Father Paul Townsend

Education Sunday
Father Paul writes, "On this Education Sunday, I would like to thank Mrs McGrew (the Headteacher), the children, staff, governors and everyone involved in the life of our parish school. The contribution our school makes to the education of our children and the life of our parish is a gift for which we must be very thankful."

Parish Barn Dance
A Parish Barn Dance will be held at St Jude's School on the evening of Friday the 16th of March. Live music will be provided by "The Turks Town Troopers" with Caller David Slater. Tickets are £6.00 or £5.00, if booked before the 9th of March. Numbers are limited. Supper is included. There will be a licensed bar and a raffle. To obtain tickets and further information, please call Graham Stanton on 01329 284057.

Domestic Help Wanted
An honest and trustworthy person is required to help with cleaning and ironing for three and a half hours per week for a family in the Cams Hill area of Fareham. Good rates of pay are offered. Please call Elizabeth Evans on 01329 231448.

Get a Grip on Your Life
Sister Jean and Sister Anne from the Cenacle Convent in Netley will come to our parish on Friday the 9th of March to lead an Enneagram weekend. This journey of self discovery is offered to anyone interested in discerning their personal gifts and strengths. It is enjoyable, enlightening and entirely non-threatening. The Enneagram weekend will take place in the Sacred Heart Hall. It will begin on Friday the 9th of March at 7.30pm until 9.30pm; it will recommence on Saturday the 10th from 10.00am until 4.30pm and then on Sunday the 11th from 10.30am until 1.00pm. The cost per person for the three days is £10.00. Prior booking is essential. It would be necessary to bring a packed lunch on Saturday. Tea and coffee will be available. Information will be given as handouts but bringing personal writing materials would be useful. If you would like to know more, please call Veronica Chadwick on 01489 584250. If you would like to take part in the Enneagram, please contact the parish office.

Parish Pastoral Council
Copies of the Minutes of the meeting of the Pastoral Council on the 10th of January are available at the entrance to the church. Items discussed at this meeting included The Grapevine, communication within the parish, ecumenism and Sunday Mass times. Please see the Pastoral Council notice board for a list of names of members and a copy of the Pastoral Council Mission Statement.

Catholic Schools and Appeals
It is possible for parents to appeal should their child be refused admission to a Catholic School in this Diocese. The Diocesan Schools' Department is seeking volunteers to undertake the roles of Clerk and Member for such an Appeal Panel. Training is offered. Training sessions will take place in Southampton on the 8th, 15th and 22nd of March and in Basingstoke on the 6th, 13th and 20th of March, all from 7.30pm to 9.00pm. If you are interested in knowing more, please contact Lesley King on 0118 978 1428 or at Park Place Pastoral Centre on 01329 835363. The closing date for applications is Monday the 26th of February.

The Meaning of Christian Love
Please note that the day to be led by David Torkington at Park Place Pastoral Centre today, Sunday the 11th, has had to be cancelled due to lack of numbers.

LIFE
On Sunday the 18th of February, our local LIFE group will give a brief presentation on their work at all Masses in Fareham, including the Saturday evening Mass. LIFE is a national, non-denominational charity which provides a care service which includes free pregnancy testing, confidential pregnancy counselling, practical help for unsupported mothers and women who face a crisis in pregnancy.

THE UNION

Who and what did Jesus have in mind when He made this unusual statement in today's Gospel? How can somebody who is poor possibly be happy? To begin to answer these questions, it is useful to reflect on the variety of ways and senses that the ancient Jews used the word poor. The Hebrew word for "poor" that Jesus used was the word 'ani. This word had already gone through four stages of development by the time it came to be used by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount.

Firstly, the word could be used, as we tend to use it today, to refer to those people who were destitute and without material wealth. As these people were without material wealth, they were also considered by most people to have neither power nor positive effect on anyone. This gave rise to a second way the word could be used, to refer to those who were helpless and without influence. Considering the helplessness of these people, it is not surprising that they were often oppressed and abused, which led to the third meaning of the word poor, referring to those who were exploited. Finally, because these people were without wealth, without help, and without protection, many of them put all their trust in God, and this became the fourth meaning of the word 'ani. Therefore, poor equalled those who put their total trust in God.

As for the word "happy", I prefer the translation "blessed", which seems a more accurate way of describing the heavenly happiness to which Jesus refers. Hence the title, "The Beatitudes", meaning "The Blessings", is used to refer to these sayings, collectively. I also think Jesus had all of us in mind when He made these statements, so if we too want to be blessed with the Kingdom of God, then we must realise that we can't depend on the things of this world for happiness, but we must put our total trust in God.

First Communion Programme
There will be a meeting for parents of those children taking part in the First Communion Programme on Wednesday the 14th of February at 7.30pm at St Jude's School.

St Martin de Porres Group
This small group seeks to promote awareness of issues of social justice and peace. Their next meeting will take place on Tuesday the 13th of February at 8.00pm. To find out more about the St Martin de Porres Group, please call Denis or Marian on 01329 311178.

