Woodhall Spa Parish
Welcome to Woodhall Spa Parish
Our Lady and St Peter Woodhall Spa
click on the picture above to see inside and here to see the garden
Church Open for Sunday 10am Mass and Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 10.00am - the booking system is suspended
Serving Woodhall Spa, Horncastle, Coningsby and Metheringham
Parish Priest Fr John O'Donnell
Our Lady and St Peter
15 Cromwell Avenue, Woodhall Spa, LN10 6TH
Tel 01526 352245
e-mail catholic.church.woodhallspa@gmail.com
The Catholic Church in England and Wales
Daily Readings - read the entire New Testament over a 2 year period
(reading plan courtesy of Gideon International)
St Mary's Church of England Church, Horncastle
click on the picture of the church to see inside
Church Open for Saturday 6pm Mass - the booking system is suspended
'For the duration of this emergency the obligation to attend Sunday Mass is removed - see catechism of the Catholic Church 2181 – this pandemic is the "serious reason" why this obligation does not apply at this time.'
Catholic Conference of Bishops of England & Wales.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
19th November 2021
Read a statement from the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales on the attendance at Mass on a Sunday and the Sunday Obligation
Click on the picture link above for the full statement
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
10th December 2021
The government has updated its guidance for the safe use of places of worship. As of 9 December 2021, England will move to Plan B in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.
Click on the picture link above for the full statement
Sunday of the Word of God 23.01.22
The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time is the 'Sunday of the Word of God' - a day, instituted by Pope Francis on the Feast of Saint Jerome in 2019, devoted to the celebration and study of Sacred Scripture.
Live and recorded Masses at St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham
Please click on the picture link below
Monday – Friday 1 pm Mass
Saturday 10 am Mass
Sunday 10 am Mass
For todays Mass Readings and for the Readings for the Week
click on the date link below
Live and recorded liturgies and addresses of Pope Francis with English commentary
Please click on the picture link below
ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION PRAYER
Offered as an example of a suitable prayer for use by home viewers wishing to participate in a Live Streaming of the Mass
After the celebrant has received Holy Communion himself, the celebrant reads aloud the Act of Spiritual Communion, and invites the home viewers to say the words of the prayer with him.
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen
Pope Francis January 2022
Religious discrimination and persecution
We pray for all those suffering from religious discrimination and persecution; may their own rights and dignity be recognized, which originate from being brothers and sisters in the human family.
How is it possible that many religious minorities currently suffer discrimination or persecution?
How can we allow that in this society, which is so civilized, there are people who are persecuted simply because they publicly profess their faith? Not only is it unacceptable; it’s inhuman, it’s insane.
Religious freedom is not limited to freedom of worship—that is to say, that people can have a worship service on the day prescribed by their sacred books. Rather, it makes us appreciate others in their differences and recognize them as true brothers and sisters.
As human beings, we have so many things in common that we can live alongside each other, welcoming our differences with the joy of being brothers and sisters.
And may a small difference, or a substantial difference such as a religious one, not obscure the great unity of being brothers and sisters.
Let us choose the path of fraternity. Because either we are brothers and sisters, or we all lose.
Let us pray that those who suffer discrimination and suffer religious persecution, may find in the societies in which they live the rights and dignity that comes from being brothers and sisters.
Pope Francis Letter to Married Couples December 2021
Click on the picture link above to read the letter
Pope Francis Video Message
August 2021
The Vaccination Campaign against COVID-19
Pope Francis Message for the 55th World Peace Day 01.01.22
Click on the picture link above to read the message
CAFOD - DEC Afghanistan Crisis Appeal
The people of Afghanistan are in desperate need of help. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August, life for people there deteriorated rapidly.
Afghan families are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance: food, water and shelter. As winter approaches, Afghan people are facing extreme hunger and poverty. It threatens to push many who were already suffering further into poverty and hunger.
