The Season of Lent

Ash Wednesday (click here for Mass times around the Colleges). Mass at Newman House 12.30, 5.30 (celebrated by Bishop Alan Hopes) & 9pm.

Stations of the Cross: Fridays at 6pm. Led by the residents of Newman House.

Confessions: Wednesdays 4.15-5.15pm, on call, or by appointment.

The Chapel is open all day, every day, for personal prayer. Why not take the opportunity to give an extra regular time in prayer each day.

Resources: Formation

 Message of the Holy Father for Lent 2009 (new window).

 Meditations & Readings for Lent & Holy Week (new window).

Resources for Prayer

Pray as you Go -  daily meditations and prayers for every day.

Universalis - The Prayer of the Church online for every day of the Liturgical Year.

Almsgiving

All money collected for Lenten Alms this year will be given to the Diocese of Westminster's Lenten Alms Appeal, shared between two causes:

The St John Southworth Fund The St John Southworth Fund is a grant-giving scheme created from existing legacies and trusts within the Diocese, some dating back to the 1850s. Its overall purpose is to assist those who are homeless, migrants and refugees, youth education, disability support, pastoral support for the elderly, children and various other projects. Since its launch in December 2007 it has provided funding towards 45 projects and 5 individuals throughout Greater London.  The dynamic nature of the Fund enables it to be flexible in responding to the needs by distributing funds where the need appears to be most acute. Some parishes have already contributed directly to the Fund via ‘poor box’ donations. As people begin to feel the full impact of the current economic downturn, the Fund hopes its capacity will grow to address this current need.  Parishes are invited to support this important and dynamic Fund by contributing to the Lenten Alms appeal this year. Further information about the fund is available at www.rcdow.org.uk/pastoralaffairs.

The School Building Projects, Bangladesh  Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries. Poverty is deep and widespread; almost half of the population lives on less than one dollar a day.  Its people are crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal and all too often we hear about Bangladesh in the media only when floodwaters are rising and people’s lives are at risk. The Catholic Church in Bangladesh, while small (312,000 out of a population of 150 million people), has been actively involved in education since 1853 when the Holy Cross Fathers and Sisters arrived and built the first Catholic School in Chittagong and then in Dhaka. Over 80% of the student population in our schools is Muslim and Hindu which in itself is a valuable learning experience for students as they come to appreciate the importance and beauty of peaceful coexistence and harmony among peoples of different religions.  As you can imagine, they carry this positive experience throughout their entire life, and many are convinced that this is one reason why Bangladesh has had little or no religious conflict. The Bishops are absolutely committed to the schools and wish to see them grow.  Yet, the financial means available to do so are limited. The Bishops have a total of nine projects for the building of a new school or the expansion of existing ones. The average cost for each one is about £150,000, an excellent investment from a relatively small amount of money. During his recent time in Birmingham (USA) for home leave, Archbishop Marino was able to receive from some generous lay people almost half of the amount needed for all the schools.  He is still looking for the rest, and for that reason he expresses his deepest gratitude for help through the offering of Lenten Alms by the people and parishes in Westminster to help in this important project which the Church there holds so dear.