Readers' Roster
All who exercise the ministry of reading at the Sacred Heart Church and at the St Philip Howard Church are asked to take their copy of the latest Roster. Attached to the Roster is a list of names and telephone numbers of readers. This Roster covers the period from Ash Wednesday to the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Readers are asked to note that names do not always appear in alphabetical order on the Roster. The co-ordinator for the Readers' Roster in Fareham in Mrs Diana Finlason (01329 843080).

Lenten Pilgrimage Day
The Confraternity of the Rosary has arranged a Lenten Pilgrimage Day on Friday the 9th of March. The Pilgrimage will be to the Church of Our Lady of Light in Long Crendon, eleven miles east of Oxford. This church houses two facsimiles of the Holy Shroud. The day will include a talk on the Shroud by the parish priest, Father Boswell, Rosary, Benediction and tea in the Church Hall. The cost of the day will be £9.00. For more information and to book a seat on the coach, please call 023 9282 0744. It will be necessary to take a packed lunch. Please see the notice board for further details about the activities organised for this year by the Confraternity of the Rosary.

Thank You
Betty Insull and all the family would like to thank everyone for all their prayers, and the many cards received, after the recent death of Greg Insull. They would also like to thank the Bethany Group for the prayer evening, and especially Father Paul for the lovely Requiem Mass.

Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday will fall on the 28th of February. Mass times will be as follows -
7.00am - Sacred Heart Church
9.30am - Sacred Heart Church
9.30am - Church of Our Lady of Walsingham
11.00am - St Philip Howard Church
7.30pm - Sacred Heart Church.

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence. Catholics between the ages of eighteen and sixty may take one full meal and one light meal only on this day. Those over the age of fourteen must abstain from eating meat. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a time of preparation, prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Churches Together in Portchester
Lenten Lunches
Weekly, ecumenical Shoppers' Services and Lenten Lunches will be held at the Methodist Church in Castle Street, Portchester, each Wednesday from the 28th of February. Each Shoppers' Service will begin at midday and will be followed by the Lenten Lunch at 12.30. Catholics from Portchester will be organising these on the 14th of March and on the 4th of April. All are welcome.

11 February 2001
6th Sunday of the Year
The Year of St Luke

National Marriage Week
Today sees the beginning of National Marriage Week. Our parish Union of Catholic Mothers, who have been asked by their national committee to promote family life and marriage in various ways, invites parishioners to complete and send off the forms concerning the Marriage Charter being given out with this newsletter at Mass.

Prayers for the Deceased
Please pray for the repose of the souls of Mrs Fran Deacon, Mr Stan Field and Mrs Beryl Hewett who died recently. Father Paul will conduct a Funeral Service for the late Mrs Deacon at Portchester Crematorium on Wednesday at 10.30am. The Requiem for the late Mrs Hewett took place in Wales. Father Chris will celebrate a Memorial Mass with her ashes in the Sacred Heart Church at 9.30am on Monday the 19th. This will be followed by burial of the ashes at Hayling Island. Many in Fareham will remember Mrs Hewett from her days as a teacher here. Mr Stan Field is the father of Kevin and father-in-law of Sue.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Father Paul writes, "We are still in need of a large number of new volunteers to become adorers at the Sacred Heart Church. This simply requires a commitment of one hour per week. Without such a large number, the hours of Adoration will have to be reduced."

Women's Word Day of Prayer (Fareham)
Women's World Day of Prayer will be celebrated on Friday the 2nd of March 2001. Services will be held in the Church of St Peter and St Paul at the top of the High Street in Fareham at 2.00pm and at 7.30pm. A crèche will be available and there will be refreshments. The speaker at the afternoon service will be Brenda O'Leary and the speaker at the evening service will be Chris a Herne. The theme this year is Informed Prayer, Prayerful Action.

Women's World Day of Prayer (Portchester)
Women's World Day of Prayer will be celebrated on Friday the 2nd of March 2001. A service will be held in the Church of Our Lady of Walsingham in Portchester at 2.00pm on that day. All are welcome to this service which will be followed by refreshments. Those who are to read at this service are asked to come to a practice on Friday the 16th of February at 10.00am at the Church of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Dates for Your Diary

The Sacrament of Anointing for the Sick
Please contact one of the priests if you are going into hospital or have anxieties about your health.

Catholic Education Service
A retiring collection will be taken at all Masses today, Sunday the 11th of February, for the work of the Catholic Education Service. This Service represents the Bishops in matters concerning Catholic education.

Software for Schools
St Jude's is collecting Software for Schools vouchers and Tesco vouchers. If you have any to spare, please pass them on to the school or leave them at the parish office.

Catholic Children's Society
A retiring collection will be taken at all Masses on Sunday the 25th of February for the work of the Catholic Children's Society. This is the Church's Child Care Agency and Adoption Society which covers the Dioceses of Portsmouth, Arundel and Brighton and Southwark.

Interested in Becoming a Catholic?
A series of meetings and talks takes place each year for those interested in becoming a member of our Church. If you would like to know more, please contact Father Paul, or complete the online form.