21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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Dear Parishioners, The readings of this Sunday put in front of us the work of Salvation that God has done and is doing in our favour. 'I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. They shall come from the distant nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord.' (Isaiah 66:18-21) This is exactly what God has done with each one of us. He has loved us first. He has sought us out of our reality and brought us in his presence through the Church where through Baptism he has made of us his beloved children. Indeed, God loves every person with a total, unconditional, and personal love. He desires everyone may come to know him. He doesn't wish that anyone may be lost. But what does it mean for us to know the Lord? Can we say that we know the Lord? Let us reflect on the words we hear in the Gospel.  'You may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”' (Luke 13:22-30) In truth, it's not enough to come to mass regularly and listen to the Word of God assiduously to claim to know the Lord. God calls us to have a profound intimacy with Him, to live our lives as his beloved children doing what pleases Him. For when God loves, all he desires is to be loved in return; the sole purpose of his love is to be loved, in the knowledge that those who love him are made happy by their love of him. Indeed, the purpose of all Christ's life was to do the will of the Father, by loving Him with all his heart, mind and strengths even when this meant suffering and dying on the cross. Indeed, the Letter to the Hebrews says 'He learnt obedience from what He suffered.' (Hebrews 5:8) Then, to be a Christian means to become one of Christ. To be a bearer, messenger and witness with one's own life both in words and in deeds that Christ is the Saviour. Indeed, those who are chosen by Him are then sent by Him to go out into the world and proclaim the Good News. This is the constant invitation that the Lord makes to us. Each day, He doesn't cease to offer us occasions to give witness to his love for the world, for every human being. Therefore, the invitation to enter through the narrow door is the invitation to come out from our self-centeredness and become more and more Christ-centered. Fr Marco Newsletter  We will change our pace for the summer month of August. Our next newsletter will be in September. The Parish website will be updated, so please keep an eye on it for updates and information.     Confirmation Course 2023 Registrations for the new Confirmation course are now open. Please find the registration form on our parish website under the section named 'Sacraments'. Remember that you have to meet all the necessary requirements to be enrolled. The course will start around mid January. Further information about the length of the course, the programme and the date for Confirmation will be given in Autumn. OLOV LATEST NEWS GIFT AID DONATIONS:   Dear Parishioners:   We have worked with our colleagues in the Parish Support Team towards procedures for processing the Gift Aid from contactless donations trough the Dona provider. When signing a Gift Aid declaration on the device, you also will be asked if you would like your previous contactless donations to be Gift Aided as well.  Further, as entering a Gift Aid declaration on the device can take a couple of minutes, we want to help reduce the amount of time you may spend on the device, and reduce the queue for it. Leaflets have been created and placed at the back of the church and on the notice board. These contain a QR code that will enable you to use your smartphone to make your Gift Aid declaration. You can also access the Dona portal and leave your donation by simply scanning the underneath QR code: You can also donate securely by debit or credit card by clicking on the button created at the section end.   WEEKLY MASS SCHEDULE:   Monday to Friday - 10.00 am Saturday - 6.00 pm Sunday - 9.00 am, 10.30 am, 12.00 pm and 6.00 pm.  As we are about to enter in Summer Time Sunday evening mass WILL NOT BE CELEBRATED during the whole month of August. There will be no newsletter in August, the website will be updated regularly.   ALL OUR MASSES WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED FROM OUR WEBSITE.    EUCHARISTIC ADORATION: Each Wednesday, soon after mass, there will be the possibility to spend some time in prayer in front of the most blessed sacrament, immediately after mass. During that time a priest will be available to hear your confession. Adoration will finish at noon with the prayer of the Angelus.  Confessions are also available every Saturday from 5 pm to 5.45 pm. BLESSING OF HOUSES:   For anyone who would like to have the house blessed, Fr Marco we will available to arrange it. Please send an email to [email protected]   Please do keep an eye on the website: www.ourladyofvictories.net which will be updated on a weekly basis. To all who are travelling at this time, stay safe and travel well.   Mgr Jim Curry & Fr Marco Salvagnini   Our Lady of Victories Daily Mass and Confession Times Donate Our Lady of Victories 16 Abingdon Road London W8 6AF 020 7937 4778  [email protected]