Welcome to the Catholic Parish Communities of Ashby & Measham ololstcharles.blogspot.co.uk Father Colin Patey St Charles Borromeo Bosworth Road 01530 412237 Measham [email protected] DE12 7LQ @FatherColin1 Rev Deacon Andrew Martin

Our Lady of Lourdes Station Road Ashby-de-la-Zouch LE65 2GL

Secondary School Blessed Robert Sutton, Burton on Trent Mr M Cain 01283 749450

Primary School St Charles Borromeo Measham Mrs R Elmore 01530 270572

Baptism of the Lord — 10/11 January 2015 Ashby Sat 10 4.45pm 5.30pm Sun 11 10.00am Mon 12 9.30am Tue 13 9.30am Wed 14 9.30am Thu 15 9.30am Fri 16 9.30am Sat 17 4.45pm 5.30pm Sun 18 10.00am

Rotas

Exposition & Confessions (until 5.15pm) Mass for Mary McGinty RIP Mass for the People of the Parishes Mass for Frederick Adcock RIP Mass for Margaret McHugh RIP Mass for Joyce Foster RIP Mass for Election of new Bishop Mass for Ints of Masters & Macdonald families Exposition & Confessions (until 5.15pm) Mass for Kieran McDermott RIP Mass for the People of the Parishes

Measham Sat 3 6.45pm Mass for Howard Egan RIP Tue 13 9.30am Mass for the wellbeing of Mary Finch Sat 10 6.45pm Mass for Brendan Allister RIP This week: Fri: St Anthony (Abbot) — Abstinence from meat; Next Sunday: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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hrist is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptised; let us also go down with him, and rise with him. ohn is baptising when Jesus draws near. Perhaps he comes to sanctify his baptiser; certainly he comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; he who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water. he Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says: I ought to be baptised by

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Sheena & Vince Kevin & Rob Dennis

Sun Paul +

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Sun Rachel & Lewis

Tony & Una

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Ashby 214

Measham 26

Loose Plate

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Envelopes

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Attendance Offerings

you. He is the lamp in the presence of the sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner and future forerunner in the presence of him who has already come and is to come again. I ought to be baptised by you: we should also add, “and for you,” for John is to be baptised in blood, washed clean like Peter, not only by the washing of his feet. esus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens, like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as to an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honour to the body that is one with God. oday let us do honour to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of

