Parish News

I am glad to back with you after my surgery. Thankfully, it went largely to plan and I sincerely appreciated your love, support and prayers. When I could offer a Mass I offered it for your intentions; either way I certainly prayed for you all every day. I have resumed all my duties, though I am trying to pace myself. I certainly cannot do any “heavy lifting” for a few weeks to avoid becoming “unstitched”!  May God bless and keep you all. Fr Chris

I suspect many of us have old crosses from previous Palm Sundays at home and have never quire known what to do with them. There is an opportunity to return them to church and those collected will be burnt, and the ashes made used this Ash Wednesday. It is a very old custom which has fallen out of use, but it 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.

This coming week we keep the memorial of St Paul Miki and his companions. Born in the sixteenth century, he became a Jesuit and was martyred by crucifixion along with his 25 companions in Nagasaki, Japan on the 5th of February 1597. The authorities ruthlessly eliminated the Catholic church through persecution, or so they thought. Around 250 years later foreigners were able to re-enter Japan and they found that a number of Japanese people had for centuries held on to the faith despite no priests or sacraments, including devotion to Our Blessed Mother. We live in a society without violent persecution, though people challenge and ridicule our beliefs in different ways. This is not true elsewhere where every day our brothers and sisters give witness to Jesus with their blood. Ask God today for the grace that, when asked or challenged, we too can and will give witness to our faith in the Lord Jesus. Let us also do our best to support our persecuted brothers and sisters. With the assurance of my daily prayers for your needs and intentions. God Bless you. Fr Christopher

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

This coming week we see the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. What is it about? The Law of Moses required that 40 days after the birth of a child a mother had to be ritually “purified” (the origin of the old custom of a woman being “churched” after childbirth), and a first born male child had to be dedicated to God. This dedication could be redeemed where the child could be “bought back”. Richer people would offer something like a goat, poorer people would offer turtle doves or pigeons, as in the case of Mary and Joseph. What was the point of this? Well, I guess it reminded people of their dependence on God for the special things in their lives also their duty to him. Perhaps its worth asking ourselves if we are aware of our dependence on God and how dutiful we are to him in loving Him and each other. Maybe take a moment to thank God for what you have and do something to help your bothers and sister in need, such as a contribution to our SVP collection boxes at the back of the church.  God Bless Fr Chris

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.

The Holy Father Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, marking the beginning of the Jubilee Year, the theme for which is Pilgrims of Hope . The Jubilee presents an opportunity for spiritual renewal. One aspect of this is the availability of gaining indulgences either for yourself or the Holy Souls in Purgatory. An indulgence releases the soul of all the residual penalties attached to sin. In the Catholic tradition there are several ways to obtain a partial or a plenary (that is a full) indulgence. In the Jubilee Year one way is to make a journey or “pilgrimage” to one of the designated Jubilee Churches in our Diocese, the nearest one to us is the Cathedral. At the time, or as soon as possible afterwards, go to confession, receive the Eucharist, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. The indulgence is not “magic” in that the person also must have a detachment from sin, or as some of us will remember from the past, have what is called “a firm purpose of amendment”. The Holy See has provided guidance for obtaining these particular spiritual graces and I have left at the back of the church information about this which I hope you find to be helpful. More information will be issued by the Diocese soon concerning Jubilee related activities during the year. Fr Chris