Fifth Sunday of Lent Year A

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I am now going to open your graves Dear brothers and sisters, This Sunday we will hear a beautiful word of hope and consolation, giving us a foretaste of the Paschal Mystery which we will soon celebrate. 'I am now going to open your grave, I mean to raise you from your grave.' Christ comes to renew us, regenerate us, giving us new life as he did with his friend Lazarus.  He doesn't come to give us a temporary consolation, an instant solution to our problems as so often we seek to obtain like Martha or the crowd in the Gospel, 'If you had been here, my brother would not have died'. '‘He opened the eyes of the blind man, could he not have prevented this man’s death?’'. He offers us much more than this. He wants us to experience eternal life.  Nonetheless, like Martha in the Gospel, we place obstacles in front of the action of God. Like her, we doubt that God can make a history of salvation with us who 'smell bad', because we are sinners.  Indeed, many times like Lazarus we feel as if we are dead. We experience situations where we are stuck, we don't know what to do. We don't understand what is happening to us and we feel far from God and from everyone else, exactly as the people of Isreal felt during the exile or like Martha and Mary in front of the death of their beloved brother Lazarus. In these situations that we would like to remove, change or forget, and often label as 'bad experiences the Lord come to manifest his power and glory to us and through us. As he did with Lazarus, he also tells to us 'Come out.' Come out from your judgments; from your resentments, from your sins, from everything that makes you feel dead. Come out and welcome him who has words of eternal life. The one who can draw life out of our own death, joy and hope out of our own sadness and incredulity.   Fr Marco Spring forward, fall back! Daylight Saving Time starts this Sunday as the clocks go forward 1 hour at 1 am. Don't forget to set your clock forward 1 hour. Planned giving envelopes The planned giving envelopes for the new tax year are now available to be collected at the back of the Church.  If you are regularly supporting the work of the parish by standing order or through envelopes and are a UK taxpayer we can claim back 25% of your donation at no cost to you. Thank you for your constant and generous support.   Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary At the General Audience on Wednesday, the Holy Father made the following statement about the Solemnity of the Annunciation this Saturday.   The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord will be celebrated on Saturday and our thoughts turn to March 25th of last year, when, in union with all the Bishops of the world, the Church and humanity were consecrated, especially Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let us never get tired of entrusting the cause of peace to the Queen of Peace. I, therefore, wish to invite each believer and community, especially prayer groups, to renew the act of consecration to Our Lady every March 25, so that she, who is a Mother, may keep us all in unity and peace. And let us not forget, these days, battered Ukraine, which is suffering so much. You can find the prayer for the act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by clicking on the button below.   Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Vocations Evening On Wednesday 17th May, there will be an open evening at St James, Spanish Place, for any men interested in learning about or discerning a vocation to priesthood. The regular evening Mass will be at 6.00 pm, followed by a gathering downstairs in the Social Centre for a short presentation and informal conversations and refreshments. Do come and join us if you can. The nearest tube stations are Bond Street and Baker Street. Confirmation Course Dear parents and candidates, a gentle reminder that on Monday 27th March from 6.15 pm to 7.30 pm there will be our first outdoor session of the Confirmation programme. The session will be held at the church of Our Lady of Dolours, Sevites Church, 264, Fulham Road, SW10 9EL. We will introduce to the Candidates the Sacraments of Baptism and Confession through the figure of Blessed Carlo Acutis. We will see the place where Blessed Carlo was baptised and venerate his relic. Lenten programme on climate change and the things that give us joy We would like to invite you to participate in our parish Lenten programme, The Things That Give Us Joy, to explore our faith and creation. There will be four sessions on Thursdays,  9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th March, at 7-8 pm, in the church hall at Our Lady of Victories. The sessions together form a whole program, but each can be attended on its own. They will explore the Pope's message to care for our common home, with the last session exploring how we can come together as a parish and community. This Thursday, the 9th, from 7 pm to 8 pm will explore our faith, creation and climate change, and the things that give us joy. On the 16th and 23rd, we will be showing the first and second parts of The Letter --- a film about the Pope's invitation to representatives of the poor, the indigenous, nature, and the young to come together and rejoice in the creation and tackle climate change. On the 30th, we will be exploring Easter and our own responses. We welcome young and old alike and please feel free to bring a friend along. To sign up click on the button below. Lenten Program Our Lady of Victories Pre-Marriage Course Registrations are now open for the Next Marriage Course which will take place in May. Maximum capacity 10 couples. The course will be unfolded in 3 meetings. It will commence on Tuesday 9th May and follow up on Monday 15th May and Monday 22nd May. Each meeting will start at 7.30 pm and end at 9.30 pm. The couples attending the course are also invited to come to mass on Sunday 21st May, at 6 pm to receive a special blessing from the priest. After that, some refreshments will be provided in the parish hall and a possibility to ask further questions to the mentors. The suggested cost of the course is £130 pounds. This comprehends the cost of the student books that the couple will receive and a £50 pounds donation to the parish. All meetings will be held at our parish hall, entrance, based at 16 Abingdon Road, London, W8 6AF. For registration and more details about the course please email Fr Marco at marcosalvagnini@rcdow.org.uk Ecumenical Lent Course 2023 The Kingdom of God is Justice and Peace– Wednesdays at 7.30 pm Wednesday, March 1st: Sister of Sion Wednesday, March 8th: All Saints Church Wednesday, March 15th: Methodist Church Wednesday, March 22nd: Kensington United Reformed Church Wednesday, March 29th: St John’s Notting Hill Get to know the music for Holy Week  Tuesday April 4th 7-8 pm An opportunity to understand why and what we sing during Holy Week and the Triduum. Our musicians and clergy will highlight the themes and some of the music. We might even learn to sing something. All welcome. Pauline Books and Media The Sisters of the Pauline run their shop in the repository at Our Lady of Victories Church from Tuesday to Friday and Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm. The contact number is 07561456074.  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 through the Dona provider. When signing a Gift Aid declaration on the device, you will also be asked if you would like your previous contactless donations to be Gift Aided.  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.    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 marcosalvagnini@rcdow.org.uk   Please do keep an eye on the website: www.ourladyofvictories.net which will be updated weekly. To all who are travelling at this time, stay safe and travel well.   Mgr Jim Curry & Fr Marco Salvagnini   Our Lady of Victories 16 Abingdon Road London W8 6AF 020 7937 4778  kensington1@rcdow.org.uk