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men, for whom his every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received — though not in its fullness — a ray of its splendour, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. St Gregory Nazienzen Please pray for a new Bishop of Nottingham: O God, eternal Shepherd, who govern your flock with unfailing care, grant in your boundless fatherly love a pastor for your Church in Nottingham who will please you by his holiness and to us show watchful care. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Advance notice — Confirmation 2015: The Sacrament of Confirmation will be administered at OLOL on Friday, 2nd October this year. We will need responsible adults to help lead groups to prepare our young people for this Sacrament. Support and materials will be provided. Please email Fr Colin if you would like to know more about this. Watch this space for more details. Yearbook: The 2015 Diocesan Yearbook is available at the back of both Churches, price £3. It’s a useful source of information on our diocese — strongly recommended. Thank you to all who prepared the Churches and contributed to our Christmas Liturgies in so many different ways. Father Colin thanks you for all your cards, gifts, and support, and for the most generous Christmas offering. This Year I gather that quite a number of parishioners have very significant wedding anniv ersaries. It must be unique for a parish to have a Deacon celebrating a Silver Wedding and priest celebrating a Ruby Wedding in the same year! But I am aware that we are not the only ones. Usually our Diocese has a special Mass to celebrate Marriage in the Cathedral, and I had hoped that those with special anniversaries this year might go together to this. Sadly, because we have no bishop this will not take place in 2015. I am wondering if we could have a special parish celebration of Marriage, later in the year. I think this would be especially appropriate this year, not only because of the number of special anniversaries in the parish, but also because the Church is thinking and praying a lot about this area in connection with the Synod on the Family in October 2015. If you have a ‘big’ anniversary this year, 25, 40, 50, 60, please could you let Father Colin know, ideally by email, including the date, and we will take it from there. This Sunday our programme for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion gets underway. There will be a special enrolment liturgy at the 10am Mass. After Mass, the children will have their first session in Church. It would be helpful if people would move to the crypt for a cuppa as soon as possible after Mass to leave the Church free for our children and their catechists. Pastoral Letter: This weekend, we have a pastoral letter from Mgr Thomas McGovern, Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Nottingham, concerning marriage and family life. The Bishops of England and Wales are inviting us to pray and reflect with them on the how the gift of marriage and family life and their place in the Church’s in advance of next October’s meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the vocation and mission of the family. To help us, they have produced The Call, the Journey and the Mission. You can find a link to this at ololstcharles.blogspot.co.uk. There are a few paper copies at the back for those who have no internet access. If you would like to share any reflections, please send them to Father David Palmer, Chair of the Marriage and Family Life Commission (The Presbytery, Lenton Boulevard, NOTTINGHAM, NG7 2BY; [email protected]), by Easter Sunday. St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Nottingham are seeking to appoint a School Business Manager - further details are available from the school. ( Tel: 0115 9155762 / [email protected]). The closing date for applications is 26th January 2015. Mothers Prayers: Our next meeting will take place on Monday 19th January at 7.30pm in Church. All ladies are most welcome to join us to pray not only for our children but for children throughout the world. This great feast of the Baptism of the Lord closes the Christmas Season and points us to the Season of Ordinary Time. We have been renewed in the story of the Incarnation of our God, who is now forever with us as a human being. And, now we move forward into Mark's Gospel to grow in our desire and ability to be more with him and like him, for others. The approach of Jesus for Baptism by John is a revelation of who Jesus is. This was the original feast of the Epiphany — the original manifestation or revelation of his coming, his mission. Eventually, the visitation by the magi, in Luke's Gospel, became the first manifestation of our Saviour to the Gentiles. But, for us today, in the midst of the many things going on in our lives, this day can reveal to us who Jesus is for us. Jesus does not need John's baptism of repentance for sin. Jesus chooses this baptism to be one with us. He becomes immersed in our reality. We know a similar meaning to the word “immersed” when we think of being immersed in a book or a project. We give ourselves completely to it. We almost can't think of anything else. At times, when we are completely immersed, it is as if there is no other reality. Jesus is immersed in the waters of the Jordan, muddied by our sins. By walking into that water, filled with all that was washed off of us, Jesus enacts his acceptance of his identity and mission. Because Jesus is immersed in us, and allows us to be immersed in him, our world can be transformed by the power of this communion. We will hear the cry of the poor, the sick, the sinner, as he does. We can become broken and given for others. We can immerse ourselves in the messy world we are called, by our sharing in his mission, to serve. Andy Alexander SJ

Refreshments: Coffee and tea are available in the crypt after the 10am Sunday Mass and the 9.30am Mass on Wednesdays at Ashby, and after the Saturday evening Mass at Measham on the first Saturday of each month. Please stay for a chat and an opportunity to meet fellow parishioners and visitors alike. New parishioners: If you have recently moved into our parish please put your name, address & contact details in the book on the table near the piety stall at the back of church or email Fr Colin: [email protected] The Ashby Foodbank: Donations of dried/canned items can be put in the foodbank box at the back of the church. They are dropped off at the foodbank depot on a regular basis. If you would like to know more or get involved please visit ashbyfoodbank.org.uk, contact The Ashby Food Bank at the Holy Trinity Parish Office, or speak to Jane Desjardins at church. We have received a letter in acknowledgement for our donations to the Foodbank. This is displayed on the noticeboard, and I have also posted it on ololstcharles.blogspot.co.uk Invitation to pray the Rosary: On Tuesday after the 9.30am Mass (about 10am) we pray the Rosary for priests and on Friday after the 9.30am Mass we pray the Rosary for peace. Please join us. St Charles Catholic Pre-School: To donate £2 towards the fundraising to replace our Pre-School PLEASE TEXT SCPS13 £2 TO 70070. If you would like more information please take a leaflet from the back of church. Please help to save this valuable asset to our community. Faith In Families: (Previously the Catholic Children’s Society): You can bring your boxes in as and when you like and leave them in the safe or at the back of church. I will then collect them when I am at church and return them to the back of church once they are empty. If anybody would like to have a box at home then please contact me (Amy Fearn 01283 210445)