ASH WEDNESDAY marks the beginning of the 40 Days of Lent. Lent is not just about giving things up. Its three elements are prayer, fasting and acts of charity. So yes, you may consider giving something up, but there is also a chance to do more too; more prayer (perhaps a daily rosary or attending a weekday Mass); more charity (donating food and other things to the SVP box at the back of our churches, or joining the work of the members of our SVP; giving to charity such as CAFOD or St George’s crypt in town); less food or drink (with the savings to charity). It’s not all doom and gloom, it is intended to be a time of renewal of the soul and preparation for the great festival of Easter. Ash Wednesday is one of the two days of the year of fasting and abstinence – one meal during the day and abstinence from eating meat. The rules for fasting and abstinence apply to people from the age of 14 to 59. There are the exemptions you would expect to see for, for example, health reasons. People who are 6o and over are welcome to join with their younger sisters and brothers they are able to.
You are invited to join CAFOD’s Big Lent Walk and journey together with Catholics in England, Wales and Scotland as Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee Year – walking 200km over 40 days during Lent . Journey to one of the churches or shrines designated as places of pilgrimage in our diocese as part of your Big Lent Walk. Every £1 you raise will support communities like Lokho’s in Kenya, experiencing the worst impact of the climate crisis, to rebuild their lives in hope. Sign up here: https://walk.cafod.org.uk/
Thank you for the crosses already returned. There is still an opportunity to return crosses to church to be burnt with the ashes being used this Ash Wednesday. It is a very old custom and is a good way to reuse crosses as well as having a symbolic meaning of the finality of created things, something we are reminded of on Ash Wednesday itself.
Volunteers are still invited to join our readers rotas both at St Urban's and Our Lady of Lourdes. Volunteers are still needed to help with counting the offertory after the 10.30 Sunday Mass at St Urban's and for cleaning on Monday mornings, again at St Urban’s. We also need volunteers to do some additional work at Our Lady of Lourdes, such as cleaning our beautiful tabernacle, candle sticks, the processional cross etc. All of these are important forms of serving God and each other. Please help if you can by speaking to Father Chris or email the parish office. Thank you to all those currently helping and those who have come forward; it is sincerely appreciated.
Communion under both kinds is available at all of our Sunday Masses. There is absolutely no pressure for people to take the chalice; please do not take the chalice if you think you have any kind of infection. Also dipping a consecrated host into a chalice is not permitted. Please consume the host in front of the priest or minister, if you walk away with a consecrated host you will be stopped. Please remember that, after the consecration in the Mass the bread and wine are no longer bread and wine but the great gift of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus himself.
Some good news; the replacement PA system for St Urban’s will be fitted on Tuesday, the 25th of February 2025.
SVP LEEDS – ANNUAL FAMILY SPONSORED WALK IN AID OF THE ST VINCENT’S SUPPORT CENTRE : Will take place in the countryside around Wetherby on Sunday 18th May 2025. All walkers new and old are most welcome. There are 2 walks: one of 3 miles and one of 9 miles to suit all ages and abilities. The shorter walk is especially suitable for primary school children and their families. For more information, please visit our website https://svp.org.uk/stvincentsleeds or contact Leigh Bradley: LeighB@svp.org.uk //0113 -2484126 or from our Parish SVP Conference. Please also look out for the posters in the Narthex. Please support our unique Leeds based project helping the disadvantaged & those living in poverty throughout Leeds. The Centre always needs supplies of non-perishable foods also toiletries. These can be left in the boxes at the back of our churches and are taken to the Centre by members of our SVP. The Lord tells us to feed the hungry, so thank you all for your donations which are sincerely appreciated.
Our schools will soon begin to prepare children in Year 3 for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Year 4 for the Sacrament of the Eucharist. There are a number of children in the parish who are not in our schools but who need to be prepared for these sacraments. Please email the parish office if you have a child requiring this preparation. Sessions are likely to be on a Saturday afternoon and dates will be announced shortly
St Vincent’s Centre The Centre always needs supplies of non-perishable foods also toiletries. These can be left in the boxes at the back of our churches and are taken to the Centre by members of our SVP. The Lord tells us to feed the hungry, so thank you all for your donations which are sincerely appreciated. https://www.svp.org.uk/
ASH WEDNESDAY marks the beginning of the 40 Days of Lent. Lent is not just about giving things up. Its three elements are prayer, fasting and acts of charity. So yes, you may consider giving something up, but there is also a chance to do more too; more prayer (perhaps a daily rosary or attending a weekday Mass); more charity (donating food and other things to the SVP box at the back of our churches, or joining the work of the members of our SVP; giving to charity such as CAFOD or St George’s crypt in town); less food or drink (with the savings to charity). It’s not all doom and gloom, it is intended to be a time of renewal of the soul and preparation for the great festival of Easter. Ash Wednesday is one of the two days of the year of fasting and abstinence – one meal during the day and abstinence from eating meat. The rules for fasting and abstinence apply to people from the age of 14 to 59. There are the exemptions you would expect to see for, for example, health reasons. People who are 6o and over are welcome to join with their younger sisters and brothers they are able to.