Dies Domini – Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy
Advent is a season of peace and reconciliation in which we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas. The Bishops have spoken recently about the importance of our Sunday encounter with Christ through the Eucharist at Mass. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our spiritual and pastoral life.
We recognise that the causes and effects of the pandemic are still present to such a degree that the absolute duty for all to attend the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration cannot yet be fulfilled. However, the Bishops have asked that all Catholics now reflect on the centrality of the Eucharist to our life of faith and take into consideration their personal circumstances and the reasons as to whether they can now attend the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration.
To encourage this process of reflection and to promote the vital, indispensable and irreplaceable place of the Eucharist in our lives, we have produced a series of conversations for Advent called ‘Dies Domini – Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy‘. - click on the picture for details
Notices
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18th-25th January
Sunday 23rd at 4.00pm St Mary's Horncastle
A service marking the week is being held.
All welcome.
Synodal Parish meetings - Next meeting to follow the open deanery meeting in January as part of the Synodal process.
For the Synodal timeline and guidance for the parish participation click here.
And for Synodal Timeline Notes click here.
Encountering Jesus in your Daily Work
A four week online course by Zoom - Wednesdays 7pm - 8.30 pm
12/01/22, 19/01/22, 26/01/22, 02/02/22
'From Daily Grind to Daily Glory' - Encountering Jesus in your Daily Work is four week online course to help you discover how God is calling you to be his disciple through your daily work. Each session will involve a Video input exploring the theme of the week and interviews with people from around the diocese, this is then followed by group discussion and a time of prayer. The sessions will run from 7pm-8:15pm.
For “Churches Without Walls” and "Community of Enquiry" meetings, programme and information click here
Grapevine Newsletter
20.01.22
Nottingham Diocesan Internet Café
Nottingham Diocesan Internet Café is a one-stop shop for you and your parish during the Covid-19 pandemic. Help your parish to thrive, and your own discipleship to flourish, during lockdown and beyond.
Nottingham Diocese goes green
On 23 September the Diocesan Board of Trustees formally approved a far-reaching environmental policy framework for the diocese, its parishes and schools.
The policy challenges us to live out Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si in our life as a Church. It establishes an endeavour to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, and to make our land a home for nature. It's an ambitious vision, and everyone has a part to play.
Bishop Patrick Pastoral Letter for the start of the Synodal Process
May the Lord open our hearts & minds that we may hear & respond to the promptings of God’s Holy Spirit as we begin this journey!
Pope Francis Opening of the Synodal Path
Celebrating a Synod means walking on the same road, walking together. So often God points out new paths. He invites us to leave our old habits behind. Everything changes once we are capable of genuine encounters with him and with one another, without formalism or pretence, but simply as we are.
In these days, Jesus calls us, as he did the rich man in the Gospel, to empty ourselves, to free ourselves from all that is worldly, including our inward-looking and outworn pastoral models; and to ask ourselves what it is that God wants to say to us in this time. And the direction in which he wants to lead us.
May we be pilgrims in love with the Gospel and open to the surprises of the Holy Spirit.
For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission
A two-year 'synodal' process is taking place in the Catholic Church from October 2021 that culminates in the final Synod Gathering of Bishops in Rome in October 2023. The overall theme is "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission".
It’s an invitation for us, as Catholics, to ‘walk together’ and every member of the Church has the right to speak, and the obligation to allow those charged with the work of discernment the freedom to do so.
We are delighted to launch in the Autumn - Christus Vivit (Christ is Alive), this is the Diocese of Nottingham's ministry for those aged 18-35. The Adult Formation for Mission Department will be working closely with the Vocations Team and a group of young adults to plan events and activities in for young adults in the diocese.
We will be starting with monthly meetings in Nottingham that will be focused on bringing young adults together to pray, grow in faith and socialise, we have organised two pilgrimages to different pilgrimage sites in the diocese, click on the picture below to see the list of dates.
