PILGRIMAGE 2025, THE HOLY YEAR: ROME, ASSISI AND SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO

Webmaster • December 22, 2024

Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a ‘Holy Year’. This means that everyone who visits Rome next year, who prays for the intentions of the Holy Father, celebrates holy Mass and Reconciliation, is promised many special blessings from the Lord. The tradition is that this happens only once every 25 years!


With the great help of Adrian and his ‘Northern Star’ Travel Agency, I have negotiated a superb deal to enable us to stay in the Eternal City of Rome next year. Not only that, but also to visit and stay in two other amazing locations, Assisi and its connection with St Francis and St.Clare, as well as visiting and staying in St Giovanni Rotondo where the holy priest who was given the wounds of Jesus (Stigmata)St Padre Pio, lived and ministered.


We will spend 3 nights in Rome, 3 nights in Assisi and 3 nights in San Giovanni Rotondo. A taste of what we will do: Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, holy Mass in St John Lateran Basilica, visit the Catacombs, Papal Audience, Tour of Rome - churches of St Mary Major, St Paul outside the Walls, Vatican Museums, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Colosseum, Navona Square etc, etc; holy Mass in Basilica of St Francis, holy Mass in the Basilica of St Clare, visit Porziuncola, San Damiano, Loreto; guided tour of San Giovanni, visit chapel of the Stigmata,Pietrelcina.


Lots of free time for relaxing, looking around, shopping


Excellent quality hotels for Dinner, Bed, Breakfast; all excursions, English-speaking guide; Outward flight: Gatwick-Rome(9.30am), Return flight: Bari-Gatwick(4.55pm); all airport duties and passenger taxes


28th April to 7th May 2025. A week after Easter. A perfect time to visit Rome and Italy when the climate is ideal, not too hot and not cold.


Cost: £1400pp all inclusive.


Rome and Italy will be very busy for the Holy Year and prices will soar! We are really blessed to have arranged such a great itinerary at such a relatively modest and very economic cost. I suspect that there will be lots of interest in this pilgrimage and it’s quite possible that we will have to limit numbers. I hope to offer this pilgrimage to various people and groups. If you are seriously interested, I suggest you contact me as soon as possible. I have Booking Forms available now.

‘DAY FOR LIFE’ RETIRING COLLECTION NEXT WEEKEND

By Webmaster • June 15, 2026
This is the day in the life of the Church, each year, dedicated to celebrating the sacredness of life. The proceeds of this Collection provide core funding to life-related activities supported by the Church.

THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION - SUNDAY 7TH FEBRUARY 2027

By Webmaster • June 15, 2026
On Sunday 7th February 2027, Bishop Gerard will be joining us for our 10.30am holy Mass. During that holy Mass, Bishop Gerard will celebrate the great Sacrament of Confirmation for us. Please would anyone who has not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation in her or his life, speak with me. This is a great opportunity to receive the gifts of God’s Holy Spirit in this Sacrament. The Holy Spirit comes upon us to give us gifts, like Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Self-Control, Perseverance, Wisdom, Generosity, Humility and Courage and many more. These are the gifts that we all need to live real, adult, mature lives of Faith in this world. We will shortly begin a series of meetings to help those who will be preparing to receive this Sacrament. Please let know in the next few weeks if you would like to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday 7th February next year, when Bishop Gerard visits us.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION ROTA

By Webmaster • June 14, 2026
June 6/7 : 5pm Jim; 9am Gaberielle; 11am Lorenza, David, Maggie(H) 13/14 : 5pm Regina; 9am Patrick; 11am Paul, Lizzie, Patricia(H) 20/ 21 : 5pm Marian; 9am Phil; 11am Angela, Margaret, Ross(H) 27/28: 5pm Simone; 9am Mary; 11am Lisa, Carolyn, Giannina(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.

DEALING WITH LONELINESS - 11TH JULY AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

By Webmaster • June 14, 2026
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.

WEEK DAY LECTORS

By WEBMASTER • June 14, 2026
Tue: Giannina Thu: Lorenza  Fri: Gaberielle

HOLY MASS INTENTION/STIPEND

By Webmaster • June 14, 2026
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.

OLDE FORGE CAFE - FREE COFFEE AND CAKE FOR OUR VISITORS

By Webmaster • June 14, 2026
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.

BEQUEST, IN A WILL

By Webmaster • June 14, 2026
It is wise to write a Will so that the resources you have when the time comes for you to leave this world, goes to the people and organisations you wish. May I suggest that you might consider leaving a Bequest in your will to our parish or to our diocese or to our priest as well as to other causes. A gift in your will can enable us to continue to help people to know the Lord Jesus and his saving love. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving behind.

PARISH FOOD BANK

By Webmaster • June 14, 2026
Our rota for the delivery of food to the Good Shepherd school in New Addington begins this week. Please find the rota below. The dates indicated are Thursdays during the school term. Please collect the two hessian bags of fruit on Thursdays from the porch of the presbytery between the hours of 8.30am and 2.30pm. Please then bring the fruit to the school in New Addington. The fruit could even be collected and delivered on Friday mornings too, if necessary. The address of the school is: 23, Dunley Drive New Addington CR0 0RG. The school is close to the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. JUNE 2026 4: Andrea 11: Paul Donovan 18: Patrick Fernandes 25: Ros

OLD FORGE CAFE BAKER’S AND HOST'S ROTA

By Webmaster • June 14, 2026
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA JUNE 2026 6: Mary Lawlor 13: Marian 20: Helen Mallows 27: Lorenza Please, if possible, could you provide enough cakes for the whole of each week. Thank you to everybody who is helping to provide cakes. To avoid having too many cakes, Coral mentioned to me that non-perishable cakes can be safely stored in the Cafe for a short while. When it is your turn to provide a non-perishable cake, please bring your cake to the Cafe a few days before the date of your turn. OLDE FORGE CAFE - HOSTS ROTA JUNE 2026 2: Marian, Jenny 6: Phil, Mary 7: Emmanuala, Patricia 9: David, Ross 13: Paul, Lizzie 14: Regina, Patrick 16: Maggie, Lorenza 20: Jim, Patricia 21: Collette, Giannina 23: David, Marian 27: Jenny, Mary 28: Emmanuala, Phil Please note that for each of the above dates when the Cafe is open, one of the two Hosts has been trained in the use of the new coffee machine. Please would that trained person be the only person operating the machine and also please train the other person in its use. Many thanks. Thank you to everybody who acts as a Host. If an unexpected emergency occurs on the date you are scheduled to be a Host, please don’t worry about the Cafe. No need to try to find someone to ‘stand in’ for you. There is no need whatsoever to ‘swop’ with someone! We are not a Business, having to stay open to make money! - we open when and if we can. We take this role of ‘Host’ as a Vocation from the Lord to be his Missionary and his Prophet. Actually, the Cafe has, at times, functioned well with just one Host. The success of our Evangelisation Cafe depends on us. The more we speak to others of our Cafe, inviting them to visit us, the more successful it will be. Please invite members of your families, your friends, your neighbours and colleagues. Please check when it is your turn to be a Host (or a Baker!). Please see this role as a Calling, a Vocation from the Lord which you are generously telling the Lord you will do”. Thank you so much for your trust in the good Lord