You are invited to join CAFOD’s Big Lent Walk and journey together with Catholics in England, Wales and Scotland as Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee Year – walking 200km over 40 days during Lent . Journey to one of the churches or shrines designated as places of pilgrimage in our diocese as part of your Big Lent Walk. Every £1 you raise will support communities like Lokho’s in Kenya, experiencing the worst impact of the climate crisis, to rebuild their lives in hope. Sign up here: https://walk.cafod.org.uk/
On Friday 28th February 2025 at the Irish Centre, 7:30pm. Tickets £25.00. Meal of soda bread, Irish stew and dessert, also Irish band dancing, sing-a-long, auction and raffle. Please come along and support the Little Sisters and have a great night of entertainment. All proceeds to go towards rebuilding of Mount St Jospeh’s. Contact details Sr. Christina, email: funds.leeds@lspondon.co.uk . The Sisters will be selling tickets after our Sunday Masses this weekend.
Christmas is barely behind us and all of a sudden its Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of the 40 days of Lent. Lent is a season that can feel like a bit “doom and gloom” but its intention is that of renewal of the soul; a time to pause and reflect on our relationship with God and with each other too. We are given three tools to help us with this – prayer, fasting and “alms giving” (acts of charity). Prayer is about turning our hearts and minds to God; fasting is a form of personal purification; but as St James tells us in his letter faith without works is dead, so works of charity enable us to externalise the inner processes of the other two. Jesus always wanted his followers to improve themselves, particularly their relationship with God, and then to put it into practice in the world. Lent, with its three pillars, provides us with a structure to make this possible in our lives. I think that we need Lent to have a particular time in the year to reorientate ourselves to God and to focus on how, in practical ways, we can support our brothers and sisters, particularly those in particular need. Lent is springtime for the soul. As always, be assured of my prayers for you and your intentions. With my sincere best wishes for the week ahead. Fr Chris
We all have times in our lives when we are badly treated, times when we are hurt by others physically or emotionally. Times when we are let down; times when it seems that others want to do us harm. In times of stress humans are programmed to do one of two things, fight or flight – resist or run away. All of us will have had times either when we have gone into combat mode, and other times when we retreat into our hurt and pain. In Sunday’s gospel Jesus radically shifts the bias of teaching found in the Old Testament from eye for eye, tooth for tooth to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. This teaching of Jesus has a “feel good” factor about it until we are in situations when we are called to put it into practice; its easy to say but very hard to do. Jesus shows us how to do this, particularly during his betrayal, passion, and death. In the martyrs, including those in our time, we see how they go to their death often with words of faith, love, and forgiveness on their lips and in their hearts. How is this possible? Left to ourselves in our own frailty and fear our negative emotions overwhelm us, but a connection to Jesus in faith and in prayer, with the power of the Holy Spirit, enables us to reach beyond resentment or fears. Being connected to Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, enables us to be more like Him in what we feel, say and do particularly in times of crisis in our lives. I know this through direct experience, and I have also seen it many times in the lives of our brothers and sister. When times are hard pray, “Jesus I trust in you. Jesus help me to be like you.” With my sincere best wishes for the week ahead. God bless Fr Chris
This Sunday is Racial Justice Sunday. The concept of justice has always been at the heart of the Jewish and Christian faith. In the Old Testament, as well as being described as loving and compassionate, God is also frequently described as being "just". Love, compassion and justice are therefore wrapped up together. The alignment of these can sometimes seem to be in contradiction. We see this in legal cases where a verdict is reached in justice but mitigating factors (in a sense the application of compassion) are taken into account which may result in a sentence seeming to be too lenient. We all want to be treated in our lives justly but also with understanding and compassion. Jesus tells us that we eventually will be judged by our own standards. It's worth reflecting our own standards of justice, also our own hopes and expectations of love and compassion, and how good we are at applying these standards to others, particularly those who may be seen as being different to us. Remember, as we have treated others God, in his justice, will treat us. Be assured of my prayers for you and your intentions every day. God bless you. Fr Christopher
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.