Monday: feast of St Josephine Bakhita

Today is the feast day of St Josephine Bakhita and the World Day of Prayer for victims of human trafficking and slavery. Rosary before the 10am live-streamed Mass today. God bless and take care Fr Ashley Posted by St Edmund’s Church, Beckenham on Sunday, February 7, 2021

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Sunday’s Scripture

Today’s first reading is from Job chapter 7. The figure of Job, shown here, is one of the most fascinating in the Old Testament. Some may feel very worn down by work at the moment, possibly seeing it as pointless drudgery, as he does in the reading. Next Sunday is

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St Paul Miki and his Companions

Today the Church honours St Paul Miki and his twenty-five companions, martyred by being crucified in Japan, in the year 1597. Jesuit priests had brought the Christian message to the country and Paul Miki had been educated by them. He himself was a seminarian at the time of his death.

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Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac

The gospel reading today [Monday] is the account in Mark chapter 5 of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac. It’s rather scary story; we are meant to be terrified by the man possessed by many demons, ‘for they are legion’. Commentators have pointed out that Mark’s use of that word

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Going into Hospital

Given the large numbers of people being admitted to hospital at this time, it is particularly important to be clear about what you should do if you or a friend or family member is admitted and seriously ill. The most important thing to do is to get a message to

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Sunday: Racial Justice Day

As we mark Racial Justice Sunday this weekend it has been announced that the Archbishop of Southwark has set up a new Commission for Promoting Racial Justice and Cultural Inclusion. Details at: http://rcsouthwark.co.uk/indexold.html God bless and take care Fr Ashley l

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Sunday: Feast of St John Bosco

The Salesian Sisters at Village Way ask you to join them in prayer as they celebrate the feast of their founder, St John Bosco. He entrusted all to Our Lady. She guided his life’s work especially that of helping the young know Jesus and live full and happy lives.

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Feast of St Thomas Aquinas

Today is the feast of St Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of students. He once wrote that through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ ‘humanity knows from this how much God loves us; so that we are stirred by this to love him in return. This is the perfection of

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