Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 15.02.2026

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS

 Sun 15^th Feb​​

8.30am​ Cathy Walker, intentions

10am​ Elizabeth Mackessy, RIP

12noon​ Rose Marlow, RIP

Mon 16^th Feb        ​Feria

10am​ Severyn Lissowski

Tues 17^th Feb​ Feria

10am​ Zbyszek Nuckowski 

​Weds 18^th Feb     Ash Wednesday

10am           People of the Parish

​7.30pm​​​ A private intention

​Thurs 19^th Feb​     Lent Feria

10 am​ Julius and Sandra Lipner, intentions​

Fri 20^th Feb​ NO MASS

Sat 21^st Feb​​ First Sunday of Lent

5pm​ Noreen McGlynn, 1^st anniversary

Every Saturday: 10am – 10:30am - 4.30pm – 5pm: Confessions and Exposition

YOUR PRAYERS:

Let us keep in our prayers: Joan Gordon, Sanjuna Madonandi Kuniyil, Ben Galligan, Julius Lipner, David Ryan, Margaret Ryan, Michael O’Boy, Christina Cahill, Eric Nicholas Darwent, Therese Kemp, Jose Luis Pérez, Karina McKiernan, Jonathan Heller and Izabela Lissowska – all unwell at this time.  We also pray for: Elizabeth Mackessy, Rose Marlow and Noreen McGlynn whose anniversaries occur at this time or have died recently. May they Rest in Peace.

THE OFFERTORY

The offertory collection for week ending 8^th February was £639.49 and Contactless was

£137.18 January 2026 - Standing Orders were £4,841.00, Stripe Donations were £59.35 and Online donations were £100.00. Thank you for your generosity.

INCLUSIVE MASS AT ST MARY’S

St Mary’s warmly invites you to an Inclusive Mass for Children and Adults with Special Needs.

Who is it for?

Everyone is welcome — especially children and adults with learning disabilities, together with their families, friends, and carers.

When?

Saturday 28th February 2026 at 5pm

After Mass, refreshments will be served and there will be a relaxed opportunity to socialise and spend time together as a parish community.

We look forward to welcoming you.

NEW ROTAS FOR READERS AND EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS

The current rotas end on Sunday 22nd February and new rotas are soon about to be drawn up. The period of the new rotas will be from Sunday 1st March to Sunday 14th June, excluding Sunday 5th April, Easter Sunday, for which there will be special rotas along with those for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. If you wish to change the mass at which you normally serve or know that you will be unavailable for a particular day, please let Yvonne know by Monday 16th February.

ANNUAL MASS OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL, SATURDAY 23RD MAY 2026 AT 2.30 PM

The new Archbishop is inviting to this Mass all couples in the Diocese who are celebrating their 5th, 10th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th (and every year over 60) wedding anniversary of Catholic marriage in 2026.  If you are celebrating an anniversary, please e mail the following information to Yvonne in the parish office – finchleyeast@rcdow.org.uk Husband and wife’s names, wedding date, full postal address and contact e mail.  If you have no email, please provide a telephone number. Invitations will be sent directly to parishioners so please provide all the information requested.

THE 18^TH OF FEBRUARY IS ASH WEDNESDAY.

MASS TIMES: 10AM AND 7:30PM

“You may have noticed that every year, without fail, we line up to have ashes traced on our foreheads. It’s a curious little ritual when you think about it—dust smudged on our skin, right where everyone can see it. But throughout Scripture, ashes have always been a bold, outward sign of an inward turning of the heart.

Job sits in dust and ashes as he opens himself to God.

Jeremiah calls the people to roll in ashes as a sign of mourning.

Daniel prays with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

The king of Nineveh steps down from his throne and sits in ashes to seek mercy.

Ashes are never about theatrics. They’re about honesty. They say, “Lord, I’m ready to begin again.”

The early Christians understood this well. In fact, receiving ashes wasn’t limited to one day a year—after confession, it was common for the priest to mark a penitent with ashes as a sign of renewed direction. By the time of St. Gregory the Great, the Church had already woven this practice into the rhythm of Ash Wednesday, and in 1091 Pope Urban II encouraged the whole Church to embrace it.

And so here we are.

Ash Wednesday opens the door to Lent, and Lent opens the door to God. It’s a season that asks a simple but searching question: How available are you to the One who loves you? Twenty-five percent? Fifty? Seventy-five? Ninety-six point four?

Wherever you find yourself on that imaginary scale, Lent is God’s gentle invitation to increase your availability—to make a little more room, to turn your face a little more toward Him.

When John the Baptist began preaching, his first word was “Repent.” When Jesus began His public ministry, His first word was the same. Repentance isn’t a scolding. It isn’t shame. It’s simply the act of turning back toward God, the way a flower turns toward the sun.

And truthfully, we all need to turn back—many times a day. Not because we’re terrible, but because we’re human. And every time we turn, we discover that God has been waiting, patiently, joyfully, ready to walk with us again.

So, when those ashes touch your forehead, let them be more than a symbol. Let them be a beginning. Let them be your “yes” to becoming more available to God this Lent.”

Blessings, Fr Peter.