ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES of WALSALL St. Mary's, St
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Second Sunday of Easter 11th April 2021 Psalter Week II ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF WALSALL St. Mary’s, St. Patrick’s & St. Thomas of Canterbury 62+ Diocese of Birmingham Vocationists www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk www.vocationist.org Registered Charity No.234216 Registered Charity No. 1135796 Parish Priest: Fr. Jobin Kollappallil, SDV St. Thomas of Canterbury: Priest in Charge: Assistant Parish Priest: Fr. Rionelle Hinampas, SDV Fr. Christogonus SDV, St. Patrick’s: Fr. Roberto Ciardo, SDV Brothers: Edmar, SDV, Efren, SDV Manor Hospital RC Chaplain: Fr. Jobin Kollappallil, SDV Venerable Fr. Ignatius Spencer Venerable Fr. Ignatius Spencer, C.P. was born George Spencer on the year 1799 (21 December 1799, based on another source) and was the youngest son of the eight children of the Earl Spencer, First Lord of the Admirality. He was educated at Eton College then later went up to Trinity College in Cambridge, where he studied and read French, Italian, Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages. In the year 1824, Fr. Ignatius who was then named George received ‘Priest’s Orders’ and then the following year he became the Rector of Brington. After a deep reflective period, he decided to become a Roman Catholic. In line with the said ordeal and quest, his spiritual journey brought him to Rome in order to study for the Catholic priesthood and after he was ordained as a Catholic priest on the year 1832. Within a few days, he was appointed as an Assistant Priest or Parochial Vicar to Rev. Fr. Francis Martyn herebe at St. Mary’s the Mount Walsall. He worked hand and hand with Fr. Francis by helping the Catholics and the poor coming from the borough of Walsall. Furthermore, he also administered to the nearby towns of West Bromwich, Dudley and Tipton. Fr. George Spencer stayed at the Mount for a short time, however, he continued his good works in the Black Country. In the year 1846, Fr. George Spencer entered the Passionist Congregation then in becoming a member he chose as his religious name Ignatius of St. Paul. Thus, it is the beginning of knowing him as Fr. Ignatius Spencer, CP. As a Passionist, Fr. Ignatius started his pastoral work straight away by helping the victims of the Irish potato famine at the workhouse in Stone, Staffordshire. Fr. Ignatius believed in encouraging Catholics in Ireland and Europe to pray for the conversion of England. He gave sermons and lectures on the said subject. With an evangelical fervour, Fr. Ignatius preached throughout the country about the power of the crucifix and a Crusade of Prayer for the conversion of England. Fr. Lodge CP pointed out in his booklet, “Ignatius Spencer” published by the CTS, that Ignatius was “A man on fire with a seed for the love of England, an England which would be returned one day to the Catholic Faith.” Fr. Ignatius continued his good works up to 1864 (1 October 1864) when he died worn out by hard work. Fr. Ignatius believed that “Union with the will of God prepares us for eternity, and the best we can do is to entrust ourselves totally into the hands of God.” During his lifetime he was known for holiness and great devotion to a life of prayer and devotion to the word and service to others. In March 2007, the Catholic Church announced that the first stage of Spencer's cause for beatification had been completed and that all the necessary documents had been forwarded to Rome. On 20 February 2021, Fr. Ignatius Spencer was formally declared "Venerable" by Pope Francis. Since February 2021, Fr. Ignatius Spencer has been in line for beatification, the third of "four steps of the path to canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church": Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed and Saint. The first step is based on the competence and judgment of the local diocese. The next three steps require formal recognition by Vatican authorities (i.e., the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the pope), with two different miracles (for beatification and sainthood) attributed to his intercession. God willing, we might have a Saint who started his journey at St. Mary’s the Mount, Walsall and so we all could rejoice in having a “Black Country Saint”. (Adapted from an article written by Mr. Michael Doyle, one of our parishioners here at St. Mary’s the Mount Walsall, on the Newspaper “Catholic Today” dated March 2015. Text in italics taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_Spencer ). Second Sunday of Easter 11th April 2021 Psalter Week II INFORMATION ➢ Parish Contributions: Last Sunday Offertory: Standing Order: £805; Counting: This Sunday - Team A, Next Sunday - Team B. We would like to thank everyone