Birchwood Park Golf course, Swanley. Anyone interested in taking part please contact Tony Brooke. 07833707016. There will be the usual charity raffle attached to the day in aid of taking sick / disabled to Lourdes. You will be offered a chance to be involved in the raffle in early September.
DAYS WITH MARY
Saturday 29th July 2023 at Westminster Cathedral, starting at 9.45 and ending at 5.00 p.m. After tea and coffee, you are welcome to stay to attend the Cathedral’s Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m. and First Mass of Sunday at 6.00 p.m. Bring a packed lunch. Tea and Coffee provided. Recommended.
PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES.
Monday 23rd October to Friday 27th October 2023. Please contact the parish office if you are interested in joining us.
ESCORTED PILGRIMAGE TO KNOCK SHRINE, Ireland, 2nd October 2023. £699.00 per person sharing. Price includes flight, all transfers, 4 nights’ in Knock House Hotel with full board. All entertainment and excursions included. Day trips to Westport, Ballintubber Abbey, Croagh Patrick, Fr. Peyton Centre & National Museum. Single supplement £150.00. Contact Patricia or Natali on 01268 762 278 or 07740 175557 or email knockpilgrimages@gmail.com.
BEXLEY CRISIS CAFÉ.
Experiencing emotional or psychological distress? Access mental health support and advice after hours. Open every day from 6.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. including bank holidays. MIND IN BEXLEY at 2A Devonshire Road, Bexleyheath DA6 8DS.
THE SOCIETY for the PROTECTION of UNBORN CHILDREN (SPUC) wishes to recruit a part-time Executive Assistant (21 hours p.w) whose role is to work with the Executive Director (Internal Operations) in ensuring the smooth and successful operation of SPUC's governance, administration and finance departments.
Duties include:
- Taking Minutes and maintaining accurate files
- Drafting correspondence
- Maintaining the diary of the Executive Director and coordinate meetings
- General administrative support
Salary details are available on request.
For a full job description and application form, please email jobs@spuc.org.uk or call 020 7091 7091.
The closing date for applications is the 15th July 2023. Applications may close early if a suitable candidate is found.
MESSAGE FROM SPUC
(The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children)
'Please contact your MP and implore them to reject the British Pregnancy Advisory Service's call to completely decriminalise abortion. BPAS successfully campaigned for the pills by post scheme (active during covid) to be made permanent. We argued that without proper examination women would be sent the pills after the cut off period. BPAS have done just that, leading to the death of a totally viable child and a prison term for the mother. BPAS have made a tool for people to contact their MP so we need to respond. There is advice about this on www.spuc.org.uk but no tool as it's important you use your own words.
Rob Hills
Bexley SPUC Branch Chairman
PETITION: THE SOCIETY for the PROTECTION of UNBORN CHILDREN (SPUC) are collecting signatures for their petition against the UK government sending aid to China.
Over £60 million of taxpayers' money (your money) was sent in 2020-21 and all to a country whose population control polices have led to 30 to 40 million 'missing women', and which routinely imposes enforced abortion, sterilisation and infanticide on its own population, notably the Uyghur minority. The petition itself can be seen on the notice board and sheets with QR codes can be found at the back of the church (or on the pews?) along with hard copies. Alternatively, please visit www.spuc.org.uk. Please sign and pray hard for our success.
PARISH NOTICES
July Devotions to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
We started this month of devotion to the Precious Blood with a High Mass on Saturday 1st July and reception in the hall afterwards and we conclude it with Adoration of the Lord. Bring all that is in your hearts and minds: your thanksgivings, needs and longings, bring them to the Lord this Sunday at 4:00 p.m. with hymns of praise to the Precious Blood, the sung litany, and Benediction.
MASS IN CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE, Sept. 23rd, 3pm, at St George’s Cathedral
Message from Marriage and Family Life South East, RC Archdiocese of Southwark:
‘If you are celebrating your 1st/10th/25th/40th/50th/60th + wedding anniversary this year, please let your parish know as soon as possible, and no later than the end of July, providing the following details: your names in the format John and Mary Smith, your home address, the anniversary you are celebrating, so you can receive an invitation from the Archbishop for the renewal of vows during Mass. Spaces are limited. You can also get in touch with us at mflse@rcaos.org.uk. As the title of your email, please write your parish location e.g. Clapham, Beckenham’.
