LENTEN FASTING AND THE NATURAL WORLD
Webmaster • March 23, 2026
The practice of fasting or doing something extra, in this time of Lent, can be ways of helping to address the damage of Climate Change:
Try a vegan or plant-based meal once a week! Explore tasty meat-free recipes. Industrial slaughtering of cows and pigs and chickens is also taking a toll on our planet. ‘JBS Meat Production’ supplies most of the met for the UK Supermarkets. This Company alone produces around half of the carbon emissions of fossil-fuel giants like ‘Shell’ or ‘BP’ and is driving Forest deforestation in the Amazon, by buying meat from animals which have grazed on deforested land.
Fast from the digital world! Set boundaries for your use of digital devices. Limit Netflix, Amazon, Emails and Social Media for yourself and your whole family.
Grow your own Veg!: Herbs, Salad, Radish can be grown in pots Save energy in your home: Draught-proof windows and doors; swop your bath for a quick shower; lights off when not needed.
Move your money: Could you divest from fossil-fuels and use a Bank that invests in Renewables?
Fast from Waste: Think about packaging for fuels - can you buy your food loose? Strive to use all the food you buy before it deteriorates.
Carbon-Fasting: Instead of jumping in the car, why not walk or take public transport!
2 (Maundy Thursday): 8.30pm Paul 3 (Good Friday): 3.00pm Jim; Passion Reading: Gerry(N), Mutsa(C) 4 (Easter Sunday Vigil): 8.00pm Lizzie(1), David (3)), Patricia (5), Lorenza (7/Epistle) 5 (Easter Sunday): 9am Phil 11am Mutsa 11/12: 5pm Maggie; 9am Mike; 11am Lisa 18/19: 5pm Collette; 9am Gerry; 11am Jim 25/26: 5pm Patricia; 9am Richard; 11am Paul
March 7/8: 5pm Mary; 9am Lisa; 11am Carolyn 14/15: 5pm Jim; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Giannina 21/22: 5pm Lesley; 9am Linda; 11am Regina 28/29: 5pm Patrick; 9am Paul; 11am Lizzie April 2 (Maundy Thursday): 8.30pm Lorenza, Patricia, Maggie 3 (Good Friday): 3.00pm Ross 4 (Easter Sunday Vigil): 8.00pm David, Marian, Angela 5 (Easter Sunday): 9.00am Phil, Margaret, Simone 11.00am Mary, Carolyn, Lisa(H) 11/12 : 5pm Jim; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Lesley, Paul Donovan, Linda(H) 18/19 : 5pm Regina; 9am Patrick; 11am Paul Mould, Lizzie, Patricia(H) 25/26 : 5pm Maggie; 9am Lorenza; 11am Ross, David, Marian(H) Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.
Deep in the human heart is a longing to be connected to others, to love and to be loved. I am leading this Workshop from 10.00am until 2.00pm on Saturday 11th July . The Workshop will help us to understand the reasons why we sometimes feel lonely and what a devastating effect Loneliness can have on us. I’ll suggest effective ways to ensure that your experience of Loneliness can actually become the means of finding deep, satisfying ways of being close to the Lord and to other people. The workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.
Anxiety and Worry often make life difficult for many people. I am leading this Workshop, from the evening of Friday 22nd May ( 6.30pm to 8.30pm) then continuing on Saturday 23rd May (11.00am TO 1.00pm). This Workshop will explain how Anxiety begins, how it can take hold of us and then spoil so much of our lives. I’ll also offer some very good, tried and tested ways in which people can escape from Worry or at the very least reduce it and begin to live much happier lives, feeling and monk . The Workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.
We will have a short Penance Service, followed by an opportunity for individual reconciliation with the Lord, on Tuesday 31st March at 6.00pm
May I invite all our present Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist who feel the Lord is calling them to this sacred ministry, to please join me for a time of prayer and reflection on Saturday 28th March from 10.30am until 12.00midday. We will begin in the church for 30 minutes of quiet personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament; then we will move into our Cafe for reflection on the privileged gift of this most sacred of ministries, including conversations about logistics. This short time is an opportunity to prepare hearts and minds to renew a commitment to Eucharistic Ministry during holy Mass on Maundy Thursday.
Dear Parents, please make sure that you and your children arrive early for Sunday holy Mass so that the children, at the beginning of holy Mass, may make their way into the sacristy with our Catechists, to begin their own special reflection on the Sunday Gospels.
An Intention for holy Mass is a specific prayer, often for a particular person or purpose, that a priest offers during the celebration of a holy Mass. It is the best way that we have to unite our lives, our hopes, our fears, our joys and our sorrows with the Lord Jesus. It is the best way possible, because every time holy Mass takes place, the Lord’s Death and Resurrection also takes place. A holy Mass Intention is a prayer asking that the Lord’s victory over sin and death be applied to the Intention. The Intention can be for those who are still living in this world or for those who have left this world. Anyone, of course, may request a holy Mass - In Thanksgiving, for a Birthday, for someone who has died, on the occasion of a special Anniversary, for someone who is unwell or for any other intention that we believe the good Lord wishes to hear and possibly to give us. Every holy Mass is the making present of the Lord offering his saving love to everyone, so every holy Mass is for everyone! However, sometimes we have specific Intentions that we may wish to mention to the Lord. A ‘Stipend’ or Offering for the holy Mass is not a fee! It is not ‘the cost of a holy Mass’! The holy Mass is so sacred, so full of the Lord’s presence and saving power that it is priceless! In fact, the Stipend is only a gesture of gratitude and care for the priest who celebrates the holy Mass for you. It is a way for supporting our priests who, although they do not receive salaries, still need personal funds to meet their own ‘costs of living.’ The Stipend suggested by the Archdiocese of Southwark Finance Committee is a minimum of £10 for each holy Mass. Of course, anyone who can’t afford a Stipend should still request a holy Mass Intention and I’m sure every priest would always be more than happy to celebrate holy Mass for someone in that situation. Here in our parish, please use the holy Mass Intention envelopes which you will find in the porch of the church. Please write the details of the Intention, a preferred date if required, enclose the Stipend, and let me have it directly or post it through the presbytery letterbox.
Please do your best to bring members of your family, your friends, neighbours and colleagues who normally have little, if any contact with our Catholic parish, to the Olde Forge Cafe. Please remember that those you bring with you DO NOT give a donation for their coffee and cake. Only us, who are regular members of our parish, are asked to give a donation, each time, to cover the cost of the Coffee machine, coffee beans, heat, light etc. Dear Bakers and those who provide milk, please remember to take your expenses from the donations received.