St Erconwalds,
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REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL
In this Sunday's Gospel passage, an unnamed man meets Jesus and asks what he must do to possess everlasting life. Jesus emphasises the true meaning of "treasures," not worldly goods but belonging entirely to God and God's Kingdom. Hearing the words of Jesus, though, the man goes away sad, preferring to hold on to his possessions and not leave them behind. We can hope that he eventually took to heart Jesus' teaching and became a follower of the Lord, who alone can satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart. For each of us, the way to eternal life is to follow Jesus without counting the cost, and it is to say to follow him unconditionally. Love of Our Lord is more significant than we can imagine or comprehend. He blesses us and our families and invites us with his words, "Come and follow me." Only Jesus can satisfy our deepest desires and needs. To follow him is to gain the greatest treasure in our life. With prayers, fr. Ruslan As we approach the dates of our Parish retreat, we may be asking ourselves, “what is the meaning of the word ‘retreat’?.” The first thing that comes to mind may be the military definition - to cease the battle, and to fall back. In fact, the word retreat comes from the Latin prefix re- and the verb trahere - meaning to draw back. In this sense, we could interpret our retreat as being a chance to take a step back from our usual routine and the noise and pressures of our everyday lives. It is a time for contemplation and a place for us to go to reset our spiritual selves in preparation for the season of Advent and the Year of Jubilee 2025, Pilgrims of Hope. Our retreat is an opportunity to look at the bigger picture of our lives. Our time is full of essential activities: work, school, hospital appointments, socialising, commuting. How often do we stop and think about our spiritual journey? For some, the answer to this is: quite often. For others it will be: almost never. Regardless of your answer, this retreat is an occasion for us all to come together in a symphony of prayer as Pope Francis says, to reset our spiritual batteries and to advance towards Christmas, having reflected on our relationships with God. YEAR OF PRAYER
We are reminded that this Year of Prayer, is not “a Year marked with particular initiatives; rather, it is a privileged time in which to rediscover the value of prayer and the need for daily prayer in our Christian life." We invite you to pray our parish prayer, that we now pray at the end of our weekend masses, at home and in your families. The Italian version is also provided if desired:
We shall be concluding the Year of Prayer in our parish in a very special way through a three day parish retreat (22-24 November), led by Transcend Ministries. It will be a time for personal and collective faith deepening and renewal. We urge you all to put the dates in your calendars and make every effort to come along. Preparation sessions and further information will be provided in the Autumn. If you’d like to be involved in any preparation or hospitality during the retreat, please contact Lucy Jardine at [email protected]. Thank you so much for all you support at our Spring Ball, where we managed to raise £12,000!
We serve the local community of Walton-on-Thames, bringing the good news of Christ. Pope Francis has invited us to learn again how to be ‘missionary disciples’, people on a journey, filled with the joy of the Gospel.
We welcome Catholics and non-Catholics alike and all those interested in learning more about our faith. |
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Service Times (please check newsletter for updates)
Weekday masses: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday - 9.30am Thursday No Mass We pray the rosary on Wednesdays after the 9.30am Mass. We pray Divine Mercy on Fridays after the 9.30am Mass. Adoration takes place on Wednesday mornings after the 9.30 Mass, and at 6.30pm. But we will NOT have evening Adoration during the summer. We will be back in September. The new proposed day for evening adoration is Tuesdays at 6.30pm followed by Mass at 7.30pm and NO morning Mass on Tuesdays. Reconciliation (Confession) Saturday mornings - pre-arrange with Fr Ruslan. |
Weekend masses:
Saturday Italian mass 4.45pm Vigil Saturday - 6pm Sunday Family mass - 9.15am Traditional mass - 11.15am Polish mass: First Sunday of the Month at 1pm Live streaming All masses and services are live streamed and are available to watch after. Life streaming enables us to: * Reach housebound parishioners to watch from home. * Others who do not attend to engage with acts of worship.
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This section is specifically for those in need of our prayers, whether they are sick, housebound or just in need of extra prayer. If you would like your name or someone you know to be added to the list, then please let the office know. If you are submitting on behalf of someone else, please get their permission first. If you are sick or unwell and would like only Fr Ruslan to know but not have your name in the newsletter just let us know and this can be accommodated.
Housebound? Click here for more information on how we can help. |
Aman Allos, Teresa Azouz, Roger Blishen, Christopher Clifford and Catherine Browle, Katherine Cawley, Trish Claxton,
Rose Collins, David Cox, Théresè Crumpler, James De Leons Hopkins, Maureen and Bill Dodds, Julia Donaldson, Mary Edenborough, June Ellis, Manuel and Jackie Faraldo, Michael and Cathy Flynn, Carole Frost, Carmen Galanty, Sophie Giannini, Franky Goes, Gloria Gowen, Ann Griffin, the Hansford family, Yvonne and Michael Johnson, Karen Lane, John Lydon, Rita McGloin, Oscar Menezes, Christian Misuraca, Sarah Mitchell, Coleen Murphy, Louise Nettleton, Arlo Nolan, Ben Piltcher, Shirley Rhodhes, Deborah Russell, Evie Sagun, Anna Sartori, Michael Spears, Michelle Thomas, Eileen White, Dee Wilson, Dina Yates. |
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Collection
YOUR EASTER AND CHRISTMAS OFFERINGS: Dear Parishioners, a gentle reminder that Parish priests do not get paid a salary and are remunerated from Mass stipends and from the Easter and Christmas Offerings. Easter offerings go to Fr Ruslan as your personal gift. If you are planning to donate via bank transfer, please use the ref Easter Offering or Christmas Offering. Thank you in advance for your generosity and God bless All money paid into the collection is used to pay to cover the parish's expenses. A parish priest is not paid a salary and is remunerated from mass stipends and from the Christmas and Easter Offerings Our challenge now is to grow our parish's financial income to support our parish priest, maintain our premises and resource the many activities of the parish. This can be achieved by more people giving and/or people giving more generously. Please consider what you can do to help. We have special funds for projects and maintenance. Any questions on gift aid or if you need a form please email Kevin Kilburn on [email protected] |
25Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, thank you very much for your generosity and support to the parish. I greatly appreciate all your help and financial contribution. May God bless you all!!!
Offertory Collection 30.06.24: £299.02 Standing Orders contributions for June: £4197.67 If you would like to donate online, please see the parish bank details:
Thank You! |
Give on line using the button at the top of the page. This site takes debit and credit cards and completes gift aid automatically for single or regular donations
You can give in person with cash, during Mass, and also by Credit/Debit card using our terminal DONA in church, or via the QR codes in the pews. Donations can be gift aided. Simply make the donation and fill in the gift aid form (only need to register once). If the form is completed future donations using the same card will be automatically gift aided complete with an email receipt.
You can give in person with cash, during Mass, and also by Credit/Debit card using our terminal DONA in church, or via the QR codes in the pews. Donations can be gift aided. Simply make the donation and fill in the gift aid form (only need to register once). If the form is completed future donations using the same card will be automatically gift aided complete with an email receipt.