for your generous donation for the clergy of this parish on Easter Sunday. ➢ Offertory Envelopes: The new weekly numbered offertory envelopes are available at the back of church for the new tax year. You can start using these from the weekend of Sunday 11th April. Please note that some envelope numbers have been reallocated, which means that you may not have the same envelope number as in previous years. Please do not use envelopes from previous years as your donation may not be allocated correctly and may result in an incorrect claim. Please dispose any unused envelopes from previous years. ➢ Gift Aid: Please remember to let the Gift Aid Co-Ordinator know if you move address or if you cease to become a taxpayer. For those of you who do pay tax, but have not registered for Gift Aid, you can do so by completing a declaration form. Through Gift Aid, the parish receives an additional 25% of your donation through the rebate from the government scheme. (David Dilkes: Gift Aid Coordinator - [email protected]) ➢ Holy Mass, Baptisms, Funerals, & Weddings: Our church is open for Holy Masses & funerals. As per the government guidelines, baptisms and weddings are paused until further notice. We are operating a booking system for weekend Masses; you will be able to make a booking online or by telephone. All Masses will continue to be live streamed for the foreseeable future. ➢ Divine Mercy Sunday: This Sunday, 11th April, is the Divine Mercy Sunday. We shall conclude the Divine Mercy Novena with Adoration and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm on Sunday. Food Bank: Thanks again for your continued support of our food bank. At the moment, we are short of tinned vegetables (carrots, peas, potatoes), tinned fruit, biscuits, long life juice, UHT milk, and toilet paper. If you are able to donate, please leave items in the basket in the lobby at Church. We are continuing to support 3 families at the moment, but if you know of another family in need who would welcome support from our SVP Group, please contact Father Jobin. ➢ CAFOD Walk for Water. Our Walk for Water during Lent is now complete. Our team had 9 members and they are all enjoying a well-earned rest! Although the walking has finished, you are still able to donate at https://www.justgiving.com/team/st-marys-the-mount-cafod-lent-appeal. So far, our parish has raised £2694 for the CAFOD Walk for Water Appeal, which means that we are 14th on the national list of Top Fundraising teams. Well done to all the walkers and thank you to all those who have kindly donated to this worthy cause. Our Lent Fast Day Collection raised a further £692, so our total donation to CAFOD this Lent is £3386. ➢ Loose Change Jar Return: Our Lent is now over, and it is time for us to return those Loose Change Jars for the evangelisation ministry through ‘Alive’. Many thanks for your valuable contributions. ➢ RIP: Let us pray for the soul of Philip Marston who passed away on 18th of March 2021. His funeral will be in our church on 14th April 2021 at 10.30am followed by a burial at Streetly Cemetery. ➢ RIP: Let us pray for the soul of Lee Joseph Donnelly who died on 7th March 2021. His funeral will be at our church on Tuesday 20th April at 10:00am followed by a burial at Willenhall Lawn Cemetery. Pope Francis’s Prayer Intention for April: Fundamental Rights We pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis. Pray for the candidates for sacraments on Pentecost Sunday ➢ Let us continue to pray for Jessica Moore, Megan Adams, and Chelsea Ngwashi as they continue their preparations to receive Sacraments of Initiation on May 23, Pentecost Sunday. RESERVING YOUR SEAT FOR WEEKEND MASSES Telephone Booking Times: Telephone: 01922 622 633 (Ext 1) Wednesday: 10am – 12 noon, Thursday: 5pm – 7pm, Friday: 5pm – 7pm Online Reservation: You can reserve your seat online for Mass through the parish website: www.stmarysthemount.co.uk 2 Second Sunday of Easter 11th April 2021 Psalter Week II Prayer for Vocations Divine Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father and Mary Immaculate, grant us and all the faithful true generosity in following your call and bestow on us the grace of your Holy Spirit to persevere in overcoming all obstacles to our vocations. Give the church in our Diocese and throughout the world many holy priests, fervent religious and committed lay people. Through the intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, all the Angels, Blessed Justin and all Saints, we humbly ask you to hear our prayers and multiply the ministries by which we may serve You and one another in faith and love. Amen. Hail Mary….. Prayer after Communion “O my God and my all, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, may your will be done, your love reign, your glory shine always more in me and in everyone as in yourself, O my God and my all.” Bl.