1. Art and Diseño

PARISH NEWSLETTER
1st February 2015
(Cycle B)
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
PARISH PRIEST
Fr. Nicholas Wetz OSB
Tel: 01432 - 277319
email:[email protected]
www.belmontparish.org.uk
Parish Deacon
Rev Deacon Eddie Wyman
Tel: 01432 - 263575
Parish Hall 01432 - 374781
Safeguarding Representative
Gabrielle Stanley 07939 472059
Items for the Newsletter to
[email protected]
or The Parish Office
Welcome!
We welcome Fr Jim Fleming to the parish today. He is here to make an appeal
on behalf of the Missionaries of St Columban. The Society of St Columban is
a Catholic organisation of ordained and lay missionaries working in fifteen
countries with a special commitment to Asia and Latin America. Columbans
are missionaries who go in the name of the Church to announce, by deed and
word, the good news of Jesus Christ. For more information, visit
www.columbans.co.uk
The second collection today is for the Missionaries of St Columban.
Baptism
We also welcome the family of Noah Benjamin Searle who is to be baptised
at the 11am Mass today.
Fr Nicholas
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the Church thanks God for the gift of
the different forms of consecrated life,
Standing Orders: £480.00 and prays for an increase in vocations to
2nd Collection
£192.89 the consecrated life, so that the life and
witness of monks and nuns, religious
Abbey Maintenance - Thank you.
brothers and sisters and members of
secular institutes will continue to enrich
PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
our Church. Please remember in your
Tomorrow the Church celebrates the prayers Br Augustine who will make his
feast of the Presentation of the Lord first Temporary Profession at Mass
which occurs forty days after the birth tomorrow.
of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas
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day, since the blessing and procession
of candles is often included in the
150 CLUB
liturgy. Known originally as the Feast of
the Purification of the Blessed Virgin,
Thank you to everyone who has paid
the Feast of the Presentation of the
their 2015 subscription for the 150 Club.
Lord is a relatively ancient celebration.
There are a few more to come in so if
The Church at Jerusalem observed the
you pay by cash or cheque, please place
feast as early as the first half of the
it in an envelope as soon as possible and
fourth century, and likely earlier.
hand it to Chris Moore or Fr Nick.
According to Jewish law, the firstborn
male child belonged to God, and the
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parents had to "buy him back" on the
40th day after his birth, by offering a
NEW EMAIL ADDRESS
sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves, or two
young pigeons" (Luke 2:24) in the The parish is setting up new email
temple (thus the "presentation" of the addresses for publications such as the
child). On that same day, the mother newsletter and The Angel. From today,
would be ritually purified (thus the items for the newsletter should be sent
"purification").
to [email protected]. The
Last
Sunday’s
1st Collection
£319.27
previous address will continue to be
checked for the month of February.
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Items for the website may be sent to
[email protected].
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR
CONSECRATED LIFE
Tomorrow is also the World Day of
Prayer for Consecrated Life. On this day
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PARISH ‘SOCIAL’ AGM
WORLD YOUTH DAY 2016 WITH
POPE FRANCIS
I’m proposing to hold another short
social AGM on Tuesday 10th February
between 7-8pm. Do drop in at any time
for a drink and a chat or to raise any
questions or issues you may have. I’ll
say a few words at 7.30 about parish
plans and ideas for 2015.
Registration for this is now open. Please
check out www.Cardiff2Krakow.org if
you are interested. There may be some
help from the parish with the costs.
Please see Fr Nicholas or Chris Moore.
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JUMBLE SALE
LOOP SYSTEM
1.30pm on Saturday 7th March at Don’t forget, the nave of the Church has
OLQM - same time - same place as a loop system. If you use a hearing aid,
always but we need items for the simply adjust your aid to the ‘T’ setting.
jumble - so please start looking and
leaving things in the Parish Hall Porch.
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Many thanks!
PILGRIMAGE TO FRANCE 25-29 MAY
2015
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Pilgrimage plans are going well. There
will be a meeting to sort out final details
Following the success of last year’s and have a social get together on Friday
production Soldier to Saint by RISE 17th April in the Annexe at SFX after the
Theatre, we have invited them back to 6:30pm Mass. (Approx. 7:10).
perform their latest offering White
Rabbit in Hedley Lodge at 7.30pm, In the meantime could everyone please
Friday 20th March 2015. Please put a send a cheque for their outstanding
note in your diary and watch this space balance, payable to St. Francis Xavier’s
for further information on ticket sales. Church, to the SFX office. Cheques
should arrive no later than Friday 20th
March. Please mark the envelope
“France Pilgrimage.”
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WHITE RABBIT
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The final total cost is £300 pp for adults
HOMILY
and £150pp for children (less deposit if
paid).
“Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Thank you. John and Mary Cook 850231 Illustration
It is said that the greatest victory the
devil has won in our modern age is to
persuade people not to believe in him.
His greatest skill is to deceive people.
