The next session of the 200 Club is underway. The 200 Club raises money towards the upkeep of both of our churches. It costs £10 for a 10 week session. The prizes are £30 and £20 each week, and, for the final draw on week 10, the prizes will be £100 and 2 x £50 prizes. There are plenty of spare numbers so we are seeking new members. The chances of winning are very high and it is a great way to support the parish. Please see Peter at the back of the church after Saturday and Sunday Masses.
HAS YOUR CHILD MADE THEIR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION? If so they can become a member of our altar server team in either of our churches. It is a wonderful opportunity to draw nearer (literally) to the Lord Jesus in the Mass and to better understand what happens in the Mass and other liturgical celebrations. Training will be given.
Bishop Marcus will confer the sacrament of Confirmation in our Deanery on the 25th of November with the venue to be confirmed. As usual preparation for the sacrament for year 6 children will take place in our schools. There may be children who do not attend our schools who have already made their first reconciliation and communion who also need confirmation. If you know of anyone in this position please do get in touch with me as soon as possible. I would also like to hear from anyone in the parish who can help with the preparation programme for this sacrament (also the other “Sacraments of Initiation” - Reconciliation and Holy Communion) as last year I did these on my own. Thank you. Fr Chris
We have some parishioners who would love to attend Sunday Mass but cannot get there by themselves. Please consider your own travel arrangements and if you could give someone a lift to Mass please do let me know via the office email address . Diocesan safeguarding applies. Thank you. Fr Chris
This meets every Wednesday at 10:30am to 12.00 in the meeting room at St Urban’s and is supported by Catholic Care. It is a wonderful opportunity for people to meet each other over tea, coffee and cake. Every week there are different activities. It is a place where you can be yourself, meet new people, and have some fun! Future activities 27th of August Chair Yoga and Meditation. More information is available from Louise on 07980 313333. The programme of activities is available at the back of the church.
Catherine Liddle takes up her appointment this week as parish administrator. Many of you will know Catherine from Our Lady of Lourdes. Catherine will work the equivalent of one day a week based in the St Urban’s office. I must confess it is a great relief to have some dedicated admin support. Fr Chris
You are invited to our Harvest Festival Shared Lunch on Sunday 14th September in the meeting room at St Urban's at 12 noon. Everyone is welcome regardless of what Sunday Mass you attend. Those who come are encouraged to bring food to share with others. There is no list of what to bring but it always works out well with a very varied selection of food, and there is no obligation to bring food as there is always more than enough to share both savoury and sweet. If you can bring your own crockery this would be helpful as we only have a small amount. We welcome anyone who would like to volunteer to help organise this - even if you can just help setting up or clearing away. There is a sign-up sheet at the back of both churches.
Bishop Marcus will confer the sacrament of Confirmation in our Deanery on the 25th of November with the venue to be confirmed. As usual preparation for the sacrament for year 6 children will take place in our schools. There may be children who do not attend our schools who have already made their first reconciliation and communion who also need confirmation. If you know of anyone in this position please do get in touch with me as soon as possible. I would also like to hear from anyone in the parish who can help with the preparation programme for this sacrament (also the other “Sacraments of Initiation” - Reconciliation and Holy Communion) as last year I did these on my own. Thank you. Fr Chris
We have some parishioners who would love to attend Sunday Mass but cannot get there by themselves. Please consider your own travel arrangements and if you could give someone a lift to Mass please do let me know via the office email address . Diocesan safeguarding applies. Thank you. Fr Chris
You are invited to our Harvest Festival Shared Lunch on Sunday 14th September in the meeting room at St Urban's at 12 noon. Everyone is welcome regardless of what Sunday Mass you attend. Those who come are encouraged to bring food to share with others. There is no list of what to bring but it always works out well with a very varied selection of food, and there is no obligation to bring food as there is always more than enough to share both savoury and sweet. If you can bring your own crockery this would be helpful as we only have a small amount. We welcome anyone who would like to volunteer to help organise this - even if you can just help setting up or clearing away. There is a sign-up sheet at the back of both churches.
Time for prayers, questions, input from a priest and social time. There are two groups meeting simultaneously; under 18s and over 18s. Fridays 6.30pm-8.15pm: 19th September (Hinsley Hall), 17th October (Hinsley Hall), 14th November (Cathedral Hall), 19th December (Hinsley Hall). Under 18 participants must complete and return a permission form prior to attending. For permission forms and to notify of attendance (all participants) please contact Vocations Promoter, Fr Simon Lodge simon.lodge@dioceseofleeds.org.uk .
GETTING TO KNOW YOU: We meet at the Meanwood Tavern for a drink and some pizza. It's a great opportunity to meet new people in the parish and catch up with others. We walk up after Tuesday evening Mass, or you can meet us there at around 7.45pm. For any questions, or to join the WhatsApp group for reminders, please get in touch with Joaquim Messa on 07454 678034 or Sarah Messa on 07952723416. Look out for future dates.
These are a series of workshops where you learn to pray and you learn to live, they are every Thursday in the meeting room at St Urban’s from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (please note the new time) . For more information see www.tovpil.org or contact Vincenzo on 07367150001, Solange on 07446004352 , or Francis on 07940856029.
