Holy Innocents'
Roman Catholic Church, Orpington

Recent news and comment from the Parish:-

{Recent items that have been removed from this page can be found on
the Latest news Archive page.}

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Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
May 16th -24th 2010

Holy Innocents' Parish Priest Fr Victor, parishioners, family and friends.

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Farewell to Charlon Muscat from the Archdioces of Malta.

Charlon is leaving Holy Innocents' in less than a week's time.
Charlon begins his 3 yr Theology course in Malta in September.
We hope he will remember his experience of Holy Innocents' as a time of happiness and fulfillment.

Charlon will certainly be remembered with affection by parishioners.
We thank him for his Ministry, his friendship, his art work and his caring for us. He leaves with our best wishes and prayers for his training and please God his eventual Ordination.
We sincerely hope he will return to us often.

A tribute to Charlon...see link to PDF Quo Vadis Charlon?

Index:

1. Pelegrinatio group photos..

2. Art in Worship Workshop Saturday10th July

3. Consolation group annual dinner for the recently bereaved. Sunday 11th July

4. Concerning Holy Days of the Lord, any Missals or Mass books, such as those in Holy Innocents', printed before 2006 are not-up-to-date with current Church practice in England & Wales.

5. Pregnant and worried? The Good Counsel Network's new website

6. Tools With a Mission: Turn Old into New, (not rusty or with woodworm.)

7. Re-invigorate the Fire Within:- introduced by Kenneth Chan

8. Pondering the Word: Introduced by Ron and Liz Munro. 

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1. Pelegrinatio group photos.

 

 

 

 

Like Jesus sent out the 72, so 11 Pelegrinatio Pro Christi members of the legion of Mary, two from Scotland and 9 from Ireland, were sent out to homes in the parish. Lapsed Catholics were among those visited.A very prayerful experience for the parish and the 1,600 homes the group visited in just 6 days. Father Victor was presented with a picture of the Pieta.
We thank the group for their presence and inspiration.

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2. Art in Worship ...Worship through the Arts.
Charlon and the Reach group prepared an afternoon of prayer and art and using a Gospel reading of the Holy Spirit which told of enabling the Apostles to speak in tongues.

Following this 2hrs was spent by participants creating art, poems and photos with a message. All very lovely pieces with different themes, though the inspiration through prayer and the Gospels was the same for all. The Holy Spirit moves each individual in varying ways to produce Art with a message in Worship.
Some examples.....

 

These beautiful art works are but a few of many. There will be a chance to view these over the next few weeks.

Charlon prepared the programme. see link Art in Worship Heart unto Heart event.pdf

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3. Consolation group annual dinner for the recently bereaved Sunday 11th July

A lovely meal was provided by the consolation group for those recently bereaved.
This group seeks to support those who have lost a loved one. See its parish group page for more inormation. Fr Victor and Charlon were amongst those who supplied some delelectable delicious delights.

For details of courses for those suffering from the pain of loss see Link...Parish Group: Consolation

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4. Concerning Holy Days of the Lord, any Missals or Mass books, such as those in Holy Innocents', printed before 2006 are not-up-to-date with current Church practice in England & Wales.

Current Diaries are often printed with some Holy days still on a Thursday ...because they still are in some parts of the world, but not here in sunny ole England and Wales.

I hope the following clarifies the position.....this can be found in the 2010 Southwark Directory, page 150...with a few explanatory bits from me!

In 2006 the Bishop’s conference of England and Wales with the approval of the Holy See on 13th July 2006, decreed that with effect from the first Sunday of Advent 2006 three of the present (in 2006) Holy days of Obligation which are Solemnities of the Lord are transferred to Sunday.
This means that the Epiphany, the Ascension of the Lord and Corpus Christi are celebrated on a Sunday.
(The 7th Sunday of Easter is no longer celebrated as such, as this has been replaced by the Ascension.)
 
Other Holidays of Obligation
The current practice is that Christmas Day, the Apostles Peter & Paul, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and All Saints will continue as at present....on the correct dates.
Please note: With the exception of Christmas Day, the Discipline in England & Wales is that when these days fall on a Saturday or Monday they are transferred to the Sunday.

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5. Pregnant and worried? The Good Counsel Network has a new website at www.goodcounselnetwork.com and a new Blog at http://Mariastopsabortion.blogspot.com
Both will carry links to Help and Support for Pregnant Women as well as up
to date information about their work and also about current pro-life issues.

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6. Tools With a Mission: Sending Tools across the world....See more and which tools are required
via link Tools with a mission

Tools with a Mission enables people to earn a living and to support themselves.
In many countries of the world people have few skills, little education and no means of earning a living.
A switch from aid dependency to self sufficiency is impossible without help.
Unwanted tools accepted and these are refurbished, then sent to third world countries.
Please NOT rusty or with woodworm.

Contact Ron or Liz Munro who will arrange collection. Ron & LIz Munro

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7. Re-invigorate the Fire Within:- introduced by Kenneth Chan

Simple Spiritual Exercise Do you want to re-invigorate your spiritual life? 
Let us go forth with a simple and manageable spiritual exercise that can also build communities within the parish.  Interested?  
If you require more information please call Ken Chan on 01689-837255.
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8. Pondering the Word: Introduced by Ron and Liz Munro. 

We found these sessions so interesting that we would like to share our experience with you. Pondering the Word may be more familiar to you by its Latin name of Lectio Divina.

At Mass, the Liturgy of the Word usually consists of three bible readings and a psalm, but little time is allowed for reflection. In the homily the Word is broken open and the common theme is explored so that its message can be examined. Sometimes we might find this a rather intellectual exercise or just too much to focus on.

Lectio Divina, in contrast to Bible study, requires us to sit quietly with a calm and open mind and to listen to a passage from the scriptures. After a short period of silence, the text is read again by a different person. When a word or phrase catches the imagination, it is held in mind; pondered and savoured, allowing God to speak to us in a very personal way.

Whilst this is something we can do on our own, it can be more enriching to ponder the Word in fellowship with companions and to share with one another the way these encounters with God affect our lives. To encourage this, it is hoped that a few house groups might be arranged throughout the parish in the coming year.

There are NO sessions during the month of August.

The sessions will be weekly from September to Christmas and reviewed after that.

The next session is on Monday 6th September at 7.45pm & will last about one hour.

The session will be in Fr. Victor's sitting room, though we should point out that he won’t be there.

To learn more about Lectio Divina visit Pondering the Word

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