Third Sunday of Lent 08.03.2026
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MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS
Sun 8th Mar
8.30 am Matthew Karanji, RIP
10 am Michael Smith, RIP
12 noon Clara Fernandes, thanksgiving
Mon 9th Mar Lent Feria
10 am Deceased members of the Balguy and Sarthal families
Tues 10th Mar Lent Feria
10 am A private intention
Weds 11th Mar NO MASS
Thurs 12th Mar Lent Feria
10 am Kathleen Smith, RIP
Fri 13th Mar Lent Feria
10 am People of the Parish
Sat 14th Mar Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
5pm Renza and Gino Tomei, RIP
Every Saturday: 10am – 11am - 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: whose anniversaries occur at this time or have died recently. May they Rest in Peace.
THE OFFERTORY
The offertory collection for week ending 1st March was £980.50 and Contactless was £161.24
Standing Orders, Stripe and Online Donations will be communicated one month in arrears. Thank you for your generosity.
CAFOD – SECOND COLLECTION
At all Masses this weekend, there will be a second collection for CAFOD. There are still envelopes at the back of the church, available for you to take away and bring back next week. Many thanks for your support of this worthwhile cause.
PARISH COUNCIL
The Parish Council will meet on today Sunday 8th March at 4:30pm in the presbytery.
PARISH FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Parish Finance Committee will meet at 7:30pm on Tuesday 10th March in the presbytery.
CONFIRMATION COURSE 2026
A reminder that the Confirmation Course begins on Thursday 12th March at 7:30pm in the small hall.
BISHOP DOUGLASS SCHOOL – YEAR 7 SPACES
Bishop Douglass School are able to offer a small number of year 7 spaces to any parents or carers who have not secured a secondary school place for their child in September 2026, or are unhappy with their offer. The school’s bespoke and personalised Transition Programme ensures that all children feel confident to begin in September. This begins with a Welcome Event on Tuesday, 11th March from 4:15 pm. Any interested parents can sign up using this link, or can contact the school on admissions@bishopdouglass.barnet.sch.uk or phone 020 8444 5211 for further information.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES BOW LANE NURSERY PLACES AVAILABLE
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School and Nursery, Bow Lane, N12, still has spaces for the Nursery for the term after your child is 3 (by 31st August 2026). Please look at our website on www.olol.barnetsch.org.ukfor the application form or call the school on 0208 346 1681 to arrange a tour.
“At the well, the thirsty one gave drink to the thirsty.”
St. Ephrem the Syrian
ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR JOURNEY
Joe, Sofia, Jessie, Rosemary, Suzanne, Michael, Elsa, and Samuel have been walking a long and meaningful path since September, preparing with dedication and openness for their confirmation at the Easter Vigil on Saturday, 4th April. The Easter Vigil is already a profound celebration of new life and renewal, and their reception of the sacrament adds a special depth to it. Their catechist, John Coleby, has clearly accompanied them with care and commitment, helping them grow in understanding and faith throughout these months.
Why This Moment Matters
Confirmation marks a deepening of their relationship with God and the Church.
The Easter Vigil, with its themes of light, rebirth, and promise, is a powerful setting for such a step. The community’s prayers surround them with support, reminding them they’re not walking alone.
A Prayerful Reflection
May they be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, encouraged by the love of the community, and filled with peace as they approach Holy Saturday. And may John be blessed for his guidance and dedication.
LENT ACTIVITIES AT ST MARY’S
“FAITH SHARING GROUP” – Every Monday at 7:30pm in the Small Hall.
“Less of Me, More of Him: A Lenten Journey to Surrender” is a 6-week group journey where we will walk through the Stations of the Cross together, not simply to remember what Jesus endured, but to encounter who He is. As we reflect and surrender week by week, we will rediscover our identity in Christ and learn what it means to live truly rooted in Him. This group is led by Amanda Malandrino.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS – These will take place every Friday during Lent at 10:30am. Additional dates will be arranged for those who are unable to attend in the morning; parishioners are invited to let Fr Peter know if they would be interested in an alternative time.
CONFESSIONS – Throughout Lent (beginning next weekend), Confessions will be available every Saturday from 10am to 11am and again from 4:30pm to 5pm. During these times, there will also be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
“The Samaritan woman teaches us that no one is excluded from God’s mercy, and that each of us can become a missionary disciple.”
Pope Francis— General Audience, 2014
THIS YEAR’S ST MARY’s LENT APPEAL;
CLOTHING DRIVE IN AID OF “THE PASSAGE”
This lent our Parish charity project is a clothing collection in aid of ‘The Passage’, the homeless day centre founded in 1980 by Cardinal Basil Hume and The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. Based in Westminster it serves the needs of the homeless population with practical support guided by its Vincentian values of compassion, justice, respect and trust with the aim of preventing and ending homelessness.
Homeless individuals are identified on the street by outreach workers and directed towards The Passage Resource Centre where they are assigned a key worker who works with them on their housing situation, routes into employment, immigration support and whatever practical support is needed. The centre also provides two hot meals a day, showers, laundry facilities, health services and a clothing store where users can get a change of clothes.
Often the shelves in the clothing store are quite bare. Most clients at The Passage are men so men’s clothes are always in demand. This lent we want to collect good quality men’s clothing to donate to the clothing store. Clothing identified as particularly needed are men’s trainers, trousers, jeans and joggers, coats and underwear (which must be brand new). There are posters at the back of the church and a leaflet available to take home that have a QR code which takes you to the full list of items accepted.
ON BEHALF OF THE BISHOP’S CONFERENCE, BISHOP BOSCO MACDONALD, BISHOP OF CLIFTON,
HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT REGARDING THE WAR IN IRAN:
“The widening war involving Iran is a grave cause of sorrow and alarm. After the long agony of Ukraine and the appalling suffering in Gaza, the world now faces another conflict whose consequences are unpredictable, and whose cost is already being paid first by ordinary people.
Pope Leo XIV has spoken with urgency, warning of “a tragedy of enormous proportions” and appealing for an end to the “spiral of violence” before it becomes “an irreparable abyss.” He reminded the world that stability and peace are not achieved through threats, nor through the use of weapons that sow destruction and death, but through responsible dialogue. I echo the Holy Father’s appeal with all my heart.
Catholic teaching on war does not pretend the world is simple, but it does insist on the protection of the innocent, and on moral boundaries that cannot be crossed, even in times of fear and anger. Whatever arguments are made between governments, civilians must never be treated as instruments, or made to carry the punishment of decisions they did not take. We pray for leaders to have the courage to step back from escalation, for negotiators to find a path that does not humiliate, and for the clamour of weapons to give way to the patient work of dialogue, so that peace, once lost, may be found again.”
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