Coffee Morning 30 October

Ken (as Chef) will be on duty for bacon and sausage sandwiches. Please would you be kind enough to bring your usual dazzling array of cakes? We've just finished the last series of Bake Off on the BBC, so there should be no excuses!!!

Please remember to put your clock back an hour the night before!

Cantors

7.45pm Practices: Ken 15th November, Richard 29th November and John 20th December. Please note in your diaries.

Plainchant Choir

The next practice will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday 8th November to prepare for the Remembrance Mass on 13th November.

Christmas 2016

You now have the DRAFT Music List for the Christmas Concert, Christmas Midnight Mass and Mass in honour of Mary, Mother of God on 1st January. The Holst Christmas Day will take a bit of (re-) learning for the Concert. It's available on YouTube HERE - please do have a listen and learn from it.

Friends of Honeywood Museum Christmas Raffle

I'll have tickets for this over the next couple of Tuesdays - last year the Choir had four winners of the ten! Just £1 per ticket again. Please bring a quid or two....... Detail of this year's prizes may be found HERE.

Parish Music Workshop

I won't dwell on this - you all know my views - very disappointing........... I'll try once more in the New Year.

November's Mass Music

I am keeping it simple at the moment, for obvious reasons. The Music for our three next Masses, in November and December, is available for reference from the Home Page on our Web site.

Prayers, please

Joe Ryan is making very slow, but encouraging, progress on what will be a very long journey to recovery after his terrible accident - please do continue remember him, Jeannette and their extended family.

Please pray harder for George Meyern who is still in need.

Also remember Topan Purswani, who passed away on 6 October; Madeleine's husband had been seriously ill for a long while.

Also to be remembered: George Norton, Mary & Frank Elliott, Christine & Eugene, Maria & Family, Anne Mitra and a Choir members' special intentions. Please also remember Jeannette's mother Hazel, Andrew's mother Josie and Carole's husband Mike in your prayers.

This is the 50th Edition of Update

1954, 1982 and 2016

As it was in 1954...... The evening 'service' was in place at 6.30pm as those were the days when fasting in order to be able to receive Holy Communion was from midnight. An hour between Sunday Masses indicates just how quickly the Latin Tridentine Low Mass was celebrated. The 11am Mass was generally a High Mass, so had singing from the choir, and would have been longer - the forerunner to our 'last Mass of the morning' sung Masses.

In 1982, when our congregation peaked at over 2,000, Sunday Masses were at 6.15 (Vigil) 8.30, 10 11, 12 and 5pm - you can imagine how crowded the church was for each Mass. Benediction is now every Sunday at 4.30pm with the Rosary being prayed during May and October. Confessions in 1982 were offered in Maltese and Italian, as the much-loved Father Leo Asciak (RIP) was the then Curate.

Our 2015 Sunday Mass attendance has more than halved since then; the Mass attendance across the whole of the Arch-Diocese of Southwark declined by about a third.

For your coffee breaks

The first time I smiled at the US Presidential Elections was when I viewed THIS wonderful little parody of a well known TV talent contest!

Mrs. Proudie's thoughts on the matter also amuse.

The answer to last month's question about this memorial in Crystal Palace Park:

It is the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Officers and Men Memorial; Grade II Listed.

That wonderful Catholic TV moment when the now sadly departed Mother Angelica exploded over the shenanigans at World Youth Day in 1993 where a woman portrayed Christ for a 'Way of the Cross done in mime style'. 29 minutes of controlled (just!) fury!!

The Via Michaelica pilgrimage- a fascinating post from Fr. Z.

Reykjavik goes dark for Northern Lights show: pity nobody turned off the search light!

November 22nd is the feast of St. Cecilia. If your speakers are on the self-playing video expands further the written words below.

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