And if we believe in the devil at all, then
it is often only as a sort of comic figure
who prods people with his toasting
fork. Even C.S. Lewis, who wrote a
brilliant book called The Screwtape
Letters, made the devil into a rather
humorous figure. The book consists of
letters that a senior demon, Screwtape,
writes to Wormwood, his apprentice,
giving advice about the ways in which
he might deceive his victims. Screwtape
tells Wormwood that their policy
should be to conceal themselves for the
moment but also to promote the idea
that demons are really figures who
don’t have to be taken seriously. People
can be tricked by their tactics. We can
trivialise their significance by blaming
the devil for every little mistake we
make, “The devil must have got into
me.”
Gospel Teaching
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MASS AND ANOINTING OF THE SICK
SATURDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2015
British and Sovereign Order of Malta
(BASOM) are holding their annual
reunion at the Church of the Oratory,
Hagley Road, Birmingham on Saturday
28th February 2015.
There will be a solemn Mass which will
be offered at 11:00am which will
include the Sacrament of the Anointing
of the Sick. After Mass luncheon will be
provided in the Oratory halls. Those
that are sick are invited to come.
Luncheoon would cost the sum of £15
but for the sick it would be on a
voluntary basis. Please note transport is
possibly available.
Could any sick that wish to come
contact Andrew Grant on 01886
832368.
Andrew Grant FRICS DL But in the New Testament the devil is
no joking matter. In first-century
Palestine, the world of the demonic was
taken deadly seriously. The New
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Testament writers use the language of
the demonic to describe the malignant
forces they see at work in the world.
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This is how St Mark sees the world into
which Jesus comes. It was not neutral
ground but occupied by Satan. The
Messiah would have to be involved in a
cosmic battle with him. The first
challenge that Jesus faces is a struggle
for forty days with Satan in the desert.
As soon as he emerges from this
encounter, Jesus announces the coming
of the kingdom of God, which will break
into the world through his own
ministry. And in today’s Gospel the
battle begins as he performs an
exorcism in Capernaum.
shouting and writhing in the sanctuary?
It’s not what we expect in church. But
the biblical writers believed that Jesus
was not just fighting against visible
forces – as St Paul tells us in Ephesians:
“it is not against human enemies that
we have to struggle, but against the
Sovereignties and the Powers who
originate the darkness in this world”.
In our modern, scientific society we
may be embarrassed by all this talk of
demons and Satan. Modern medicine
can certainly explain a great deal of the
sickness and disease that we see in the
Gospels. But a glance at the media
today will remind us that evil behaviour
is still very much with us and it’s not
always easy to explain it away. On an
individual level many people are taken
over by powerful addictions, such as
drugs, drink or pornography. They are
imprisoned. Then whole societies and
institutions can at times seem to be
possessed by the urge to behave in an
inhuman way, whether it is in the
concentration camps of Europe, the
battlefields of Syria or genocide in
Rwanda. There can seem to be powers
at work that are more than the sum of
individual people’s evil. This does not
lessen our responsibility to recognise
our own failure to speak out and to
prevent evil behaviour taking place.
Jesus goes to teach in the synagogue.
People are astounded at his authority
because he shows in action as well as
word how he can overcome the
kingdom of Satan. He immediately
clashes with the “unclean spirit” that
possesses one of the congregation. The
devil recognises Jesus not as a healer
but as a destroyer: “Have you come to
destroy us?” Then he tries to trick Jesus
into submission by using two names for
him, Jesus of Nazareth and “the Holy
One of God”. It was believed that
knowing someone’s name gave power
over that person. But Jesus is not
deceived. He casts out the unclean
spirit, who violently shakes his victim
and screams out in defeat. The kingdom
of Satan is pushed back as Jesus
captures more ground.
The good news of the Gospel is that
Application
Christ has won the victory over evil and
we can share in his risen power. Evil will
Imagine such a scene at a Sunday Mass. never have the final word. Jesus calls us
What would people make of all that to stand firm against evil and unjust
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behaviour in this world. We do not
need to be afraid, as we can know that
he is with us and has won the victory
over Satan and all his works.
Then Jesus came along. People related
to what he said because they could see
that it had meaning for the way they
were trying to live. It connected with
their struggles, their fears and their
hopes. When they described his
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teaching, people said that he taught
“with authority”. By this they did not
mean that he took an official stance or
FAITH IN FOCUS:
that he talked down to people as if they
were ignorant. It meant that they could
see that his teaching was going to have
Lazy preachers use religious words. It’s a beneficial effect on their lives. It made
easier than getting down to the nitty- sense and they could grasp its
gritty but it doesn’t help people to significance.
connect their faith with their lives. So
whenever you hear a sermon that is Authority meant that his words had
peppered with words like salvation, clout. The word authority comes from a
ecclesial, redemption, Christological, Latin word that at its root means to
justification, metanoia, eschatology, increase or grow. To speak with
sanctifying grace or beatific vision, then authority meant that what Jesus was
you know that the preacher is using saying to them would make them grow,
shorthand. Of course, there’s nothing cause them to develop, to fulfil their
wrong with any of these words; they potential. Unlike the scribes who simply
are theological ways of expressing our told people all the rules that they had to
faith and the work of God in our lives. obey, Jesus’ teaching was a liberating
But they remain on a cerebral level. experience that spoke about the value
They engage the mind but more often and worth of the human person before
than not don’t reach the heart. They God. It encouraged people, offered
are not geared to connecting faith with them hope, gave them confidence and
life in a way that most people readily made them want to be part of the
understand.
message and to tell others about it. It
was more than just words. And it still is
When the Jewish religious teachers today.
preached they appear to have fallen
into the same trap. What they said was
right, but it was stale. People found it
hard to become enthusiastic when they
heard them preach.
