Saturday 3rd October - Sunday 11th October
TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE A – 4th OCTOBER 2026
OCTOBER IS THE MONTH OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY
The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer. It begins with the Apostles' Creed, which summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Our Father, which introduces each mystery, is from the Gospels. The first part of the Hail Mary is the angel's words announcing Christ's birth and Elizabeth's greeting to Mary. St. Pius V officially added the second part of the Hail Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary centre on the events of Christ's life. There are four sets of Mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and––added by Saint John Paul II in 2002––the Luminous.
The repetition in the Rosary is meant to lead one into restful and contemplative prayer related to each Mystery. The gentle repetition of the words helps us to enter into the silence of our hearts, where Christ's spirit dwells. The Rosary can be said privately or with a group.
October is designated by the Catholic Church as the “Month of the Rosary” because in this month the Church celebrates the Marian advocation of “Our Lady of the Rosary” on Oct. 7.
The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, also celebrated as Our Lady of Victory or Victories, was established by Pope St. Pius V in 1571 to celebrate the miraculous victory of the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto on Oct. 7 of that year. Previous to the decisive battle, St. Pius V had requested all Western Christians to pray the rosary; thus, he attributed the victory to the power of the Marian prayer rather than the power of ships and cannons.
St. John Paul II called the rosary his favourite prayer, “in which we meditate with Mary upon the mysteries which she as a Mother meditated on in her heart (Lk. 2:19.).”
Source: Excerpts from https://www.usccb.org/how-to-pray-the-rosary & https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/our-lady-of-victory-and-why-october-is-the-month-of-the-rosary
MONTH OF OCTOBER ROSARY CHALLENGE
1. Carry a Rosary with you at all times
2. Pray at least one decade of the Rosary daily but better still, all five!
3. Pray the Rosary as a community at least once a week*
4. Visit our Marian Shrine at least once a week
*The Rosary will be recited before and after every weekend mass in October
PARISH NOTICES
Altar Server training
There will a training session for altar servers on Saturday, 10th October at 10.00 am in church. Parents, kindly make sure your children are in attendance. New altar servers welcome.
Pray for the sick & housebound. Please pray for Edna Pereira, an old parishioner who has been placed on an end-of-life pathway, for peace, comfort & a sense of God’s presence to her.
LECTORS’ AND EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS’ FORMATION DAYS
“Nourished by the Word, Sent with the Eucharist”
The South East Area is holding two Formation Days for Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:
Saturday, 24th October 2026Bishop Thomas Grant School10.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.
Saturday, 31st October 2026Capuchin Franciscan Friary, Erith10.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.
These days offer an opportunity for prayer, formation and reflection on these important ministries in the life of the Church. All Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are warmly encouraged to attend. Participants need only attend one of the two days and may choose whichever date is most convenient.
If you would like to attend, please give your name and preferred date to your parish by Sunday, 18th October at the latest, so that the parish can confirm attendance with the Episcopal Vicar’s Office. Please remember to bring a packed lunch with you on the day.
For further information, please contact the Episcopal Vicar for South East London’s Office at evse@rcaos.org.uk.
OCTOBER SECOND COLLECTIONS
4TH – CAFOD Harvest
11th Building Fund
18th – World Mission Sunday
PACT Prisoner’s Sunday. Catholic churches across England & Wales will mark 11th October as Prisoner’s Sunday, a day of prayer and action for people affected by imprisonment. Pact is a national charity that supports prisoners, people with convictions, and their children and families. Visit https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/donate/ for more information & to donate today.
CAFOD Family Fast Day, Friday 2nd October 2026. Envelopes are available in the porch for donations. You can also donate on our contactless machine or you can use the QR code on the poster or on the envelope. Our parish's generosity and support this Family Fast Day will help more children stay in school. Thank you and God bless you.
Exhibitions at Our Lady of the Angels Church, Erith. The exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles, designed by St. Carlo Acutis and an exhibition of relics of the Franciscan and non-Franciscan Saints including the Apostles will be held in the St. Clare Room at the Angelus Centre from 26th September to 10th October. For more information visit https://www.olaerith.org.uk/
Youth day at John Fisher School Purley on Saturday 17th October 11.00 am – 5.30 pm for 10 – 14-year olds. Cost £5. Free Coach transport from St. Anselm’s Dartford leaving at 9.30 am. This is a day of prayer, activities including sport, as well as lunch. To book a place go to the diocesan website: https://scys.org.uk/youth-under-18/youth-days-10-14-years. Please contact Fr. Stephen Boyle by email to book the coach: dartford@rcaos.org.uk
ARE YOU LOOKING TO JOIN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
The next session of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) will take place on 8th October 2026 at 7.15 pm and thereafter every Thursday in the church porch. Please speak with Fr Innocent for further information.
PARISH GROUPS' NOTICES
1. LEGION OF MARY: Meeting every Friday at 11.15 am in the church porch.
2. LUNCH CLUB: The next gathering will be on Thursday, 15th October at 12.30 pm in the hall.
3. CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL: Meeting every Sunday at 5.30 pm in the church.
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Saturday 3rd October G Feria
Family Marian Devotion at home
12.30 pm Blessing of animals
27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME G
6.00 pm Daily Rosary
6.30 pm Derek D’Souza TG
7.30 pm Daily Rosary
Sunday 4th October G
8.30 am Daily Rosary
9.00 am Fr John O’Donoghue WB
10.00 am Daily Rosary
10.30 am Daily Rosary
11.00 am Dorothy Nikoi TG for the Lord’s mercy
12.00 pm Daily Rosary
Monday 5th October G Feria
No Public Mass
Tuesday 6th October G Feria
7.00 pm Daily Rosary
7.30 pm Denis Murphy RIP
Wednesday 7th October W
Our Lady of the Rosary
9.30 Adoration
10.00 am Bruno Castanha RIP
Thursday 8th October G Feria
9.30 am Adoration & Prayer for Vocations
10.00 am Alexandar Fernandes WB
Friday 9th October W
St John Henry Newman
9.30 am Prayers for the Dead
10.00 am Sita Gary RIP
Saturday 10th October G Feria
Family Marian Devotion at home
28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME G
6.00 pm Daily Rosary
6.30 pm Agnelo Caeiro RIP
7.30 pm Daily Rosary
Sunday 11th October G
8.30 am Daily Rosary
9.00 am Maisy Nunes birthday TG
10.00 am Daily Rosary
10.30 am Daily Rosary
11.00 am Holy Souls
12.00 pm Daily Rosary