Join our mailing list here
Pope Francis Message for the first world day for Grandparents and the Elderly 25.07.21
Novena on the Care of Creation
The 'God Who Speaks' team offers this Novena of readings and prayers as tangible action to respond to the urgent climate change issues we all face.
please click on the picture link
A Father's Heart - A Podcast for Catholic Dads
This new podcast series from the Diocese of Nottingham for the Year of St Joseph will explore what does it mean to be a Catholic Dad , taking St Joseph as our model. Each month a section of the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde will be explored through conservation with two dads from the Diocese of Nottingham sharing their thoughts and experiences.
'Being a Disciple'
The 'Being a Disciple' series was run in conjunction between the Diocese of Nottingham and Catholic Voices over four evenings on Zoom in January 2021.
Brenden Thompson, CEO of Catholic Voices presented in each session a fundamental principle of being a Catholic disciple. Session 1 explores the Word of God and how as disciples we are called to internalise it that means to live it, to share it and to seek to know it better.
This course was aimed at both those who would like to grow in their personal discipleship and those who want to help others grow.
The recordings are presented here for you to access and use this course to help you grow as a disciple or to help others in your community.
youth2000uk Youth 2000 seeks to draw young people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, lived at the heart of the Catholic church. www.youth2000.org
Let us pray for peace, and let us bring it about, starting in our own homes!
May we help people to discover the joy of the Christian message: a message of love and mercy. Pope Francis
Pope Francis: our path is to take care of others
Pope Francis 03.02.15 - Daily contemplation of the Gospel
Daily contemplation of the Gospel helps us to have true hope. The Pope again urged people to take 10 minutes out of their day to pick up the Gospel and talk to the Lord, rather than waste it on TV soap operas or listening to other peoples’ gossip.
Take up the Gospel, read and imagine the scene, imagine what happens and talk to Jesus, from the heart. And with this we allow hope to grow, because we have our gaze fixed, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
We should all carry out this contemplative prayer. 'But I have so much to do!'. At home, 15 minutes, pick up the Gospel, a small passage, imagine what happened and talk with Jesus about it. So your gaze will be fixed on Jesus and not so much on a TV soap opera, for example. Your ears will be focused on the words of Jesus and not so much on your neighbourhood gossip ... ".
Hope comes from this prayer, he said, adding "our Christian life unfolds in that context, between memory and hope": "Memory of our past journey, memory of so many graces received from the Lord. And hope, looking at the Lord, who is the only one who can give me hope. And in order to gaze at the Lord, to know the Lord, we pick up the Gospel and carry out this contemplative prayer.
Today, for example, try for 10 minutes - 15, no more – to read the Gospel, picture it and say something to Jesus. And nothing more. And so your knowledge of Jesus will be bigger and your hope will grow.
Bishop Patrick recommends the new Pocket Gospels
Pope Francis has said "Everyone should carry a small Bible or a pocket edition of the Gospels and should find at least a few minutes every day to Read the Word of God"
Priced £4.99 from the Bible Society
Daily Readings - read the entire New Testament over a 2 year period
(reading plan courtesy of Gideon International)
Sunday & daily Mass live streamed at
Live Catholic TV
Live Catholic TV
Live Catholic TV
Live Catholic TV
Find your local Diocesan newspaper.
Thoughts from Elston Hermitage on Angels
Of all things visible and invisible angels then are part of that invisible side of God's creation and so worthily deserve our attention.
Angels are God's messengers not only for great occasions but we can be assured they are constantly looking after us too as promised by the Psalmist 'The Lord will command his Angels to guard you in all your ways, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone' (Ps. 91 11-12). Angels then are body and soul guards, and each of us has a guardian angel to watch over us.
Pope Francis: Guardian angels our companions on life’s journey
Pope Francis at Mass at Casa Santa Marta. "Guardian angels exist, they are not the fruit of imaginative doctrine, but companions that God has placed beside us on our life’s journey."
Travelling away or going on holiday?
Click on the link below to find out Churches and Mass times at or near your destination