Third Sunday of Lent

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The Offertory: Part 3 Dear parishioners and friends, Some might wonder what the offertory procession is for, especially if it is optional and ‘only makes Mass longer’. The key word to understand this re-introduction is participation. While we must be careful not to have a narrow view of participation limited to including only those who ‘do things’ at Mass, e.g. readers and servers. There is a wider sense of participation in which those attending Mass are present, body, soul, and mind. They are to be praying, engaging with the Mass by its words, postures, and gestures.   In the past the people participating at Mass supplied the bread and wine. More commonly today, the offering of financial resources is equated to the bringing of bread and wine, as if the faithful are responsible for bringing it along. At some Masses the priest uses a very large host which breaks into around 25 pieces. Again, this has rich symbolism of ‘unity of all’ and the ‘sign of charity’. ‘The natural, the practical, the symbolic, and the spiritual are all inextricably linked in this most powerful symbol. Just as many grains of wheat are ground, kneaded, and baked together to become one loaf, which is then broken and shared out among many to bring them into one table-fellowship, so those gathered are made one body in the one bread of life that is Christ (cf. 1 Cor 10:17)’. (Let Us Pray: A Guide to the Rubrics of Sunday Mass by Paul Turner). Congratulations to Mark and Elaine Dennison who celebrate 50 years of marriage.  They wed here in Our Lady of Victories on the 2 March 1974. Young Adults LENT RETREAT DAY with the Assumption Sisters & Fathers on Saturday 16th March 2024 11am – 7pm. Venue: the Assumption Priory, Victoria Park Square, London E2 9PB (closest tube station: Bethnal Green). Programme: including talks • prayer, adoration and confessions • Stations of the Cross • faith sharing • Mass and social time. Donations only.   Register by emailing to: [email protected] The Catholic Union Of Great Britain Sometime this year there will be a General Election, and we want to be able to respond in a meaningful and helpful way as part of the national campaign, whenever the election is called. To inform our work during this crucial election year, we have launched a survey to give people the chance to have their say on what matters most of them. We want to make sure that our work is focused on those areas which lay Catholics care most about and where we can have the greatest impact. I strongly encourage you to take part. Follow the link: https://catholicunion.org.uk/2024/02/election-survey/ Rediscover Your Marriage – Retrouvaille offers you the chance to rediscover yourself, your spouse, and a loving relationship in your marriage. 10s of 1000s headed for divorce have successfully saved their marriages by attending and using the tools provided. There is no group therapy or group work. The next programme commences with a weekend in Welwyn Garden City on 14-16 June 2024. Call or text 07887 296983 or 07973 380443, email [email protected] - or visit www.retrouvaille.org.uk Friday 8th March - Day of prayer for the Holy Land We join Cardinal Nichols in his request for special prayers to be said on March 8th for the Holy Land. The Stations of the Cross at 6.30pm will be offered for this intention. St John Passion As part of our Lenten devotions, Westminster Cathedral Choir will perform Johann Sebastian Bach's retelling of St John Passion. The event will take place on Thursday 14th March 2024 at 7.30pm at Westminster Cathedral. J.S. Bach's setting of the Passion story was first performed in 1724 and has since become a popular staple of the season of Lent. This is a wonderful chance to hear the Cathedral’s superb choir performing one of the greatest pieces of Easter music ever written. Discounted tickets are available at the following link, using the password  below. https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/1F00602BD7A81B4F?did=sjp30 Password: SJP30 St Patrick’s Night Party - FHL Kensington sponsored by Rickman Properties. On Saturday 16 March at 7pm, at Our Lady of Victories Church Kensington High Street W8. Live music with Sean Brady, Irish Dance display, Open buffet, Guiness and lots more. For tickets (£25), contact [email protected] or call 0207 937 4778/07746 847 126. You are invited to attend Mass in honour of St Patrick beforehand at 6.00pm. 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). RESONATE Talk Series, Jubilee 2025– Pilgrims of Hope  “Like a flame my hope is burning, May my song arise to you” Prepare for the Jubilee journeying through the ‘Our Father’ Fr Ivano Millico will hold 8 sessions at Vaughan House, 46 Francis Street, Victoria starting 28th February 7pm-9pm. Sign up to attend at youth.rcdow.org.uk/events or email [email protected] See flyer here for more details. 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. World Premiere Concert - Belshazzar’s Feast Saturday, March 9, 2024 7:30 PM  - 9:30 PM Our Lady of Victories Church, Kensington Voce Chamber Choir & Suzi Digby OBE give the world premiere of their newly commissioned arrangement of William Walton’s masterpiece Belshazzar’s Feast.  For this unique performance, we are joined at the Grand Organ by David Briggs—who has arranged this cantata for choir and organ, and baritone Sir Willard White. https://www.vocechamberchoir.org.uk/concerts 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]