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Ministers, etc. For next
Sunday 8th February: 5th Sunday in OT
8:30am
Welcomer
Cooper Family
9:30am
11.00am
Marnie Archer &
Brenda Sherwood
Anne Stapleton
Sacristan
Stephen Fisher
1st Reading
Julia Davey
2nd Reading
Richard Batho
Frances Wood
Brian Draper
Pat Draper
Bidding Prayer Liz Norman
Offertory
Ramage-Hill Family
Marje Hayes
A. Morton-Saner &
M. Campbell
Extra-Ordinary
S. Hayes & Kath Parry
Minister(s)
Chris Moore
Next Sunday - Second Collection: Marriage Care
Next Week - Newsletter Folding: GMc
Dates to be noted
20 June 2015 Belmont Abbey Summer Garden Fete
I ARISE TODAY: THE LENT RETREAT
February 16-19
(3 days mid-week registration fee £28)
CHILDREN’S LITURGY
8.30 am Children's Liturgy 15 Feb
11.00 am Liturgy
Wisdom from the Celtic saints. We learn what
it is to be pilgrims to the place of our
resurrection: our Lenten journey for 2015.
01-Feb
R Cowdrey & M Wood
08-Feb
Jacqui Moore & Monica Russell
Dom Brendan Thomas
15-Feb
Anna Nugent & Robert Blackburn
22-Feb
Marje Hayes & Pauline Gill
DEATHS and ANNIVERSARIES: Please pray for all who have died: May they rest in peace.
Jennifer Snell, Henry Maddison, Kevin Hickman, Basil Lyon, Dom Paulinus Lyon OSB, Doris
Spencer, Timothy Desmond, Ethel Holtom, Hannah Holtom, Susan Lewis, John Smith,
Elizabeth Snead, Ethel Spalding. Frank Evans, Emmalina Russell, Di Smith, Charles Bray, Ernest
Mertz, Edith Rice- Jones, Mary Riddell, Josie Brown, Elizabeth Harbourne, Frank McEntegart,
Maria Mecina. Florry Caine and Eileen Ega.
The SICK: Please pray for Will Kinsman, Toni Cornforth, Mary Carroll, Sue Rogers, Elizabeth
Lloyd-Jones, Jane Shaw, David Ellis, Norma Naudain, Fr Michal Cronin, Siobhan Hayes, Elaine
Campbell, Sr Catherine, Joanne Savory, Ken Harding, Brian Holberry, Vincent Hanna, Sadie
Bowyer and Beryl Swain.
Belmont Abbey Parish is part of Belmont Abbey Mission Trust (Registered Charity - 226277)
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Liturgy for Sunday 1st February 2015
Readings: Sunday Cycle B; Weekdays: Cycle 1; Divine Office: Week IV
4th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Entrance: Save us, O Lord our God! And gather us from
the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, and
make it our glory to praise you.
Acclamation: When we eat this Bread and drink ...
Communion: Let your face shine on your servant. Save
me in your merciful love. O Lord, never let me be put
to shame, for I call on you.
Principal Celebrants, Extraordinary Ministers, Readers, etc.
8:30am
Celebrant
Fr. Nicholas
Welcomer
Hayes Family
9:30am
11.00am
Fr Nicholas
Clare Wichbold
Sacristan
Anne & Ross Williams
Chris Moore
1st Reading
Jacqui Ramage-Smith Brenda Warde
Monica Tomlin
2nd Reading
Fran Smallwood
Tony Archer
Bidding Prayer TBA
Offertory
Marje Hayes
Children’s Liturgy
Frances Wood &
Barbara Ferguson
Extra-Ordinary Frances Dees &
Minister(s)
Julia Davey
Mass Intention Siobhan Hayes
Jane Davies
Benefactors
Parish Intention
Second Collection: Columban Missionary Appeal
Tesco Vouchers: Order next week please
What’s On for the week
Mon Presentation of the Lord: Mass at 8:00 am in the Oratory
Profession Mass at 11:30am
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
St Blaise: Mass at 8:00 am
Feria: Mass at 8:00 am: Midday Mass in the Oratory
St Agatha: Mass at 8:00 am
St Paul Miki and Companions: Mass at 8:00 am;
Midday Mass in the Oratory
Sat
BVM: Mass at 8:00 am: Sacrament of Reconciliation at 10:00 am
Events for the week
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