MESSAGE ON THE 22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YR A)
Friday 28th August 2026
My dear people,
The preparations for the visit of the pericardium of Saint Carlo Acutis are going well. We hope to advertise all the activities and opportunities for veneration of the relics as well as times of the Solemn Blessing with the relics next weekend. May I ask you to start thinking about the possibility of coming to spend one hour with the relic overnight from 10th October to 11th October this year. The relic will arrive at 8am on Saturday 10th October and will leave the parish at 5pm on 11th October. We are very close to publishing the timetable for the time the relic of Saint Carlo will be with us.
This weekend we continue to accompany and pray for our younger parishioners who will receive Holy Communion for the first time. This weekend, younger parishioners who do not attend the catholic primary schools within the parish will receive Holy Communion for the first time. Let us pray that, as they go through this next step in their Christian initiation, their relationship with our Lord will be deepened, and their friendship with him awakened.
Also, on Sunday 16th August, younger parishioners who do not attend the parish catholic primary schools were confirmed by Bishop Martin Ashe, the Auxiliary Bishop for the Western Region. I invite you to continue to pray for these younger parishioners of ours that, in confirming their faith, the Holy Spirit will fill them with gentle promptings to always stay close to our Lord. We also thank Bishop Ashe for his generosity in giving his time to confirm them.
This evening, we will continue the Vigil of Prayers for the reparation of all the harms caused by sin. As we know, the Church has had this custom for many years and it is indeed important to pray that the damage caused by sin be repaired. This year we pray particularly in response to the appeal made by Our Lady when she appeared in 1925 in Pontevedra to St Lucia who had preciously witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima. We will start with Mass at 7pm. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed from 7:30pm until Benediction at 11:50pm. The Sacrament of Confession will be available during the time of Exposition. There will also be prayers from 7:30pm until Benediction.
On Monday evening 31st August, we will hold our monthly Ablaze Women’s Group. It will start at 7pm and end at 9pm. A place for prayer, scriptural reflection, adoration, guest speakers, small group sharing and fellowship will be the focus of the ministry. All women are cordially invited to attend.
We continue turning to our patron saint and we ask for her intercession.
St Catherine of Siena, Pray for us.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Fr Richard Rosse PP