PASTORAL COUNCIL: Next meeting on Saturday 29th July at 12.00 noon.
THE TABLET, The International Catholic Weekly. Four copies are available to purchase in the Narthex price £4.50. Please let me know if you are interested in purchasing this weekly and we can place an order.
THE UNIVERSE is available online but many people have requested a return of the paper edition. If you are interested in taking ‘The Universe’ paper, please let me know.
EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION AND LECTORS - Formation Day 2023
Saturday 14th October 2023, 10.00 a.m.-4.00 p.m.
For Parishes in the Deaneries of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich
Venue: St Stephen’s Church, 26 Deepdene Road, Welling, Kent DA16 3QL
If you are a lector or extraordinary minister you are encouraged to put this in your diary and attend it. Please let me know if you are going so I can let them know numbers.
FOOD BANK.
The Bexley Food Bank currently particularly requests (please notice the new items at the end):
CARRIER BAGS/ TINNED TOMATOES / RICE / NOODLES / JAM / CUSTARD /TOOTPASTE / SHOWER GEl/ DEODORANT/ TOOTHPASTE/ SUGAR / WASHING PODS/ LONG LIFE MILK / BISCUITS / SWEETS- CONFECTIONARY.
Please follow the link below to view the food donations page of the Bexley food bank website. https://bexley.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/
Notice from Marriage and Family Life South East: Planning a catholic marriage? Marriage preparation courses are available by emailing mflse@rcaos.org.uk.
PARISH YOUTH NOTICES
Liturgy of the Word for infants: The Liturgy of the Word for our little children will meet again in September after the summer break.
DEATHS
For all our brothers and sisters who ate the Body of Christ, the bread of Life, that they may be raised up on the Last Day. (Drawn from the intercession of the Funeral Mass)
Please pray for the soul of:
Bridget Daghini, who died on Tuesday 4th July, aged 79. Her funeral requiem was on Friday 28th July.
Anthony Daniel Da Silva Modos, who died on 13th June 2023, aged 35. His funeral was on Thursday 27th July at Eltham Crematorium.
May the divine assistance remain with them always, and may their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
MASSES AND INTENTIONS FOR THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
Instaurare Omnia in Christo: "to restore all things in Christ."
Saturday 29th July St. Martha, virgin. [TC]
9.00 a.m. confessions
9.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary at home.
+ 10.00 a.m. [Latin 1962] Hilda Fernandes R.I.P. (birthday anniversary)
[+ 6.30 p.m. SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Lloyd & Sharon D’Souza T.G.
Sunday 30th July
8.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+ 9.00 a.m. SUNG. The people of the parish
+11.00 a.m. SOLEMN LATIN MASS (missa orbis factor) Bob Penny R.I.P. (month’s mind)
4.00 p.m. July Devotions to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ with hymns, the sung litany and Benediction.
7.00 p.m. Parish Social Evening in the Hall. All welcome.
Monday 31st July St. Ignatius Loyola, priest, memorial.
8.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+9.00 a.m. Victor Pereira R.I.P.
Tuesday 1st August St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop & doctor of the church, memorial.
8.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+9.00 a.m. A private intention.
Wednesday 2nd August St. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop.
The Daily Rosary at home.
NO PUBLIC MASS TODAY.
Thursday 3rd August feria.
8.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+9.00 a.m. Fr Francis Capener R.I.P. (for 1st anniversary)
No lunch club today.
Friday 4th August St. John Vianney, priest, memorial.
8.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary
+9.00 a.m. Mary Bass TG on her 90th birthday
6.00 p.m. Choir Practice.
Saturday 5th August The Dedication of St Mary of the Snows [TC]
9.00 a.m. confessions
9.30 a.m. The Daily Rosary at home.
+ 10.00 a.m. [Latin 1962] Tom Furlong R.I.P. (for 2nd anniversary)
[+ 6.30 p.m. THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD Conception Correia R.I.P.
JULY PRAYER
TO THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
