St Helen's Catholic Church

Westcliff-on-sea, Essex

 
 

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Our Lady Help of Christians and St. Helen

 

Welcome

The parish of Our Lady Help of Christians & St Helen exists:

  1. To foster and nurture Gods love and our relationship with Him, individually and as a parish community

  2. To live as the family of God, in one united heart, showing our love through the reconciliation of our differences. Celebrating the diversity of our gifts and encouraging one another to respond to Gods will, therefore building His kingdom on earth.

  3. By the love that we show for one another we act as witnesses to Christ, extending God’s love to those around us so that others may come to know and experience the love of God through the risen Lord Jesus.

The Pope’s Prayer for Families

 Lord God, from you every family in Heaven and on earth takes its name. Father, you are love and life.

Through your Son, Jesus Christ, born of woman, and through the Holy Spirit, fountain of Divine Charity, grant that each family on earth may become for each successive generation a true shrine of life and love.

 Grant that your grace may guide the thoughts and actions of husbands and wives for the good of their families and of all the families in the world.

 Grant that the young may find in the family solid support for their human dignity and for their growth in truth and love.

 Grant that love, strengthened by the grace of the sacrament of marriage, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass.

 Through the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that the Church may fruitfully carry out her worldwide mission in the family and through the family through Christ our Lord who is the Way, the Truth and the Life for ever and ever Amen

 

Scripture reflection  by Fr Adrian Graffy.

 

The story of Jesus’ visit to Nazareth, which we began, reading last week, is placed by Luke at the very start of Jesus’ ministry. The people are delighted by the ‘gracious words’, literally ‘the words of grace’, which he spoke. Quite suddenly, the atmosphere changes, and Jesus challenges the people’s expectations. He knows that their approval is superficial. Prophets are generally rejected by their own.
Jesus illustrates this by referring to the two Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Elisha. Elijah encountered persecution in Israel and both prophets performed mighty works for those who were not Jews. Jesus stresses that the healing mercy of God is for all. The people of Nazareth react in annoyance, reject their own prophet and threaten physical violence.
Luke anticipates here the different reactions to the preaching of Jesus found in the rest of the gospel. Acceptance, rejection and violence will all be present.

What is my reaction to the preaching of Jesus?
Have I ever experienced being ‘a prophet rejected by his own people’?
We ask that Jesus’ words of grace will heal all bitterness and resentment.
We ask that we ourselves may be ‘good news’ to the stranger.

 

 

 

Contact

Fr. Joseph Whisstock

27 Milton Road
WESTCLIFF-ON-SEA
Essex SS0 7JP
 
Telephone 01702 342324
Fax 01702 352686

Contact us online
 

Mass Times and Intentions

 

Sun 31st Jan 4th Sunday of the Year

9.30 am    All Parishioners

11.15am   Nancy Kelly RIP

6pm     Secular Clergy New Common Fund deceased Members

Mon 1st Feb   (Adoration Chapel)

9am   Marabin Jackson    RIP

Tues 2nd Feb The Presentation of the Lord (In Church)    

9am      Kathleen Thorogood   RIP

Weds 3rd Feb    St Anne Line,M

10am   Mass @ Nazareth House

1pm     Word & Communion 

Thurs 4th Feb    

10am-        Mass @ Nazareth House

10.30 am   Word & Communion

Fri 5th Feb    St Agatha, V.M. (In the Church)

7.30pm   Deceased Members of Gibson & Patterson Families

Sat 6th Feb    Ss Paul Miki and Companions, Mm

10.30am   F.I.H.M (Family of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

Sunday 7th Feb   5th  Sunday of the Year

9.30 am       Parishioners

11.15 am      CWL Ints

6pm   Secular Clergy New Common Fund deceased Members

 

 

In The Diary this Week:

Mon 1st Feb: Friendship Club 2pm in the hall, Praise & Worship 7.30pm in the Church

 Finance meeting 7.30pm in the Presbytery

 1st Holy Communion Catechists 7.30pm

Thurs 4th Feb: 1st Holy Communion 5.30pm

Fri 5th Feb: 7.30pm Mass + Meeting for Eucharistic ministers (Church) details below.

Sun 7th Feb: 9.30 Mass (World Mass)

2pm SVP Dinner in the Hall.

 

St Helen's covenant with the poor

 

Yellow Buckets for the Homeless Jan & Feb:  Warm hats, scarves, gloves, socks and tinned food

 

This site is still being developed and new pages  and content will be added over the next few weeks - hopefully! If you have any ideas for the site, want to contribute some content or just want to comment on what has been done so far then let me know

  Site last updated -02 February 2010