Fifth Sunday of Lent

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The Offertory: Part 5 Dear parishioners and friends, What should I be doing during the offertory? This is a beautiful moment to be conscious of each of us offering ourselves and our intentions at the moment when the gifts are presented. You’ll have noticed that each Mass has a particular intention which the priest announces at the beginning. This is the intention that the priest has been asked to offer. But each person in the congregation can offer an intention at each and every Mass. It’s worth choosing a particular person, maybe someone who is sick, dying, or in some need, or even something we are worried, concerned about and want to hand over to God. We encourage you to bring these to mind either at the beginning of Mass, and certainly at the Offertory. We might even say in our heads, ‘my intention for this Mass is’, ‘Lord, I offer you this person…or this situation in this Mass’. This is a concrete opportunity to pray for persons and situations. Our faith is all about trusting in God, handing things over to his care, for his will to be done. What better place to do that than at Mass, where the realities of heaven and earth are closer than at anytime, where our God becomes flesh for us on the altar and our prayers are offered up by the priest who is acting in the person of Jesus at the Mass. TWO FEASTS   17th March 2024  Feast of St Patrick; Happy Feast Day Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit   19 March 2024   Feast of St Joseph; Happy Feast Day Buona festa di San Giuseppe Feliz día de San José Holy Week Mass Times 25, 26 & 27 March       Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday Mass at 10 am   26 March      Tuesday Chrism Mass at Westminster Cathedral at 12 noon    28 March         Maundy Thursday No Morning Mass Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 8 pm Watching at the Altar of Repose until 11 pm   29 March    Good Friday (Day of Fasting & Abstinence) Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 3 pm   30 March      Holy Saturday Easter Vigil at 8 pm    31 March     Easter Sunday Masses at 9 am, 10.30 am and 12 noon   St Patrick’s Party at Our Lady of Victories   16th March 2024 You can help give aid to the people of Gaza and the West Bank by supporting this year’s St Patrick’s Party. All proceeds from this charity event will go to helping Christians in the Holy Land and this year especially to help rebuild a destroyed children’s centre near Bethlehem. The event is organised by Kensington Friends of the Holy Land. There will be live music, open buffet, an Irish dance display, Guinness and lots more. For tickets (£25) contact: [email protected] or call 07746847126 PLEASE DONATE WHAT YOU CAN FOR THIS URGENT CAUSE.    Easter Offerings The collection on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are the two main sources of income for the priests. Clergy income is derived from the Christmas and Easter Offerings as well as Mass Stipends and offerings from baptisms, wedding and funerals. This is paid into the parish and then distributed to the clergy. These offerings can also be gift aided. Thank you. Stations of the Cross Stations take place in the Church on Friday's in Lent at 6.30pm Annual Mass of Thanksgiving for the Sacrament of Matrimony Westminster Cathedral, Saturday 25th May 2024 at 2:30pm. The Cardinal is inviting to this Mass all couples in the Diocese, who are celebrating their 5th 10th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th (and every year over 60) wedding anniversary of Catholic marriage in 2024. If you are celebrating an anniversary, please give your parish clergy the following details: husband and wife’s names, wedding date, full postal address and email (or telephone number, if no email). 2024 Encounter Festival In June this year we have our 2024 Encounter Festival - a weekend retreat where young adults can experience a deep Encounter with God and do so with friends. Fill out the RSVP to reserve your place (There are limited  residential tickets available - payments to be taken at a later date). https://forms.gle/vtTipvQs6vuZhPnA9   Here are some promo videos for you to watch to get more of an idea of the Encounter Festival  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yz6ByrFKYL8  Cardinal’s Lenten Appeal 2024 If you can, please show your support for the Cardinal’s Lenten Appeal. All funds raised go towards projects across our Diocese. Each year, the Diocese uses donations made to support the work of our services, such as Marriage & Family Life; Youth Ministry, and Education.  Funds are also used to support the work of Caritas Westminster, who work for and with some of the most vulnerable people in our Diocese. His Eminence, Cardinal Nichols, has expressed his gratitude to everyone who supports the Appeal, with whatever they can afford. So, please take a donation envelope today, for more information. Thank you for your generosity. Mary’s Meals is a simple solution to world hunger and provides 2.4 million children every day with one meal in their place of education in some of the poorest countries of the world. We are working to reach the next hungry child and to do so need more volunteers in London for administrative tasks or to make phone calls. The work can be done from our office on a Thursday near Notting Hill/Holland Park or from home. If you would like to know more please contact [email protected] or 077141-33383. Thank you. Young Married Couples Group Are you a young married couple seeking to build friendships and desiring to connect with other young married couples? Well, a young married couples group is present in our parish. The purpose of the group is to offer support and foster friendship and connection among the many young married couples present in our parish. The ideal age range of the group is under 40. The group meets every month to socialize and foster communion and support. Among the different activities offered are meals together, trips out, games nights and social exercises. If you’re interested in attending, please email Steve and Annie Caprio at [email protected]. You can also join our Whatsapp group using the QR code below: Young Adult Group This is a group for people in their 20s and 30s and aims to build a community in the parish. More events will be coming soon. If there are any questions, please send us an email at: [email protected] or join our WhatsApp group using the QR code:  Welcome to all our Parishioners If you are new to the parish, please come and say hello and complete the new parishioner registration form which can be found on our website:  https://www.ourladyofvictories.net/parish-registrationfinancial-support.html Here you can also find further information on all our parish activities. Leaving a Legacy In the last year, the parish has received a number of legacies from parishioners who have remembered the work of the parish in their wills. Please pray for the repose of the souls of those parishioners. They will be remembered in our annual donors Mass. Please consider remembering the parish in your will. See the leaflets at the back of the Church or call 0207 798 9375 or email [email protected] 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 9am to1pm. 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 ARE LIVE-STREAMED FROM OUR WEBSITE.    Eucharistic Adoration and Confession On Wednesday's, after the 10am Mass, there is Eucharistic Adoration. This is an opportunity to spend some time in prayer before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. During that time a priest will also be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Adoration concludes at Noon with the prayer of the Angelus. Confessions are also available every Saturday from 5 pm to 5.45 pm.   Please do keep an eye on the website: www.ourladyofvictories.net which will be updated weekly.  Mgr Jim Curry & Fr Francis   Our Lady of Victories 16 Abingdon Road London W8 6AF 020 7937 4778  [email protected]