When I was training as a nurse we were taught a golden rule “never assume”. An assumption being accepting something as being true without proof. This principle is important in the context of the medical professions as the wrong assumption can have very serious consequences. But there are times for all of us when we have to make assumptions. There will be times when the information we have is incomplete and we have to use our intuition and prior experiences to fill in the gaps and reach conclusions. Perhaps assumptions are part and parcel of being a Christian. After all St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians says that we see things dimly in a mirror. But St Paul was writing around 53 AD at a time when the gospels were being formulated from people’s recollections of the life of Jesus. On Sunday we hear from Luke’s gospel written between 80 and 90 AD. By the time Luke is putting pen to paper, the time for assumptions about the good news of Jesus has passed. The core of the teaching of Jesus was in place. All of the gospels address, in one way or another, the end of history, both the end of our personal history in this life at our death, and the end of time itself. Jesus time and time again warns us to be ready for both, are we? Are you? Am I? As part of hospital and hospice ministry I see people who are approaching their personal end time here on earth. It is a grace and joy to be able to offer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to people, to cleanse them of the spiritual ills alongside their medical treatment. At the same time there is a feeling in some parts of the Christian world and more generally in society that spiritual interventions and remedies like this are unimportant, irrelevant, not needed. It’s just between the person and God. It’s an assumption that all people are saved and enjoying the eternal beauty of the vision of God. Of course no one can comprehend the scope of the love and mercy of God for us, either in this life or the next, but we need to be careful, the idea that a person can do everything on their own to attain grace and eternal life is an ancient heresy called Pelagianism. We know from our own experience of life, and what we see in the world, that we cannot simply save ourselves let alone our world, and that the exercise of our will cannot save us. If it could the world would already be a very different and better place. We need God or loving Father; we need Jesus; we need the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Only God’s free gift of grace, mediated in this life through the medicine for our souls, the sacraments, can bring about the personal transformation that we need and that the world desperately seeks. The Mass and the sacraments is the narrow door, narrow but always open, to those with a sincere heart. So how are your assumptions today about your life as a Christian? How are you today with loving God with your heart mind and soul and the stranger as yourself? How well do you know Jesus? How well does Jesus know the real you? He desperately wants to know you; he wants to work with you to transform you into something beautiful, something eternal. Do not be afraid. He wants to invite you to the feast of eternal joy. Please, please, don’t pass it up. This week's bulletin is attached. As always please be assured of my daily prayers for your needs and intentions. Fr Chris
Who or how do you envisage Jesus to be? I still have pictures and images of Jesus from my childhood home, including an image of the Sacred Heart with the names of my Mum and Dad and my sister Maureen on it. in these images Jesus is static, he looks out in a kind and concerned way. I like the images I have and will always treasure them, but, during his time on earth, and now in heaven, Jesus is far from a static, serene figure and we see something of this in Sunday's gospel. Sunday's gospel follows immediately on from last Sunday's week’s gospel where Jesus insists that we all need to be ready for the arrival of the kingdom. What does this mean? What are the signs of the kingdom? What will it look like? What is our role in this? This is where the dynamism of Jesus’ teaching becomes unsettling, even frightening. We are used to the static Jesus, frozen with a smile on the paper of our images. But Jesus was seen as being dangerous in his time, and in a real sense he still is. We see something of why this is in Sunday's gospel. The arrival of the kingdom of God in the world, and into the hearts of believers, is by its nature disruptive and Jesus tells us can be divisive. The transformation of the heart and soul by Jesus through the Holy Spirit is inescapable in the life of the Christian. Belief in Jesus means that our souls are set alight with divine love, we begin to experience something called “metanoia”, a Greek term meaning a “change of mind” but not only this, the way we see the world and how we behave also changes driven by love of God and of neighbour. This has consequences for who we are, how we see others and ourselves, how we perceive our relationship with God, and how we interact with the world. Living the the message of Jesus – the message of life and love of God and those around us changes us. Living the way of Jesus transforms us threatening what we may have seen or believed to have been important. It also threatens what underpins so much of our society and its power structures at the heart of which rampant individualism. Jesus sets the world ablaze by his words and actions, and he invites us to do the same. His words burned in the hearts of his friends, particularly after his resurrection and Pentecost. They wanted to pass the light from the flame of Jesus on to others. That flame has been passed on to us to give to others. Is the flame of Jesus alive in your heart? Is it a burning fire or wavering flame? The truth of it is that for all of us sometimes the flame of Jesus in us is stronger than others. Bringing the light of Jesus into the world and too others can be a risky, divisive, enterprise and can, seemingly in this life, end badly as we see with the martyrs of our modern age from Nigeria and China to the Middle East. The question for all of us is how courageous are we prepared to be in bringing the kingdom into the world, the risks are great, but the rewards are eternal. As always please be assured of my daily prayers for your needs and intentions. Fr Chris
Pope Francis
If peoples are to remain brothers and sisters, prayer must rise unceasingly to Heaven, and one single word constantly echo on earth: peace.